Coach Ron Rivera In Studio, The Bengals May Be Dead, Week 10 Picks And Preview + Fyre Fest Of The Week

Summary

Pardon My Take: Coach Ron Rivera In Studio, The Bengals May Be Dead, Week 10 Picks And Preview + Fire Fest Of The Week

In this episode of "Pardon My Take," Big Cat and PFT Commenter delve into the current NFL landscape, offering insightful analysis, engaging discussions, and a special interview with Coach Ron Rivera. The episode is structured into several key segments, each highlighting different aspects of the sports world.

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1. The Bengals May Be Dead

Bengals' Playoff Prospects and Recent Performances

Big Cat and Dale kick off the discussion by analyzing the Cincinnati Bengals' prospects for making the playoffs. Reflecting on the team's recent performances, especially their close losses to the Baltimore Ravens, the hosts express skepticism about the Bengals' chances.

• Big Cat (04:17): "Joe Burrow against the Ravens this year has 800 yards and nine touchdowns in one pick. And they just... the Ravens are... you can't make mistakes against the Ravens."

• Dale (05:33): "So game one against the Ravens, they lost 41 to 38. Tonight they lost 35 to 34. That's what it's like when another team has your number."

The conversation highlights the Ravens' robust defense and their ability to capitalize on the Bengals' errors, limiting Cincinnati's ability to secure crucial wins. Despite acknowledging Joe Burrow's prowess, the hosts remain doubtful about the Bengals' ability to rebound sufficiently to secure a playoff spot.

---

2. NFL Week 10 Picks and Preview

Game Predictions and Strategic Insights

Transitioning to Week 10, Big Cat and Dale offer their predictions for upcoming NFL games, discussing team dynamics, player performances, and strategic considerations.

• Big Cat (21:54): "Anthony Richardson opens everything up. You got to be worried about him running as well."

• Dale (26:29): "I'm going to be betting on the Lions because I'm a sucker, and I'm maybe the most public person in terms of, like, just finding these sucker lines and going for them."

The hosts examine various matchups, including the Bills vs. Colts and Patriots vs. Bears, providing nuanced takes on each game's potential outcomes. They also touch upon the impact of injuries and player form on the week's results, emphasizing the unpredictable nature of sports betting.

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3. Interview with Coach Ron Rivera

Coaching Philosophy and Game Management

A significant portion of the episode features an in-depth interview with NFL coach Ron Rivera. Discussing his transition from coaching to commentary, Rivera shares his experiences and insights into effective game management.

• Coach Ron Rivera (88:55): "I want to reach out. I think I need a mentor... [John] Madden was expecting your call."

Rivera recounts a pivotal moment in his career where mentoring from John Madden influenced his approach to high-pressure decisions, such as fourth-down calls and timeouts. He emphasizes the balance between analytics and the intangible aspects of coaching, like player psychology and momentum.

• Big Cat (94:05): "That's awesome. I love hearing the stories of the evolution of coaches and how they get to these points because that's like coaching more than anything is like you always have to be adapting and learning and that's what the best coaches do."

Rivera also touches on the challenges faced during his tenure with different franchises, highlighting the importance of focusing on the present while building for the future.

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4. Fire Fest Of The Week

Humorous Segments and Host Banter

In the lighter segments, the hosts engage in playful banter and humorous challenges, maintaining the show's entertaining flair. Discussions range from personal anecdotes about diet and fitness to amusing interactions about game predictions.

• Hank (136:54): "I think most people agree with me. So my mom's been on my ass. I haven't got a physical in five years since, like, before I joined Barstool. So I purposely... I'm going to get a physical three weeks from the day I scheduled it so I could get three weeks of trying to lose weight before I go to the physical."

This segment showcases the hosts' chemistry and their ability to blend sports analysis with relatable, everyday topics, keeping the audience engaged and entertained.

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Conclusion

This episode of "Pardon My Take" offers a comprehensive look at the NFL's current state, enriched by Coach Ron Rivera's expert insights. Through a blend of serious analysis and lighthearted banter, Big Cat and PFT Commenter provide listeners with valuable perspectives on team performances, game predictions, and the intricacies of coaching at the highest level.

Notable Quote:

• Coach Ron Rivera (93:33): "Momentum has taken over."

This encapsulates Rivera's belief in the non-measurable aspects of the game, such as player confidence and fan impact, underscoring the complex interplay between analytics and human factors in sports.

---

Whether you're a die-hard NFL fan or casually following the season, this episode delivers engaging content that balances deep analysis with entertaining discussions, making it a must-listen for the week's football enthusiasts.

Transcript

[Big Cat]

Hey, pardon my take listeners. You can find every episode on Apple podcasts, Spotify or YouTube Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon music.

[Hank]

What's the five dollar meal deal at McDonald's? You pick a McDouble or a McChicken, then get a small fry, a small drink and a four piece McNuggets. That's a lot of McDonald's for not.

[Big Cat]

A lot of money.

[Hank]

Price and participation may vary.

[PFT]

For a limited time only.

[Big Cat]

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[Big Cat]

Okay, let's go.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Barn. And my take. Welcome to part of my take presented by DraftKings. Score big with DraftKings Sportsbook, the number one place to bet touchdowns. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app. Use code TAKE. That's code TAKE. For new customers, get $200 in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings. The crown is yours. Today is Friday, November 8th, and the Bengals might be dead. Also, Max is on the couch.

[Dale]

By decree of Puget President, Pug said that Max should be on the couch. So Max is on the couch.

[Hank]

I'm just going to do bad, bad things here so I can go back to the booth.

[Dale]

Oh, yes.

[Big Cat]

What are you going to do? Look at your phone and not listen to us? Real bad things.

[Hank]

Maybe I'll just interrupt.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Hank]

And be disrespectful.

[Dale]

Max became. You got. You got scared when you sat down in this cab.

[Hank]

I don't like looking at you.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Something about uncomfortable dog.

[Dale]

It'll bark when there's a fence up. And then they open the gate.

[Big Cat]

You need a pill. You need a pillow in front of your stomach. I do need a pillow. Grab that one right there. There you go.

[Hank]

Talk about Thursday Night Football.

[Big Cat]

All right. Thursday Night Football was incredible. The Bengals, Jamar Chase kills the Ravens, and holy shit, he had a night. What do you end up with? 2, 52, 64.

[Dale]

He had 11 receptions, 264, three touchdowns, three touchdowns with the longest 70 yards. And how do you feel? How do you think that Mike Brown feels about this game? Because he's like, this is awesome. I'm so glad that our team is competitive. Goddamn Jamar Chase is good, good draft pick by me. But then he's like, shit, I also have to pay the guy.

[Big Cat]

And we lost.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

And we lost. And that's the story, because the Bengals, it was basically a repeat of the first time these Two teams played where you watch this game, and the Bengals were up 21, seven and half or right after the half, and you're like, oh, man, the Ravens look bad. They look like just kind of discombobulated. They couldn't get any drives going and then boom, Marlon Humphries with a great strip. And that changed everything because then the Ravens scored and then they scored again and it was just. The game was on and the Ravens are. You can't make mistakes against the Ravens. Like the Bengals. Again, this is another. Joe Burrow has played perfect against the Bengal or the Ravens, and they have no wins to show for it this year.

[Dale]

Yeah. So game one against the Ravens, they lost 41 to 38. Tonight they lost 35 to 34. That's. That's what it's like when another team has your number.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Like you played almost to the best of your abilities as a team. And what's crazy is like, I'm walking away from this Bengals game and I'm thinking the Bengals are one of the best teams in the afc. Yeah, they're probably not going to make the playoffs.

[Big Cat]

No, they might not make the playoffs. And yeah, Joe Burrow against the Ravens this year has 800 yards and nine touchdowns in one pick. And they just. The rave. You can't make mistakes against the Ravens. That's just how they are. I mean, I still. The Ravens defense, obviously Kyle Hamilton going down was very big because you could. You could feel that, especially with Jamar chases like that. That was incredible. Where. Where the Ravens, or. Sorry, the Bengals go up 28, 21 and then it was like, oh. Or no. Yeah, that was. That was the play. Right? That was a 70 yard touchdown pass.

[Dale]

The 70 yard touchdown pass to Wallace was.

[Big Cat]

No, no, no, no. I'm saying the Bengals, when. When the. Yeah, the Ravens went up 28, 21, they get the two point conversion and it was one place 70 yards to Jamar Chase. You're like, yeah, the Bengals get like, they'll. They're the best team. Jamar Chase is the best player ever.

[Dale]

He gets faster after he catches the ball.

[Big Cat]

He doesn't even look that fast.

[Dale]

I know, but he glides and he just glides through everybody and he takes like perfect angles, good understanding of geometry. That's what they've always said about Jamar Chase.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. What a night for the Bengals offense. And they just didn't have enough to stop the Ravens. And it really was that. It was that fumble. Because if that Fumble, the game's 217 there and you just Felt like the Ravens were, like. Fans were booing, guys were yelling stuff. It felt like the Ravens were kind of lost. And that fumble sparked everything. And then they scored three. Three unanswered touchdowns and, you know, end up winning on the last play, which, by the way, there was probably some holding also. That's.

[Dale]

That's why you kicked the extra point during. Take it overtime on the road. You don't want to make mistakes. You're putting a lot of weight on one play. We've always said that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Against a superior team, a game no one thought that you were going to win at halftime. You take the point there.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Why are you getting cute with the Zach Taylor?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. If you were watching us on stream in the gambling cave, we were rooting for an extra point because of gambling. But now that we're out of the gambling cave, that was the correct call to go for two.

[Dale]

Yeah. A hundred percent.

[Big Cat]

You got to go for two. There. There was a little too much time left with the Ravens having two. Like, I thought the Ravens were going to win no matter what. Even if the. The Bengals had gotten that two point conversion, there was two timeouts and like 25 seconds left. That was Lamar Jackson going to just go down the field.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Lamar finds a way there. Justin Tucker.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Washed this.

[Dale]

It feels like the Ravens might be destined to get into a close playoff game against, I don't know, the Kansas City Chiefs to get out kicked. I hope that's not the case. But there's something up with Justin Tucker.

[Big Cat]

There's definitely something up with Justin Tucker.

[Dale]

The helmets and the uniforms that I appreciate, the homage to Color Rush, the Thursday night tradition that we used to have in this country when we were a proper country. Yeah. That being said, Big Cat, I know that you feel a certain type of way about the Ravens black uniforms at night. I agree.

[Big Cat]

Well, that.

[Dale]

That's their night uniform.

[Big Cat]

It was just good that the Ravens won this game because if they had lost this game, you could have just pointed to the fact that you handed the game over by not wearing your black uniforms at night. Yeah, that would. That would have been it right there. But, yeah, the purple is a little. Little candy. Yes. I do like that they tried something different. I would rather them just go with the black uniforms at night because those are unstoppable. Max, what were your thoughts about the game?

[Hank]

I had nothing.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Hank]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

They're. They're having a great time.

[Hank]

I know.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Booth.

[Hank]

Right now I could hear memes through the soundproof booth.

[Big Cat]

I don't think I've Seen. I don't think I've seen Hank smile this ride in a long time. Next.

[Dale]

Give me your breakdown.

[Hank]

I got horrible. I got horrible taste.

[Dale]

Podcast.

[Hank]

I got nothing. I shouldn't be here. I don't like looking at you.

[Dale]

You're intimidated.

[Hank]

So intimidated. I'm not ready for the bright lights.

[Big Cat]

You're not ready for the bright lights, Pug. Are you. Are you think this is works? Should we keep this as a. Should we keep him in here for fire fest?

[Hank]

No.

[Big Cat]

I don't know. We're going to kick him out for weekend preview because.

[Hank]

Kick me out. No, don't listen to Hank.

[Big Cat]

I think we need a little longer to test it out. All right. Confirm. All right, so we're going to kick you out for weekend preview, and then when we do fire fest, you'll be back on the couch. That's fair.

[Dale]

Max, just participate in the podcast for one second. Did you like the football game tonight? Football, Football, football, football.

[Big Cat]

All right, so realistically, I need to be kicked out.

[Hank]

I should be kicked out.

[Max]

I thought it was a great game. Great Thursday night football game. Offensive explosion. Fun to watch.

[Dale]

You love sports when you're in that booth.

[Max]

Yeah, I fucking love sports.

[Big Cat]

Okay, so looking at the schedule, the Bengals have to win. They can lose maybe one more game. I don't even know if they can lose one more game. I don't know if they lo more game. They're very close to being eliminated because that would be nine and seven would be the best. Or no, sorry. They could lose one more game because 10 and 7. Maybe 10 and 7. So here's what their schedule is at the Chargers. Not an easy game. Harbaugh Bowl, Steelers at home. Cowboys. Dak will still be out because he's on ir, right? Titans, Browns, Broncos, Steelers.

[Dale]

You're talking about. You're talking about the Bengals schedule.

[Big Cat]

The Bengals schedule.

[Dale]

Not the Harbaugh Bowl.

[Big Cat]

Oh, sorry. Not the Harbaugh Bowl. You're right. They play later. That's. I was confused. But they do have. The Harbaugh bowl was later.

[Dale]

They do have the opportunity to. Let's see. They lost one Harbaugh.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

So that means that they might.

[Big Cat]

They'll win.

[Dale]

They're going to beat the other.

[Big Cat]

The other Harbaugh. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. So I think they could. I'm never going to give up on the Bengals. I don't know. It's a sickness at this point.

[Dale]

We've done the.

[Big Cat]

Not going to give up on Joe Burrow.

[Dale]

We've done the. Look ahead at their schedule. I think every single week. I think we started doing it after they beat the Panthers in week four.

[Big Cat]

This was the, this was the game though, that we circled. Like, you win this game, you're back to.500. Now you have some wiggle room. Now you can, you can, you know, realistically lose two games, finish 10 and 7, get in the playoffs. I, yeah, they have to. They, they can take one more loss on the season and listen, I, I think they could do it. If they can beat the Chargers, I think they can do it. It's crazy to say. I think they might be able to do it. Two games against the Steelers, Cal, Cowboys is a win. Titans should be a win. Browns, Broncos at home, those should be wins. So it's basically comes down to two games against the Steelers and a game against the Chargers. Can you go two in one in those games?

[Dale]

Also Cooper Rush though, can you go.

[Big Cat]

Two and one in those games? And the Ravens now, I mean they're. Yeah, they're just really good. I didn't understand Jerry was saying that he was wanting the Bengals to lose so they would just get out of the picture.

[Dale]

I understood what he was saying because if you're, if you're a fan of a team that has like a bitter rival, like Pittsburgh does with Baltimore, I know that Cincinnati's been in that equation recently, but he would much rather focus all of his energy as a fan on one team to hate as opposed to spreading out to two teams to concentrate.

[Big Cat]

I'd rather take the two game lead.

[Dale]

That's a lot of people for Jerry to have to wish injury on. If there's two teams that he has.

[Big Cat]

To be, I'd rather take the two game lead because it would. The Bengals were never going to be like a threat to win the AFC North. They were going to be a threat to get in a wild card. The Ravens are now seven and three. Yeah, you know, it's not the, that that's going to be a fight in the AFC North. They have to. I think the Steelers and Ravens still have to play two times.

[Dale]

I would have, I would have felt the same way. But Jerry, he's a different bird, so he wants to be able to just focus on one enemy.

[Big Cat]

It's going to be. Man, I'm. Is it crazy that I'm like already so excited for the playoffs? Because I'm just looking at the AFC playoffs and it's just that that Chiefs, Bills, Ravens, not even talking about the Steelers in Texas. Like, man, I think good teams, I.

[Dale]

Think we're just amped up from a good football game.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

I take this as a, as a harbinger of things to come for this weekend. When Thursday night kicks off and it's an awesome game, you know that Sunday's going to bring it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Set the tone. Okay, Max, any last thoughts?

[Hank]

The Eagles beat the shit out of the Bengals.

[Big Cat]

Oh, okay.

[Hank]

That's my thoughts.

[Big Cat]

That's good. All right, let's kick it to ourselves. We're going to have Hank come back on the couch for the weekend preview and then we have Ron Rivera and then we'll do Fire Fest with Max back on the couch. Weekend preview brought to you by our friends at Game Time. Football season is here and we can't wait to get out to some games this fall with the help of Game Time, the official ticketing partner of Barstool Sports. You know how much we love Game Time. Now with their brand new Game Time Picks feature, they're making it even easier to get to a game. Game Time Picks filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets. I was looking at tickets. Patriots and Bears play this weekend at Soldier Field.

[Max]

Hank, you can get in for under 200. 176 I'm seeing is the cheapest. Going to be a huge game. Nice weather. A lot of people in Chicago will be going out thanks to Game Time.

[Big Cat]

So Game Time Picks deals for great seats only on Game Time. Just pull up your chosen event, turn on the GT pick setting at the top of the screen or browse the best local Game Time Picks deal near you on your Game Time app homepage. What are you waiting for? Gonna buy those tickets to Soldier Field. Watch the Bears Patriots Sunday. Now with Game Time. Download the Game Time app today. Use code PMT to easily score great deals with the new Game Time Picks. What time is it? Game Time. We're also brought to by our friends at Chevy. Listen, there's a reason we've never done a Mount Rushmore pickup trucks. And that's because for pardon my take, there's only one pickup truck. The Chevy Silverado. Why is that? Silverado is a partner. A partner you can depend on. We've all spent time driving and using the Silverado for all kinds apart my take jobs, adventures and other shenanigans. Silverado has been our ride for a cross country trip to the Super Bowl. Silverado helped us dig the biggest hole ever in the state of Ohio last year at Grit Week. Silverado helped us give fullbacks recognition they deserve with the low man award. And this year, Silverado is out west with us for our latest grit week. Silverado brings the grit, too. Legendary grit paired with modern truck tech inside and out. Massive screens, up to eight cameras with 14 different views to help make driving, towing and parking all easier. We love the bold, blacked out look of the new Silverado HD trail boss. So head on over to Chevy.com build your own Silverado or Silverado HD and check out all the current offers on Silverado. Discover a world of strength and capability all behind the wheel of our favorite truck, the Chevy Silverado. Okay, boys, week 10. Not going to say it PFD, but it's week 10.

[Dale]

I know we all know what that entails, but I just don't. I like to live in denial.

[Big Cat]

Week 10, let's start. We got. We're going back abroad. Giants at Panthers in Germany. Oh boy. Oh boy.

[Dale]

So are we going to boycott this game or not? Because if you're mad at the NFL for anything, you can say that you're going to boycott the games. It's been going back since like 2010 that people have been like, oh, I don't like this happen. I'm going to boycott. This is the actual time when you could possibly boycott a game.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Dale]

Where they would. You could have the lowest ratings of all time in any football game.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I, I'm going to keep an eye on it.

[Dale]

I think here's my plan. I'm going to wake up and I'm going to turn it on and then I'm going to stay in bed and then just kind of let whatever happens happens.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Dale]

If I.

[Big Cat]

That sounds like you're going to watch it.

[Dale]

I'm probably going to watch it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I'm going to keep an eye on it. I'm going to be with my kids. So I'll probably, you know, have the phone in my hand, watch it. It's going to be bad. I actually think the Giants are going to win. Do you know the Giants are leading the league in sacks? 35. Yeah.

[Dale]

Their defensive line, very good.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Here, here's a crazy stat about the Giants. They're favored in this game.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

That's crazy. That's a crazy step because they haven't been favored since week two of last season.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. 24 straight games.

[Dale]

24 straight games where they've been underdogs and it week two last season they beat the Cardinals 31 to 28 as four and a half point road favorites.

[Big Cat]

It's crazy.

[Dale]

Yeah. Wild ride for the, for the Giants.

[Big Cat]

I Chubba Hubbard just got resigned. Good for him. I just, I don't. The Giants are also the best international team. They're 3 and O all time international. So I, I like the Giants in this game just because I'm going to bet it because it's going to be on and their defense is actually good. And that's really the only thing you can point to. I mean Daniel Jones, maybe he's going to run more.

[Dale]

Maybe he'll get more than one yard passing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

In the first half. I think he's going to run. And I also think he could pass in this game too because the Panthers pass defense absolutely stinks. They get no pass rush whatsoever. If you're going to get a good game out of Daniel Jones, it's going to be this one.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Do you know so. So we had the idea of the Tupper bowl last week is obviously two, two win teams. So we'll figure out maybe this is like a play in game for the Tuber Bowl. Did you know that they used to play a third and fourth gate place game in the NFL? Yeah, it's awesome. Called the Playoff bowl, also known as the Burt Bell Benefit Bowl.

[Dale]

I love that.

[Big Cat]

And the Lions are the best team ever in the, in the Burt Bell Benefit bowl. They were 3, 0 all time. And apparently Vince Lombardi hated it so much he used it as motivation to like get to the Super Bowl. Being like, you don't want to have to fucking go play in this game.

[Dale]

You want to play in the losers game.

[Big Cat]

No, but I wish they had bring this back like AFC UnitedC championship game week before. Just play a third place game.

[Dale]

I mean that would make the Pro bowl look like playoff speed.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

The third and fourth place teams that definitely don't want to be there.

[Big Cat]

And it also would just be like we get a definitive answer. You were. How close were you to winning a Super Bowl? Right.

[Dale]

You could probably say if one team beats the other team by a significant margin in the Bert. With the Burt Bud.

[Big Cat]

Bert Bell Benefit Bowl.

[Dale]

The Burt Bell Benefit Bowl.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

If one team blows the other one out, then you could see those results and be like, well, we would have beaten that team. So really the NFC Championship game was the Super Bowl.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. It also is partially responsible for the Dolphins becoming a franchise because they used to play in Miami. So. And they're like, hey, we should get a team here. Kind of cool.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. The Burt Bell Benefit Bowl.

[Max]

Burt Bell was the fifth NFL commissioner, if anyone's wondering.

[Big Cat]

Oh, I was, I was wondering.

[Max]

He introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's commercial viability and promote its popularity.

[Big Cat]

I.

[Max]

Sounds like just some mumbo.

[Dale]

It's.

[Max]

It's marketing resume. Yeah.

[Dale]

Yeah. Marketing was. They came up with that one.

[Max]

I think he introduced competitive parody means. Hey, we should.

[Big Cat]

Should.

[Max]

These games should be better.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Yeah. I would not the best players.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Stop. Stop letting the teams just draft players from their region so we can make some of these teams better.

[Dale]

Would you want to have a third place game named after you? No, I don't think I would.

[Big Cat]

Definitely not. But it is a good name. Burpell and yeah. Lombardi used to call it the Shit Bowl. Now Losers bowl for losers. Okay.

[Dale]

So what they should actually do, though, is they should do the. The last team. The team that's slated at number one in the draft.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Dale]

The team that slotted number two in the draft.

[Big Cat]

I agree with that.

[Dale]

And have them play. And then the winner of that would get the number one overall draft pick.

[Big Cat]

I agree with that. That would be very fun. But yeah. The Burt Bell Benefit Bowl. Okay. Let's do the regular slate. Start with Bills at Colts. We don't know. Keon Coleman might be banged up. Amari Cooper obviously missed last week. He might miss again. The Colts didn't reach the red zone last week against the Vikings. That's not good.

[Dale]

Not good.

[Big Cat]

I weirdly think this might be a good spot for the Colts.

[Dale]

So I was thinking about Jonathan Taylor because the last time they played, I think Taylor had 185 yards and five touchdowns. Now you look at the quarterback and they're going to go with Flacco. They're going to stick with Flacco. Under Flacco, Taylor has 29 rushes for 106 yards.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah.

[Dale]

3.6 yards per carry. Yep. Under Richardson, he's got 76 rushes for 396 yards, 5.2 yards per carry.

[Big Cat]

Which makes sense.

[Dale]

It does. He's. He's a much, much more efficient run.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Anthony Richardson opens. Opens everything up. You got to be worried about him running as well.

[Dale]

So what they have to do is they have to get Flacco on the move early.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Do. Do like a little RPO with Flacco and just make the defense think that maybe Joe Flacco is going to run at some point during the game and then Jonathan Taylor will be much better.

[Big Cat]

I like the Colts in this game simply because when you make the switch to Joe Flacco, you're essentially saying we have to make the playoffs this year. Yeah. Cause you wouldn't make it otherwise. So you're like, hey, we're making the switch. We're going to try to get to the playoffs this year. This is a must win for the Colts. Also kind of a weird spot for the Bills and the fact they just played the Dolphins at home, they essentially wrapped up the AFC east and they have the Chiefs on deck. So I don't, I don't think the Colts are better than the Bills, but I just. I don't know. Plus four feels like a game. Maybe the Colts. Maybe Hungry Dog. Do you decide on the Hungry Dog?

[Max]

I haven't decided, but I was not thinking Colts. Colts. Although it's. If Anthony Richardson plays.

[Big Cat]

Oh, you want Anthony Richardson.

[Dale]

That boost it up.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Okay.

[Dale]

So I think that the Colts are going to be able to run the ball.

[Max]

I mean, not be able.

[Dale]

No matter who's the quarterback. It's bad. It's a bad, bad stat to have from a game. You don't even get close to really scoring a touchdown or even like a good look at the end zone.

[Max]

And to your Drake May point from earlier in the year, it's like, just play him.

[Dale]

Why?

[Max]

If you're, if you have them.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, play him. I agree. Well, they're trying to make the playoffs.

[Max]

But you can't even get in the red zone.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No.

[Max]

So play your, you know, future.

[Dale]

The thing about the Colts is if they are trying to get to the playoffs, they're. They're like the perfectly average team in the NFL. I think that they can beat any bad team. I think that they can. They can compete against good teams, too. They can lose by one score to most teams in the NFL. But the, like, the position you have yourself in with Joe Flacco starting is you're going to just sell out to make the playoffs as potentially the last seed in the playoffs and probably losing the first round.

[Big Cat]

Correct.

[Dale]

Which will make your draft pick so much worse.

[Big Cat]

Correct.

[Dale]

If you had just played Anthony Richardson.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. It makes no sense.

[Dale]

Yeah. What's the best case scenario for Flacco?

[Big Cat]

The only thing it would have made sense if they traded Anthony Richardson.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Because then it would be like, yeah, we're done. And we're. We're fully done. From my friends at Sports Info Solutions, if the Colts do go too high trying to limit Josh Allen's passing, the Bills are the best running team against too high and the Colts are the worst defensively in that formation. So maybe some James Cook overs.

[Dale]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

Just something to think about. Just putting a little nugget in your head. I also had this One Jordan Phillips on the Bills this week said he's an acquired taste and they like how I taste. Talking about the Bills.

[Dale]

Okay, so the.

[Big Cat]

What do you got? What do you guys think you taste like?

[Dale]

No comment.

[Big Cat]

I don't think I taste good.

[Dale]

No, I can't.

[Big Cat]

Reese. Yeah.

[Dale]

How much pineapple have I had that day?

[Big Cat]

Cheetos. Maybe some Cheetos.

[Dale]

Yum. Salty.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Salty and sweet.

[Big Cat]

But that's a very funny quote to say I'm an acquired taste and they like how I taste.

[Dale]

So how long has he been on the Bills? How long does that mean that they hated him?

[Big Cat]

I think he's just an acquired taste. He's just someone who, you know, it takes. Takes a while to get used to this type of taste. And he's been on the Bills this year. Just this year.

[Dale]

So since they like how he tastes.

[Big Cat]

Actually, he was. Was he traded this year? He was traded this year.

[Dale]

That's where the acquired comes from.

[Big Cat]

He's got the acquired taste.

[Dale]

They literally acquired him.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, they acquired the taste. Oh, no. He's been on the Bills multiple times. I'm sorry. He's been on the bill three different times. So they must just keep wanting to come back for the taste.

[Dale]

They keep acquiring them.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Over and over again.

[Big Cat]

He's gone Dolphins, Bills, Cardinals, Bills, Giants, Cowboys, Bills. Yeah.

[Dale]

He's like, malort.

[Big Cat]

They can't get rid. They can't. They can't stop thinking about the taste of Jordan Phillips. Yeah.

[Dale]

Well. What? They get a taste of him and then they're like, I'm never tasting this again.

[Big Cat]

The after.

[Dale]

Never drinking again.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

And then a year later they're like, I might as well take one more shot.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. He was released right before the trade deadline and the Bills picked him back up. So yeah, they. They just keep coming back for more tastes.

[Dale]

So what are going to do about the tickets this weekend? Bills at Colts. We got two Colts tickets. What about Colts fans? First person, send a video of them throwing somebody through a table or getting thrown through a table or pit.

[Max]

Just find a. Find a pit somewhere.

[Big Cat]

Pit.

[Dale]

Find a pit.

[Big Cat]

What about just a Colts fan? If we have maybe a Colts fan who also is a Josh Allen fan, how they would prove that? I don't know. Maybe if they have a Josh Allen jersey.

[Max]

Courts fan. Colts fan with a horse.

[Big Cat]

Colts fan with a horse. Oh, I like that. Yeah, I like that.

[Dale]

If you can fight or just really a picture of you riding a horse.

[Big Cat]

Ah. What about a Colts fan with a Buffalo?

[Max]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

If there's any out there that Gets.

[Dale]

Number one backup is going to be Colts fan with a horse.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

You get two tickets to the game.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Next game. Hank. Patriots at Bears. I think the Bears could lose this game.

[Max]

I don't want that to happen. I'm going to bet this will not be in the Hunger Dog. I'm going to place a large.

[Big Cat]

Wait, you control the.

[Max]

I know. I'm saying I'm going to.

[Big Cat]

You're going to bet that it's not in the Hungry Dog. You decide.

[Max]

No, it's not. I said it's not going to be in Hungry Dog, period. I'm going to bet big. Patriots plus six.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Okay.

[Max]

Because then I think the Patriots can keep it close, cover that. But I, I don't want.

[Big Cat]

I like, I hope the Bears show up in the. And I'm. I'm wrong about them quitting. The DJ Moore fallout has been weird. Even more. He came, he did a. He did an interview and was like, yeah, I got injured on that play. Still a lot of smoke there. Yeah.

[Dale]

They were asking about losing the locker room and he was kind of non committal about that.

[Big Cat]

Said he doesn't want to say that.

[Dale]

Yeah. Which means that he wants to say it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he wants to say it. Bears getting a little bit healthier on the offensive line. I think Montez sweat will be back. I think Gordon will be back. I don't know. I just. They got to win this game by three touchdowns for me to feel anything. Three touchdowns for me to feel, like, excited because next week is packers and the onslaught of the NFC North. So I know what's coming. They have to look so good that I have no choice but to say the Bears are back and I feel really good about the rest of the season.

[Max]

On the flip side, is there. What percentage hope or like desire is there for the Patriots to win by like three touchdowns and Huber Fluss is gone?

[Big Cat]

They've never fired a coach midseason.

[Max]

So what percent if I thought they.

[Big Cat]

If I thought there was a chance they would fire him, that would be a nice consolation prize.

[Max]

After long, though, there's rumblings, but there's been street.

[Big Cat]

But there's been rumblings before and it just doesn't. It doesn't. They don't. They're cheap.

[Dale]

Are the rumblings in the room with you right now? Because I feel like the rumbling streets, though.

[Max]

I mean, I just rumble in the rumblings. Driving down the street and people stop my car and say, hey.

[Dale]

I think they're from people that talk into a microphone for a living. He's saying they want him fired.

[Big Cat]

He's saying the rumblings are coming out of my mouth.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Which they are, but they're also not because he's not going to get fired. But that would be the smart thing. If they lost this game. It would be smart for the Bears to move on from Matt Eberfluss and then get a jump start on whoever's going to be next, which. That will be a disaster in its own right.

[Dale]

I'm guessing it's not possible to hire a coach who's under contract for another team in the middle of the season. Mike Rabel, Mike Vrabel, he's out there. Listen, he's a console. Mike Vrabel is an independent contractor right now.

[Big Cat]

I love the Bears. Hire Mike Vrabel. I don't think they'd hire Mike Vrabel. I don't think they'll ever hire an alpha who is bigger than the organization. Ever since Dicka, that just won't happen. They're just going to find. Hire someone. Meek and Schefter has just been on an assault train. He said that Ben Johnson is. If he's like, if there's eight interview openings, Ben Johnson will not talk to all eight. Whoever he talks to is someone that he's expecting to take the job, essentially saying he's not going to go to the Bears.

[Dale]

Okay. So I know why you would think that, but I also saw no less than three different franchises thinking that that was about them.

[Big Cat]

Who else?

[Dale]

So I saw the Jaguars.

[Big Cat]

That probably is about them.

[Dale]

Thinking that it was about them.

[Big Cat]

But it could be. But that was kind of what Shefter was saying. Yeah, he was saying there could be eight openings and Ben Johnson could only take two interviews.

[Dale]

Yeah. And then I saw the jets thinking that Adam Shefter was probably about them as well. So he's sending a message to all the dysfunctional franchises.

[Big Cat]

Don't you. Don't get your hopes up. This guy is. Has the pick of the litter and he's not going to go somewhere where he thinks he can fail.

[Dale]

Counterpoint, you got Caleb Williams. Yeah, right. Like any other franchise. I guess you could say that same thing for. For the Jaguars. They have Trevor Lawrence, who would probably be an interesting project for, like, a good offensive mind. Aaron Rodgers would be the same way, but he's old.

[Big Cat]

They've taken the fight out of me. I don't know what to say. Taking the fight out of me.

[Dale]

So there's. There's no bad blood between you and Hank right now?

[Big Cat]

No, I have no fight left. This is the game to recharge my fight.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

If they win this game convincingly, my fight will be recharged for the Packers. If they squeak out a win or lose this game, I will continue to have no fight.

[Dale]

I have a question for the producers. A part of my take.

[Max]

Yes.

[Dale]

From a production standpoint and a numbers standpoint, what is the optimal outcome for this game? Is it for. For Hank's Patriots to just crush Big Cat's dreams?

[PFT]

Yes.

[Dale]

Or is it for.

[Big Cat]

Thanks man, Big Cat?

[Dale]

Or is it for Big Cat to beat the fuck out of Hank and.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

All the shit to him?

[Big Cat]

No. I'm not even gonna talk shit because I do. I don't. I season is just fucked up beyond belief. Fubar.

[Hank]

I want, I need, I need you to be excited for the Packers.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. That's what, that's. That's what the sickos are wanting.

[Hank]

I want you to win by 14. I don't know if the.

[Big Cat]

If the sickos and perverts are rooting for a Bears resounding victory because knowing how my brain works and how reactionary I am, I will get myself hyped to be like, we're going to beat the Packers.

[Hank]

You want me to tell you what I really want?

[Big Cat]

What?

[Hank]

I want to make a remake of the. Of the last year.

[Big Cat]

What?

[Hank]

Remember that, that, that clip that we made of you going back and forth on whether.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. That's what's going to happen. I know that's going to happen. I mean it is. It's a week to week league for me. Although this year it's not been a roller coaster. It's been a, like, it's been. It's been like the first part of a roller coaster. I just went up, up, up and then straight down. It hasn't been back up.

[Hank]

No. We could get some clips from that Titans game.

[Big Cat]

No, because I was like, I mean we won that game.

[Hank]

Yeah. But middle of the game.

[Big Cat]

But I still was, I still was staying positive. It was week one. You need for the clip to actually work. I need to go back up. I'm.

[Dale]

There was going down right now in the Jaguars game. There was a little bit of up.

[Big Cat]

No, I'm saying, I'm saying the season has been like a little steady. Up, up, up, up. And now it's going down.

[Dale]

We.

[Big Cat]

For Max to make the clip. He needs me to go back up again.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Because otherwise it's just going to be me. It's just one clip of me going up and then just straight down.

[Hank]

Correct.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So you need a You need a big win and me to be excited about the Packers. Then we lose to the packers and I'm back down. Yeah, but I'm not. I'm not allowing my. I'll say 14. Actually. 17. I'll say I'll settle for 17. 17 will be hopes up. 17 will be hopes.

[Dale]

Longest home winning streak in the NFL.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, nine games. Can't win on the road. Can't win on the road. Okay, next game. Broncos are Chiefs. Chiefs are plus 56 point differential, which is the lowest for an undefeated team through eight games.

[Dale]

Interesting. So there are 25 teams since 1979 that started the season 8 and 0. If you go off DVOA, the Chiefs would be 18th. So they'd be kind of in the middle. Yeah, on that one.

[Big Cat]

But I still think they're the best team and not named the Lions.

[Dale]

Yeah. If they. If they had to score 40 points a game to win some of these games, they probably would be able to figure out a way somehow.

[Big Cat]

Right. If they have to have a third down, they'll get a third down. I'm very curious to see how Bo Nick bounces back. And if the Broncos, because we. That was a step up in class last week, they got smoked. I do think you're never as bad as you were the week before. So maybe we get a good Broncos performance here. I. The only thing that is making me want to Hank maybe go Bo Nicks in the Hungry Dog.

[Max]

That I don't know.

[Big Cat]

Okay. The only thing that's.

[Max]

That was. That was hard last week.

[Big Cat]

The only thing that's making me think that is the Chiefs, I believe, are 8 point favorites right now. How many people conservatively in America are going to tease the Chiefs?

[Dale]

All of them.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Everyone's looking at and being like, all right, tease the Chiefs. Find another leg. Good to go. That's. That's the only thing that's making me think maybe the Broncos have a chance in this game, which is a dumb logic thing and also not in any type of analysis that is worth anything.

[Dale]

Also, the Broncos defense plays well against the Chiefs.

[Big Cat]

They do.

[Dale]

Last year they beat them. They played really well Both games. Both games. The defense was awesome against the Chiefs.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you're right.

[Max]

Could just do a hungry horse.

[Dale]

Okay.

[Max]

Broncos. Colts.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Max]

You said you like the Colts. It's a good spot for them. Something to think about. Something to think about.

[Big Cat]

I also, I mean, I have stats for the Chiefs. The. From Sports Info Solutions. Spags defense brings extra rushers a lot. And The Chiefs are 10 top 10 in success rate when bringing extra rushers in the Broncos offense is bottom 10. So if they blitz Bo Nicks, it could be a long day.

[Dale]

Yeah, Bo Nicks, man, there's something about him. I feel like if the defense can play good, I. Having Bo Nicks be the first person to beat Patrick Mahomes this season would be like a perfect bow.

[Big Cat]

Oh, so great. It'd be so great. But I. I don't think it's gonna happen, but we'll see. Okay, next up, game. I'm very excited to talk about. Ready for this Hank game I'm very excited to talk about. What game do you think I'm going to say?

[Max]

Falcon Saints.

[Big Cat]

Yes, that's exactly what I was going to say. It's not a lie. I've done my research on Darren Rizzi, and I think I'm going to take.

[Dale]

The Saints, so I've done some, too. What did you pull up?

[Big Cat]

All right, so I got a few. Foster Moreau said that for those of you that know Darren Rizzi, he's an unbelievable leader of men. Also, Darren Rizzi changed the layout of the locker room.

[Dale]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

So he got all the position groups together, which.

[Dale]

It makes you wonder why the position groups weren't together to begin with.

[Big Cat]

They said maybe a Covid thing.

[Dale]

It was a Covid thing. So during COVID they spaced. They mixed up all the position groups, so that way you couldn't have, like, hypothetically, Blake Bortles coming in to play for your team and then he gets the entire quarterback room.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Dale]

He might just be sitting next to, like, a backup tight end or something around. Hypothetically, if Blake Bortles had happened to be on the Saints at any time during COVID season.

[Big Cat]

Right. Hypothetically. He also said, I can promise a lot. I can promise passion, or I can't promise a lot. I can promise passion, and I can promise fight. I think you can win a football game of passion and fight.

[Dale]

But he went back in that press conference and he said, again, like, you will see my team play with fight and passion.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Those are, like, his two key words that he zero, dead on. I've got another thing about old Riz, the Rizzler.

[Big Cat]

All right, I got two more as well, but you go with yours.

[Dale]

Okay. So this is huge. They've added some sports science to their regimen.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Dale]

And by that, I mean they're doing an activation period before every practice and every game. Oh, what is an activation period, you might ask? It's warming up. It's stretching. It's getting a. They weren't going. They were not stretching before games.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Dale]

So he has added in stretching, which is huge. That's got to be worth something.

[Big Cat]

Very important. Very important.

[Dale]

The Saints haven't been injured or banged up or anything this season.

[Big Cat]

No, not at all.

[Dale]

So I feel like this is a good thing that the. A professional football team is now stretching before games.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, they're stretching.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Okay. I like that. My other two, the Rizzler's. Darren Rizzler stats. He's a disciple of Dan Campbell. He considers Dan Campbell a mentor. They had a long conversation. He said it was a great conversation. He also talked to Bill Parcels and then my last one. And this is kind of the cherry on top for Will. I won't I bet on a interim head coach. I need some type of weird. Not deformity, but something that's a little off. Darren Rizzi's ears are fucked up.

[Dale]

Yeah, they are.

[Big Cat]

I don't know what the fuck is going on with his ears. No offense to his ears. I don't know if you can pull it up. Memes. Max just went. I don't know where he went, but they are like elf ears. He's. Yeah, like, I tried to look up if he was a wrestler, but they're not cauliflower ears. They're just. Look, they're too low set. Yeah.

[Dale]

No, he literally has low pad level on his ears.

[Big Cat]

He looks like a Mr. Potato Head with the ears put on backwards.

[Dale]

I don't know how much more we should talk about.

[Big Cat]

Is he.

[Dale]

I don't know what the. Like, the reason why his ear. If he just has low ears.

[Big Cat]

I think you talk about his ears because I don't think those ears can hear.

[Dale]

I don't think that those ears can with withhold a pair of sunglasses.

[Big Cat]

Right. No, it looks like. It looks like he was wearing sunglasses made out of tungsten. Yeah. Or that's what happened. Or like a.

[Dale]

He just wore hats his entire life.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

And they just beat the ears down into submission. He's got, you know those sunglasses that. That Oakley made for a little bit that wrap around the top of the head?

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Dale]

That's what he has to wear on the sidelines.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he. His ears are something else. Again, no offense to Darren Rizzi. We're betting on him and I like him, but. Yeah, your ears, man. I like. I like that he's got bad ears.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

It makes it more interesting. Yeah. He also tried to come to Dennis Allen's defense and fight Arthur Smith. Who? Arthur Smith's a friend. But I do like to Fight out of him.

[Dale]

Yeah, it's good. He also, he trolled Tommy DeVito before their game last season. You remember that?

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Dale]

He wore like the rival high school T shirt. He was a New Jersey high school off. So we've got a proud Italian in Rizzi.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So I. Darren Rizzi. As for the Falcons, I mean, listen, if this were not an interim head coach game, I would probably hammer the Falcons. I think they're going to have a field day with what the Saints do defensively and they don't do a lot and they don't do it well. The Falcons run 87% of their plays out of 11 personnel and the Saints are worse at defending. 11 personnel. Sorry. 26th in the NFL. So really bad. Really bad at defending. 11 personnel. I don't know. Drake London not playing, I would assume.

[Dale]

I don't think that he is.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

So maybe, maybe Lava not playing.

[Big Cat]

Lobby. Definitely not playing. He's seeing a specialist. Pretty scary. I think that's his fourth concussion in three years, so. Yeah, that doesn't feel like a good situation.

[Dale]

It's a rivalry game. Like these two teams, actually they do hate each other. Every time they play, it seems like something happens.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Dale]

And I, I feel like this, this three week window for the Saints is Derek Carr's only opportunity to get away from seeing what mean people are saying about him, specifically his former teammates.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

So this is a three hour gap in his week where he won't have to worry about reading Michael Thomas saying anything mean about him.

[Big Cat]

But he probably knows while he's playing.

[Dale]

That it's happening like every time if he throws a pick, I think he thinks about Michael Thomas before he gets to the sidelines.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. I'm. If Drake London is not playing, which I believe he won't be, I'm. Pitts. It's a Pitts game. Calling it right now. Kyle Pitts vibes.

[Max]

You love Pitts.

[Big Cat]

I do love Pitts. I love everyone on the Falcons. I've always been obsessed with Falcons first round picks. This goes back for like 10 years. They just accumulate first round picks. And I am a draft guru at heart where if you're a first round pick, you're really, really good for the rest of your life in my eyes. And even after your bus, I'm like, I mean, I still think Kevin White could be explosive on the field.

[Dale]

Well, every Falcons first round pick on offense just looks awesome when you wear the Falcons uniform.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Like this guy's fast and strong.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So I, Yeah, I believe in the Falcons. Kirko he's playing well.

[Dale]

Kirko. Opportunity to walk in the trap.

[Big Cat]

He's playing well. Okay. 49ers at Bucks. Henry, is Christian McCaffrey playing?

[Max]

Yeah, I think he is.

[Big Cat]

Oh, okay.

[Dale]

Brought per you. This is per you.

[Big Cat]

Not the worst from the man who brought you. Christian McCaffrey might retire. He is now bringing you. I never said that he might play.

[Max]

Never said that. It's. Look, it looks like he's playing okay. From what I've seen.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Max]

I feel like he's playing, and I'm happy. I didn't say that he was going to retire because I would look really dumb.

[Dale]

Yeah, you wouldn't. I feel like a lot of tight ends in this game. Otten and Kittle.

[Big Cat]

Problem with Otten is Fred Warner.

[Dale]

Yeah, that's true.

[Big Cat]

Just throw it out there. I like the 49ers in this game off.

[Dale]

But who else do the Bucs have, really?

[Big Cat]

They don't have anyone else.

[Dale]

Yeah. So it's like they're gonna.

[Big Cat]

Sterling Shepard.

[Dale]

They're gonna have to scheme. Open up.

[Big Cat]

No, they don't have Scotty Miller anymore. I think he's on the Steelers.

[Dale]

He is.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Bucky, I think this is. This. I think this is a 49ers reset. Like, the 49ers went on a buy. They've had a tough start to the season, but they look up and no one in the division is right there.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

You know what I mean? Like, they. They don't. They. They're not sitting there. It'd be one thing if they were 4 and 4 and there was a 7 and 1 team in their division. That's not the case. I think they have everything in front of them, and this is where they start playing good football.

[Dale]

And this is the classic Kyle Shanahan position to be in.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

If you look back at his career as a head coach before the buy, what is it? The record is 500 right now, right?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

That's actually an improvement of what they usually are before the buy.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Dale]

Because they're usually a 400 football team before the buy. And then over the course of his career, after the buy, there are 700 football teams.

[Big Cat]

This is where he starts cooking.

[Dale]

So this is legitimately the place that you can point to every year and be like, after this little mini break, they're just going to run the table.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And I just. I feel like the Bucks, they've had really good effort the last couple of weeks. Although the Falcons game was closer than It. Like, the final score was closer than what the actual play was I just think this might be where it just. It's like, damn, I wish we had Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out here. Because we don't. We can't go blow for blow with the 49ers, especially if CMC is back.

[Dale]

And if you play as well as they played against the Chiefs and then you, you lose and you don't go for it at the end. I feel like that's a very deflated way to lose a football game. Oh yeah, I should specify with the Kyle Shanahan thing. It's true that all of his teams improve like drastically after the buy, like night and day football teams. But the first game after the buy, he's not like that great. I think he's 4 and 3 in that very first game.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Dale]

But just look for this, the season to start improving now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, the four nines are going to go on a little run. All right, Biggest game of the. Of the noon slate. Steelers or Commanders game will be sound. How many games do we have at noon? I think seven.

[Dale]

I think there are four buys this week.

[Big Cat]

I think I.

[Dale]

There might be four buys plus Germany.

[Big Cat]

Are there four by. Yeah.

[Dale]

The Raiders, the Seahawks, the packers.

[Big Cat]

One, two, three, seven, four seven. Perfect. So we'll have all the games on and we'll do sound for Steelers commanders. I am very excited for this game because I think this is a like not a measuring stick because I think both these teams are good. I think it's going to be like wit which one is more for real? And when I say which one is more for real, I'm talking about the commander's offense or the Steelers defense.

[Dale]

Yeah, I think whichever team wins this game, I think that team is going to win their division.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And I think that I think they could maybe be thinking soupy. So the reason why I say specifically the Steelers defense, the commander's offense, because you could look at it and say the Steelers defense has faced the following quarterbacks. Kirk Cousins first game back after Achilles, Bo Nick's rookie, a very hurt Justin Herbert, Anthony Richardson, the 17th best quarterback in Dak Prescott, Gardner Minshew, Aaron Rodgers and Daniel Jones, not exactly Jaden Daniels been playing better than all the guys I just listed. And then on the other side, the commander's offense has not faced a top 10 in DVOA defense. The best defense they faced was the Bears who, you know, they scored one touchdown at the end of the game. The Steelers the 8th best defense. DVOA. So is it the Steelers defense is a little bit worse than we think or Is the Commander's offense a little bit worse than we think? That's where I'm excited to find this out. Yeah.

[Dale]

And the Commanders best win the season you could make the argument has been their loss to the Ravens.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

That was like, the thing that you can point out and be like, this is how. This is why we think that the Commanders are a legitimately good football team and not just beating up on a relatively soft schedule because they've beaten a lot of bad teams for sure. And to have Pittsburgh come into Washington, it's tough because Pittsburgh, they. They bring their towels. There have been numerous games where it's been the Steelers at whatever Washington name is in place at that point where they've had to go to a hard count at home.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

And there's a little bit of towel judo going on this week. So the Commanders are passing out burgundy towels and hoping that when the yellow towels are waving, the burgundy ones are also waving.

[Big Cat]

It's going to be cool. Autumn tree, so.

[Dale]

Or it looks like the Redskins Commanders colors.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Dale]

Burgundy and gold.

[Big Cat]

This is a foliage game.

[Dale]

Yeah. They're like, we can't keep the towels out, but if we add our towels.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Then it'll look like your towels are actually our towels.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Well, unless there's more terrible towels.

[Dale]

Unless there's. Well, if there's like way more yellow.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Then. Then it's an issue. But keep your eyes on. On the towel storyline.

[Big Cat]

The Commanders. Sorry. Mike Tomlin, by the way, is career 26 and six straight up in games against rookie quarterbacks. And also, this is obviously a Mike Tomlin road underdog spot where he's 41, 28 and one against the spread.

[Dale]

Yeah. So Mike Tomlin underdog on the road off a buy. Off a buy where The Steelers are 13 and 4 after the buy under Tomlin. This. I. I don't feel comfortable about this game and I'm. I'm very uncomfortable about T.J. watt because he. He does bad things to good quarterbacks.

[Big Cat]

The commanders are 11 for 11 on fourth down this year, which is. Leads the league pretty crazy.

[Dale]

Yep. And we got Latimore. I don't know if Lattimore is going to be playing this weekend. Yeah, I figured that when we got him, it was going to be the Devonte Adams situation where he's like, oh, my hamstring is actually good. It's the elevation that made it better. I want to kiss guys and my hamstring doesn't hurt anymore. But I don't know if he's going to be playing or if he's going to be playing, like, a meaningful amount.

[Hank]

I asked you that question, like, seriously the other day, and you just laughed in my face.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Is that true?

[Dale]

I did.

[Hank]

Oh, it's a hamstring. I'm sure that hamstring really feels good.

[Dale]

That's a very accurate representation.

[Big Cat]

What were you going to say about this game, Max? Jerry versus PFT in the. In the gambling cave.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Jerry's nervous. No, he's not. He's not at all.

[Jerry]

No, no, he's nervous. He was like, do I give it to him the way that you gave. I gave it to you, or will he give it back to me? Because I'm nervous.

[Dale]

I'll give it to Jerry. If Jerry wants to give to me, I'll give it right back.

[Max]

There's gonna be a lot of given in that cave on Sunday at 12 o'clock.

[Dale]

A lot of giving.

[Hank]

I think we will find out a lot about both teams in this.

[Big Cat]

That's what I'm saying.

[Dale]

It's.

[Big Cat]

It's. It's seriously, like, if the commander's offense looks incredible, I'm going to be like, holy shit, they're a lot better than I even expected. I think they're very good. And the Steelers defense is maybe a little fraudulent. And if it's the reverse, if the Steelers defense dominates and be like, damn, this Steelers defense might be the best defense in the league.

[Dale]

Yeah, that's.

[Big Cat]

That's where the. Like, the. I love this matchup, and I love. I can't wait to watch this game. Yeah.

[Dale]

Jerry asked me earlier in the week, before the trade deadline, if I would call DK Metcalf for him and see if he would like to be traded to the Steelers. And I said, jerry, I can't. I can't do that because we're playing this weekend.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

He understood. He understands it.

[Big Cat]

Like, fair. Jerry said fair.

[Dale]

Jerry and I are not friends this week.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And that's fair. He said fair.

[Max]

Terrible towels.

[Dale]

What about it?

[Max]

You guys are doing the terrible towels?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Max]

The maroon towels?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Burgundy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dale]

We discussed the whole towel situation.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dale]

I might have to get a towel.

[Max]

You should.

[Dale]

I will.

[Big Cat]

Jerry would not like that. He's gonna have to bring his towel.

[Dale]

These things could get messy.

[Big Cat]

Things could get real messy. Better off. I'll bring Stu's 15, 1530 towel.

[Dale]

There you go, comrade. It will be chaos in the. In the gambling cave, though, because it'll be me and Jerry yelling at each other, sitting right next to each other, and then it's going to Be Hank and Big Cat.

[Big Cat]

My game.

[Dale]

Feeling each other out, how hard they should yell this again.

[Big Cat]

I have no fight. I have no fight. I don't want to say. I can't fake the fight.

[Max]

I got some fight. Okay, I'll bring the fight out.

[Dale]

Is this going to be like the NCAA tournament?

[Big Cat]

It totally depends on how they play. Like, if they. If the Bears come out and start playing, well, I will. I will rebuild my fight. My. I'm basically like. Like, I'm a like the Ninja Turtles game where my. My health is like. My health is like this. I need a couple pizzas. Yeah. And the pizzas are touchdowns. And if I can get the pizzas, my fight will come back and I'll be revived.

[Dale]

Just run over a stim kit real quick.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's how. That's how I feel right now.

[Hank]

Memes keeps talking about there's some terrible tal curse that if you try and mess with the juju.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's true.

[Dale]

That is true.

[Hank]

It's not good.

[Dale]

That is very, very true. That when you try to fuck with it. If you're the Tennessee Titans who fucked with it a couple times. I forget who else had disrespect for the terrible. I don't think I. I don't think that this is disrespect for the terrible towel. Is it?

[Max]

I think that we should get. We should figure it out. Either me and Jerry both do Steelers, Patriots and you two both do Commanders Bears or the opposite. Where me and pft both through Commanders Patriots, and you and Jerry both do Bears, Steelers.

[Big Cat]

What do you mean, do bet?

[Max]

Just. Just for. So it's just even more chaos.

[Hank]

I'm down to do Steelers, Patriots or steal it or Steelers Bears.

[Max]

We'll figure it out.

[Hank]

Either one of those, to be honest.

[Max]

But I think that would make it even more chaotic.

[Dale]

I'm okay with Commie's Bears.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Max]

Figure it out.

[Dale]

So, Meme, I just found this. Back in 2016, the Redskins did the burgundy towels and they lost 38 to 16.

[Big Cat]

Shit.

[Dale]

So we're bringing back losers. Losers. I've got a good scapegoat if we lose, though.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Towels.

[Dale]

It was a towel.

[Big Cat]

Vikings and Jaguars, are we getting Mac Jones?

[Dale]

I think it's going to be Mac.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's going to be hilarious. So Trevor Lawrence has a shoulder injury. Mac Jones. Now Hank that. Now you have another game.

[Dale]

Are you rooting for Mac?

[Max]

I got no bad blood towards Mack. I don't think he's going to win this game.

[Big Cat]

But is he. Is it official that it's not official.

[Max]

No, I think it is.

[Big Cat]

Oh, is it?

[Max]

I think. I think Trevor Lawrence is officially not playing.

[Dale]

I think that it. I saw a rap sheet say unlikely that Trevor Lawrence will play.

[Big Cat]

Is that. Is that baked in the line already or is the line move. I saw four and a half earlier. Oh, no, it's seven. Well, I got lucky with my picks earlier. Yeah.

[Dale]

The return of the Mac.

[Big Cat]

Okay, so Mack Jones, he's going to be in for it with the Brian Flores Blitz.

[Dale]

And they're playing with the White Helmets. The shell. White helmets for the Jags.

[Big Cat]

Can I see them, please? I would like to see the shell. Max, please pull up the shell. White helmets for the Jags. I'm going to give a gut instinct whether I like it or not. Just straight up. Let's see. Hit it. I like them now.

[Dale]

Don't be fooled by the Blur.

[Big Cat]

No. Yeah, that's. That's a guy. I. There's something about the teal and the white just kind of pop.

[Dale]

Yes. Show white, baby.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, let's see him.

[Dale]

See the Blur did a lot of work on it.

[Big Cat]

I'm taking it back. I'm walking it back. I just saw it in real life. I'm walking it back.

[Hank]

Did your gut, though?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but that was because of the Blur.

[Dale]

No, but yeah, the Blur, it was a icy, icy blur.

[Big Cat]

You can't do the Photoshop blur. I want to see it how it looks in person. And then you also have to think about Mac Jones wearing it.

[Dale]

Well, your gut reaction to it was when you saw Trevor Lawrence, you were like, yeah, but Mac Jones might look icy.

[Big Cat]

All right, wait, let's see this.

[Dale]

Oh, my teal of the mouth is pretty cool.

[Big Cat]

The teal is. Yeah. I wish there was a little more teal.

[Dale]

They should not call that shell white. Call that teal tongue.

[Big Cat]

Okay, I'll stick with it. I like it. Fine. I like it. Are they wearing white jerseys too, or.

[Dale]

No, I'm not sure.

[Big Cat]

And again, this is. I'm. People are going to be like, oh, well, you. You hated the Packers. White helmets. This is. This is the. My exact point. If you're the Jaguars, you're a franchise that should be like Oregon. You should just wear different uniforms every week. Yeah.

[Dale]

The Jagu.

[Big Cat]

You have no real history to fall back on here. You just do it.

[Dale]

It was like four years ago they had the two tone helmets, which was like half gold and half black.

[Big Cat]

The crazier, the weirder things that you do, the more I probably am in on it.

[Dale]

Yeah, those old ones, they used to look like Antonio Brown's mustache.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so. So you got to be on Mac watch now, too. Hank Mac Jones. I could.

[Max]

I might do Hungry Horse parlay and Hungry Cat parlay.

[Big Cat]

Hungry Cat parlay.

[Max]

Jack's Panthers.

[Dale]

Hungry Bird parlay.

[Max]

Are there two hungry Birds?

[Big Cat]

The Cardinals and the Seahawks on a buy you said.

[Dale]

I did not see the Seahawks.

[Big Cat]

The Cardinals, they're a bird.

[Dale]

You could also at some point do the hungry Pirate parlay to the uniforms.

[Hank]

Real quick. They are voting on how they want to wear.

[Big Cat]

Perfect.

[Hank]

It has to be black jerseys, but the team is voting for what they want for pant sock combo to be.

[Dale]

You can do that, I guess.

[Big Cat]

Jaguars, they can do anything.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Each player voted for their favorite pants last.

[Big Cat]

I don't.

[Hank]

They have to wear black jerseys.

[Big Cat]

I think you got to go all black.

[Hank]

All black looks sick.

[Big Cat]

All black. Or you got to go all white bottoms. The top left looks too much like a Panthers. Yeah, that's the Panthers.

[Hank]

Bottom right. I hate.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, bottom right and top left are bad. So it's all black or all white on the lower half. One of those two. All black looks good. Okay, that was. That was our jersey talk for the week. Vikings are good. And also Doug Peterson. Kind of a diss at Sam Darnold.

[Dale]

I would say so.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. They asked why is Sam Darnold turned around this year? And he just laughed. He said Justin Jefferson. But also not totally untrue.

[Dale]

Yeah, I think it's. That's very reasonable thing to say. But it was. Coaches usually don't say stuff like that before games. Yeah, they're usually like, well, he's playing very well.

[Big Cat]

Trevor Lawrence is going to be pissed off.

[Dale]

Trevor Lawrence, it's unfortunate that he's not playing because he is one of the best quarterbacks against the blitz. Yeah, you wouldn't know that, but he's really, really good for the last three seasons against the blitz. And that's obviously what Brian Flores is going to do.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Mack Jones against the blitz. I don't know, but I'm going to guess it's probably not great.

[Dale]

Probably not.

[Big Cat]

Probably not great.

[Dale]

But is it better than normal Mac Jones? That's really what we have to ask.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Like, is he better against the blitz than he is not against the blitz?

[Big Cat]

I just hope if Mac Jones plays, we get one funny interception or fumble.

[Dale]

Oh, you just for.

[Big Cat]

Just for throwback sake. Okay. Afternoon games. Titans at Chargers. Boys, this is a must win for our Chargers future. I think we all agree they got some tough games coming up. Uh, we're going to talk about it with Ron Rivera, which was an awesome interview, so make sure you listen. But the Titans have the second worst special teams all time, only to the 2010 Chargers, which was the team that went first in offense, first in defense, last in special teams and missed the playoffs at 9 and 7.

[Dale]

I think a lot of that is also baked into that Lions win.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Remember that when it was just.

[Big Cat]

No, I mean the. We blocked a punishment against them week one.

[Dale]

Yeah. It's true.

[Big Cat]

They've had some bad. And didn't the, didn't the jets run a punt back on them memes.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Or.

[Big Cat]

At least to like the 20 yard line in the Titans jets game? Giant, wasn't there a big special teams play? I want to say there was.

[Jerry]

We blocked the punt, too.

[Big Cat]

You might have blocked a punt. They're bad. They're bad.

[Jerry]

No, we blocked a punt.

[Big Cat]

We blocked. Yeah, yeah, they're bad special teams.

[Dale]

That 2010 Chargers special teams is like the. By far the worst.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

They were so, so bad that season. So to even be compared to them, you know that. They're bad.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And they, like, it's the weirdest stat that you had a team first in offense, first in defense, missed the playoffs. But if you look back at their games, you can point to like six games, like, oh, if our special teams wasn't the worst, we would have won this game. Yeah.

[Dale]

So the Titans are ranked first in total defense and they're ranked yards allowed, I think. Yeah, yeah. In total defense and then also first and pass defense.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. They're good defensively. That's why I can't quit them.

[Dale]

And they're allowing 26.6 points a game even though they have the best defense.

[Big Cat]

Short. Short fields.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I, I'm nervous about this game for the Chargers because it does feel a little bit like it's just going to be a bully ball fest back and forth.

[Dale]

Yeah. So if you're doing a visualization for this game, it feels like maybe Chargers 3, nothing in the first quarter.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

And then they score a touchdown in the second quarter, another field goal. So now you're looking at 13 to 0. And then they score another field goal at the start of the third quarter and then absolutely nothing happens after that. Yeah, they just run the ball punt like 60% of the time and go on one drive. That's like eight minutes long.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Dale]

And get zero points and they end up winning 20 to 0.

[Big Cat]

That feels right. I feel like you just said feels right.

[Dale]

Maybe 20 to 7.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that feels right. Okay. Eagles And Cowboys Dak hamstring torn off the bone. I feel like they just added that part so everyone could be like, oh, he's actually hurt.

[Dale]

No, when they. When they add that part to me, I think that sounds delicious.

[Big Cat]

Hamstring off the bone. Steve Young, by the way, speaking of delicious, he said this week on his radio hit, the Cowboys are so freaking cooked, which is about as much as Steve Young would ever swear.

[Dale]

Again. It sounds like something I want to eat.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Max, are you nervous about this game, Cooper Rush?

[Dale]

I.

[Hank]

The only nervousness comes from like. Yes, yes, I am nervous.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Hank]

But it's because it seems too easy.

[Big Cat]

It does. I've been. A.J.

[Hank]

Brown is back at practice.

[Big Cat]

I've been saying everywhere that Saquon's going to run for 200 yards because, I mean, the Cowboys can't stop the run and it's just going to be bully ball by the. By the Eagles.

[Hank]

So there's still something about playing, like, at Jerry where it's Cooper Rush, though. There's no way we can lose to Cooper Rush.

[Big Cat]

So.

[Dale]

You guys beat Cooper Rush the last time you played him, but Cooper Rush, I think he won his first four games when he came in as a backup last time. And if you're wondering, like, what peak Cowboys would be is they're. They're lower than you think that they can ever get right now. Like, everyone's given up on the season. If Cooper Rush comes in and has the offense looking competent, that is actually Pete Cowboys.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

When the backup quarterback that has like a third of the physical tools that Dak Prescott has comes in wins football games as Dak is very sadly recovering from a scrumptious sounding injury.

[Big Cat]

Yes. That is.

[Dale]

That is peak Cowboys right there.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Fun. Lane Johnson is a freak stat of the week. He's played in eight games this year and he's given up two pressures, not two sacks.

[Hank]

He's.

[Big Cat]

Two pressures.

[Dale]

He's so good.

[Big Cat]

Pressure pressures, not sacks pressures.

[Dale]

I'm actually so good here.

[Hank]

One of those was a sack, though.

[Big Cat]

Oh, okay.

[Hank]

Yeah. Just. Just saying.

[Big Cat]

Just that's. Hey, that's good accountability.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You.

[Dale]

Yeah, we could have skated by on that.

[Hank]

Yep. I. Yeah, that's me. You know, hand up Max.

[Big Cat]

So you think it's too easy, right? That's where it makes you scared.

[Hank]

Correct.

[Big Cat]

Would it be as easy as, like, Villanova beating an Ivy League team in basketball?

[Hank]

There's no way we talk about College Basketball on November 7th.

[Big Cat]

I'm asking in a scale of easiness when you're Villanova Basketball, home of many national titles. And you see an Ivy League school, not even a Princeton or a Yale who's been to the tournament. You see Columbia.

[Dale]

I thought they were playing a South American team. I thought that was like an exhibition.

[Hank]

I know.

[Big Cat]

How is it that easy?

[Hank]

I know how to tie this all around. During my thoughts last night. I'm going during my.

[Dale]

I love each other. His brain like it's a TV show.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Did you sit down and. You sat down and turned it on. You're like, all right, here we go.

[Max]

Thoughts time.

[Hank]

I was having thoughts. And I. I will. I will. I will not say a bad word about Nick Sirianni for the rest of the year.

[Big Cat]

What? Nah, that's bullshit.

[Hank]

I will not say a bad word about Nick Sirianni for the rest of the year.

[Big Cat]

That's as much bullshit as me saying I'm not going to tell myself to the Bears.

[Hank]

You don't have to watch Kyle Neptune coach bastard basketball.

[Big Cat]

Well, I. I actually could.

[Dale]

Do you think Cal Neptune's a worse coach than Nick Sirianni?

[Hank]

Without question.

[Big Cat]

Oh. What? Why would you say that? Have they lost this year?

[Hank]

They lose to everyone.

[Max]

He has more college basketball started.

[Big Cat]

Who'd you guys play? Was it preseason?

[Hank]

We lost to Columbia.

[Big Cat]

Columbia in two years and two games.

[Hank]

Kyle Neptune has lost seven games to teams above 100 on the Ken Palm. Jay Wright lost to two in his last nine years coaching there. Seven to two for four times as many years.

[Dale]

Did you pay them?

[Hank]

Yes.

[Dale]

You paid. You paid Columbia?

[Hank]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

Oh, by game. That's the epitome of brutality.

[Hank]

We pay our entire roster. Their roster pays to go to school.

[Dale]

Vilnova's. They should be a Fortune 500 company and they're not.

[Big Cat]

But okay. Kyle Neptune. Where did he coach before?

[Max]

Zone. It's November for them.

[Big Cat]

Who is like. Let's just look up, like, what?

[Hank]

He went 500 at Fordham.

[Big Cat]

All right. But Kyle Neptune's like, first game ever at Fordham. Who'd they play?

[Hank]

I don't know.

[Dale]

Let's just.

[Big Cat]

I mean, I. I'm trying to. I'm trying to spin this positively. Fordham. What year did he start at Fordham?

[Hank]

It was. He only coached there for one year.

[Big Cat]

What year was it? So pull up this Fordham schedule from what year?

[Hank]

If he start. I'm trying to do math.

[Big Cat]

Getting that.

[Hank]

Make it math done so it would in 2021.

[Big Cat]

Okay, so Paul Fordham's 2021 schedule.

[Hank]

21, 22 season.

[Big Cat]

Look, he can turn this thing around.

[Hank]

No, but this is three years in a row he lost a Portland his first year. He lost a last year and he.

[Big Cat]

Lost a Columbia first game. Because you can get better, dude. You can get better. His first game at Fordham doesn't. This is his first game at Fordham. Let's see. Pull it up. Are you going the right way?

[Hank]

I think. Wait, yeah, yeah. Okay, 20. Wait.

[Big Cat]

Oh, there's one. Oh, no. Just stop right there. There's one. I saw it. I'm doing bad November. Right there. November. Keep going, keep going, keep going. There it is. November 9, 2021. Fordham beat. Oh, Columbia.

[Dale]

Oh, shit.

[Hank]

So, okay, this is the bit that you were doing.

[Dale]

That's such a coincidence.

[Hank]

This was the bit that you were doing. I did not know that stat.

[Max]

That took so long.

[Big Cat]

It took way too long for Max to find it. He beat Columbia his first game ever in Fordham. Shit.

[Hank]

He gave up 90 points to Columbia at home. 90 points.

[Big Cat]

Shout out to AWO. Tagged me in that tweet last night. He was like, hey, Max, don't worry. Kyle Neptune, when his first game afford.

[Hank]

Him beat beat Columbia 90 points at home to Columbia.

[Dale]

So you're not going to say anything bad about Sirianni because nothing is so much worse.

[Big Cat]

He just needed Fordham's roster.

[Hank]

It just makes me want, like, wonder, like, I. Like, how can I be upset with Nick Sirianni for just continuing to win games?

[Dale]

Perspective.

[Hank]

When I root for a coach like Kyle Neptune, That's a really good perspective. Yeah, like, who is incapable of winning? It looks like an 8. I shouldn't be talking about Villanova. They look like an AAU team that just showed up and met each other for the first time. Like, it looks like they've never played basketball together. And I don't want to hear the. Every team in college basketball has brand new players because of the transfer portal. Figure it out, Max.

[Dale]

It's November, dude.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, we're talking about football.

[Hank]

You brought this up. You brought this.

[Dale]

You know how many people stop listening to the podcast? You want to talk about college basketball in early November?

[Hank]

Sixers are tanking.

[Big Cat]

Oh, man.

[Dale]

All right, so the Eagles.

[Big Cat]

The Eagles.

[Dale]

Quan got drug tested.

[Big Cat]

Oh, he did?

[Dale]

Yeah, after the back.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

I don't know if they were testing him for PEDs or testing them for just stuff that'll fuck you up and make you think that it's a good idea to jump over somebody backwards.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

But either way, yeah, he pissed in a cup this week. I like the Eagles, too, but again, I keep going back and thinking about Maximum Cowboys, and that would be to have Cooper Rush get in and look really good.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I'd agree with that. Maximum Cowboys. Sounds like a movie I don't want to watch.

[Dale]

That's what I'm thinking. What did, what did Skip call it? Supreme. This is supreme.

[Big Cat]

Supreme debate. Yeah.

[Dale]

Supreme Cowboys would be Cooper Rush getting in and winning by 10 points.

[Big Cat]

Also shot our guy Skip. He got hacked on Tuesday night. That was tough.

[Dale]

That was rough.

[Big Cat]

That was really, really, really tough. The only criticism I have of the hacker is you should have done the funny thing and started following people.

[Dale]

Yeah, that would have been good.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I really fucked with him.

[Dale]

One of the funniest part, he changed his avatar to LeBron James.

[Big Cat]

Oh, he did.

[Dale]

That was great.

[Big Cat]

Okay. That was good. Okay. Jets at Cardinals memes.

[Jerry]

Must win, Must win. I'm now, I'm now nervous that we're favorites. Oh, Sunday we were plus one and now we're minus one and a half.

[Big Cat]

Memes. I have some silver linings for you, okay? Trump. Donald Trump is now the President elect. He's going to be inaugurated on January 20th. Woody Johnson might become the ambassador UK again and that means he can't fuck up your team anymore.

[Jerry]

Yeah, but then we have Christopher Johnson.

[Big Cat]

Well, he's probably good. Is he related to Woody Brothers?

[Dale]

Ah, they're not gonna take him. What about Brick?

[Jerry]

Brick's probably gone. He's gonna go to Ireland unless we go on a run.

[Big Cat]

I saw Joe Douglas said when they asked him about his job, he said whatever happens, happens.

[Dale]

That's a good perspective to have on it.

[Big Cat]

Good vibes. Memes.

[Dale]

How do you feel about Malachi Corley?

[Jerry]

That was an asshole statement.

[Big Cat]

Just being what he said.

[Jerry]

He said he had over 200 plus touchdowns in his career. Just his playing football career. I don't, I shouldn't worry about crossing the goal line.

[Dale]

This is the first time out of 200 times where he's dropped it before.

[Big Cat]

Is he blaming the goal line? What I don't understand.

[Jerry]

He's just saying he just has to cross 6 inches and he'll be fine.

[Dale]

He's just like. That was out of character for me. I usually don't drop the ball before you get to the end zone.

[Jerry]

Just no accountability.

[Dale]

They don't talk about all the parades that JFK was in that ended safely, you know, And I think that's a bit unfair to the Secret Service.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I would agree. All the, all the challengers that didn't blow up.

[Dale]

Yeah, we ended up getting to the moon.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

But yeah, Corley, Corley is now. He's your third. Your number three. Now that Williams is going to number Two Corley. Yeah.

[Jerry]

He'll be behind Xavier Gibson.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Because Lazard's still hurt, right?

[Jerry]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

I think the jets will win this game. I think the Cardinals are very good team. The Cardinals still are not outside of playing the Bears. They don't rush the passer. Great. And Aaron Rodgers is still Aaron Rodgers when he has a clean pocket. It's when he gets chased around that he looks like old Aaron Rodgers.

[Jerry]

Aaron Rodgers still top 5 and everything right now, which is a good time.

[Dale]

Top five in everything.

[Big Cat]

Everything.

[Dale]

Soberest.

[Jerry]

Everything.

[Dale]

Crystal ownership.

[Jerry]

Crystal ownership. Yes.

[Dale]

Do you see that? When. When they brought Devonte over and he, like, went live on the McAfee show and they were interviewing Devonte and he had just a stack of crystals behind him because he was in Aaron Rodgers house. The healing crystals.

[Big Cat]

Vaccines.

[Jerry]

Not top five.

[Big Cat]

Okay, so not top five and everything.

[Dale]

Touchdowns, top five yards, top five completion percentage.

[Jerry]

Not sure. Top five with that.

[Dale]

But yards.

[Big Cat]

That was the third stat we gave you.

[Dale]

It's not a very common stat.

[Big Cat]

That wasn't. That wasn't a. We didn't really push you that hard there.

[Dale]

What about wins?

[Jerry]

Top 10.

[Big Cat]

Top 10 and wins AFC. Okay, just so we're clear, he is not top five in touchdowns. He is seventh. He is not top five in yards.

[Dale]

So none of that was true.

[Big Cat]

He's not top five in completion percentage. What was I looking at? He is not top.

[Dale]

You guys, I think this is kind of a sad point, and it took us this long to. To reach it, but I think Memes might be a Florio.

[Big Cat]

I think he might be a Florio. Yeah, he's just not.

[Dale]

It's all fake news.

[Big Cat]

Not top 5 completion percentage.

[Hank]

What number he is?

[Jerry]

I didn't say top five of that.

[Dale]

What is it?

[Big Cat]

But you said top five and everything. We have not.

[Dale]

He's 29th and you said he was top five.

[Big Cat]

We've yet. We've yet to find a stat that he's top five in. Damn it. Rating. He's not top five. Qbr. He's not top five. Maybe.

[Dale]

Maybe rushing yards. Big cat.

[Big Cat]

Longest pass. Not top five. Yards per game. Not top five.

[Jerry]

Damn it. I must have looked at it before they updated.

[Big Cat]

What did you look at?

[Jerry]

He's top seven.

[Big Cat]

He's not top five. He's top ten. Anything? He's top ten.

[Hank]

You looked at this after Thursday Night Football.

[Big Cat]

Yes, you did.

[Dale]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

Yes, you did. Yes, you did.

[Jerry]

Yeah. He was top two then.

[Big Cat]

Oh, my God. Memes. He is literally not top five in a single stat.

[Jerry]

Oh, this is embarrassing. All right, back to the game. We just have to stop the run. Cardinals have a great. Are great at running the football. We are bad at stopping the run.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

We just need to focus on stopping the run. And I think the offense will be fine now that we have a top 10 passer.

[Big Cat]

Top 10. Top 10.

[Dale]

Easily top 10.

[Big Cat]

Top 10.

[Dale]

Easily Top 10.

[Jerry]

Easily top 10.

[Big Cat]

And what stats is he top 10?

[Dale]

Oh, I can't believe I fucked that up. Is he actually top 10 in those times?

[Big Cat]

He is top 10 in yards, and he's top 10 in touchdowns. Top 10 in interceptions.

[Hank]

It was just after the Thursday Night Football before the rest of the team played.

[Dale]

That's exactly. Is he top 10 in interceptions or lack of interceptions?

[Big Cat]

No interceptions. He's top ten. He is nowhere.

[Jerry]

Oh, was it Monday Night Football?

[Big Cat]

He was nowhere close to top 10 in completion percentage. He's 28th.

[Dale]

Yeah. 28th. Pretty bad.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Wow. Okay.

[Jerry]

A lot of room for improvement. Just got to stop the run, and I think we just got to pick up momentum from Thursday Night Football in that second half, which was beautiful. Bring that in. Sunday, 4:00.

[Big Cat]

This is a tough game. The Cardinals are good. I'm not. I'm not sleeping on the Cardinals anymore. I. They're. They've, what, won three in a row now. James Connor's a beast, which James Connor should be able to run the ball at will on you guys. It's just whether your offense can get going.

[Dale]

Their. Their pass rush is not good either, so. Yeah, Rogers could have time.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right, last game. Lions. Texans. I don't want to do it again, but I kind of want to take the Texans. I've just been against the Lions every. And I'd say. I start every week with saying the Lions are the best team in the NFL. And then I'm like, ooh, three and a half at home for the Texans. Nico Collins might be back.

[Dale]

Yeah, I'm gonna pass something weird. I mean, the Texans wide receivers have been injured and they have not looked. There's not been a game where I. I've said to myself, damn, this Texans offense is in a rhythm right now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

And the Lions offense is always. They're never out of rhythm.

[Big Cat]

They're. They wake. They roll out of bed in rhythm.

[Dale]

Yeah. So what was it? Four. Four points?

[Big Cat]

Three and a half right now.

[Dale]

Three and a half points. I mean, it's a sucker bet. I feel like everybody's going to be betting on the Lions in this game, especially Sunday night. Sunday night, Houston is wearing its Battle Red uniforms. Ooh, the Battle Reds are out, which is. Which is cool. I think it's cool for a Sunday night game. The reflective red helmets. I don't know what the Lions are. Are they going to be wearing their blues? No, that'd be color rush. Right. So they can't do that. Yeah. Nonetheless, I still think that I'm going to. I'm going to continue to bet on the Lions.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I think I'm going to join you because I don't want to. I don't want to be an idiot anymore. I feel like an idiot every single time. But it. If there was a time the Texans would maybe bounce back, wouldn't it be this?

[Dale]

I mean, this is. It's a good time for everyone else to bet on the Texans. I'm going to be betting on the Lions because I'm a sucker, and I'm maybe the most public person in terms of, like, just finding these sucker lines and going for them.

[Big Cat]

Texas Texans defensive line getting after Jared. But Jared's so good. Doesn't matter. Yeah, doesn't matter.

[Dale]

I think he's on pace right now to have the highest completion percentage in NFL history.

[Big Cat]

I think that's Aaron Rogers. Oh, yeah.

[Dale]

It's true. Well, Jared's top five, which.

[Big Cat]

What a brutal top five for you.

[Dale]

Being number one is top five.

[Big Cat]

Top five in everything.

[Dale]

Yeah, that was. That was. I love the confidence with which you said it, too.

[Big Cat]

Everything.

[Dale]

And it took about two seconds to pick it apart.

[Hank]

Going from everything to nothing.

[Big Cat]

Nothing. It's just. It's brutal. We couldn't even find one without a single one. Everything. Still top five. He's top ten.

[Jerry]

He's top everything.

[Dale]

You are memes. You are a Florio.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Just spreading fake news the other way.

[Dale]

You either die of memes or you live long enough to become a Florio.

[Jerry]

I am Italian.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you are Italian. Italian. It's okay. Memes. All right. Can we win a TD parlay? Can we do it? Who's up? I think we all fucked up.

[Dale]

Last up.

[Big Cat]

I think we all lost.

[Dale]

Josh Allen.

[Hank]

Not me.

[Big Cat]

Oh, you had. You had Quan.

[Hank]

Quan.

[Big Cat]

All right, so Max stays in. Do you want to hop in for me? Hank, do you have someone you love? No, he doesn't. Okay. His brain froze.

[Dale]

Bijan.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Bijan Robinson.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Max]

Jane Daniels.

[Big Cat]

Are you sure?

[Max]

Yeah, I think he's going to be. T.J. is going to be chasing him. He's going to scramble out of the pocket. Score.

[Big Cat]

I'm scared.

[Dale]

I'm scared of T.J. watt. I am. Don't do the stupid thing. Where you don't have anybody block TJ and let him run right down the line of scrimmage and easily make a tackle in the backfield. Don't do that. He's too fast to do that. Stop doing that.

[Big Cat]

Don't do that. Okay, so it's Jaden Daniels. It's Saquon again, Max.

[Hank]

Sure. Yep. Just put him in.

[Big Cat]

And Bajan, go find it on DraftKings Sportsbook. Every day is game day. DraftKings Sportsbook now through the end of the year, it's extra special. All customers get a special daily promo every single day from profit boosts, odd boosts, no sweat bets and more. There. There's something for everyone. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app now. Use code TAKE. That's code TAKE.

[PFT]

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[Big Cat]

Okay, boys, what are our picks? I don't think I've won a pick in the last two weeks.

[Dale]

What are the standings right now?

[Big Cat]

It's bad everywhere. I think, though.

[Dale]

I think pain.

[Big Cat]

I think the leader is only two games up.

[Jerry]

I am ten. Eight Big Cat. Eight and ten. Pfd. Eight and ten. Hank. Eight and ten.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Jerry]

Six, eleven and one.

[Dale]

You were bad.

[Big Cat]

It's bad. That's bad.

[Hank]

So I'm a game and a half back of all of.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, basically everyone that's bad.

[Max]

But second and four, fourth.

[Big Cat]

Okay, who's up first?

[Jerry]

Henry.

[Big Cat]

Henry. Henry.

[Max]

I'm going to take the Gunder.

[Big Cat]

You're gonna take the Gunder.

[Max]

40 and a half in the Germany games.

[Dale]

Panthers, Munich.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Max]

The Munder.

[Big Cat]

The Munder. Okay.

[Jerry]

I'm gonna take the jets minus one and a half.

[Big Cat]

Jets minus one and a half.

[Hank]

I am going to take the titans. Chargers under 39.

[Big Cat]

Oh, I love that. I love that. I Love, love, love that.

[Dale]

I'm going to take the Vikings -7 over the Jaguars.

[Big Cat]

Okay. I am going to take the box niners over 50 and a half and then I have another pick I am going to take. Oh, man, I don't like this. I don't like the board. I'll take the Steelers plus three.

[Hank]

Fuck you.

[Big Cat]

Sorry. That feels like a field goal game.

[Dale]

It does. It feels like a good pick, too, for Mike Tomlin.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it feels like a field goal game.

[Dale]

I'm going to take the over in Philadelphia. Dallas, 43 points.

[Big Cat]

Cooper Rush.

[Dale]

Cooper Rush.

[Big Cat]

Cooper Rush.

[Hank]

I'm all. I'm all scrambled.

[Big Cat]

That was. You just didn't think there was any chance? No.

[Hank]

Well, I thought I was like, there's no way PFT is gonna take it. Yeah, that's why I took the. Would you have taken that under.

[Big Cat]

Which one? The Chargers. Tight.

[Hank]

Chargers tight.

[Big Cat]

Yes, I would have.

[Hank]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

That.

[Hank]

That makes me feel a little bit not.

[Big Cat]

Oh, shit, I hit you with the knot. I don't think I've ever picked an undertake.

[Dale]

Villanova minus eleven and and a half.

[Big Cat]

Against who? Pft.

[Dale]

Columbia.

[Big Cat]

Oh, they'll go into town.

[Dale]

Not the national team, the Ivy League school.

[Hank]

Fuck it. Give me Broncos plus seven and a half.

[Big Cat]

Okay. I like that Phone X is that.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Okay.

[Jerry]

I'm gonna take the Monday night football over 50.

[Big Cat]

That line, by the way, makes no sense to me. The Rams. Why are the rams only a 1 point favorite? I feel like that's the easiest bet in the world, but it's just wrong.

[Dale]

I guess, because the Dolphins look pretty good against the Bills.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I just. I'm wrong. I know that I'm wrong. I'm going to end up betting the Rams and it's going to be wrong.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Max]

I'll be taking the New England Patriots plus six against the Chicago Bears.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Okay. Good picks, boys. Let's do fantasy fuck, boys. Before we get to Ron Rivera, it's brought to you by our friends at Body Armor. This segment is brought to you by Body Armor. Real hydration, real ingredients packed with electrolytes, vitamins, and nothing artificial. Bar Armor Sports Drink has great tasting flavors like strawberry banana and blue raspberry. Not only do we hydrate with body armor, but some of the best athletes in the world do as well, like Christian McCaffrey, Joe Burrow, and Sabrina Ionescu. Get yours today at Walmart or local grocery store near you. I love the strawberry banana, my favorite. So thank you to Body Body Armor Drinking all the. All the time. Okay.

[Dale]

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

[Max]

Hey, my name's Mickey Monclair.

[Big Cat]

Hey, Mickey Montclair.

[Dale]

Eminem.

[Max]

My stardom this week is Christian McCaffrey.

[Big Cat]

Why? What's happening?

[Max]

All you fantasy owners, you drafted him one. You've been pissed off all year. He's been on your bench. Maybe you've drafted him, maybe you traded him. This is your week. Put him in stardom. He's going to be back. He's going to be playing. He's going to get two touchdowns.

[Big Cat]

Oh, hell, yes.

[Max]

My. Sit him. D'Angelo Russell, J.J. redick.

[Big Cat]

Trouble in paradise?

[Max]

Already in Lakers. DeAndre Russell got benched, said he wasn't putting in effort. J.J. redick stormed out of the press conference. It's bad.

[Dale]

Oh, he said the F word.

[Big Cat]

Oh, shit.

[Dale]

The Kelsey word. No, the other F word.

[Big Cat]

Fuck. Yeah. He said.

[Max]

Holy.

[Big Cat]

JJ said that? JJ said, fuck no.

[Dale]

Will Compton said, that's a bridge too far.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

I'm out.

[Big Cat]

I'm out.

[Max]

My sleeper. It's you this weekend.

[Big Cat]

Daylight savings. Yeah.

[Max]

Congratulations.

[Big Cat]

Damn it.

[Max]

Enjoy your Sunday.

[Big Cat]

Sleep in.

[Max]

You're getting an extra hour.

[Big Cat]

It's gonna be so dark so early. I know.

[Max]

I'm not looking forward to it.

[Dale]

Set those clocks.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Good one.

[Dale]

Hey, what's up, You. My name is Tommy Tortellini. Tommy, here in the club talking to you about my, my, my stardom. And my stardom is Reese's Monkeys.

[Big Cat]

I'm starting Reese's Monkeys.

[Dale]

Reese's Monkeys like the.

[Max]

When they do the. The Christmas trees.

[Dale]

There's an outbreak of 43 Reese's macaque prime. I'm starting Mac this week. There's 43 macaque primates that escape from a research facility in South Carolina. Residents have been advised to lock the windows and the doors. 43 young females weighing between 6 and 7 pounds are running amok.

[Big Cat]

Where is this?

[Dale]

This is Beaufort County, South Carolina.

[Big Cat]

Oh.

[Dale]

Bunch of Mac running around.

[Big Cat]

Both of these nuts.

[Dale]

Both of.

[Big Cat]

Oh, I gotcha. Oh.

[Dale]

Oh. I'm sitting. Bronnie James, he just got designated to the G League.

[Big Cat]

Oh, sent down what a career CEO.

[Dale]

My good friend Bronnie had.

[Big Cat]

Had a bucket.

[Dale]

We'll never. We'll never forget what happened.

[Big Cat]

Had a bucket.

[Dale]

Played with his dad.

[Max]

It's gotta be D'Angelo Russell's fault.

[Dale]

Yeah, probably D'Angelo Russell's fault. And then my sleeper is. Maxie.

[Big Cat]

Tyrese.

[Dale]

Maxi. Is he okay?

[Big Cat]

Oh, no. No, he's not okay. What happened?

[Max]

Dude, don't worry. It's November.

[Hank]

I'm sitting basketball season out this year.

[Dale]

Tell me he's okay. Look what they did to my boy.

[Big Cat]

They massacred my boy. Oh, Nancy.

[Max]

It's November.

[Big Cat]

Dude, what's up? What's up, you? It's Darren Rizzi.

[Dale]

Hey, what's up, coach?

[Big Cat]

Coach of the New Orleans Saints.

[Dale]

When they give you go the Riz phase.

[Big Cat]

My stardom is locker rooms. I switched it up this week. I got it all set up. All the guys sit with each other. We're gonna win a game against the Falcons.

[Dale]

I love that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. My situm is Providence basketball. They banned Don the Duck from Providence from the stadium.

[Dale]

That's up.

[Big Cat]

No more Don the Duck.

[Dale]

The Duck. Hashtag the Duck.

[Big Cat]

Hashtag the duck.

[Dale]

Quit ducking the document duck.

[Big Cat]

Don't do that.

[Max]

Is it a real live duck?

[Dale]

It's a real duck.

[Big Cat]

Bring the duck back. We stand with the duck. And my sleepers. Columbia basketball. They're looking good this year. They might be a diaper dandy.

[Dale]

Real New York City team, right?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what they say about New York City point guards.

[Dale]

If you don't like it, just wait five minutes.

[Big Cat]

Oh, no, I was just saying they're good.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Oh, yeah.

[Big Cat]

Wait, what happened to Tyrese?

[Hank]

Maxine Hamstring.

[Big Cat]

Oh, but Paul George is back.

[Hank]

He sucks.

[Dale]

Is it. Is Maxie gonna miss what, a couple games?

[Hank]

Three weeks.

[Big Cat]

Three weeks sucks.

[Hank]

I think. I think it's gonna be the Brooklyn Net situation there. None of them are gonna play together.

[Big Cat]

Or do you.

[Dale]

It was funny if the NBA investigated Tyrese.

[Hank]

Max Speed also comes back next week.

[Big Cat]

What if it's. What if it's just a entire season of load management for Embiid?

[Hank]

No, Embiid's playing on Tuesday against the Knicks.

[Big Cat]

But I'm saying if you don't make the playoffs, just an entire season of it.

[Hank]

We don't have a first round pick this year unless it lands in the top six.

[Big Cat]

Okay, Cooper, flag process.

[Hank]

Flag Watch.

[Big Cat]

Are you doing the process again?

[Hank]

We could be doing what if you.

[Big Cat]

Just did a mini process.

[Hank]

Just one year of the process. Try and get Cooper take quick break.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, just take a year off.

[Hank]

I'm. I'm. I'm like down to like just not get upset about basketball.

[Dale]

No, I can tell you're not upset at all about basketball.

[Big Cat]

I know.

[Hank]

I thought about that last.

[Dale]

Was that during your thoughts?

[Hank]

Those were. I had some thoughts last night. I had plenty of thoughts and I thought about like, what if I just. Like both of my basketball teams are just really bad that I just don't even get upset about them, but I'm going to still get it.

[Dale]

So. Wait, so they're going to get Embiid back at the same time that Maxie is gone. And then Embiid is going to have to play harder because, Max, he's not there. And what are the. Be honest, Max. What are the odds that Embiid starts in that first game that Maxie comes back?

[Hank]

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. So one of them will be hurt, but one of Embiid and or Apollo George will be hurt by the time that Maxie comes back. I don't think any of we're not gonna have a game where all three of them play.

[Big Cat]

No, no.

[Max]

It's November.

[Big Cat]

No. Okay.

[Dale]

Why are you talking about basketball?

[Big Cat]

Max, should we get to our interview with coach Ron Rivera? Because it was a great one. Let's do some ads before that.

[Dale]

Before we get to Coach Ron Rivera is brought to you by Campbell's Chunky Soup. Part of my take is brought to you by Campbell's Chunky Soup. It's the soup that eats like a meal. When you think chunky, you got to think of players like Jason Kelsey, Dexter Lawrence, Sam Hubbard. These are all players that work with Campbell's Chunky Soup. Soup. They're great players. And it's great soup. It's soup season, baby. You know, Dexter Lawrence is, he's shotgunning Campbell's chunky Soup before the games halftime. He's getting all powered up on Campbell's Chunky Soup. It's soup season and it is the perfect time of year to be eating some chunky sirloin burger or their chili Mac. It's packed with beef and veggies. Keeps you going strong. Chunky takes satisfaction to the max this soup season. You can grand grab a cat a can today, Chunky is the most satisfying soup. It does eat like a meal. You'll eat a can of Campbell's Chunky Soup. You're going to feel like you had a full filling meal. Time to indulge. And chunky is the only way to take satisfaction to the max this soup season. You can grab a can today. Check it out. Now. Here's coach Ron Rivera.

[Big Cat]

Okay. We now welcome on our very good friend recurring guest. It is coach Ron Rivera in studio. Great to see you, coach. Let's start with this is the first season in how long do you have? You're out of football. It's got to be what, 30 years?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Close to it. Yes. It's 27 as a coach and throwing the other nine as a player. So.

[Big Cat]

So how let's you know, how Is it going, not being on the sideline? Are you still locked into everything but in a different way? Like, it's. It's got to feel weird, I'm sure.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Oh, it feels real weird. It really does. You know, it's funny. The first couple of months is great. I'm playing golf, I'm getting out there, traveling with the wife, doing all these things. But then month four, it's like, damn, the draft is coming up. Minicamps, ota. I mean, you start thinking about those things.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, and then you get into the off season where, you know, they finish OTAs, they finish minicamps. So now it's like, okay, this downtime. So now I'm on trips again, doing all that stuff. And then all of a sudden, end of July hits and start a training camp camp. And that's really when I started to feel it again.

[Big Cat]

You get the itch.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah, you do. But I am looking at it from a different lens. I'm looking as a, as a commentator now. I'm doing some stuff for, for the NFL Network. I'm doing some stuff for Westwood One and Sports usa, covering games, doing it on radio. So that's been a lot of fun. I've actually had a great time doing it that way. But I've stayed engaged with what's going on in the lake. I've tried to map out some trends that you see. I've tried to, you know, look into the analytics, understand that stuff even more. And it's been real interesting. Really has.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

Yeah. And I bet Sundays. Sundays are a lot different for you. Do you like Sundays? Like getting to sit down on your couch, watch every single game?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah. So the first Sunday ever, I watched, like, nine hours of football.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

It's awesome, isn't it?

[Big Cat]

It's the best.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

It sucked, you know, because. Too much? No, it really was. Was way too much.

[Dale]

You can't handle all the football.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You couldn't.

[Dale]

We're football guys.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

I, I, I looked at my wife after the afternoon games, before the evening game, and I said, I'll be right back. She goes, where you going? I said, for a walk. I said, stephanie, I've been inside for eight hours watching football. I said, I've eaten so much junk food. I sit there and I've drank, you know, beer. I mean, I'm, I'm not. That's, that's not. But I did all those things and, and, and I just felt, felt. I felt like a lump on a log.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

So I went out and I, I just walked for about Two and a half, three miles, came back and watched the last game of the night.

[Dale]

You're not in game shape like us.

[Big Cat]

You're not ready for it. We do that, and we do that every single Sunday. We just sit there for 12 hours and watch every single game.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

There's no way I was wore out. I really was. But it's been, but it has been interesting because, you know, when I do the TV show, you know, for Good Morning Football, or I do the radio stuff, the one thing that everybody tells me is when you leave, when you're done, nobody's going to criticize.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dale]

It's a fact. You don't have, you don't have the second guessers. There's no TV show that comes on after your TV show to be like, what was Ron Rivera thinking here in block two?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah, I know.

[Dale]

Should I use the timeout?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

It's interesting as hell. It really is.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. When you were coaching, were you, did you ever have a guy who was basically standing next to you was like, hey, here's when to use a timeout? Here's not. Because that's, that's, that's my favorite part about being a fan is we don't know football like any of these coaches, but if you screw up a timeout or you screw up a fourth down decision, that's one we can point to and be like, what the hell was he thinking?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

What you do is, for the most part is I had a checklist, okay. And, and, and it, it's one of those things that Mike Shanahan, when he was rolling and won his back to back Super Bowls, he did this article in, in USA Today, and they talked about this checklist that he used to have.

[Big Cat]

Have.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

He used to go through just before game time. And I, and I read the article, I copied it down, I wrote it down, and then I made it mine. I kind of came up with some other things that I wanted and I put on this list and I would go through this checklist and one of the things I always talked about was, hey, who's, who was going to help me with the timeouts? You know, which coach did I have talked to me about the timeouts? Who had that chart for the two point conversion?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Okay. And then who was watching upstairs to whether or not I should challenge or not? So what we started was we came up with, you know, some of our coaches that we felt were really good with that. And we would have this meeting every Friday and we would go through these conversations of, hey, we get down to the fourth quarter, who's got the timeouts? Who's got this? Who's got this two point. All right, this is what we want to do. And so we would go through what the situation could potentially be so that if it did come up, we were. We were prepared and we knew how we wanted to handle this.

[Big Cat]

Yes. Yeah.

[Dale]

That's fascinating me because. Yeah. Through years of playing mad and watching sports on tv, the fan feels like they know that. That game management part. And there's a lot going on during the game for a coach, too. So it's probably. It shouldn't be on their shoulders to know exactly what to do and when to do it.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And then what's kind of infiltrated our game has been the use of analytics. You know, and it's crazy because there's certain aspects of the game that are not measurable. Okay. And there are some aspects of the game people don't believe it. It's crazy, because people that truly believe in numbers, pure analytics, do not believe in momentum. Okay. Don't believe in the emotional part of the game. There's an emotion that goes throughout in a player's body, throughout a player's mind. And the fans can impact that. They can change it. Okay. With the way they cheer, the way they react, I mean, this is not measurable.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And so people that truly believe in the numbers don't understand how you can sit there and say, well, momentum has taken over.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

I think. Think there's definitely a big place for analytics in the game, but you also need to take that into account with what scenario you're dealing with. And a coach that understands the flow of the game and understands what his players are feeling and thinking and understands, you know, he knows his team better than anybody else does. So you know what your defense can do if you choose to go forward and forth and you don't get it. It's a big conversation that's kind of all weaved together. You are famously now known as Analytical Ron.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

No more Riverboat Ron, right?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

No. I want to tell you the story of Riverboat Ron.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Okay. So my first two years, I had this crazy record of being 3 and 13 of games decided by score or less. And at the end of my. At the end of my second year, I sit down with the previous owner, with Jerry Richardson, and we would go through the previous season, talk about what happened, how things went. We would go through each game, talk about what went on in each game, how things were. I mean, it was. I spent a whole day with him Going through all this stuff. And when I finished up, I said to him, I said, you know, Mr. Rich, and one thing I want to talk to you about is I want to reach out. I think I need a mentor. One of the things I didn't do on my original staff was I didn't have a previous head coach on my staff, NFL head coach that could sit there and help me work through some things. And you know, and he kind of started to chuckle and he goes, takes us. I tried to show you while we're on the radio.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

I said, he pulls this index card out and he says, read this. And he slides it across to me. I turn it over. It was John Madden.

[Big Cat]

Huh?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

It was his number.

[Big Cat]

Wow.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

He was thinking the same way I was because I was going to say to him, I want to call John, Matt, Coach Madden and talk to him.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And he had thought the same things. He said, and he looks at me, goes, he's expecting your call.

[Big Cat]

Oh my God.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

So I call Coach Madden, we start talking. I said, I'd love to come out and visit with you. He said, great, great. He said, you know, let's, let's, let's plan for early March. And I said, great, I'd love to do it. Then he said, hey, I understand you. You are 3 and 13 in games decided by a score or less. He said, I said, yes, sir. He goes, why don't you go back and look at those, see if there's something you could have done different. I said, okay, great. And you saw me today?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

I wrote a 20 page report. I watched those 13 games and I wrote up some things about what we could have done and, you know, what should have happened, my decisions that were made. Why? So I go out to see him, go out to Pleasanton, California where he had his headquarters for Madden for the game and all that stuff at Red Bear, I think it's called Red Bear Ventures. So I go to his office, we sit down, we start talking and it was. He paid homage to the Raiders. Everything was silver and black. He had all kinds of memorabilia. He had a seven man crowther sled in his parking lot.

[Big Cat]

I remember that. Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yes, he did. So I went and saw him, we started talking and I said, oh, I got this report for you that I did. What report? Well, the one you told me about the 13 games. He was, that's not for me, that's for you. What'd you learn? I said, well, I said, well, you know, and I opened it up, I said, well, like this one, you Know, we were up by three, and. Excuse me. I said we were up by two. And, you know, and I thought, you know, if we get the. If we kick the field goal, you know, they got a score. Touchdown to beat us and. But they did. He says, yeah, exactly. What could you have done? I said, well, could have gone for it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

He said, exactly. Why don't you go for it? I said, well, you know, kicked Phil. I mean, I didn't think. He said. He said, ron, he said, think about these things. I said, well, you know, and then this one I punted and, you know, it was fourth and one, and I, you know, we. He said, ron, you know, enough football. You've done enough football to do these things.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, when's the right time to do it? He said, nobody else. Nobody else does. You do. You've done it. And at that point, what he made me do is realize, you know, I said to him, I said, you know, I was going by the book. He said, what book? And maybe I said, well, you know, you punted when you should punt and kick, and Nelson. I realized I was doing what was safe.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

What was acceptable. Because back then, nobody went for it on four. And he was right.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

So the next year, we were playing the Giants at home, and in their first drive, I went for it on fourth down twice, in fact, the last one was fourth and goal, and we converted, scored the touchdown, and then I did it again in the game. So then another week later, we were playing Minnesota. Minnesota. And I went for it three times in that game. In fact, the first time we scored, it was fourth and three, and Mike Shuler called a shovel pass, and we scored. And so we're. When, you know, we win the game, after the game, local media's, you know, they're. They're interviewing some of the Panther fans and. Oh, that's great.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Coach doing all. That's amazing. It's great to get to this one guy says, boy, that old Ron Rivera, man, he's just like a riverboat gambler out there. Now he's making decisions on Fort Down. That's. I mean, that's something he's gambling out there. I mean, oh, riverboat Ron, I'm telling you. And that's how it started.

[Big Cat]

That's great.

[Dale]

And you also had maybe the best fourth down or at least the best short yardage option maybe of all time in the NFL with Cam Newton.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

So if you're 4th and 3, 4th and 2, just send Cam and he's going to run some people over.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

We were like 95 or 96% conversion rate with him. And I can remember one time I went and did it with Kyle Allen back there and we got stopped and somebody said, what happened? I said we were about 3 inches and 35 pounds short of it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

And it's interesting because there is no book, but you actually made a book, like 20 pages. I consider that to be a book. I would have been upset. I would have been like, like, coach, can you just read my report? You don't have to read it. Just look at it and then just give me a grade, whatever you feel like. I did this 20 page report here for you.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Well, I tell you what, he gave me great advice. He really did. And from that point on, that's the way I looked at it. That's the way I looked at things.

[Big Cat]

That's awesome. I love the stories of the evolution of coaches and how they get to these points because that's like coaching more than anything is like you always have to be adapting and learning and that's what the best coaches do.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Well, it's kind of interesting now. It's kind of gone the other way. There is actually a book now and if you go by those numbers purely they're going to sit there and say, that's right. You went by the numbers. I mean, I did a thing last. Well, my last year we were playing Dallas, in Dallas and it was a close game. It had been a close game. We get into the early parts of the fourth quarter. It was fourth and two. We just crossed over the, the, the midfield we were on. I think they're 47. And I went for it. But before I went for it, my thought was, man, we can punt it down there, trap them. We've been playing great defense all day. Force them on a three and out. Get the ball back right here.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And I hear the numbers say, go for it. I thought about it and I went for it. We got stopped and the next thing you know, it was three plays, they scored and then that's momentum. Yeah, it was over. We couldn't do anything about it. That's exactly what happened. We created the momentum for them by having gotten stop at midfield.

[Dale]

Yeah, I remember that game. I am a Commanders fan, so I remember almost every game that you coached in.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Did I get criticized for that?

[Dale]

I don't think so. Because I think, I think at that point it was like, what? You got to try something, you got to be aggressive, you got to go for it. Sends a good message to your team. If it doesn't work out. It doesn't work out. You don't get criticized as much.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

But think about if, because we play good defense all day until that series, we punt it down there, go three and out, and then they got to punt it back to us.

[Dale]

There is one thing I did criticize you for that I feel like I should bring up because looking back on it, it's a very funny sequence that happened. Do you remember this is like the Sean McVeigh test. Like how many plays do you remember off the top of your head? Do you remember there being 4 minutes, 44 seconds left in the fourth quarter against the Rams down 14 points? Do you remember that?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yep.

[Dale]

Ball on the one yard line.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yep.

[Dale]

And then I think by the time we got done with that possession, I think there was like, I don't know, 30 seconds left, they could take a knee. And I think it took us like four minutes to score a touchdown because every single play the play clock got down to like three, two or one second left before we, we snapped the ball. What, what was going on? What was going on in the head of yours, man?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Mine was, let's go with this pickup, this tempo. This tempo was, guys, we got it. Sometimes trying to be too perfect as play callers, we do that. And so you're trying to make sure you have the right play, the right sequence, you know what I'm saying? And you want guys to just, hey, sometimes you just got to, just got to wing it.

[Dale]

Fun side note on that one. I think it was the longest time ever to expire off of a game clock to get one yard and a touchdown, I believe in NFL history. But then the thing that I did criticize you for on that one was it's an analytical thing. So it's a numbers test. You're down by 14, you score a touchdown, do you go for two?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

No, I don't believe in it. The problem with it is what happens if you don't?

[Dale]

Well, then you have to go for two next time.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you go, go for two the next time.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Right? You kick it and go for two the next time.

[Dale]

Well, so, yeah, so if you don't get the two point conversion, then you're down by eight points.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Right. But what happens, what happens to your momentum?

[Dale]

Well, you still have to score another touchdown.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

I know, but what happens to your momentum?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, so you just, you just killed.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

The momentum you got by scoring that touchdown.

[Dale]

You think if you don't get a.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Two point conversion, what's wrong with putting it all on the line the very last Play of the game.

[Big Cat]

Oh, you will go for two at the last play of the game.

[Dale]

I'm okay with that. Like when we watched Todd Bowles the other day in the Bucks Chiefs, Kansas City, you're on the road, you're playing much better, healthier team. Nobody expected you to win. Go for it and end the game right there. Don't put the ball in Patrick Mahomes hands in overtime.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Right. And I think that's part of your thought process when you get into games like that is who's their quarterback?

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Okay. What can I do to have things happen, make things work? And if it is against a Patrick Mahomes, I'm going for two at the end of the game. Okay. And I'll look at that thing, and that checklist is one of the things that I. That's on it. Who's the quarterback?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Okay. But underneath it, I put things to consider. How are we playing defensively? I'll tell a great story. We're playing in 2013, first time we win the division in, like, seven years. Okay. And I just got there. This was my third season. We're playing the New Orleans Saints at home. Okay. Our punter been kicking the ball great all day. Been pinning them inside the 20, just killing them. Just doing a great job defensively. It was. It was a low scoring game. So we were playing very well against Sean Payton's offense. And I thought, man, if we can punt it down there, get it inside the 15, the 10, go three and out, man, we'll be right back at midfield. So I punted, okay? I punted one of my best friends in the world, Tom. I can't tell you his last night, but Tom calls me.

[Big Cat]

Brady.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

No. Oh, calls me. Coughlin calls me. Okay. While the game is happening, and says, ron, what are you doing? You'll never get the ball back now. My phone's inside my. My locker.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

But it's inside my locker.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Okay. What are you doing? You'll never get the ball back. I can't. And he hangs up. Okay. Three and out. They punt to us. We get the ball, score the touchdown to win the game. Okay? I was getting killed. I was getting killed on TV by it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Okay? So I finished the game. I go into my locker, and my phone is just blowing up. I go, what the hell? So I look at it, see my friend's name. I said, let me listen to it. So I listened to it. What are you doing? You'll never get the ball back. I can't believe he did. He hangs Up. Then all of a sudden, there's another one from him. Disregard that last message.

[Big Cat]

Oh, man. Tom Coughlin was wrong.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

No, it wasn't Coach Coughlin. It wasn't Coach Coughlin. But the point being is that sometimes you have to look at it and say, this is the right thing to do. Which it was because we were playing good defense, our punter was on spot on, and so I took the shot.

[Dale]

Yeah, all that other stuff does make a difference. You can't just go by the numbers, right?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

It really does.

[Dale]

I think the numbers help a lot.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Right. But, but, but, but think about it. Sean Payton, you know, your court, Drew's your quarterback. I mean, come on, you know, you give him the ball at midfield, he's going to get in the field goal range.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, now it's a different game.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Now you're down two scores.

[Dale]

As a, as a Washington football slash Commanders fan, I, I saw you go into that franchise and what I felt, at least for the last 25 years, has been basically an unwinnable situation. With all the chaos and your first, like three seasons, there were so many off the field storylines that happened that there's too many. It was just chaos for you. And I, I firmly felt that it was, it's a raw deal for anybody to walk in that environment. Added on to all that stuff on top of it, that you kind of had to oversee a name change to the team. What was that process like? Was it, was it Dan being like, we're going to call them the Commanders and camera in your face and be like, hey, yeah, good name.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

It was very structured. No, no, they, they, they really did do a good job doing all the marketing research, trying to figure it out. First of all, when, as soon as they found out there was going to be a name change, you should have seen how many people claimed the names that, that were out there. Oh, yeah, the Red Wolves was claimed, Red Tails was claimed. You know, it's just going down the list. People kept, you know, getting the copyrights to all this stuff.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, the trademarks to all this stuff. And so, you know, people were jacking prices up and, you know, just basically holding them for ransom. And so, but anyways, what they did, what the organization did, was they went out and they hired a marketing firm that came up with a number of different names. And then they started interviewing alumni, they interviewed fans, people throughout the league to get their opinion on things. And then they came down with what were the top 10. And then they brought them to me and gave me an opportunity to look at them, tell me, which ones did I like the most and which ones? You know, I really like the warriors because of the native. But. But the whole point was to get away from being native. Well, warrior, hey, no, because of the soldiers, the military. I mean, that was a big part of it. The military reasoning behind it. That's how they came up with commanders.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, because you think of all the way from George Washington, you know, all the way to Schwarzkopf. I mean, to all these great military leaders that were in D.C. yeah.

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

These were the people that they also wanted to pay tribute to. And I think that was a big part of it and a roundabout way of keeping the native emblem involved.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

We'll get back to coach Ron Rivera in a second. He's brought to you by Coors Light. No matter what happens between your favorite rivals this week, you've got a chance to win. Win. Just go to the PMT Instagram, tell us how you prepare for a rivalry game with Coors Light. You get an opportunity to win the Coors light rivalry shirt. Five winners will be selected every Saturday until December 7th. So remember, when rivalries get a little overheated, choose chill. Keep those things cool by reaching for the mountain cold refreshment of Coors Light. Coors Light is mountain bottled refreshment, literally made to chill. It's cold lagered, cold filtered, cold packaged. It's as crisp and as refreshing as the rocky. It's perfect for a moment to unwind. I'm going to be having some Coors Light this weekend. I'm going to be down in Oxford, Mississippi tonight, Friday with Pop Punk. We're going to be playing a free show down there. Mincey might even get involved, might even do a stage dive. I'm going to be relaxing with an ice cold Coors Light on stage. The mountains are going to be so blue, even the biggest rivals agree. When it's time to cool things down, enjoy the game, you choose chill. Then reach for a Coors Light. Going to see some Georgia fans in town for the big game, and I bet you they're gonna be drinking Coors Light too and just chilling out. Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door. Visit coors light.com take or you can find it in pretty much anywhere that sells beer. That's coorslight.com take. Celebrate responsibly. Coors Brewing Company, Golden, Colorado. Coach Rivera is also brought to you by Bluechew. Have better sex with Bluechew. Bluechew is the original brand offering Chewable tablets. These erection enhancing tablets help men achieve stronger, harder, longer lasting erections for sexual activities. It's all done from the comfort of home with bluechew. Say goodbye to performance anxiety and say hello to stronger, longer lasting erections. These chewable tablets have the same active ingredients that you'd find in Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra, but they're in a chewable form and they're a fraction of the cost. Bluechew is all about having confidence when it comes time to perform and having happy and healthy relationships. Bluetooth subscriptions include a free online consultation, 24. 7 medical support, and delivery straight to your door every month. Chew it and do it. If you want more confidence in the bedroom, use code PMT for your first month for free. First month free with code PMT Bluetooth. Com. Check them out. Thanks to bluechew for sponsoring the pod. And now here's more. Ron Rivera. So you went, you went from David Tepper to Dan Snyder. As owners, you got to see both those management styles. What's the, what's the difference between the two of those guys?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

I think Mr. Snyder, Dan was very reactionary and he was impacted a lot by things around him, you know, and he was somebody that was really, truly a fan. He loved everything about the Redskins. He really did. And I think that was one of the things that drove him to become the owner of the Redskins was that this was his chance. He loved everything about it, him, but he was very emotional about it and really got vested in it and wanted to win, but didn't quite understand how to go about it, you know, and he was trying to find the right way to do it. And there was just, there was just, there were too many outside interferences to get it done the way you wanted it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it makes sense. It was a mess.

[Dale]

Yeah. The off the field stuff in D.C. for years was like, it's hard to focus on winning football games when you have to do with, like, lawsuits. Well, stadium breaking down.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

But, but where it really became a hassle was it infiltrated the locker room. Okay. And every time something came up, I would, I would plead with the media to, hey, just stick with me. Ask me the question. Don't ask the players. You know, I got mad a couple times. Why do you want to go and ask these, these guys weren't here when it happened.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

So why are we asking them? You list it, you know, and I, so I came up with this, hey, hey, let's talk about what's important, not what's interesting. Okay. What's interesting is all that. What's important is what we do on the football field. I'm not saying what happened to these people is not. Is not important. I'm just saying for us, for what we do in our lives is football. Let's stay focused on that. That was my battle. Every day was when something came up. Every day. Every day I had to deal with it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So you also, in your travels, you've been part of, basically the only time the Bears have been when they obviously won the Super bowl in 85 and then went to the Super bowl in 06 as defensive coordinator. What. What was it about Buddy Ryan? What's your best Buddy Ryan story? Because, I mean, I love. I think there's a thing in Chicago where it's a little too much talking about 85 bears because we haven't had anything else to talk about. I've got to. Got to move on. But whenever I hear a Buddy Ryan or Dick, a story, they're always the best. So what was it about Buddy, or what was the story that encapsulates Buddy?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Buddy, you know, Buddy had this. Had this way of tearing things down to build it back up. And he really did. I mean, he got on you, and he wanted to make sure you understood that we were not going to be the reason we didn't win. We were going to be the best, and that was it. And he pushed people. He pushed us. He really did. He got after us. And if you didn't, if you couldn't keep the personal side separate. Separate. You took it too personal. Okay. And I understood, and I got it right away because I grew up in a military family. And so, you know, you've seen it. You've seen drill sergeants get on people. Shoot. I was walking down the street as a kid one day, and this lieutenant colonel stops his car and starts yelling at all of us. And next thing you know, we're lined up shoulder by shoulder, we're walking down the street and we're picking up garbage, putting it in a garbage can, okay? And then he says, well, I'm going to take all your kids names, call your parents. So, you know, you run home and you. So you tell your parents, hey, you know, Colonel Smith, he pulled us over and had us do this, this, this, and this. And we really weren't doing anything wrong. Daddy. And he starts laughing. I said that. What's so funny? He goes, the colonel just wanted you to clean up the park.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. It's not personal.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

It's just. Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And so Then all of a sudden, you realize that there's a reason why you're being told to do things that you don't want to do.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, and it makes sense. But for me personally, with Buddy, and I'm forever grateful to him for this. So my rookie year, Buddy used to stand behind defense about 35, 40 yards back, and he would watch the plays. And the way we used to do offense, defense, it was 22, 24, 25 plays in a row for offense, then 22, 24, 25 plays for defense. So Buddy would stand back there and he would just signal the plays into Mike Singletary, and then Mike would call the defense and we'd, you know, take our snaps and go through it for 24 straight plays. So one day, probably about my third or fourth week in the league during the regular season, I hear this Chico. My nickname was Chico, Chico. So I said, yeah. So I go running back there, and he doesn't say anything, just points. So I stand next to him. He doesn't say a word to me for a couple of plays. So then he signals in. He goes, what's the call? So, well, you just signaled 46 blitz to format. He said, okay, good. He said, all right, formation. What's. What's the call? I said, oh, you want to run Samurai? He says, why do I want to run Samurai? Samurai was Mike Singletary blitzing straight down the gut. I said, why do you want. Well, you want. You want Mike to blitz inside because the two backs are in a split formation. Because they're in a split formation, they're probably going to go fast out into the flats, and there will be nobody to pick Mike up, and he can get pressure on the quarterback. All right, you're paying attention in meetings, so. So that's what would happen. He'd call the. He'd ask me questions. He said, you know why I'm calling this defense?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You want Otis to jam the crap out of the tight end so he doesn't get a free release. That's why we're in an under front. He said, good, good, good, you know, and he kept. He would. Kept testing me and asking me these questions before I realized that he was training me. Yeah, he was teaching me. So, you know, I finally get a chance to go in and play a game, and it was against. It was against Detroit. In Detroit. Mike gets hurt. Just before the half, I came and played the second half for Mike, and we win the game. I played pretty well. I actually got a scoop in scores. Dent, sack caused. No, there was a swing pass. Didn't hit the guy. The guy fumbled it. I scooped it up and scored. But the point being this is that he was preparing me for an opportunity to play. So when I finally got my opportunity to play, I was ready to go.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And, and buddy had this great way of making you feel like, like now, Chico, when you go in there, if you screw up and use the F bomb on me, I will pull your ass out so fast you wouldn't know what happened. So I went out there and I mean, I was, you know, I didn't want to make a mistake.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he set the expectations. I, I would assume too, like that ability to teach you and have you comfortable where you could play free. Because that's the teams that play free. Fast. Yeah, right.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You play fast. Exactly what he did. He wanted us to play fast. And he always talked about playing fast, but he was, but I mean, just the way that I was getting this education, standing back there with him watching as things were happening, it was amazing.

[Big Cat]

That's awesome. And I, I, I, you know, we, we people should watch a pro football show that's coming out. So this is coming out on Friday. So tonight pro football show will also be out, which was great. So we went through every game. I did bring up one bad thing that I wanted to get a little more on because we, we kind of moved past it. But you were part of the 2010 Chargers. The number one offense, the number one defense, the worst special teams of all time, nine and seven. What does it do to a team? I feel like fans, we forget special teams and we don't really, everyone knows it, but it's like, oh, until there's a missed kick. Then you start talking about it. What does it do for a team when your special teams is costing you games in that way? And you're like, we just have to keep going out there. Cause that was an incredible team that should have been in the playoffs.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

It was, but it was very deflating. And the thing that you have to look at is what caused it. What caused it was there were several major injuries. And so the next man up mentality was guys off the special teams.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

So now these guys are in full time roles and so now you. Where does, where's your special teams guy come from? Yeah, comes from the street and he's not as good as the guys that have been playing. So now that special teams coach has to retrain a group of guys that he, he's not familiar with. And that year we had a number of injuries where we were just putting guys, plugging guys in and, you know, next thing you know, you know, guys that were defensive ends or outside linebackers that were running down our kickoff, now they're getting. They're getting opportunities to play. That's your. Sean Merriman got hurt.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, and so we had to take a guy and plug him in to play for us. And he wasn't on spell and he was a big loss.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

So when you lose guys that were big impact, it happens, but it's very deflating.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Did you ever think about just kicking it out of bounds every time? Time. Well, even on kickoff, just be like, we'll just take the.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah. That was. That was tough one. I mean. No, I. I know, exactly. Yeah, there were some tough. And you would. You would expect that, you know, we'd be able to get through it, and unfortunately we didn't. And it did show. Got punts, blocked return for touchdowns, punts returned for touchdowns. I mean, that was. That was tough on. It really was. It was a hard thing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And you. And you. And it was, you know, previously you were with, you know, the Bears and Devin Hester. Did you count from. As a defensive coordinator, do you count special teams, like punt returns as a touchdown for the defense? Because I kind of do.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

The league does.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. That should be your touchdown that impacts you.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Big Cat]

Because, like, we did our job and Devin Hester's an extension of the defense here.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah. So it's crazy. I'll tell you a great story. So my first year in the league as a head coach, we're playing against the Bears, and my special teams coach comes to me and says, look, this is the plan we used when I was with this other team. We would mortar the kick away from Devon as high as we could. 35, 45 yards. We just accepted the fact that the balls only go 35 to 45 yards. We're not going to put that kind of pressure covering him. Coach, if that's. I love. You know, I loved it. I thought it was a great idea. We could eliminate Devin. Well, our kicker wasn't. Our punter wasn't all in. It's. Oh, you know, he was worried about his average.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And his next contract. Yeah. Right.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And he's going, you know, hey, I can angle kick it away from him. I can directional, you know, kick it out of bounds, make it, but I can get it out there. I said, look, I like the plan. We could control what happens. We can kick it high, and if it's 35 yards, that's me. I'll accept that. Okay. But we're gonna over the top mortar kick it just like the Aussies do with that back spin. So we get in the game. Very first one, he kicks a line drive, and one second Devin was over here, the next second he was crossing the goal line.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And I lost it. I went over there and I said, if that ball is not mortar kicked high, we will have an issue. So after the game, we lose by seven.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Or six, whatever it was. But we lost because of the return. We had a chance to win that game. So as the media does, I'm getting killed. Ron, you were here. Why would you. Why would you kick it to him? I said, look, we had a plan. Unfortunately, we didn't execute the plan the way we wanted to. And that's the truth.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Okay. So I never read the paper when I was a coach. I never. And I very rarely ever listen to any broadcast. So I'm getting ready for my team meeting the next Monday morning, and my wife calls. I think you need to look at the paper. I said, what are you talking about? She just read it. So I find the article. I read the article, and they'd gone to a player and said to the player said, you know, why would you guys kick to them? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And the player says, well, you know, what we did last year was good. It worked. I said, what you did last year worked. That was it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

I had this presentation all set to, you know. No. I walked into that meeting room and every player was seated, and I said, you know, I fell on the sword. I took. I took it. I took the brunt of it. Okay. I accepted the blame on kicking the ball to Devin Hester. That was not the plan.

[Big Cat]

Plan.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

The plan was not that. I said, but somebody told me what you did last year was good enough. If being 2 and 14 is good enough for you, you're not on my football team. I don't need people like that. I need people that want to aspire to be better than that. If we're not going to do the things that were asked, you don't belong here. And I threw the paper down and walked out.

[Big Cat]

Wow.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

So Devin Hester and that. And then you. The turnaround starts. So Devin Hester. That moment was probably pretty galvanizing for all the guys to buy in.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Well, for those who didn't buy in, it sure wasn't.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Those that did buy and did believe in what we were trying to do, that. What happens is when you go to a team, like, you gotta get. You gotta get past. What I say is, here we go again. Okay? We can't always fall back to what I used to do, because if what you used to do is what got the other guy fired, we're not gonna do. Okay. We're gonna go out, and we're gonna find the right way to do it, and we're gonna do it the right way. Way. A lot of things that I tried to do were the things that I had learned from Mike Dicka, Buddy Ryan, North Turner, Andy Reid, and Lovey Smith. Okay? Everybody there was successful, and they had a plan, and they did things the right way.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I like.

[Dale]

I like hearing you fired up like that. I feel like we just got our ass chewed out.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

I want to be like, sorry.

[Big Cat]

I'm ready to be all in.

[Dale]

I'm sorry that they punted Master Coach.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dale]

Have you ever, like, chewed a guy's ass out too bad and you have to, like, walk it back? Be like, maybe I went overboard on that.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

I did. I did. And the biggest thing is that I felt I did. And it happened in Carolina was I apologize in front of the whole team. I said, first of all, whenever I get mad at you guys, please don't ever think it's personal, okay? And if you ever do feel it's personal, please come see me. All right? I did it one time as a coordinator, too, and did it to a very good football player, too, who didn't talk to me the rest of the day. And so I asked him to come into my office, and he did, and we started to talk. And that's when I. That happened before I became a head coach. And that's when I realized it appeared and it seemed personal. So I got in front of the guys and I apologized when I was the defense coordinator of the Chargers, to the. To the whole group and to the players specifically. Then when I did it in Carolina, it was, you know, and it cost us a game, but it seemed personal, and it should not have seemed or felt personal in my opinion. So that's so. So at that point, I have to apologize.

[Dale]

Yeah. In Carolina, when Cam Newton would text you, would he send you the text in that weird font?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah. Yes.

[Dale]

First time he saw that, you're like, what the hell is it? Is he hieroglyphic you made?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Basically, it was. And I was trying to read it and understand. Understand it. I'm gonna tell you what. That was one of the greatest competitors I've ever been around. It really is. I Mean, he, He, He. He did things the way you should do them. When you're on that football field and you're in those meetings, that's how you do things. It was tremendous. I remember one time, I'll never forget, I walked into the quarterback meeting room, Mike Shula running the meetings, and Cam was upside down on his chair. He was leaned over and watching it like this. And I'm sitting there, and I didn't say a word. So they finished the meetings, went out to practice, and Coach Shuler comes up to me and says, coach, this is the play that you walked in on. I said, okay. I watched the play. He threw it perfectly. Play action off a waggle action, whipped his head around, spotted the free safety and threw it opposite, away from the leverage. Big play. Didn't say a word. Okay. So Cam comes up to me, he starts reciting the play, and I said, hey, whatever it takes. However you do your thing. Thing. You be you.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

You can watch it from whatever angle you want to.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

It was amazing, though. But he could repeat. I. I would go through a whole meeting and not think he was paying attention.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And I would just look at him. He'd come up to me and he'd recite it almost verbatim. You sit there and go, dude, I mean, I just. I. But. But it was him. That's who he was. And so his focus, his attention, it was there.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dale]

Has. Has there ever been a point. Point, as you're dealing with personnel and head coaching, where head coach Ron Rivera got pissed off at gm Ron Rivera.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, when I was in Washington, I had some responsibilities that, quite honestly, I really didn't like having.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Big part of it was with personnel. And you sit there and you make decisions sometimes based on what you're told. You have a salary cap or you have injury factor, and you start listening to the financial side of it, you start looking at the impact of your salary cap on your roster and the future and all this stuff instead of the moment. Because you want to win in the moment. You really do. Because there's nothing like the here and now, as far as I'm concerned. Because you're judged on the here and now, you're not judged on what's going to happen in the future.

[Dale]

Right. A general manager might be, but a head coach never is.

[Big Cat]

Right, right, right.

[Dale]

So I feel like that's. That's something that I look around the league and I see, you know, teams that are clearly not in position to win now, like a team like the Titans.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Dale]

They're trying to build for the future. That's definitely what they're doing. They're making a bunch of trades, getting a bunch of draft picks in. So that's good for the front office. The head coach, his job is to win. His coach is to make these players play as good as possible.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

But see, if you do that early on when they first get there and do it that way you have a chance to grow it and develop it, you know, because right now, if you're looking at the Titans, what would you say to one thing that they really feel like they need?

[Dale]

Probably quarterback.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Because you look at everything else and you go, wow, this is, I mean, defenses, they're playing solid, rock solid defense. They really are offensive. Run the ball really well.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, then you sit there and go, wow. And they do have some talented young receivers that are going to grow and develop. So let's put the rest of it together and if we get a chance to get a young quarterback now, you can build off of that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, it's funny because I was asked in a press conference a couple years ago, maybe you remember, so what's the big difference between you guys and the other three teams in your division? My answer was quarterback. And people got smug at me. I asked the same question the other day to a group of people, people, what's the difference between Washington right now and Washington? I had. Well, they got quarterback.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

It's a quarterback driven league, folks.

[Dale]

You kind of got us a quarterback.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Dale]

You know what? I. I'm gonna take back every bad thing I said about the end of the game in that Rams game because without that, without that loss, I don't have Jane Daniels. We're picking like fifth or sixth.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

So thank you.

[Big Cat]

But it is, it's quarterback.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

No, it is. It's quarterback driven league. And again, the approach being is that if you're coming in to begin with and you accept that and you understand that and you're willing to be patient, you can do that. My first two years in Carolina, that's what Mr. Richardson did.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

He understood that we were building and what did we get? Quarterback. Quarterback. We got our quarterback on offense and we got our quarterback on defense. Yeah, that's right.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Both guys at one point were rookie of the year and both guys at one point were the MVP of their side of the ball.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

I just think it's an interesting dynamic sometimes that you have a front office that all things being equal, like for the Titans, we'll use them as another example, again, if they lose a game, the front office is like, not the end of the world. Our draft picks better. If you lose a game as a head coach, you're like, shit, this feels awful. Like I'm doing, I'm planning my entire week. I'm putting all my effort into making sure we win this football game. And the, the, there seems to be like a conflict in what is a good outcome each week. And I just don't know how, how teams get around that. I guess if you're building from the ground up as a first year head coach like you can, you can have your eye on the big picture while still understanding he's going to go out there and try to win. Right?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Correct. I mean, and that, that to me is the thing. I mean, you know, a lot of people said the worst thing that happened to us was I tried to win my first year and we did, we won the division. But guess What? We picked 17.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

You know, I mean, when you're picking in the middle of the road and you have other needs, you end up sometimes settling. And that's something that I, in all honesty, looking back, gosh, I wish I had recognized and realized certain things too. I mean, it does affect the way you approach things.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, coach, this has been awesome. I got one last question for you. It's Roback question. Rhode promo code. Take 20% off your first purchase. Qzips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts, rock.com promo code, take. Christian McCaffrey is maybe going to come back this weekend. You obviously had him in Carolina at what point? And it might have been, you know, the minute he walked in the door, were you like, oh my God, this is, this is not only special, but like a weapon like this that we get to use. What, at what point were you like, that's different.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

I think it was, you know, when we put the pads on, I mean that's when you kind of start judging. But you put the pads on and, and, and you know, we were a, we were a power team. You know, we, we were gap scheme, we went downhill, we tried to hit the crease and he pops one of the first ones he runs in full pads. When it was, it was a, it was a, it was a thud drill, you know, where you could smell smack the court with the running back, but you had to let him finish the run and he went through untouched. So I went back into huddle. I said, defense, hey, you can hit the, you can hit the running back. It's okay to Hit the running back. And one of them said, coach, we tried.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And I said, oh, okay.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

So then I went back, I looked at it on tape, and it was pretty impressive. It really was. It was. But what I think you really realize it was. It was all the other stuff he did. He got out early. He warmed up before practice. Okay. He got done. He warmed down after practice. He went in, he took care of his body. He got in the ice tub. Okay. He got in a hot tub. He did all the extra stuff that you're supposed to do to take. And he did it as a rookie. Obviously, his dad playing in his league, his wife. His wife, his mother. Being an all American soccer player had a lot to do with his growth and development because they understood what he was going to go through.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

And so he was that mature when he showed up.

[Big Cat]

Wow. Yeah.

[Dale]

So you knew right away. That's very cool.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Oh, he was tremendous. I'll tell you right now. He's. He was one of. That's how great a kid he is. Okay. I should say kid. Young man. He is. We played him last year and, you know, the game was over and, you know, they had won and that's when they were rolling. He was playing really well. And so he came over, you know, we shook hands, we talked a little bit, and he said, coach, you ever need thing, just give holler. He said, you know what? I never asked you for a jersey. He goes, you can have this one. I said, really? He said, oh, yeah. He went in, signed it, gave it to his equipment guy. He said, put it in a plastic cover and send it to coach. And they sent it to my. Got it the next. It was. It was really cool.

[Big Cat]

That's awesome.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

It was really cool. I mean, he really is. He's one of my guys. He was one of my favorite guy. He really was. Just because of who he was and the way he did things.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dale]

And I guess I did a bad job right off the top checking it. How are you feeling? Are you doing okay?

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah, I am. I am. Thank you. Yeah. I've got one more year left of doing my annual, and hopefully it'll come up and continue to be the way it's supposed to be.

[Big Cat]

Very cool.

[Dale]

Glad to hear it. And you're watching every NFL game, or trying to. Maybe not every game, Taking a walk for the afternoon games, but is there, like a player that you've seen now that you get to watch the entire league where you're like, that guy is really, really underrated.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Gosh. I know I've said that a couple of times just watching, but I think about the Flashes right now, and I think of Saquon Barkley jumping backwards. I think of watching Jay Daniels, the way he plays with such confidence. I mean, it's just tremendous to watch that confidence. Watching Matthew Stafford, I got to do that game against the Raiders, and when he got Puka and Cooper back out there and just the way he played, it was just like, God, people don't understand the impact. Impact that those two guys have on the entire offense as well. Yeah, it was that impressive.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Well, thank you so much, coach. People are gonna be listening this after it, but we're gonna. We're gonna watch ball with you tonight. I'm very excited.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

I'm looking forward to that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's gonna be a great game. And thank you. We loved having you come by, and anytime you want to stop back by, it was awesome.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Well, I appreciate it, guys. Thank you.

[Dale]

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[Big Cat]

Okay, Fire fest of the week. Usually the couch starts first.

[Dale]

Yeah, that's how we. That's how we typically go. And then the booth ends it.

[Hank]

So, Max, this is a fire fest. I don't like being here.

[Dale]

What's wrong on this couch?

[Hank]

This is Hank. This is Hank. Spot. Pug is forcing me here.

[Dale]

He's the president. You have to do what the president says.

[Hank]

I know, I know. I'm listening to the president for now.

[Big Cat]

So what's your fire fest? Oh, I was almost.

[Hank]

Were you gonna say Hank?

[Big Cat]

No.

[Hank]

What are you gonna say?

[Dale]

Did you say it?

[Big Cat]

Were you say, what's your fire fest, fat boy?

[Hank]

That is my fire.

[Big Cat]

I don't know why, but you're sitting right here. It's just different.

[Hank]

No, I don't like it, but that actually is my fire fest. I Started counting calories. Calories. This week I started logging everything.

[Big Cat]

Wait, wait, explain to everyone because I know why you're counting calories. It's a very funny reason. It's a very funny reason. You told me this and I was just like, what?

[Hank]

I think. No, I think you agree with me.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, no, I do.

[Hank]

I think most people agree with me.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Hank]

So my mom's been on my ass.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

To get a physical.

[Hank]

I haven't got a physical in five years since, like, before I joined Barstool. So I purposely. She's actually going to be listening to this right now. Mom, I'm telling you right now. I could have got a physical the day that I scheduled it.

[Big Cat]

It.

[Hank]

But I got it three weeks. I. I got a physical three weeks from the day I scheduled it so I could get three weeks of trying to lose weight before I go to the physical.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. Yes.

[Dale]

That's good. You're getting in shape for your, like, measurements.

[Big Cat]

I'm doing the same thing right now, but I have a physical the week after you. I haven't gotten one in 10 years.

[Hank]

It's crazy scary.

[Dale]

Is it going to be depressing if you go after, like a three week diet to get your physical and they're like, you need to lose weight.

[Big Cat]

No, no.

[Hank]

That is what that is. That's a thousand.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah. But it's gonna be loose, but it's.

[Hank]

Not going to be like, holy. You're gonna die within. It's gonna be like. And no, it's still probably gonna be that, but it'll just be not as bad.

[Big Cat]

It's. It's. Mentally, it's like a longer version of, you know, brushing really hard and flossing right before the dentist.

[Hank]

Right.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

And wait, are you getting your physical right before Thanksgiving?

[Hank]

Yes.

[Dale]

Smart man.

[Hank]

Smart man. Literally, the week before, like the exact. To the day, the week before things.

[Big Cat]

Should we share our results? No, I think we should. No, I'm getting one the week after you.

[Hank]

No, I am not sure. I'm not. I'm.

[Big Cat]

I'll share my results.

[Dale]

I'll share mine.

[Max]

Me and max are chasing 70.

[Dale]

No, I feel like we should. We should all get physicals. Put the results on the table.

[Hank]

No, I'm not putting. This is. This is hipaa.

[Dale]

It is that. Actually.

[Big Cat]

It's you sharing it. I'm going to share mine.

[Hank]

You're trying to make me share.

[Big Cat]

I'm not. I'm just saying I'm going to share mine. You will. You tango.

[Hank]

Let me see the result. Let me see what goes on and then I'll decide.

[Big Cat]

Ok. Yeah, you can flub some number.

[Hank]

Also, the fire fest as we keep. I'm saying this, and Hank and I are.

[Dale]

What we.

[Hank]

What we got for dinner tonight was absurd.

[Big Cat]

Well, Coach Rivera was here. You know, he spent a lot of time in his life in Chicago, and he was like, hey, I want some lumiles and I want some portillos and canes. Yeah.

[Dale]

He wanted to eat Chicago.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

If you look at the kitchen right.

[Max]

Now, separate pizza place.

[Dale]

Yeah. Pizza places. And all the hot dogs and Italian sandwiches.

[Hank]

And chicken fingers.

[Dale]

And chicken fingers. And credit to Max. I walked through the kitchen at one.

[Max]

Point, giant chocolate cake.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

So I was walking in the kitchen at one point and Jerry was like, like, max, have some of this cake. Have some of this chocolate cake. And Max was like, no, I can't do. He's like, just have a little bit. He was really pushing the cake hard on Max. Max was like, no, I will not eat that cake. Good for you, Max.

[Hank]

Yeah. So I got. I got separate sushi and I. And I'm track. I'm tracking all my cows and it's tough. Sunday is going to be. Sunday's going to be brutal.

[Big Cat]

Sunday's. Yeah.

[Dale]

It's hard chasing seven. Max, you're gonna look like Bartolo cologne when you do the pitching thing. It's gonna be awesome.

[Hank]

Which, by the way, that's another fucking five best.

[Big Cat]

But that's coming up. That's coming up.

[Hank]

And teaser for it is nowhere near the challenge that bft.

[Big Cat]

No.

[Dale]

Come on.

[Big Cat]

No offense to our guys at uic, who are very welcoming. Did they.

[Hank]

Don't say it. Did they. Should we just say it?

[Big Cat]

No. Did they? Well, let me. I won't say it, but yes. Did they?

[Dale]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, they did. Yes, they did. I've got to remember.

[Hank]

Yes, they did. So.

[Big Cat]

Oh, man.

[Dale]

They're that good.

[Big Cat]

They did. Yeah. Yeah, they did.

[Dale]

He's the umpire.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Pft.

[Dale]

Whoever that could be. So my Fire fest of the week. It's not for me per se, but it's for Brian Kelly, okay. In his shoes, I will submit this fire fest. Lsu. We love lsu.

[Big Cat]

We love lsu.

[Dale]

We love Mike the Tiger, don't we?

[Big Cat]

We love Mike the Tiger.

[Dale]

Great Tiger. Go Tigers. They used to in the past have a live tiger on the sidelines during games, which rocks. That's what's awesome about college football, which is they don't give a fuck. Fuck it. Put the tiger on the sidelines. We'll figure out the liability later. They no longer have the tiger. On the sidelines for, I guess, ethical treatment of animal stuff.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Dale]

I think some of the, some of the advocacy groups got to them and said, hey, maybe don't drag this tiger around and bring him into a stadium where he gets confused.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Dale]

So LSU said, okay, well, we'll, we'll take him off the sidelines. And that was kind of the rule for a long time. And it appears that they are now bringing a tiger back onto their sidelines this weekend. That's cool, right? I think that's cool. Cool. However, it seems like it might be a fake Mike the tiger that they're putting on the sidelines because people took pictures of Mike in his beautiful enclosure that he has on campus at lsu and they compared the stripes and they think that it's a duplicate Mike. I think it's a fake Mike the tiger that they've brought in. And Mike is some. Who knows where Mike is? He could have been abducted. I hope he's safe. If you can hear this Mike growl three times. But the Mike the tiger that's on the campus right now is allegedly a fake mic that the governor of Louisiana got from some cat sanctuary in Florida. Maybe Carole Baskin's cat sanctuary. I don't know. That's where hers is.

[Big Cat]

This is bad.

[Dale]

And they're going to use this new fake Mike the Tiger and bring that tiger into the stadium on Saturday.

[Big Cat]

That's.

[Dale]

So it's going to be a fake Mike the tiger. It's, it's a duplicate. It's a clone. The earlobes don't attach.

[Big Cat]

That's bullshit.

[Dale]

So there's some fucked up stuff going. And now Brian Kelly has to be answering questions about whether or not the real Mike the Tiger is going to be in the stadium on Saturday. Which is like, that's, that's such a funny scenario.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah.

[Dale]

Is Brian Kelly being like, why am I, why am I taking calls from the governor about whether or not I'm going to have a tiger sitting next to me during a football. I love this, but it's the most Louisiana thing ever.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Dale]

And I love that it's, it's fun college football stuff. But I'm going to have my eyes on, on this Monday Mike that's going to be at the game. And I'm. I can almost guarantee you it's not the real mic.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Dale]

In which case I am going to be betting against lsu. Very.

[Big Cat]

That's the worst vibes possible.

[Dale]

A fake Tiger game.

[Big Cat]

Can't do it.

[Dale]

You can't do it at all.

[Big Cat]

Can't do it. Can't have it. I stand with it.

[Dale]

I stand with a real Mike. The tiger.

[Big Cat]

Can't win with it.

[Dale]

No.

[Big Cat]

Can't have it. All right. I mean, my firefighters, I had kidney stones. Past. Past the big boy. So, yeah, we're on the. We're on the mend. Feel good. Good. Don't feel like my dick is gonna explode every two seconds when I go to take a piss.

[Max]

Did I say. You say on Twitter you're. You had to piss into a sieve.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Did you not see me walking around with it? No. Oh, yeah.

[Dale]

That's what you gotta do when you got the stones, you gotta catch them.

[Big Cat]

It's like a funnel, and then it's got, like. It's like a. I was like a gold miner, and so I was just pissing through a funnel all week.

[Hank]

Why do you have to catch it?

[Big Cat]

Just so they can test it, which I don't know what they're gonna say. Like, you're a fat. You're a piece of. If they give it back. I don't know. I think they break it up.

[Dale]

They're gonna look at it and they're gonna say, what is it? Was it made out of secondary market? Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Dale]

If it's got, like, sodium or calcium, then they're gonna be like, we'll stop eating this and stop eating that. And then you're gonna say, okay. And then you're gonna eat the same thing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So it's good, though, that it's out. I feel. I feel a lot better. Thank you for everyone. It was a shitty, shitty five days. Days. And now I also have to deal with. When I was putting my daughter to bed tonight, she was like, can I tell my teacher that you got the rocks out of your belly tomorrow? And I was like, yeah, I guess, like, we're just gonna. I guess it's like, what do you say? Like, no, don't say that. Totally saying it right now. Yeah, it is. Hip hop.

[Dale]

It's up also.

[Big Cat]

I just want to shout myself out. I finally. I have a bad addiction to buying, so I get into algorithms, like, parenting algorithms. And I. I buy. There's all these, like, different toys that are, like, supposed to be educational toys. And I was like, I'm like over 30 lifetime buying these and having them just suck. Finally bought a good one, and it's big. But then I got reminded how bad I am at this, so I feel back, though.

[Dale]

Nice work.

[Big Cat]

It's a little puzzle toy.

[Dale]

That's why you keep buying, because you get the gold mine.

[Big Cat]

Just Keep going. Just keep going. All right. Max, in the booth.

[Max]

No, I mean, we talked about it. Mine was going to be also my chasing 70. My issues with dieting and trying fat ass. But yeah, trying to lose weight sucks.

[Dale]

Yeah. What are you doing?

[Max]

I'm just eating healthy. Calories in, calories out, and just trying again. Like, I have realized that I can't not snack when I'm here.

[Big Cat]

Such bullshit.

[Max]

I can't not snack when I'm here. So I just bought it. But, like, I eat grapes.

[Big Cat]

Water. This isn't right.

[Max]

Yogurt.

[Big Cat]

This isn't right.

[Hank]

Max, There was a moment during the stream today that Hank and I both went to the other part of the. Of the basketball court to get our healthy snacks while everyone else was eating.

[Max]

We're in this together, you know, the same number.

[Dale]

Yeah, but Hank, you got to get. You got to get strong, too. I know those muscles.

[Big Cat]

I know.

[Max]

I'm still working out. That's the. That's why it's very hard to lose weight and gain. Gain muscle.

[Dale]

But, you know, it'd be very funny, though.

[Big Cat]

I'm sorry, Hank, that you're going through this.

[Dale]

You. You know, be very funny is if you guys met in the middle.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I could.

[Max]

The second that this dunk is over, I am going to bulk up so hard because not having to worry about what I'm eating and calories in and just calories up. Bulk season. I'm down.

[Dale]

Hank, you would. You would look hilarious if you were like 220 pounds. I don't think I get to do 20.

[Big Cat]

He tried to do that. I know.

[Hank]

10 years ago.

[Max]

I got to 190.

[Big Cat]

You got a come belly.

[Max]

I had.

[Big Cat]

Cuz all he did was drink. He just drank milk.

[Max]

Drink whole milk.

[Hank]

I don't think I've been 220 since day.

[Big Cat]

Okay, let's finish off with numbers.

[Max]

3.

[Big Cat]

3. Oh.

[Hank]

99.

[Big Cat]

21, 17.

[Dale]

Wow.

[Hank]

Really, man? Yep.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. That's a shot at the president.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Yeah.

[Hank]

Yep. Go. We'll go 97. Po.

[Dale]

Hank doesn't believe in those.

[Big Cat]

44.

[Hank]

What? He just said three.

[Big Cat]

Four.

[Hank]

Is Hank just saying multiple numbers?

[Big Cat]

No, I'm.

[Max]

I. I forgot. I forgot. Me was three. I thought you were three. I'll do 40.

[Big Cat]

Wait, so three's back open? Yeah, I.

[Hank]

Wait.

[Dale]

Numbers.

[Hank]

43. 11, 44.

[Big Cat]

4.

[Dale]

4, 4.

[Hank]

99.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

Pug four.

[Dale]

Number five.

[Jerry]

Fourth win.

[Hank]

I thought we were just taking each other's numbers.

[Dale]

No, I'm doing top five.

[Big Cat]

Shane, get in here.

[Coach Ron Rivera]

21.

[Dale]

Is it 97.

[Hank]

That would have rocked if it was 97.

[Big Cat]

All right, see everyone on Monday. Love you guys.