PARDON MY TAKE – EPISODE SUMMARY

Podcast: Pardon My Take
Hosts: Big Cat & PFT Commenter (Barstool Sports)
Episode: DeAndre Hopkins, Shedeur In The Pro Bowl, Belichick Snubbed For Hall of Fame, Zac’s Stream List + FAQ’s
Date: January 28, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of "Pardon My Take" brings the classic PMT crew together for commentary on the biggest sports stories of the week, including:

• The chaos of NFL coaching searches (Browns, Eagles),
• The much-lampooned selection of Shedeur Sanders to the Pro Bowl,
• Bill Belichick’s shocking Hall of Fame snub at the hands of Bill Polian,
• Zac’s first draft of ideas for a grueling upcoming 36-hour stream,
• And a wide-ranging interview with NFL great DeAndre Hopkins.
  As always, the episode is laced with PMT’s irreverent humor, listener interaction, plenty of inside jokes, and a strong “football guy” energy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Coaching Carousel & Pro Bowl Absurdity

(00:00–15:30)

• Browns' Coaching Woes:

  • Nobody wants to coach the Cleveland Browns despite "a Pro Bowl QB," leading to speculation that the job’s on-field and off-field issues (ownership, forced staff) make it toxic.
    • “Why, oh why will no one take the Cleveland Browns job knowing that you have a Pro Bowl quarterback?” – Big Cat [01:47]
  • Jim Schwartz could become Head Coach by default; being forced to keep him as DC is considered a dealbreaker for many candidates.
    • “Come take the Cleveland Browns job. Oh, by the way, we have an interim head coach waiting for you to fuck up.” – Big Cat [08:11]

• Shedeur Sanders’ Controversial Pro Bowl Selection:

  • Shedeur makes the Pro Bowl as an alternate despite underwhelming stats, which PMT sees as proof the selection process is now a joke.
    • “The Pro Bowl, if you’ve been paying any attention, has not meant anything for a really long time now. This is the final nail in the coffin.” – Big Cat [03:20]
  • The hosts riff on how this further diminishes the value of “Pro Bowler” as a credential.
    • “Next year, when Shedor has a bad game—Pro Bowler.” – Big Cat [06:31]

• Eagles' OC Search:

  • Philadelphia can’t fill their coordinator role, with musings about why (Sirianni? Jalen Hurts? The city itself?).
  • Some tongue-in-cheek vetting of coaching candidates (“He looks kind of like a cop.” – [12:38]).

2. NFL Playoff & Coaching Analysis

(15:31–28:34)

• Game Recap Takeaways:
  • Regret and debate over Sean Payton's infamous 4th-and-1 call (Should the Broncos have just kicked? Did conditions play a role?).
  • Appreciation of weather-impacted playoff football as part of the sport’s unique intensity—even at the risk of ugly games.
    • "There will be a day in 10–15 years where 90% of the league is in a dome. I think that will suck." – Big Cat [19:00]
• Cooper Kupp "Elevator Story":
  • Revisiting a viral altercation between Rams and Seahawks coaches in an elevator at halftime, and how it became a rallying point for the Rams.
    • “They used it at halftime as a rallying cry. Cooper Kupp...this is a redemptive arc for Cooper Kupp in this Super Bowl.” – Big Cat [21:04]
• Shanahan Coaching Tree and Special Teams Woes:
  • Data reveals Rams, 49ers, and Packers are all bottom of the league in Special Teams EPA—the “Shanahan family curse.”
    • “The Shanahan coaching tree just doesn’t give a fuck about special teams and it bites them in the ass.” – Big Cat [22:20]

3. Super Bowl Preview, Betting Antics & Listener Drama

(28:35–46:00)

• Super Bowl Handicapping: Patriots vs. Seahawks

  • Heated, comic argument about which side has the edge—coaching experience (Patriots' Vrabel & McDaniels) vs. coaching talent (Seahawks' McDonald).
  • Hank and PFT renegotiate an escalating “double or nothing” Super Bowl bet, landing on a high-stakes $40,000 wager.
    • “I gotta be honest, Big Cat, I would gladly pay $40,000 for a Patriots Super Bowl loss. That’s how I’m looking at it.” – PFT [38:12]

• Belichick Hall of Fame Snub

  • The news breaks in real time: Bill Belichick will not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, allegedly due to Bill Polian’s lobbying.
    • “Bill Polian has kept Bill Belichick out of the Hall of Fame as a first-ballot Hall of Famer in one of the biggest hater moves of all time.” – Big Cat [42:20]
  • This is declared an enormous insult and “unites all of sports media behind Belichick.”
  • Conspiracy theories swirl; later Bill Polian denies leading the anti-Belichick campaign.
    • “The plot thickens. Either Bill Polian is the biggest coward in the world, or there’s a deep-state plot.” – PFT [48:54]
  • Call for transparency (“televise the Hall of Fame vote!”), encouragement to email tips, and jokes about Patriots fans storming Canton.

4. Zac’s 36-Hour Stream: The Idea List

(56:57–71:10)

• Zac presents a collection of wild and goofy activities for his upcoming 36-hour punishment stream (Max, as 2nd place, is forced to do 18 hours).

• Suggestions include:

  • Running a 10k inside the studio (over 10,000 tiny laps)
  • Spooky Booth (Ouija board session)
  • Chained Together video games
  • “Itch Golf” (playing golf while literally itchy)
  • Keepy-uppy balloons with weighted vests
  • Writing a children’s book called “Sleep Tight Saquon”
  • Karaoke while eating yogurt (“Yo-Yolk Karaoke”)
  • Charades, Pac Man with cheese puffs, sassy Lego builds, “Memo Men” (covering in Post-Its), brisket making, and many more

• Every idea is discussed and riffed on, with the crew tossing out taglines and tweaks (“tickle golf”, “wine and whine” painting, “puffman”).

  • “The last hour being Brisket Boys, we all join in and just do brisket boys.” – Big Cat [74:49]

5. Hot Seat / Cool Throne

(77:10–92:56)

• Hot Seat Highlights:

  • Pro Bowl’s reputation, pocket-watchers (Alex Honnold only paid $500k for his climb)
  • Sam Schwartzstein, roasted by a Truth Social post (via Trump) about the new NFL kickoff being less “big time”

• Cool Throne Highlights:

  • PFT is officially taller than Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia (“five-nine and seven-eighths”).
  • Sydney Sweeney’s new bra line (leading to a protracted, pervy riff on bras and sports mascots, e.g., Benny the Bull).
  • Brisket and ice cream–the latter now (allegedly) proven by Ivy League studies to be “the healthiest food.”

6. DeAndre Hopkins Interview

(94:55–133:36)

Topics Covered:

• NOT retiring, still averaging 15 yards/catch
  • “I averaged 15 yards a catch last year, man. I ain’t retiring off that.” [95:22]
• On Lamar Jackson: “Lamar is the sole reason I went to Baltimore…he talks to everyone in the building.” [96:40]
• Freshness of missing the playoffs:
  • “That shit’s still fresh in my head…it still sucks.” [97:35]
• What makes Mike Vrabel special as a coach:
  • “He’ll get down in the dirt with you … not a lot of coaches will actually get down and put on the pads.” [98:28]
• Hating the Steelers: “It didn’t take me long. Especially once we started off 1 and 5, I was like, I hope Pittsburgh loses every game.” [100:24]
• Dabo Swinney: Both “corny” and demanding the best, will “curse you out like the old Alabama football coaches.” [102:40]
• Iconic stories about playing for the Texans (with/against Andre Johnson, catch that never counted, catching TD passes from a comical array of QBs).
• Super Bowl week compared to regular season: “It felt like a regular week, just…the streets going outside, everything is Super Bowl this, Super Bowl that.” [113:15]
• Defensive back breakdown: Praises Jalen Ramsey and Christian Gonzalez as especially tough matchups.
• Enjoys watching Terry McLaurin (“Scary Terry”), a “contested catch machine…doesn’t get enough credit.” [117:11]
• What happens at the Met Gala? “People hanging out, eating food, and then there’s a concert. That’s it.”
• Nickname “Nuke” came from chewing up pacifiers as a baby; says, “I used to tell everyone they called me Nuke because I’m the bomb.” [132:18]

7. FAQs and Grab Bag

(135:45–143:29)

• Listener questions about booth smell, Super Bowl pain (is it better to be blown out or to not make it at all), and gross party etiquette (what to do if you clog a toilet with no plunger—“I’ve used my hand in a trash bag.” – Big Cat [138:11])
• Team party stories; aging out of big Super Bowl parties.
• Wager talk – Hank and PFT joke/argue about hypothetical future Super Bowls and the pain of losing big.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Shedeur Sanders making the Pro Bowl:
  “Next year, when Shedor has a bad game—Pro Bowler.” – Big Cat [06:31]
• Pro Bowl as mockery:
  “Pro Bowler Shador Sanders or Pro Bowler Deshaun Watson—it’s almost like an embarrassment of riches.” – Big Cat [09:14]
• On Mike Vrabel as a coach “He’ll get down in the dirt with you, block you, try to run around on you at practice—there aren’t a lot of coaches that will actually get down and put on the pads.” – DeAndre Hopkins [98:28]
• Hall of Fame voting transparency:
  “Televising the Hall of Fame vote—tell me that wouldn’t do great ratings!” – Big Cat [44:22]
• Betting bravado:
  “I would gladly pay $40,000 for a Patriots Super Bowl loss. That’s how I’m looking at it.” – PFT [38:12]
• On Dabo Swinney:
  “He’s a religious man, but on Saturdays, all that goes out the window…he will curse you out like the old Alabama football coaches.” – DeAndre Hopkins [102:40]
• Sweeney’s bra line:
  “Sydney Sweeney’s getting into the bra game and it’s over. It’s a wrap.” – Big Cat [86:34]
• Great catch that didn't count:
  “That ref basically saying, you’re too good for me to be able to officiate this properly.” – Big Cat [108:23]

Highlighted Timestamps

• Shedeur Sanders, Pro Bowl discussion — 02:47–06:37
• Browns coaching “poison pill” — 07:44–09:12
• Super Bowl bet negotiation (PFT & Hank) — 36:01–39:03
• Belichick Hall of Fame snub coverage — 42:20–51:56
• Zac’s stream idea list (comedy gold) — 57:42–75:00
• DeAndre Hopkins interview (career stories, NFL insights) — 94:55–133:36
• Sydney Sweeney/bra riff, Benny the Bull — 86:34–88:44
• Is it better to not make the SB, or to get blown out? — 140:50–143:29

Tone & Style

The episode is high-energy, self-aware, and packed with goofball tangents, but beneath the schtick is insight about football, media, and sports culture. The hosts’ rapport, willingness to mercilessly rib each other, and the interactive, evolving nature of the show (real-time news, live emails/jokes among crew) make it engaging and enjoyable even for new listeners.

For Listeners Who Missed It:

You’ll get:

• Hilarious analysis of how the Pro Bowl and Hall of Fame have become parodies.
• Candid NFL locker-room stories from DeAndre Hopkins (including career highlights, shoutouts to teammates and coaches, and reflections on high/low moments)
• A comically detailed, self-roasting brainstorm session for the most over-the-top sports punishment stream in podcast history.
• Real talk about (and jokes surrounding) betting, fandom, football pain, and the oddities of sports media.
• Classic PMT bits—inside jokes, out-of-nowhere rants about supermodels, mascots, and party etiquette.

This was a classic, wide-ranging sports pod episode: unpredictable, unfiltered, and full of laughs.