Ryan Fitzpatrick Talking Conference Championships, Stavros Halkios And The Ravens Loss, Ohio State Wins The Natty, Bears Get Ben Johnson And Tensions Are Mounting

Summary

Podcast Summary: Pardon My Take – Episode Released January 22, 2025

Hosts: Big Cat & PFT Commenter

In this engaging episode of "Pardon My Take," Big Cat and PFT Commenter delve deep into the recent developments in the sports world, focusing primarily on Ohio State's triumphant national championship run, the Baltimore Ravens' heartbreaking playoff loss, and the Chicago Bears' significant coaching hire. Additionally, the hosts welcome special guests Ryan Fitzpatrick and Stavros Halkias to provide expert insights and personal anecdotes. Here's a detailed breakdown of the episode's key discussions, insights, and conclusions.

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1. Ohio State Wins the National Championship

Dominant Playoff Performance: Big Cat opens the discussion by celebrating Ohio State Buckeyes' victory in the national championship game against Notre Dame. Despite a closer scoreboard and Notre Dame's resilient comeback attempts (00:00-05:32), Ohio State showcased their dominance throughout most of the game.

Key Moments & Strategic Decisions: A pivotal moment highlighted is the 50-yard pass to Jeremiah Smith in the fourth quarter (05:32-07:32). PFT Commenter praises the gutsy play, likening it to similar successes in the Super Bowl, emphasizing Ryan Day's fearless coaching style. Big Cat elaborates on the play's impact, stating it was "a testament to Jeremiah Smith and how insanely athletic he is" (06:09-06:44).

Playoff Structure Impact: With the introduction of the new 12-team playoff system, Ohio State becomes the first national champion under this format (03:07-04:03). The hosts discuss the implications of this change, noting that it allows teams to recover from losses to rivals like Michigan without jeopardizing their championship chances permanently.

Rivalry with Michigan: A recurring theme is Ohio State's intense rivalry with Michigan. Big Cat references Woody Hayes' famous quote about the importance of beating Michigan to claim a national title, highlighting the enduring significance of this matchup (13:15-15:05). PFT Commenter echoes this sentiment, discussing the perpetual ammunition fans have to challenge Ohio State's championship legitimacy based on their rivalry outcomes (15:12-18:57).

Fan Reactions & Future Expectations: The discussion touches on fan sentiments, particularly Ohio State fans' pride juxtaposed with lingering frustrations over losses to Michigan (13:28-18:57). Big Cat speculates on the potential for future championship encounters between these storied programs, hinting at heightened excitement for upcoming seasons (15:05-15:52).

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2. Chicago Bears Hire Ben Johnson as Head Coach

Historic Coaching Hire: A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the Chicago Bears hiring Ben Johnson as their new head coach, marking a substantial shift in the franchise's approach (21:13-26:07). Big Cat expresses cautious optimism, rating his happiness with the hire as "6 out of 10" (23:00-23:21).

Financial Implications & Strategic Vision: The Bears reportedly offer Johnson a lucrative $14 million contract, a first for the team's coaching hires (24:40-26:07). PFT Commenter critiques the departure from traditional Bears hiring practices, suggesting that this investment signals a new era aimed at revitalizing the team (26:12-27:22).

Impact on Team Performance: Big Cat believes Johnson will transform the Bears' dynamics, particularly focusing on quarterback Caleb Williams' development (25:01-26:07). The hosts discuss the necessity for immediate improvements in the offensive and defensive lines to complement Williams' talents (27:05-28:07).

Fan Base Reactions & Future Prospects: While Big Cat remains cautiously optimistic, acknowledging the work ahead, PFT Commenter voices skepticism about the immediate effectiveness of the hire, emphasizing the traditional challenges the Bears face (23:05-28:07). The conversation also touches on potential future hires, including Aaron Glenn for the Jets, further indicating a period of significant coaching transitions across the NFL (32:37-33:38).

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3. Interview with Ryan Fitzpatrick: College Football Insights

Championship Conversations: Ryan Fitzpatrick joins the show to discuss the recent college football playoffs, focusing on the Bills' journey and their upcoming conference championship (75:21-83:35). Fitzpatrick highlights Ohio State's strategic prowess and the significance of their $20 million roster (02:38-03:04).

Game Analysis & Player Performance: Fitzpatrick provides an in-depth analysis of key players like Josh Allen and Travis Kelce, praising their efficiency and chemistry on the field (78:01-81:03). He draws parallels between Ohio State's gameplay and past NFL strategies, emphasizing the importance of adaptability in high-stakes matches (83:35-86:05).

Quarterback Dynamics: A significant portion of the interview centers on quarterback dynamics, particularly Jalen Hurts' performance and mental fortitude (86:20-93:10). Fitzpatrick discusses Hurts' ability to remain calm under pressure and his exceptional play-making skills, comparing him favorably to other elite quarterbacks (84:53-93:10).

Strategic Recommendations: Fitzpatrick offers strategic advice for teams facing formidable opponents, stressing the importance of ball possession and forcing turnovers (84:53-86:17). He also shares personal anecdotes, including humorous incidents like getting a shot put stuck in a golf hole, showcasing his relatable personality (97:07-101:17).

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4. Interview with Stavros Halkias: Ravens' Playoff Loss and Personal Reflections

Playoff Heartbreak: Stavros Halkias discusses the Baltimore Ravens' recent playoff loss, expressing deep personal anguish and its impact on his life, including his journey to sobriety (73:10-91:30). His candid reflections provide a raw look into the emotional toll of sports defeats (93:05-99:26).

Team Performance & Coaching Critique: Halkias critiques the Ravens' coaching strategies, particularly the offensive play-calling and defensive inconsistencies that contributed to their loss (99:37-107:05). He emphasizes the importance of disciplined coaching and the detrimental effects of poor in-game decisions (105:15-107:15).

Personal Growth & Future Outlook: Despite the painful loss, Halkias shares his resilience and determination to move forward, both personally and professionally. He highlights upcoming projects, including his "Stavi Biz" tour, indicating his plans to balance personal challenges with career advancements (112:06-135:57).

Emotional Insights: The interview sheds light on Halkias' emotional state post-loss, detailing his struggles with depression and the steps he's taking towards healing (108:07-135:57). His openness provides listeners with a heartfelt understanding of the human side of sports fandom (114:22-135:57).

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5. Miscellaneous Discussions & Fan Interactions

Hot Seat, Cool Throne Segment: A brief segment introduces the "Hot Seat, Cool Throne" competition, sponsored by Game Time, encouraging listeners to participate in last-minute NFL playoff ticket deals (44:15-46:44).

Lighthearted Banter & Challenges: Throughout the episode, the hosts engage in humorous interactions, including playful challenges like Hank's ambitious "nine darter" darts challenge and discussions about potential podcast topics and future events (46:35-60:16).

Audience Engagement: The hosts maintain a dynamic rapport with their guests and among themselves, fostering an entertaining and relatable atmosphere for listeners (60:27-65:00).

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6. Advertisements & Sponsorships (Skipped)

As per the summary guidelines, segments related to advertisements, sponsorships, and promotional content were omitted to focus solely on the substantive discussions and interactions within the episode.

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Conclusion

This episode of "Pardon My Take" offers a comprehensive exploration of the latest developments in college and professional football, enriched by insightful interviews and personal stories from guests. Big Cat and PFT Commenter adeptly balance in-depth analysis with humor and candid conversations, making it a must-listen for sports enthusiasts seeking both information and entertainment.

Notable Quotes:

• Big Cat on Ohio State's 50-yard pass: "That was gutsy, that was mobile, that was ballsy call" (06:25).

• PFT Commenter on Ohio State's playoff structure: "Best thing they got. They do have that big expensive roster, but to their credit, most of those guys stayed around" (04:11).

• Ryan Fitzpatrick on Jalen Hurts: "Jalen Hurts is good. But then sometimes I watch him, I'm like, wait, is he" (89:40).

• Stavros Halkias on Ravens' loss impact: "That loss fucked me up so bad. I watched it... It sucked dick" (120:05).

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Big Cat]

On today's part of my take. Ohio State wins the national championship. College football season is finally done. We'll talk about that game. Marcus Freeman, we might need to talk to him about numbers. We have some coach hiring Ben Johnson to the Bears, Aaron Glenn to the Jets. Memes has happened maybe we have no maybe. Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Memes told me at 2pm it was going to be official. It is now 3pm okay.

[Big Cat]

So hot seat, cool throne. We have our good friend Ryan Fitzpatrick on the show talking about the championship Sunday games. And then we also have our good friend Stav Stavi, baby, talking about the Ravens. He did his. He's doing his duties. Coming on the show after another heartbreaking loss. It's all brought to you by our friends at DraftKings. Have you played pick six from DraftKings yet? What are you waiting for? You better get on it. The playoffs are here and time is running out. As the official daily fantasy sports partner of the NFL DraftKings, does fantasy sports, like no one else play for better payouts on Pick Six? It's super easy to get started. Download the DraftKings Pick Six app, select two or more players and choose if they'll have more or less of a stat with well, will a quarterback throw for more than two touchdowns? Will a running back rush for less than 100 yards? Or linebacker have more than one sack? It's just that easy. Pick Six is available in most states including Missouri, California, Texas, Georgia and more. And DraftKings, making it even sweeter for the first timers. New Pick 6 customers play $5, get $50 and Pick 6 credits. Win more cash on Pick 6. Download the DraftKings Pick 6 app and use code TAKE. That's code TAKE for new customers to play $5, get $50 AND Pick 6 credits only on DraftKings Pick 6. The Crown is yours. Okay, let's go. I love guys who like football and guys who like football, they like me back. And I even guys that don't like football, they try to avoid me because I'm always trying to get them to like football, football, football. Welcome to part of my take presented by DraftKings. Win more cash on Pick Six. 6. Download the DraftKings Pick Six app. Use code Take. That's Code Take for new customers to play $5, get $50 and pick six credits only on DraftKings pick six. The crown is yours. Today is Wednesday, January 22, and the Ohio State Buckeyes are national champions and.

[PFT Commenter]

Ryan the national chat.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, the national champions and Ryan Day has saved face and they even Though the scoreboard looks a little closer. They dominated most of that game. Let Notre Dame back in. But Ohio State has done it. $20 million roster, incredible team. One blemish on the record. Otherwise they, you know, kick the, I mean, they kicked the. Out of everyone in the playoffs. Texas was, was a closer game.

[PFT Commenter]

Two blemishes, right?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, well, yeah, the Oregon game by one.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

In, in Austin and then they avenged it by a lot, by a ton. That one doesn't really count as much, but yeah, Ohio State was an awesome team and they played awesome football down the stretch. And the new 12 team playoff, we finally have our first national champion from it.

[PFT Commenter]

So let's look at the rest of the top 25 that just came out.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Number two, Notre Dame.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Beat them. Number three, Oregon. Womped them. Yep. Number four, Texas. Beat, slash, whomp them.

[Big Cat]

I don't, I don't count as a whomping womp.

[PFT Commenter]

If you look at the final score. Beat. If you watch the game.

[Big Cat]

If you watch the game, it was. Texas had a chance to tie it very.

[Stavros Halkias]

With two minutes left.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Penn State beat them. Beat. Beat them.

[Big Cat]

They beat him by seven.

[PFT Commenter]

They beat a lot of really good teams and they had a very tough path to go through this playoff. You can't point to Ohio State and say anything about asterisks, Mickey Mouse, whatever. They were the best team in this playoff.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Best thing they got. They do have that big expensive roster, but to their credit, most of those guys, most of the money from the roster is going to guys that, that stayed around.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So it's like, hey, come back to OSU instead of trying to declare for the draft. We'll pay you some money while you're here. They did make a big addition at safety, obviously, but it's a. Yeah, it's a team that's been there for a long time and credit to them that What a, what a crazy season Ohio State had.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I mean, if you, if you had asked anyone at the end of November, like, is this team going to go on a run and do what they did in the playoff? I obviously was there somewhere deep down. But you also were like, they're on the ropes because what happened against Michigan was insane. But man, they, that four game stretch that they went through there, they were so good and they're just a really, really, really good football team. Ryan Day proved the haters wrong in the fact that he can win a national title. Will Howard happy for Will Howard, because I know that I, I've not been the number One Will Howard Rider. I, I think he's a good quarterback. I didn't know if he was a great quarterback. He was playing great. I mean, that, that play at the end where Ohio State, the fourth quarter, I think we all watched it. We, you know, the first three quarters, you're like, notre Dame shouldn't be on the field with Ohio State. Notre Dame gets a fumble, goes and scores. They get back in the game, they're fighting, which they deserve a ton of credit for. And then Ohio State has the ball up eight at the end of the game. And it looked like they were kind of turtling a little bit, running the, you know, just Will Howard right into the line and hoping to punt and be okay.

[PFT Commenter]

It was like, give the ball to Will Howard. Don't even let him pitch the ball. Don't let him hand the ball off, don't let him throw the ball. Don't even let him get tackled. Just give the ball. Snap the ball to Will Howard, have him run to the right and fall down.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And then they call up the play. The 50 yard pass of Jeremiah Smith. That was gutsy, Ballsy. And Chip Kelly, Chip Kelly was in his bag. That, that, that first touchdown, Jeremiah Smith was one of the coolest plays where he had the whole side of the field completely wide open in a short yardage situation. I think it was like the 10 yard line. But yeah, that was a ballsy, that was a ballsy, gutsy call. And Ryan Day proved that he's not going to piss down his legs and he's national champion forever.

[PFT Commenter]

That, that call to Jeremiah Smith was the same call kind of as they, they did, I think, to Tony in the super bowl, where you move your guy in motion, have him fake like he's going to run a reverse or jet sweep or something like that, send him back out and he's going to be a step ahead in a short yard situation. Get him the ball. It works all the time.

[Big Cat]

Well, it's a great call, but it's also a testament to Jeremiah Smith and how insanely athletic he is. Because if you watch that play and how he's able to stop on a dime, no one else has that stop and start. So even if you play it perfectly and you're tracking him, you're still going to lose on that play. And then, and yeah, he's, he's an incredible talent.

[PFT Commenter]

And then when Notre Dame was tracking him across the field, he goes in motion and there's two guys that are like, oh, he's in motion. I gotta Start running as fast as I can. And then boom, left it wide open. On that last, that last series of the game for Ohio State, when they're going down the field and they're, they're doing the conservative with, with Will Howard just giving the ball, do you think that Chip Kelly decided to do that to set up the deep shot? He's like, make them think that we're getting conservative and then that's going to open it up.

[Big Cat]

No, I just assumed that deep shot was probably an option play for Will Howard where it was like, hey, get to the line. If, if Jeremiah Smith is one on one on the outside with no safety help, that's where you should go. If he is. If they're playing something else, they're playing zone or something else, then probably just run it again into the line and we'll hope our defense can get a stop.

[PFT Commenter]

That's what I thought last night. Then I woke up this morning and I thought to myself, did Chip Kelly just fake out all of America? Because we all bought into the narrative of Ohio State getting too conservative and just kind of pissing away the game at the very end. He might have just fooled everybody and said, we're going to make you think that we're doing that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And then bomb it deep. The, the very first drive of the game for Notre Dame. Did you think it was going to be a game after that?

[Big Cat]

I thought it was a perfect start because it was a ten minute touchdown drive. I did not think that it was sustainable for Riley Leonard to carry the ball nine times on a 10, 10 minute drive and get the absolute shit kicked out of him time and time again. Yeah, but I like if you ask, if you ask Notre Dame fan, what's the perfect drive? Obviously, maybe not riley Leonard getting nine carries, but what's the perfect drive to start? It's 10 minutes. Bully ball. Completely erase the first quarter and score a touchdown.

[PFT Commenter]

They did. They erased the first quarter. Yeah, but then Ohio State gets the ball and they score in like three minutes.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

And then you're like, what was all that work for?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, Right. So I mean, Ohio State was just a better team. And, and, and I thought, I said, going into it, I was like, if Notre Dame can be plus two or three on the turnovers, they will have a shot. I think they were plus one, so they needed a couple more of those. They, they really couldn't. It was a bad, it was a bad fit for Notre Dame in the fact that they play man coverage a lot. And that's what Ohio State Just absolutely eats alive. And they were trying to switch to zone and it's just like they didn't really feel like they had the answers to all the problems that Ohio State's offense was throwing at them. And Ohio State's defense is elite. I mean, Jeremiah Love was. What do you have, four carries? Yeah, like he, I mean, he, they, they're just an elite, elite defense top to bottom.

[PFT Commenter]

And they're, they were never able to really run the ball. Yeah. Outside of that first drive where they went like all gas, no breaks. That doesn't mean that you can't steer right. And they didn't, they just were going to crash into everybody. And then Jeremiah Love was just not part of the game at all.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. So. And, and Notre Dame, like I said, Notre Dame deserves credit for fighting because I think we all were in the same boat. Like, this sucks. This is a dud. They did put a, a little bit. Now did he get hurt? Because he had four, four rushes for three yards. He might have gotten hurt.

[PFT Commenter]

I bet on him. I was monitoring him very closely. I don't know if he got hurt or not.

[Big Cat]

Riley Leonard had 17 rushes. But I credit to Notre Dame for making it a game there at the end where it was like, you had to at least be paying attention when they cut it to eight now or, sorry, they cut it to five and then, and then they. Ohio State kicked the field goal. Our guy, Marcus Freeman, who we like, great coach, incredible run. I do think Notre Dame's future is very bright and they'll be back in this spot. They've got, you know, a good quarterback coming in all these things. I don't know what he was doing with that field goal kick.

[PFT Commenter]

I was shocked.

[Big Cat]

So for people who didn't watch the game, I'm assuming everyone watched the game. Notre dame was down 16 with nine minutes left on the nine yard line and he brought out the field goal. Unit missed the field goal because they rushed him out. But trying to make a two score game, a two score game. And there were some people who were like, oh, well, now Notre Dame can win with two touchdowns if they hit this field goal. It still didn't make sense because you were saying you needed, with nine minutes left, you needed two full touchdown drives and two stops of Ohio State. I would always take trying to get nine yards over that.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

And they're like, well, what about the two point conversion? I still like, you have to play. If you kick that attempt that field goal, you have to play a perfect end of the game to have Everything go your way to have a chance to even win that game.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm going to play devil's advocate for Notre Dame. Would be. Jesus Christ. Advocate. Yeah, for Notre Dame. Did you see the plays that they were calling and how effective they were earlier in that situation?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I, I still don't.

[PFT Commenter]

It looked, I, I'm playing advocate real quick. They didn't even sniff the end zone. Yeah, they were getting overpowered. It didn't look like they had a hope on fourth down of scoring a touch. It would basically be throw the ball up, hope that somehow a miracle happens, you come down with it. It was not. Although their two point plays were really good. This was, you know, would have been a nine yard touchdown, but they didn't look like they were in rhythm at all to score a touchdown on that. So Marcus Freeman was probably just like, yeah, you know what, screw it, let's just take some points here. But then in that situation, you have to still go down the field twice.

[Big Cat]

Right. And get two stops.

[PFT Commenter]

I, I hated the field goal call. I thought it was bad, but I thought that probably had something to do with it. If they had, if they were close on one of their previous plays, if they looked like they ran a play that worked out anywhere, you know, near what they had practiced, they probably would have been like, yeah, okay, let's take a shot at the end zone. But it was just, it was a bad series.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, we got to talk math with him. It's just two score game to a two score game. I don't know, you just, you got a chance there. I still would let rather figure out your best play and if you don't get it. Okay. But at least you, you went out on your sword, bring out the field goal kicker and rushing them out and having a miss, the kick was just the worst possible scenario.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it was karma.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And then I saw people posting the, the stats of whether or not you should go for it. Plus minus was and it was a toss up. But I'm pretty sure that on those toss ups they don't take into account the two point conversion too. Yeah, like obviously if you're down by 16, then it's not the same as being down by 14 in that model national championship.

[Big Cat]

It's a national champion.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. I think you got to, you got to go for it. You got to go for, you got to be aggressive.

[Big Cat]

You got to just go. I mean again, you just. And what ended up happening, it was Ohio State, you know, ended up getting another field goal to make it a two score Game again. But it's just like, I don't know, you just got to go for it there. You gotta. I know it sucks. I know your offense had no real answers, but you gotta go for it. And I. Ohio State. Yeah. I mean, they. Incredible season. Ryan Day, is he gonna get a contract extension?

[PFT Commenter]

I was gonna ask you, do you think Ryan Day's job is safe?

[Big Cat]

I would say it's safe.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, probably.

[Big Cat]

But how do we think Ohio State fans? Like, this is one of those things where you're national to champions and it's awesome. But it's still got to probably bother you that Michigan fans are like, but you couldn't beat us.

[PFT Commenter]

That's the thing. Like, I've listened to a lot of sports talk today, and every single time I've been hearing somebody talk about Ohio State, when they bring it up, within two sentences the word Michigan is used.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[PFT Commenter]

And that's. It's not an asterisk. You guys won the national championship. Ohio State was the best team in college football. I don't think that you can argue that they were the best. They proved it through a tournament. They beat all the other top ranked teams in the tournament. Crazy route that they took. But people are always going to say Michigan after they talk about this title. And you have to just embrace that if you're Ohio State and say, yeah, we experienced the lowest low that you could possibly have for our team during a season. And then we responded and we were better than everybody in the country.

[Big Cat]

And they might not win the national title if they don't lose to Michigan. Like, there's a world where that might have galvanized them and refocused them. And they did change. You know, how they ran the ball, some of their play calling, letting. Letting Will Howard, you know, throw it deep to Jeremiah Smith more. So there, there is that world that like, that was actually the thing that pushed them to win a national title. They probably would have won it anyway. But it also hurts because the. What you know, Ryan Day, Urban Meyer, and then Woody Hayes. Woody Hayes, the most famous probably in football lore of all the Ohio State coaches, has a famous quote. You can't claim a national championship without winning the game. The only meaningful statistic is the number of times you beat Michigan.

[PFT Commenter]

That's probably because it had never happened before.

[Big Cat]

Well, and also it was a different world where you literally would just claim national titles.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it's ours.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And you technically, like, you probably can't, because if you have one loss, you can't claim a national title.

[PFT Commenter]

So what we're saying different world. And Woody Hayes, he co signs on this co national champions Michigan and Ohio State.

[Big Cat]

Michigan, Ohio State.

[PFT Commenter]

What this has really done is this is just the ultimate buildup to that game next year.

[Big Cat]

Oh my God, it's going to be incredible.

[PFT Commenter]

I can't wait.

[Big Cat]

And that Big Ten is kind of where football lies now. Two in a row. And it's, I mean, I know there's the theory that now that the schools in the north can start paying everyone over the table. It's, it, it makes it a little bit different than what was happening in the sec. But if you're an SEC fan, you got to be like, shit. And it's very cool. It's cool for sports just in general that Michigan went out, had a 150 season and then that game happened where Michigan beats Ohio State and Ohio State, like both of the premier programs in the Big Ten just put their nuts on the table and won back to back titles.

[PFT Commenter]

It is, it is kind of crazy. Yeah, it's good for football.

[Big Cat]

Great for.

[PFT Commenter]

You know what's not good for football was having that game last night. Yeah, that was bad.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No, it should be, it should be January 10th. Should be the latest they play the national champions.

[PFT Commenter]

We didn't, we didn't feel like it was even college football season anymore at that point. It was like, oh, yeah, the most important game of all is tonight. We forgot.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you can't have it. You can't have four NFL teams left and still not have a national title champion for college football. It just feels weird. It feels off. It's stupid.

[PFT Commenter]

It was cool seeing those two schools on the field though, for a national title.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And credit to Ohio State. They were, they were an incredible, incredible team. And at their best, they're up there like I think they could take anyone. But in Ryan Day, I'm happy that he can still live without like having his house be TP'd and people calling and, and harassing him. He's got a little bit back. Although there's probably gonna be some crazy. Ohio State fans are like, that wasn't enough.

[PFT Commenter]

Maybe just order pizza to his house.

[Big Cat]

If he loses to imagine if he does this again next year, if he loses to Michigan, then wins another national title. That's just his thing.

[PFT Commenter]

I saw people having the debate like, how many losses in a row would you take to Michigan for one national title? What, what's the math on that? But that, that's more interesting, like how many national titles in a row would you want to win? Losing to Michigan Every year. Because if you're Ohio State this year, you're like, yeah, I'll take that deal. The national champions. If it happens again next year, then you're like, okay, yeah, pretty cool. Back to back. But then if it's every. I think maybe by three, you're like, I would just like to beat Michigan.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

I brought this up after they lost to Michigan, and you guys both told me if you gave them that deal, they'd all say, no.

[Big Cat]

I mean, do what to lose to Michigan every year.

[Hank]

You said. You said, they, you say, fuck, yeah, I take that deal. You lose to Michigan, win the national title. After they lost, I don't know. I was like, if they win the national title, does it not matter? Like, no, it doesn't matter because they lost to Michigan.

[Big Cat]

I think it's, Yeah, I think it's still.

[Hank]

So, like, I'm saying before the season, if you had given them that deal, they would have said no.

[Big Cat]

I think there's some Ohio State fans that would be like, we, we want to beat Michigan.

[PFT Commenter]

I think after that Michigan game.

[Hank]

No, but before the season. Yeah, you said you're going to lose to Michigan but win the national title.

[Big Cat]

I think there's some Ohio State.

[Hank]

They lost in Michigan. You guys both told me that they would have said, we will not take that deal. We have to beat Michigan.

[PFT Commenter]

I think I'd also like to say.

[Hank]

What do you think it is now, though? Now that they've actually won the title?

[Big Cat]

I think they got to beat Michigan next year.

[PFT Commenter]

I think I was wrong right after to say that you would not take the deal. I think that after the fact, it felt so low for them, but the way that it's, it's played out and the way that they, like, battled back from that, I've changed my mind. I think that Ohio State fans are, like, just as proud of this season as they are of, of a lot of their others where they do beat Michigan. So I think I was wrong about that. Hand up. But that doesn't mean that there isn't a shitload of ammunition for people out there to fire back. Whenever you talk about the, that's going to, that's going to be the story of this, this championship for, like, the rest of your lives. When you say, yeah, we won this game, we won the national title, there will be somebody that says, yeah, but you lost to Michigan.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. And I, I, I think that rivalry matters to such an insane point to those fans that as awesome as the national title was, and it's awesome, there's just a small part of them like damn, that Michigan game really did suck. And that, that we know that like in the workings of the rivalry, if you know Michigan fans, if you work with Michigan fans, you have friends of Michigan, like they'll always just bring it up and they always kind of got that on you because that's just how college football now you could say that this is also probably what PFT was saying. Like probably an overreaction to that game. It also is an overreaction to the, the way the new 12 team playoff works. Because in, in all years past, in the hundred plus years of that rivalry, if Ohio State loses that game, they don't have a chance to win a national title. This was literally the first year where this possibly could happen.

[PFT Commenter]

That's what I was saying with Woody Hayes. It's like he said that because it couldn't happen.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, they chose. Yeah, they chose. Yeah. You can't claim it. So this is the new normal. A little bit, which I'll. I'll hand up. I've seen people argue this point when they argue against the 12 team playoff that some of the rivalries games can maybe have a little bit of a diminished meaning because of that. That does suck a little bit that you can go and lose to your rival and then still go in a national title like that. That has never happened in college. Like I was thinking about the kick six. Yeah. Alabama would have probably went and won a national title. So that game would have been nothing.

[PFT Commenter]

Now the loss to Michigan, truly the start of the championship dvd.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. But it was, it was a great football season. College football season. Got to do it earlier though.

[PFT Commenter]

How good does that Indiana lost to Ohio State look now, huh?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, they lost by a decent amount.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, yeah.

[Big Cat]

Signetti.

[PFT Commenter]

Signetti.

[Big Cat]

And he. Yeah, he only lost by 10 in Notre Dame. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

He kicks people's asses.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Okay. Any other last college football thoughts? Penn State next year, max.

[Max]

Penn State should be good next year.

[Big Cat]

No, I'm just saying it went Michigan.

[Max]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Ohio State.

[Max]

I was just, I was looking at the best part of when a college season ends. You got to look at the way too early. Top 25 next year. Number three.

[Big Cat]

Penn State number three. Who's one? Ohio State. Ohio State number two.

[Max]

Texas.

[Big Cat]

Okay, give us, give us the top ten.

[Max]

Notre Dame number four.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Max]

Georgia number five.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Max]

Oregon six.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Max]

Clemson seven.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Max]

LSU eight, BYU nine and South Carolina ten.

[PFT Commenter]

I think you could just.

[Max]

According to ESPN.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. You could have pulled that out of your ass like at any point in the Last four years. And just put those teams.

[Big Cat]

South Carolina is a little bit of a while.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, you gotta have, like, byu mix it up a little bit. Lsu. I'm sure that'll end well.

[Big Cat]

Congrats to Ohio State, though. Okay, what else we got? Any coach hirings?

[PFT Commenter]

Well, there was also the tragic golf cart accident.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

In the tunnel afterwards when that lady was driving. Ryan Day. Who else was in that golf cart?

[Big Cat]

I think Will Howard was.

[PFT Commenter]

Will Howard was in there. And the lady, she just drives directly into the wall.

[Big Cat]

Couldn't. It couldn't see the wall came out of nowhere.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, exactly. It wasn't painted yellow or anything. It was a hazard. She drove directly it. She was probably a Georgia alumni.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

But, yeah, it was a very, very funny. Watch her steer.

[Big Cat]

Bang.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

She just didn't see the wall.

[Big Cat]

Ohio State coaches and golf carts. Name a better duo.

[PFT Commenter]

Always works.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's. That's.

[Hank]

I mean, she drove it in so bad, he couldn't even reverse it. That's. Yeah, that's when you really.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Like, it was.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. The cops had to come and they just started walking. They're like, all right, never mind, we're out of here.

[PFT Commenter]

It does rock to be able to just ride around golf courses. That's my dream.

[Big Cat]

I don't know.

[PFT Commenter]

You wanted to release a statement.

[Hank]

I would like.

[Big Cat]

How did she even think.

[PFT Commenter]

For the record, Hank wants to know, so make sure to follow her on Instagram. Hank? What is her Instagram? Because Hank would like to follow her for the statement.

[Hank]

Yeah, link me up.

[Big Cat]

Link them up.

[Hank]

I'll do some journalism.

[Big Cat]

Okay. What. What else we got? Anything else?

[PFT Commenter]

Some coaching hires.

[Big Cat]

Oh, really? Who got hired?

[Hank]

You said the jets. Oh, wait, it's 3:00.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Yeah. It's after 3. Congratulations, Big Cat.

[Big Cat]

On what?

[PFT Commenter]

Ben Johnson.

[Big Cat]

I'm staying a six out of 10.

[Hank]

That's such a lie.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Such a lot. That's the first thing I win. So Big cat's not a 6 out of 10 because I was in the gambling cave and the first thing Big Cat says to me is like, the Bears just got Ben Johnson.

[Big Cat]

He.

[PFT Commenter]

Big Cat is all the way back.

[Big Cat]

No, I'm six out of 10.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't believe he's.

[Big Cat]

There's still a lot of work to be done.

[PFT Commenter]

This is the move that you have to. This is what I was talking about with Mike McCarthy versus Ben Johnson. With Mike McCarthy.

[Hank]

Wrong again.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, very wrong. Mike McCarthy. Safe hire. Probably get you to the playoffs. Probably have you guys win a couple games. Ben Johnson is a guy that can turn Caleb Williams into a superstar quarterback.

[Big Cat]

Here's okay, I'm not gonna. Because people are gonna want me to get ahead of myself. Not gonna get ahead of myself. This is what I, I'm very, very happy. I'm a 6 out of 10 happy which is as high as my happiness meter can go. Ben Johnson picking the Bears and the Bears paying the money that they're going to pay Ben Johnson is a significant shift in everything the Bears usually do and that's, you know, they don't, they don't usually pay a coach. I think the report was 14 million which is for a first time head coach is insane. Ben Johnson was the hottest ticket in the last two year, two coaching hiring cycles. He was the guy who was hand selecting which interviews he won. The Jaguars, the Raiders. I know the jets probably wanted him. He didn't do an interview with them like all these teams wanted Ben Johnson. He picked the Bears which makes me think that he thinks Caleb Williams is special which makes me very happy. And for all the shit I give George McCaskey and the McCaskey family and the Bears ownership, they, they, they went and got the number one guy on the market who and they paid him top dollar and that's very anti bears. So I'm 6 out of 10 happy. A lot of work to be done. Got to get an offensive line, got to get more defensive line, gotta get Caleb right. But I believe in Ben Johnson and I'm very happy.

[PFT Commenter]

I heard one suggestion memes heard the same thing on, on the radio this morning. Draft Ashton Genti in the first round. What do you think about that?

[Big Cat]

I've seen that as well. The Bears need a lot of help everywhere. So if they want to do Ash and Genti and he wants to want to get freaky with it. I trust in Ben Johnson and I'm back trusting in Ryan polls as well because I thought, I did not think that the Bears were going to be able to get Ben Johnson. I thought that they had screwed it up. I thought no one would pick the Bears. Ben Johnson. I saw reports Ben Johnson wanted the Bears job last year but he agreed to stay for one last year with Dan Campbell to finish this thing out. And that's why the Bears ended up keeping Eberfluz because they're like we don't want to fire him now and lose out on Ben Johnson next year. This also might just be a fan fiction thing in my head that I've made up.

[PFT Commenter]

I was going to suggest maybe, maybe it might be but a 6 out.

[Big Cat]

Of 10 I remain.

[PFT Commenter]

He was like, he had his eye on. This is his dream job.

[Big Cat]

The. The Bears have a lot of work to do, and Ben Johnson isn't going to be able to fix everything. But it was. It's. I'm. As I'm saying 6 out of 10. That's what I was.

[PFT Commenter]

You know what's crazy?

[Big Cat]

I was gonna say something else, but I'm saying a six out of ten.

[PFT Commenter]

You know what's crazy is you're older than Ben Johnson.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, Ben. I mean, that's a lot of coaches now. Yeah, you are, too, buddy. We're older than, like every coach here.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

It's getting bad. Scary hours.

[Hank]

Not me.

[PFT Commenter]

Just wait.

[Big Cat]

Close. How old's Ben Johnson?

[PFT Commenter]

He is 38.

[Big Cat]

Okay. We're about to be 40.

[PFT Commenter]

Is it. Does that count as boy genius?

[Big Cat]

Could be.

[PFT Commenter]

Is Ben Johnson a boy genius?

[Big Cat]

He might be.

[PFT Commenter]

I think he is.

[Hank]

For NFL coaches under 40 is.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, he's boy genius. You have your own boy genius.

[Big Cat]

Boy genius.

[PFT Commenter]

And he must love Caleb if he's. If he's signing up to coach against the Lions twice a year. Coach against Kevin O'Connell twice a year.

[Big Cat]

The alliance fans are very upset.

[PFT Commenter]

Coach against very upset twice a year.

[Big Cat]

He was going to leave anyway. I know it's a divisional guy, but. Or divisional rival, but he was going to leave anyway.

[Hank]

The reason you lost the game, though, basically being a crazy play call by like that that makes it sting that much worse.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. It's like.

[Big Cat]

Well, no, that's not why they lost the game.

[PFT Commenter]

It's like he trashed.

[Hank]

But if you're a Lions fan coping like you like that, it. That was the defining play of the game.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. You had a really nice house with him. He threw a party, trashed the house and left.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I'm. I'm very six out of ten. I'm as six out of ten as you could get. Would you guys agree? Memes has been policing me.

[Max]

I mean, earlier you said I'm a 6 out of 10 because I have to be a 6 out of 10.

[Big Cat]

If you took the restrictor plate off, are you asking what I'd be?

[Max]

Yes, I'm willing to get. I'm willing to let you say.

[Big Cat]

Say your. Yeah, you should. No, no.

[Max]

Hank, are you willing to. I'm willing to.

[Hank]

I'm willing to be up front, like, be honest with our listeners, because the.

[PFT Commenter]

Takeaway right now is Big Cat grades the coaching higher. A 6 out of 10 and.

[Big Cat]

No, that's not how I grade the coaching. Don't let the I'm saying that's where my happiness.

[PFT Commenter]

That's what the takeaway is going to be. Big cat is a six out.

[Big Cat]

I'm staying six out of 10. They have to start winning games. They have to do a good job of the draft before, but they're winning.

[Hank]

The off season again.

[Big Cat]

I see. I don't like that. I don't want to do. I'm not. We're not winning any offseason. You got to win in the season.

[Max]

But I'm willing to say that. Like, I'm not holding you to your word. On the 6 out of 10, you can say what you really feel.

[Big Cat]

I'm not going to say what I really feel, but if I were to say what I was going to really feel, if I were going to say it, and again, this is not me saying it, but if I were going to say it, I would say that hiring Ben Johnson literally changes everything about this franchise, and it's all the way back. But I didn't say any of that. I stayed a 6 out of 10 the whole time.

[Max]

You can say whatever you want as long as you follow it up with six out of ten out of ten.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I'm saying six. It's the. The. The. This hire is so different than what. What the Bears are usually able to pull off. And he was. And the guy's a boy genius, and he is picking it because of Caleb Williams and the McCaskis, who are notoriously cheap, are paying a ton of money, everything. If I were going to get out of the 6 out of 10 zone, I'd say literally everything has changed and the Bears are all the way back and won the offseason, probably going to win the super bowl, but I'm staying six out of 10. So you got to go and do it on the field before I get excited.

[PFT Commenter]

I love just the idea of George McCaskey getting aggressive with it after all these years. He's like, it's time.

[Big Cat]

And I should probably say sorry to Kevin Warren, too, because he probably was the one who had to tell George McCaskey. Add another zero. Dude. Like, hey, yeah, actually, you're gonna have to move that comma over like you were. And he's like, what? Yeah, it's not 1.4 million, it's 14 million.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, it's congratulations to Ben Johnson when. When it comes to getting paid. This was a great, great way he went about it. Just say no to everyone, and then. And then they want you more.

[Big Cat]

And the Bears are going to go for it on fourth downs. And get aggressive as. Yeah.

[Hank]

What, what needs to happen the next three years for you to, to. To maybe go to like 7 out of 10?

[Big Cat]

Oh, no, I'll go to 10 out of 10. If they start winning football games. I said they have to do it on the field.

[Hank]

No, but I'm saying in three years, what would you consider success or failure?

[Big Cat]

They have to start winning games on the field. They start going to the playoffs. Playoff football's hard. So it's like I, you know, if they go to the playoffs, if they start maybe, you know, beating the packers, that kind of stuff. Although Thomas Brown did beat the Packers. He's 1 and O against the Packers.

[PFT Commenter]

Are you going to get to above a 6 out of 10 before the playoffs?

[Big Cat]

I'm gonna get above 6 out of 10 as soon as they start winning games.

[PFT Commenter]

Does that be week one?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Preseason?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No, not preseason.

[PFT Commenter]

What if they win?

[Big Cat]

Last summer, I said some really stupid. That Everyone keeps reminding me of how stupid I sounded. And I did sound really stupid. And I feel stupid. I'm a. This summer, I'm not going to say stupid. I'm going to say I'm, I'm excited about things, but I'm not going to let myself get over my skis. And I'm not going to get to a point where I'm like, this is the best situation ever. And blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. They got a lot of holes. They got a lot of work to be done. Caleb's got to get a lot better. If they start winning games and Caleb looks better, then we just start ramping it up.

[PFT Commenter]

It's a great hire. I think this is the right hire that they. The best hire they could make. Congratulations. Like a six out of ten should be a ten out of ten. This, if you're a Bears fan.

[Big Cat]

It's a million out of 10. If I had this, if I didn't agree to do six out of 10 memes is policing me too. Means we're just following me around, just like watching my moves. Like, are you staying 6 out of 10?

[PFT Commenter]

Snake in the grass. Now. Adam Schefter did have a very funny spin on it.

[Big Cat]

Shout out Shefty, by the way. He was the. He came on this show and said, don't follow the pack.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

And when everyone was saying that Ben Johnson was gonna be on the Raiders.

[PFT Commenter]

He had a very funny, funny spin about it. When he said that the. The Bears have hired Ben Johnson. He said Ben Johnson has spent the last week putting together a star studded cast of assistant coaches and Then there was a big picture of Dennis Allen.

[Big Cat]

I got. I reacted poorly to that. Dennis Allen's actually a very good defensive coordinator. It's also really smart to get a guy who's been in the NFL for a long time and knows how this works as part of your staff. Darren Rizzi might be part of the staff.

[PFT Commenter]

I. I agree. That should be awesome that getting a. An older guy that has coached before. Good move. Would you say that it is star studded with Dennis Allen?

[Big Cat]

Not star studded, but Dennis Allen's a very good defensive coordinator. So. Yeah, I mean, star says probably the wrong word. Sounds like shefty. Was getting out a 10 out of 10. Excited.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, he was getting really excited.

[Big Cat]

I would have said very good defensive coordinator.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

An older gentleman. Dennis Allen is joining the Bears.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Now Rob Ryan. That's star studded.

[Big Cat]

That is star shout out.

[PFT Commenter]

Usc.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that is. That is star studded. I'm very excited. Six out of ten. Million out of ten. Bears are back. Six out of ten. Aaron Glenn.

[Memes]

Not yet. Josie and Anderson said they're working through some contractual moving parts.

[PFT Commenter]

Negotiating.

[Memes]

Negotiating.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. Who is going to be your gm?

[Memes]

The commander's assistant gm.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. Are they going to hire him after the coach?

[Memes]

I think so. I think they're going to hire him together.

[Big Cat]

Lance Newmark.

[Memes]

Lance Newmark.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Memes]

Kind of looks like a Lego.

[PFT Commenter]

All right.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Memes]

That's my only evaluation.

[Big Cat]

Are you. And how do you feel about Legos? Yeah. How do you feel about Aaron Glenn?

[Memes]

If we, if we sign Aaron Glenn, we got the number one guy on the market.

[Big Cat]

Huh?

[Memes]

He was number one. Number one coach. Per me.

[Big Cat]

Per your interviews.

[Memes]

No, no, just number one guy out there. Number one coaching candidate on the market.

[PFT Commenter]

You did not want Mike Frable. No.

[Big Cat]

You didn't want to interview Benjamin?

[Memes]

I want whoever we hire. And that's the number one guy.

[Big Cat]

I like that. That's smart.

[PFT Commenter]

He's jet.

[Big Cat]

I can't. I can't relate because we got the number one guy, but.

[Memes]

Yeah, no, we'll see who got the number one guy during the season.

[Big Cat]

That's true. That's true. Memes.

[Memes]

That is today could be the best day of your life. Also, looking back, could be the worst.

[PFT Commenter]

Thanks, Memes.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Same for you, buddy. Same for you.

[PFT Commenter]

This. Congrats, big cat. This might be the worst day.

[Memes]

Yeah, this could.

[Big Cat]

Same for you.

[Memes]

Could be the best day.

[Big Cat]

Could be the best day.

[PFT Commenter]

And I think Ben Johnson, he said that he. He turned down the Jaguars because he didn't like how everything was set up.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

With Trent Balki, he didn't like the setup there. That means Trent Balki.

[Big Cat]

That's where I'm. I'm. I'm shocked the Bears did it because the Bears have a similar setup where Ryan pulls in the last year of his deal. But credit to Ryan, Poles, Kevin Warren, Cassie, they did it. So you will be happy with Aaron Glenn?

[Memes]

I will be happy.

[Big Cat]

Leader of men.

[Memes]

Leader of men. Get everybody going in the right direction. He's a motivator. Lions fans seem to be happy that he's going, but. Okay, I don't care.

[Big Cat]

And then. And then we have probably Mike McCarthy, the Saints maybe.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

And then no idea what the Cowboys are going to do.

[PFT Commenter]

You got to do Dion Leon, Liam.

[Big Cat]

Cohen to maybe the Jaguars.

[PFT Commenter]

I think. I think Jerry Jones is shocked at how much head coaches cost now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's.

[PFT Commenter]

He's been out of the market for a little bit.

[Big Cat]

He didn't realize.

[PFT Commenter]

And he's like, wait, he wants 14 million and he's never coached before?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, I don't think they even talked to Ben Johnson.

[Big Cat]

Kevin O'Connell reach agreement on multi year contract extension. At what cost? The cost of having that story leaked right before you had to play the Lions.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Now again, we should know NFL coaches salaries. That should be public.

[Big Cat]

I think there's a decent idea of. I know Tomlin is what, 16 million, 18 million.

[PFT Commenter]

But it should be like. It should be out there.

[Big Cat]

Glorio said Ben Johnson was 13 or 14.

[PFT Commenter]

The team should have to tell us like they tell us what the extensions are for quarterbacks.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I agree.

[PFT Commenter]

I want to know that.

[Big Cat]

I think Andy Reid gets paid 20.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Fan bases have a right to know. So they can choose how much they want to complain to the owner.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. What memes. You're looking at us quizzically.

[Memes]

No, I was just looking. Somebody said Ben Johnson got six. Six years. Fifteen.

[Big Cat]

Fifteen a year. Yeah. Okay. That's a lot of money.

[PFT Commenter]

It is.

[Big Cat]

That the Bears usually don't spent. What do you think Aaron Glenn's gonna get?

[Memes]

That's probably why this is taking so long.

[Big Cat]

Ah, he sees his buddy get 6 for 15. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. If you're the Cowboys, you got to get Dion at this point, right?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You got to make every. Every play to get Dion.

[Big Cat]

Just have it be fun.

[PFT Commenter]

And then what are the Raiders going to do?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right. Last thing. How? Pulse check between max and PFT.

[PFT Commenter]

Pulse is strong.

[Big Cat]

Max. I'm very nervous.

[PFT Commenter]

50, 52 beats a minute overnight last night.

[Big Cat]

Wow.

[PFT Commenter]

I feel pretty good about that.

[Big Cat]

Max is mumbling. To himself a lot and saying a bunch of shit.

[Max]

What does 52 beats a minute mean?

[PFT Commenter]

Pulse.

[Big Cat]

Pulse.

[Max]

Was that normal?

[PFT Commenter]

It's pretty good. Pretty. It's. It's good low, though. It means that you're. You're maintaining.

[Max]

Mine's probably pretty high, if I had to say.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you're not. I don't think you're handling the pressure grade.

[Max]

No, I feel it more than I've ever felt any pressure before in my life.

[Big Cat]

Do you think that we're adding to the pressure at all?

[Max]

I have thought about this a lot. The difference of my nerves going into this game, because I work for the. I work for this company and I work for this show. I think about it like, if I was just a normal guy that was just an Eagles fan, lived in Philly, but crack showing. Butt crack showing. Like, what. Where my. My confidence would be. I think I would be like a. Confident.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

And that's what. That's what we are.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Hank has finally aligned himself with the city of Philadelphia. I think Big Cat's going to, too, eventually, based on money, reasons and all.

[Big Cat]

Also, I. The. The New Orleans piece that I. I shout out that one guy who was just like, why doesn't Big Cat just take his kids to New Orleans for the Super Bowl? Didn't think of that. Didn't think of that.

[PFT Commenter]

That sounds like fun.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. That sounds like a great time.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. But in a way, because everybody is aligning themselves with the Eagles and rooting for the Eagles, that puts way more pressure on Max.

[Big Cat]

I don't know if I'm fully aligning with the Eagles. I think I'm. I have to figure out what I'm gonna do with my. My Eagles future if I might cash out. Because I. There's part of me that's just like, if the Commanders win, we're just. It is also great for the show. So. Although I did tell Max I was going to slash his tires, the Eagles didn't win.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. So there's a little bit more pressure there.

[Hank]

I'm fully aligned.

[Big Cat]

And I might have also said that I was going to get his girlfriend to give me a key to his apartment. I was going to beat him up while he sleeps. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

It's all fair stuff. This is why we watch sports. I. I feel. I feel confident in the fact that I've. I've accepted the fact it's house money. And I have to kind of put aside all the. Shut up. I have to put aside all the stats, all the, like, roster gazing that you do and you look at all the dudes that Philly has, you have to throw that all away. None of that really matters right now. What matters is that we have the best quarterback in this game who's capable of doing things that aren't cape. That other quarterbacks aren't. Against the Philadelphia Eagles. He's the hottest quarterback in the league right now, and the Eagles have a history.

[Hank]

Not the NCAA tournament.

[PFT Commenter]

I think what Jaden kind of is.

[Big Cat]

I mean, something is happening.

[Max]

I have. I have a. I just noticed something. Pft. Hank called you a loser and you said, shut up, Hank. You didn't say shut the up, Hank.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Max]

Which makes me think that, no, this is Philly.

[PFT Commenter]

This is Philly.

[Max]

Normally you say, shut the up, Hank.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, this is Philly, Hank.

[Max]

You kind of accepted that when you.

[Big Cat]

Said, oh, Max is.

[PFT Commenter]

I think you're. I think you're digging Max. I think you're pressing.

[Max]

I mean, how often do you say shut the up?

[Big Cat]

Wait, Max said that? He's not so far. Yeah. That's a win horse. He just windhorsted you.

[PFT Commenter]

This is Philly, Hank.

[Big Cat]

He. He.

[Max]

You might have half accepted the inflection of your. Of your voice was not an. It was Shut up, Hank. Not Shut the up, Hank. Shut the up, Hank is. Is a. Is a motto in your. In your.

[PFT Commenter]

Usually when I feel it, usually when I scream at Hank and tell him to shut the up, it's because there's like a kernel of really mean truth and whatever Hank has just said. And so I have to just shout them down in this one. I don't think that's loser talk at all.

[Big Cat]

I like just doing this now. Wind horse.

[PFT Commenter]

So how about that?

[Hank]

How about it?

[Big Cat]

How about it?

[Max]

This is a podcast, but this is for the figures. I'm just doing the wooden horse dude.

[PFT Commenter]

If you care to address what I.

[Hank]

Just said.

[Max]

Focusing on the.

[Big Cat]

I was focusing on the figures. I'm sorry. Say it again.

[Hank]

Closing your mouth.

[Big Cat]

Say it again.

[PFT Commenter]

No, I said it. Listen to the podcast.

[Big Cat]

No. Come on.

[PFT Commenter]

No, it'll be fine.

[Big Cat]

Say it again. We're having fun doing the wind horse thing.

[PFT Commenter]

Here's the thing.

[Hank]

He said, I'm always. I heard you say everything I say is the truth or something.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that's exactly what I said. It is. It is house money. We're playing with no pressure and we're dangerous team and all. You can put all the stats in front of me. I think you can throw them out. Spreads don't matter in this game.

[Big Cat]

Agreed.

[PFT Commenter]

It doesn't. The spread does not Matter at all.

[Big Cat]

Unless the Eagles win by a field.

[PFT Commenter]

Goal, which I don't think that they.

[Big Cat]

Will, but they could.

[PFT Commenter]

I think. I think the Eagles are going to win by a touchdown or more. Or the Commanders are going to win by three.

[Hank]

But you said Eagles first.

[Max]

Oh, no.

[PFT Commenter]

Big Cat just said, I don't see the Eagles winning by a touchdown.

[Big Cat]

Oh, no, no, I didn't say that. I said. I said unless the Eagles win by three.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. So then that. That's why I said I see the Eagles winning by more than that or losing outright.

[Big Cat]

Got it.

[PFT Commenter]

It's fine. Hey, this is going to be gang up week.

[Big Cat]

I'm not gay. I just doing Wind Horse.

[Stavros Halkias]

Gang, gang, gang.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm going to die my hair blonde and put on a white T shirt and underpants and sit on a couch in front of you guys because it's just going to be. It's going to be just taking rods from all angles memes. And that's. And that's fine.

[Max]

I've want to command.

[Big Cat]

I am. I am heavily debating cashing out and betting the commanders. Because I think commanders are going to win, though. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You won't do it, and I don't care if you do it or not.

[Big Cat]

All right, so when I do it. So when I do it, we apologize to me.

[PFT Commenter]

No, I don't.

[Big Cat]

Because. Because. What do you mean you won't do it? I might do it. Because I might do it.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm not. What? First of all, what am I going to apologize to you for? Second of all, I do not give a. Who you bet on this week.

[Big Cat]

Okay. All right. Well, I'm saying I might not gang up on. You're saying you can't say. You guys are gang up on me. I'm like, I haven't decided yet. And then be like, I don't give a. Okay, those are two conflicting things.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, because right now, you are betting on.

[Stavros Halkias]

On the Eagles. That's what.

[Big Cat]

I have a future.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm living. I'm living in the present.

[Big Cat]

I have a future on the Eagles. Listen, if the fingers trigger you, we'll stop doing the fingers.

[PFT Commenter]

You guys can finger whatever you want.

[Hank]

It's gang week.

[PFT Commenter]

Finger away, boys.

[Max]

No. Yeah, obviously, this is. You and I are going into this game in two completely separate modes of mind. Modes of.

[Big Cat]

My modes of mind. Yeah.

[Max]

Yeah. True word count.

[Big Cat]

I'm done.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm just thinking.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, shut it down.

[PFT Commenter]

It would be.

[Max]

If the Eagles lose this game, my life is over. If you lose this game. You had a great season.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

This is the Window. This is the start of the window. And we could shut your window.

[Max]

I think I have thought more about that. Our defensive window is just beginning and that is a real thing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but our defense is coming out good and so young.

[Hank]

And you're gonna find out something.

[Big Cat]

If we.

[PFT Commenter]

If we go into your house, beat the Eagles, then there's a new daddy. There's no way then. Then you can forget you don't run this anymore. If that happens, I. Hank, is.

[Max]

Might actually be on your side. The. The way he says everything. Look, he's smiling.

[Big Cat]

Oh, you're smiling. Are you win.

[Stavros Halkias]

Look at him.

[Max]

Look at him, Hank. Everything that he says. There's a. There's a. A little word count.

[PFT Commenter]

Max is so paranoid. Yeah, this.

[Big Cat]

This now makes the previous wind horse seem a little crazy because you're just. You're just pointing at everyone now.

[PFT Commenter]

Now, how come you didn't say bft? Usually you say it was decent.

[Stavros Halkias]

Point was, that was a good point.

[Big Cat]

The fingers bothered. Okay. They're funny, though.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm excited. And there's a good chance that the Eagles win this game. I'm not. I'm not delusional. I don't think that the commanders should be favored in this game. I think the Eagles have a great team. They're favored for a reason. But I also feel confident going into it. And I felt confident going into the Lions last week. I did. I felt. As a week went on, I got. I got more calm. So let's just. Let's just see what happens between the lines on Sunday, Max.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And made the better team advance the Super Bowl.

[Max]

But you should be more calm. Work out. I'm done.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I have to dig into the matchup because I do. There's a chance. I bet on the commanders because I do think they're just something Jaden Daniel's so special. Like I bet on them against the. The Lions. I wish I had bet Moneyline. I would rather just win. I'd rather win my bet than have to look at you and be like, you did it again.

[PFT Commenter]

You better watch tape, buddy.

[Big Cat]

Watch tape.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm grinding the tape.

[Big Cat]

He's word counting. All right, let's get to ourselves. Let's do Hot seat, Cool Throne.

[PFT Commenter]

First of all, before we get to that is Jalen hurts.

[Big Cat]

Okay. He's got a word count. You're going to have to. First of all, first of all, that was a 20 minute segment.

[PFT Commenter]

It was a two part question.

[Big Cat]

He's on a word count. Yes.

[Hank]

He's a ball. He's a gamer.

[PFT Commenter]

Is he okay?

[Hank]

He's a gamer. Yep.

[PFT Commenter]

Is Quinnian Mitchell okay?

[Hank]

Don't.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Max]

I've looked into how I've been. I've looked into the chief's drugs. I'm trying to get some Mahomes drugs for Jalen.

[Hank]

Hurts CJ Stroud have some of that too?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, they.

[Max]

There's. There's drugs out there for him to be fine. I gotta find them.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm worried about Big Dom. Big Dom can get anything.

[Big Cat]

Let's kick into ourselves Hot Seat, Cool Throne. Then we have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Stavi on the show. Okay. Hot Seat, Cool Throne is presented by Game Time, the official ticketing partner of Barstool Sports. Hot Seat, Big Ticket, the big ticketing companies that make getting tickets to NFL playoff games a real hassle. Cool Throne, you Game Times got your back. Score, last minute NFL playoff ticket deals and save. See your seat before you buy on time. Ticket delivery guaranteed. Lowest price guaranteed. Win the Ticket game when you use promo code hot seat for $20 off your first purchase with Game Time terms apply. So it's a new promo code. Hot Seat. Use that promo code. All one word, all caps. Hot Seat. Use it when you use the Game Time app. Also, one of these. One of these guys is going to be using Game Time for the big game. So we love Game Time. Thank you to Game Time, wonderful sponsor of ours. So win the ticket game when you use promo code hot seat for $20 off your first purchase with game Time terms apply. Game Time is the best. Only place you should be buying tickets. Okay. Hot Seat, Cool Throne, presented by Game Time.

[Hank]

My Hot Seat is the biz. People not respecting it. Players not respecting it.

[Big Cat]

Oh, this is bad.

[PFT Commenter]

This is bad.

[Big Cat]

Big Cat, try not to breathe.

[PFT Commenter]

If you have kids at home and they're listening to this podcast, they might not want to listen to this.

[Big Cat]

Oh, no.

[Hank]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[Hank]

After. After the Notre Dame game, lost Dan Wolkin.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Which is one of the funniest names ever, considering everything that he talks about stands for.

[PFT Commenter]

He's a guy that has. He covers a sport that he seems to hate.

[Big Cat]

Well, that's a lot of college football. But. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

But he. Well, and actually, that's a lot of journalism.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it is.

[Big Cat]

Like, that's. I. When people ask, like, how. How are you able to do this job for as long and still love? It's like, because we love sports.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

You're.

[PFT Commenter]

A lot of movie critics are like that too.

[Big Cat]

Like, how could you. How could you watch sports for a living and cover sports for a Living and not like it.

[Hank]

He tweeted bizarre scenes from the Notre Dame locker room. Players yelling at reporters, coaches warning people not to ask certain questions. Amateur hour.

[Stavros Halkias]

Wow.

[Hank]

No respect for the biz going on in the Notre Dame locker room after losing the biggest game of their life. What a shock.

[PFT Commenter]

I can't believe that college football would turn into amateur hour. That is absolutely.

[Big Cat]

We're going backwards.

[PFT Commenter]

It is a disgrace, guys.

[Hank]

I mean, if I lost a national championship, the first thing I would be thinking is, like, let's answer questions from the media in a respectful way.

[Big Cat]

I'd probably, yeah, I'd probably say fuck you to everyone who asked me a question, like, lose my number.

[PFT Commenter]

Listen, Dan Wolken pays your salary. You understand that? You got to treat this man with the utmost respect.

[Big Cat]

I, I, I think we need to normalize more. Like, bad losers. Like that should be fans and, and players. Like, let them, Let them be sore losers for a minute. I saw, I saw our friend Shane Gillis was tweeting last night, and, like, I think, I think Jamie, Joe Rogan's producer, is an Ohio State fan and was like, I wouldn't be as salty. And then he, he replied something like, congrats to Tony Hinchcliffe, Jamie, like the Paul brothers, and every other really likable Ohio State fan out there. It's like, let him be salty. I thought, I thought it, dude.

[PFT Commenter]

I thought he purposely left young Jamie out.

[Big Cat]

Oh, he might have.

[PFT Commenter]

Just to kneel him, I think.

[Big Cat]

Well, I think he deleted that one and then came back and said it. But it's like, let losing a big game sucks. People should, like, when people are like, oh, you're acting like a. Yeah, that's the point. Yeah. Like, let him act like a. You shouldn't act like a, like the next day. But yeah, yeah, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, what do you expect when you go into a locker room after a national championship loss?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

What do you honestly, Like, I would be concerned with the team if they were just super respectful and like, hey, yeah, I'm open for questions. Ask me about field goals.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Ask me about everything. Ask me about that first drive and whether or not our quarterback was just on E. After that, after that, like, 20 play drive to start the game. Ask me all the questions that you think that I'm going to get pissed off about, because I love that about journalism.

[Big Cat]

It's the old saying, show me a sore loser and I'll show you a loser. Yeah, I don't know. I actually would. I think we should have, like, a 24 hour shot clock for big games fans and players alike that anything they, they should be able to say whatever they want and it shouldn't count long term. And then you'd get actually real answers. You'd be, you'd get people being like, fuck that.

[PFT Commenter]

I also think the real irony is that the journalists that complain the most about players not answering their questions, if you question them about anything, they get the most offensive and they're like, fuck you. Blocked.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Peter Frisco. So you're out of here.

[Hank]

But the biz, biz hot seat or no. Respecting the biz.

[Big Cat]

Respecting the biz. Yeah. You okay?

[Hank]

Yeah. My, my cool throne is the nine darter.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Hank]

Time has come. So starting this Friday, probably 7 or 8 o'clock, I will be starting the nine darter journey. Now, it's obviously impossible, physically impossible. I could do this nine darter for a thousand years and I would never get a nine darter.

[PFT Commenter]

No one's ever done it before.

[Hank]

No amateur that I've, I've heard of. I've, I've searched some forums and there's people that, you know, Reddit threads and stuff where they're like, yeah, I've been in A league for 40 years. Never, never been done. Getting an A3 darter is hard enough. I've gotten, you know, 33 daughters in my life. Never come close to getting them twice in a row.

[Stavros Halkias]

So.

[Hank]

So the nine daughter. I will not be getting nine consecutive darts. If that bothers you, just stop listening.

[Big Cat]

Can you explain what the nine darter is again?

[Hank]

In what a regular a nine darter. So darts is, is you started 501 points to start. And a nine darter is when you go from 501 to zero in nine darts. So it's a perfect, it's three perfect rounds there. You couldn't. It's an immaculate round, basically. Like, there's no. That's the least amount of darts you could throw. It'd be like shooting, you know, whatever 18 under par. Like it's a perfect round.

[PFT Commenter]

Like getting a hole in one on every hole.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And yeah, this is not to put into perspective because I do think you deserve this. Hank, is like, it's not like hitting a hole in one one time. It's not like some of these like, you know, hitting a 65 mile an hour fastball out of like a stadium. Like, it would be like trying to hit a 105 mile an hour fastball out of a major league park. It would be like having LeBron guard you and trying to hit a three on his head for Hank, like, trying.

[PFT Commenter]

To dunk on LeBron.

[Big Cat]

Trying to dunk on LeBron. It's, it's shooting under par at Augusta. It's not, it's not like, oh, I can get one fluky thing to happen here with a hole in one. This will be awesome. It's, it's, it's impossible for the regular person. It's not even the three bowling at 300. Like, I think that you could bowl 300 eventually. I don't think you could ever get a nine darter.

[Hank]

But it's like, it's similar to the. We're doing the stream similar to like the bowling the 300 where you couldn't bowl 300, but after time elapses, then it gets easier and easier. So basically the plan is to do three. Three darters. So once I get, you know, If I get three triple 20s, then that leg is done. I like to get two, three darters. And every 12 hours I can get closer to the dartboard. So I will be living at the office until this is done. It will be a constant stream from Friday until Sunday before the games. And if I'm not done by then, we'll go down for, obviously, the game stream. We have to record the podcast, and then I'll start again Monday morning. So if it takes me until next week, it takes me until next week. I will not be leaving the office starting Friday until the stream is done. And there's, you know, there's, there's some, some wrinkles we have where I'm not just gonna be throwing darts the whole time because I'll just. My arm will. Will give up. But there's challenges and different things where the first and third legs I have to do on my own, but the second leg. So that way Saturday we can have people come in and help out like pft or Big Cat. You know, I can, I'm not, I'm, again, I'm not physically gonna be able to throw darts for 40 hours straight. I might take a break. We might have a, you know, whoever's in the office come in and they can throw darts as much as they want. If they get the first two, I always have to hit the third one. So, like, there's, there's ways where people can help me, you know, do a leg, but I have to do the first and third legs on my own. And then we'll have, you know, some challenges and stuff where it's like I might go in the golf simulator for an hour. If I get a hole in one Then I only have to get two out of three darts. Like, there's. We have challenges.

[PFT Commenter]

Gulf Stream. Yeah, Yeah.

[Big Cat]

I, I, I. Listen. No, no, no. I'm, I'm gonna defend you here. Do you hate me?

[Hank]

What are you gonna say?

[Big Cat]

I was gonna say, I think this is a really, like, smart way to do it. I think it's gonna be fun for the viewers.

[Hank]

Go. Fucking Eagles. I hope the Eagles.

[Big Cat]

I think that, like, understanding the whole point is, like, it's a punishment. It's gonna suck for Hank. He's gonna live in this office. He's making it a way that eventually you can get it, but it still is going to be very, very, very, very difficult. So, again, I will back up Hank in the fact that if you have a problem with this, just don't watch. It's gonna be awesome. I think it's gonna take him three days probably still if, if I can.

[Hank]

Get to before, because that's the thing. We're gonna go down and we have to do the streams and then the podcast and stuff after. So I won't be like, the. My best case scenario is finishing before Sunday. If we don't finish before Sunday, then I'm. Then I'm in. Then I'm in one.

[PFT Commenter]

It is a very, very difficult challenge that you have, and I think the act of throwing a dart, it seems so easy, but if you do it for 12 hours in a row, your elbow is going to be killing you.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Hank]

I would have to start throwing. Righty. But, yeah, every 12 hours, I can get a foot closer. So I think hopefully by, like, you know, worst case scenario, by Tuesday, I'll be close enough.

[Big Cat]

And we also have. So scheduling wise is very. So you're going to be doing it over the weekend? Monday night, which we haven't announced, but we're. We are going to have a Doug stream. We. We have one last Doug stream. So I'm going to try to win a national title where I pick. We're going to just play the playoffs, and then after the Doug Stream, it's going to go straight into the hole in one stream with Jerry and Tate Barstool after dark. So it could be. We could have, like, streams going on. Yeah, we could have. And then. And then also the case race on Tuesday. It's going to be a chaotic week, and there could be multiple streams going on at once. We could combine them. It's going to be fun. Hank, I'm rooting for you. I'm going to try to come in and help you out at points where are you going to be doing it? On the court.

[Hank]

We have the dartboards mobile. We can do different locations. So when, like I said, because I'm not going to be able to sit in one place.

[Big Cat]

So when I want to bring my kids in so that they can play in the office, you can. You can go somewhere else so they can play in the office. That's really the important. Yeah, no, I'm going to come in and help.

[PFT Commenter]

Have you done any prep for your dart technique?

[Hank]

What does that mean?

[PFT Commenter]

I don't know, like, practiced or trained.

[Hank]

Have I thrown a dart before?

[PFT Commenter]

Like, have you learned anything that you're planning on taking into? I think it's a pretty normal question to be asking you.

[Big Cat]

Pft.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, my bad.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Sorry.

[Big Cat]

Why don't you ask that?

[PFT Commenter]

Sorry. Have you. Have you prepared at all for this big challenge that you're going to do?

[Big Cat]

That was a normal question.

[PFT Commenter]

Bad question.

[Big Cat]

You're. You're. You're. Listen, I see what's going on here. I'm going to take a step back. Well, let me take your guard. Your guard is up.

[PFT Commenter]

Let me step in.

[Big Cat]

It hasn't been 12 hours yet. Pft.

[PFT Commenter]

Let me step in. Hank. What the fuck?

[Big Cat]

He was simply asking. Yes, I. Have you. Have you been, like, practicing? Have you been working on it at all? Which is A. In PFD's defense, completely normal question.

[PFT Commenter]

Thank you.

[Hank]

Yeah, I've watched some YouTube videos of throwing darts. I mean, it's.

[PFT Commenter]

Darts.

[Hank]

Like, it's. It's. You got the advice, Michael Van Gerwin.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I would. Oh, I would prepare for it, like, a little bit. It sounds. It sounds like you've prepared for it.

[Hank]

How would you prepare it?

[PFT Commenter]

Sounds like doing this. The stuff that you're doing where you watch YouTube videos, maybe get on the board a couple times and just take some practice, figure out where the elbow goes.

[Big Cat]

Me, personally, if I had to prepare for this, I'd just get nasty at darts.

[Hank]

I'm bad at darts. That's. That's the problem.

[PFT Commenter]

You know, we're gonna be. It's. It's because it's the Mount Rushmore punishment.

[Big Cat]

Oh, is it? Is that what it is?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And he's still a little upset about that.

[Big Cat]

Ah, next year, just do no punishment for the Mount Rush.

[PFT Commenter]

Hank, I'm gonna be rooting for you. I want you to do it because you got this. I want you to be out of this mood.

[Big Cat]

I genuinely think this is gonna be a great show. Good mood.

[Hank]

Till you said like. I'm trying to like what I Have to throw darts for 100 hours straight. I'm coming up with little one hour wrinkles. I mentioned one.

[Big Cat]

The. One. The. The. The wrinkles are gonna make it better.

[Hank]

While your punishments are like the dumbest shit in the world.

[PFT Commenter]

But.

[Big Cat]

Okay, good that we've. We're getting this out.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. This feels good.

[PFT Commenter]

I can tell that you're upset.

[Hank]

Well, that was a triggering comment.

[PFT Commenter]

I can tell that you're upset. You know, that somebody was going to make the joke. Wouldn't you rather come from me?

[Big Cat]

Maybe not.

[Hank]

I don't really care what other people say. Like I care about what you say.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

About this room.

[PFT Commenter]

Do you care when I say that I'm rooting for you?

[Hank]

I don't believe it. But yeah, I guess we got to keep.

[Big Cat]

We got to keep everything in the locker room, boys. We shouldn't have these. We shouldn't have these type of fights publicly. Okay. Let's keep this in the locker.

[PFT Commenter]

I think you can do it.

[Big Cat]

No one will hear this. I think you're. I think it's gonna take you a day and a half.

[Hank]

I would love to be done before Sunday.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. But also hard also with all these streams. As long as you tried. I have tried.

[Hank]

I have thrown. Throwing darts for, I don't know, probably six or seven hours total the last month or so. And preparation, I haven't come close to a three darter. So it's like that's. That's my fear. I'm not good at darts.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Have you thought about getting a little bit drunk?

[Hank]

Yeah, I think Saturday night we might get weird with it.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Okay.

[Hank]

I got some. We're gonna bring some guests. And that's the thing. I'm trying to. To spice it up, I'll probably be sleeping on stream and stuff. But yeah, I think Saturday night after whatever, 24 hours, at that point there's like my body's. There's no point in. In I'm just gonna get drunk and try.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

My recommendation.

[Hank]

That's where it's like, that's where I'm going to be relying on people to hopefully show up and get the two darts and then that third dart. That will be the moment.

[Big Cat]

I would.

[PFT Commenter]

I would tell you that if you get a little bit drunk, I would get a little bit drunk earlier than that. Before your arm gives out because you are better. Your coordination is like. I don't know. When I play darts, I always feel like I'm much better after exactly three beers.

[Big Cat]

Question.

[Hank]

Damn.

[Big Cat]

Sleeping on stream. Are you worried about Boners.

[Hank]

I'm worried about sleep talking. Oh, boners. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Oh, no. Sleep talking. I didn't even think about that.

[Hank]

I. I've already. I think I'm gonna do mouth tape and we'll probably just mute the sound. I don't know. It's a.

[Big Cat]

It's a. I am too.

[Hank]

Major issue in my life.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

I'm excited.

[PFT Commenter]

Listen, if Hank gets a boner in his sleep, nobody screen grab it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Please.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. You're in the locker room too.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Good luck, Hank. I'm rooting for you.

[Hank]

Thanks.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm glad that you did some preparation for it. I think that was smart.

[Hank]

Thanks.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You're welcome.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

So I was going to have Dan Wilkin too, but my hot seat instead, I guess will just be me and Max's hair because we're trying to figure out what our bet is going to be for the Eagles Commanders game and it seems to all be hair related suggestions that we're having. So we've. Hank, this is actually maybe a good chance for you. You say my. My punishments are always way easier. Shave.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Because the, the suggestions.

[Hank]

The suggestion didn't even. Wasn't even a punishment.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I did it.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. It's for. For a championship. So this is for the NFC championship game. The suggestions that we've been hearing a lot are the loser gets a mullet.

[Hank]

Which is your suggestion. What you want to do.

[Big Cat]

But he's been hearing it a lot.

[PFT Commenter]

I've been hearing it a lot.

[Big Cat]

Hearing it a lot.

[Hank]

That's okay.

[Big Cat]

He's been hearing it a lot when he. When he is just sitting in his car and his thoughts are telling him things.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

There's been a lot of people saying that in his car.

[Max]

I also have a bet that we could do. We could do. The winner goes to the super bowl and the loser doesn't. I don't understand why we have to.

[Big Cat]

Do a bet for this game. I. I thought the. I thought the bet that we talked about on Sunday night was. Was a good one where the loser has to make a Colts banner and put it behind their seat for a year. So it's like every time you have a shot on this podcast, there's a banner that says but you just said.

[Hank]

The fans want hair. But you don't care about the fans. Max.

[Max]

I just don't. Pft is just like forced this.

[Big Cat]

Max is right. The stakes are already right. There couldn't be higher. I. I kind of agree with him that you don't need to do like. It's not like you're not gonna care.

[Max]

Like the pinky bet we do as like an extra.

[Hank]

We don't do the pinky.

[Big Cat]

I do it and it's stupid as.

[Max]

A, as a collective we as in podcast.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but it, the.

[Max]

We're getting into a bet culture that we're just gonna, we're like, we're gonna ourselves.

[Big Cat]

Because I, I'm not totally disagreeing.

[Hank]

You're gonna have to do something you don't have to do that might be physically.

[Big Cat]

This game has a lot of.

[Hank]

Still have to do it.

[Big Cat]

This game already has a lot.

[Max]

But this isn't, this isn't a podcast. Like, it just so happens that.

[PFT Commenter]

Listen, I, I understand the stakes could not be higher, but like instantly when it was going to be Commander's Eagles, everybody was blowing me up saying, what are you guys going to bet on this game? So people do want to see a wager on it.

[Big Cat]

What about the, what about the, the banners?

[PFT Commenter]

The banners could be good.

[Big Cat]

I mean that would hurt both of you like significantly because we'll be in, we'll be doing this show in August and it'd be like right behind you. Every time you see a clip, it says it right behind you.

[PFT Commenter]

I like big tone suggestion. He said that it's like from hire him samurais or loser has to hire him samurais. Or that you put your hair in a ponytail. The winner cuts it off with a blade to signal victory over his adversary.

[Big Cat]

I like your guys hair. I don't really want either of you.

[Hank]

I, I like. No, but that cornrows for a month. That would be funny. That would make me laugh.

[Big Cat]

That would be, that would be funny.

[Max]

I don't hate corners either because it.

[Hank]

It doesn't, doesn't affect you long term. You just look ridiculous.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. You. Every time you talk, we're just like, what is this?

[Hank]

You have to do like cornrows with like the, the beads.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, Yeah, I like that.

[PFT Commenter]

The problem with cornrows for me is that I've got some seedlings that are germinating and sprouting up here and that could potentially pull the seedlings out.

[Big Cat]

Okay, so we'll, we'll talk about this.

[Max]

We'll come on Friday. We'll have a, we'll have a final.

[Hank]

What'd you get yesterday? Pft. Max doesn't want to do anything.

[Max]

I would do. I would do cornrows. I don't want to do anything.

[Big Cat]

Like, he doesn't want to permanently.

[Max]

I don't want to permanently change my hair. Yeah, I've been doing like this Is my hair.

[PFT Commenter]

Thing about hair is it grows.

[Max]

But, like, if we shave. What?

[Hank]

Yeah, I permanently shave my hair.

[Max]

You have a shaved head.

[Hank]

False. Very false.

[Big Cat]

You have short hair.

[Max]

You look at your head. Look at the side of your head.

[Hank]

Yeah, well, after I.

[Big Cat]

After I bi.

[PFT Commenter]

Look at the back of your head.

[Max]

You also chose to do this.

[Big Cat]

No, you actually said that.

[Max]

You said. You said if the. If the Celtics win a final, I will shave my head.

[Big Cat]

He did.

[Hank]

That's insane.

[Big Cat]

That is true.

[Stavros Halkias]

That is so.

[Max]

That is true.

[Big Cat]

No, it's not. What happened?

[PFT Commenter]

I think you're a fucking big cat.

[Memes]

Big cat asked Derek White being like, oh, Hank will shave his head. Do it. And then Hank was like, sure, if this happens, I'll do it.

[Big Cat]

So that.

[Memes]

But big cat set it up.

[Big Cat]

Well, I asked a question. You can't ask questions. What? I can ask a question of an inner. Yeah, actually.

[Max]

Actually, false. I said that if the Sixers won the NBA finals this year, I would say I would shave my head, so.

[Hank]

Okay, good point.

[Big Cat]

So, yeah, if the Bulls win the NBA Finals this year, I'll get a. No, you know what?

[PFT Commenter]

I'm not.

[Big Cat]

I'm just out of the pink. Pinky bet. I'm not doing anything. I was. I was gonna say I was gonna get a dragon tattooed on my back.

[PFT Commenter]

I. I'll say if the. If the Washington Wizards win the NBA championship, I will get Bub Carrington's face tattooed on my face.

[Big Cat]

Okay, Nice. Nice. All right, wait. So. So we'll figure this out Friday.

[Max]

Yes. We'll do something.

[Big Cat]

Eyebrows. Memes saying eyebrows.

[Hank]

What about the eyebrows?

[Big Cat]

Eyebrows good.

[Max]

Eyebrows come back.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Memes]

Max reacting without eyebrows being crazy.

[Big Cat]

Oh, man. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Full body wax.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Eyebrows. Good.

[Hank]

Eyebrows is good. Great eyebrows.

[Big Cat]

Really?

[PFT Commenter]

I don't like eyebrows.

[Big Cat]

Eyebrows is good.

[Hank]

Well, you can't even see yours.

[Big Cat]

You can't even see.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't like. I still love my eyebrows, so one part of my body and my calves. I feel really good about touching his eyebrows right now.

[Big Cat]

All right. And your cool throne.

[PFT Commenter]

My cool throne is bulletin board material because Andy Reid is leaning into the bulletin board material hard, which I respect. You got to do it. You got to find it. But he's got. He must have a team of people that are out there, and he's. He's put them in a room saying, scour the Internet. Scour the newspapers. Try to find any bulletin board material that you can get so that we can feel like we're. We're underdogs going to this game. And that's what a Good coach should be doing. He's gotten to the point now where he's just making stuff up, though, because he said, I presume the Bills will probably be favored, but that's all right. We'll do our thing. Doesn't matter if it's true or not.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

If you tell your team, hey, you're the underdogs, the Bills are favored. Good. You can just lie about that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And it. It's all good. But, yeah, he's been. He's been looking out there, and the fans have, too, which I. Again, full respect. You got to find any motivation where you can get it. And now Max and I are in the bulletin board war with each other, which is good. This is healthy stuff. But it's like every team, you have to feel bad to make yourself work that. I mean, the ultimate bulletin board material was losing to Michigan. If you're Ohio State, that was the best thing they could have ever hoped for.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[PFT Commenter]

In order to motivate them to. To galvanize and come together. So, yeah, if you're a chief fan, I would just deputize yourself as an Internet sleuth. Find whatever bullets and board material you can get and. And send it to the Chiefs because they. They're scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to find it now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I saw that clip. I was like, this is just not true.

[PFT Commenter]

Not true.

[Big Cat]

But.

[PFT Commenter]

But it doesn't really matter. Does it matter?

[Big Cat]

Doesn't matter.

[PFT Commenter]

If Andy Reid says it, it's true.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Okay. My hot seat is Carlos Alcaraz, because he got worked by the. By. By Djokovic.

[PFT Commenter]

The goat was your favorite part of the match.

[Big Cat]

It was when djokovic beat him 3 to 1. And djokovic is 37 years old. And I thought, big, bad Carlos Alcaraz, no one can beat this guy. He's the fucking next guy. Not so fast.

[PFT Commenter]

What was that one year that he didn't win the Australian Open because they.

[Big Cat]

Kicked him out of the country because of his. He didn't want to be vaccinated.

[PFT Commenter]

Getting kicked out of a country rocks.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

That's, like the coolest thing that you can.

[Big Cat]

Also, you see that there was a. There was already a little controversy because there was a reporter, like, it looked like a. Like, good day, America, whatever the show is like for Australia. And he just bashed Good day, Joe Djokovic and his fans. And then they. That same TV station wanted to ask him a question after the interview or after his first match, he's like, I'm not answering from you guys. Like that. Oh, that's my goat.

[PFT Commenter]

Bizarre scenes from the Djokovic locker room. Deeply unprofessional. Amateur hour.

[Big Cat]

Amateur hour.

[PFT Commenter]

So, yeah, I. I love the American. Who. What's her name? The American woman that's down there in Australia that's just yelling at the fans.

[Big Cat]

I don't know.

[PFT Commenter]

She's the best.

[Big Cat]

Coco.

[PFT Commenter]

No, not Coco.

[Big Cat]

There's.

[PFT Commenter]

There's one lady that's from America. She goes down to Australia and she's, like, talking to the fans, like, do you guys mind shutting up while I'm playing?

[Hank]

Lisa, Leslie.

[PFT Commenter]

They start to boo her, and she's, like, putting her hand up to her ear, like, give me more. She's the best. Yeah, I love a good tennis troll.

[Big Cat]

Love it. All right. And then my other hot seat actually is. I didn't know maybe this happened and I just missed it. But I didn't realize that the Gulf of Mexico is not the Gulf of Mexico anymore.

[PFT Commenter]

Gulf of America.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. That's fucking badass. We just renamed it.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And soon Mars is going to be ours, too.

[Big Cat]

Hell yes. Let's go.

[PFT Commenter]

Let's start claiming stars.

[Big Cat]

Gulf of America does not sound great. Well, because the thing is, I don't really under.

[PFT Commenter]

When you go to the Gulf of Mexico. Yeah. If you go there for spring break, then it sounds like way less exotic if you go to the Gulf of America than the Gulf of Mexico. You can go to the Gulf of Mexico and be like, I'm in Destin. But you feel like you're in Cancun.

[Big Cat]

Right. And also, doesn't the Gulf of Mexico have a bunch of oil spills? We should probably keep the branding there.

[PFT Commenter]

No, that happened in the Gulf of Mexico.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

That's what I'm saying.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Keep it. But there's, like, I feel like every.

[Hank]

Year just in Florida is in the Gulf of Mexico.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

It's a body of water. Oh, yeah.

[Hank]

All right, so I take it back. I like that.

[PFT Commenter]

So, yeah, but. Yeah, but, Cat, to your point, the goal, the oil spills happened in the Gulf of Mexico. Like, do we think America has not had an oil.

[Big Cat]

There's going to be more oil spills. We should probably just keep it Gulf.

[PFT Commenter]

Of Mexico, then it gets renamed back to Gulf of Mexico for, like, two weeks. Yeah. During the oil spill.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And then my cool throne is Zuck, because he was checking out Bezos's wife's tits. And that was the first time I was like, this guy might be human.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, that was cool.

[Big Cat]

He did job Zuck.

[PFT Commenter]

Was she wearing just, like, a Lace bra.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it was like lingerie.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, let's normalize that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I think I respect her right to wear that.

[Big Cat]

And also taking a peek.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Looks for free. But it was funny just because, like, Zuck is the last person that I would expect to get caught in 4K doing that.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. I don't know if he had a recent software upgrade or whatever. It's like you have to start finding women attractive now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And. And have the. Have the capability for lust.

[Big Cat]

Good job. Good job, Zuck. You passed the test. They also were like rfk. There was a clip of her taking off her jacket. And RFK passing the test by not looking. RFK is probably just gonna. That later.

[PFT Commenter]

Was that not AI.

[Big Cat]

No.

[PFT Commenter]

Where she took off her jacket.

[Big Cat]

Oh, maybe she's taking off her jacket. But it was a clip.

[PFT Commenter]

Just wearing a bra.

[Big Cat]

No, it was a clip of her standing in front of rfk. And he wasn't looking down.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay, guys.

[Big Cat]

He was she. There was a real clip of her, like, turning around, putting something down on a chair. Yeah. RFK kept his. His gaze straight ahead. But knowing rfk, he's just gonna hit that later.

[PFT Commenter]

He's getting Bezos can't do. He's looking. He's. He's using that peripheral vision.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, he's got.

[PFT Commenter]

Trump also said again, he was going to release the JFK files. Oh, I'm very excited about that. I think it's a dude that lives basically in Chicago that did it. Yeah, he's an old guy. He was in the mafia or Mafia related.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Jack Ruby was the guy who killed Harvey Oswald. And he. He had ties to the mafia.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it's Mafia, CIA, Cuba co hit. Could be interesting collab.

[Big Cat]

It's crazy.

[PFT Commenter]

The most ambitious crossover event of all time.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, like the. The. The Mafia came up with it. Cuba did the. The second verse, and then the CIA probably mixed it.

[Hank]

Featuring CIA.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Featuring CIA.

[PFT Commenter]

When I heard that news, I was like, mind blown, CIA.

[Big Cat]

How do they get involved?

[PFT Commenter]

Well, this is like good dudes. This dude was a special forces guy overseas. Worked for the CIA and the military back in Vietnam. He was over in Laos and then he came back here. He had all the training. He helped train the Bay of Pigs operation that got shot down by Kennedy at the last second. Then the CIA was pissed at Kennedy. He's one of their special forces guys that works for him. He goes down, meets up with Lee Harvey Oswald. Lee Harvey Oswell gives him the gun. It's a whole thing. It's a whole thing. But this dude There is a guy that's confessed to shooting RFK or excuse me, JFK in the head and he lives in Illinois. He lives close by. We got to get that guy.

[Big Cat]

Driver.

[PFT Commenter]

He was not the driver.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah, the driver did shoot him as well. That did happen. I watched that replay. Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Jean Stertor would have been like, yep, that was the right call.

[Big Cat]

Good, that's targeting.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

All right, let's get to our interviews. We've got Ryan Fitzpatrick and then we have our good friend Stavros talking about his Baltimore Ravens, which is painful, but let's hit our interviews and we'll finish up afterwards with pardon your take.

[PFT Commenter]

Before we get to Fitzy. He's brought to you by our great friends at Doritos with Patrick Mahomes.

[Big Cat]

Help.

[PFT Commenter]

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[Big Cat]

Okay. We now welcome on a very, very, very good friend of the show. Recurring guest, 17 year NFL Pro. It is Ryan Fitzpatrick. He's here to talk a little playoff football. But before we talk playoff football, I gotta know. Taking off your shirt at the Ravens Bills game on Sunday, how are you feeling? How long did you have your shirt off? And do you think you actually had anything to do with the win? That was a, that was like three part question there.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Okay, let's start with the last question. Did I have anything to do with the win? So right before kickoff, shirt off, lead the charge, say the cheer, the Ravens get the kickoff, they go right down and score seven points. So I don't think I had much to do with the win. Okay, my voice, voice is shot. A lot of tailgating, a lot of cheering. My shirt was off from right before kickoff to when I got into the green room in the back where the fans couldn't see me. And then I put four different layers of jackets and coats on with my mittens and my gloves. But it was, I mean, electric. The crowd was awesome and it was such a great game. So happy that the Bills are moving on to the conference championship yet again.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it was, it was a great game. Do you think that there's anything different about this Bill's team? Because I, I am leaning very. I know that I shouldn't bet against Patrick Mahomes. I understand that it's happened before, but I'm feeling like this Bill's team might be different this year. Tough environment to go into. But do you see the same thing? Do you feel like there's a difference between this team and, and what we've seen in the past?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Well, I'll say they look a lot like the Chiefs, right? I mean, they've kind of morphed into this team that doesn't turn over. They're able to possess it and you know they don't have a ton of explosives in the last few weeks on offense, but Josh has played really efficient. The thing that gets me about Josh now, looking at him now versus like five years ago, he's so patient when you're watching the game. He's not forcing stuff down the field. That being said, and if you look at the last game with Kansas City, he's going to have to hit some go balls down the sideline. They play a lot of man coverage. Amari Cooper was involved in that first game. He's going to have to be involved again. Keon Coleman's going to be. Have to have to be involved again. So it's been interesting because they sort of have evolved into this team that looks like Kansas City on offense now. But I think it's their time, man. I mean, Kansas City has been so good, obviously Patrick Mahomes has been so good, but I think it's their time. They do feel a little bit different this year.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I mean, they do run the ball well, the, the Bills and it feels like they're very balanced. I'm a little nervous still about that. It feels like the Bill's middle of the field defense is not it. That's where they're vulnerable. And on the other side, there's a Hall of Famer who is now what I think we had the stat 14 straight playoff games where he's had 70 yards or more in Travis Kelsey. What from you when you're watching the games and you're watching maybe the film after, what, what makes him so special and what is he doing that like, other tight ends aren't able to do?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Well, his, his rules are different than every other tight end in the game. He gets to do whatever he wants. And that's just something that over time he and Patrick, I mean they, they're so on the same page. So for example, if he's got a 12 yard out route, well, if it doesn't look like it's going to be open, he can turn in or he can run his out route and then stop or he could just keep running vertical. And for me, that would be really difficult because I was so much about like the, the timing and getting it out when it's supposed to and. But with him and Patrick, they're the same mind. It's unbelievable. He's got such a great feel for the game and even as you've seen, maybe his athleticism come back a few notches the last few years, he's still just as effective because of how smart he is. And you'll see zone coverage. He's going to get the ball quite a bit because he's going to be able to find those holes. Patrick's going to be able to look around the field and then find him over the middle. So it's amazing to see what he's doing. And of course, you know, the playoffs come, he wakes up and is the same old Travis Kelce again.

[Big Cat]

Did you ever play with someone who you gave them their own rules or had any of that, like, free flowing, like, hey, we're going to play this a little different, where I know that I trust you so much. You're going to make the right decision and you can improvise a little.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah. So there were two guys in the first one, if you guys remember, Stevie Johnson in Buffalo.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

So we did. We did a lot of three by one formations and a lot of that, you know, the. The one was just Stevie on the backside. If it was man to man, you know, I was going to throw to him. If it was zone coverage, I was going to go to the three receiver side. So I came up with what we called a you do you route. And I would just give him the. Yeah. And that meant, Stevie, you do you, buddy, whatever you want to do. A slant to go, a hitch, just get open. And he was phenomenal. His releases, you know, you talk to guys, you talk to Reavis, you talk to Sherm. Those are. When they say who gave you the most trouble? You know, they would say Stevie Johnson was one of the guys at the top of the list. He was so difficult to cover. And then Brandon Marshall was the other guy, just so smart. And. And some of that with him was like, hey, you can run an in cut here, but if the safety comes down, go ahead and make it an in and a go up the middle of the field. But it's. You have to really trust the guys to be able to do that. So there weren't a whole lot of those guys in my career, but those were two of them.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

And then on the outside for the Chiefs, you have Xavier Worthy, who started off the year a little shaky. They would, they would give him the ball in space sometimes and, and design some plays where they could just use his speed. And then he kind of hit like a lull in the middle of the season. He was, he had like the worst sideline awareness for a while. Any wide receiver, he just like catch the ball one foot down, let's get out of bounds. But towards the end of the season, he's looked a lot better. And it feels like if we're doing, like, the narrative, if we're looking back and I'm imagining what I'm going to be saying on Monday, I could see a world where I just focus and say, how did the Bills let this. Let. Let this guy go to Kansas City? How do you make that trade? It feels like a big narrative and, and like the next brick in the wall of sadness for Buffalo to, to get beat by the guy that, that you gave to Kansas City. But what have you seen from Xavier Worthy this season as it's progressed that shows you that he's becoming a real threat?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah. Well, I could tell you that Buffalo fans are hoping that Keon Coleman has a big game for that reason, to kill that narrative. But, I mean, Xavier Worthy, perfect situation for him to be in, because Andy Reid, he's a mastermind, he's an offensive genius. And so that speed and the way they've been able to incorporate him, different ways of getting him the ball, it's obviously not all just down the field stuff. It's some of the reverses and some of the, you know, cute plays that you can really take advantage of his speed. But I think eventually they're going to hope that he evolves into more than just a gadget guy. And he's shown, he's shown some potential this year. But as you said, some of the sideline awareness and some of those things that it's going to take to be a true number one receiver, he's just not there yet. But I could promise you, when teams are playing the Chiefs, he's one of those guys that they're going to circle and they're going to say, we can't let this guy ruin the game. They're going to know where he is on every play.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. All right. We're obviously going to talk about the NFC Championship game and what Jaden Daniels has been doing, But a question just popped in my head that I realized I don't think I've ever asked quarterback this Jake Elliott has struggled. If you're in that locker, if you're the quarterback of a team and you know your kicker is going through it, what is the mentality in these games? And are you, are you just avoiding him altogether? Are you, are you thinking to yourself, like, hey, if we're, you know, at the 35, like, we really got to get five more yards because he sucks right now and he's. Something's going on with his head, how does that affect you as a quarterback? I Realized that I never really asked that question. It might, the answer might be like, it doesn't affect us at all.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Well, I mean, it would affect how I go about the week, which is trying to instill confidence in him, letting him know that we still believe in him, you know, letting him know that there's going to be a big kick or a big moment in the game where we're really going to need you and I've got your back. I believe in you 100%. So it's that part of it which is the mental part of it. And then it is when you're in those offensive meetings, especially with the play caller or the head coach, you have those discussions of, okay, where are we thinking we're going to go for it? You know, if it's 4th and 5 on the 35, like he said, this is a situation this week, you know, where we could potentially just go. We're going to go for it every time. We don't feel comfortable unless he's inside the 45. And even there, you know, points are going to be at a premium this game. Maybe if it's less than 4th and 4, we're going no matter what. And you saw that with a team like Detroit this year and, you know, with Washington and how unbelievable they've been on fourth down this year. It's a mentality and guys take a lot of pride in it. And if, you know beforehand, okay, coaches putting it on us as an offense, that's a real motivator for you to get it done as an offense. And so that, I think that's where I would be a lot of closed door whispers that Jake's not going to hear. But then outwardly you're trying to, you know, breathe some confidence into him.

[Big Cat]

Do you, when you're on the sideline, do you watch the kick? If you know your kicker's struggling, do you watch the kick or do you close your eyes? I think I'd close my eyes.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

No, now I'm always, I'm always a kick watcher, always watching that kick.

[Big Cat]

Are there guys that, you know, like in the, in the locker room that are not kick watchers? Like, there's a divide. Like we got our kick watchers and not kick watchers.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Some K watchers. Yeah. Some K watchers. Yeah. Usually they go hand in hand. If you're a C watcher, you're a K watcher, usually. And vice versa.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I, you know that Jake knows that those conversations are happening.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Like you can have the whispers behind.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

There's a Lot of whispers.

[PFT Commenter]

Well, it's like every conversation thinks is about him.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

When you're playing quarterback and you're not playing well, you know, and. And it's like, am I going to get benched or am I not? And those whispers are happening everywhere. And you walk in a room and it goes silent, you know, hey, guys.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

You know they're happening, but it's those. Those inner demons, man. You got to fight them. You just got to go out and rely on your techni and, you know, just. I would tell him you're here for a reason, man. You've made a lot of big kicks in your career.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You got to be careful about gassing him up too much. Like, then he knows, like, this is.

[Stavros Halkias]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

You just complimented me on my park job that I had this morning.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Hey, great job, Jake. You really split those lines. Perfect job.

[Big Cat]

I also, I. I would definitely, like, bust balls and be like, you're here for a reason, Jake, and it's because it's way too late to find another kicker or something like that. And then probably just completely go against what I was trying to do.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

That's like a Tuesday. That's a Tuesday conversation. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You're here for a reason. It's because we haven't killed you yet.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So you're welcome. That's how much we believe you're here for a reason.

[Big Cat]

The only other free agent out there that could get here in time was Cody Parky.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. But I'm obviously super excited for the NFC championship game. It feels kind of surreal that Washington is in the NFC championship game this quickly into a turnaround. I love what they've done. All the credit to Adam Peters for getting good veterans, nailing some draft picks and. And. And getting Dan Quinn on board. But I was. I was actually watching the tape. Fitzy. This is how. This is my level, my level of preparation. I've been grinding the All 22. Last night, I watched the Thursday night game that the commanders played against the Eagles in Philly, and I was just watching Jalen Carter the entire time because that guy wrecks everything. He scares me. And the fact that Sam Cosby, our best offensive lineman, some might say he. He's out probably for a long time with an acl, and he lines up directly across from Jalen Carter. So now we've got a backup coming in trying to stop this guy. What, as an offense, would you look to do? Because you can't take him out of the game. It's impossible. He's going to find a Way to make some plays. But what would you do to limit his effectiveness in stopping you?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah, well, you nailed it. I'm really worried about that matchup, too. And even with Cosmi, I mean, Carter's just been an issue. Right, But. But with Sam being out, that's a big deal. I think, you know, they're built for it. The way that Cliff Kingsbury runs his offense, getting it out quick, you know, making sure that some of your shot plays are the plays you're going to hold on to the ball a little bit longer, happening later in drives, I think that's part of it. So getting them gassed a little bit, making sure that, you know, you're getting your first downs and extending your drives and then maybe on the sixth play of the drive, okay, Jalen Carter just had four pass rushes in the last five plays. Maybe this is one. We can hold on to it longer. Those things, they have to go in your head and then protection schemes are the same thing. But Philly's really good up front, so it's not just one guy. That's going to be the guy. Obviously they're going to circle and say, we need to know where he is on every play. But big loss for the Commanders. But the other equalizers, just Daniels and the way he moves, man, he's so cool and calm back there. Escaping the pockets is obviously one of the best things that he does. And then when he escapes up inside, taking off and going, you know, I decided we had that Thursday night game, but to look more at the last game that they played, I think Jayden Daniels was a little injured kind of in the middle of the season. I don't know if it was a rib or something, but it just looked like something was going on. So that last game, I just watched it again this morning from week 16, was unique, believable, obviously. Five touchdown passes, but he ran for 81 yards as well. That's going to be a huge factor in the game. And then just confused at why the Eagles didn't run the ball more in the second half. Yeah, it just. It was kind of a weird game plan after Jalen Hurts went down. But the Commanders are going to have to score a bunch of points to win this game. But the great thing about that is they're explosive and they can and they've showed it. And they've scored 40 punt points a bunch of times this year. They just did it versus Detroit.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Is. Is. Is Jalen Hurts good? I think he's good.

[PFT Commenter]

Good question.

[Big Cat]

But I. Well, there's sometimes where I don't know, but I, I, I do. If you ask me, gun to your head, like, Jalen Hurts is good. But then sometimes I watch him, I'm like, wait, is he.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah. I mean, you, you know, you get in trouble for making quarterback there. I do all the time. Especially now that I'm new to Twitter. Oh, my God, the Eagles fans hate me.

[Big Cat]

I saw you did, I saw you got roasted for saying Justin Herbert's a top 10 quarterback.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah, I think I said he's a top eight, but not a top five. He's not on the Mount Rushmore at the top four. And oh, my God. But it's also like, then there's restraint of. I don't, I'm not going to do a victory lap. I'm not rooting against the guy. And I hate that, you know, he had the playoff game that he had and they lost. But, but I, with Jalen Hurts, I, I go back to the game in the super bowl versus the Chiefs. Yep, he had one fumble, but other than that, he was lights out that whole game. On the biggest stage, he was unbelievable. I think they have struggled a little bit in the rhythm passing game. I think when he has to throw the ball over the middle and not to the outsides, that's where he struggles a little bit more. But he's an elite go ball thrower. He's got a great deep ball. They've obviously got two guys that can go and get it. But the addition of Saquon, you know, it just plays into the strengths of what he is as well. Like, Jalen Hurts is an elite runner and, you know, he's, we'll see what happens with his knee and how healthy he is when he comes out. But Jalen Hurts is the perfect quarterback for that system, right? The system they're in.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So that's okay. That's. I, I like that answer because I, I, again, I do think he's good. It's just there are times it's more, I guess the Eagles offense at times, like, what am I watching? Because I expect more because they have so, so much talent everywhere, between their offensive line and their, you know, outside guys in Saquon.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

But there's, there's guys, there's quarterbacks. I think we all know who they are. You know, we have our top four with Burrow, Allen Mahomes and Lamar. Jayn Daniels is now in this conversation. If you could pick them up and drop them in any situation in the NFL and they're going to be Elite. And then there's other guys that you could sprinkle around and put them in the right systems. And I think two is like that. I think Brock's like that. I think Jalen's probably like that. Where if you get them in the right spot, then they can be as good as anybody. But you can't necessarily pick them up and drop them in any situation and have them be elite.

[Big Cat]

I think that's a fair answer.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I think it's fair. People are going to be very angry at you, though. You put them in with. With Tua and Brock Purdy. That's sending out a signal.

[Big Cat]

Those are good quarterbacks.

[PFT Commenter]

Like, attack me, please.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Max, what are your thoughts? Those are good quarterbacks, Max.

[Max]

No, I'm fine with what he just said. I think, I think that makes sense. He didn't say he's a. He's. The rest of the, the rest of the media world right now is painting Jalen Hurts to be the worst quarterback in the NFL.

[Big Cat]

So I think he's good.

[Max]

There's never been a team that has more bulletin board material while also being the super bowl favorites in the Philadelphia.

[Big Cat]

Well, they're. They're super bowl favorites. Not because they're the best. Like, they're not viewed as the best team.

[Max]

What did I just say?

[PFT Commenter]

I know, but you likely to make.

[Big Cat]

The Super Bowls have to play each other. That's why the odds are the. For the Eagles.

[Max]

I said what I said.

[PFT Commenter]

And that wouldn't that be giving bulletin board material to the commanders?

[Big Cat]

Correct.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

No, Ryan, just hold on. We're having a conversation over here.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I don't know how many people. I don't know how many people have made this comparison and I'll just dig myself a deeper hole. But what do you think about the Jalen Hurts and Russell Wilson? Like a young Russell Wilson.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah. I don't hate that. Russell Wilson was good or. He was. He was good. Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

He's still like, they're elite. Go ball throwers.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Great down the field. They're also both very good runners, especially young Russ. And they win.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I mean, I, I like that.

[PFT Commenter]

And I don't think that the Eagles are going to have Jalen Hurts throw a slant route at the one yard line in the Super Bowl. That's. That's.

[Big Cat]

Imagine if they didn't touch push. Yeah. That would be incredible.

[PFT Commenter]

That would be the worst mistake ever.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

The goat One two punch. Peanut butter and chocolate. Reese's invented it. Reese's is the king of candy. The Reese's peanut butter cup I think is the best candy and it stood the test of time. All time. Great. The peanut butter cup from Reese's. It's the perfect combo of chocolate and peanut butter. Reese's Peanut Butter cups may be even more perfect with a layer of ooey gooey delicious chocolate lava. Now this is a great, great piece of candy. The chocolate lava in the Reese's classic peanut butter cup. It breaks all the rules in all the best ways.

[Big Cat]

The best.

[PFT Commenter]

It is so good. The Reese's Peanut butter cups are going to be featured in the big game. They will be sponsoring our week in New Orleans. It's lava time, baby. You can buy Reese's cups basically anywhere. You can find them anywhere you go. Hey, you want a Reese's with that? Sure, yeah. I'll take a Reese's Peanut butter cup. Load me up. Try Reese's new delicious chocolate lava big cup. Try today. You will not regret it. That's. It's a pft guarantee.

[Big Cat]

It's a big cat guarantee. Slap my guarantee on it on top of your game.

[PFT Commenter]

It's a part of my take guarantee that you will love this Reese's peanut butter cup. It's the best. So in, in watching Saquon Barclay, I think that the commanders have done a decent job. Nobody does a great job of stopping Saquon. You can't really stop him, especially when that offensive line gets moving to the side and they get start, you know, they start going downhill. How do you limit his big plays? Is it possible?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I. I don't know that it's possible. I think you do go into this game saying, all right, the main focus is going to be on Saquon, but that means you're going to have one on ones on the outside. And like I just said, he's an elite goalball thrower. So with Devontae Smith and A.J. brown on the outside, it makes it difficult. So it's a pick your poison type thing. But I would go into the game saying that, I mean, you have to stop sake one. That being said, you know, the other way you combat that is you possess the ball and when you have fourth and six or less, you go for it on offense, which is the formula that Washington has pretty much used all year in being really aggressive on fourth down and then they've got to light up the scoreboard. They know going into this game this isn't going to be the same game that the Buffalo Kansas City game is. That game is going to be 24 to 23, 27 to 22, whatever. It's going to be this one. In order for Washington to win the game, they've got to score 30 plus points and maybe 40 to win this game.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I. I've been doing a lot of reading about Jaden recently and his use of virtual reality and how he started doing that at lsu. And so that's like a very important part of his prep at lsu. That's what kind of changed his whole momentum around was he started doing this virtual reality stuff for like 45 minutes an hour, three days a week, where he would get reps in against a simulated defense. And it allowed him to see and. And think a lot quicker when he was playing on Saturdays. And the commanders invested in that same company. And now he's just like, he's living in the metaverse three days a week, and by the time he hits the field on Sunday, he's ready to go. Have you tried using the virtual reality stuff?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I did. They started to incorporate it a little bit into the NFL my last few years, and I didn't like it at all. Yeah, it just. What. I think maybe it's just what he's grown up with and. But, yeah, it's obviously working, and maybe I should have done it more. But he also has that thing where if he doesn't like what he sees, he just takes off and runs and nobody can catch him, which is really effective, too.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you have that?

[Big Cat]

That's a pretty good strategy. Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

But he. Between. Between the way that he throws the deep ball and the way that he processes. There's one play in particular in that last game. It's cover zero. He's got two guys free coming at him and every quarterback in the league. You're taking the flat route, you're throwing it. That's your hot throw. You've got an unblocked guy. He just takes two more steps back. The hot throw is covered. And then he finds Zach Ertz on a seven route to the outside. He throws it three steps before Ertz is out of his break, right in stride. And it's like, what planet is this guy from? You know, between the athleticism, his ability to throw it accurately, and now his ability to process the, you know, the calmness, the poise under pressure. It's. It's unbelievable. And something we haven't seen recently.

[PFT Commenter]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

From the metaverse. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I got to ask you a question about your Twitter account because, and this was like a month ago, but I was heavily invested in an ongoing saga that you had.

[Big Cat]

Oh, I was going to ask the same question.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

I'm happy you bring this up.

[PFT Commenter]

You got a shot putt ball stuck in a golf hole and you couldn't get it out. I guess my first question is, why do you have a shot putt ball?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah. So it's the first time I got something stuck in a hole that I couldn't get it out. And my brother lives next door, so his son is becoming a shot putter, and so his little shit five year old son brought the shot put ball over to our backyard and thought it'd be fun to get it in the hole. It literally was the perfect size. It was the perfect size to where it couldn't have been any bigger and fit in there. There was nothing I could do. And I love your suggestion, but I couldn't put any liquids in there because there's sand underneath the hole and it just would have dissipated underneath the hole. So it was an absolute saga that ended like you thought it would, which was brute force and just destroying the fake green and the hole and. But it was a fun two hours.

[PFT Commenter]

I loved it because it was, you know, Harvard guy Fitzy, trying to use all the brain power in the world trying to problem solve this. And at the end of the day, sometimes something as simple as a ball getting stuck in a hole, you just have to. You just have to be a man about it.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Well, that's. I was hoping Elon. I was hoping Elon was going to chime in, you know, like the submarine thing that he did and this whole SpaceX thing. I don't know what he would have suggested. My. My three butter knives, two. Two by fours. And trying to wedge it out of there. Didn't work. I don't think my wife follows me on Twitter. I don't think she has an account. So she doesn't know that the three butter knives got broken and are still missing. Yeah, but it's gonna come up one day for sure.

[Big Cat]

She might be an awl. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

She listens.

[Big Cat]

I would have just. I would have just covered up the whole. Made a new hole somewhere else and been like, that's it. That hole's done. Yeah. Yeah. Like, we're done with that one.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

That was my favorite suggestion that somebody made. Made was like, when are you moving?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Why not just be.

[Big Cat]

Imagine. Imagine like the. The real estate agent being like, this is an incredible house. Great. Got great bones. But there's one thing we have to disclose before you sign. There's a shot put in the hole in the backyard. Ooh, I don't think so. Yeah. We're not buying this one.

[PFT Commenter]

I'll get the Murder House down the street instead.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it was. It was an incredible saga. All right, so do you have. Are you picking these games? Do you. Do you have. I know that you want the Bills. I mean, are we going to get maybe a Ryan Fitzpatric Super Bowl? Bill's commanders. That would be. Would you be the bell of the ball? Maybe do the coin toss?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Pft. You know, a lot of the. A lot of people are saying, you know, this is the most excitement they've had at quarterback in Washington since 2021.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I would agree. That game against, you know, Dolphins, man, who can forget?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

So. So now you guys kind of taught me this. I have got my own podcast with Andrew Whitworth, and I just said that the Eagles were going to win, but on here, I could. Can I say then you can play both takes?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah. Okay, good. So I think the Bills are going to win. And let's go with the Commanders. Those commanders in the Super Bowl.

[Big Cat]

I love that. That was. That's really. That's a really good call.

[PFT Commenter]

Good pick.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah, there we go.

[Big Cat]

Another question about the. The Chiefs Bills game. What is there anything that Sean McDermott can do this week leading up to it where he's like, because you don't want to play tentative, but we obviously saw what happened with the Texans where they're going to call those flags, or do you think maybe the NFL's like, man, we can't have these flags again, so we're going to. We're going to make sure that this game doesn't have another controversial call with Patrick Mahomes sliding or. Or running out of bounds late. Like, how's that going to play out in your head?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Well, that. So it was really funny the. The second personal foul, Patrick Mahomes, when he kind of danced around and went down and got crunched by the two guys. I'm. I'm complaining, like, oh, my God, I can't believe he did that. He's baiting him into getting the flag. And. And then my buddy next to me was like, yeah, but Josh does that sometimes, too. True Bills, true. But, you know, the. Both these guys have learned how to weaponize that a little bit, which you try to try to take that out of the game in the off season. But who. Do you know who the crew is? That's.

[PFT Commenter]

It's either Hockey Lee or Cleveland for the afc.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So. So, you know, the good thing is these are the best of the best. So Cleat and his crew, they do a great job. They're obviously, you know, you go into the game and as a head coach, you have a list of things you tell the refs beforehand. They're going to say, hey, their tackles leave early. You know, Patrick Mahomes isn't running out of bounds. You'll have that checklist of things that you're going to say. We want to alert you to these and vice versa. They'll do the same thing with the Bills, but, but we gotta just hope for the best. You know, these are the best crews that we have. These guys both hockey Lee on the other side, other than being very long winded and liking the spotlight like his father and CLE Blakeman are both very good at what they do.

[PFT Commenter]

So.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, I mean, I, I, we just want, I just want the game to not have any of that.

[PFT Commenter]

And if it does, I hope it has it equally on both sides. I hope that they, they officiate the same way for Josh as they do for Patrick. And in that event, you can just be like, well, it washed out. Out.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah. And the, speaking of, you know, calls, the last time the Commanders and the Eagles played Lattimore, was it like three pass interferences on AJ Brown?

[PFT Commenter]

Yep.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I mean, he had, it just kept happening. So hopefully that ends up a little bit better for him this time too.

[PFT Commenter]

He did look a lot better last week. He, he was a big part of that defense and how they were able to limit some of the, the big plays to the Lions. So I, I, I, I like the Commander secondary in a shocking twist as the season has progressed. I love Mikey Sander still, and Marshawn Latimore is playing a lot better and Jeremy Chin is back there just hitting the, out of people.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

So, yeah, he is.

[PFT Commenter]

So I'm, I'm okay with where we're at. I never thought we'd be a great defense this year. I just wanted us to be kind of middle of the road, and I think we've, we've officially reached that tier, so. Well, I'm okay.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

And if you're middle of the road on defense, you got to create turnovers, right? You gotta, you gotta have some big plays because even, you know, going back to the Buffalo game this last weekend and their defense played good, they didn't play great, but they got three turnovers, you know, and that was the huge difference in the game. So it's like, you think back to the Mark Andrews had a catch, he was wide open, nobody was near him. And then, you know, they're Driving down to score, but Terrell Bernard comes and punches that ball out. So opportunistic. You know, that's going to be the big word for these defenses, because I would say Kansas City and Philly probably have the two best defenses that are left. But the Bills have been very opportunistic this year and the way they force turnovers. And Washington's going to need the same thing versus Philly this weekend.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I, I had one more question for you about the Bills because you, you danced around the NFL a little bit. You had a lot of flings, you had a lot of one night stands in the NFL. But the Bills, they were like your long term relationship and you settled in nicely there. They paid you a good amount of money. That must have been pretty cool. But it feels like the Bills fans have a different place in your heart from everybody else in the NFL. What was the moment where you realized that Bill's fans are different and you really like this place?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Well, I'll say my favorite moment as a bill was 2011, which was my third year there. And early in the season we beat the Patriots at home. And that was when I think people on the team that were new really understood, like, what the mafia is and how much football means to them because we hadn't beat the Patriots in forever. It had been forever. Tom Brady obviously owned the Bills, owned the division forever. And the appreciation after that game and the tears and the joy from all the fans, that was a moment that I'll never forget where it was like, all right, I can mess with these guys. Like, this is, this is. These are my dudes, these are my people. And there's also just, you know, flying back there for Sunday. It's like the weather is shitty. You know, you don't know if it's going to snow 2ft or 2 inches. The wind's blowing, it's cold. But everybody's out there in the parking lot with a smile on their face because they live for Bill's football. And the bills went 10 and oh at home this year, so they rewarded them with a great season.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's the best. We've, we've made a couple trips obviously to Buffalo and we love Josh and, and their, their fan base is, is, it's just the, the, like the passion and pride in, in Buffalo. It's, it's really cool to see. And they're, they're also like, if you, if you just laid out like, what fan base likes to drink beer and eat wings and oh my God, and like fart in their Zubas, you know, that's. It's a good life. It's a good life.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Do you guys see the belt in the background here?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

So this guy was in our section. He came over. I had my three boys with me, 17, 16, 16 and 5. And he's like falling over. He's dressed like Macho Man, Randy Savage. And he gave my five year old that belt. And he was so excited. And then later he came, One of his buddies came back because I think he was fairly inebriated. And he was like, hey, can my friend have his belt back? And I was like, hey, I'm sorry. My 5 year old was clutching it. He slept with it last night. You know, I'm like, look, I can get you another belt, but I don't think we're gonna get it away from him. You gave it to him?

[Big Cat]

Yeah. You can't. You taking, taking that away from a five year old at a game is like, you just basically should just get back in the car. Cause you're going home anyway. Like, that would be meltdown city. All right, so Ryan, I got one last question. It's a Roback question. R, H, O, B, A, C, K.com promo code take. Roback.com promo code take. Q, zips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts. Roback.com promo code Take. So you mentioned you. Everyone should go listen to your podcast with Andrew Whitworth. How has it been a year into you know, or, or a season into podcasting? Do you have a newfound respect for guys like us who've been in the, in the podcast minds for a decade plus now?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I do. I'd love to pick your brain at some point. We haven't had any guests yet. We, we've just kind of. I think it's been easier because Thursday Night Football, you know, talking about our adventures, talking about all these games, as soon as the season ends, we're going to be in a dark place. I don't know what to talk about. We're not interesting. I mean, but I guess the season, you know, football lives on throughout the year, but it's been a lot of fun. I've enjoyed it. I was hesitant for a while, but I think I found the right guy in Wit.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, we're.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

We're best buddies. He's such an impressive dude, you know, very thoughtful, very insightful. And then, you know, I just enjoy hanging out with him. He's a family guy. He's got four kids, I've got seven. So that part of it's been really fun too.

[PFT Commenter]

Seven kids.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

You've gotten things stuck in holes before. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Seven different women too, which is not a good.

[Big Cat]

What's.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Just kidding. Just kidding. Love you, Lies.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Everyone, everyone do listen to Fitz and Wit. You can listen anywhere. What, what is last question. What is the amount of kids where like it becomes enough where they can just fend for themselves? Because I, I have three and I feel like three is a bad number where it's like they're, they all are relying on me and I don't have enough of an age difference where like the oldest can just take care of the youngest.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah. And then it depends too, like if your oldest is a boy or a girl because, you know, a, like. Right. A 17 year old boy is not as good as an 11 year old girl in terms of taking care of younger kids.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I mean the boys are, are selfish. They're into their cell phones and their friends and, and sports and farting in their zubas, like you said.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

So I think for us, once we got to four, that that was a pretty good number. But really when we made the decision to go from six to seven, that's when you don't fit in a car anymore and you've got to go with like a weird kids actually call our van the kidnapper van. So when you've got to go, it's like the weird kidnapper van when you have, you know, 12 seats and you can kind of bring all their friends to the soccer games and basketball games. That's where we're at right now.

[Big Cat]

That's crazy.

[PFT Commenter]

You've become a non profit organ.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, you're, you're, you're doing church meetups, like, you know, going and picking people up.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah, we do have, we do have two drivers now. So now we're in a whole different realm where, hey, go pick up your sister from soccer practice, go take your friend or your son to the birthday party, whatever.

[PFT Commenter]

Nice.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

And to the point about the podcast, I think what you're doing, it's not, not having guests might be a good thing for you guys because the listeners want to hear the relationship develop between you. And then they, then they get like, they feel like they're, they're part of, you know, a little family. And then you can slowly add on guests after that. You know, in the off season, sometimes in May, June, there's not a lot to talk about then. Then you start mixing in guests as a treat. But yeah, no, your podcast is great. And I Love watching. I love listening to it. So congratulations.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Thank you. Hey, do you know. Do you know who the long snapper for the commanders is?

[PFT Commenter]

The long snapper for the commanders is.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I hate to put you on the.

[PFT Commenter]

Spot like this, but I'm. It's not Cheeseman. It used to be Cheese.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Oh, it used to be Cheeseman.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

He's gone. He was there when I was there, but Tyler Ott.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Do you know where he went to college?

[PFT Commenter]

I do not. We got a Harvard boy snapping long, too.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

That's why you guys have the advantage. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Okay. That's huge.

[Big Cat]

That's huge.

[PFT Commenter]

The snaps have been really good this year. I don't.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

They've been.

[Big Cat]

You don't.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

If you don't know his name, that means they've been great. Yeah, great.

[PFT Commenter]

I just jinxed it right there. I should have said that.

[Big Cat]

They did. Point for Max. Yeah, point for Max. All right, well, Ryan, thank you so much for coming on, man. We love, love having you on and hopefully maybe we see in New Orleans. We'll be there for the whole week, so we got to catch up.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

All right, we'll see you there. Thanks, guys.

[PFT Commenter]

Stavi is going to be brought to you by Dove Men's. What better guest to be sponsored by Dove Men's. We should send them a care package of this stuff.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[PFT Commenter]

If you're preparing to host game day celebrations, you might have some possible. Possible whole body odor related issues. Maybe you're afraid to take your shoes off. Maybe you just don't want your guests to take your shoes off because you're afraid what their feet are going to smell like. You can be less confident in your hosting duties if you're thinking that you might be stinking up the joint. If you're afraid to take off your shoes when you go into your friend's house, or if you get nervous when your team is down at halftime. You sweat a lot. We'll try Dove Men's Whole body odor do. It defends against all your odor zones from pits privates defeat and it's long lasting with 72 hour odor protection. Find Dove Men Whole body dio at Walmart today.

[Big Cat]

Okay, before we get to stop you, just a quick note. The first eight minutes of the interview, not the best audio. It comes in fine. We cleaned it up. Riverside, which we use all the time. Which shout out to people at Riverside. Usually no issues. We had a little bit issue here. It gets better after eight minutes, but it's still max. And everyone on the team cleaned up the first eight minutes. So it should be good. But just wanted to note that it does get better. Eight minutes in and it's Stavy, baby. All right, here he is. Okay. We now welcome on our very, very good friend. It is Stavros Halkius. Stavi, baby. You can listen to him on Stavi's World. You can see his comedy. He's on tour, he's got a new movie, but his Baltimore Ravens lost again in the playoffs. And I love you, Stav, and I didn't want to ask. I waited 24 hours, but it was. Your appearance last year after they lost in the AFC Championship game was so goddamn funny. And our fans loved it so much.

[Stavros Halkias]

Fuck you guys. Fuck you. Shut the fuck up.

[Big Cat]

Okay, I. I'm sorry, but, like. All right, all right. You're right. You're right.

[Stavros Halkias]

You motherfucker.

[Big Cat]

How are you?

[Stavros Halkias]

Wait, hold on a second. I'm in Chicago. I'm like, hey, guys, I gotta. You move it now. Can I do the show? I don't hear. Hey, we can put you on anus. I get a. My team loses, I go through heartbreak. I immediately get a text, you pieces of shit. Fuck you guys.

[Big Cat]

That's not fully true.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Fuck you.

[Big Cat]

You said you were gonna come back to do pmt.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, you shut the up. I know what you.

[PFT Commenter]

What you want, Stavi, when I saw you, I went. First of all, I went to your movie, which was very, very funny.

[Stavros Halkias]

You did. Thank you.

[PFT Commenter]

I appreciate the invite. And we agreed afterwards, next time you're in town, let's get you on pmt. The schedule. The schedule didn't match up.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm mad, and I'm taking it out on you.

[Big Cat]

Okay. So how are you feeling?

[Stavros Halkias]

Bad, Big cat.

[Big Cat]

Okay, let's talk it out.

[Stavros Halkias]

Am I coming? Sorry? Am I echoing? Is something weird happening?

[PFT Commenter]

The mic's cutting out just, like, a little bit.

[Big Cat]

Cutting out a little bit, but I think because it's Riverside, it'll be fine. What we got back?

[Max]

Yeah, I think he's just. He's just peeking, so.

[Big Cat]

Oh, you're just peeking because you're yelling too much. All right, so. Okay, so let's talk it out. I mean, that sucked. That sucked.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yes, it did. It was brutal. It was like. I don't know, dude. I don't even know what to say.

[PFT Commenter]

So at the end of the month, they're going to do the NFL honor ceremony. Lamar Jackson might get another mvp. Is that going to feel good at all for you to watch that?

[Stavros Halkias]

I'm not one of these that thinks Lamar was the problem at all. Look, that interception was a duck. That was crazy. He threw a quarter of his season's interceptions in this game. He was awesome. And he throws like a no disrespect James style interception where it's like, who the was even throwing to that? Like, I thought I was having a stroke. The Bills guy just caught it like he was fair catching. Yeah, I couldn't believe that. But it's like, okay, he got that out of his system. Whatever. He comes back when it matters. It's slippery guys from Florida. He doesn't know snow. You've seen his high school highlights. It's humid, but it's not cold. The ball flipped out of his hand. Okay. And then at the end, he takes them down, we get the touchdown, throws it to Andrews. And I feel bad for Andrews too, because he's fucking good. But that's a tough one, man. You do have to catch that one. Plus the fumble. Again, I feel bad for him, but it's like this. What three turnover and we couldn't. We were in that game. That was. He didn't play bad.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

And then the why the did we throw the ball? And when we were first and goal, why the did we run it four times? That's the kind of team we are. We have Derek Henry. What the did we bring Derek Henry if we're goal line and they're not.

[PFT Commenter]

Gonna throw him the ball?

[Stavros Halkias]

Did somebody explain that to me? It's the only time in my life I wish Greg Roman was our offensive coordinator that you know, that sucker would have ran it four times. He doesn't even know how. That's his playbook. But Todd monkey got cute when we least needed it. You.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, why didn't you.

[Stavros Halkias]

And then if we score that touchdown.

[PFT Commenter]

Whole different game.

[Stavros Halkias]

Whole different game, dude. I don't. It was just like.

[Big Cat]

It was bad.

[Stavros Halkias]

I keep like it's. We were good. We didn't even deserve to lose. We were good. And where the was the when we were playing Pittsburgh, I feel like every play TJ TJ Watts tackling a running back that we tricked those dumb asses into thinking he was going to get the ball. And then Lamar, where the was that? That's our superpower. That's what makes Lamar as like even better than the best than Josh Allen, for example, which like, yeah, he can throw the ball. Yeah, he can run. But also these don't even know how to defend against a run defense. Where the did that go?

[Big Cat]

I didn't see.

[Stavros Halkias]

Now maybe I missed it. You guys are you guys have the keen eyes that I don't. I don't. You guys are bigger football guys than me. I am a football guy, but I'm not. I don't watch Maxion or whatever the. So maybe I miss one of those plays.

[Big Cat]

First of all, you are a football guy. Don't ever. Don't ever put yourself down like that. I don't like that.

[Stavros Halkias]

I needed that. Thank you.

[Big Cat]

The Lamar thing is tough because he has. He is so goddamn good in the regular season that everyone expects that in the playoffs, and he has not played at the so goddamn good level in the playoffs. So it's like. It's his own. It's his own doing that. Everyone expects this level of, like, otherworldly quarterback play. And the two. The two turnovers, I mean, that fumble was huge. Mark Andrews fumble was. Was the. Was the. Was the thing that changed the whole game. But I. I don't know. I mean, I guess I would. To try to cheer you, like, you're still a good team and you got to just go back at it, right?

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, I guess. And look, I know the like, yes, that fumble was huge and. But that is the exact reason Lamar can't have two turnovers. Because as the. As the leader.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Your boys are might up.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Stavros Halkias]

And you're the one who has to make up for that. I get that. And you're right. He's never played to the standard that he plays when we. When we're beating, you know, whatever. That game we beat Cincinnati with him and Joe Burrow doing that duel. He didn't play to that.

[PFT Commenter]

That.

[Stavros Halkias]

I get that. To, you know, to suck. Pft stock. He didn't play as good as a rookie. You know what I mean? Like, Jaden, it's tough to even be like, that's the tough counter argument. And I hate how happy this is gonna make you. Where it's like, Lamar is the man, but some rookie with his skill set, not as good a player yet, if ever. Probably not as good, but, like, had the mentality to just. He wasn't. Whatever. I mean, he's playing a dome, actually. So I say you pfd it was the elements that got to him.

[PFT Commenter]

I love that. I. I love that. Stop it. You were. You were a second away from giving and you're like, no, no, I'm not. I'm not wrong. You're wrong. You. Yeah.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

If we were in a dumb. Whole different ball game PSD you. But this is the exact conversation we're having about Peyton Manning. Yes. Would you rather Have Tom Brady, sure. But cool Manning. That makes guys miss and is electrifying. And I still have to watch football every week. That's. That's how you know it's a bad loss. Because I'm Buddhist now. I'm like. And it's got me thinking about, well, I'd rather be them than you. For example. Big cats, you know?

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Stavros Halkias]

Now I'm like Ben Johnson. I'm like, everything's gonna go bad for everybody else.

[Big Cat]

Fraud.

[Stavros Halkias]

Too many flea flickers. Enjoy that. Those pics. He's gonna throw. Caleb's gonna throw next year, you guys. Do we lose, dude and like, like to it.

[Big Cat]

What? You didn't lose to the Chiefs. That's a little bit of a solace.

[Stavros Halkias]

Not if the win the Super Bowl.

[Big Cat]

I know, I know. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

So are you going to be rooting for the Bills this weekend?

[Stavros Halkias]

That's the hard thing. Because I have a lot of friends who are Bills fans. It's a fat city. Okay. I'm rooting maliciously against this, the Kansas City Chiefs, and I am rooting. There's no mallet with the Bills. It is like, I like Buffalo in the nfc. I could give a. I mean. But you know, whatever. Who cares? Just whoever it is, beat the.

[Hank]

I don't.

[Stavros Halkias]

Just whoever does it beats the Chiefs.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

It sucks every time. It won't be as bad as last year. Last year destroyed me.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

I was like. I mean, literally after the super bowl, here's how bad. What a bender I went on. I mean, you have proof of it.

[PFT Commenter]

It.

[Stavros Halkias]

I've been sober since the super bowl. After that bender. I was like, what am I doing with my life? I have not smoked weed, drank, taken pills, nothing. Because I was so depressed after the Ravens lost to the Chiefs. So it literally put me into sobriety. That loss fucked me up so bad. I watched it. I was in Baltimore. I had to watch stupid fucking red confetti fall on Mnt Bank Stadium. It sucked dick. So. So on some level, nothing is as devastating as that. Especially, like, we're away from the super bowl. But, like, dude, we were so good.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Our office was so. And then the defense, which was, you know, took some while to come around. We were looking pretty good. There's, you know, a couple guys will get torched every once in a while, but for the most part, you know, shout out to Zach or. He's. He's figured the out. He's cool. I like our. I like our guys.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I do.

[Stavros Halkias]

But then I'm also, you know, salary cap. I haven't looked into it. I'm a team. Never stays good this long. I'm sure we're in for some departure and we're a good organization. I get it, whatever. But dude, you know how it is. You gotta win. If you have.

[PFT Commenter]

If you're.

[Stavros Halkias]

If you're this good a team, you gotta win. And I'm happy to have Lamar for the rest. I don't want him ever going anywhere. Don't get me wrong. And we will be good as long as we have him. But fuck, every 12 years. That's the pact we signed with Satan. It's the perfect amount. It is every 12. Sixth grade, I was in sixth grade. I was 25. It's like, it's the perfect space out, bro.

[Big Cat]

It is.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it is.

[Big Cat]

Because it's like, that's enough time where you're wanting more. It's a new. It's a new team. You're like, oh, this could.

[PFT Commenter]

When you were doing your numerology, did you ever take into account the fact that it's. It's only happened twice? So it's not really that much of a pattern. It just happened twice before for as.

[Stavros Halkias]

It had only twice, but it's happened. But how long have the Ravens been a franchise? It's pretty quick. After that. You.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I'm just saying it's only like if it was three times, then you could say, yeah, it's. It's every 12 years.

[Big Cat]

I think it was a 28 year old quarterback thing. Yeah, the 28 year old quarterback thing was what I. Because I saw that stat and I was like, whoa, this is real.

[Stavros Halkias]

It was two pieces of numerology. Thank you, big cats. I got you statistics over there. Pft you.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm just saying like that any team that won two Super Bowls, you could be like, yeah, or if you're a Cubs fan, you could be like, yeah, the Cubs win a world series every 102 years or whatever. The. It was two.

[Big Cat]

Two pieces of numerology. Yeah. I'll order two. How do you feel about.

[PFT Commenter]

About Harbaugh now?

[Stavros Halkias]

I mean, I ride with Harbaugh, but it is a little like. Because here's the real. We shouldn't have been playing in Buffalo.

[Big Cat]

I know.

[Stavros Halkias]

Why the. Did we lose to the Raiders? I mean, I mean, you look through our fucking schedule. It's like, what the fuck, man? Like, why were we penal. I mean, look, the first game. Hey, remember that? Lining up away from the fucking center. Call that. We got 15 fucking times. Opening night.

[PFT Commenter]

Did you see that?

[Stavros Halkias]

Called fucking once after That. I mean, these motherfuckers. It was literally like make up a rule so the Ravens lose to the fucking Chiefs. I didn't see that shit all season. Called on the Ravens. It happened only in opening night. Whatever. We'll take that one aside. But it's like we were a penalized team. It. Weirdly, it's. That's like poorly coached where it's like, why are we beating ourselves? Why do we almost lose to the shitty Cowboys? Why the. Did we. Like, why. Why are we not ready to play? And our defense, like, you could blame it on new coordinator, you know, it was hard to lose. It was hard to lose McDonald. But like, like by the end of the season, we'd figured that out. Yeah, we figured our defense out. It was all the early. It was not the defensive coordinate. The new defensive coordinator was the problem. It was overall coaching. And I do love Harbaugh. I do.

[Big Cat]

I.

[Stavros Halkias]

But it is like, it's not. He's not. He's in no way is he on a hot seat. But it's like, it ain't cold no more. You know what I mean? It's like, let's. Now I take. I took out the thermometer. I'm looking at thermometers on Amazon. I haven't even bought it yet. But it's like if I need at some point to see the temperature of a seat, I'm at least seeing what the best. I'm reading reviews on the best thermometer to see how hot the seat is. So we're very far away. But it is poorly coached shit. It is like, why the fuck are we. This is the whole point of a. Like, doesn't call plays, doesn't do shit. He's like a fucking. He's that traditional old school. I'm just managing everything, coach. And it's like, well, how the. Do we lose a lot of games because of penalties if that's the case.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

You know what I mean? And it's like, if we're at home, I don't think we lose that game. Who knows about next week, right? Whatever. But I don't think we lose at home, honestly.

[PFT Commenter]

You got to become just a full time dome guy. Like, what's the league doing allowing Buffalo to build a stadium? It's dangerous. It gets so cold up there. The snow.

[Big Cat]

I.

[Stavros Halkias]

And I have. That's another thing. That's how bad this loss was. Where I'm like, we're playing outside. What is this, the 1910s? What the are we doing? Let's. Oh, let's play the NBA Finals on a blacktop next year. Like, it's not me. It's got me being like, it's crazy to have snow games. What are we talking about? The elements can't Makes that much of a. Can't make that much of a. You know, can't the outcome up, even though that's crazy. Snow football is cool, but it's got me considering like, that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. You're changing your world. All right, so listen. It sucked. Let's think positives. One, I want to say here and now, because I believe that Lamar will win a Super bowl at some point.

[Stavros Halkias]

I think so, too.

[Big Cat]

I think he will win a Super bowl at some point. This is just. It's been shitty, but, like, he's too good. I just think he win a Super bowl when he wins a Super Bowl. I'm not saying if. When he wins a Super bowl for the Ravens, you will be our Monday guest. That right after the Super Bowl. You deserve that. You will get to.

[Stavros Halkias]

Thank you.

[Big Cat]

You will get to. Even if they go to a Super bowl, you'll be. We'll have you on after the championship side.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Also, you're crushing it in life. Like, you made a movie. Your podcast is huge. Your standup is huge. Like, you got it all right now. You probably getting mad bitches.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, I suppose. Big cat, but you know how it goes, man.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No, it sucks. There's nothing worse. The week after a bad loss, it's just like, you. You start to question why you. You start to look at the rest of your life and you're like, I have so much shit going for me. Why do I put so much into a game?

[Stavros Halkias]

I know. And here's the other thing. That the reason I say I'm not a huge. As big a football guy is like, because there was moments in my life where I was like, ah, I. You know, do I have to watch this every Sunday? Like, who cares? Like. And then Lamar gets drafted. And it was like, I was back in harder than I've ever fucking been. I was like, I couldn't believe he fell to us. It's really. And it's like, why. Why you? Why couldn't we have drafted Mitch Trubisky? You know what I mean? Then I'd be fine. I'd be. I'd be on. I'd be having good times on Sunday. I'd be at brunch with my pals. I wouldn't give a. But I'm back in because I love Lamar so much. And it's hard, man. I want to be free, Big Cat, but I don't. I. I don't think I ever will be.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

I don't think I ever will be. Want to.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

I do want to not be a fan of anything.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Unfortunately. This makes me so sad.

[Big Cat]

I know. I think about that like. Like, how cool would be to just be like, watch the super bowl, like, turn it on and just be like, oh, this is cool. First time I'm seeing these two teams this year.

[PFT Commenter]

Be the guy that doesn't know the rule changes at the Super Bowl.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Explains it to you.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Oh, is that. Is that Patrick? He's won a couple of these, right? Like that. That. It'd be nice.

[Hank]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Be like, guys, turn the volume up. There's a Doritos commercial.

[Big Cat]

Shout out Doritos, our sponsor. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Become a sports. Sports ball guy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, the gay. Oh, the sports is on tv, huh? Then just look down your nose at everybody.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. It would be nice.

[PFT Commenter]

I'm sorry, Savvy. It breaks my heart to see you happy for you.

[Stavros Halkias]

I am happy for you. That was awesome.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, it's cool. But I. I understand what you're saying. Like, if you're. If you're looking at the Eagles and the commanders, you probably do want to see the Eagles win because you don't want to see my Lamar get to Super Bowl.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, you just copied. You copied me, dude. You get your own Lamar. That's.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you copy and paste it a Lamar, dude.

[Stavros Halkias]

You. No, I don't know. And it's. It's also like. It's also the D.C. thing with Baltimore, where it's like, D.C. is a bunch of. I know you're from Virginia, but D.C. is a bunch of fucking nerds. It's a bunch of fucking losers that want to be in politics Sucks. It's like every s. Every like, student government president, tattletail lanyard wearing motherfucker is a D.C. fan. That's. That town sucks dick. You know, that's where they did pizza. You know, it's like, where billionaires molest children with the president. And it's like, I gotta watch that team fucking win. I gotta watch that team fucking win. You know, And Philly at least is like, they are our white trash cousin. There's so much similarity to Philadelphia and Baltimore that it's like. Like, I don't know. There's a little part of me is like, it would have hurt me to have to face Philly in the. It's like a battle of. It's like The Civil War. It would have been a battle of brothers.

[Big Cat]

It's a Halffield and McCoys.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, who knows, man? I just. I can't have the Chiefs winning. They will. They will, man, because that's how the world works. Because we're in a time where evil prevails. Everything is going bad. Mark Zuckerberg's on TRT stealing all our information as we speak week, they're rolling back civil rights. The. The Chiefs are gonna win again. We're. Dude, nothing good is ever gonna come.

[Big Cat]

We gotta.

[Stavros Halkias]

We gotta hope for like President. Travis fucking Travis. Whatever. The. The Kelsey kel. Travis Kelsey Jr. The only way we'll ever. Yeah, he'll be present. Him and Taylor Swift's son will be elected God. God Emperor of America. Ing 35 years, dude.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, well, savvy. I mean, I. I want to tell you that you're. At least you have your health. Look what a better place you are right now.

[Big Cat]

They're still good.

[Stavros Halkias]

We're still good. But this is two coming off these two back to back.

[Big Cat]

I know.

[Stavros Halkias]

That's the tough thing is like, we are good. And that's what. That's what we are still. You know what this is like? It's like you have the best girlfriend of all time, everything's great, and she just gets drunk, sucks one guy off. I can get past it. I can get past it because everything else is perfect. And it was maybe a one time thing, but when I'm dark, when it's dark and I'm in my room alone, I'm imagining her sucking that guy's dick. You know what I mean? And that's what this was. The fumble is sucking a guy's dick. The drop is sucking a guy's dick. Not running for it on fucking second and goal is sucking a guy's dick. And I have to think about that, even though I love my wife, the Ravens, she stuck the guy's cock and Cabo, and I have to fucking live with that. And you know, she actually did it two years in a row. And then she's on thin ice now, now that I think about it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And next year you're gonna be going back to Cabo and you're like, God damn it, we have to win. Yeah. I can't let her out of my sights next year.

[PFT Commenter]

Like, I guess we're just. They're just swingers now.

[Big Cat]

He's got a gun.

[Stavros Halkias]

Next year it's gonna go bad.

[Big Cat]

I was actually saying on the yak earlier, you know how they're they're flagging gun celebrations. You know how they gotta do it? You know how they. They flag gun celebrations now in. In college, in the NFL?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Would they have flagged Mark Andrews after he dropped the ball if he took out a fake gun and shot himself?

[Stavros Halkias]

That would have been awesome.

[Big Cat]

If you just unloaded the clip in his own head, like, do you flag that? Or you're just like, all right, fair play, man.

[PFT Commenter]

It's not taunting.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Unless you're including, like, how the trauma that the defense would go through watching you shoot yourself.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I want to see someone do it. I want to see someone do it.

[Stavros Halkias]

That would be good. Like a kicker misses a big kick.

[Big Cat]

He'S just like, oh, shotgun in the mouth. His. His holder takes out the shotgun and hands it to him.

[Stavros Halkias]

He just commits seppuku.

[Big Cat]

Oh, man.

[Stavros Halkias]

Oh, that would be awesome.

[Big Cat]

All right, well, Stavi, I got one last question for you. Thank you, though, for coming on. You are. You are a hero. I did wait 24 hours. I did turn to PFT in the gambling cave as the game was ending, and I was like, I think I'm gonna text Stavi. And I was like, but I'm gonna wait 24 hours. So I did wait 24 hours.

[Stavros Halkias]

Appreciate that. And you know what? You waited 24 hours. But it's like, in my mind, you texted me the moment the game ended. Yeah, yeah, but this has been so painful.

[Big Cat]

But. All right, so rollback question. Rhopac.com promo code. Take 20 off your first purchase. Q, zips, polos, hoodies, jockey shorts. I'm still laughing about you taking out a gun there. All right, let's talk positive. What do you got going on? You're coming to Chicago in April, so we'll see.

[Stavros Halkias]

I'm coming to Chicago. I want you guys to be there. Chicago? Yeah, Chicago theater. Please come out. Yeah, I have a huge tour coming out.

[PFT Commenter]

The.

[Stavros Halkias]

The Dream Boat tour. It's like over 40 cities. We're doing a tour bus. It's going to be a big. A big time tour. I'm very excited about that. Please buy tickets to see me. I won't kill myself if some of those. If those shows sell out. And yeah, that's. I mean, it's the tour. The movie let's Start a Cult is available on Demand, and we're working to get it on Hulu pretty soon. And yes, Davies World, it's really. I really want people to see the. To come see me live. You know, it'll. It. It's a good show. It's a really, It's a fun show, I promise. And, yeah, watch the movie. We have. We have the. The. The podcast. That's. That's pretty much it, man. I'm gearing up for basically three months of being on the road. It's gonna be. It's gonna be really fun, the tour.

[Big Cat]

So April 18th, he's being Madison, and then he's coming down to Chicago. April 19, two shows at Chicago theater. I might just invite myself to go up to Madison, see you there, and then hop on the bus with you. You dude. That'd be fun.

[Stavros Halkias]

You're welcome. You're welcome to do that. Absolutely. We would love to have you.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, we'll definitely. Yeah, we. We'll be out in Chicago, buy tickets, see the movie. If you want to see Stav's balls, see this movie.

[Stavros Halkias]

You do. There's. There is plenty of nudity.

[Big Cat]

Mean.

[Stavros Halkias]

My nudity on that, for sure.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Stavros Halkias]

Yeah. So, yeah, that's it. So go to Stavi Biz for the rest of the dates. That's Chicago and Madison. But I stare start February 21st in. In, like, Sacramento, and then we. We end February or we end May 11th in. Or May 12th in D.C. so it's literally like we're doing the west coast, the south, the Midwest, and then we're gonna come back and hit more of the east coast in the fall. But, yeah, Stavi Biz. That's pretty much it. Yeah. Thanks, guys. Yeah, I actually do feel better.

[Big Cat]

Good.

[Stavros Halkias]

Having spoken to you. Getting it out for real. At least it wasn't festering for two weeks because I. I Last. Last year, I really was depressed for two straight weeks.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that was bad because it's Vegas and everything, and just to. To put a bow on it, we. Stavi did. When he came here last time, he was like, I'm gonna be back in a week, so I'll. Come on. I know. I know. I'm with you. I was like. I remember. I was like, did we.

[Stavros Halkias]

No, no, no, no, no, no. By the way, those guys are funny. No shots at them. It was just, you know, of course, I get the quick. We can move some around when the Ravens lose. That's all I did say.

[Big Cat]

My text to him was literally like, hey, can you come on tomorrow? We can do any time.

[Stavros Halkias]

I know. My last minute even said I moved it two hours just to see how open you really were. And you're like, no problem, man. We'll figure it out.

[Big Cat]

We got it, dude. We also gotta stay here till midnight.

[PFT Commenter]

We have talked about anything on this podcast. We weren't necessarily just going to talk about the Ravens.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you started talking about the Ravens. We didn't even want to bring up.

[Stavros Halkias]

You just. It had just been too long, huh, guys?

[Big Cat]

All right, we love you, man. Thank you so much.

[PFT Commenter]

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[Big Cat]

Okay, before we get to pardon your take, does everybody know what season it is?

[Hank]

Season of love.

[Big Cat]

Season of love.

[PFT Commenter]

Soup season.

[Big Cat]

Soup season. Well, yes. Basketball soup season. I'll take those answers. That's right. But it's also tax season, which we all know Hank is not a fan of. How you feeling about that, Hank?

[Hank]

Yeah, I mean, we've been talking about it. I Tax season this year has been a breeze, all thanks to Tax Act. I've had a lot of issues doing my taxes in the past. It's long been documented on the show and this year I got ahead of it. I said, I'm gonna get some help and I'm gonna use taxact. And they've been super easy and super helpful. They have professionals, they make it super easy to use. They have US based based tax experts who know the ins and outs of the tax system. They answer all the questions. They've made it super easy. It seems super easy. And you guys should use Tax act too. If you need a little help or a lot, there's a level of service for you. There's tiers that you can use. You can talk to a credentialed tax expert, an EA, CPA, or a tax attorney. And every tax expert is based in the US so you should check out taxact.com for yourself and get, get ahead of your taxes. Be like me. Don't. Don't be like me of 2017. Don't wait till last minute. Get ahead of your taxes. Go to taxhack.com and find the level that works for you.

[Big Cat]

Love it. Love it. All right. Pardon your take time. Hank.

[Hank]

Yeah. If everyone's memories were erased and all sports were introduced to the world in the Olympics, what do you think would be the new Most popular sport in the world.

[PFT Commenter]

World football.

[Big Cat]

Oh, good question. I, I, I want to say football.

[PFT Commenter]

But it's gonna be flag football, right?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, maybe flag football, but that guy's.

[PFT Commenter]

Better than Patrick Mahomes. That 5, 7 quarterback we have like.

[Big Cat]

Monster trucks would be pretty sick.

[Hank]

Like basketball.

[Big Cat]

Why?

[Hank]

Just athletic.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but football rocks.

[Hank]

It's hard to, it's hardball does not rock in the Olympics. Honestly, the question is, is your memory's gonna erase in your first exposure to sports? Is the Olympics.

[Big Cat]

The Olympics.

[PFT Commenter]

I think the answer for somebody that's never seen sports before would be boxing.

[Big Cat]

Boxing.

[PFT Commenter]

You'd be like, holy, these guys are just beating the out of each other.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, boxing would be pretty sick.

[Hank]

Boxing, basketball, 100 meter dash.

[Big Cat]

I don't know. The Olympics are kind of boring. If you thought like that was the only sports. Water polo, speed walking. They got rid of it. That, that's electric dancing. Yeah. If we did break dancing. But if we did it right now, speed walking is the funniest by far.

[PFT Commenter]

Rugby. Rugby. Be up there.

[Hank]

Rugby would be, I mean.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Hank]

You're saying football.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Because it's not flag rugby. It's, it's full on rugby.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Hockey. If we did Winter Olympics, hockey would be in enormous. Because I think it would still, it would be less about the individual sports, be team sports. People would still want to get behind that.

[PFT Commenter]

I think if they use real swords. Fencing.

[Big Cat]

Yep, yep. Or if they used guns for like duels and stuff. I know they shoot targets. That would be pretty cool.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Oh, ski jumping. That shit's wild. When I watch that, it blows my mind every time. I feel like people would be pretty in ski jumping just being like, how far? Because like the premise of ski jumping is, is cool in its own right. Like it's, it's almost like a activity you would do when you're seven years old in terms of like, how, how high can I go off this jump with my bike except for skis? So I feel like ski jumping would have a good run.

[PFT Commenter]

It's also just an insane sport because you, you should die.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

If you jump that far. Skis off a mountain.

[Big Cat]

Correct.

[Hank]

Not so much as a take, but more of a question. I didn't write this, by the way. Where the do Philly fans get off acting like they're in the sports mecca of the world? Max is able to talk trash with all confidence. A baseball team that has been around 100 years with two World Series wins, the last one 16 years ago. A basketball team who hasn't won since the 80s and a football team that's won once since the merger. He wants to talk about winners. Philly is the best team at being second. They're the most prideful, obnoxious fans who literally have, have dick to show for it. So seriously, where does he get off?

[Max]

When have I ever said that I'm a winner? I want to.

[Hank]

Did you call Philly the city of champions?

[Big Cat]

City champions.

[Max]

That was what, five years ago? I said. Loading.

[Big Cat]

Loading. Did you just write this?

[Max]

I, I am a loser. How many times do I have to come on this show and tell every person who's listening that I'm a loser? Hank, just two weeks ago, you were just yelling at me because I was.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Talking like a loser.

[Max]

You, you said the question like you wrote the question.

[Hank]

I did not write this question.

[PFT Commenter]

That's a fact. He did say that, but he didn't mean it.

[Big Cat]

Not that.

[Hank]

Max, this week we're winners. This week we're gonna run the ball of PFT's.

[Big Cat]

Let's have a good week, Max. I mean, Nova last night.

[Max]

Shut up.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, what happened? You guys beat D.C. right?

[Big Cat]

They lost to Georgetown.

[PFT Commenter]

Oh, no.

[Big Cat]

It's nine point favorites.

[PFT Commenter]

They're in Washington.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Max]

Didn't score for the last five minutes of the game.

[Stavros Halkias]

So.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean, I do respect Philly sports fans. Because they care this much.

[Big Cat]

Correct.

[PFT Commenter]

That's what I, I, I, I hate them when I play them. I do not want to go into the link as an opposing fan. That's what sports should be. They do. They do a good job.

[Hank]

The clip of the link, the guys in the top row, the link celebrating after the Saquon run with the snow coming down is like, that is pure sports ecstasy. Like that. That clip alone is why they should never take away, you know, weather games and put everything in domes like that clip. Yeah, was, was, was just everything.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I don't think Max says that he's a winner. He's just Pat. Philly is like. But it's also a unique sports city in the fact that they are, they are so passionate about their teams and, like, to a level of scumbagry. I respect it. I like, like it.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, I mean, you need that. You think about Philly sports. You've got great fans like Bill Cosby. You've got Eat that. You've got Sandusky. Sandusky. Joe. Joe. Pa was almost the coach there. Just like the list goes on. They're Don Vito from Viva Labam. They've got great fans.

[Stavros Halkias]

You, whatever.

[Big Cat]

What?

[Max]

No one even cares about Washington sports I do.

[Hank]

Kevin Durant.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Wale. Magic Johnson. What has he ever done?

[Big Cat]

He got aids.

[Hank]

This is an all Caps head coaching interview. Should not happen till after the Super Bowl. Reason exhibit A. The motherfucking Detroit Lions, Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, both were interviewing the week leading up to the divisional game and it cost them.

[Big Cat]

I don't. They changed the rule already. It used to be that like this would happen and you could do in person interviews. They both did like three hour zooms. I, I, I don't think that's the reason why the Lions lost that game and they have changed it so that January 20th is the first time the coaches can do in person interviews. I don't know. You're, I think it's okay.

[PFT Commenter]

I, it sucks. There's no way to solve the problem. If you have a good.

[Big Cat]

It's kind of already did a little.

[PFT Commenter]

Bit but it's still, I think it's still an issue. Like obviously Ben Johnson was getting his staff together together during the week.

[Big Cat]

But you think a three hour zoom. I mean, well, no, but, no but getting the staff. Yeah, yeah, I get that. I get that.

[Hank]

That was, that was. And it's just copium from losing. But yeah, I could, I could see Lions fans being frustrated, but I don't.

[Big Cat]

Think they lost that game because of coaching. Five turnovers and their commanders were better. Yeah, yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

I mean you could say that like at least one of those turnovers was the Ben Johnson Johnson play where he.

[Big Cat]

Had to Jameson William throwing the ball.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah, exactly. So I, I understand the probably called.

[Big Cat]

The play because he forgot that he was calling a game because he was already thinking about his, his new job.

[PFT Commenter]

I, I don't think that it's like a massive, massive thing. There's no way to really fully stop it either because it's going to happen and this is what you have when you have a good team. You're going to lose your coordinators. It sucks.

[Big Cat]

So the problem with that is in here's the only reason why I'd push back is you are or it's in, in your mind you're saying you're protecting the teams obviously going deep and it's like a playoff team or sorry, a team that misses the playoffs shouldn't get a benefit of being able to hire a coach like quickly in January. But the real loser in all of that is the coach. Like if you don't let the coaches of the super bowl team even do a zoom interview, they're never going to get hired because the teams will want to move faster than that, that. So that coach is getting screwed for their own success.

[PFT Commenter]

Maybe you make a rule. You can't hire a coach until a week after the Super Bowl.

[Big Cat]

But like, any coach.

[PFT Commenter]

Any coach.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

I don't know, but I don't think there's a great answer to it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but the coach would lose out. Like, the coach getting the opportunities would lose out because they were good at their job. So that's where it would kind of suck. Yeah, they already did. Change it again. They made it better. Better. Like, the fact that you have to do zoom to start is pretty good.

[Hank]

All right, last one. Notre Dame losses are worse than any other team's losses because I can literally blame God for ignoring my prayers. What's the point of having a dead cousin if he can't come through for a natty BYU doesn't count because Mormonism isn't real and God hates Boston College.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[PFT Commenter]

Maybe that's why they don't lose anybody to the transfer portal, because you. You can tell your players, like, hey, if you transfer, you're going to hell.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Texas Christian University. Do they have this? I mean, it's in the name. I don't know. I don't know. The.

[PFT Commenter]

They did pretty, Pretty good in the national championship, didn't they?

[Big Cat]

SMU made it to the playoff.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

The God team's having a moment.

[PFT Commenter]

No, not really. Because you lost. Yeah, lost a crusade.

[Big Cat]

I thought he was gonna say, because everyone likes to make fun of Notre Dame. But, yeah, I guess I think that would be the more shitty part.

[PFT Commenter]

You can always say that, like, this is God testing you.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[PFT Commenter]

Like Bill Belichick said, do your job.

[Big Cat]

It would be so funny if, like, God. If God were real and ever revealed himself and was like, I've been rooting for this the whole time. Or, or like, I don't even watch sports, you guys. Yeah, this is like, how. Why the were you guys saying that? Do you know. Do you know how flooded my inbox was with sports, you idiots?

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. God. I don't know. Would God be a sports fan?

[Big Cat]

I think he's got a lot of. If, If God exists. I think he's got a lot of other issues working on.

[PFT Commenter]

If I was God, I would. I would fix all the sports.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So sorry, Notre Dame fan, but, yeah, I, I, I don't know if it's God that. That had that. I think it was more like not.

[PFT Commenter]

Having enough five stars, but if you want to go there, that's fine. Yeah, like, blame who you got to blame.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Harvey Cope is. Is completely that's what I was saying earlier. Normalize, like bad losing.

[PFT Commenter]

Yeah. Give God some bulletin board material. Yeah, that's what Martin Luther did when he nailed that shit on the door.

[Big Cat]

Yes. Nailed it right there. All right, good show, boys. Numbers. Numbers.

[PFT Commenter]

Nine.

[Memes]

Go eight. And God does hate the Jets.

[Big Cat]

Three, 11, five. Okay, Shane. Pug. Jack. Jack. Get Jack. Get Jack on 45. Jack. Jack. He said. He said on Sunday if. If the Lions lost means that Ohio State doesn't win. And we pointed out that those two things have literally nothing to do with each other. Ohio State 1. Thoughts?

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

It was horrible.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Yeah. Maybe don't make that trade again.

[Hank]

Yeah, I won't.

[Big Cat]

Okay. All right. Right. Shane. 21. All right, memes, what was your number again? 8. I have 3. 70. 70.

[PFT Commenter]

Love you.