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Pardon the interruption, but I'm Frank Isola and PTI is back from hiatus.
C
I'm Auntie Kimes. Did anyone tell Tony and Mike?
B
Ooh, I don't think so. That's why I'm here. I know that they didn't get the call.
C
I hear one of them trying to get in right now.
B
By the way, you had never been on a late night talk show until you and I hosted a show together.
C
For the record, causation, correlation, I don't know.
B
That's what I'm going with. That's what I'm going with. Welcome to PTI everyone. Mike and Tony have the day off, so I'm joined by my great friend from NFL Live and the Mina Times podcast featuring Lenny. Of course, it's Mina Kimes, everyone. They watch Seth Meyers as well. All right, let's start today with tonight's kickoff of the final week of preseason football. Thank God the Steelers visit the Panthers while the Patriots take on the giants at MetLife. Aaron Rodgers will not play for Pittsburgh. No surprise, while the Giants rookie Jackson Dart could put more pressure on declared starter Russell Wilson. Mina, what intrigues you most about these four teams as we head into the preseason finales?
C
I'm going to go with the Giants QB situation because of the pressure that you mentioned there. Look, it's not surprising that they went with Russell Wilson as the week one starter. He is competent, but he's also a bit boomer bust at this point in his career. Last year in Pittsburgh, second in QBR on throws over 20 yards, 23rd on throws under. And I suspect when it starts to bust a little and their schedule is quite difficult early on they're going to be calls, loud calls from New York for Brian Dabel to put the rookie in. And I think that's a tricky decision because the schedule is difficult. As I mentioned, the offensive line is, shall we say, dubious. And Dart as good as he has looked in the preseason and he has looked good. We'll see how he plays tonight. He Comes from a very college offense, so he needs some time to adjust to the NFL throw. On top of that, Frank, the coach is on the hot seat and we've got a pretty complicated situation there.
B
Yeah, dart. 26 of 35, 291 yards, two touchdowns. I'm going to get back to him in a second because I want to ask you about the situation with him and Brian Daboll, but for me, you know, it's interesting with Pittsburgh. So Aaron Rodgers isn't going to play again in the preseason, and this is standard operating for procedure for him. He didn't show up for voluntary workouts, so we really haven't seen him. It makes it interesting Week one when he does play with that offense with Metcalf, and we'll see how everything works. None of the stars for Pittsburgh are going to play in the final preseason game because we know the way the preseason works. The GMs and the head coaches, they keep their fingers crossed that no key players get hurt. The one way to avoid that, don't play your key players. My thing would be, though, for Aaron Rodgers, so you look last year, 28 touchdowns, 11 interceptions for the Jets. He wasn't terrible. He wasn't hall of Fame Aaron Rodgers, he wasn't terrible. But to not play at all in the preseason, when you had the two years you had in New York, and this is the Steelers. The Steelers aren't the Jets. No offense to the New York Jets. You're just not Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin's been there forever. You would think that Aaron Rodgers would say, you know what? I'm going to play at least one series in the preseason. What do you make about. What do you make of that?
C
I feel like the fact that he hasn't played has made everyone forget how much he struggled over the last couple of years. Like an absence makes a heart grow fonder. Because I keep hearing, oh, he's going to be such an upgrade at quarterback for Pittsburgh. But over the last two years that he has played. So even going back to before his injury, 29th in QBR, 28th in passer rating, 36. Yes, 36 in completion percentage over expected. It hasn't looked good, Frank. And the one thing I know about quarterbacks is they don't usually get better the further they get. 30 years old.
B
You're right. You know, and you mentioned the thing about dart, which I find interesting. So Russell Wilson is obviously. And it's a smart play by the Giants. Why? You know, if you bring in the veteran quarterback, there's always a time to put the rookie in. But you know, this is big, bad New York. And you're right, Russell Wilson starts struggling. It could be by the second game and the cries are going to get louder and louder. I get a feeling we might see this guy in because remember too, the schedule early on for the Giants is absolutely brutal. So we may see him sooner rather than later.
C
Well, moving on to guys we haven't seen, let's talk about the Cowboys and Brian Steinheimer's optimism, apparently about Micah Parsons. The Cowboys coach says he feels good that Parsons will be on the field when the Cowboys take on the Eagles two weeks from tonight. This despite there being no reported progress towards a new deal. Parsons has not participated in the team's training camp, but he has attended meetings and walkthroughs. Frank, do you share Schottenheimer's optimism?
B
Well, here's why. So you and I were together three weeks ago and you and I were both optimistic and I'm going to still be optimistic today because you had a couple of key lines in there 14 days until the season opened. That's still plenty of time. The guy's showing up every day at practice. And that was the other thing. He's in the meetings, he's in the walkthrough. So that helps everything. The longer it goes, does it get ugly? But come on, Mina, we've seen this so many times before, even with the Cowboys, most recently with Dak Prescott. And it eventually gets done. To me, this has a lot to do with the agent for Michael Parsons, which I understand, and the owner, Jerry Jones. It's a little, you know, it's a game of chicken that they're playing. But when the guy's making $21 million, he's a dominant player. He loves playing football. He's showing up every day because if you're a holdout and you disappear, that's different. He's a hold in. So your threats aren't as serious to me. So I'm still optimistic we're going to see him against the Eagles.
C
I share your optimism. I think the deal gets done. I think it's an overpay part because that's Jerry Jones recent history. That's what he's been doing as of late, overpaying players. But also because Micah Parsons is essential to this team. He's one of the most dominant defensive players in football over the last three years. Frank, he is the second most double team player after Myles Garrett in the entire league and he ranks first in pressure rate despite that, when he has not Been on the field for Dallas. They rank 30, 32nd in passer rating allowed. He doesn't solve all their problems. I still worry about the run defense linebacker. They got injuries in the secondary, but those problems will be a lot worse if Micah Parsons is not on the field. And I think Dallas knows that.
B
You know, it's funny too when you know this past week I think it was Adam Schefter had the report maybe about Green Bay could be interested. So if you're the it to me it's just part of like the negotiating. It's part of like you're trying to get some leverage because you're throwing out a team that a lot of people think could make some noise in the nfc. It's a rival of the Cowboys. So you throw out the Green Bay Packers. To me it's all part. We're still 14 days away. Is there any part of you that thinks he would not be playing for Dallas this year?
C
Well, if he were to actually hold out, it would cost him over $1 million a game. Is why it so rarely happens in the NFL. And it would just be so silly for Dallas not to get this done.
B
Yeah, you're holding in and then you're going to miss games. I'm not buying that. All right, and now to the clarity around the quarterbacking sit situations in Cleveland and Indy. The Browns, they've named 40 year old Joe Flacco as their starter while the Colts have chosen Daniel Jones. Which decision intrigues you more, Mina?
C
Gotta be Indianapolis because we knew the Browns were going to roll with Joe Flacco as their starter. He hasn't played in the preseason. Who plays after him is the more interesting question to be decided. But Indianapolis felt like a legitimate quarterback competition and as this has played out and they went with Daniel Jones, to me it's felt like a question that had no good answers. In the end, I don't blame for moving on from Richardson or not having him as a starter. Clearly his short, his accuracy on short throws, decision making hasn't improved sufficiently. But I also believe with Daniel Jones there's a clear ceiling on this offense. Literally a ceiling. He does not push the ball downfield. So again, while I see why the Colts did this, I do not blame Colts fans for being unhappy with where this is going from a process perspective.
B
Yeah. And so I think, you know, you're a coach, you're Shane Steichen, you did such a great job with Jalen Hurts. And in Philadelphia you've tried it with Anthony Richardson. They want him to be the guy. So when the competition starts, they want him to be the starting quarterback. They want him to win the job. But the team also knows the NFL. I mean, unless you're getting a rookie quarterback, it's a win now league and they feel like they have to win. And you look at the way these played and you mentioned the decision making. How about some of the stats by Warren Sharp he had over the last two years? Of the 55 quarterbacks with at least 175 attempts, Richardson is 55th in accuracy, 55th in completion rate. I mean, he just doesn't get. I understand he's young, he's explosive, but they need results. Now. It's different when you're a rookie than when you're in your third year.
C
You hit it, it's a win. Now league, it's not a development league. Last week I watched Trey Lance play football. In the game that I called against the Chargers, he looked really good, Frank, and it occurred to me he just needed time to improve. Unfortunately, Anthony Richardson, who has a similar profile to Lance in terms of not a lot of experience coming into the league, he's just not going to get a chance to have that time. At least not with Indianapolis. Down the road we could see a revival.
B
Yeah, well, you know, Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, it didn't start out well for them and they both had pretty good seasons. You know the other thing too about Flacco. So the only 40 year olds to start, guys 40 or older, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre. But it's not about who the starter is in Cleveland. I know you're going to be there for their preseason game in a couple of days. It's really about who's going to be the second string quarterback and the third string quarterback. Because even Joe Flacco is smart enough to think at some point I'm probably going to get replace. So the question would be who's going to be the guy that replaces him?
C
Oh my gosh. Your guess is as good as mine. And what's tricky for Cleveland is it's very hard to keep four quarterbacks. If they cut one of these guys, Dylan Gabriel, Shador Sanders, another team is going to take a chance on them. They both look pretty decent in the preseason. So it was an interesting approach to say the least.
B
Well, how much does this weekend matter to Dylan Gabriel and Shadore Sanders? How they perform.
C
Tune in. Tune in to my game. Please watch now that's the tease.
B
There you go. All right, let's take a break. But coming up. Urban Meyer suggests that the NFL should suspend Jim Harbaugh for what happened at Michigan. What's the word for that? Oh boy.
C
And how best to describe Shohei's recent mediocrity on the mound?
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Nina's leaving right after the show. She wants to get to Cleveland as early as possible. We've already given her a couple of good recommendations. Nice little hookup, you know.
C
I just love it.
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There's Mrs. Midwest, we call you.
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Pardon the Interruption is brought to you by AutoZone. Get in the zone.
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It's time to exchange Words with Mina. What's first? Urban Meyer's suggestion that the NFL should suspend Jim Harbaugh for infractions at Michigan is blank. All right, so Urban Meyer said this on his podcast. Not as popular, as famous as Mina's podcast. This is what you do on a podcast. You try to stir it up. And he's really referring to Jim Trestle, the former Ohio State coach who had to serve a six game suspension if he coached again in college, ended up getting a job in the NFL with the Colts. And Roger Goodell upheld the suspension, suspended for six games. I think it's perfect because A, it's not going to happen. But it's Michigan and it's Ohio State and it's Urban meyer, you know, Mr. Big Shot Football coach turned media guy, stirring it up. So neither of these guys coach anymore for the, for those schools, but they're still part of the rivalry. It is great that he did it. It's not going to happen. And your guy, Jim Harbaugh, when asked about it, he said, I'm not engaging, which I wish he would have engaged.
C
The word I went with was laughable. Look, Frank, you know I respect expertise.
B
Thank you.
C
And when it comes to scandals, both serious and not. Urban Meyer is a subject matter expert.
B
Yes.
C
However, he is also the last person in the world I want to hear from on this subject. For all of the biases that you hint at when you talk about the rivalry with Ohio State, the NFL does not care about this.
B
No.
C
Yes. They have in the past. You mentioned Trestle. You could also throw up a throw in Terrell Pryor, silly suspension. But nobody in the league wants to get involved in this. Nobody wants to punish Jim Harbaugh. It's not going to happen. Although I do appreciate the wrestling style rivalry that Meyer is ginning up here.
B
Yeah. The NFL owners, they also look at it, your college football. We're the big boys. You do your thing, we'll do ours. You know, that all relates to that whole sign stealing incident with Michigan being penalized for. So Harbaugh is not. If you wanted to coach in college, it can't happen for 10 years. So I know you were holding out hope he'd end up at Yale at some point, but you're going to have to wait till at least 2035. All right, what's next? Last night's start by Shohei Ohtani was black. I'm going to go with concerning because last night, four innings pitch, five earned runs, nine hits, and then he took a line drive off the thigh. So they took him out of the game. He actually ended up losing the game. That's the only decision he's had in all the starts that he's made this season for the Dodgers. So the great Shohei Ohtani, listen, he's great to me. He's the guy that you want to pay to go see play. He's.01 as a starter for the Dodgers, but for me, last three starts, Mina, 11 and a third innings, 12 hits, seven earned runs and two injuries. Because when you and I were on a couple three weeks ago, he had left the game with a cramp in his thigh. The guy is too good of a player. They need to shut down the pitching for this season. I'm not doing it anymore. The numbers that he gives you, offensively, 44 home runs, 83 RBIs. He's batting.285 for. Let's just focus on that. I don't want to see him going out on the mountain getting hurt. I know that's not a popular like.
C
A true New York sports guy. I'm going to bring the LA perspective in here. My word was let down because it was a letdown, but I am not hitting the panic button like you are. Shohei Ohtani's first nine starts since coming back from the injury. 3.47 ERA, 32 strikeouts, five walks. He's been largely fine. In fact, his velocity is actually up. It's just his command that's been a little bit shaky and I think that's what we saw in this last one. But you can't blame him for getting hit on the thigh. That's a freak injury. It happens in baseball. It's not likely to happen.
B
If he wasn't pitching, it wouldn't happen. If it wasn't pitching, it wouldn't happen.
C
Well, by that logic, he should never pitch because he's too valuable as a hitter.
B
Well, I think there is a chance so come playoff time that they'll start him. You start him two or three innings because remember, he could still stay in as a dh. It's the Shohei rule that they have. It's just a little concerning. Two of the last three starts got rocked and also got. Also had two injuries. So that's a little concerning. All right, what do we got next? The Phillies sweep of the Mariners was blank. All right, I'm going to let you handle the Mariners here because I'm going to go with inspiring from this standpoint. Zach Wheeler, the pitcher of the Phillies on Monday, had a procedure to fix a blood clot in his Right shoulder, scary situation. Their starters in the next three games struck out 34. The lineup produced 48 hits and scored 40 runs. The Phillies and Kyle Schwaber hit another home run last night. So to do that after your star pitcher goes down, for me, that's inspiring. I can't get too crazy now about your Seattle Mariners. Even though they've lost five in a row, Houston's lost four in a row. So you've told me not to push the panic button. So you need to follow your own advice. How about that?
C
I want to give you a very unbiased opinion here. The word that I'm going with is revealing, actually. The last time we did this show together, I believe the Mariners had just finished their nine game win streak. And here they are with the losing streak. I still think they're a good team. I just think the Phillies are a better team, a dominant team, a deeper team. If there's something that concerns me, though, about this last, this road trip in which they've struggled so much, it is the starting pitching, because it has been bad. The starting pitchers, pardon me, on the road trip, 6.4 ERA, three quality starts. Logan Gilbert doesn't look like himself. Luis Castillo's speed is down, his velocity is down. Bryce Miller is coming back off the injury again. They're still a playoff team. I really believe that the lineup is still good. The Phillies are just better.
B
Do you see what happens when you come to the big, bad NL East? You go to New York, they get roughed up. They go to Philadelphia, they get roughed up. How about the Phillies, though? They've won four in a row. Their last four games, they've scored 40 runs. Now, the problem with them last year was in the playoffs wasn't that they couldn't score. They just couldn't get anybody out. But that is an unbelievable lineup. All right, that's the final word. Let's take one last break. But still to come, if a soccer coach gets a red card, can he just coach from the stands? Look at that.
C
I love this story. At a Little League World Series rally these kids will never forget.
B
It's sad when that happens. It's like the Mariners losing. Sad sometimes. Oh, Lord, they'll be fine in the playoffs. I'm rooting for it.
A
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C
Pardon the interruption is brought to you by ESPN fantasy football, the number one fantasy game. Download the ESPN fantasy app to play today.
B
It's happy time people. Happy 32nd birthday Mike Evans so underrated. The Bucs receiver enters the season having been a standout from day one. Evans has exceeded 1,000 yards in each one of his 11 years. An NFL record. Remarkable. He's amassed a remarkable 105 receiving touchdowns. Ninth all time. Evans is a six time Pro Bowler and won a Super bowl of course for Tom Brady. He now enters a contract year and he recently told K. Adams quote retirement at the end of the season is not off the table. And playing two to five more years is also not off the table. Well, five years. No I'm not playing five more years. Good for you.
C
Mike Evans, 37. I don't know but this guy, I mean you put it best. He's so underrated. He's so consistent. That record the 11 seasons thousand yards. One of the most impressive records in football. Two years ago he led the league in touchdowns. Last year he fell all the way to fourth in touchdowns. Just a guy you can set your watch to.
B
Terrific player. Happy anniversary, Scottie Scheffler. On this day five years ago, the then tour rookie birdie four of his last five holes to become just the 12th player in PGA Tour history to card around a 59. At that point, Scheffler was relatively unknown. Today he dominates the sport. Last Sunday, he came from four shots back in the final round to win his fifth tournament of the year. Joining Tiger as the only two golfers to win five plus tournaments and back to back seasons in the last 40 years. Wow. Shepler's on course right now at East Lake, a heavy favorite to defend his FedEx cup title.
C
So I went back and looked at the rankings from 2020 this anniversary. He was 56 at the time when he won Northern Trust. As of today, he has been number one for over 150 straight weeks, nearly three years. It is a run of dominance that I mean, I think is historic frankly. And what's crazy, Frank, he's not even 30. So I mean just the stats that he could put up over the course of his career are going to be tremendous.
B
Dominant, dominant player. Happy trails to last night's leagues cup match for Tigrest Inter. Miami eliminated the Mexican team 2 1. Despite a series of setbacks, Miami entered the match without injured star Lionel Messi. Then they lost Jordi Alba in the first half after collision, then saw head coach Javier Masterano draw a red card. He whines all the time. He whined about the amount of stoppage time at the end of the first half. Mascherano was later spotted in the stands above the bench talking to the coaches, which believe it or not, the league says is not prohibited. Still, the red card means Maturano won't be on the sideline for next week's semifinal match against Orlando City.
C
Okay, important, important detail here. When he was allowed to stay in the game, you can't talk to the coaches, but he called them on his phone. He was on the Apple broadcast using an iPhone. It looked like a commercial, sort of like a 2025 version of Bobby Valentine with the mustache. Very funny loophole. I don't know if he can get away with it.
B
He should have gone. Bobby Valentine One era. There have been 18 NFL quarterbacks to start a game after the age of 40, not four, as I suggested. Mina either gave me bad advice or she just wanted more time to herself. We're running out of show. Let's go to the big finish. Sara Ariane and Andrea Vassasori, the two Italians won the US Open mixed doubles. Are you surprised?
C
No. But they did beat IGA Witek and Casper Rude. Doubles is a different game. Paige Becker said 44 points against the Sparks last night. Impressed?
B
Yes. She was 17 of 21. The Yankees, they hit 14 homers in a two game sweep of the Rays. Is that significant?
C
Yeah, they got to keep that lead they're mashing lately. John Wall retired. How will you remember his career?
B
He's a great college player. Good NBA player. Didn't make it out of that second round. The last one. South Carolina somehow faces Las Vegas in the Little League World Series tonight. Who you got?
C
I'm going with Vegas to beat them again.
B
Frank, we're out of time. Thanks for watching. I'm Frank Isola.
C
And I'm Nina Kimes. PTI is back at the same time tomorrow.
B
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Date: August 21, 2025
Hosts: Frank Isola & Mina Kimes (filling in for Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon)
This episode of PTI (Pardon the Interruption) breaks down the most fascinating storylines as the NFL preseason wraps up. With Tony and Mike off, Frank Isola is joined by Mina Kimes to analyze quarterback controversies, star player contract battles, and intriguing coaching decisions across the NFL. The conversation is fast, insightful, and filled with signature PTI banter, also touching on current MLB storylines and a dash of college football controversy.
[01:10–04:51]
[04:51–07:35]
[07:35–10:41]
[13:26–15:08]
[15:08–17:09]
[17:09–18:59]
[21:45–25:37]
| Segment | Approx. Timestamp | |----------------------------------|-------------------| | Giants/Steelers QB Drama | 01:10 – 04:51 | | Cowboys/Micah Parsons Contract | 04:51 – 07:35 | | QB Decisions: Cleveland/Indy | 07:35 – 10:41 | | Urban Meyer/Harbaugh Suspension | 13:26 – 15:08 | | Shohei Ohtani’s Pitching Woes | 15:08 – 17:09 | | Phillies Sweep Mariners | 17:09 – 18:59 | | Notable Quick Hits/Final Minutes | 21:45 – 25:37 |
Frank Isola brings his classic New York bluntness and Mina Kimes mixes deep analysis with wry humor and West Coast energy, giving the show its usual fast-paced, debate-driven, lightly comedic edge.
This spirited PTI episode offers a deep, entertaining dive into the NFL's most intriguing camp battles and league-wide storylines as the season nears. It also delivers quick-hitting and insightful takes across sports, from baseball stars to college football drama, serving up analysis and laughter for diehard fans and casual listeners alike.