Local Hour: The Miami Hurricanes Reaction Show (feat. Substitute Teacher Amin)

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Local Hour: The Miami Hurricanes Reaction Show (feat. Substitute Teacher Amin)
Date: November 3, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode, recorded at the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, is a post-mortem on a brutal Miami Hurricanes football loss and a reaction to major Miami Dolphins front office shakeups. With Dan Le Batard mostly absent, Amin Elhassan (“Substitute Teacher Amin”) assumes a playful leadership role, guiding the regular crew (Stugotz, Mike Ryan, Zaslow, Jeremy, and others) through a mix of sports heartbreak, franchise angst, cathartic comedy, and heated debates on adjustments, accountability, and suffering as a sports fan in Miami. The tone remains light and irreverent, even when the subject matter is bitter.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Substitute Teacher Amin and Setting the Scene

• Amin Elhassan opens with a teacher skit, setting a playful tone for the show as Dan is notably absent (00:59).
• Running “substitute teacher” jokes provide levity, e.g., the classic “movie day” in school – Stand and Deliver and Stand By Me get referenced (01:19).

2. Miami Dolphins Fire GM Chris Greer & Start Fire Sale

• News breaks that Dolphins GM Chris Greer is out, prompting speculation on why the move came before the trade deadline (02:32).
  • Stugotz: Suggests firing Greer before the deadline prevents him from making “self-preservation” trades (02:47).
  • Zaslow and the crew debate if Miami is headed for a total fire sale: “You just got to get what you can for everybody, knowing the trade deadline’s tomorrow.” (03:15)
  • Wild evaluation of Jalen Waddle’s trade value (third or fourth round pick? Or a first? 03:27–03:40).

Notable Quote

• Stugotz (on Jalen Phillips):
  “He’s always hurt and he’s the king of almost making a play. Like, never actually making the play. Almost sacks.” (03:45)

• Debate on Phillips’ “almost” plays and what frustrates fans about on-the-cusp contributors (04:07).

3. Relishing Sports Misery & Miami Hurricanes Grieving

• The “joy” of seeing friends’ teams lose:
  • Amin declares, “Isn’t that everyone here?” about taking pleasure in a friend’s sports sadness (04:46).
  • Stugotz stands out as having empathy. “I just…I don’t know. I feel bad for my friend when he’s down like that. I don’t derive joy from kicking him when he’s down.” (04:51)

Notable Quote

• Amin:
  “Now SMU has stolen that sadness, the ability to deliver that sadness from me. I’m going to file grand larceny charges against Southern Methodist University. Not very Methodist of them, if you ask me. Stealing.” (05:22)

• Mike Ryan’s “montages” of his friends’ pre-loss confidence get a mention (06:03).

4. World Series Ratings, Replays, and the “Canada Doesn’t Count” Debate

• The group digresses into baseball, arguing about an apparent blown call at home plate. Amin obsesses over missing camera angles (06:39, 09:05).
• Playful riffs on TV ratings:
  • When a Canadian team is in the finals, their nation’s viewership “counts as zero” in U.S. ratings (07:12).
  • Amin:
    “What’s a monster number in Canada? That’s like five people. Six tops.” (07:56)
• Skeptical takes on proportionate scaling of Canadian vs. U.S. audiences (08:12–08:38).

5. The Hurricanes’ Season Collapse – Detailed Breakdown

• Jeremy gives a raw, detailed postmortem:
  • Miami “fooled everybody,” putting together a special-looking season before revealing old bad tendencies (12:51–14:51).
  • The team fails to “meet the moment” in adversity and “doesn’t really adjust to the adjustment” (13:34).
  • He draws parallels to Mario Cristobal’s stick-to-plan coaching style, similar to (NBA coach) Mike Budenholzer – is Cristobal philosophically opposed to mid-game adjustments? (15:17)
  • Conservative play-calling, especially not putting trust in QB Carson Beck, draws criticism (15:20).
• Jeremy admits:
  “I haven’t been this hurt by a team...you felt like this could be a special season. Now...you can show the nation you can be a consistent winner, but you can’t help but feel like, man, that is such a bummer because we wasted an opportunity there.” (16:12–16:45)

Notable Quote

• Jeremy:
  “It comes down to discipline and how you meet adversity and they get Fs across the board.” (17:15)
• Discussion of penalties, officials’ influence, and refereeing woes in the ACC (19:04–20:20).
• “I was really disappointed that they seemed to quit after the interception.” (19:19)
• The big existential question: Why do college football playoff bids come down to a committee instead of pure wins/losses? (22:36)

6. The Committee Problem & College Football Chaos

• Amin finds it fascinating that college football uniquely determines its champion with a subjective committee:
  “Is there any other sport in the world where ultimately the championship…is decided by a committee that says not you? When you think about it, it’s incredibly weird.” (22:36)
• Jeremy highlights the futility of predicting four weeks out: “...the CFP took so many twists and turns in the final two weeks last season.” (23:08)
• Glimmer of hope: If Miami wins out, they could be back in the national conversation because of their record and a win over Notre Dame (17:48–18:33, 23:18).

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Miami Dolphins Fire Sale – Continued

7. Who’s Next Out in Miami?

• Stugotz advocates trading away all pass rushers (“obvious move”), continuing the fire sale: “Bradley Chubb’s best days are behind him” (27:38–27:56).
• Suggestions to keep a few “good players” (namely Jalen Waddle, even as a “not No. 1 wide receiver”) for the sake of future offense (28:29).

“Big Mac’s Take of the Day”

• The in-house Dolphins superfan wants “Batman and Robin” (Tua and McDaniel) gone next: “We got rid of the Joker. Next is Batman and Robin. And you know who that is.” (29:21)

• Speculation that new GM Steven Ross will want to keep Mike McDaniel: “You had the best offense, Tua threw for a zillion yards…The system works, given the right players.” (30:02–30:25)

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Tua Tagovailoa – Is He Finished in Miami?

8. Can the Dolphins Move On, and How?

• The crew debates the organizational mistake of going “all-in” on Tua, who remains inconsistent and injury-prone (31:09).

  • Amin: “If [Tua’s] around, it’s awesome. If not, we need contingency plans... They never did that. It was always like, if Tua’s out, we’re screwed.” (31:09)
  • Stugotz: Most teams are “completely screwed” if their starting QB goes down, but there’s a difference between total collapse and some level of competence (32:02–32:16).

• The group bemoans the lack of flexibility in Miami’s offense and the lack of backup planning. Cites other teams (e.g., 49ers and Patriots with Matt Cassel) as models for sensible “Plan B” thinking (32:16–33:01).

• Stugotz finds it unthinkable for Dolphins fans to experience another year of “McDaniel and Tua.” Wonders how any credible GM could be forced to keep both (33:47).

Notable Quote

• Stugotz:
  “I can’t do another year with these guys. With McDaniel and Tua…You’re telling me whatever general manager they wind up hiring is going to come in here…’Yeah, of all my options in the world, I like what I’ve seen from Mike McDaniel, I’m keeping him. I like what’s going on with Tua, I’m going to keep him as well.’” (33:47)

Hot Take: Tom Brady to Miami?

• Mike Ryan jokes about a fantasy scenario: “Steven Ross brings in a new GM, gets him to trade Tua, gets Tom Brady out of retirement, and now Brady to the Dolphins finally happens.” (34:29)
• The group debates the implications of cutting or trading Tua with his massive cap hit, referencing recent NFL situations (Broncos, Saints, etc.) and the plausibility of a “post-Dolphins glow up.” (35:47–36:40)
• Stugotz’s verdict: Tua is washed, not merely in the wrong situation, unlike QBs like Daniel Jones or Sam Darnold (37:04).

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9. How Washed is Tua? His “Plus Attribute” and Mental State Debated

• The crew eviscerates Tua’s skill set, with Zaslow grilling: “What is Tua’s plus attribute?” (39:00)

  • Used to be accuracy; now that’s waning. Leadership, durability, athleticism, arm strength, speed, height – all lacking (39:00–39:19).
  • “Apparently he also doesn’t get along with the coach anymore.” (39:16)

• Discussion of Tua’s public self-doubt (“I’m too short to see over the line” – a “never say” for short QBs; Drew Brees, Baker, Bo Nix wouldn't say that) (38:29).

• Cap hit talk: Maybe trade Tua "for nothing" (mixture of relief and desperation); Amin notes you might need to attach extra picks just to get someone to take Tua’s contract (39:34–40:09).

Notable Quote

• Amin:
  “You went all in. The problem is you went all in financially, structurally, everything – with a bad hand.” (40:18)

10. Comedic Digressions and Signature Moments

• Signature absurdist musical impressions (“Knocking on 40’s door” for Tannehill’s age, 31:03).
• Extended riff on “holding” in football segues to double entendre on the difficulty of, ahem, “holding” (41:03).
  • “I gotta tell you, many a time in my life, I’ve tried to hold and then hold again, only to end up saying, you gotta fight sometimes, you gotta call.” – Amin (41:21)

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Timestamps of Notable Segments

• 00:59 – Substitute teacher skit, “movie day” nostalgia
• 02:32–03:45 – Dolphins fire sale, Greer firing, surprise Waddle trade value
• 04:46–06:03 – Sports fan “schadenfreude,” joy in others’ team misery
• 07:12–08:38 – Canada TV ratings and World Series replay controversy
• 12:51–16:45 – Jeremy’s detailed Miami Hurricanes season autopsy, discipline issues, Cristobal coaching philosophy
• 17:15–19:48 – Committee and ACC officiating woes, existential playoff questions
• 22:36–23:18 – The oddity of the playoff committee, twists of college football fate
• 27:38–30:25 – Dolphins roster teardown, emphasis on trading pass rushers, “Big Mac’s Take”
• 31:09–33:47 – Organizational failings around Tua; backup/contingency plan debate
• 34:29–35:58 – Tom Brady fantasy, Tua contract/cut/trade debate
• 39:00–40:18 – Evisceration of Tua’s “plus attributes” and limitations
• 41:03–41:41 – Comedic “holding” riff, perfect example of show’s signature banter

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Memorable Quotes

Amin Elhassan:

• “Now SMU has stolen that sadness, the ability to deliver that sadness from me. I’m going to file grand larceny charges against Southern Methodist University. Not very Methodist of them, if you ask me. Stealing.” (05:22)
• “You went all in. The problem is you went all in – financially, structurally, everything – with a bad hand.” (40:18)

Stugotz:

• “He’s always hurt and he’s the king of almost making a play. Like, never actually making the play. Almost sacks.” (03:45)
• “I can’t do another year with these guys. With McDaniel and Tua…” (33:47)
• “I think he’s washed. I don’t think he’s a good quarterback anymore. I think once in a while you’ll get a good game. When a couple years ago, it was once every few games you’d get a bad game. It’s the opposite now.” (36:58)

Jeremy:

• “It comes down to discipline and how you meet adversity and they get Fs across the board.” (17:15)
• “I haven’t been this hurt by a team…You felt like this could be a special season.” (16:12–16:45)

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Summary – The Show in a Nutshell

This episode of the Local Hour distills the tragicomic essence of Miami sports. Miami Hurricanes fans (and show staff) process the pain of a season undone by old habits—lack of discipline, failed adjustments, and the cruelty of college football’s “committee”—while Dolphins fans brace for a new era, painted in fire sale uncertainty and quarterback despair.

Substitute Teacher Amin guides the chaos with deadpan wit, comedic digressions, and sports existentialism. Empathy, gallows humor, and classic Le Batard Show banter abound. Even in Miami’s sports darkness, there’s always room for a joke, a glimmer of hope, and someone, somewhere, having a worse day.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, Smirnoff. Official vodka of the NFL. World's number one vodka. Chris, Cody, you're with me here.

[John Zaslow]

Smirnoff.

[Dan LeBatard]

Wow, you're on the money with Smirnoff.

[John Zaslow]

Smirnoff.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm gonna ask you, Chris, what's your favorite game day food?

[John Zaslow]

Smirnoff.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's your favorite game day drink. What's your favorite game day food?

[Mike Ryan]

Smirnoff.

[Dan LeBatard]

All right, here's the deal. Game day is everything. The noise, the rituals, the passion, the dip, the wings, the dip again.

[John Zaslow]

Smirnoff.

[Dan LeBatard]

Smirnoff belongs in that mix. Because if you're tailgating or hosting or just sitting there checking your fantasy lineup every 30 seconds, you need Smirnoff. Otherwise, it's not a real game day. They've been doing it since 1864, which is. I don't even want to do the math. It's a long time. It's like when Greg Cody was born. They're award winning, they make cocktails super easy, and they're all about bringing fans together. So, yeah, we do game days. That's their thing. And if you're over 21, you should, too. Why, Chris?

[John Zaslow]

Smirnoff.

[Dan LeBatard]

Grab a bottle of Smirnoff at your local retailer and head to smirnoff.com to find recipes of delicious cocktails perfect for game day.

[John Zaslow]

Smirnoff.

[Dan LeBatard]

Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff, number 21, vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age.

[John Zaslow]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats podcast. Yo, where's Dan?

[Jeremy]

For real?

[John Zaslow]

Like, where's Dan at? It's Monday. There's a lot going on here. Not like him to. Wait. What's going on here? What's going on here?

[Adnan Virk]

Good morning, class. I'm your substitute teacher. Mr. Elhassan. Mr. LeBatard will be out today. We're going to be watching a movie.

[John Zaslow]

Oh, let's go, let's go. Oh, that's what I'm talking about. Easy day today.

[Dan LeBatard]

Can we have class outside?

[John Zaslow]

Yeah. Bring in the tray with the tv. It was usually the TV VCR combo. Right now. You knew today was gonna be Huddle up.

[Mike Ryan]

We're watching Stand and Deliver.

[Dan LeBatard]

I was gonna say.

[John Zaslow]

What is the movie you associate Rookie of the Year.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, Stand and Deliver for sure.

[Jeremy]

I don't know what that is.

[Mike Ryan]

Edward James Olmos.

[John Zaslow]

Well, it's Stand by Me.

[Mike Ryan]

How does he reach These kids.

[Adnan Virk]

Unfortunately, the TV doesn't seem to be working. I forgot that you need power.

[John Zaslow]

Oh, boo. Boo.

[Mike Ryan]

LED study.

[Adnan Virk]

So we'll be having class instead. Let's start locally here in Miami. The general manager of the Miami Dolphins, Chris Greer, had a mutual parting of ways with the organization on Friday. We got to a little bit of it on the show on Friday, but Zaslow wasn't in, in class, so I.

[John Zaslow]

Watched on the plane. I watched the, the, the zoom coverage of class on the plane on Friday.

[Adnan Virk]

Any notes?

[John Zaslow]

No, no. Keep it all right up here, baby.

[Adnan Virk]

Remember, I'd like you to share with the class.

[John Zaslow]

Well, I mean, you guys, you previewed, you did a little preview the Hurricanes and that kind of deal. Mike Ryan was not here because he was in Dallas. All right? He did a recap of the Dolphins from the night before Tua with a pathetic pregame speech. My goodness. 60 minutes. Give me four hours. What kind of fuzzy math is that? And of course, you know, the news comes about Chr getting fired like right after you guys went off live. So I didn't get to hear you guys talk about it at all.

[Adnan Virk]

It's, it's a little weird that he gets traded, he gets fired, and then this morning they trade Jalen Phillips.

[John Zaslow]

Why is it weird?

[Adnan Virk]

Well, I just, you know, I would think that you would reserve all kind of franchise altering moves for whoever is going to get the job.

[John Zaslow]

Well, no, see, I think part of the, you gotta remember trade deadlines tomorrow. And I think part of the main reason that you, you fired Chris Greer on Friday was because you don't want Chris Greer to be allowed to make any self preservation type moves before the dead. You can't expect him to make moves that are going to be great for the future of the franchise when it's pretty clear he very well might be fired. So yeah, you got to get rid of him and allow somebody, anybody else to make moves for the future of the franchise. And that's clearly a directive right now at this point.

[Jeremy]

You just got to get what you can for everybody knowing that the trade deadlines tomorrow, like they're saying that they're only going to take first rounders. And plus plus for Jalen Waddle. And I'm like, anything that they send you is looking like a good deal.

[John Zaslow]

I'll tell you. I was surprised. I mean, I asked Diana what, like a week or two ago when she was on what would be a good deal for the Dolphins to consider for Jalen Waddle, and she was like, maybe they can get a fourth.

[Dan LeBatard]

I Saw it was reported yesterday on.

[John Zaslow]

NFL Network that they are going for a first.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's wild.

[John Zaslow]

I mean, I don't know who would give up.

[Jeremy]

I'm sure they're going for it, right? He's not going for it, though.

[John Zaslow]

They probably went for a first for Jalen Phillips, too. Didn't work out like that. You had to trade Phillips, though. You had like, I don't know. Are Dolphin fans mad? You think that they traded Jalen Phillips because you were going to have to give him a contract? He's always hurt, and he's the king of almost making a play. Like, he never actually almost sacks. Right. It, it seemed like such an obvious trade, you know, for me, where he's got a beine to the quarterback. Yep. And he's, he leaps and the quarterback throws it. Right. Like the Herbert at the end of the Chargers game. Like, really sums up his Dolphins career.

[Mike Ryan]

It's a Kane thing. You just don't understand.

[John Zaslow]

Oh, look how sad Mike Ryan is.

[Adnan Virk]

Look how sad. Oh, man, I, I, I wish, you know, I wanted to come in here talking to all types of.

[John Zaslow]

You can't say anything now.

[Adnan Virk]

Just kind of like, it's a dumb sport anyway.

[Mike Ryan]

It's a very dumb sport.

[John Zaslow]

Yeah, you're very much so. I mean, I have the impression because I don't know you, too. I'm getting to know. You seem like an all right guy, and I'm, I'm, I'm getting the impression you're the type of friend you love to talk shit about. Your friend who is suffering because of something that happened in sports.

[Adnan Virk]

Isn't that everyone here?

[John Zaslow]

See, I don't, I don't, I don't do that. I don't like that. It doesn't make me.

[Jeremy]

You're above that.

[John Zaslow]

No, it's not about being above it. It's, it's about, like. I just, I don't know. I feel bad for my friend when he's down like that. I don't, I don't derive joy from kicking him when he's down.

[Adnan Virk]

The only, the only, you know, gra. Gra. Grace you get is if your team is bad and then they lose. You know. You know, that's. But when your team is good and they lose. Oh, my God. The nectar of the gods.

[John Zaslow]

The good stuff. So, like, you like that Mike Ryan is upset. Right? Like that. And granted, I wanted the Canes to win, too, obviously, but I don't know, I don't, I don't take joy in my friends being really.

[Adnan Virk]

I'll be honest in this particular case, not so much, because I was really looking forward to whooping his ass in Charlotte. Like, I had, like, this whole fantasy that me and Mike gonna be in Charlotte and, like, I'll be in my Georgia Tech gear, he'll be in his Miami gear and all this. And then at the end, I'd be laughing and Mike would be sad. And now SMU has stolen that sadness. They've stolen that sadness, the ability to deliver that sadness from me. I'm going to file grand larceny charges against Southern Methodist University. Not very Methodist of them, if you ask me. Stealing.

[John Zaslow]

I think I'm in the minority in that regard, though. That, like, I don't send the text messages taunting my friend who is hurting because his team lost. I do. I do acknowledge. I think I'm in the minority there.

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't send text messages. I just make montages of the things that they said before, which will be ready later in the show.

[Jeremy]

Good start from you today.

[Dan LeBatard]

Thank you. When I talk about World Series.

[John Zaslow]

Yeah.

[Dan LeBatard]

Can we honestly.

[Jeremy]

We'll get there.

[Adnan Virk]

We will. It was so good. It was good. It was good.

[John Zaslow]

No, not good.

[Dan LeBatard]

It was good.

[Adnan Virk]

It was.

[John Zaslow]

It was a lot better than just.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's one of the best baseball.

[Mike Ryan]

Let me just say downplaying. That was such a great baseball game.

[Adnan Virk]

Let me just say right now.

[Mike Ryan]

World Series.

[Adnan Virk]

Can we all agree my man was safe?

[Jeremy]

Which man? At home.

[Dan LeBatard]

No lighting was not.

[Jeremy]

He was not safe.

[John Zaslow]

Foot came off the plate and then he got.

[Jeremy]

Millisecond right before.

[Mike Ryan]

You know what a millisecond is, though? Let's talk about it for three hours.

[Adnan Virk]

What we needed was a low angle behind the plate. Low angle so I could see the daylight between the catcher's foot and the plate.

[John Zaslow]

It was a clear replay.

[Mike Ryan]

I don't know how clear. I don't know how clear. He's starting to sway me.

[Adnan Virk]

Angles, Angles, baby. Camera angles. They could show you any. They could trick you anyway. But, like, if you get the right angle. That's what we needed. A three dimensional. We needed right behind the plate at ground level right here. Show me daylight between his foot.

[John Zaslow]

We had it.

[Mike Ryan]

So you needed the angle that proved.

[Dan LeBatard]

That he was safe?

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, pretty much.

[Mike Ryan]

Okay, video team, let's spend a half hour trying to find this angle.

[Adnan Virk]

They don't have it. No one has it. You know why? Convenience. Do you guys know that when a team that plays in Canada is in the World Series or in the finals, did you know that the ratings count as zero?

[Dan LeBatard]

You sound like the peepo of Canada.

[Adnan Virk]

I'm just saying. I don't know if you guys are aware of this. When the Raptors played the warriors in the finals, the ratings on the Toronto side, on the Canada side was zero. They don't count, Right, right. The ratings over here count. So it was one of the lowest rated finals as a result, because you only got half the audience.

[John Zaslow]

But it was probably a monster number in Canada.

[Adnan Virk]

Sure, but what's a monster number in Canada?

[John Zaslow]

I think. I think I saw that the World Series the other day. Got like a 20 in Canada.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's right, Adnan.

[John Zaslow]

Which seems like a really big number.

[Adnan Virk]

That's like five people, six tops.

[Jeremy]

What?

[Dan LeBatard]

Adnan talked about it, that if you projected it from Canada to here in the United States, it would be close to about half of super bowl numbers. So it's like 350 million or something.

[Adnan Virk]

This is playing with numbers. See, Adnan, part of the media, right? They want you to play with these numbers. Proportionate, of course. And he's also in the media, so that makes him a double agent. Right. So you talk about. Oh, if you do the proportions. You do the proportions. Yeah. There's 17 people in Canada. If 8 watts, all of a sudden that's 50%. That's the equivalent of 200 million people. No, man.

[John Zaslow]

You know, Canada is so much bigger than the United States.

[Adnan Virk]

You know, the population is so much smaller than that.

[John Zaslow]

I understand.

[Adnan Virk]

I don't care. I don't care if Saskatchewan. All of Saskatchewan watched it. They don't count. That's like, there are more people in this room, and I'm not even talking about shipping container than the artist. Saskatchewan. You can. You can.

[Jeremy]

Saskatchewan expert. I mean.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, put it on my bio.

[Dan LeBatard]

And so this has something to do with the World Series being one of the greatest games ever played, but not being one of the greatest games ever played because of this play.

[Adnan Virk]

It's a great game. See, this is a bad angle. Too high.

[John Zaslow]

How's it a bad angle too high.

[Adnan Virk]

How can I see the daylight?

[Dan LeBatard]

They have other angles, too.

[Adnan Virk]

Where's the ball? The ball's not in his mid either.

[John Zaslow]

Yes, it is.

[Adnan Virk]

No. Oh, they look at daylight. You see the daylight?

[Dan LeBatard]

What are you talking about?

[Adnan Virk]

The angle you guys don't understand. No, from this.

[Jeremy]

Spikes on the toe are down on the scary.

[Adnan Virk]

If we were lower, if we were ground level, we'd see that. Like, from this angle, it looks like I'm touching my laptop. But if you go like this, like. Oh, no, he's not.

[John Zaslow]

Right.

[Adnan Virk]

It's because it's an above angle, you can't really tell if there's contact or not. I can't believe you guys are fighting me on this.

[Mike Ryan]

I can't believe it either. Keep talking it out.

[Dan LeBatard]

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[Jeremy]

You ever try to name all your financial accounts and what they're actually worth? Like your 401k, your investments, your house? Yeah, I couldn't either. Most of us can't. And when you don't know, you're basically leaving money on the table. Feel organized and confident in your finances with Monarch, an all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or your phone. Right now, just for our listeners, Monarch is offering 50% off your first year with code [e-mail] I started using Monarch and I found an old 401k from an old job that I totally forgot about. And it was worth way more than I thought. I also realized I wasn't saving as much as I imagined. Monarch shows you everything you're spending, your investments, even how much cash is just sitting there doing nothing. No spreadsheets, no chaos, just a clear view of your money you can share with your partner too. Which means fewer fights about who spent what at Target and how much the baby actually needs. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code [e-mail] in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first [e-mail] with code DAN.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, the football season. Cruel beast. Sometimes it gives. Sometimes it rips away. Sometimes you got good times, Sometimes you got bad times. But one thing that'll always lift your spirit is making it Miller time. Because game day just hits different with Miller Lite in your hand. 50 years of great taste, simple ingredients, and that iconic golden color that you can spot from across the room. It's a real eye catcher, folks. And here's the kicker. Just 96 calories, 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. The original light beer since 1975 and still hitting different five decades later. So whatever your game day looks like, remember, Miller Time is always a good time. Miller Lite Great Taste, 96 calories. Go to millerlite.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Adnan Virk]

Don LeBatard.

[John Zaslow]

John Zaslow. How you love that cat. Bad news for opposing teams in the triple air stall. Smiles till LeBron's eye. Clutch again. Clutch again. Clutch. This is the D Levatar show with the St. Gads.

[Adnan Virk]

What happened in that game, Mike?

[Mike Ryan]

What happened in the s. Look, Miami, look, they, they pulled everybody, Miami this year. So you guys got to suffer that indignity too, because this felt like a special season. Miami looked a certain way and then the same thing happened that's happened really the last four years is Miami has its tendencies. They put up enough film, teams know what to expect. Miami doesn't really adjust the adjustment. And also there's this weird haze of when they meet adversity, they don't meet the moment. They kind of look for any kind of excuse to get out of it. Now, they still should have survived that game. Unfortunate that I'm not going to be a 40 year old man complaining about the officials, but there was a strange game.

[John Zaslow]

What does your age have to do with it?

[Mike Ryan]

Well, you reach a certain age where you don't want to be like, the ref cheated guy, but you know, it was, you put it in there, you put it in their hands. You got to make catches, you got to be disciplined. I don't know why this center keeps playing. He very clearly cannot adhere to the rules. Of the game. Really. Really a huge bummer. It felt like a special season. We know that when Miami meets its ceiling and plays clean football, they can hang with anybody in the. In the nation and. Yeah, just sucks. This felt like a. At least a college football playoff team. Now a month is an eternity in.

[John Zaslow]

That sport, but it does.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah.

[Dan LeBatard]

Well, I mean, do they though?

[Mike Ryan]

Look, man, Alabama got blown out by a really mid Oklahoma team and 12 days later everybody was saying how if they were in the playoff, they'd win the national championship. A month is an eternity. And you have the weird situation where they have a win over Notre Dame. Notre Dame is cruising right now.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, the.

[Mike Ryan]

The committee's going to want to put Notre Dame in, but Miami's head to head matters. I don't, I don't think the season is necessarily over and quite honestly, I really am curious to see how this team responds because Mario Cristobal is a big like culture, discipline, toughness guy and the team is not reflecting that. And I thought we had the locker room. Right. So they need to respond.

[Adnan Virk]

Let me ask you this question. You said they didn't make the adjustments to the adjustments, which seems to be a thing. I'm a basketball guy. When I hear that, I think of Mike Boonholzer, who really good coach, smart coach. But it's philosophically opposed in general to making adjustments. Cause he's like, if we do what we're supposed to do, it doesn't matter what they do. That's kind of his way. Is that Mario Cristobal or is Mario Cristobal just not good at making adjustments?

[Jeremy]

Seems like both in a weird way.

[Mike Ryan]

It seems like honestly, like the offense was doing outside runs. We were doing creative stuff with Malachi Toney. I do think that there is a conservative approach. Now you may see the image interception, which by the way, was Malachi Tony's fault at the end. You have a guy that's been so locked in with Carson Beck, he was supposed to flatten out that route, but I thought Carson Beck actually played kind of well. He was pretty accurate with the ball and he made some big plays. There were some unfortunate penalties that called some big plays back. But, you know, the ACC comes for us all. I mean, the ACC comes for us all.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah. Mike, I can't help but notice you're doing a press conference thing where I ask you a question.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm hugely bummed. I'm hugely bummed. Like this team, this team, I think I haven't been this hurt by a team. Even last year. We blew a 210 game at Syracuse.

[John Zaslow]

Yeah, but this team was better than last.

[Mike Ryan]

Knew that last year was a deeply flawed team. And you're just like, let's get into shootouts with Cam Ward and get into the playoff and get to Charlotte.

[John Zaslow]

No, you felt like this team could do something.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah. You felt like this could be a special season. Now you do have an opportunity to win back to back 10 win seasons and show the nation that you can be a consistent winner. I do think that that's important. I do think that watching how this team responds under Mario Cristobal is hugely important for the future of the, of the program. But you can't help but feel like, man, that, that is such a, that is such a bummer because we wasted an opportunity there.

[John Zaslow]

ACC is only going to get one team.

[Mike Ryan]

You would think given the, the reputation which, like Miami's got a, Miami's got to look good. Miami's got to perform. We can have that conversation in a month from now. Like I said, November is a wild month in this sport. Four weeks is an eternity. I do think that Miami will be back on, on that bubble conversation because they were in the bubble conversation last year. So if they meet that resume that they had last year with a better defense and signature wins under their belt that they didn't have last year, with the added complexity of Notre Dame being in that conversation and them having a head to head win over Notre Dame, I do think that there's more hope than, than it feels right now. But right now you got a real problem and it seems to be intangible because it comes down to discipline and how you meet adversity and they, they get Fs across the board.

[John Zaslow]

I guess, I guess I would just add like last year. Yes. They didn't qualify for the AC title game last year either. Did they finish third in the ACC before that game? Like were they the first team out?

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, it was, it was screwy because.

[John Zaslow]

Right now they're seven.

[Mike Ryan]

No, they have no shot at, at Charlotte this year.

[John Zaslow]

No, no, I'm not talking about a shot of going to Charlotte. I'm talking about will the committee look at them as a team to give an at large bid. They didn't last year when they were third and they did.

[Mike Ryan]

Look at them last year the conversation was South Carolina, Alabama, Miami.

[John Zaslow]

I mean they didn't put them in and right now they're seventh in the, like they're not going to vote in the seventh best team in the acc.

[Mike Ryan]

You're going to have teams that have three losses in the SEC that they're going to be dying to put in. And I do think that there will be an interesting conversation and they're going.

[John Zaslow]

To be dying to put Notre Dam in.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, that, that, that'll be interesting to see how that the head to head has to matter. It has to. I think it would be pretty BS.

[John Zaslow]

How much does the head to head matter? When the game literally happened at the start of the season, the head to.

[Mike Ryan]

Head has to matter, but it's never.

[Dan LeBatard]

Mattered at the start of the season. Like that's been the thing for every team when it comes to the playoff is you judge the team based off who they've been.

[John Zaslow]

Yeah. You're a different team at the end of the season than you.

[Mike Ryan]

We can have that conversation four weeks from now. They're probably going to lose another four game because they're so undisciplined. Like they. It seems like a ridiculous conversation right now. When you got the most emo goddamn team looking for any excuse to give.

[John Zaslow]

Up, what were you most angry about in the end? If you had to pinpoint one thing.

[Mike Ryan]

The penalties. You look at that box score, you're wondering how the hell you lost that game. The SMU ran for 23 yards. Most of that was in overtime. I was really disappointed that they seemed to quit after the interception. I was disappointed that they still have this conservative approach to not trusting the quarterback. Carson Beck's going to throw interceptions. You got to live with that. You got to let. You got to let the guy go. Yeah, but really it's the penalties. We gave up 100 yards and penalties. Now that I think Tim Reynolds pointed out that that crew has done. That crew has done a couple of Miami games and Miami has been called for 21 penalties and their opponents have been called for six.

[John Zaslow]

Do other conference to other. Do other. Do fans of other schools and other conferences complain about their officials? The way that everybody. The way that the ACC fan complains about ACC officials?

[Mike Ryan]

ACC officials are bad. Reuben Bain gets held all the time on that illegal man downfield. This wasn't even a conversation because the cameras didn't catch it. Malachi, Tony straight up got tackled. Straight up, got speared, tackled while he's running around. Not a conversation. They pick up the flag on the DPI on Keelum.

[John Zaslow]

Marion, are you mad about the fourth down, rough in the passer?

[Jeremy]

That was bullshit.

[Mike Ryan]

Hugely mad about the rough and the passer. Lightfoot holds him up. That is. Come on. That is not the spirit of the law. That was BS. Miami could have survived that game.

[John Zaslow]

And I want the officials to understand the situation in that spot.

[Mike Ryan]

But ultimately, you had an opportunity to control that game. You blew it, and you put it in the official's hands, and you deserve to lose that.

[John Zaslow]

Why are you making a face?

[Mike Ryan]

Look, I understand why people are super happy, but.

[John Zaslow]

No, but look at him. He's making a face.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, we got a bunch of peoples over here. Come on, bro.

[John Zaslow]

The Zebras, bro.

[Dan LeBatard]

What are we doing? Second game again, another ACC loss. I mean, that's what this program does. You lose in conference games and you don't make it to Charlotte, and then you don't make it to the playoff because that's what Miami.

[Jeremy]

What happened to just on the outside?

[Dan LeBatard]

Oh, the UCF Knights don't exist. The UCF Citronauts exist, and they're undefeated. There ain't no. In the history of their program.

[Adnan Virk]

What the.

[Dan LeBatard]

What space week?

[Jeremy]

UCF got beaten 30 to 3.

[John Zaslow]

Yeah.

[Dan LeBatard]

Bad program right now.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm not gonna do that.

[Dan LeBatard]

It doesn't matter.

[Mike Ryan]

I honestly don't think.

[Dan LeBatard]

We didn't have any expectations.

[Mike Ryan]

No. Everything you have championship expectations. Everything that Jeremy said was true. I think that this season feels especially disappointed. It's a byproduct of how this program got our hopes up. And there's a lot of people with egg on their face. A lot of the smartest people that cover this sport all thought Miami was for real and they folded. It's. It's really sucky that over the last two years, when this team loses, they lose inside the margins and one score games, and there's always a play or two that could change a season and it's just not breaking their way. And quite honestly, it's the lack of discipline. When you have a disciplinarian head coach that drills that all week in practice, and yet you still play the same guys that keep making the same mistakes. There's gotta be accountability there. He's gotta show something.

[Adnan Virk]

I gotta say for the audio audience, y', all don't. Y' all can't see this?

[Mike Ryan]

No. I'm devastated, dude.

[Adnan Virk]

It's not just devastated. You are doing textbook press conference behavior. You haven't made eye contact.

[Mike Ryan]

I can't.

[Adnan Virk]

With anybody. Or even a camera throughout that entire soliloquy. Although you are looking around as if you are looking at different people to talk to. But none of them are ever the camera, and none of them are any of us.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm bummed. I haven't been able to. To shake it. It's. Yeah. Crushing loss.

[Adnan Virk]

You know, that's the other thing about college sports that fascinates me. Is there any other sport in the world where ultimately the championship or who competes for the championship is decided by a committee that says not you?

[John Zaslow]

No.

[Adnan Virk]

When you think about it, it's incredibly weird. Like every level of sport in the.

[John Zaslow]

World, in the world, we all go.

[Adnan Virk]

We compete and then, okay, those guys are the winners.

[Mike Ryan]

I do think it's really ridiculous and it kind of boggles the mind for someone to speak like they know what's going to happen four weeks from now in this sport.

[Adnan Virk]

Sure.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, the CFP took so many twists and turns in the final two weeks last season. So.

[John Zaslow]

So that's you trying to make it sound like the Canes still have a shot here.

[Mike Ryan]

I think if they put up four straight weeks of playing clean football and having a 10 win season, we'll find ourselves in the exact same debate that we had last year with a much better hand with a Miami team that's lost two games by one score. On the outside looking in, we'll see Jeremy. But for the meantime, shut the up.

[Dan LeBatard]

Marking it. I'm gonna put everything Jeremy said was right in slow.

[Mike Ryan]

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[Adnan Virk]

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[John Zaslow]

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[Adnan Virk]

Freedom to do what?

[Jeremy]

And choose your rewards.

[John Zaslow]

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[Jeremy]

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. So these days are just getting shorter, right? It's dark at like 4:35 o' clock now. And I swear it's messing with me. And that's when it hits you. This time of year can be tough for a lot of people. And look, we all get busy. Sports, work, family. But it's still important to check in with the people you love. Text friends, call your mom, hit up that one buddy you haven't seen since last season. You never know who might really need to hear from you. BetterHelp's all about that too. Reaching out, connecting, talking it out. Their therapists are licensed, trained and matched to you based on what you need. They've been doing this for over 12 years, helped over 5 million people, and they've got a 4.9 rating from over 1.7 million reviews.

[Adnan Virk]

Views.

[Jeremy]

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[Adnan Virk]

Don LeBatard. If Daniel Day Lewis did it, you'd be jerking off all over yourself.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, come on. Yeah, I would be.

[Dan LeBatard]

Aggressive.

[Jeremy]

Description.

[Adnan Virk]

I mean, what is it? What is that? I'm just saying.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm just saying.

[Jeremy]

What?

[Mike Ryan]

That's mean. Daniel Day Lewis does something. I see that photo of Daniel Day Lewis looking like Lincoln before he's about to start filming. Lincoln. And you know what I do amin stugats. I jerk off all over myself. That's what I do.

[John Zaslow]

Lincoln, who you outed the other day.

[Mike Ryan]

Don't make this a rejoin.

[John Zaslow]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats.

[Adnan Virk]

Okay, so going back to the dolphins. So you guys are telling me this is fire sale time time now? Like, no, everything must go 80, every.

[Jeremy]

Man for himself kind of situation right now.

[John Zaslow]

Yeah, yeah, like, like I said, trading away Jalen Phillips was an obvious move. You can't possibly pay him. It had been so stupid. All right, so there you go. And the next one, they should move on as well is Bradley Chubb. Like, there may be someone there. Like Bradley. Bradley Toast. Best days are behind him. All right, like a third.

[Jeremy]

What does Bradley get you?

[John Zaslow]

Fourth, maybe.

[Jeremy]

If that.

[John Zaslow]

Because you also gotta understand, like, Bradley Chubb makes some money, you know, so fourth, maybe. And if someone wants Matthew Jude on Come get him, I mean, the Dolphins picked him up off the street at the beginning of the year. I would trade all three of the pass rushers there. And is there anyone else like Minka, maybe? I don't. Well, yeah, they're definitely not. You would assume they're not going to keep Minka. Like, it doesn't make sense to give him a contract extension. You keep Paul. Once Paul, you gotta keep, keep.

[Jeremy]

All right, A chain.

[Dan LeBatard]

You keep chop.

[Mike Ryan]

You build around Paul.

[John Zaslow]

I think you probably keep Jalen Waddle, too, to be like, you do have to have some good players on offense moving forward. I think you do probably keep Jalen Waddle, even though he's clearly not a number one wide receiver. But I think the pass rushers, like, the pass rushers are going to be the guys that teams in a winning situation are going to want to. It's like training for a relief pitcher at the MLB deadline. Like, every team is going to want a relief pitcher. Every team's going to want to pass rush.

[Dan LeBatard]

Unless you're the Dodgers, because you don't need one, apparently. And you only need to throw your starters to win game seven. The guy who started, Gabe six, Yamamoto. Amazing.

[John Zaslow]

You guys want to hear from Big Mac on the firing of Chris Greer? He's been out on Chris Greer.

[Dan LeBatard]

He's the guy.

[John Zaslow]

Our guy from downstairs. I just want to make sure the audience knows, but we get his takes on the Dolphins, and he's not a Chris Greer guy.

[Dan LeBatard]

Big Max take of the day.

[Adnan Virk]

Oh, yeah, we got rid of the Joker. Next is Batman and Robin. And you know who that is? Mike McDaniel.

[Dan LeBatard]

Big Max take of the day, dog.

[Adnan Virk]

That's a. That's a very well crafted take, man. I love him just. I love him just.

[John Zaslow]

Batman and Robin, huh? He goes, and you know who that is? And then I keep walking and he's like, it's Tua and McDaniel. Yeah, it wasn't done just in case.

[Adnan Virk]

No. Yeah, that's. That's a good take, man. Cause some of the listeners are like, wait, who's Batman and Robin? And then he breaks it down for.

[John Zaslow]

You know who that is. The report, McDaniel. The reports out there really make it sound like Stephen Ross may tell the new GM that he wants to keep Mike McDaniel after this year.

[Jeremy]

That's kind of something we were talking about, really. Sounds like this month it was like, why don't you just Keep him.

[Mike Ryan]

Have the new.

[Jeremy]

The new GM kind of build players around the system. That worked a couple of years ago, right? You scored 70, you had the best offense to it through for a thousand yard, you know, trillion yards. Like it works given the right players in the system. Now the problem is, did all the NFL defenses figure it out and now the system doesn't work.

[Adnan Virk]

Where's Ryan Tannehill? He never got hired at home. Yeah, he's like, I'm too good for this backup. And then, like, just never. He's just chilling, right?

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Adnan Virk]

Now he's like 40 and cracking a beer.

[John Zaslow]

40?

[Adnan Virk]

I think he's like 40. Brian Tannehill, man, that dude's old.

[Jeremy]

Flacco's 40. Flacco.

[Adnan Virk]

How about Flacco this weekend? Look, I know they lost that arm is live dog with sprained a sprained thorn shoulder. He said, give me 400 in the air.

[John Zaslow]

Tannehill's 37 years old.

[Adnan Virk]

That's close. It's knocking on 40's door. You hear that? That's 40. That's 40's door. Actually, that's Tannehill out the door. I messed that one up. Knock. Knocking on 40's door it is. There you go.

[Dan LeBatard]

Best musical impression for the suis.

[Adnan Virk]

Good teammate.

[Mike Ryan]

Thank you.

[Adnan Virk]

And I feel like this is all tied to a weird all chips in mentality on tua. Someone who has never shown the consistency in terms of health or anything else to say. You can go all in on me. And that's the part that I keep going back to how they managed all of this from the beginning, from the very first time he had that concussion and that season was magical. And then it was kind of ruined. Right. They never, like, said, hey, we need to start building this thing with the eye that he may not be around. If he's around, it's awesome. If he's around and he's good, it's awesome. But if not, we have contingency plans of winning games. Whether that's with a competent quarterback, backup quarterback, whether that's with other facets of the game. They never did that. It was always like, if two is out, we're screwed. If two is not, two is screwed.

[John Zaslow]

Yeah, but I would add, like, how many teams in the league have a competent backup quarterback? Like, this is every team. When your starter gets hurt, you're completely screwed. That's every. No one's like, all right, nice. We got a good backup. He'll come in and win us some games. No one.

[Adnan Virk]

No, no. But it's not about winning Some games, it's not about, oh, this thing keeps humming. It's. That shit doesn't fall apart completely. The moment we have a backup in there, like, you could you. You could say, how many teams have, like, a guy who could come in and win games? How many guys are going to do the Matt Castle 12 wins or whatever? Sure, that's. That's a rarity. But in terms of. Can we just not completely fall apart? I don't think that's the case. I don't think you're right. When you say we look at San Francisco. Right. It's not that Mac Jones is amazing. Oh, my God. How did we not know? It's that he's competent enough so that this thing doesn't fall apart while Purdy's out.

[John Zaslow]

Well, it seems that the coach had a system that was specifically designed for this quarterback.

[Adnan Virk]

That's what I'm saying. Contingency plans. Because the system designed for this quarterback is cool. But if this quarterback was someone with a little bit more durability.

[John Zaslow]

I'll tell you what bothers me, though. Like, so there's several things that we're reading right now, right where McDaniel. It seems like he's going to stick around after this year. He's clearly not being fired during the season. He may stick around after this year.

[Jeremy]

Fight, everybody.

[John Zaslow]

Give me a second. Thank you very much. I apologize.

[Mike Ryan]

Take all the time you need, man.

[John Zaslow]

The second part. Lost my train of thought now.

[Adnan Virk]

Okay.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, no, I left.

[Jeremy]

You're on it.

[Adnan Virk]

Hang on.

[Mike Ryan]

Let's help him find it.

[Adnan Virk]

Grab that rope.

[John Zaslow]

Help me.

[Adnan Virk]

It's dangling. It's right in front of him.

[John Zaslow]

Saying that. That it's dangling doesn't help me regain my song.

[Mike Ryan]

Something about two.

[John Zaslow]

Oh, yeah. So the other thing I'm hearing, though.

[Mike Ryan]

Why don't you start your point from the start?

[Jeremy]

Okay.

[John Zaslow]

The first thing you're hearing is it seems like Mike McDaniel may still be the coach after this year.

[Adnan Virk]

There.

[John Zaslow]

The second thing you're hearing right now is that Tua, it's going to be incredibly hard to get rid of him. I. I can't do another year with these guys. With McDaniel and Tua, like, how does a general manager. You're telling me whatever general manager they wind up hiring is going to come in here because you'd like to believe that the new guy. Hey, do you like this coach? Do you want to keep him? I'm giving you the opportunity. Do you like this quarterback? Do you want to keep him? I'm giving you the Opportunity. You're telling me that whatever general manager comes in is gonna be like, yeah, of all my options in the world, I like what I've seen from Mike McDaniel. I'm keeping him. And of all the options moving forward, I like what's going on with Tua. I'm going to keep him as well.

[Dan LeBatard]

And I'm not saying who is durable at the quarterback position, who gets rid of the ball quick, who can do all the little things in a smart way, who doesn't throw interceptions because McDaniel schemes. You open, how about Steven Ross bring in a new gm, gets him to trade Tua, gets Tom Brady out of retirement, and now Brady to the Dolphins finally happens. He's not doing great at the broadcaster thing. You get that off of everyone's mind. You get him back down here in Miami. As the New England Patriots are emerging and the Buffalo Bills seem to be going, you know, the opposite direction, but at the same time are still hanging around at the very top.

[John Zaslow]

Beat the Chief instead of that rivalry last night.

[Mike Ryan]

And how about.

[Dan LeBatard]

How about Tom Brady out of retirement? That fixes everything.

[Adnan Virk]

I like it. Also because he gets to distance himself even more than he already has from the Raiders. Again, we don't talk about that anymore. Remember, he's like, tom Brady's gonna come in here. He's gonna win the winning mentality. And I was just like, ah. I just kind of know Mark Davis. We're not. We're not boys like that.

[Jeremy]

Like, he hit me up, he asked me, I said, yeah, why not?

[Adnan Virk]

Why not?

[Jeremy]

Who's gonna be there?

[Adnan Virk]

We're all gonna be there.

[Dan LeBatard]

Sell your stake there and put a little stake in the Dolphins.

[Mike Ryan]

Just saying.

[John Zaslow]

All I'm saying is. All I'm saying is this could be a pretty decent quarterback class in the NFL draft, and the Dolphins are going to have a high enough pick that they better select someone.

[Jeremy]

That's the thing, is if. Even if a GM were able to trade him, whatever genius plan that that is put together, that guy should get a raise. The thing is, if you cut him.

[John Zaslow]

You'Re dead at $110 million Broncos two years later, a good team. Yeah, okay, but.

[Jeremy]

But look at the Saints, who are in salary cap hell because of what happened with Derek Carr, and now you're looking around saying they're the worst team.

[John Zaslow]

But if you draft a good quarterback the way Sean Payton did, it doesn't matter. And, like, just draft the right guy.

[Jeremy]

Developing a guy, too, right? Like Bo Nix. If he didn't go to Sean Payton, he'd be a backup somewhere, maybe.

[Adnan Virk]

Correct.

[Jeremy]

Maybe like that's what we're looking at. Michael Pennick's like a guy who sat behind who's.

[John Zaslow]

But I just, I hate the idea that they can't just cut to it.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, you can.

[John Zaslow]

Yeah, you can. Like they're going to be shitty either way with a dead cap hit or not. Yes, you can.

[Adnan Virk]

Does to have any. Not that that would bear into your decision to cut him or not. Is there any potential for TUA to have a Daniel Jones Sam Darnold glow up post Dolphins so limited.

[John Zaslow]

I mean, my, my case is too. Like, I, I don't think it's like, I think he's washed. I don't think he's a good quarterback anymore. I think once in a while you'll. Once every few games you'll get a good game. When a couple years ago is once every few games you get a bad game, it's the opposite now. Like, I, I think he's washed. So my answer is no. I don't believe that.

[Adnan Virk]

I mean, we saw those other guys look pretty washed in their own right. Maybe not in a, in the physical.

[John Zaslow]

No, I don't think they're watched. I think we were thinking that they're just not that good.

[Adnan Virk]

Right.

[John Zaslow]

We hadn't actually seen the potential coming out yet. We have seen it with Tua and he's not that guy anymore. Like, we've seen it with TUA on this exact team. It's the same scenario. So that's why I think the situation is a little bit different.

[Dan LeBatard]

And the reason you look at those guys and see them have success is like they always had the physical tools that could make them good.

[John Zaslow]

They were clearly just in a shitty situation.

[Dan LeBatard]

Exactly.

[Mike Ryan]

To us, in the same situation, physically different.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Right.

[Dan LeBatard]

Like, and he doesn't seem to be a guy that was ever going to all of a sudden figure it out. He figured it out early. Now you have all those guys have crazy arm strength, the ability to move around. That's a different thing than what you get with to a skill set.

[John Zaslow]

Like, I mean, I know it's, it's a hard thing for us to do, especially we're talking about football players. And to say, just with us watching it, to say that that guy looks like he's playing scared, but how many times during that Baltimore game on Thursday night plays made out there? It's like, yeah, he looks like he's scared playing quarterback now, Zaz, what did.

[Adnan Virk]

You think about his comment that like, about his height? That's the first time I've ever heard. Even though for years short quarterbacks were discriminated against in the draft because all he can't see over his line. And it took guys like Doug Flutie showing, like, it doesn't matter then. And Drew Brees, I mean, two weeks before that.

[John Zaslow]

When's the last time you heard a quarterback talk about the other quarterback they were going against in Josh Allen and say I'm not as good as.

[Adnan Virk]

Yeah, I mean, it is pretty weird. Like, it all feeds into what you're talking about when you talk about fear. It's like, I don't think this guy believes in himself anymore. Right. Like, the fact that he's. That he's saying I'm too short to see over the line. I'm like, that's like. You never say that as a, as a short quarterback because that's the first thing people think when they're trying to evaluate you.

[Jeremy]

You know who's not saying that?

[Mike Ryan]

Drew Brees.

[Jeremy]

You know who's not saying that? Bo Nix. You know who's not saying that?

[Dan LeBatard]

Baker.

[Jeremy]

All guys that are shorter than him that are.

[John Zaslow]

That play really well even now while Russell Wilson sucks. You're not going to hear Russell Wilson.

[Jeremy]

You would never say. Would never say that. What is Tua's plus attribute?

[John Zaslow]

I mean, it used to be that he was accurate, right?

[Jeremy]

Okay. No. Like, that's the only thing. Arm strength?

[Adnan Virk]

No.

[Jeremy]

Leadership? Not really. Durability? No. Speed? No. Athleticism? No. His height? No. Arm strength? No.

[John Zaslow]

Like, and now apparently he also doesn't get along with the coach anymore.

[Jeremy]

So like, like, what is his thing where you trot him out and you'd be like, I'm, I'm like very excited that he's going to do X. Yeah. Nothing.

[Adnan Virk]

We're paying him a lot of money.

[Jeremy]

We can't take a $110 million cap.

[Adnan Virk]

That's. That's.

[Jeremy]

And he won't retire. That would solve everything.

[Dan LeBatard]

Just trade him for nothing. Like, if you trade him for nothing, at least it's half the cap hit. I think Barry Jackson put it out there earlier. If you trade him before June 1, it's like $45 million as a cap hit as opposed to the $90 million. It would.

[Adnan Virk]

But no one's cutting problem.

[Dan LeBatard]

You don't think that there's a team out there, not one team that. That's desperate enough to or even swap bad money?

[Adnan Virk]

I think the biggest thing is if I'm another team, I straights. The Dolphins are in and I'm doing the, The Sam Presti. I'm like, I'll take them. You gotta give me some with it. Give me a couple picks. So then it turns into, is TUA so bad for your team?

[John Zaslow]

No, I'd rather take the dead cap. It absolutely not like that. That's the difference with the NFL and the NBA, you know, like, no, I'd rather just take the dead cap.

[Adnan Virk]

Although we've seen that twice in the NBA. Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard. This past offseason, they were like, yeah, I'd rather just cut back, then have to give up things to get them off of my books. So, I mean, it does happen. But, like, again, I think this all goes back to. You went all in. The problem is, you went all in financially, structurally, everything with a bad hand.

[Jeremy]

You went in with a bad hand.

[John Zaslow]

With a gut shot, the gut shot.

[Jeremy]

And all of a sudden, you didn't have the glasses, you didn't have the reader, you didn't have the card shuffler. You didn't have anything. You said, all right, I've got this. And everybody around the league's like, like, okay, you're going to pay him that much.

[Dan LeBatard]

Nobody else would have if not Tom Brady, the announcer. I mean, I'd even rather maybe have Tony Romo come out of retirement and be my quarterback.

[Adnan Virk]

What was he doing there?

[Jeremy]

Is it like a fourth down? That was really short.

[John Zaslow]

He was trying to see, but it.

[Adnan Virk]

Sounds like something else. Can you play it again? And you'll see right here, hold.

[John Zaslow]

And then another hold right there.

[Mike Ryan]

I think it was.

[Adnan Virk]

I gotta tell you, many a time in my life, I've tried to hold and then hold again, only to end up saying, you gotta fight sometimes. You gotta call it.

[Jeremy]

You can't fight sometimes you can't fight.

[Adnan Virk]

Sometimes you can't fight.

[Jeremy]

Sometimes you just gotta let it go.

[Adnan Virk]

You think about baseball, you think about anything else? Margaret Thatcher on a naked, cold. Naked on a cold day.

[Dan LeBatard]

Baseball's not helping me fight.

[Adnan Virk]

I say baseball. And Jeremy starts thinking about that World Series game, and he goes.

[John Zaslow]

What are we talking about?

[Jeremy]

Have you ever tried to hold it and then hold it again?

[Adnan Virk]

It's hard to hold it sometimes. Sometimes you just gotta.

[Mike Ryan]

Twice.

[Adnan Virk]

Hey, if you get to twice, you already do.

[Mike Ryan]

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