The Big Suey: I Disagree With Your Analysis of My Analysis (feat. Nick Wright)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Big Suey: "I Disagree With Your Analysis of My Analysis" (feat. Nick Wright)

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
• Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz
• Episode: The Big Suey: I Disagree With Your Analysis of My Analysis (feat. Nick Wright)
• Release Date: February 13, 2025
• Description: From the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and company delve into sports, pop culture, and more. This episode features a heated discussion with Nick Wright on the recent Super Bowl performance of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Introduction to the Episode

The episode begins with standard banter between Dan Le Batard and Stugotz, briefly touching on personal experiences and setting a lighthearted tone. However, the atmosphere shifts when Nick Wright joins the conversation, bringing a more analytical and contentious tone to the discussion.

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Main Discussion: Chiefs vs. Eagles Super Bowl Analysis

1. The Controversial Performance of Patrick Mahomes

At [02:27], Stugotz opens the floor by referencing Tony's assertion that the Chiefs could have easily ended the season with a 5-12 record if not for specific game outcomes. This sets the stage for a deeper dive into the Chiefs' Super Bowl performance.

Nick Wright presents his analysis, challenging the notion that Patrick Mahomes' performance directly led to the Chiefs' loss. At [05:02], he argues that:

“If you can get home with four, you really can hurt the great quarterbacks.”

He further elaborates at [06:02] that the Eagles' defense effectively neutralized the Chiefs' offensive strengths, comparing the situation to the 2007 Patriots' collapse:

“Both of those exact two things to the letter happened in the only other football game of my life, not Greg Cody's life... Where a team walked onto the field and knew, if we win today, we're the greatest team of all time.”

2. Debating the Notion of "Choking"

Stugotz presses Nick on his analysis, suggesting that attributing the loss to Mahomes "choking" under pressure is a mischaracterization. At [19:17], Stugotz states:

“How is that not, how is that not an indictment? You're saying that Patrick Mahomes choked.”

Nick Wright counters by emphasizing the team's overall performance rather than singling out Mahomes. At [37:50], he clarifies:

“The Eagles just had a very, very, very elite team, like top to bottom, offensively, defensively. There were no holes in that team.”

This exchange highlights the tension between individual accountability and team dynamics in sports analysis.

3. Legacy and Pressure on Athletes

The conversation shifts to the broader implications of such high-stakes performances on an athlete's legacy. At [21:57], Nick discusses the impact of repeated high-pressure situations:

“It's boring media. We are judging his career when it's possibly not even halfway over.”

Stugotz questions the fairness of labeling Mahomes as a "choker" based on a single game, especially considering his young age and potential for future growth:

“He's 29. And we're doing the sports media thing where we're completely judging his career when it's... Maybe not even halfway over.”

4. The Role of Media and Public Perception

Nick Wright delves into how media narratives shape public perception, often unfairly idolizing athletes while scrutinizing their occasional failures. At [35:29], he states:

“It's totally unfair to expect athletes, great athletes, to be superhuman relentlessly and not allow them the occasional bad game, albeit even if it comes in a Super Bowl.”

Stugotz echoes the sentiment, expressing frustration with the media's tendency to "choke" narratives onto athletes:

“But now the biggest Chiefs fan that there is is on here saying, ah, there was some mental frailty there.”

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Notable Quotes and Highlights

• Nick Wright [05:02]:

  “If you can get home with four, you really can hurt the great quarterbacks.”

• Nick Wright [06:02]:

  “How did the 07 Patriots unstoppable team lose? They got...”

• Stugotz [19:24]:

  “But you're saying, you're choosing to be right and resolute in your firm, firm belief that that Kansas City Chiefs team is so good that it would never think itself a lesser team...”

• Nick Wright [21:39]:

  “I disagree with your analysis of your analysis.”

• Stugotz [32:00]:

  “That's the whole thing, Billy. You don't get argument television.”

• Nick Wright [35:29]:

  “I think it's totally unfair to expect athletes, great athletes, to be superhuman relentlessly and not allow them the occasional bad game…”

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Conclusion and Takeaways

The episode culminates in a reinforcement of differing viewpoints between the hosts and Nick Wright. While Stugotz and Dan advocate for a more balanced view that acknowledges both individual and team performances, Nick emphasizes the undue pressure placed on star athletes and the problematic nature of media-driven narratives that can tarnish reputations based on singular events.

Key Takeaways:

• Team vs. Individual Performance: The loss in the Super Bowl is dissected not just as a failure of Mahomes but as a culmination of both team dynamics and the opposing Eagles' elite performance.

• Media Influence: The hosts critique how media narratives can unfairly label athletes, influencing public perception and legacy based on episodic performances rather than sustained excellence.

• Pressure on Athletes: There's a discussion on the unrealistic expectations placed on athletes to maintain superhuman performance levels, ignoring their humanity and susceptibility to occasional underperformance.

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Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a compelling exploration of sports analysis, legacy, and media influence. The dynamic between Dan, Stugotz, and Nick Wright provides listeners with a multifaceted perspective on a high-stakes sports event, encouraging deeper reflection on how we evaluate and support our favorite athletes.

Transcript

[Dan LeBatard]

You're listening to Giraffe Kings Network. Ever since switching to T Mobile, something weird has been happening. I get to cut lines.

[Stugatz]

Oh, right this way.

[Dan LeBatard]

Who, me? I can stream shows at 30,000ft and I was able to buy reserve tickets for my favorite band.

[Stugatz]

It's not just you. With T Mobile, everyone can get VIP status. That means access to exclusive events and experiences just for being a customer. At t mobile. VIP means y o u check out the VIP treatment@t mobile.com benefits.

[Nick Wright]

You know that sound? It's the sound of money hitting your Venmo account. A friend paying you back. Or maybe it's getting cash back from your favorite business when you pay with the Venmo debit card. Or it's realizing you can pay with Venmo at checkout at thousands of brands. Now there are so many more ways to answer the question. What's your Venmo? Download Venmo. Today the Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank N.A. pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated. DOSH cashback terms apply. Welcome to the Big Sui presented by DraftKings.

[Stugatz]

Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to.

[Nick Wright]

The other Dan LeBatard podcast. I'm sorry. I'm not going to apologize for that.

[Stugatz]

In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody fries that if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys. I've done it. And now here's the marching man to.

[Nick Wright]

Nowhere fat face and the habitual liar.

[Stugatz]

Tony is angling to be a Nick Wright rival.

[Nick Wright]

He.

[Stugatz]

He says he's trying to incite the vanquisher to bring him out. Go ahead, Nick. What did you think? I saw you waiting and I saw you getting agitated while we were talking. What. What are your thoughts? And welcome. Nice seeing you.

[Nick Wright]

You too. Well, you know, I. I was a little agitated, but only because I couldn't hear the content. So I don't know what you guys were talking about. And you and I, you know, I'm a bad texter, but I assume you brought me on talk about that. Bronnie James, step back. Oh, is LeBron such a bad dad now? Oh, kid. Young kid got his sea legs under him out here cooking. We don't want to talk about any other alleged goats children on this show. I know that. But my goodness gracious. How are you guys? I don't know what else. It's basketball season.

[Stugatz]

I'm sorry, sorry, sorry for your loss.

[Nick Wright]

You've transitioned, huh? I mean, what. You know. Oh, you want to talk about the Super Bowl? I mean, you guys are forward. You know, this new media. It's Thursday. That was. We're in the 2025 football season. But I suppose we could look back. Dan, I should have known this might happen, and I'm going to show you why. Reach behind me and hold up the thing I've always wanted my entire life. Because I'm a child of the 80s, I respect physical print media. Wow. A newspaper. And days before the Super Bowl. It's been a while. This was in the Washington Post. You see that glorious picture right there? And if my life were a movie, that would have been the culmination of the montage of endless winning.

[Stugatz]

The. By the way, I need to tell people who didn't see the blur there that that's a. That's a feature story on you. Correct. As a.

[Nick Wright]

In a Louis Vuitton jacket.

[Stugatz]

That's.

[Nick Wright]

That's you feature story on me in a Louis Vuitton jacket that I bought from a guy in Copenhagen a year ago to wear to the Chiefs parade about how. Listen, I don't. You guys can. You guys can of me all you want. I am an open book on this show. I think I come. One of the reasons I come on this show, other than the fact that I love Dan, is I think it makes me more humanized. Now, do I occasionally imply to the audience I might have a little dispensable income to buy Louis Vuitton jackets from Europe or to gamble? Sure. But the audience gets it. I've deserved it. I've worked hard. Back to the story. Yeah. So I've always wanted that. I've always wanted a newspaper article I can put in my office about me and the Times, the Post, something. And the story was the gist of it was my career arc and a career theoretically taking off right alongside my hometown Chiefs team. Took off. It was almost too good to be true. And then it was. And now I have to deal with one of the worst super bowl performances of all time, which I can deal with. But what I am not as prepared to deal with as I shake in preemptive anger is folks that either just started watching football or total morons or just don't care about the truth. Acting like, well, if a quarterback's that good, does he ever have that bad of a playoff game? And the answer is yes, every single one of them. Always. So I'm doing okay.

[Stugatz]

Before you came on, Tony was saying that because of the one score game and 120 that the Chiefs could have easily been 5 and 12 this year.

[Nick Wright]

Okay. Yeah. I mean, that's, listen, that's why Tony's on that side of the room to not really pepper in those sports. Come on. I mean, I mean, the thing is like, I like Tony, but I'm just telling you. Yes, I, I, I agree that if you turned their wins into losses, their record would have been worse. That's all I'm saying. Okay.

[Stugatz]

All right. So, but what, what is the explanation though, Nick? Because I was saying if you keep playing that game, I think it's going, going that way. I don't think Mahomes forgot how to play football. I don't think Andy Reid and Spags became stupid. I think Spags stopped what the Eagles do best. And I didn't think that anybody could do that. And what happened after that is just, you got mauled the way every team would get mauled if those were the discrepancies on both lines.

[Nick Wright]

So here's the thing though. It should, those, those discrepancies shouldn't have been that, it shouldn't have been that big of an edge. The Eagles in the super bowl two years ago had the most sacks of any team in 30 years. The, or since the late 80s, I should say. So more than that, the Eagles this year were middle of the pack in sacks. And the Chiefs, while they had an issue at left tackle, and so they slid their guard over to tackle. It's not like they were the worst offensive line in football. We didn't, we went into the 2020 Super bowl saying, oh man, you got four backups on the offensive line that could go poorly. And it did. So I, I credit the Eagles players and game plan and execution. But to answer your question, it's why it went the way it did is a twofold reason that we actually oddly have. For both of the two reasons. I'm about to give you an exact one to one corollary for it, which was the first reason is a very, very simple one that not that smart people will say to try to sound really smart, which is, you know, if you can get home with four, you really can hurt the great quarterbacks. Like, yeah, no, man, we understand the math of the game. The idea always imagine if you could get home with one, you drop 10. Like the fewer you have to send and still create the pressure. The, the, the better it is. And the other reason is for the first time all year, the moment got too big for him. And that to me, and that includes Patrick and people can say, oh, well, that's disqualifying. But here's the one to one example. Both of those exact two things to the letter happened in the only other football game of my life, not Greg Cody's life, because his team did it of my life. Where a team walked onto the field and knew, if we win today, we're the greatest team of all time. How did the 07 Patriots unstoppable team lose? They got. The Giants got home with four and Brady got shaky and they only scored 14 points. They walked into that game knowing, we win today, we're the greatest team of all time. How did the 2024 Chiefs lose? Eagles got home with four. And the moment of we walk off the field today with a win. We're not the greatest single season team of all time, but we're the greatest team of all time. This three feat and the moment got too big for him. And so that is what it is. It's, you know, it's heartbreaking that they played their worst game in the biggest moment. But the Eagles deserve credit. And I'm glad you pointed out the thing about Spags. I, I feel like the only chief, and I'm sure he doesn't, but person involved with the Chiefs that could sleep easy was Spagnolo, who did do a great job at what everyone, myself included, thought the key to the game would be, which is, can you slow down Barkley? They didn't slow down Barkley. They shut down Barkley and it didn't matter. Nick, you said earlier that, you know, some of the great quarterbacks of all time have had a bad playoff game. And you're right, for the most part, Mahomes has had two now, and he's done it in the Super Bowl. He was bad against Tampa. He was bad against Philadelphia twice now.

[Stugatz]

But we remember the Tampa game's not fair, right? Like, he was running in circles toward his own.

[Nick Wright]

He had a rating of 32.3 in the game. Okay, hold on. Let me respond to both of these. Let me respond to both of these. Stu got you care about his passer rating in this game? Because it wasn't that bad, or are you gonna say no? I watched the game. I know he played terribly because that's what I would say. But the numbers, look at the numbers. So don't, don't do that. Don't be like, for this game, the numbers don't matter. And for the Tampa game that we all saw, the numbers do matter, because that would be ludicrous. However, let's Talk about it because this, you're right. So let's just say the Tampa game was a terrible game. And you said most, you know, most quarterbacks have had terrible playoff games. No, all quarterbacks have had terrible playoff games. And we do this weird thing and this oddly does somehow end up coming down to what all sports conversations come down to, which is the lionization of Michael Jordan's career has polluted how everyone views sports. Which is why when Tom Brady was going for the three peat and he played terribly and threw a pick six to let the game get out of hand and lost to Jake Plummer, no one cares because it was in round two. And Joe Montana when in the smack dab middle of his career. Three straight years in the playoffs. Three straight one and dones three straight playoff games with zero touchdowns total. Three straight playoff games where he back to back playoff games where his team scored three points. Three straight playoff games where they were outscored by a combined 102 to 40. We can all be like, man, Joe Cool never played poorly in the Super Bowl. Well, maybe he would have if he hadn't played so terribly that they got whacked 49, three in round one. And so what we're not going to do is act like if you play your worst game of the year to prevent you from getting to the super bowl, that's fine. But if you play really well to get there and then play poorly, that's different. That's ludicrous. That would mean it would have been better for Patrick this year had he, he choked against Josh Allen last round instead of outplayed him and beating him for the fourth time in the playoffs. Intellectually we all know that's true, that each round you win is better than losing in that round. Why don't we accept that? Well, that's actually a Michael Jordan story. Is Patrick Mahomes done?

[Stugatz]

I'm glad, I'm glad we have, I'm glad we have what Michael Jordan thinks about this. I didn't think we'd get to that point soon enough. You're red faced, Nick. You're red faced and you're annoying again because you're, you're, you're not wrong in what you're saying. But you're coming on here and you've been so wrong about how that was all going to end that I think people want to see you batted around the way that, the way that you.

[Nick Wright]

Were on your own show. So here's the thing. How this, how wrong I was compared to my contemporaries is actually the Exact same logical argument. The question, am I more wrong for picking the Chiefs to make and win the super bowl than the folks not naming names but Rex Ryan and others who said they were going to go one and done. Was I more wrong for having the wrong winner in the super bowl when I had the right team in it than Draymond Green who said, I've seen teams like this, they get beat in the first round. So again, like, I get it, the stage gets bigger, the audience gets larger so people have more eyes on it. And I. And I've got to eat this one. And if people watch. First things first, 3 to 5pm Eastern on FS1. You should check it out. I literally had confetti cannon shot in my face on national television. I. I had the runner up of American Idol sing in my ear, Tom Brady is the goat. And I took it like a champ because Monday is the day for me to have to eat it. Tuesday is the day for me to kind of have to eat it. Wednesday and Thursday are the days for me to once again be. Take on the heavy burden of the only sane person in sports media and pump the brakes on all the. This never would happen to Brady. Brady threw three picks in the wild card round when he was 32 years old to lose to Joe Flacco. Three picks in the first quarter. 33. 14.

[Dan LeBatard]

So, I mean, it was obvious what happened in the game, which was the refs made that really bad call on the first drive, the offensive pass interference, and everyone saw, oh, my God, they're gonna. They're gonna do this again. They're gonna give the Chiefs a Super Bowl. So the call came from New York. Hey, guys, we gotta make sure now that the Eagles win this game because everyone's onto us. We can't let them do it again. I mean, it's very obvious what happened there.

[Nick Wright]

I'm sorry, you guys didn't have Jessica's mic on. You just had a total doofus talking for a minute there. It was wires.

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, the jig is up. We all know it' rigged, right? Like, that's what happened mid game. They're like, we gotta. We gotta. We gotta rewrite a new script. We gotta write a new script.

[Nick Wright]

Here's the thing on that. Oh, no. And now I'm. I'll just bring the mood of the room down.

[Stugatz]

Here we go.

[Nick Wright]

I actually think engaging in any of that is tangibly bad for our business. So I don't like. I think the. The reason we all get these awesome jobs and platforms and opportunities is because people credibly believe in the sport. And the fact that the players, that the owner, the. The commissioner were all asked about this nonsense leading to the Super Bowl, I think was one of the true sour points of this NFL season. And, and again, if we like the. The iconic image of this football game is Patrick Mahomes getting two hands dead to the face from Jalen Carter. And It's. It's on NFL.com right now as. As like, what a play. And so we all know there's missed calls in the NFL. It's. It's a shame to me that the Dove Kleinman's of the world have. Have created this as a legitimate talking point.

[Stugatz]

I. I need to let you go now, but I think you just called.

[Nick Wright]

I got five minutes.

[Stugatz]

Did you call Jess? Bad for business. Did you call? Is that what you just did after.

[Dan LeBatard]

I mean, it's obviously rigged. I've been saying it all season, Dan. This is something I certainly believe in. So thank you, Nick, for. For really explaining to us why it's not a good.

[Nick Wright]

No, I know. So. So here's the thing, and I don't mean to be harsh, and I was joking the last time I was on about Jess being added to the rivals list, but maybe I shouldn't have been. I know you're kidding. I know you're, like, now patronizing me and like, trying to act like I missed it. I know you're kidding. I. It's very rare a conversation goes on that I don't see everything that's happening in it. I am simply saying, I think even the joking is tangibly bad for our industry. So is Jessica individually bad for the industry?

[Stugatz]

You did call her a doofus.

[Nick Wright]

Name. Calling a rival name call doofus is, I think, the kindest of the insults.

[Stugatz]

Okay.

[Nick Wright]

Throw that on the poll.

[Stugatz]

All right.

[Nick Wright]

What's the meanest?

[Stugatz]

Put it on the poll. It. No. Thank you, Billy. Thanks for all your help there. Put it on the poll. At Lebiton show is doofus the kindness of the insult. So let me let you off on this note. I wanted to talk basketball. We'll talk a number of different things. But you are choosing, I believe. I believe this is where your ego gets the best of you, as it sometimes does for all of us. You are choosing to be right and resolute in your firm, firm belief that that Kansas City Chiefs team is so good that it would never think itself a lesser team to what it is that Philadelphia was. That if they played that game a hundred times, you couldn't be so Wrong. That they would lose it 100 times. But what you're choosing is to tell me that Patrick Mahomes straight out choked. If the moment is too big for Patrick Mahomes, then it's too big for everybody. And I think you're taking the result to do that. I don't think you actually believe that.

[Nick Wright]

No. So here's what, here's what I, I don't say anything. I don't believe. Here's what I believe. I believe the, in that game, the mismatch, what played out even though I didn't, I don't think it's a on paper mismatch. The mismatch between their offensive line and the Chiefs defensive line was going to win Philadelphia. The game Patrick playing his worst game in a couple years is what led it to be a blowout. And I, the when you're saying if Patrick can't handle it, no one can handle it. That's why I brought up the 07 Patriots is because we, we've. Every other team, every other team that has had the weight of a three peat on their shoulders has crumbled. And every other one crumbled at a stage earlier than the Super Bowl. The closest a team ever came was the 99ers, who, the third best player on their team on a very normal play, just fumbled the ball with minutes left and they lost. That's how they lost. So that like I, I, I don't think it's an indictment on Patrick, but I do think it's the reality. And then every team that has gone for an undefeated season, except for Greg cody's team, is 60 years ago.

[Stugatz]

How is that not, how is that not an indictment? You're saying that Patrick Mahomes choked. How is that not an indictment?

[Nick Wright]

He's supposed to be different, Nick. Well, hold on. He can be different than every other active quarterback and different than basically every other all time quarterback and still not immune to any of this. Like I, I did you, I felt. Brady choked, you know.

[Stugatz]

Okay, but you're. So you're saying flatly that your quarterback, your beloved quarterback, a champion, that his mental strength wasn't strong enough. Not just for the pass rush. For the moment.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I, I think the moment got to the entire team. I do.

[Stugatz]

But that's choking. You're saying, instead of saying you're wrong, you're saying your team choked.

[Nick Wright]

No, hold on, I'm. No, no, hold on. I am definitively wrong. I thought they would win. I thought they would win by 10. I am not running from being wrong. About this football game. What I am saying is I, I don't look at individual 11 off instances of the moment got to us as being an indictment of a player as a whole. I. The greatest athlete I've ever seen in my life. But choked in 2011. It doesn't at all change how I view him now. And so like I, I, maybe I view it differently than others. Repeated choking is a totally different thing. And that's why I, I'm. You push back and I push back. I don't view this like the 20. I thought Patrick played well in the 2020 Super Bowl. And the stats don't back it up. The video does that to me. Was not at all anything like this in, in any way shape or form. But I. Yeah. I mean it's not that I'm trying to slough blame onto them to save myself. I was the wrongest person in social media. I'm not this game. No.

[Stugatz]

But Nick, I'm not talking about the game. I'm saying that to say that Patrick Mahomes choked in this spot was not mentally right for. It isn't about this game. It's about your having to be wrong about what you think this meme is.

[Nick Wright]

No. And I. And Right. And this is where I'm telling you. Like I disagree with your analysis of my analysis. I, I do not think there is.

[Stugatz]

That's a great T shirt. That is a great T shirt. I disagree.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, I mean I, I do. And I haven't said the word choked. You keep.

[Stugatz]

Then what is. What is the most. Nick, you haven't said it because they're your team and the moment's too big for them. Is saying it like you're just. You're just putting it in rose colored and rose colored homerism.

[Nick Wright]

Oh, I reject that as well. The moment got too big.

[Stugatz]

That's choking. That is choking. That's the definition.

[Nick Wright]

Maybe say it. You'll feel better.

[Stugatz]

You'll feel better.

[Nick Wright]

Just.

[Stugatz]

How is that not the. What is the definition of choking?

[Nick Wright]

Well, I don't. Jess, why don't you look that up. You're not doing anything right now.

[Dan LeBatard]

Was gonna make a really inappropriate joke and he decided not to.

[Stugatz]

See you later, Nick. Good seeing you. Every day. Three to five Eastern.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. And. And so. Hey. And subscribe to what's writing the great. And. And. And lastly, I. Who should I apologize to? Tony or Jessica? I can't have them both against doofus. I'm good. You don't have to apologize to me.

[Stugatz]

Yeah.

[Nick Wright]

Okay. Jessica. I shouldn't have called you a dude.

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't want an apology from you.

[Nick Wright]

Whoa.

[Dan LeBatard]

We're enemies.

[Stugatz]

Rejected rivals.

[Nick Wright]

Rivals.

[Stugatz]

Rivals.

[Nick Wright]

Rival enemies. There's you and the choker.

[Stugatz]

This is unbelievable, folks.

[Nick Wright]

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[Dan LeBatard]

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[Nick Wright]

Jessica. Holy. I got the most gorgeous roses. I don't think I ever got that many roses in my whole life. Certainly not from your lovely grandfather. May I still rest in peace? Thank you. You made my day. I mean, they are gorgeous. Never had so many roses in my whole life. 85 years. Holy.

[Dan LeBatard]

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[Stugatz]

Dan LeBatard.

[Nick Wright]

We got Afrini Hardaway.

[Stugatz]

Afrini. Who is Afrini Hardaway?

[Nick Wright]

Trying to read fast. UD was on the team. Luke Jackson, Bobby Jones, the Matrix, Shawn Marion. Stugats, Zo Shaq, Smush Parker, Chris Quinn.

[Stugatz]

Wait a minute.

[Nick Wright]

D. Wade, Jason Williams. They're all right. I mean, stacked roster. This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats.

[Stugatz]

How did everyone think that went? He. He does our job for us when he comes on here. He's always entertaining. I. I really always enjoy listening.

[Dan LeBatard]

I just heard Michael Jor so many times. I just tuned out after that.

[Nick Wright]

I just, I perked up. Yeah, he called Tom Brady a choker, which I thought was an understated nugget.

[Stugatz]

Well, but can we examine this part of it for a second? Because I, you know, I'm going to object to the analysis of a quarterback. We were all saying before the game, like, this is, you know, before that game. All of us are saying, you know what? I just saw Tom Brady go to 10 Super Bowls, and he won seven of them. And he's clearly the greatest of all. The greatest knowing how to win. But Mahomes is coming for him. And if he gets this one, I'm going to put him in the conversation because he's doing it faster. Knows how to win. Knows how to win. The Chiefs were favored in that game because everyone bet on. Knows how to win there. The empirics of that.

[Nick Wright]

They bet on him.

[Stugatz]

But the money, that. That's unusual, right? It's one thing for gas bags to talk about a game and have an opinion about it where the money goes on something we could definitively look at the analytics and let's get that Dominique Foxworth sound so I can ask all of you guys who it is that you enjoy hearing from on football. Analytics that have sort of corroded the game in some sewage that I know some learning that Greg Cody and Stu Gotts do not want. But the Chiefs were favored in that game by one point. And America would tell you that that is only because Patrick Mahomes knows how to do something with Andy Reid that other teams simply don't know how to do. Like that. You can analyze it all the other ways you want, but they're like, oh, we've doubted them all year. They win those two playoff games, they just beat the Bills. Okay? They're favored in the game. Then you watch the game and you're like, why were they favored? And why would it be that obvious that they should not have been favored? And now we all go back and reexamine and do the thing of. I agree with your analysis, but I disagree of your analysis of my analysis, which I want to be a T shirt, by the way. Levitar. Com. It's a good. It's a good new show. I disagree with your analysis of my analysis. Is a good name for a show.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah. A little wordy.

[Stugatz]

Yes, agreed.

[Nick Wright]

But fun. I love the wordiness. Everything is acronym ID A G. There's too many letters. Still wordy. It's fair to say, though, that that betting line late in the week went from two and a half to one, which is a pretty big drop. There was a lot of late money, smart money going in on Philadelphia. I personally picked the Eagles to win. I think they had a much better roster. But I reject. As Nick Wright rejected, I reject the idea that just because you lose a game and have a bad performance, it means you choked.

[Stugatz]

Okay.

[Nick Wright]

I don't think that's okay.

[Stugatz]

But can I do this with you guys then? Because I really do want to parse something here in the biggest game and then put it to bed. The way that the analysis works on these games where we're all talking so much about what is and isn't going to happen. What I'm asking you anyways, guys, you all told me, everyone said this is a quarterback for all time on knows how to win. And now their biggest public fan is on our show saying, well, on this one time, not only did he not know how to win, he forgot all the things about knowing how to win. Panicked, and then the game was over.

[Dan LeBatard]

Wait, Eric Stonestreet came on.

[Stugatz]

So tell me what, tell me what that is. Is that what we're gonna do? Is that what we're gonna do to the, to his legacy that it's one game and oh, I can't unsee that. And never mind all the things that I've thought about for the last three years. He choked. He wasn't mentally strong enough for a big moment.

[Nick Wright]

The most predictable narrative in America coming out of that game was that A, the Chiefs dynasty is done and B, here come the Eagles, the next dynasty. Neither one of those things is automatically true. And it wouldn't surprise me if both of them proved to be false. I can't overemphasize that. It's sports. If, if the Chiefs played the Eagles next week and they and the Chiefs won, nobody should be surprised. Why does it have to be one or the other? I feel like we're being put in a spot where it's like, well, he, if he chokes, he's going to be a choker forever. He could, he just, he didn't have a good game. He choked in this game. But I don't think anyone's questioning his greatness. It's been twice now in Super Bowls where he's had a bad game. Nick was talking about other great quarterbacks having bad games. They weren't in Super Bowls, they were in wild card games. But he's also won three. Who cares? And he's probably going to win again. That's.

[Stugatz]

I think he is an all time.

[Nick Wright]

Great that I don't think this impacts his legacy. It only impacts his legacy in terms of chasing Tom Brady.

[Stugatz]

That's it.

[Nick Wright]

That's it.

[Dan LeBatard]

I just think we're doing like, he's.

[Nick Wright]

Never going to catch Tom Brady. How.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's just the.

[Nick Wright]

Tom Brady lost to Eli Manning twice. I understand that. And Nick Foles, Tom Brady's world killers. Tom Brady did not play that poorly. As poorly as Mahomes did in this past Super Bowl. He's any of those losses.

[Dan LeBatard]

He's 29. And we're doing the sports media thing where we're completely. We're judging his career when it's. And maybe not even halfway over. I understand. Like, we need something to talk about. It was a blowout. The game was not that interesting. It wasn't that fun. After the first quarter, we were all like, yikes. But like he's 29. Like, what. What else can you say other than like he's probably got like 10 plus years of doing this.

[Stugatz]

That's. No.

[Dan LeBatard]

Chances are he's going to be pretty good.

[Nick Wright]

That's not.

[Dan LeBatard]

I know it's not fun, but that's the truth. Yeah, it's the truth.

[Stugatz]

It is. It is the truth. And it is not fun. And when Billy says why does it have to be one or another or the other? I would say that's another good name for a sports show. It has to be one or the other. It can't. When you ask why. Why. No, it. That's the whole thing, Billy. You don't get argument television. You don't. This, this is another version of how are we going to morph the LeBron Michael Jordan debate? Jessica's tuning out on Michael Jordan debates because we've been doing it on 20 years on television. No. And everybody is. Everybody's tuning in, except tuning out. Except for Stugat.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Stugatz]

Because somehow the last. Look, we'll get tired of any excellence. And now it's happened to the last dance. It's happened. It happened to the Patriots. It happened to the Chiefs. We will bore with your excellence. And now it's happened to Michael Jordan.

[Nick Wright]

This is perfect though, right? Because LeBron, his career coming to an end. He's 40. He's about to be done. So we're. We're not having the active LeBron chasing Jordan conversation that's done and dusted. We need another active player chasing a ghost. Perfect. Insert Pat Mahomes who's now lost a Super bowl and his chase against Brady. I mean, this could not be better for sports media.

[Dan LeBatard]

Maybe all the sports commissioners come together and they script the Eagles in this game so that we have a new debate topic. Do you ever think about that, Dan?

[Stugatz]

Ok.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is good for. This is good for basketball. This is good for everybody. We're having goat debates.

[Nick Wright]

Good for business.

[Stugatz]

That. Yeah. He accused us and you and of being bad for business. He accused me of having dumb smart analysis of. Yes. Pressure with four changes things. Because that's why I was.

[Nick Wright]

It does though. That was a cheap show. It does. Good analysis.

[Stugatz]

Yes. It is also true, but not fun. And especially not fun for Patrick Mahomes. But I want to Ask you guys, based on the previous conversation that we were having about the nature of anxiety, right, because the definition of choking is that the anxiety gets to you and you're not, you know, you're not able to overcome it. We were talking about this early and I want to ask you guys, I saw that Colin Cowherd is saying that Kevin Durant has basically ruined his career by the way that his career has played out with some of the. That he made. But Kevin Durant, when we 10 years.

[Nick Wright]

Late to that party.

[Stugatz]

Yeah, but I want to ask you about the. I want to ask all of you about the corrosive effects of whatever it is that makes us bore with excellence faster. Because the way things are just going, where it becomes so pressurized for Kevin Durant that even four years of winning easy basketball next to Draymond Green is something he has to say. No, I don't want to do this anymore and don't send me back there. I've told you that you don't. Haslam and Mike Miller said of that four year run with LeBron, that was no fun. Like we celebrate, like none of that was going to work with joy. That was all anxiety. It was overcoming anxiety. But it was all bad the way that felt. And now Nick's telling you, do you know how hard it is to do this in the physical sport three straight times because of the drain of whatever the expectations are of every weekly anxiety. I know we think of these people as unhuman as Tom Brady likes to call them them. But these people were fighting through pain to get to the end of things. And also dealing with whatever the repressions are of. I don't know when I'm anxious, I'm supposed to overcome anxious. My entire training is don't choke in that moment. And now the biggest, biggest Chiefs fan that there is is on here saying, ah, there was some mental frailty there. And I'm just wondering.

[Dan LeBatard]

Paul Rudd was on.

[Stugatz]

I'm just wondering if you guys absorb the nature of the anxiety and what the accusation is when you say one of these people is not strong enough to overcome these things. Because choking, that's what you're calling that person. Weak. It's what you're doing.

[Nick Wright]

Well, he's saying he had a weak moment.

[Stugatz]

Maybe we have a weak, a weak moment in a time for his legacy in the way we do the measurements.

[Nick Wright]

Isn't he saying that they all had sort of a weak moment, weak game, the coaching staff, every player on the team and Patrick Mahomes, that everybody came out and Performed poorly. Because when that's the case and it's the full team and you're being pressured with four, you're probably not going to succeed. That doesn't mean you're a choke artist now. I think it's totally unfair to expect athletes, great athletes, to be superhuman relentlessly and not allow them the occasional bad game, albeit even if it comes in a Super Bowl. He's human. People have bad games. Saquon Barkley ran in mud. He had 57 yards on 25 carries.

[Stugatz]

The part, though, that bothers me about people have bad games. He had a bad game. There was no quarterback under that situation that was going to have a good one. He doesn't exist. He's never played the sport like. And then we make our examinations after that. No one, maybe I'll say someone can play a good game because Lamar Jackson might be doing something, running around away from defensive linemen that I can't explain, or Josh Allen might be able to do something. But those conditions for a quarterback in the super bowl, an avalanche for all of them, all of them who have ever played like. And, and you can see it in Patrick's feet in the second quarter. It's not because he went mentally frail. It's because the Eagles did that to him.

[Nick Wright]

And I think that's kind of the part that we were missing with the whole Patrick Mahomes conversation is the Eagles just had a very, very, very elite team, like top to bottom, offensively, defensively. There were no holes in that team. The one hole they had was probably their kicker. Right. Every other position, every other position group is elite. And it's like, that's the story. We're talking about Patrick Mahomes, but insert any other quarterback. And they're having problems with Joshua, with bg, with all, With Jalen Carter, with all these guys. Thank you, Tony. It's so weird what we're doing. We're making excuses and trying to figure out why the Chiefs lost the game. They lost the game because the Eagles are better.

[Stugatz]

Well, let me, let me ask all of them. Let me ask you all of this because that's easy to say now. I just, I want to tell.

[Nick Wright]

You said it before.

[Stugatz]

Yes. I want you early. Yes. Early. Yes. Greg Cody told you that he predicted the game correctly?

[Nick Wright]

Yes, I predicted this game three years ago.

[Stugatz]

That's right. He was ahead of everybody on that. I, I want to tell you guys a story from when I didn't know what I was doing as a. Like, I'm going to say I was 14 or 15 years old and I was coaching a football team of, you know, kids at a local optimist. And that season we went undefeated all season because I had a really good quarterback. I had the best quarterback and we were one of the few teams that actually had an ability to have a passing offense. But. And we'd beaten one team twice during the season. But this is where I realized that I was a really lousy coach. In the championship game against the team that we'd blown out with all of our fancy passing. Like in the second, second quarter of that game I fully realized, oh, I don't know what I'm doing. They know all the things that we're going to do and I don't have any moves. I'm 14 years old. Like I just had the best quarterback. And so now I'm losing by a lot and there is nothing I can do about it. I have no answers. I'm just watching it and I'm like, how is this happening? That's what Andy Reid felt like on. On Sunday.

[Nick Wright]

Wow. So you joked.

[Stugatz]

No, I just didn't know enough. I didn't know enough.

[Nick Wright]

So you're saying you choked Levitar Chok in the big game who was a 14 year old coach Football.

[Stugatz]

I was a very responsible.

[Nick Wright]

Different times back then.

[Stugatz]

Played me my entire life. The ability to you as coach is funny.

[Nick Wright]

Were you like in a suit on the sideline? Did you have a clip? How did this work? Bike shorts. I've got short shorts, tube socks tucked in, polo.

[Stugatz]

I did have bike shorts. Red.

[Nick Wright]

I feel like they were red. Respect the game.

[Stugatz]

Wait a minute. I might have the shorts. Wrong. The coaching shorts.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah, we know, we know.

[Stugatz]

Aren't my bicycle shorts bike the brand?

[Dan LeBatard]

You're right. Bike shorts. Are bicycle shorts like Sophies, like the coaching shorts?

[Stugatz]

Yeah, the coaching shorts. Are those synonyms? I'm asking.

[Dan LeBatard]

I've never heard of bike shorts.

[Nick Wright]

Every coach has bike shorts. They're not tight bike shorts. They're the loose but they're bike brand. Bike the brand. Bike the brand not. They're basically. They're like cut off baseball pants. Yes, exactly. Same material. Like a canvas almost. It's an important distinction. Distinction?

[Stugatz]

I was babysitting Frankie Lucido and he was ah, Frankie. Excellent athlete. At least in part because every day we were doing things like our T ball team was able at the end of a season to actually get the third baseman to throw it to the pitcher to throw it to the first baseman successfully. To get a kid running from the tee box into the dugout instead of toward first base. Because this is what I was doing with portions of my childhood. What part of this are you guys not.

[Nick Wright]

You weren't eager to get your hand in the dirt? I mean, at 14, most kids are trying to play this.

[Stugatz]

I was also coaching. I was also. I was also playing coach.

[Nick Wright]

Wow. Dandy Reed. Dandy Reed. Were you fired after that game? After you blew the championship game? Do they fire 14 year olds? Because I feel like he should have been fired. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Stugatz]

The best quarterback. Who had the line. Dandy Reed. And where did it come from? And why was it given to two people at the same time?

[Nick Wright]

It came from Mali.

[Stugatz]

Okay, okay. All right. Don't do that anymore. Okay, gentlemen.

[Nick Wright]

It's a good line.

[Stugatz]

Yes.

[Nick Wright]

That's really good. Dad, you got to let him go. Listen, I don't. Dandy Reed.

[Stugatz]

I agree. Look, you guys are. I agree. You guys are not questioning the process. I'm questioning the process. What I don't want. Okay, While I will acknowledge that Dandy Reid is good, Molly, I don't want from another room somebody shouting to two of my co hosts, one of whom could be disoriented.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Stugatz]

At the same time. The same line. So that they say it at the same time.

[Nick Wright]

Stugatz is not disoriented. Plus, he said it first. I was just echoing him. I was reiterating what a great line Stugatz came up with. Thank you. So nice.

[Stugatz]

We said it twice.

[Nick Wright]

Yeah.

[Stugatz]

We can't have that room deciding these things. It's hard enough to wrangle these two on a Wild Billy Thursday without the help of Malley, who we've just introduced to the audience.

[Dan LeBatard]

Let Malley live. He's apparently an Eagles fan. This has been a great week for him, even though he's from New York City City and also as a Heat.

[Nick Wright]

Fan and a Mets fan.

[Stugatz]

Which big week for him do you think feels better? To Malley winning the super bowl or getting these two clowns to say Dandy Reed at the same time? That's a metal arc achievement right there. Hey, folks, it's Mike Ryan.

[Nick Wright]

It is big game week, and I've.

[Stugatz]

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[Nick Wright]

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[Stugatz]

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[Nick Wright]

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[Stugatz]

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[Nick Wright]

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[Stugatz]

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[Nick Wright]

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[Stugatz]

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[Nick Wright]

Because Miller Lite is the original light beer since 1975 and still the very best. One Miller Lite great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller.

[Stugatz]

Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer.

[Nick Wright]

Tastes like Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly.

[Stugatz]

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[Nick Wright]

And 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Dan LeBatard]

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[Nick Wright]

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[Dan LeBatard]

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