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- [00:02]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
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- [01:57]
Dan Le Batard
Welcome to the Big sui presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBatard podcast?
- [02:06]
Nick Wright
I'm sorry.
- [02:07]
Dan Le Batard
I'm not gonna apologize for that. In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging. I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys. I've done it. And now here's the marching man to Nowhere Fat Face and the Habitual Liar.
- [02:26]
Greg Cody
This episode of the Dan Lebatard show is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours.
- [02:31]
Dan Le Batard
I think that we have to start rooting for okc. We have to start because Wemby's about to hog all of these. It's going to happen very quickly, and he's going to ruin the sport. Nick Wright is here. Look, you hear him throwing things in the background. He fixed basketball on the Bill Simmons podcast. I'm hearing, to a great deal of applause. He fixed the entirety of the sport. He's the host of FS1's First Things first and what's Right with Nick Wright.
- [02:56]
Nick Wright
Hi.
- [02:57]
Dan Le Batard
The podcast. I am well, thank you. You object to Wemby dominating the sport first.
- [03:02]
Nick Wright
That it's going to get ruined just real quick because the. You mentioned my appearance with Bill. The. If people don't want to listen to the whole thing, there's a lot of, you know, different things the NBA needs to fix, but the simplest fix is just make dunks worth three as well. Just do that. That doesn't fix tanking, doesn't fix the injuries, but it sure fixes so many of the other issues we have. And it sounds crazy until it doesn't. You make dunks worth three and you have different styles of play. You are rewarding different athletes. You are getting back to the heart, the soul of the league, which is the sickest athlete to have ever lived. Competing with each other. Meet me at the rim. Dunks were three, and I don't know if that would be good for your future goat, Wimby, because that guy, you know, fancies himself just a taller Kevin Durant rather than, you know, a guy who's 7 7. We can talk Wimby, or we can talk about my brilliant dunksworth.
- [03:58]
Greg Cody
Okay, I wanna. I wanna question about your brilliant dunks worth three points suggestion here, Nick. So, number one, how do we determine, like, Blake Griffin used to do the deal where he would throw the ball into the hoop. So, like, is that a dunk? Like, what constitute. Does your.
- [04:13]
Nick Wright
Does your finger have to touch the rim? Zaz, I'm not. I'm not trying to always be combative with you, my friend, but you know how I know that is, you know, in search of A problem where there isn't one because you're only off the top of your head. Reference of that happening was in a dunk contest 15 years ago. I don't think that's so the. I mean, I think. I mean, I don't know. I mean, it's just the reference you gave. I. I think maybe I'm wrong. I think we pretty much know what a dunk is, what a dunk isn't. And when a guy.
- [04:50]
Dan Le Batard
It's a weird follow from you. He's bringing up a point now. It's not the first time I've heard it. Juju had it years ago. And we'll probably have a complaint about Nick stealing that the way Amin has complaints about Nick stealing stuff and putting them on a larger platform. We'll find out from juju later in the show. But it is an odd first question for you to have a nitpick on what's a dunk and what's not a dunk when we all know what a dunk is.
- [05:10]
Greg Cody
Okay, so I think. Okay, so, so. All right, then I'm stupid. The second part that I have, I think is more interesting.
- [05:16]
Stugotz
How powerful is that to admit when you're wrong and stupid? It should be liberated. You're stupid.
- [05:22]
Nick Wright
Lean in. How free is this?
- [05:27]
Dan Le Batard
Do you feel freer than you?
- [05:28]
Greg Cody
No, believe it or not, I don't feel liberated at all. Now you should learn to admit.
- [05:34]
Nick Wright
It's like when Dan finally admitted he has a fat face. You just disarmed so many of the attacks.
- [05:40]
Greg Cody
My neck.
- [05:41]
Nick Wright
It's just like, what are you going to do? Yeah, go ahead. Sorry.
- [05:42]
Greg Cody
My next and clearly less stupid question is I think that it sounds good in theory. All right. But I think I would slow the game to a crawl because players would foul the three point dunk attempt. So you can only get two free throws. Then it's just a free throw contest all game.
- [06:00]
Nick Wright
No, that is a more nuanced point that I'm interested in. And then. And you know what? My. I hadn't thought of that. But my snap response is not stupid. Well done. Not stupid at all. See, already once it. The moment you admitted to being stupid, you got smarter. So well done all around. I think you would have to adjudicate that. Just like you adjudicate a foul on a three if it is very clear the player is attempting a dunk and he got fouled. It's three free throws. Simple. Fixed it already. It was a smart question, but I fixed it already.
- [06:37]
Greg Cody
Now I feel liberated.
- [06:38]
Mike Ryan
There you go, Nick. Why not just make the three point line disappear and make every shot the same two points.
- [06:47]
Nick Wright
So I think I don't. Here's the thing on that, Greg. I don't hate that. It sounds crazy. I don't hate it because I do think basketball right now is teetering on a ledge of the smart way to play is diametrically repose. Opposed, pardon me, to the entertaining way to play. And therefore, how do you square that circle?
- [07:13]
Tony
I.
- [07:13]
Nick Wright
And so I was, and I talked about this. This is this juju. If he came up with that idea before I, I ced the ground to him. I like juju. I respect juju, and I wouldn't steal from juju. But I didn't know it. An idea that unabashedly is not mine. But I think kind of, you know, is. Don't say a thief is the Hollinger idea of just like baseball teams get to design their own outfield walls. Basketball teams draw their own three point line. And if a team says, I like this, we. If a team says, this is Hollinger's idea. If a team says we don't want a three point line, you don't have one. And that has two effects. One is you have to be able to win a bunch of different styles. And a sneaky, unintentional consequence of it is the regular season matters way more. Because if the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks are, you know, in a nip and tuck race for the one seed and it's like they don't have a three point line, if, if they get home court advantage, we're gonna have to win a series all by twos because they have giannis, like, that does make the regular season more important. And so those are, you know, those are just some, you know, back of the napkin ideas. But I would, Dan, love to talk about Wimby and I mean, doing the Simmons pod, but worse.
- [08:42]
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, that's what. So I was thinking.
- [08:44]
Nick Wright
No, that. Well, you guys, that's why I try to move on, you guys. I just. And it's not, it's not your fault.
- [08:50]
Dan Le Batard
I mean, it's not his fault. Can he hear me do, say Drew Ski? That's my inner monologue. Nick, we're going to have to keep explaining this to the guests. But that's just my inner monologue. It's. It's the voice that was in my head saying that me when Greg Cody with the nitpicks of Zaz and then Greg Cody comes in. Well, what about this? All of a sudden we're fixing the NBA Dumber than you and Bill Simmons did it on that.
- [09:16]
Nick Wright
Greg, Greg, you're always good with me, buddy.
- [09:18]
Mike Ryan
Thank you.
- [09:19]
Nick Wright
The first, the first or second, pardon me venture into the Le Batard universe after I was a one time and one time only guest on this show was when I was on Greg Cody and Chris Cody's podcast. That was my only appearance anywhere in the universe for like two years.
- [09:35]
Mike Ryan
Thank you.
- [09:35]
Nick Wright
I assum. I just you know, didn't respond to invites to a Means podcast. But still. All right, Wimby, that what's the next hyperbole with him you guys want to do? He was unbelievable in the first quarter last night. Don't get me wrong.
- [09:49]
Dan Le Batard
Oh I just think that OKC's got that as the problem. That's their only problem. They. They have a trouble with what is he's going to do to the sport.
- [09:56]
Greg Cody
And they went four out of five against OKC this year.
- [09:58]
Nick Wright
So. Oh, I think so. If the. So maybe I misinterpreted. I apologize. If you're saying the spurs right now this year are the biggest threat to Oklahoma City. I 100% agree. The where I have heard that conversation go is and man teams better start winning championships now because wimby's gonna own the league for a decade. Maybe, maybe. I I think the whatever concerns there were about him coming into the league as far as literally every single player in the history of the league 74 Taller has dealt with massive health issues still remain. And the fact that as great as he is there is I am yet to see the real obvious improvement from last year to this year. And I happen to believe he does not yet play a game that takes full advantage of his size. He is still one of at worst the six best players in the sport. And he absolutely already is good enough to be on a team as well built as the spurs. The best player on a champion.
- [11:16]
Dan Le Batard
But Nick, you saw he's going to learn that stuff faster than Shaq and LeBron learned it like Shaq and LeBron also learned that they have to play better in the post. Shaq developing more moves that made him an MVP and LeBron just playing in the post in general, he's going to learn it. He's 21 or whatever that. How old is he?
- [11:34]
Nick Wright
The. So I mean that's a great question. 22 but just turned 22. I. I would have also said 21. That wasn't a gotcha moment. I just was checking. Um. I. Yes, I agree he is going to learn those things. What I wonder is this. I wonder if he will. Young shaq and young LeBron, even though they had a lot of things to learn, still leaned into their physical gifts. Young Shaq was ripping down backboards and showing the league, even if he didn't do it as consistently. The fact that I am the best athlete in the league and the strongest guy in the league is going to be my strength. Young LeBron, before he learned to shoot, that was his strength. Wimby being 7 7, in my opinion, is his strength. And it seems to me like he goes back and forth game to game between leaning into that versus leaning into the fact that he is the most skilled 73 guy or taller in league history. And that's where whatever can. And again, it's not real concern. I just, I just pumped the brakes on this one guy is going to have a decade long reign. I don't know that I'm there yet with him, Nick.
- [13:01]
Zas
So I like to take. And the take that I was cooking up is right now we need OKC more than ever because of what Wemby's able to do. And I know in the beginning of the season he was playing more inside, but then he had the cash train, then he was out for a while, and now he's trying to drift a little bit more outside and play outside. The take was we thought OKC was going to win 80 games this year. We thought they were going to be the most unstoppable team of all time. They've backslided a lot. They've lost four out of five to Wemby and the Spurs. But we need them right now to block Wemby from whatever's happening there.
- [13:29]
Dan Le Batard
The idea, Nick, that I live in a world where you're fixing the NBA with Bill Simmons, and what I'm watching from these athletes is that Wemby has already made antetokounmpo the old iPhone like that. Evolution is crazy.
- [13:43]
Nick Wright
I disagree. And what I'm saying is I disagree with that. And that's where I think we are. So I think we get ahead of ourselves on a lot of this stuff. First of all, five of the last six NBA champions, a month into the season where they were the defending champion, everyone's like, well, they're obviously gonna win it again. And none of them made the finals. None of them made the conference finals in the year back. So as dominant as OKC was, a team that did need seven games to win the championship last year, that the, the. Nobody is going to stop this team. I thought, felt even though I was buying into it as Well, a bit, because it felt different. But it felt like the Celtics and the Bucks and. Hell, people forget the Lakers when they were defending champs. The only. The Nuggets. For sure. The only defending champ this decade that didn't feel inevitable to return was Golden State. Um. What's up, Mike? It's back slate.
- [14:46]
Zas
It's back slid. I'm stupid.
- [14:48]
Nick Wright
Oh, you're fine.
- [14:50]
Stugotz
He said backslide it. Don't worry about it.
- [14:52]
Nick Wright
It's all good. Everybody knew what he meant. What? You're doing grammar checks?
- [14:56]
Zas
Yeah, they like to do this to me.
- [14:58]
Nick Wright
I. You know what that feels? That feels targeted. And I wouldn't take it, brother. They do it. And the. But now I. I have to regain my train of thought.
- [15:09]
Dan Le Batard
You don't have to. It's okay. I wanted to talk football with you anyway. And we've gotten. We've backslided into way too much basketball.
- [15:15]
Zas
Now you're talking.
- [15:16]
Tony
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- [16:41]
Zas
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- [16:53]
Nick Wright
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- [16:55]
Zas
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- [17:06]
Dan Le Batard
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- [17:32]
Stugotz
Don LeBatard to US residents oh wow. It's in there.
- [17:37]
Dan Le Batard
It's better I think.
- [17:39]
Stugotz
I haven't been practicing stugats.
- [17:42]
Dan Le Batard
I didn't realize we had a substitute Complicated legacy brought to by headquarters.
- [17:48]
Zas
441 power line road second down to nine.
- [17:52]
Greg Cody
This is the Dan Levatar show with the St.
- [18:03]
Dan Le Batard
I want to ask you from the game or the halftime show, which is your preferred topic, which do you think?
- [18:09]
Nick Wright
Here's the thing. Last time you did a choose your own adventure style thing and I chose the sports and then I did the real life stuff after you got mad at me. So I will start with the real life stuff.
- [18:22]
Dan Le Batard
Mad at you. Just the floor is yours. Do whatever you want you've got.
- [18:25]
Nick Wright
I will start with the real life stuff. So I understand this is maybe a dangerous room or and shipping container to admit this to, but prior to the halftime show I was not very familiar with the work of Bad Bunny. I know I had heard his song like I I know he has a song with J. Balvine Balvin and Cardi B. I know he's wildly popular, but I did. I was not very familiar with him. Okay, so I went into that as pretty, you know, ignorant to the guy's music as anybody. And I'm also not really a big music guy. I'm more of, believe it or not, a sports podcast guy when I'm walking around or in my car. So I have a lot of musical, you know, vacancies in my brain. But it takes a sub 70 IQ to not recognize even though you couldn't understand if you didn't speak Spanish. The words of the songs that what this guy was trying to show America and the world at large is on the stuff that matters were all basically the same. We all, we all have weddings like that, just with different music and different food. We all have the old people in our community who hang out together by. Maybe it's old ladies playing bridge in some cultural communities, maybe it's mahjong in others. Maybe it's dominoes in those. We all, we all have these things that collectively connectively make us human. And the differentiators are absolutely meaningless to the bigger. Like the cultural differentiators are not the important thing. The important thing is we all celebrate live and die similarly. And I thought it was a beautiful message. And I also thought he did a better job than I think a lot of people would have done. And some people wouldn't even call it better job. But he had more self control in making it objectively apolitical by leading off the end with God bless America and then rolling in all of the other nations, all of the other Latin countries, all of the Western hemisphere countries. It was a true artistic attempt at uniting a massive group of people. And the fact that the response from some people who fancy themselves not only not dumb but thoughtful or smart or tastemakers or maybe even one day wannabe presidential candidates was, you know, I sure wish I understood the lyrics. Either shows a willful ignorance, an ossification of one's heart, or that you're just a dope. And so again, choose your own adventure on which door that applies to if you're one of those folks that was allegedly outraged by this. But I don't give a about Bad Bunny's music. I knew none of Bad Bunny's music. And I thought the message in that 15 minutes was beautiful. And I thought it should have been pretty obvious to everyone what the message was.
- [21:59]
Dan Le Batard
But what ended up happening afterward was sound like this. So explain and take us through what it is your reaction is. And you've answered some of this when Sound like this from shit stain and Sid Rosenberg. It was a bad football game. And when you couple that with Bad Bunny, who may have been the worst halftime show, not one word of English, not one word of English, one word. You combine the halftime show and the football game. I think Clay would agree. He's a great sports guy too. What a waste of three hours.
- [22:27]
Greg Cody
Clay.
- [22:27]
Nick Wright
Yeah, Bad Bunny. I didn't get one Word. I took German in high school, especially with my dad. He said, He's 81. He said, hey, this is the worst football game top to bottom ever.
- [22:38]
Tony
So.
- [22:39]
Nick Wright
So I think he was right on that one. Although Turning Point put together a great show.
- [22:43]
Stugotz
Sid looks great.
- [22:44]
Nick Wright
He does. It's a hell of a mustache. So I, I mean that. I, I try to catch him.
- [22:55]
Greg Cody
What's wrong?
- [22:57]
Nick Wright
I, that, that doesn't surprise you?
- [23:01]
Dan Le Batard
It is to throw him off there. You know how good you have to be with those Sid Rosenberger heads to throw this man off.
- [23:07]
Stugotz
Or you can just hold up a silence.
- [23:08]
Nick Wright
I mean, that one, that one, that, that's to me, not even that disappointing or surprising. That's. Just put the coin in the machine and get what you know you're gonna get. It was more other people that I have more professional or personal regard for than some of the people on that screen you just showed me, which of course, you know, was on, you know, sister network of the one who pays all my bills. And so that, that doesn't surprise me. The, the other folks that tried to. Let me. Let me say what I'm actually trying to say. I owe that to you guys. I have more respect for that than folks who try to. Both sides this stuff, who try to be like, listen, I. I'm a straight. I, I'm a straight shooter. I just call it how I see it. And gosh darn it, that sure, you know, I understand why that bothered people, even if I'm not. It's just everybody knows what you're doing, man.
- [24:18]
Dan Le Batard
But you have conflicts, I guess that everyone knows you're talking about Stephen A. Smith without saying it's about Stephen A. Smith. How about the football itself?
- [24:26]
Nick Wright
How about I didn't. Well, for, for the record, listen, I don't.
- [24:30]
Zas
The.
- [24:30]
Nick Wright
I don't think Stephen A. Was the only person I was talking about there. But of course. And I'm. My conflicts are not there. I, you know, I don't. I don't mind saying this. I. He can be upset with me or not. You guys know how much professional regard and respect I have for him in the sports take field and that he is the rabbit that I am chasing professionally. I've said that I've been open with that. That is not contradictory to the fact that I find a lot of his political commentary to be so transparent in. I am, I, I am trying to make sure that without. I don't ever have to actually give a real opinion. All I'm trying to do is expand my tent as big as possible. I think that is in times like we are in now and on important real life topics, I find that to be a damaging approach. Now on the game itself, if we. If we may for a moment or two, the question. So this is what has gotten thrown at me. I can't hold Drake Mays super bowl performance against him because I am the captain of the team. That it is logically ridiculous to say losing around early is. Is better than making the final round and losing there. And it's all, you know, it's all fruit of the poisonous lebron tree.
- [26:09]
Dan Le Batard
And that tree has not been poisonous for you. That tree has been bountiful for you. The poisonous LeBron tree.
- [26:16]
Nick Wright
Yeah.
- [26:16]
Zas
I mean.
- [26:17]
Nick Wright
Tony, you still like the watch, bro?
- [26:18]
Dan Le Batard
I do.
- [26:19]
Zas
I was gonna say we make a.
- [26:20]
Stugotz
Bet for next season.
- [26:20]
Nick Wright
Yeah. And so. And this by the way, a week from today, you guys can watch it on poker goes YouTube. I'll be playing in a game where table stakes are about this watch and against some of the best players in the world and some businessmen. And that game will probably end with me either getting another one or if it goes real poorly, this being like, hey, what's the price of gold per ounce at the moment? But that's neither here nor there. So here is my big takeaway. Going into the playoff run, I thought Drake May was a lock top five quarterback in the league moving forward. I just thought he checked so many of the boxes that I care about. The athleticism, the arm strength, the fact that he was so young or is so young, all of those things. He's in a good organization, good head coach. He was so irredeemably bad in every single first half and in at least two, if not three of the games overall that I have downgraded. What like where he is now to me alongside Caleb Williams on the. Probably will be awesome. But I'm not 100% certain yet.
- [27:44]
Dan Le Batard
Oh, wow.
- [27:45]
Nick Wright
Wow. And that has.
- [27:47]
Dan Le Batard
You're holding. No, you're just holding against him. The fact that I think he faced in the playoffs and you expect this to be great and grow, but the three worst defenses that will expose anyone who has skill position problems and offensive line problems. Like there. There couldn't have been a fourth defense that's even close to the three that made him look like that. And I'm with you. He looked progressively worse in each of the games.
- [28:11]
Nick Wright
So here's. So here's why I. Because I keep hearing that. Because obviously coast the TV show Kevin Wilde's die Hard Pats fan. I don't you, you only, you get cr. If you played one of, if not the toughest run of defenses in a playoff run ever and you played mediocre, I then give you a curve of man, you played unreal defenses and you were able to be mediocre. If you played, if you played these incredibly tough defenses and played awful every spot. That to me you don't, you don't get a boost from that. Like, you don't get, you get a boost if you're in an AP class and get a 70 on a test and it's like, okay, in a regular class that's probably a 90, but if you get a 15, nobody's like, well it was a hard test. It's like, no, you failed bro. And, and I thought the, I thought the fumbles were highly problematic. I thought some of those sacks were on him. I understand, you know, taking a decent guard at 4 overall to play left tackle hurt him. I get that. But I also, I, I couldn't in the super bowl. Clearly variable thought and he was almost right. Darnold's just gonna give it to us. And what was, and so what was so disturbing to me about that super bowl from Drake Mays perspective is first nine drives of the game, no turnovers, just punts. And the moment it was like, man, now we've gotta make plays. Final five drives of the game, all turnovers or touchdowns. And it felt like, ooh, that's kind of the Texans game too, right? You were hunting big plays, hit three of them and fumbled four times and threw a pick. The Broncos game you were so conservative on, I am not going to make the mistake. You made no big plays. It felt like what it was exposed a bit this postseason was against legitimate defenses. The cost of doing business for Drake May at this point in trying to make big plays is some catastrophic mistakes. And that is concerning. And then one other point on this. I am hereby demanding that the NFL take it can be a sixth round pick, I don't care, a draft pick from the New England Patriots for the super bowl injury report. Because I am not going to have a six month off season of Patriot fans saying, well, he, he was hurt, his shoulder was shot up, it was an injury. And the Patriots the day before the most gambled on football game of the year, removing him from the injury report, saying he's fine.
- [31:17]
Greg Cody
He's right.
- [31:17]
Nick Wright
Those two things can't both happen.
- [31:20]
Dan Le Batard
He's the host of FS1's First Things First. What's right with Nick Wright is the podcast he does with his son. I urge you to check that out. It is personal, it is intimate, and it shows you more of him than the TV show does because there's just more room. Thank you, Nick. Good talking to you.
- [31:36]
Nick Wright
Appreciate it. Thank you, Greg. Thank you, Zaz. Tony, I got your back, bro. Let's go mess with you. Talk to you later.
- [31:43]
Stugotz
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Zas
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Zas
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Stugotz
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Dan Le Batard
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Stugotz
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Dan Le Batard
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- [32:29]
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Dan Le Batard
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- [32:44]
Mike Ryan
I want to address Tony and all men who would wear that shirt in public.
- [32:49]
Stugotz
Stugats don't do it.
- [32:51]
Greg Cody
This is the Don lebatar show with the Stugats.
- [33:01]
Dan Le Batard
I wanted to talk to you guys about a couple of the things that he said, but before I do that, can you guys get me the audio of the last interception that Drake May threw because Julian Love, who intercepted it, called it. Called it on the sideline. We have the audio here. This is pretty cool audio. If you want to, like, be inside of the game and just hear what it sounds like when somebody is predicting that they're about to do something, then they do it. Then they're running to the sidelines scared because people are chasing them with the football. Oh, coming to you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's all right, though. I'm going to stay patient. I'm going to give me one classic young quarterback. He's. No, he's. I know as soon as that back foot hits. As soon as the back foot hits, he's going to where he wants, but he's pausing for a second to confirm that he's open. He's not blindly doing, like, Stafford. He's. There's, like, a little hits there. Okay, you can see you jumped that May from the shotgun. Second down and three steps up in the pocket.
- [34:09]
Nick Wright
Gonna let one fly.
- [34:09]
Dan Le Batard
Down the seam and it's intercepted. Julian Love. Julian love is right where he's supposed to be at free safety. You knew yours is coming. I'm telling you. Been in the race the whole time.
- [34:22]
Nick Wright
How about a little pick in the soupy?
- [34:25]
Greg Cody
Come on dude.
- [34:25]
Dan Le Batard
Love you the most. Damn. Picking the soupy at the end there unnecessary to say it that way.
- [34:31]
Nick Wright
They just won a championship with you.
- [34:32]
Stugotz
I dig it.
- [34:33]
Nick Wright
Sam Darnold to him after the game.
- [34:35]
Dan Le Batard
He'S like how about a pick in the soupy?
- [34:37]
Stugotz
Yeah. How much did you love the Stafford thing too? That was cool.
- [34:40]
Dan Le Batard
Dan like Dan's ears per click.
- [34:42]
Stugotz
Classic young quarterback. He's taking that little half beat to make sure the guy's open. He doesn't throw it blindly like Stafford. That right there that that should have just been the deciding vote. Not not the dude that voted for Justin Herbert. They should have just played that at the NFL honors.
- [34:55]
Nick Wright
That's why the Rams are better than the Seahawks.
- [34:57]
Dan Le Batard
I would have given as soon as Matthew Stafford threw a no look pass in a game winning drive against the Bengals in the Super Bowl I would have given him all future MVPs until.
- [35:07]
Zas
He decided to stop playing the Wemby conversation.
- [35:09]
Dan Le Batard
I mean just no look passes in the super bowl on the last drive. Like what do you. I'll never forget that. Like that's and Cooper Cup's the only receiver he has. Like everyone knows the ball's going to him and there's no way to stop it. But as it relates to losing confidence in Drake May as Nick Wright said Mike Ryan was telling me I agree with Nick and he's been a big Drake May buyer. I just thought that we were all in agreement that the Patriots wildly overachieved that their skilled guys were weak and Will Campbell still apologizing for I allowed so many pressures so I thought we were all of the understanding that the first two games were weather and bad matchups defensively if you've got offensive line problems Houston, Denver, Pat pass rush an apocalypse for any quarterback, Stafford included. Like I don't think Stafford would have looked like that if he had to go against against Denver and and Houston even though he did look like that against the against the Seahawks. Because I believe the Seahawks and them have played enough that Stafford's learned enough that nothing's going to surprise Stafford when he's playing the Seahawks. Whereas I I thought before that before that game was played I thought that Houston's defense and Denver's defense were unique set of problems for Drake May if we're in agreement that his team overachieved, went 13 to 14 and three, the biggest turnaround in history. Does it not stand a reason they didn't have enough players?
- [36:29]
Stugotz
It does. It does. I'm not. It's not a total capitulation. I just ground his ass too soon. I. He was bad in that super bowl, and I know you outlined all the great defenses that he played. I just. He was. He was bad, Mike. He was up against a good defense, and on top, he was. Was. Was pretty bad.
- [36:45]
Dan Le Batard
He was unrecognizable in those last three games that he played. But I gave you the stat. The only teams that played more, got more plays from their rookies this year were the Browns, the Titans, and the Jets. All incompetent. Like, clearly, that's a skill problem around him.
- [37:04]
Stugotz
But there's enough context, too, with it. Like, he got fat off of some really bad teams. I don't think any. Any quarterbacks ever played. So many teams that ended up firing their head coach. Like, there. There is some context that allows you to scrutinize their run. They were. Look, they made it. They were the last team from the afc. But the AFC was a bit bonkers this year.
- [37:22]
Greg Cody
But to Nick's point, like, were. Was he hurt the whole postseason? I mean, right? Like, are we. Are we. Are we giving any level of credence to. That's why he performed so far.
- [37:33]
Dan Le Batard
If he's getting a shot, I don't think it's an excuse. Like, it can be both. It can be, I guess, an excuse and an explanation. Like he. He was unrecognizable. Like, it's. It's even the simple throws. Like. But even if I say to you all of what I just said, Limited offensively in a million different ways, great defense as well. And. And furthermore, he was scared, obviously scared. And should have been, because I imagine there's some post traumatic stress disorder in the last three games you've played. Unique set of matchups that overwhelm your offensive line. Pass rush galore. And also, I can't do anything. And now I'm sinking. I'm sinking because we can't do anything at all. If. If I tell you, on top of that, he was bad, easy throws bad beyond all the other stuff. It was confusing to me to see him be unrecognizable. Right?
- [38:20]
Stugotz
That Julian Love clip makes Julian Love seem like a cyborg. But it was a bad throw. Like, it was an awful throw. Like, if he throws him to where he anticipates a route he'd jump any router. That's a huge chunk play. And in that game situation there opens it changes the game like yeah, they were on his ass, but he threw a really bad ball.
- [38:41]
Mike Ryan
I think the story of the postseason is that defense still wins Super Bowls. But Drake May, if you're going to say the Patriots overachieved all season, that's because Drake May had such a great season. You know, he wasn't second in the MVP voting as a fluke and I think he just turned 23. I don't think he's fully developed yet. I wouldn't give up on him as, as a, as a top five quarterback.
- [39:05]
Dan Le Batard
Okay, that's pretty much it. But to the, to the point that Mike is making all at. They played seven playoff teams this year and in those games his TD to turnover ratio was 11 to 11. Like he had as many turnovers as touchdowns. When he played the 14 non playoff teams it was 31 to 8. Like he did feed off of bad teams and then when he ran into the good one, he got handcuffed. But those are the three best defenses in the league that he played back to back. Two of them in bad weather. Two of them in bad weather. And also on top of that, because I don't think think this part's irrelevant. Like this part, I saw Zaz perk up when he's like, yeah, why wasn't he on the injury report? That sport hides so many injuries that I never know if Stafford's throwing the interceptions because his fingers hurt and they've been hiding that he's got like some dislocated index finger.
- [39:54]
Stugotz
Like I. Yeah, sometimes it's awfully convenient too. Like I think Tom Brady for like seven straight years showed up on the Patriots injury report when he wasn't actually.
- [40:03]
Dan Le Batard
Actually haven't they been gonged for manipulating it?
- [40:06]
Stugotz
Like haven't they been able is from that culture?
- [40:08]
Mike Ryan
They put everybody questionable.
- [40:10]
Greg Cody
They're all day to day.
- [40:11]
Mike Ryan
They have 15 guys questionable every week.
- [40:13]
Stugotz
Look, I'm still a believer in Drake May. I'm rattled because that was a really bad game. He's off to a better start to his career than most quarterbacks. And the one that I like to compare him to, Josh Allen, he's off to a much better start than Josh Allen was and he's already gotten further than Josh Allen ever has. I think they'll be back, but they very clearly need to build around him. He's not this demigod.
- [40:32]
Mike Ryan
And as far as seeming overwhelmed in the super bowl on that stage. He should be at that age. He was the youngest starter in the super bowl since dan Marino in 84. I mean, give him a little bit.
- [40:43]
Nick Wright
Of slack this year.
- [40:44]
Zas
They were aided by what they did last year, which was obviously be a four win team. This year they were easy. They had all the easy games on their schedule. Now being 14 and 3, now they're going to get all the tough games next year and now we're going to see, okay, do they get A.J. brown in the offseason? Are they trying to shore up the offensive line? Like what do they do there? Because next year we're going to see the rubber meet the road in a big way.
- [41:03]
Dan Le Batard
All right, so, but give me some help here historically between all of you.
- [41:06]
Stugotz
I love it when a rubber meets a road. Talking sports in a big talking point.
- [41:10]
Nick Wright
In a big way.
- [41:11]
Dan Le Batard
It's not just, it's not just rubber hitting. Do you disagree though? Happening in a big way.
- [41:14]
Nick Wright
Do you disagree?
- [41:15]
Dan Le Batard
The part that I disagree with and I want to bring it up with all of you because I don't think it's fair. In my lifetime, I have seen precious, precious few quarterbacks that I believe can be the demigod that you guys are talking about when these are the particular problems. I feel like your skilled guy aren't that good and your offensive line is getting caved in because it's not that good. And then it gets injured at the end of the season. John Elway is one, but there are very few quarterbacks that I have seen on what I think is a bad team. And they were a bad team last year and they added a bunch of new guys who are learning how to play football because it's not like a bunch of free agents. They turned over the entirety of the roster and they got more plays from their rookies than any team in the league. Those guys don't know how to play football yet.
- [42:04]
Zas
Dan, I agree with you, but we don't have to look that far. Look at Chicago, they were a terrible offensive line, they had terrible weapons on the outside and Caleb Williams looked like a total shell, right? They bring in Ben Johnson, they shore up guys in the offensive line, they get weapons on the outside. And now he looks like the Iceman.
- [42:19]
Dan Le Batard
He's great now, but he scored 17 points in a game against the Rams and one of them was a fourth down throw that he's running back to his 50 yard line and throwing it to Colton.
- [42:26]
Nick Wright
They were the best team in football.
- [42:27]
Dan Le Batard
Okay, But I'm saying at the end they got eliminated because they scored all of 17 points and one of them was at and seven of them were like in whatever the last game was. No matter how much I believe in Caleb Williams, you're giving Caleb Williams more credit for losing around earlier than you are Drake May for losing a round later.
- [42:43]
Greg Cody
We always do that. We always. The guy who loses in the super bowl, if he plays poorly, gets so much more criticism than the QB who lost in the wild card round. We always do.
- [42:52]
Mike Ryan
I hate. I hate that the narrative is what's wrong with Drake May when it should be Seattle's defense.
- [42:58]
Dan Le Batard
Oh my gosh, Pablo's got another one. It came out at five o' clock in the morning. Another one. An eighth installment of this Aspiration Clippers thing. He's next.