← The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Top Five NFL Games to Watch in Week 11 with former NFL Defensive Tackle Gerald McCoy, Plus Best Notre Dame Players in History with Jessica Smetana
00:52:46
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- [00:00]
A
Hi and hello, my fellow football Americans. We got Jessica Smetana coming up to get us right on college football and a little bit of pro action. Gerald McCoy's gonna break down the biggest games of week 11. We might talk some superheroes too. We have it a moment away. Start the show. Welcome to Football America, episode number 25. We're presented as ever by our pals at DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours. And I was not jiving. We have not a second to waste, but we do have to settle our usual hash here. The player who wore the episode number best number 25. Is it? Hello, Mike and Gino. Gino on Mike Fuentes. And who you got? Who's the best number 25 ever?
- [00:45]
B
Then let's go. Jamal Charles, the all time leader in yards per carry.
- [00:49]
C
Great fan.
- [00:50]
A
Love him. Underappreciated at least.
- [00:52]
C
Yeah, mine is super bowl champion and I believe one of the most handsome men to ever carry in American football. That would be Reggie Bush. Yes. Beautiful man.
- [01:00]
A
A hands a handsome devil. And another Super Bowl MVP is Fred Bulitnikov. Even though he didn't deserve it. Clarence Davis should have been the MVP of Super Bowl 11. Shady McCoy wore it like you say, a keep Talib. I guess the best is probably Barry Bonds in all of sport. But let's go with. Let's go with yours there, Mike. I think we should honor Reggie Bush, actually him and Jamal Charles, because I feel like they're both vaguely underappreciated. All right, so we've got that settled. Now let's cover all things upcoming football weekend, and we'll start it off. We're all with our old pal, Jessica Smatana. All right, everybody in the Lebatar universe knows who this is. She is the podcast husband of our own Mike Fuentes on Mystery Crate. Of course, she is married up with. Well, wait, you can't. We're not in Utah. So this Guy Mike Golick Jr. Can't be her podcast husband, I don't think. But brother, they. Brother. Okay, good. Yes, brothers in. In Irishdom on the Echoes, a great podcast. It's so good that Mayor Pete Buddha Judge was just on there in advance of the Pit Notre Dame game. She and I park our cars in the same garage on pro football. But right now, as we sit here, we are arch rivals as her team pays a visit to the banks of the three rivers. It's Jessica Smatana. How are you, sister? How you been?
- [02:23]
D
Hang on a sec. The last time I talked to you was before the Indiana Notre Dame Playoff game when we were arch rivals. How can we be arch rivals again before this pit Notre Dame game?
- [02:32]
A
All right, we'll get into that. But I did see you, I think it was Sunday night somewhere early on during Sunday Night Football, in fact. And as I mentioned, we both root for the Pittsburgh Steelers and it was a humiliation once again, not unlike it was on the last Sunday Night Football game in front of the national audience against Jordan Love and the Packers. I noticed that you tweeted or posted or whatever, something along the lines of why is this man the quarterback of my favorite team? Explain.
- [03:03]
D
I just can't do it anymore. First of all, I do want to say I love the Steelers. Like you mentioned, I'm wearing my latest purchase from the Strip My Italians shirt that I got before, before my cousin's wedding a couple of weeks ago. But I just can't do it anymore because we all saw this coming miles away. And the people that convince themselves that, like Aaron Rodgers has a little bit of gas left in the tank, I don't think watched very many games last year. I knew. And don't get me wrong, I didn't think Justin Fields should be the quarterback. I didn't think Russell Wilson should be the quarterback. I also didn't think Aaron Rodgers should be the quarterback. I wanted some, like, mystery fourth option. Give me Mason Rudolph and let's tank and get a quarterback next year. Which, by the way, doesn't seem like it would have been that great of an idea either. Unless they get your guy, Fernando Mendoza, maybe Dave, but fingers crossed.
- [03:50]
A
But Aaron Rodgers, but with his existence on that roster, does make them a tick better than they otherwise would have been.
- [03:56]
D
They just can't ever commit to actually losing football games. Which as a sports fan is great and I think is commendable. But as someone who wants, you know, who, who exists in the NFL universe, it's very hard to do that when you don't have a quarterback. And I think you could take all the complaints about Mike Tomlin over the last five years and boil it down to the fact that he hasn't had a quarterback. And that's really all there is to it. I think the defense would look a lot better if they had a quarterback. I think the play calling would look a lot better sometimes if they had a quarterback. I think he would look a lot better if he had a quarterback. And they just haven't had one. And I don't, I still don't think they're going to have one next year at this rate. Unless they, unless they get a little bit lucky. But my other dread for the season, which I don't think will happen now for a number of reasons, is, oh my God, the Steelers are going to go.500. Maybe they'll miss the playoffs, but they'll get a high enough draft pick that they can get Drew Allar from Penn.
- [04:48]
A
State, which they wouldn't do that.
- [04:51]
D
They're not that foolish now they're not. Now they're not. But like before the season started, was very out on Drew Alar, but I don't think a lot of people had caught up to it. The most recent game I had seen play was the Orange bowl game against Notre Dame where he threw the, the game losing pick to Christian Gray. And I was like, I just don't see it. He has not been good against any of the good teams he's played against. So I don't think that's going to happen anymore. Obviously he got hurt and had a really bad season before that. But Dave, that was one of my fears. And then my other fear was like, they're going to get Aaron Rodgers and just suck with Aaron Rodgers and it's not going to be fun to watch. And I also like, don't even want to really root for the guy because he seems like a jerk. He has like a mis wife. So I don't know, it's just been kind of a mess this year and I'm very disappointed and sad.
- [05:32]
A
I'm not surprised though. In fact, I was one of the few people that I'm aware of somehow because it seemed obvious, as you say, if you had actually watched the man play football in 2024, you knew that the idea of depending on him to be a positive difference maker week to week was, was not available to him. The other thing is because you sit here in between college football and pro football and I, I just, it makes me loco that around this time on the football calendar, and specifically the draft calendar, we have now recognized what I was talking about in spring, which is the promise of the QB class that is 18 months away. Hey there, fellow football Americans. Do you feel that bit of chill in the air? I feel it and I'm in Los Angeles. Bad news. It's going to be 90 this weekend. But in the here and now, we can still celebrate the shared cool weather because it means football. And from tailgates to watch parties, there's only one beer to pair with fall and football. I'm of course speaking about my beloved Miller Light, the light beer that's been the one for beer lovers like me since 1975. I wasn't drinking it in 1975 because that would have been against the law. But you take my point. For me, it's still the go to every time. Why? Because Miller Light is the great tasting light beer for people who love beer. It's brewed for taste and it's been trusted by beer lovers for 50 years. I've mentioned I'm one of those beer lovers. Yes, Miller is the kind of beer you can drink from kickoff to the final whistle without missing a beat. It's the smooth, golden flavor that somehow feels like football season with the iconic gold color and the malted barley. It's not too heavy. It's not too light. The perfect addition to a football Sunday. You know what? I go the extra mile. I drink it on football Saturdays too. Fun fact. Football Mondays. Whether it's a crowded bar or kickback on the couch, it's the beer I reach for on any of those days I just mentioned and or all of them. Miller Lite great tasting. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com fba 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. Hey football Americans. Quick detour into the NBA, which I'm sure you've noticed by now is in full throat. And DraftKings newest game pick 6 is the easiest way to play for your shot at big wins. NBA stars are lighting it up now. Their numbers aren't just highlights, they're your shot to cash in. Here's how you do it. You just pick more or less on two or more player stats. The better your picks, the bigger your payout. Nail your picks tonight and don't just win. Stack up those payouts and get this new DraftKings customers get $50 in Pick 6 credits with just a five dollar entry on your first pick set. So don't just watch basketball pick play cash in dunk if you know how to. I can't do that. But the other ones I can definitely do so long as I'm playing pick six. Here's what you do. You download the DraftKings pick six app now and you use the code Damachek. That's code Damachek. D A M E S H E k play just $5. Get $50 in pick six credits. Make the call. Ride the upside in partnership with DraftKings pick six, the crown is yours is fool's gold. It's built on sand. Largely, as you say, Drew Aller and Lenora Sellers and Arch Manning. Well, they were all these. They were a part of the all time loaded 2026 class and just put a pin in this one. Everybody within the sound of our voices here, they have already begun talking about don't take a quarterback in 26. If you have seen what the 27 class looks like, sheesh, I'm going crazy with it. Anyhow, let's move on from that because I really want to talk to you about, about this big game upcoming here. But before we jump into that one, you said just before we got going here, you had Mayor Pete on, which is super cool with my Golic Jr. By the way. He and I have. We park our cars in the same garage on this crumble cookies are delicious and everybody is a cynic who speaks out against them. How say you?
- [09:41]
D
I've never had a crumble cookie, so maybe, maybe I'll partake someday.
- [09:46]
A
But who's this goalie character? Don't they just. Isn't he these days just being flooded by, by everyone who makes food for a living so that he'll bite it? He doesn't. He can't pass a nice cookie off to you.
- [09:57]
D
I do love his food reviews. I have to say. I think our podcast is really good. We're very informative. I think we often tend to be right about a lot of our analysis about Notre Dame football, but I do think he's even at doing food reviews. So if you don't follow him on his social media, you're missing out. He did that Baja Blast Pie last week, Dave. Oh my God. And he gave it a 6 out of 10. It was a 6 out of 10. That felt like a 3 out of 10. So anyways, I will not be trying that either.
- [10:23]
A
I'm. I didn't know that he gave that a 6 out of 10. It hasn't passed my lips. And shame the devil if I come off as a, as a, as a dim cynic of apid cynic, by the way, much like Gino and Mike Fuentes, who in advance of this conversation, when I said, oh, guess what? Matan is going to be on at the end of the week, you know what they said? Oh, great, more Steelers talk. I'm about to disprove them because we're going to jump in. You don't have time for a deep dive on the Steelers because we have to talk about Pitt. Notre Dame after all.
- [10:53]
D
All right, well, first of all screw you guys.
- [10:55]
C
Literally started first thing he brought up Steelers quarterback.
- [10:58]
A
Yeah.
- [10:58]
C
And you guys ripped on that for like five minutes.
- [11:00]
B
Look, Dave has to try really, really hard to not talk Steelers the entire he just stopped himself completely reset everything. Okay, now I'm going to back around.
- [11:07]
C
Not talking to Steelers.
- [11:09]
A
My passions are my passions and I'm not going to apologize for them. The so yes. So a great show there with that you have going with Golic, but you were reacting to along with looking ahead to the pit game, looking back at the Navy game and it begs this question for me. My favorite rivalry in sports is Army Navy. I think it's super cool for obvious reasons, but the question is this. How come the Air Force don't get a part of that action? How come, how come we don't celebrate that they play each other and you like see the score on Saturday night? Like, oh yeah, the Navy and Air Force played. Why? Why not the national celebration that we get for Army Navy?
- [11:49]
D
You know, I can't speak to the Army Navy rivalry because I'm, I'm not a fan of either. But I can speak to the Notre Dame Navy rivalry, which Notre Dame gets a lot of flack for because people make fun of them for like, oh, oh, you're padding your stats against the service academies, et cetera, et cetera. And trust me, I understand that. And I don't love. I talked about this with Mayor Pete. I asked him if I was on patriotic for not loving the Navy Notre Dame rivalry. He said I was, which was a shocking response.
- [12:13]
A
Agree with Mayor Pete.
- [12:14]
D
I don't love playing against the triple option every season. I would rather Notre Dame just play a group of five team that runs a normal offense that doesn't cut block all the time. But Navy helped Notre Dame stay in business during World War II. So it is a debt of gratitude to continue to play the rivalry which is Notre Dame's longest standing rival. I believe this past weekend was their 98th ever meeting between the two schools. So I do understand the history of it. But yes, as it pertains to the other service academies, I mean, why doesn't coast guard have a D1 FBS football team?
- [12:52]
A
Let's talk about Notre Dame and Pitt and all the rest of it. This is a big game. The dues patting our doozy says not a must win game for Pitt. How does that hit your ear?
- [13:04]
D
I mean, that was a crazy thing for him to say. It's one thing for a television analyst to say, hey, if Pitt loses, the good news is they still have two more ACC games against ranked teams where they can, you know, make it to the ACC championship game. But I think he's technically wrong because if Pitt did lose by 100 to Notre Dame, I mean, kiss your playoff chances goodbye as an art.
- [13:28]
A
Well, they have no chances in that large team unless they would have to run the table. Right?
- [13:32]
D
Right. If they ran the table. If they ran the table. I. I don't know. I mean, this is a crazy hypothetical and. And it's still mid November, so anything can happen. But if they did win out and beat Notre Dame, but lost the ACC championship game, I. Wouldn't you rather be 10 and 3 with a shot at knocking in the door? And maybe some other crazy things happen in the other conferences, too. Versus lose to Notre Dame by a hundred and then you still have to win your next two games, have a chance at winning the ACC Championship, obviously. I don't know. I mean, I think technically he is right, but I do see like a 1% chance where it's like, no, you still want to win all your games. Why are you saying this?
- [14:09]
A
I get. Well, I do get it, and I don't understand exactly why a head coach would say that, but on a piece of paper, he is right, I think. But, yeah, I don't want Mike and Gino to be angry with us. And by indulging Pitt, they're not. They're not in the conversation plausibly for the tournament unless they were to win the AC and probably have to win that title game at minimum to get in. Now, your team had a fascinating start, and I bellyached a ton about it, that even at 02, they remain ranked, which is proof ad not as if we needed more proof for the millionth time, that you shouldn't rank teams in preseason because that's what it leads to. But in the here and now, Notre Dame is playing very well. I assume you agree that any stumble the rest of the way eliminates them.
- [14:54]
D
Yeah, absolutely. Which is also why I think it's foolish to get too upset with the committee rankings at this point, because every.
- [15:02]
A
Year called me a fool. Did everybody hear that? You just insinuated I'm a fool? Because I did.
- [15:08]
D
You're right. I did insinuate that. I think every year we argue about the first couple sets of rankings, but then something crazy always happens. I mean, we still have rivalry weekend coming up over Thanksgiving where there's always a big upset game. So I'm not gonna get too ahead of myself and worry about it now. But I would also Say, for Miami fans that are upset Notre Dame was ranked ahead of Miami. I think if Miami had really put the gas on in the second half and not played extremely conservative football and let Notre Dame get back into the game and only lose by 3 points, I really don't think Miami would be behind Notre Dame, even with the SMU loss. But I think the margin of victory is something that the committee is considering there and the fact that Miami just hasn't looked good the last few weeks, but Miami also could stumble in the last three weeks of the season. And then why are we even arguing about 10 and 2 Miami if they're not 10 and 2 Miami?
- [15:55]
A
Well, I've said to you offline, I really question how many teams from the ACC belong at all. I mean, I think if you could take away that automatic bid, I don't know that anybody, with the possible exception, I guess, at Georgia Tech has any claim to belonging among the best 12 teams in the country. But again, you're headed to the banks of the Three Rivers for the second time in a month and a month, and you're really gilding the lily. You know, I'm jealous. I saw your pictures of the. The cookie table, the wedding cookie table in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh. This is a tradition there. If you had to gauge it overall, though. Yeah, which is. I asked Matt Leiner this in advance of the USC Notre Dame game.
- [16:37]
D
Okay.
- [16:37]
A
Tell me one thing better about South Bend, Indiana, than Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- [16:41]
D
Well, I love Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so I think that that is difficult to say about any city in comparison to Pittsburgh, but I would say South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame has a better college football stadium than Pitt does. I don't know if that's up for debate.
- [16:58]
A
No, it's not up for debate. And people want to argue with me about it. They. I mean, it's the same thing with ucla. The idea, the. The. The shiny keys, the. The. The dangling of like, this is a pro football stadium, you understand? And that should provide some allure to kids who. Or for students who want to attend the game.
- [17:20]
E
Fat.
- [17:21]
A
They want to wake up a little hungover and walk over to the stadium. They care how.
- [17:26]
D
They want to tailgate. They want to tailgate right by the stadium, too. That's why Notre Dame Stadium is great. The tailgating is all in close proximity. The stadium's obviously historic, and there's been countless historic games played inside of it. But, yeah, the UCLA thing is sad. I think the. I guess the only difference is that the Rose bowl isn't close to the UCLA campus. So it's really too far away stadiums. But you, you're the LA geography expert, not me. So no matter where they're playing, I guess they're in traffic. But yes, I think you'd rather tailgate and play at the Rose bowl than at SOFI Stadium. And I think I love Acrisure Stadium as a professional stadium. I think it's a lot of, I've had a lot of great memories there. But it's so far away from Pitt's campus and you know, it's just doesn't have the, I guess the character of a, of an on campus college football stadium.
- [18:12]
A
Okay, so the stadium you lean towards, South Bend. Here's one thing that Pittsburgh has over South Bend is the people who play inside that stadium specifically. This may sound like a hot take to you.
- [18:26]
D
Okay.
- [18:27]
A
I think if we cobbled together and as it happens I already have the ultimate all time rosters, I think Pitts would beat Notre Dame's.
- [18:38]
D
Really?
- [18:39]
A
Yeah, I've cobbled it together. Marino's my quarterback, Montana is yours. They had a showdown, as you may have heard before. You watched the big blue marble in Super Bowl 19. Montana won that one. But I mean this isn't Notre Dame. This is pit. This is against any team in the country.
- [18:57]
D
I think, I mean let's just start with that. Like I think obviously Pitt's football program hasn't been what it was. But I have the most respect in the world for those PIT teams that really made the Pittsburgh Notre Dame rivalry great in the 80s and 90s when they were both still at their peak. So okay, let's go through it.
- [19:17]
A
I'll, I'll. You count. So you count you as a Notre Dame person, count Pitt as a rival while I'm already, already ahead of the game. And if you still think that that exists. Good.
- [19:25]
D
I don't know if the rivalry really exists, but I think that if you looked at all time games played against each other, I think Pitts probably in the top 10 for Notre Dame opponents.
- [19:34]
A
Oh, I bet. And by the way, before you go in here, I just want Mike Fuentes to play the Canes representative even though he's not a grad of, of the Canes. I think that they are a worthy team to include in this conversation as well. And he has his roster for that team all time. Anyway, take it away, Jess.
- [19:51]
D
So we're going Joe Montana, even though I think there's probably historically some other quarterback candidates. But we won't go back to like the Johnny Lu Jacks of the world.
- [20:02]
A
We'll just go in there if you want. Go ahead.
- [20:05]
D
Maybe, maybe Brady Quinn too. Because I think Brady Quinn still holds all of the passing records and single season touchdown records and all of that. But you know, never won the Heisman trophy. Fair enough. But I'll, I'll go with Joe Montana because I think it's hard to not take Montana.
- [20:21]
A
Who's the greatest quarterback at the alleged QBU down there in South Beach, Mike Fuentes.
- [20:27]
C
I mean if you're doing college careers, probably Ken Dorsey just because you know, being the quarterback of 2001. But if we're doing like we're mixing in pros, I'm picking Jim Kelly. While Pitts guy only went to the super bowl and lost once. My guy went four times and lost also. Yeah, everybody.
- [20:40]
A
And I'd be interested in you know, maybe like in Oklahoma or Texas and how they factor into this. But, but the Canes offensive line is where they fall apart. The Irish and Pitt are sturdy and they would push the Canes around. That's why I think it comes down to a head to head maybe for all of time in college football history. I think USC would have a say in this as well. But it's fine. I bring it up because it feels like of all the teams you would list if you said like let's do an all time tournament of the greatest teams of all time, the team that would be the outlier be like wait, pit. Why would they be in there? And when you look at the roster you're like oh yeah, I guess they, they absolutely. Aaron Donald would be a part of the, of that pit team. Tony Dorset, one of the great running backs. In fact I can make a case that Pitt is RBU over Penn State, Notre Dame or anywhere else.
- [21:31]
D
I think Pitt definitely has a really strong case there. And I looked up head to head major opponents for Notre Dame. Pitt is number four all time. They are behind Navy, usc, Purdue and then Pittsburgh. I mean I think that qualifies for rivalry material. 70 games played in history, that's, that's a lot of games.
- [21:51]
A
Dave, I came by my hatred of your Irish honestly. In 1982, Alan Pinkett and company came into Pitt stadium and ran all over.
- [22:01]
D
The high Pitt Stadium.
- [22:03]
A
Jerry Faust, the only good win he ever had in his tenure. Bottom line, give us a pick here. How do you think this one plays out? It does on a piece of paper. Once again, the strength of the pit defense this season is their ability to stop the run. Yeah, it happens. Jeremiah Love and company love doing nothing more than pushing around their foes on the ground. How do you think it turns out?
- [22:26]
D
Well, I think that's been the key for Notre Dame's offense over the last five weeks is that they've played against a lot of defenses like pits like NC State, Boston College, Navy were really adept at stopping the run game. But CJ Carr was able to beat all of those defenses by being very accurate passing. I think USC is the only game we've seen this season where their defense was more concerned with stopping CJ Carr. And lo and behold, Notre Dame rushed for, you know, career highs for, for all the running backs on the team. Jadarian Price also had a kick kickoff return touchdown in that game. So I think like Notre Dame has shown that even despite games where they haven't been able to get the run game going, C.J. carr and his receivers have been, have been very solid. But CJ Carr is also his first season as the starting quarterback. So I think he hasn't had a lot of games other than that USC game where he has been mistake prone. But Pitt has a good enough defense that I think they'd be able to capitalize on near mistakes that maybe other defenses haven't been able to. So I think really the key is C.J. carr has got to have a really sharp game passing. And I think the other thing that I'm sort of maybe a little concerned about is Notre Dame's offensive line now down three starters, their interior offensive line, both, well, all three, all three positions, first year starters, but especially their center and their left guard only on like their third and second starts of the season after the starters went down. So the pass blocking has been pretty good this season from the O line. But I am kind of like a little, little concerned about the run blocking.
- [23:54]
A
Jessica Smitton at the Echoes. Like we say, mystery create with Fuentes and company. Keep up the gangbusters work. I almost called you as I said hello to you, one of the rising stars in sports media. But that diminishes you. The rise is over. You're already there. You're already there.
- [24:11]
D
We had Mayor Pete on our show. I mean, come on.
- [24:13]
A
I mean, legitimately good for you. Keep it up. You deserve it. You're one of the great talents, one of the funniest people too, doing what we're doing for a living. So, so keep the roll going. Best of Golick. Make him give you one of them nice cookies or maybe three of them. And let's talk at some point, maybe around the playoffs, the college playoffs.
- [24:31]
D
Oh, I hope, I hope so. I'll see you soon.
- [24:39]
A
All right, time now for pick six, presented as ever by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours. I would like to have a crown, but I assume it costs like a million dollars to get a good one. And so far we haven't won the million dollars yet. And I keep talking about it and I expressly say I want to win the million dollars. And yet, no justice. At least until now. Let's see if we can figure this out this week. Gino and Mike. Mike and Gino Fuentes. I'm going touchdown scores again. I'm going to give you three guys that are going to find the end zone either on the ground or catching a pass, and then I'm going to give you a couple of touchdown throwers or three touchdown throwers who are going to have at least two touchdown throws. First of all, the guys who are going to get into the end zone carrying the ball. Jalen Warren against the Cincinnati Bengals. They have a terrible defense made even worse by trades and injuries. I mean, it would be an abject embarrassment if Jalen Warren, who is clearly the guy carrying the ball for the Steelers this year, can't get in there at least once. On the other side of things, Jamar Chase has a knack of beating up that Pittsburgh Steelers defense through the air. You saw that on Thursday Night Football a few weeks ago. I say he'll do it at least once again. And then Puka Nukua, you can set your watch to him dominating. I know we love to talk about the mythical best receiver in football. Isn't it clear when this guy is healthy that the answer is him? Which is weird because it wasn't that long ago you would have said the same thing about Cooper Cup. Now two touchdown throwers, the decrepit Joe Flacco. Why would he not throw two more against that atrocious Steelers defense that you saw Justin Herbert beat up on Sunday Night Football? Matthew Stafford, we have gone in on him as a legit MVP candidate. In fact, I think you'd put him maybe right at the very top of it alongside the youngster Drake, maybe. And then there's a Lamar Jackson who has been turning it on since his return along with the rest of his pals. I see no reason why the Ravens aren't going to continue that. Off the right arm of number eight there, Fuentes. Boys, how say you?
- [26:42]
B
All right, I'm going to go Aaron Rodgers because he threw four touchdowns against Cincinnati last time. All the tight ends, and I think they don't have Trey Hendrickson this week. So, I mean, I would assume he can do it at home, too. And Aaron Rodgers never misses a chance to pat his stats.
- [26:58]
C
Would you take out? I would take out.
- [27:00]
B
I'd probably take out Puka just because the preferred option at the goal line tends to be Devonte Adams or another.
- [27:06]
C
Of the harem of tight ends that they have there.
- [27:08]
A
Yeah, harem of harem. I like that.
- [27:12]
C
And then for me, I'm gonna take Devon A. Chan in the first ever NFL game in Espana. 9:30 in the morning. Devon A. Chain. He's the everything man for the Miami Dolphins. Just been fine in the end zone more often than not this year. So I'm going to go, Devon A Chain.
- [27:26]
B
Do you know, I think it's a chain. And also Duron Payne.
- [27:30]
C
Yeah, and Duron Payne out for that game. Commanders are to me, dead in the water. Defense, not that great. So I would take Devon H.N. in Espana.
- [27:38]
A
What this is exposed to me is my shortcoming intellectually or whatever it is that I. I noticed in talking to Mike Fuentes the other day that Devon Hn is way up there in fantasy points. And I obsess so much about the teams and where they are that I sort of lose sight of the great performers on the bum teams at some point in the year. And I kind of lost sight of what kind of year Achan is putting together down there in the lost year for those Dolphins. But good call on that one because he has been cooking with gas pretty much all season long. Good list there. I'll see you on the other side with a million dollars in hand. All right. Very excited to get the yap with this fella. I think it's been about a decade since I last did. He was on my old NFL Network a couple of times and I remember the majority of it being consumed by superhero talk. I don't know, maybe it'll come up here. Now he's a star in NFL Network. It's Gerald McCoy. What's happening, man?
- [28:39]
E
Man. Thank you for having me. I took a break from daddying. I had a field trip that I was on. But you got say anyway, I appreciate you having me.
- [28:55]
A
What was what? I mean, field trip always sounds good until you. Specifics. What? When you go to the amusement park. That's great. When you go to the science center, you're like, really? Why?
- [29:05]
E
Yeah, yeah. This one wasn't crazy. The first part of it, they went to a musical, a little play that was at the local high school. But the part I was at was the lunch and the playground and that's where I'm just like, hey, listen, y' all gotta get these kids under control. I can only watch my one. I ain't got nothing for you.
- [29:25]
A
Yeah, you're not paying me to wrangle.
- [29:26]
E
Yeah, eggnog.
- [29:28]
A
All right, listen, I know we could do an hour here, so. And we. And we only have a few minutes, so I want to cash in as much as possible. First question for you is maybe a little bit random. I am obsessed by the idea of way back when, when you were a little kid, or maybe not even alive yet, the Dallas Cowboys of the early 90s rose up and they were built on the triplets. Troy Aikman, Emmett Smith, Michael Irvin. I now have stretched that out out to college football, but for all of time, not on one single team, but in the history of the schools. Oklahoma grad, defend your greatest triplets. A qb, a running back and a pass catcher. Let's see how it stacks up with what I've got in front of me here.
- [30:10]
E
Oh, Lord. Running back is going to be Adrian Peterson.
- [30:14]
A
Oh, I. You know what? I had Billy Sims because I'm older than you and I love Billy Sims, but Adrian.
- [30:20]
E
Peter, I love Billy. Yeah, I love Billy Sims, too. I love him at all the. The Heisman ceremonies. You always know when Billy's in the building. Let me just say that. But I'm gonna go. Adrian Peterson. That's my time. Quarterback, man. So is this for a season? Is this just like who I think is the best Oklahoma quarterback ever or what?
- [30:46]
A
You do you, Gerald. You do you however it hits your ear. That's the response I want.
- [30:52]
E
Oh, Lord, why would you do that?
- [30:54]
A
You got the. You got the run of the Lincoln.
- [30:57]
C
That.
- [30:58]
A
That voodoo somehow did not make the trip along from the Midwest over to SoCal. I don't know why.
- [31:03]
E
I know. I know because maybe it is the players and not the coach. Anyway, man, I gotta do it, man. I'm going. Sam Bradford is my quarterback.
- [31:12]
A
Wow.
- [31:13]
E
Bold. Listen, I know.
- [31:16]
A
Is there anybody more forgotten?
- [31:18]
E
I think the greatest court sooner quarterback because of like longevity and everything he did is Baker. But I'm just going. I'm going. Sam. Man, Sam. Sam was a dog. And I know a lot of people are, you know, down on him because his NFL career, but people forget who Sam was as a red shirt freshman. As a sophomore, you know, Tim Tebow had won the Heisman as a sophomore. And then right after next year, Sam did it. So I think people forget that. You know, and him being 06, the class I was in I'm going Sam Bradford might be a little biased, but I'm going Sam Bradford, Adrian Peterson and then wide receiver. This is where it gets shaky. But just so you know, it's out of Mark Clayton and Ryan Bros. I love cd but it's out of Mark Clayton and Ryan Bros. I played with, I played with Ryan, but I grew up watching Mark. Oh man. I'm gonna go with Ryan Bros. So I'm gonna go Sam Bradford, Adrian Peterson, Ryan bro. Those would be my three old man.
- [32:31]
A
Dave throws in Keith Jackson, not the broadcaster, but number 88, the great and big tight end who would have dominated in the 21st century more than he even did when he was with the Eagles and beyond in pro football. So just for the record, because I'm a completionist here and I don't mean to talk at you here, but Mike Fuentes, who do you have for the U here, who are the greatest triplets in the U history?
- [32:53]
C
So based on his pro career, we took Jim Kelly and then we had a debate here between Edron James and Frank Gore. But yeah, and I think I'm taking Adrian James because he won a Super Bowl. And then for Michael Irvin, the playmaker is our receiver.
- [33:07]
A
Yeah, I'm going edge because edge more at his heights in the NFL was better than Frank Gore. If you go longevity, if you go.
- [33:19]
B
Pure numbers on the wide receiver, it'd be Reggie Wayne. But Michael Irvin's a playmaker, so you.
- [33:22]
C
Know, he had Andre Johnson there too.
- [33:24]
A
Okay.
- [33:24]
C
Michael Irvine.
- [33:26]
A
The reason I bring it up, Gerald.
- [33:27]
E
Y' all threw a lot in there. Like I'm gonna tell you this right now. I seen a graphic the other day about like one per. Like the best run as a sooner or whatever. And it was all these different people. The best. If I'm going one season, I need one player, one individual season at my quarterback. I'm going Kyler Murray. What he did in that one individual season is comparable to anybody in history. Like to throw for that many yards and to run for that many yards for that many touchdowns with that few of interceptions. Yeah, K1 just that one season. Yeah, K1 is. He was, he was different. But. But I gotta go Sam Bradford. But just if we just get one.
- [34:08]
A
Season, that's because that he, he then gets sort of lumped in with the machine. Like anybody they put in a quarterback at this point is going to be in. In the Heisman conversation. And Kyler got lost in that. The thing my long standing theory about Sam Bradford is that the reason people haven't Held on to how good he was. Was. Because how he looked in the pads, there was something about like his arms were skinny and his jersey. Right. He looked like a boy.
- [34:37]
E
That's a real thing. Because when I look at Gary Wilson, I'm like, dude, you're a wide receiver. Come on, man.
- [34:47]
A
What are you doing, protein shakes?
- [34:50]
E
Yeah. It's ridiculous, man. Tighten that jersey up. I hate it. Hate them loose jerseys.
- [34:56]
A
All right. And by the way, I bring it up again because. Because I'm a dork. Who has to do this. But the weird. The weird answer in my book is Pit Marino, Tony Dorset, Larry Fitzgerald. Who can beat that? No one. Now let's. Before we pick a game or two here with Gerald McCoy, let's talk about the thing I mentioned at the top there. Comics. Superheroes, more specifically. And let's start with. With this one. In your book, who played the best Spider Man? Not best movies. Who was the best Spider Man? The character on film.
- [35:36]
C
Toby McGuire.
- [35:37]
A
Quick answer.
- [35:38]
E
Okay, yeah, we think about.
- [35:40]
A
I'm going with his predecessor, Andrew Garfield.
- [35:44]
E
Why?
- [35:45]
A
Because I thought he captured what the essence of Spider man is. Has a sense of humor, was dorky. Toby Maguire captures the dork. But he's not as funny as Andrew Garfield is. And. And part of Spider Man, Peter Parker is supposed to be kind of like a wiseacre and he gets off better quips and then. Oh, wait, no, you're saying Toby Maguire. I'm thinking of the kid, whatever that. Can't think of the kid's name. Yeah, yeah, the new guy. He's.
- [36:12]
E
And also I said Toby Maguire.
- [36:14]
A
Toby Maguire.
- [36:16]
E
Yes.
- [36:16]
A
He's a little too cool.
- [36:17]
E
You think? You thinking the Tom Holland. Yeah, wasn't. He wasn't too cool when he played it.
- [36:23]
A
It.
- [36:23]
E
He might have been too cool afterwards. And the stuff Off. Off the camera.
- [36:27]
C
Yeah.
- [36:28]
E
But when he played it, like, think about this. Okay, Just think about this for a second. We didn't see what happened with Tom Holland's Uncle Ben. We don't know. He was already Spider Man. We seen Andrew Garfield, Spider man, and he's like losing his mind and he's, you know, he's crying and he's upset. Whatever. Toby McGuire didn't play. So that's why I don't know if off the. Off the camera was. Was really fake because that. On the camera, Uncle Ben died that night. He off Buddy. Within an hour, Buddy was out of here. The dude did he. He was out of here.
- [37:05]
A
Through the empty warehouse.
- [37:07]
E
You're right out of here. Green Goblin called. Messing with Ama. By the end of the night, y' all can ignore that all you want.
- [37:18]
A
I'm just saying I'm not here to fight. By the way, Sandman was the coolest of the adversaries, I think, in all the Spider man movies. I thought, no, all right. No.
- [37:30]
C
Mysterio was awesome. The way that, the way they portrayed Mysterio, Jake Gyllenhaal, where it was like the illusion machine. And then they had that whole sequence where he's all like a zombie Spider man and all stuff. Great scene. But the thing about Spider man is he's such a hard.
- [37:42]
A
How he became. And you felt sad for him a little bit.
- [37:46]
E
I don't like the empathetic Sandman because he was clumsy. Yeah.
- [37:49]
C
And fail.
- [37:51]
A
I want.
- [37:51]
C
I want guys that are evil. I don't want like to feel bad for guys at the end. I want Spider man to kick his ass. And I'm like, yeah, kick his ass. You know, that guy sucks, you know, but. And Spider man, such a weird character. I feel like it always to play because obviously we're getting these guys like Tobey Maguire was probably in his mid-20s when they casted him. Spider Man's a teenager. I think he's 14, 15 years old. When he starts in the comic books, then he gets bit by the spider. He has to deal with real shit. He sees his uncle die and then he has to do like all these grown up decisions really fast. And then. That was gonna be my question for you, Gerald. You know, in the mcu they have Spider man dealing with like these big epic universal things. He's fighting with the Avengers, but in the Tobey Maguire films, he's just your local neighborhood Spider Man. So I don't know which one people prefer. Do they want that localized Spider man or like that big galactic Spider Man?
- [38:33]
E
Well, I think that the way MCU went about it is incredible because if you think about Toby, he's a ground level, you know, hero is right here in your neighborhood. These things are happening right here. And then you go to Tom Holland. This is what made him him. And this is why the movies worked because of what you just said. He's a kid, he's 15, 16, 17. He's still trying to figure out how to talk to a girl properly. And he gets thrust into this, this world war or universal war as a child. And he's operating in that as a child. People were so upset about him for giving away the glasses to Mysterio. But think about, he's a kid, he's doing kid things. If you think about him going to Dr. Strange and saying, well, I want MJ and I need Aunt May and my best friend. Those are the only people I really want to remember me and this and this. And he's going back and forth with, well, I don't know, he's. He's a child. So people get upset about these things. I think the way they wrote it is excellent. Now you go into his newest movie. He's back to ground level because all the universal stuff is over with.
- [39:45]
C
Well, they're gonna have to bring him back a little.
- [39:47]
E
I'm okay with that.
- [39:48]
C
Yeah, they're have to bring it back a little bit because I know they want him in Doomsday. So maybe it's like, well, I think.
- [39:53]
E
He gets through his movie.
- [39:54]
C
Yeah.
- [39:55]
E
At the end, right when Dr. Doom shows up, they gotta, you know, do what you got.
- [39:59]
A
Well, Gerald, I'm sorry you're gonna have to announce your absence from the rest of the field trip because you and Mike Fuente apparently going to have to have like three hours on the side. Make sure you record it all so we can post it because I'm very interested in this. We are nominally a football show, so let me get you some football picks here. As we head into NFL Week 11, we do our countdown from five down to one, the best games and how we think they're going to turn out. Let's start with your old team there, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers paying a visit to Buffalo Bill's laying six at the time of this recording. I cannot believe that we are on the cusp. The way people are talking now that the bottom line is like, oh, Bills are struggling. I don't know if they're going to get over the hump this year. This is going to happen again. If they don't get to the super bowl this year, when are they ever going to get there? Anyhow, let's talk about the matter at hand here. How do you think they fare against Bacon company this weekend?
- [40:55]
E
Oh, this is a, this is a toss up because the Bills are not very good at stopping the run. So the Bucks are for sure going to try and run the ball. But if defensively we seen that a Mecca Buka is really talented. But now granted, Christian Gonzalez took him away because that's, that's just who he is, you know, and he's that great. But we've seen what can happen if you take him out of this offense. It can get really stagnant. Now I believe in Baker to be able to get the job done, so. But it's just toss up and then defensively we can't rush the passer to save our lives without blitzing. Like we can't take four guys and just get after the passer. And if anybody is the guy you don't want to do that against is Josh Allen. So this game makes me nervous because I'm not sold on Buffalo. But Josh Allen is great at putting on his cape. And these types of games are the games that he goes out and he wins because they can run the ball. And Josh Allen is Josh Allen not afraid of any of his weapons, not named James Cook, but he's still Josh Allen. And if you don't get him off his spot because he's great when he's on the run anyway. But if you don't get him off his spot for sure, if he can just stand back there and deliver the ball, you're in trouble. So I'm going to lean bucks just because that's what I do. But this one scares me because this is a game tailor made for us to lose.
- [42:35]
A
I, you know, a lot of pro football players have told me over the years things don't get real until somewhere in mid November, some guys say around Thanksgiving. And it's getting real now. We're in double digit games now and the Bills are running out of room to convince themselves if no one else. There's a lot of buzz that is negative towards them. But as you say, Josh Allen has obscured a lot of flaws for a lot of years now. Up there in Buffalo at number four on our countdown here, it's the Chicago Bears, it's the Minnesota Vikings. It feels essential just about for both sides here to get this one. The home team is the Vikes. They're laying three. Gerald McCoy, how say you?
- [43:14]
E
I'm taking the Bears because I like the trajectory of where this thing is going. The defense is taking the ball away at a high clip right now. And that's very contagious. You know those takeaways, sacks and takeaways come in.
- [43:28]
A
Are they. Because we. I've been having this discussion, I'm a Steelers guy and the idea that, you know, the Steelers defense tends to win when they force, you know, multiple turnovers and they're. And also ran defense when they do not do that. And so debating how contagious, as you say, is that, that in fact in.
- [43:46]
E
Pro football it's very contagious because when they take the ball away, the game, they're taking them away. Are they getting one, are they getting just one or are they Stacking them when they have these games.
- [43:57]
A
Right?
- [43:57]
E
Stacking them. So that's the contagious part of it. You know, sometimes you get. When people think about something contagious, most people think like you get sick. Well, being sick don't just. Sometimes it off and on. Sometimes you wake up and you like, like, well, freak. I feel great. And then a couple hours later it's like, what the heck just happened to my body? Yesterday I felt great. Then tomorrow I'm super sick. That's just how Pittsburgh is right now. But when they do get a takeaway, take away, take away, take away, take away. That's just, that's just how they are. Well, Chicago, they're sick. Is lasting. Their contagious is week after week after week and they're going to need to take the ball away. Man, J.J. mcCarthy, he's. He's just got, he's got something to him. I don't know how good he is yet, but he's just got some to him. He brings whatever they need in that locker room where they want to play hard for him. But the way Ben Johnson has his offense going and the trajectory that they're doing like this with the Bears, I just feel like it's going to continue and I like the Bears to win this.
- [44:58]
A
I know it seems simplistic, but, you know, a lot of people have been talking about Ben Johnson, including me, for a couple of years as the, as the guy to try and get if you want to punch up your offense and, and it is taking hold now. It didn't happen in week one, but we're seeing the results there at number three. AFC west shootout. Chiefs, Broncos. Maybe not a shootout. The home team, Denver is getting points plus three and a half at the time of this recording. How do you think this one goes?
- [45:26]
E
I'm going Kansas City, Andy Reid, 22 and 4 coming off by weeks. This is what he does. Denver is undefeated at home, but I think that ends this weekend top to bottom, collectively. Don't look at the record. A lot of people look at the records. Oh, well, how you say that better than this team? Well, because defensively Kansas City is not that far off from Denver. I think we, I believe Denver has obviously a better pass rush overall, collectively a better defense, but Kansas City's defense is still a really, really, really good defense. Okay, so now we got to go to the other side of all off. Who do you trust more? Bo Nicks and Sean Payton or Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid?
- [46:12]
A
I don't know. I'm going to Debate that one in my head. I don't know which one. Oh, no, no, no. I got my answer. I'm gonna take 15.
- [46:18]
E
Okay. So that's where. That's what it comes down to for me. I know Bo Nicks is playing well in the fourth quarter, but it's a lot of BS leading up to that. So I just think top to bottom, collectively coming out of a bye week, Kansas City will be healthier. I have two weeks to prepare for this team. I played for Sean against Sean Payton for a lot of years. He's a mastermind. However, I just think Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid combo with that defense is going to be too much for Denver. I'm going.
- [46:49]
A
Here they come. Afc. I think we're getting that repeat. The way it's starting to shape up. A repeat of a repeat of a repeat. And as a matter of fact, now what could be what kind of looks like the NFC Final four come January. Let's tackle both these games here at number two. It's the Rams at the Seahawks. Hawks laying three in Seattle.
- [47:13]
E
Last. Last week the Seahawks played better at home. You know, we talk about this deep, this defensive line in this front, in this defense as a whole. They just drawing it up and they're able this front. Even whether they blitz s pressure or they rush forward, they've been getting home. But before last week, 20 of their 23 sacks were on the road. They were struggling playing better at home than on the road. I think they had won like they last 10 or something like that on the road. They are great road team. They travel well. And that's something you're gonna have to do if you don't have a high seed going into the playoffs. But because they're at home and I feel like Matthew Stafford is top two in MVP right now. I love what they can do offensively and the Mastermind and Sean McVeigh is. And that rush, that pass rush for the Rams, I just see them forcing Sam Darnold into a late game mistake. So I'm going Rams on the road. Man.
- [48:18]
A
Keen analysis. You talked me into that one. I like the Rams, but it was close for me. But I think you're right about the effect of the pass rush there in Seattle. Oddly, since Seattle, that was what they were predicated on a decade, decade or 15 years ago was that tick of a jump that they could get because of the noise from the home crowd there up in the clink. Okay, number one. The other half of the NFC final four, potentially the Detroit Lions, the Philadelphia Eagles. Eagles. Laying only two and a half. A little weird that number to me. Either way, how say you on this game?
- [48:52]
E
This was tough, man, because if you just look at team for team and just look at the numbers, you say, oh, Detroit, Winston. Because the Philadelphia Eagles offense, we don't know what's going on. AJ still saying what he's saying on streams and in the media, whatever, you know, they still understand that the offense is not where it needs to be. Defensively, they played great this last game. You know, Jalen Phillips definitely is going to help for sure getting healthy on the. That defensive front. Front. I like this front, man. And they are deep. The depth on this defense is incredible. However, if they cannot stop Detroit from running the ball, they are in trouble because Jared Goff is a top five quarterback when he's allowed to do play action. That is what he has mastered. And Aiden Hutchinson is. You know, it's having resurgence years, but Philly just. Man, I don't know how they're doing it. Some teams just know how to win. They just know how to win, man. They just. They just find a way. So this was tough for me because Philly's at home. But if they have. If they do what they just did, see what saved them, if they were on the road, we know if Philly did what they did offensively throughout the game and they were at home, them fans would have been born. That's just what the fans do. I just don't know if Detroit have the defense to do what Green Bay did. So I'm gonna take Philly at home. Yeah, I'm gonna take Philly at home, man. I just. The offense, I feel like, has enough to get by on this defense, and Philly's defense is enough to at least slow this offense down one extra possession. So I'm gonna go Philly.
- [50:53]
A
I'll just quickly say that what I forecasted in August I think is gonna finally start taking root as the Lions play the Eagles. I have kept saying about the Lions this year that it is not going to be a week one change without Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson. It's going to be a gentle decline. Not that they're going to be a bum team, but they're just not going to be at the height of their powers as they were probably last year. My point of reference is the Eagles. In between their two super bowl years, they lost those coordinators, and it didn't reveal itself as a problem until the back half, the last third of the season. That's exactly where we are right now I think the Lions are going to slide back a little bit and the Eagles will continue their rise. Gerald McCoy, continue your rise. Man. You're. You're as good as it gets with the football analysis and superhero analysis, too. Let's do more of that at your convenience after the season or whenever you'd like to do it it. We'd love to have you back here on Football America. In the meantime, have a great weekend talking about football in front of it on NFL Network and all the rest of it, man.
- [51:53]
E
All right. Thanks, brother. I appreciate you having me.
- [51:56]
A
Gerald McCoy is out the door and so are we. So with that all being said, I think you're now right for NFL Week 11. We'll be back on the other side of it for you to try and make sense of what we just saw until then. For everybody involved in Football America, thanks so much. My fellow football American seconds. It's been a thin slice of heaven.