← The Ryen Russillo Podcast
The Ryen Russillo Podcast
KAT’s Return to Minnesota, Plus Greg Olsen on Best Coaching Jobs, Who Really Trusts Their QB, and Penix Over Cousins
01:20:37
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- [00:00]
Ryan Resillo
Foreign.
- [00:11]
Greg Olson
Greg Olson stopping by. We're not that close, but just sounds nicer when you introduce him that way. He's just incredible to talk football with. We're going to go over quarterbacks that he's prepped for that maybe surprise him, access to coaches that have been the most impressive. We talked Baltimore, Pittsburgh as far as like looking ahead to some of the playoff matchups, how he felt about his playoff stuff and a lot of cool stuff on just quarterback numbers that look good as opposed to the play calling that maybe tells the truth about them. He is great. Don't even listen to the rest of the pod. If you like him, you just like football. But if you like the rest of the pod, we have Cats Return to Minnesota I am conflicted because you know how I feel about Cap, but it was a celebration for a guy coming back to his hometown. So we'll go through all that and life advice and a little couch money research for you on an NFL Weekend. This episode of the Ryan Resilla Podcast is presented by State Farm Bring home a win with an affordable price when you bundle home and auto with the personal price plan. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer, availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. I want to start doing a few NBA things here, but the headliners Cats return to Minnesota and you know, you think about the audience and things they tell you about. Like hey, the audience is growing so make sure you remind everybody. I don't know that I need to remind anybody that's listening to me talk about the NBA how I feel about Carl Anthony Towns. Like he's an incredibly talented guy. We get the debate about best big man shooter of all time. I know Van Gundy was throwing it out last night. The trade made a ton of sense for the Knicks considering they didn't have a center to start the season. They weren't going to resign Randall, and you know it. Actually I think just kind of if you have title aspirations, you almost have to figure out a way to have a five out option for you at center. And when they get Mitchell Robinson back then they'll have a whole other slew of options and so it made a ton of sense for them. But I also always felt like it made a ton of sense for Minnesota. So last night the storyline is Cats returned to Minnesota, which they blew out. Whether it was the coverage, the lead up, the pieces, how much they talked about it throughout the entire broadcast. And when you think about sports and the presentation of the games in any sport, like if you can find a storyline angle, it's usually a win. And they made sure they found that storyline. And look, it makes a lot of sense. We talk about the game last night. Really impressive. From what we saw from the Knicks, I think you could look at Minnesota almost 30 games into the season and argue they're probably one of the biggest disappointments in the league based on expectations. I don't know that this is really who they are. I don't think they're going to be a.500 basketball team, but they have their own issues. And it just blew up in the second quarter. Like, I lost track of keeping, like, I was writing down the numbers of how big this run was. I was like, when's this run going to stop? It got to 37, 8. I think that was the peak run that we saw from the Knicks after actually losing the first quarter. They had a lot of early Randall possessions for Minnesota. And I realized the overall numbers for Randall, like Randall will always be someone when he's on a basketball team. The numbers are going to look pretty good. Good because he's again, another talented guy. What I don't like when it's so Randall heavy, even though he was really productive in the first quarter, I think it kind of sets a bad tone for the rest of the game. Like Anthony Edwards should be taking more shots in that game. Now, granted, it turned into a pretty ugly score early, so you probably weren't going to get enough minutes from him to get to the 20 shots. But Randall hitting shots and then feeling like the offense is him, and then he's bringing the ball up and everything else, you're like, okay, cool, it's going in here in the first quarter. But I think Timberwolves fans would agree that even with those numbers where he's getting 20 every single night, it can just kind of stop everything else that's happening around them. And, you know, that's its own issue that needs to be figured out. I don't even know if it gets figured out. But again, we've talked about Randall. Talented guy, put up the numbers, but he's not for everybody. So if we look at where the Knicks are defensively and offensively compared to where they were last year, I want to do the same thing with Minnesota. The Knicks have the number two offense in the NBA, right. So the cat part of this offensively is a success. They were seventh last year in offense, so it wasn't like they were abysmal. Defensively, we know that it's been a decline, but it's really a decline in the rankings. They're 15th in the NBA and defense, they were ninth last year. But if you look at the Overall points per 100 possessions, it's basically the same number. Even if it doesn't feel like an uncertain nights and maybe a little bit more earlier in the year, the biggest win for them is that the shooting is incredible as a team. Last year the Knicks actually didn't shoot it that well. This year they're the second best shooting team in the league. And again with the cat option, it gets you back to that five out possibility that I think you need in the playoffs, especially to open up things for Brunson. Bridges was terrific last night. You know, Bridges is another example where there'll be a player who I think we all would agree is pretty good. They go through this stretch and then you think like, is this guy not good anymore? And I just, you know, like, I don't think Larry Markkanen is no longer good. Even though it hasn't been nearly the same season as it was last year. Bridges to start, you're like, oh, so he's just not going to be good anymore. Granted limited opportunities as opposed to being the number one option for such a long time in his brief Nets tenure. But like, you get the point. Like I just, if I've seen multiple years of a guy being pretty good, especially if he's not even 30 yet, I have a hard time being convinced that the bad version in a shorter sample is the guy that now he becomes. And back to the five out thing. Like watching Milwaukee the other night in the cup final against okc, even though I think we'd all agree that Brook Lopez is is limited at this age, the fact that they have him as a five out center, that opens up things for Giannis. Like I love Jared Allen. You couldn't have Jared Allen on the Milwaukee Bucks in place of Brook Lopez. I mean, I guess you could, but it would change dramatically your spacing because Lopez at least makes you guard him and he's going to set up so far away from the basket. So it opens things up for Giannis, it opens things up for Dame. So even with the Mitchell Robinson cat combination, we could see, I don't know that we'd ever see like a closing group with Mitchell Robinson because Tibbs was so in favor of the cat trade. Based on reports Cat at 4 Mitchell at 5. Yeah. Certain matchups, I think you have to have it based on the opponent. But as long as you have this five out center that stretches the floor and you're not going to find one that's going to stretch the floor from an efficiency standpoint the way Cat is, you know, it's a trade that makes a ton of sense. Even if you don't like Cat's contract, that kicks in 220 million do the next four years. Which is another reason why Minnesota moved off of him. Or some of the things I've talked about in the past with Cat where he's just. He's just not my favorite guy. Even though the numbers tell you he's terrific. But last night was like a massive celebration of his tenure in Minnesota. And I think this could be one of those examples where if you're somebody like me who hasn't loved the entire Cat experience, it could be that I don't get it. Right. This is not the same thing. But like when Kobe went crazy in his last game at Staples and then I think he even had like a few people on TV being like, yeah, he took a million shots like. And I know some of you expect me to be that guy. Not after that game. That was a Kobe celebration. That was for Lakers fans. That was for them to. Nobody wants to hear about efficiency on that night. Jesus. You know, like, let the Lakers fan base celebrate this all time icon. All right, now look, Kat is not Kobe. I don't even think he's kg. And it kind of felt a bit like that, I guess. There were two different tribute videos. One with his highlights from his career and the other for all the stuff that he had done off the court, which is again a great thing. But if we're all being honest here, I don't know that we ever look at the face of a franchise and see disappointing playoff exits and be like, yeah, he's awesome in the community. It'd be nice if we did that. But that's just not what we keep track of and how we talk about athletes, fair or unfair, it's just what we do. So it. There were moments last night throughout the broadcast and celebration of all of it and in the lead up where I'm like, all right, like I get he made some threes. But like, what. What is going on here? You know, it's funny when I was thinking about the Kevin Garnett part of it. I mean, Garnett was 0 for 7 in his first seven playoff runs. He lost in the first round seven straight times and then got to one Western Conference final. And it was funny too, because like, if we were doing podcasts back then and there were more of the debate shows that we have today, and look, it was even happening back then in sort of the NBA community of conversation of like, is this KG guy a winner? And it just seems unfathomable to ever question whether or not KG was wired to be a winner. And again, those Minnesota teams weren't very good. But the one Western Conference Finals appearance, I'm not trying to compare the resumes here with Kat because he has the three first round exits, then the Western Conference finals appearance last year. So, you know, if I really wanted to pretend that they were similar, I guess I could force that on you, but I'm not going to because I just don't think they're the same guy. But what could be lost in this, at least from a national perspective, a distance perspective, is that Minnesota fans love this dude. They do. And it was pretty clear last night. And I don't know if it's something that's a little different than kg, where the Kevin Love thing ended abruptly, which was probably more in Minnesota than it was Kevin Love. The Jimmy Butler thing didn't even last long enough for I think anyone to even compare the two. He was there for 69 games and then he MF'd the entire roster and was out of there. There was also the Wiggins element, where I remember talking about the draft and going, you know, what you hope to do with these top picks is have a one, two punch to build your organization around like a Wiggins and like a Cat. And it was pretty clear early on. It's like, it looks like you hit on both these dudes, but there just seems to be something that's kind of missing from both of it. So as I sit here last night, like, wondering, and look, cat went off 30 and 20 and he didn't get off to a hot start. Like, he wasn't super. I wouldn't say super engaged early, but he took his time. He hits the trail 3. It wasn't like he came out being like, I'm just going to put up a million shots. It looked like Randall was looking for revenge more than Kat was last night. And then Kat puts up this awesome stat line like he continues to do all season long. So I, I'll admit, like, I'll have moments where I go, could I be totally wrong about this? Could I be too hard on Cat? Could I not get it? Could I? No. Could it? Could I be wrong about all these. These thoughts that I've had about Carl Anthony Towns. And it's again, it's not about talent. It's not about making threes. It's just kind of how you're wired, like to compare KG and Cat and the wiring. Like, good luck with that exercise. Cause I don't think you're going to come to the conclusion you want to if you want to tie these all together. But I guess the thing I would close with is that when a team like Minnesota, who just made the Western Conference finals, who has this young group, right, who has a front office that I think is terrific when they trade this player that I have doubts about, that's kind of all I need to confirm that I think that I'm right. Now. Maybe they made a mistake. Maybe I just don't get it with Cat. Even though I've talked about the balance that he brings to you offensively and the talent and how he spreads you out and all that kind of stuff. Like, he's not the number one in New York, so it shouldn't really matter. And there's enough talent around him that he doesn't have to be the number one, that he doesn't have to carry the burden that he had to carry before Anthony Edwards showed up in Minnesota. But at least I think for a night, it wasn't about the turnovers and the dumb fouls and the drives. You're like, what were you thinking on that one? It was about a fan base that hasn't had a ton of success, that has had guys show up and not get it done. And even without the playoff success, it was celebrating somebody that was the face of their franchise and somebody they clearly like and appreciate more than I'll ever understand. We have Greg Olson again, which we're always thrilled to be able to catch up with and talk some NFL. And not only is he in Fox Sports Youth Inc. We also have extra Greg Olson on Christmas for you and the family, because Netflix is in the NFL game. They've got a double header. It's Chiefs against Pittsburgh at 1 Eastern. And then at 4:30 Eastern, Greg will be on the call of the Ravens going up against the Houston Texans. Good to catch up with you, man. How are you?
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Ryan Resillo
Hey, man, it's always good to be on. It's good to see you.
- [12:24]
Greg Olson
All right, let's. Let's talk a little bit about last night's win by the Chargers, where, you know, down 2110, they put together a bunch of great drives. Especially that last touchdown drive was just incredible. To see him open it up, especially on the ground. Herbert converting the third and 10. But I think there's a bigger thing because, you know, Bo Nix, for a rookie quarterback, like, this is a win, right? And I don't know that it means the quarterback question is now solved in Denver for the next decade. But I was, I was thinking about quarterbacks in comparison to the NBA players. And they're NBA players that get 20 plus points a night. And because their stats are good, they'll be argued that they're good players. And I'll wonder, okay, is that really who they are or they just have better opportunity? And this isn't about Bo Nicks because for a rookie, this is a win. But I wonder when you watch the quarterback position in general, if you can tell the difference between, okay, that Guy threw for 280 yards, but he's limited in comparison to somebody else who may not even have the stats. You just think is a better player. I'm just wondering if there's like a quarterback equivalent. This, this NBA theory I have in my head.
- [13:24]
Ryan Resillo
No, I think you're spot on. And, and I think the way people need to evaluate quarterbacks or just offenses, defenses, just football in general. When I first came in the league, it was the best offense in the league. You know, total offense and how many yards do you put up a game? The best defense was who gives up the least amount of yards. And then, of course, points allowed and points and points scored. Like, it was very basic. The best run games were the ones that averaged the most. The best passing games average the most vice versa on defense. Like, I think those days are over. I think you look at the passing leaders, the rushing leaders, and I could make a case team by team, there's some really bad teams that are at the top of the list in average yards passing per game. And I wouldn't sit there and say, oh, that's the best quarterback in the league or that's the best passing game. It's your point. It's. You're always losing, you're always playing from behind and you're going to put up gaudy stats just because the game situation is going to dictate chase, chase, chase, and you're going to throw for a lot of yards and a lot of. It's going to be meaningless at the end of games while teams are just trying to play against the clock. And then, you know, vice versa. I could show you a team that's really, really good running the ball. They average 1:40 a game. But my first question to you would be, when do you run for those? Are you running in the second half with the lead or are you just compiling points and you can't win a game and you average 16 points a game? Again, stats that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things because it's not impacting the game. So the same thing with quarterbacks, the way I look at quarterbacks is on quarterback downs, right? Third and pass, two minute playing from behind, and then how you handle pressure, right? Like those to me are the main benchmarks that separate the really, really good quarterbacks and everybody else. And when you see this mapped out and they have some really cool ways to display this now, and some really smart people that compile this data and lay it out over these sheets, it's like it's not a mystery that clunked at the top is the Lamar Jacksons and the Josh Allens and the, you know, the Mahomes of the world and the names that were, you know, burrow the names were accustomed to. And it's really looking beneath the numbers, it's looking at those situations and say, hey, when it's third and pass, show me the best quarterbacks in the league at converting and I'll show you the best quarterbacks in the league. Show me who handles pressure the best. And when they extend plays, they don't turn the ball over, they don't take sacks. And then the third thing is they generate explosive plays. Second reaction. And I'll show you the best quarterbacks in the league. So like when you break it out to what metrics matter, what metrics move the needle. That's how people are now starting to evaluate quarterbacks or just offenses in general. And I think that's a very different way than how people, when I first came into the league 15 years ago, evaluated where it was just raw statistics. You put up the most yards, you were the best. Like it's not the case anymore. Same thing with completion percentage. And we could go on and on and on about these metrics we're accustomed to hearing that don't carry the same value that they used to.
- [16:25]
Greg Olson
Yeah, because if I look at Herbert, you go like, okay, he's 13th in passing yards. I don't think there's five quarterbacks that I would take over them. And I think whether you think, you know, with the coverage and the stunt that they ran, he gets outside on that third and 10, which is a huge spot, and they close it out. I just have a little bit more trust. And what I always look for too is red zone. Where does the play caller trust you on some of these red zone throws? And you know, whether it was two in the beginning with floors, you could tell immediate was like they don't trust him at all to make these throws. Anthony Richardson may be a little different. Limited experience still and he's such a dynamic runner. But there's definitely games where I tune in, I'm like, I don't think they want him making a decision. I would say like the positive for Bo Nix was that they let him throw in the end zone, but it really felt like a one look read or it was like, this is, we're only going to let you see like one part of it. We don't want you back there dancing around the whole time and trying to get out of this. So, you know, it's just something. It's hard, you know, it's, it's hard sometimes for those of us even that watch it all day on Sunday to decipher the difference between a nice stat Sunday and a quarterback that you absolutely trust. And I always look at like those, those third and passing downs that you were talking about, especially for a younger QB or somebody we're all kind of collectively uncertain about is like, what did they call? Because the play caller will usually tell you whether or not you as a fan should trust the quarterback or not. Because if they don't trust him when they're calling the play, that's kind of all you need to know.
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Ryan Resillo
You're spot on and I think it tell if you want. You said it perfectly. There was nothing else. You want to know how a team feels about a quarterback. What do they call on 3rd and 7?
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Greg Olson
That's it.
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Ryan Resillo
Show me what they call them 3rd and 7 and I'll tell you everything you need to know about the inside, the building views of the quarterback. And then the last thing I would add specifically about the quarterback position and you know, you could probably, it's probably a good example with Bo Nix and obviously the style that Sean Payton wants to run. There, there's, there's two ways of playing quarterback and I would argue blending them together are what the elite guys do, right? So there's the guys that play within the confines. They operate really quickly. They play from the pocket, they can go through, check through their progressions. High completion percentage, right? It's Drew Brees in this Sean Payton style system. Really high completion percentage. Ball comes out on time. Hard to sack him, not because he's going to run around. It's hard to sack him because he's processing things so quickly, right? He's going from no, no, no check down versus other guys. It might take them a half click longer. They feel the pressure and things break down. So there's guys that operate really, really fast and really, really in tune within the concept of the system. I think that's what Sean Payton is used to. He's had a lot of success with it. Obviously back with, with Drew. So that makes sense, right? Maybe not going to push the ball downfield, not going to take a lot of second reaction chances. Then there's the guys that only can play out of fates, right? Like they only can scramble and run around and make second reaction plays. And they're a thrill a minute, they're a blast to watch. But again, that's not very sustainable either. The guys at the top of the list can operate within the system, in phase, on time, in rhythm, play with anticipation. And then when things break down, which they're going to do with how good teams are getting on the defensive fronts, how good defensive coordinators are getting at generating free blitzers, and frankly how bad offensive linemen, like, there's just not a lot of great offensive linemen being developed at the young levels. When you put all that in a basket, if you're going to play quarterback nowadays, you better be a really quick processor and you have to be able to move. I'm not saying you have to be Lamar Jackson, but if you're just going to stand on one spot and say, okay, offensive line, protect me, you better be in first and 10, second and two, third and two for the entire game. Because the second you get to third and seven, God forbid, if you have to play from behind and it turns into a drop back game, you better have the best offensive line in football because you're going to have to move, you're going to have to buy time. And that's the, that's the magic of Mahomes and Allen and Lamar and the guys that we're used to. So play within play only without those two guys are going to have a heart. They'll have success here and there. It's going to be hard to operate on the extremes. The guys that can do either or based on the situation, those are the special guys. Like those are the guys you're building for $60 million a year. You're building your team around.
- [20:49]
Greg Olson
Is there somebody that you've called this year that you had a preconceived notion about maybe that you didn't like as much and it may not have shown up the stats, they may not even have won. But you had a greater appreciation for the quarterback after you called the game and you spent the week prepping them.
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Ryan Resillo
You know, I think it's a good question. I, you know, I, it's somebody that. I'm going to answer your question, but it's probably not the perfect answer because I probably had some inherent biases just because I know him as a dude, like as a just a guy. Is. Is Darnold, right? So like I know Darnold, he's a great dude. Spent a year, two years here in Carolina, but then I just gotten to know him through. I got a bunch of buddies on San Francisco where he was. So I just, I just got to know him and I always thought he was wildly talented. He's big, he's strong, he's athletic, he's got a big arm. His journey's just been a little inconsistent. I would argue it's a lot of the environments that he's been in starting in New York and then the situation that he came to here in Carolina. Serves a year as a backup to, you know, spends that time out with Purdy and kind of resets a little bit when you watch what he's doing with Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota, they are playing, in my opinion, the way 99% of quarterbacks at all levels need to play football. It is we're only going to get dropped back when we have to, but when we do, he's been very good at it. We're under center play action, we're throwing the ball downfield, we're attacking you with layers. Now granted he's got great skill players, but he's using that arm. He's using the athleticism. He can scramble to buy time. He can, he can pick up first downs with his legs. And now at this stage in what's taken that offense to another level from where it was early on is when it. When Kevin OConnell says we have to turn into a drop back team and we're going to sit there and we're going to throw it on every single down because we're not going to wait till third down and let you blitz me. That was the game we called against the Cardinals. Cardinals were killing them on third down. They couldn't pass protect. The blitz scheme Gannon had was really good. And Kevin O'Connell said, Screw it, I'm not going to wait till third down. I'm going to treat every single down as third down and I'm going to pass against your base coverages and Sam Darnold was incredible. Then last week we had him again against Arizona. I'm sorry. Against Atlanta he threw for five touchdowns. He was incredible. He throws the ball downfield, it's under center play action on early downs and now he's, he's at the point with the trust of him and O'Connell where when it is third down pass and it is play from behind pass and it is a drop back style game O'Connell has all the trust in the world to let him go out and rip it. And they have brought out the very best in Darnold and you know, obviously it didn't work out in the other places but the Darnold we're seeing right now is a flat out dude.
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Greg Olson
I'm glad you brought up that game because Penix is going to be the starter in Atlanta. Do you think that's the resource put into the draft pick or more about where Cousins is at now?
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Ryan Resillo
I think they had no intentions in a million years of ever playing Pennx this year. I don't think they, I don't think it was part of the plan. I think when they signed Kirk to that contract in free agency before the draft Kirk Cousins was going to be their quarterback for the next call it two years and he was going to be our bridge. We felt that we were a quarterback away from having a really competitive roster which I don't think they were necessarily far off. I think the defense has been good at times, been very good that's kind of bounced back and forth in that middle range but they've been, they've been more than competent. Offensive skill is very good and the offensive line has played well beyond expectations and has done a nice job in the past pro. I think it's a combination of Kirk I his mobility. He was never a great athlete but he was a good big strong guy under center play action was the best play action quarterback in the league playing in that Kevin O'Connell system last year, you know, the last couple years and was excellent and I think what we've seen is he's a little limited now with his mobility. He's playing more in that pistol stand in the middle of the four in the stand in the middle which puts a ton of pressure on a quarterback and he's just not seeing it. He's throwing a lot of picks, he's throwing in the tight coverage, he's getting good protection but the ball's coming out too early. He's not letting things develop. And I just think it got to the point where Raheem said We don't want to waste this. This season we went from having a two game lead in the division to now trailing Tampa and if we wait much longer the season's going to be over and we're going to find ourselves out of the playoffs. And I don't think it's anything they wanted to do or they're happy. But at the same time I think Pennx is wildly talented. I think him being able to be a little bit more elusive, him being able to get out on the perimeter, move the pocket a little bit more, activate him as not like a runner but in the sense of like a movement passer I think unlocks a really good skill unit that they have in Atlanta. And if Zach Robinson, the offensive coordinator, you know, pieces it together right. I think there's a lot they can do with Pennix that maybe they were a little limited schematically on what they could do with Kirk.
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Greg Olson
Kirk is an interesting one for me because I, I would say I wasn't the biggest fan for a bunch of years. Then I think the last year that he was in Minnesota I really started to appreciate him. And it's funny because like I love looking at the next gen stats and what I realized with all the different quarterback ones like Donald's a perfect example. If you look at intended air yards, you know where Anthony Richardson is like off the charts compared to everybody else because he just chucking these rifles behind center Darnold for the other quarterbacks is basically it's Richardson and a couple of guys haven't played enough and then it's. And it's Darnold and what it's always funny whether it's the aggressiveness number or some of that intended air yard stuff or throw to the sticks. Like if I don't like a qb, I'll find a stat there that'll back up me not liking him. And then I'll think to the quarterbacks that we all agree on like being terrific and I'll be like this quarterback who I love is worse statistically in this category than the guy that I'm trying to build an argument against. Like if you look at the least aggressive quarterbacks in the NFL, it's Mahomes and it's Lamar and it was Mahomes last year too. And aggressiveness based on one yard of separation or less. And usually I think quarterback you have to find like I'm sure you played with guys, you probably came back to the huddle and be like you've got to give me a chance at a ball Like, I. It looks like I'm covered, but let me try to make a play and win a 50, 50 ball. And for the guys that I don't like that, don't do it enough. I'll point to that. And yet, probably two of the three best in the league have figured out how to dominate without having to be super aggressive. I don't know if it's an aberration, but for Mahomes, it's kind of a continuation of what we saw last year.
- [27:21]
Ryan Resillo
Yeah, and I think that's what's so fun about, you know, you started off the. The conversation talking about, like, you know, how we evaluate through the world of metrics and statistics and analytics has really, really changed. But at the same time, there's so many. There's so much information out there and there are so many ways to evaluate guys that you can make an argument that Patrick Mahomes is not the best quarterback, and you can make the argument that he's the best quarterback of all time. It just. You just got to pick which page of the report you want to refer to. But to your point, then it doesn't always hold up for someone else and you get into, like, circular logic. The reality is every single quarterback is operating in a very unique situation. The personnel around them, their play caller. We haven't even talked about how all of this affects the defense. Like the defense's impact on an offense. I don't think gets enough conversation. For example, you tell me we're really struggling running the ball, right? Our run game's not really good. Or on defense, we can't stop the run. If my defense can't stops the run, can't stop the run. My first thought is, you got to play better offense. Don't let the team run the ball at you. If you're a team built to stop the run, you better have an unbelievable offense. Because if you have an average offense and I don't need to chase you because you're only scoring 20 a game, I can run the ball for four quarters against you. I'm. You're Dallas, right? You're Dallas of the last couple years. You score 30 a game. I don't need to play run defense. Last year, they go up to Buffalo in bad weather and their offense struggles. They have some turnovers and they don't score 30. And all of a sudden Buffalo runs for 200 plus yards. And people go, oh, my God, Dallas has a huge issue on their hands. They can't stop the run. And I say, well, it only matters if the offense doesn't score 30. If Dak and that offense is the best offense in the league at the time. If they score 30, you can't run the ball for 220 against me. You just don't have enough snaps. It doesn't matter. Right. So like I'm defending the pass. So the complimentary style. So right, you bring up Lamar and it's like does Lamar now he's having the best season that he's had throwing the ball downfield. He is. He's not been the most accurate downfield passer in his career. This year, by far his best season. But when you look at what they do really well on offense, you don't have to be elite in every single thing because you're elite in explosive plays generated. He's got some good run after catch guys. Obviously the run game, we could go on and on and on about what a threat that is. It's such a unique component to their offense. But when you look at Lamar like attacking coverages, his development as a passer, everything in Baltimore has blossomed because of the development of a path as a passer of Lamar Jackson. The run game is better because there's more depth in the defense. The run game is better because it's always been good. Now they have Derrick Henry Lumpkin who runs a little bit more of like a traditional style passing game to compliment Nate Bait compared to Greg Roman. And Lamar is just a better passer. He's not just a novelty who's going to run around and then every once in a while throw it, you know, throw it. Like every guy is operating in such a unique situation. How good's my defense? How many points am I trying to score? Do I need to score 30? And I need to be reckless with the ball because if I score 20, I'm going to lose. Or is my defense pretty solid? Like everybody is dealing with these different situations and then they formulate a game plan and their personnel and they say, okay, this is in our best interest to win this game. And then we repackage it all up again the next week. So like, I know it's a long answer, but individual metrics don't tell the whole story without taking into context the environment in which the player is operating in.
- [31:05]
Greg Olson
Okay, I have a couple other matchup things that I think would build off of that, but I want to get this in because I just know with the production meetings, the years of just watching it and then being at ESPN when I was doing college game day, like sometimes TV would be nice. Enough to let us tag along with some of that stuff which they, Fowler and those guys never had to do that. And every now and then they would let us and it was just incredible access. Right? Like there's got to be trust there too. I think when you're with Fox long enough there's like, look, I'm not going to burn you on the broadcast, but let us in. Like let us. And look, every organization is going to be different with how much they want to tell you who has impressed you. Maybe you don't have to pick just one, but with that kind of access leading up to game planning vision for the week and it may not even show it in the score, but which organization kind of stands out to you throughout your prep in your production access where you're like, man, these guys have it figured out.
- [32:01]
Ryan Resillo
Yeah, you know, I think it's a great question and I, I've said this to a few people. I've probably enjoyed learning football and realized how much football was left to be learned since transitioning into this TV world than even when I was a player. And as a player like I always felt like I had a really good understanding and like that was a big part of my game is like I wasn't just going to be the freak athlete running around. Like I needed to know my, like I need to know offense, defense, coverages for past protections. It was part position obviously that I played, but also it was like part of my survival. It was the only way I could make up for these guys that were bigger, faster, stronger so. But little did I know, like entering into the TV world and the access and the conversations that we have with some of the best offensive and defensive minds, best leaders, you know, and, and the amount of topics that we're able to cover and you know, when you have an opportunity to talk offensive, you know, game philosophy as far as putting a game plan together with Sean McNay and Kyle Shanahan, it's pretty eye opening. You know, when they, when they say something that's like universal, it's not necessarily just about this week's game but it's, you know, that's something I have like a little like banked document where I write like big high level things like one day if I'm ever a coach, this, this, this like whether it's making a game plan or how they see their run actions, complimenting their play action game and what formation stress certain defenses and like just the way their brains formulate plays and have the opportunity where once you earn that trust you can Ask them honest questions, and you'll get honest answers. I mean, you have Kyle Shanahan literally telling us, hey, no, this is how we see it. The way they set their fronts. We want to attack. And, like, you sit there and you're like, I've never heard anyone presented that way. That's super interesting. And then the part I've probably enjoyed the most is the defensive side, right? So you get Brian Flores. You know, we've had now a bunch with Minnesota, and he runs a very unique style of defense where you don't really see a lot of it, right? You see a lot of the Vic Fangio, where it's not a lot of blitz, it's a lot of high shells, play everything top down. And we're going to let the front, whether it's four or five guys, our front's going to dominate the game. Right? You see that now with Philadelphia, and that's kind of been Fangio's deal, everywhere he's been. But then you got a guy like Flores where he wants to attack, he wants to blitz, he wants to stand six or seven guys up on the line of scrimmage and then run back to cover two and only blitz four. And then sometimes it looks like he's blitzing nine. And to be able to ask him, like, talk me through formulating the plan, how does it tie together on first and second down? What does it stress in the run game? What runs do you not see? What runs do you see? Like, asking them how all these layers tie in in their thought process to then saying, okay, this is our best chance of having success this weekend. Let's lay out the plan and go do it. Like, I just find that all fascinating, right? So. And then you tie it together with, like, a Dan Campbell, who I know comes under some. Some heat, but, like, to have the opportunity to talk through Dan Campbell, where everyone's acting like he's just making shit up and that he's just, like, by the seat of his pants, just saying, screw it, I'm gonna play. It is so far from the truth. Everything he does is so thoughtful, is so thought out, is so pre. It's all predetermined. And to watch him stick to his guns, no matter good, bad, or in between, I would argue most. Mostly good. I mean, look at the success. Like, but to hear his thought process of, like, how he weighs these situations, and I'll ask some of these guys. I'm like, all right, think back to the end of that game with whoever this is. What. What would you have Done. And they'll tell you, say, hey, here's my approach. We're down three. We don't want to kick a field goal. Make it six, lead the clock. Gonna go for it on fourth down. I feel better. Whatever the situation is. Like, it's awesome. Like, what a unique insight into the brains of some of the smartest football people in the world. And as a guy who just loves football and wants to learn and wants to implement some of this shit with my middle school team to a watered down version, like, I love it. Like, what an opportunity to learn the game. And I always think, like, the best people steal the best ideas. That's just the world. And I am the first to admit a lot of. A lot of things that I've come to learn, I've learned from other people.
- [36:23]
Greg Olson
I'm so glad you said that about Flores, because, you know, the few guys that I'm friends with that play defense in the league, like, you just be on the text thread and you might just get like a floor as, wow. Text. Because, like, those guys are going, you know, he's asking these guys to do a lot of stuff, but damn, like, this is fun. All right, two more things before we finish up here. So if you think back to your super bowl run with Carolina and prepping, because I'm thinking of this, and it'll relate to the final question that I have as I try to sift through, like, how I feel about matchups, because I don't want to just go when it comes to the playoffs, like, this team's better than that team because we know that there are certain matchups that benefit or. Or put another team at a disadvantage. And maybe I'm thinking about Baltimore and Pittsburgh here, so that might be the lead. Did you know you beat Seattle, right? You. You blew out Arizona in the NFC Championship game. And granted, Carson just had, you know, a bad day. Did you feel like, differently going into that? Like, was there a matchup? And maybe even throw Denver in the super bowl matchup in here, where the week leading up, you're going, okay, we're going to eat. Like, this is. This is perfect for us.
- [37:26]
Ryan Resillo
You know, it's kind of funny, you know, the year that we had, you know, it was Christmas Day and we hadn't lost. We're 14 and, oh, we hadn't lost yet. We're celebrating Christmas. Undefeated in the NFL. It's not unheard of, but it's virtually unearthed and we end up losing. Week 15, like, the weekend after Christmas, we go down to Atlanta, who we had just beat 30 something to nothing. I think it was Dan Quinn's. It might have been his first, either his first or second year since he took over the Atlanta job. I want to say it was his first year in 15. And we beat their doors off at home. 30 point blowout, non competitive. Two weeks later we go back down to Atlanta and we're like, we're going to be 150 with Tampa coming to our place to go undefeated. Like, how crazy is this? Like, not too crazy, hard games. Atlanta beats us, we kind of have a reset. We come back at home, we win. So we're 15 and 1. We get the buy. And I'll never forget it. Seattle was like the thorn in our side. They were so good, they were so physical on defense. And Russ was playing obviously at a high level offensively with Marshawn. And then on defense, it was like the who's who of defensive players at this time. So I remember watching that, that playoff game and like, you're not saying you don't want to play anyone, but you're kind of like, I wouldn't mind if Minnesota won. Well, it's that frigid ass game and outside in Minneapolis and they lose, they miss that field goal and we end up getting Seattle. And I think we in our heart knew Seattle was going to be that they were the measuring stick. You know, Arizona had an unbelievable year. They either won 12 or 13 games. They had a fantastic year, but we just knew Seattle so much better. We had played them so many times. We played them earlier in the year on the road in their place and was an unbelievably close game, but they had our number, you know, like they, they beat us in the playoffs already once earlier the year before. So like we, we knew that was going to be a huge challenge. And we jumped up on them big. We were up 30 to nothing at halftime. Like it was one of those games. First play of the game, we bust Luke has a pick six. We're up 14 nothing. Before the game even starts, we're up 30. It might have been like 31 nothing at halftime or something like that. And then in the second half, Russell Wilson turns into Russell Wilson and we have to recover an onside kick to advance. So that game, coming out of that game, I think our confidence, we knew we could play with everyone. Like we had blown some teams out, but we'd also played in some close games. So we felt like we were tested. We were relatively healthy and we knew that, that, that I think Carson Palmer's. I think that offense that year for them was. It might have been number one or two in the league, maybe only behind us. I can't remember exactly, but we felt like Seattle was the game. Like if we could get over that, we had a really good opportunity. And believe it or not going into it, the team we probably wanted to play the most matchup wise was, was Denver. And, you know, they. They beat New England, and I don't think anybody wanted to play New England in a Super Bowl. And we knew that Denver defense was nasty, and we knew offensively they were really struggling. Like, they, that wasn't the offense that they had, you know, the prior year or so with, with Payton. And obviously the defense was the difference in the game and they beat us. But like, that Seattle game to me felt like the, the hump we had to get over. We. We played the best game of our lives in the NFC championship. We won 45, 17. It was. And it was a blowout. And we peaked two weeks too early. We. We played our best game of our lives. Offense, defense, all things taking the ball away. Deep, explosive plays. Cam was incredible. He ran for a couple, through for a couple. We played the best game of our time in Carolina in the NFC Championship, and it just came two weeks too early.
- [41:19]
Greg Olson
Okay, so final thought here, because I'm still trying to figure out Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and I've talked about Pittsburgh enough now that Steelers fans know where this is going. Is that, like, as good as this has been? I'm just going to be a QB snob about it, and I don't think I'm going to pick Russell Wilson in a playoff game against some of these other teams, but they've got Baltimore again coming up here very shortly. We know Lamar's record against ball, or, excuse me, against Pittsburgh. It's, it's. It doesn't even make any sense, you know, like, I know you dig through it, you're like, oh, he was hurt. They sat him. There was a Covid thing. There's not as many games as you would think with a division matchup. And I thought this year it's like, okay, well, they'll get him. And it's like, all right, well, Tucker misses all the kicks, Boswell kicks, six field goals, all the penalties and stuff. Like, there's a way to explain away the loss. But like, if you're a Pittsburgh fan going, okay, so we get Lamar again, and you're going to make more excuses. Lamar in that first Pittsburgh game, this kind of gets back to some of the aggressiveness stuff. But again, when you're watching on the TV broadcast, you don't know what's going on. But it. It felt like the coverage had to be incredible because Lamar would get flushed out of the pocket, he would look, he would see him want to pull the trigger on something and then he wouldn't. They contained him running. He had the one run late for like 20 plus yards, but for the most part, he didn't do anything with his legs in that game. And if you actually look at his game log, first half of the season, second half of the season, he's been less effective, or they're just asking him to do it less as far as running. But maybe it's just a familiarity thing where because it's a division rival, nothing he does is ever going to scare them or devastate them mentally. Where if you don't see Lamar enough, you just have these moments, you're like, I cannot believe he just did this. And I still think he has those games against Pittsburgh, but I don't know if it was a coverage thing specific to that game because that same coverage was not there in the first half against Jalen Hurts and the Eagles where it felt like those guys were running wide open and once they made the catch, they were wide open. It just felt like a matchup for an afternoon again where I guess I feel like I'm planning on being dismissive of Pittsburgh, but there's evidence that tells me that I shouldn't be specific to Lamar.
- [43:13]
Ryan Resillo
Yeah. So I think you brought up a lot of really good points. So the first thing I'll say, you're 100% right, that there is an element when you're playing these really unique players and as a byproduct, these really unique play styles, it's very hard to prepare for them in practice. Right. So you have a guy, all right, this week, he's wearing the purple jersey, he's Lamar Jackson. But on the run plays, it might be like one of your wide receivers if you're trying to like simulate the movement skills. Or it's your third string quarterback who's running the scout team. And yes, you have your reads and he gives a belly read and they're running quarterback keep. And your defensive end tags off on them. Hey, nice job. Everyone's on their assignment and then all of a sudden it's Derrick Henry and it's Lamar Jackson and you haven't played them in a couple years and all of a sudden like their speed, the scheme, you don't see a lot of quarterback bash and quarterback counter and Misdirection plays like, you just don't see it a lot unless you're playing, you know, Lamar, you're playing Jane Daniels again, different animal and, and obviously with, with what they do with Josh Allen and we did it a lot with Cam, but there's pockets of it, but you don't see it all year, right. So there is an element of like newness where no matter how much you practice it for two days, half the time it's in walkthrough. It just feels different when Lamar does it himself. Pittsburgh's used to it, right? They've been playing against this guy a lot. They know the scheme, they know the personnel. So there, to your point, there is an element where it's not as daunting just from the sheer like familiarity of the matchup. Right. So there is that component. I think Pittsburgh has an opportunity to learn a big lesson from last week against Philly that they can bring in to their left to their approach against, against Baltimore. I think last week so much is made about Saquon and he's incredible. Don't get me wrong, he's incredible. The run game's incredible. They've always been good and now they add an elite back, a generational back and they make a very good run game, an elite run. There's so much conversation around these teams going in saying we have to stop Saquon, we have to stop Saquon. And they went in and granted he missed some time, he got his knee banged up, but all things, you look at the stat line, he had like 60 yards rushing or something, 65 yards rushing, give or take. But you let Jalen Hurts in that passing game had the greatest passing game of their season and they scored 27 with two back to back turnovers. They should have scored 40. So like was it worth spending all that time and attention to limit Saquon Barkley to then give up the downfield one on one shots in the perimeter to A.J. brown and let, let Jalen Hurts stand there and get the ball out of his hand on time and, and make the passing game a little easier. When I would argue what makes Philadelphia such a challenge is their offensive skill, is their offensive line pass protecting and I would start stopping that. I if you want to run the ball 40 times against me, as long as you're not busting off 50 yard touchdowns, you're going to have a hard time scoring more than 20, 24 points. It just doesn't happen now all of a sudden you force a couple takeaways. If Pittsburgh plays that game and takes the ball away like they did and spends all their commitment to the passing game instead of the run game. And Saquon goes bananas. They don't have enough possessions to score 30 points to beat you, you know, so like, I think they need to say, okay, we wanted to stop Saquon. We can't make the same mistake and say we're going to do everything in our power to stop Derrick Henry in this run game. Don't let Derrick Henry break 50 yard touchdown runs. That seems pretty obvious. Nobody wants that. But in the midst of it, if he wants to nickel and dime you and do it here and at the same time, we're not letting this offense score fast. We're not letting the passing game be unresisted. Like that's the formula in the NFL that you want to play these days. And I think we get so caught up in. People don't like the idea of giving up a lot of rush yards because it feels like a physical attack. I think there's like a mentality where like if I'm not a great run defense, I'm not tough. And like I would make the argument like, isn't the idea to not give up a lot of points? Like, I just think there's a psychology there and I think Pittsburgh needs to learn their lesson and say we're not gonna let Lamar throw the ball over the yard. Granted, they don't have the same offensive skill in Baltimore at the receiver position like they do in, in Philly, but I think you have to be so careful in today's modern game. Spending too much time making a team one dimensional and making them a passing team if they have a quarterback that's an MVP like Baltimore.
- [47:49]
Greg Olson
That second half drive by Philadelphia though, that was like an all time football moment. Just taking out the entire toolbox on him. Greg, thanks so much, man. You're always a blast to have on. Obviously open invitation anytime. And an invitation to you as well to check out Greg and Netflix. So presenting the NFL on Christmas Day again, double header. We've got Chiefs, Steelers 1 Eastern and then Greg will be on the call of Baltimore against Houston at 4:30 Eastern. And to make sure, and I'll give you the plug here too to remind everybody the awesome stuff you're doing with Youth Inc. And just the whole business plan. I mean do whatever you want here because I just want to make sure you get your value out of your time here as well.
- [48:27]
Ryan Resillo
Awesome. Well, appreciate it. I mean, yeah, so the you think thing is obviously a kind of a Passion project of mine for the last couple years. You know, live grew up around youth sports. My dad was my high school coach. Lived it, breathed it. That was our superheroes. We, you know, we didn't idolize, you know, college and NFL guys. We idolized the high school kids on my dad's team on Friday nights. And life, it's funny how life goes full circle. Now I'm retired. I'm a dad of three kids, and I don't have all the answers. And I think anyone who's raising kids in this crazy world, you know, so much talk about, like, what's going on in college sports, well, I would argue it's even crazier in, like, middle school and travel sports and pay to play and just all the craziness. And I think a lot of parents are struggling. So we set out with, you think, to create a platform of content r myself, a lot of other content creators to explore the world of youth sports through storytelling, through interviews, through education, best practices, mental health, skill development, training, all things. And we've had a great response. A lot of really cool content being created. We're just kind of getting started with this second iteration of it. And again, it's something that I live, eat and breathe as a dad. It's something I, you know, I coach a sport a season for all my kids. And I think there's a lot of questions out there that a lot of parents have, and hopefully we can be a resource and a guide towards answering some of those difficult situations that parents and kids are finding themselves in and make the youth sports experience a little bit better maybe than it is right now in a lot of places. And along the way, have a lot of really fun conversations with people who really understand the landscape.
- [50:00]
Greg Olson
Well, I love it. I checked it out, and it's just. I don't know, man. It's. It's just really cool how you put it all together. And I always think the people, especially when you start thinking about youth sports, like, the people I trust the most are the people that have nothing to gain from it. You know what I mean? Like, not that you don't get the reward of being involved with your kids and all that kind of stuff, but there's just so much stuff that's going on. It's like, well, what's this person's motivation? And, like, I'd rather be aligned with the person who's already made it and doesn't actually need to have this be their identity. You're awesome, man. Man, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Greg.
- [50:29]
Ryan Resillo
Appreciate you as always.
- [50:30]
Greg Olson
Before we get to Couch Money research with our NFL picks, want to remind you we have a little look at a Saturday College Football Playoff Moneyline parlay. Just looking at the money lines for some of this. Again the Friday game, Indiana, Notre Dame that has moved to minus six and a half. Notre Dame's obviously favored. That was over touchdown. If you look at this lineup versus all the conference championship games or they're all like around a field goal, all of these are were a touchdown or more when they opened and that's the only one that's under seven points. I picked Indiana on my bracket. I think I was just doing it to screw around a little bit. So we'll see what happens. Almost sounds like the double emotional hedge there. I just, whenever I get a bracket in front of me, man, it's just a work of art. Who knows? It's like spoken word. I just didn't even know where I'm going. Probably like a lot of people that do it. Smu, Penn State. I have Penn State moving on. So if you were looking at this strictly from just the money line part of it, I have Texas moving on against Clemson, although canal pick Clemson for the upset. And then I have Tennessee upsetting Ohio State. So if I had to play one plus seven and a half, it would clearly be Tennessee because I picked him out right in the bracket as well. I feel much better about that one than I do the other one. Anyway, that Moneyline parlay for the Saturday games two favorites and a dog would be +412. Taking a look at Couch Money research. All right, so the most popular pick this week as far as the public percentage of money, the Lions minus six and a half. I was actually going to give out the Bears, but we'll let the fade the public pick be the Bears plus six and a half at home. We're also going to give out the Pats plus 14 and a half. That's my couch pick at Buffalo. So plus 14 and a half at Buffalo. And then the research pick here is Dallas +4 at home against Tampa Bay. Once again, check out sportsbook.fanduel.com.
- [52:28]
Ryan Resillo
You want details? Buy I drive a Ferrari 355 Cabriolet. What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every tour you can possibly imagine. And best of all, kids, I am liquid. So now you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required.
- [52:48]
Greg Olson
Life Advice the email address lifeadvicerrgmail.com gearing up for a little Holiday week, man, I hope everybody's excited. Kyle's got a big smile on his face. I could see you being a huge Christmas guy.
- [52:59]
C
Big Christmas guy. Big Christmas guy. Especially when there's no work. And I don't think there's going to be any work on this. Christmas just confirmed, so, uh, happy holidays, everyone.
- [53:08]
Greg Olson
I'm not too.
- [53:09]
D
This came early for Kyle, by the way. He's got his Drake Majors. He on today?
- [53:12]
C
Yeah, man, I don't think. I didn't think I was going to be able to have another opportunity to wear it on a Monday post Sunday football, just considering the next couple of games. So I just. I didn't want to let this pass. It showed up. I. It showed up late last night. Got it this morning from the mailroom. And I gotta say, I'm loving it. It's the on field one. I splurged a little bit.
- [53:31]
Greg Olson
That's what I'm talking.
- [53:33]
C
Yeah. Even the number, everything stitched, that's got the little, I don't know, elastic in there to make your arms look bigger, you know? I like it.
- [53:40]
Greg Olson
You don't need that. Arms are huge. Thanks. Okay, let's read a couple emails here. We did have a one follow up, maybe two.
- [53:50]
C
I've been getting Sobey tweets, like, for the last three days.
- [53:53]
D
Yeah, there's the fountain sodas that people went to. I didn't even know that was a thing.
- [53:56]
C
Sobe Life Water. I knew it was a thing, but I don't think that's what I was drinking. I think maybe it was called Life Water, but I don't know.
- [54:02]
Greg Olson
No, the milky stuff was scary.
- [54:04]
C
That was.
- [54:04]
Greg Olson
We covered the pina colada. Like, that's when it sounded like you checked out. Like, what's going on there? I mean, Gatorade had a couple that looked like what you would spit out of your mouth after brushing your teeth. Like, what are you guys going for?
- [54:18]
C
Arctic cherry or whatever that was.
- [54:20]
Greg Olson
Yeah.
- [54:20]
D
Is this creamy? Yeah.
- [54:23]
Greg Olson
Is this a nog? What are we doing here? All right, back to dating an ex. I know it's a week late, but I have a little experience here. College pole vaulter, exclamation point. Heck, yeah. We had pole vault at our high school, and I was like, can I try? And they were like, no, we don't have the insurance to cover it. That's why no one does it. And it's never set up. And I don't think there's any polls around. Like, okay, ouch.
- [54:48]
C
Pole vaulting got a little jolt this year. With that guy at the Olympics.
- [54:51]
D
Oh, the dick guy?
- [54:52]
Greg Olson
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [54:54]
D
That was a win for him.
- [54:55]
Greg Olson
Totally, totally. I wonder if he gets sick of it, you know, 10 years from now.
- [55:03]
C
I don't know. I don't. I don't really see that sheen wearing off ever. It's cool, man. I think that's cool.
- [55:08]
Greg Olson
Yeah. I mean, look, for any guy, I mean, you're like, hey, how's it going? You know, So I don't think stage like that.
- [55:14]
C
Come on. It's not like it's some high school grainy video that, you know, resurfaced. Like, that's the Olympics, man. Good for you, world stage.
- [55:21]
D
Better than winning a gold medal. I don't even know if he meddled. Did he medal?
- [55:24]
C
I think so. I think so.
- [55:25]
Greg Olson
I hope he. We'll never know.
- [55:26]
C
Especially if you. Probably no one good enough to get gold. Definitely better than the bronze medal, I.
- [55:29]
Greg Olson
Can tell you that. Yeah, it's got to get old because that's one of those deals where, you know, there's certain podcast guests where I go, like, I know I have to ask this, but I don't really want to ask this person anymore about this because they've already been asked about it. But then you're kind of stuck being like, but how do you not ask about it? And then you're like, oh, I'm gonna do this guy a favor. Like, that was always some of the weird athlete stuff that we do in the past. You would have. You would not ask him the thing that you had to ask him to try to prove how cool you were. And I'd be like, well, we're not gonna summer house with this guy. I just ask him the question. Look, I know everybody's asked you about this, but I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna ask you a far less relevant question so that if we see each other at an SB party, we'll point to each other.
- [56:12]
D
Might remember me. Yeah.
- [56:13]
Greg Olson
Yeah. All right. D3 pole vaulter. All right. Just kidding. But met my wife on the team. No stats anymore, just an anecdote. My best friend started dating my girlfriend two years after we broke up. Talked about it before, was all good. Fifteen years later, they're married with two beautiful kids, and her ex boyfriend stood up in her wedding. Just makes sense that friend groups are attracted to the same types of people. It's okay to let people live their lives without affecting yours. That's a mature perspective.
- [56:45]
C
Boyfriend, speak now or forever hold your peace.
- [56:49]
Greg Olson
I didn't even know that was no no, no. I would imagine like the good parts of. Not the. Not a. Not an objection.
- [56:56]
C
Okay.
- [56:57]
D
Oh, yeah.
- [56:57]
Greg Olson
Has anyone ever done that? Like, I know it's in movies.
- [57:00]
C
I don't even see like a YouTube video of it from like real life. I don't. I've never seen it.
- [57:04]
Greg Olson
Yeah, right.
- [57:05]
D
You have to just be a huge.
- [57:07]
C
Asshole to do that or just insanely drunk. Right?
- [57:10]
D
I mean, typically both.
- [57:12]
Greg Olson
Yeah, he would still have to be a huge, like, to be drunk and go, this is a good idea. And granted, when you're drunk and you're like, this is a good idea. And the next day you're like, that wasn't the best idea I've ever had. This is a massive commitment. I mean, I think even drunk, you know, you going, am I really going to do this? And there's probably some people that would make some jokes or whatever and we'll get a few emails being like, something like this happened, but like a full blown stand up. I object to this. They should probably just take that out. Yeah.
- [57:38]
C
Don't even, you know, don't even give that box to check. Right.
- [57:41]
Greg Olson
Yeah. Look, that guy's obviously very mature. Everyone in this wedding was very mature, but I don't. I don't know that everybody would be cool with that. I don't know that I'd be psyched if my wife's ex boyfriend was like, I have some things to say. I mean, if he was like a cool athlete, I'd just, maybe I'd be psyched he was there. Like, this is awesome. We're going to be buddies. All right?
- [58:03]
D
You don't want, you don't want that person to like, be cooler and better than you, though, you know?
- [58:09]
Greg Olson
Yeah. What's, you know?
- [58:10]
D
Like, oh, wait, she. She dumped Priscillo and she's dating a hockey player now. Like, damn, that's.
- [58:14]
C
Are you enjoying my wine, Nate?
- [58:16]
Greg Olson
He wasn't even on the power play, though. So, like, what are we really talking about here? Slot receiver. Yeah. Cool. You have 60 catches that one year. Yeah, I don't know. I don't worry about that stuff anymore. When I was younger, I would, but now I would. I would just. I'm not saying I'd want him at the wedding, but I don't. I wouldn't be like, oh, you dated a pro athlete? Now I feel less of a man. Yeah, you know, I mean, I guess there's some pro athletes where I'd be like, okay, that's.
- [58:45]
C
It's nice to not have to think about that ever, though. Gotta Say.
- [58:53]
Greg Olson
That'S actually maybe. Yeah, maybe you go that route. All right. Gift cards. Gift cards. Tis the season 30 second question. No stats necessary. What do you guys think when you receive a gift card, Visa, Amazon, whatever, that has no value when you attempt to redeem it? Do you let it lie or contact the gift giver? Seems kind of awkward to me to ask the giver about a $25 gift card that will not process. Thanks. Look, off the top, I get where you're coming from. It could be seen as, oh, this guy cared about the 25 bucks. I think if anything, you're letting the person know that bought it for you.
- [59:29]
C
Yeah, I hope he didn't buy a four pack and distribute these.
- [59:32]
Greg Olson
So I think I wouldn't look at this as a selfish motivation or something that you could be criticized for being cheap on, because I totally understand what you're saying. But if anything, you might be doing that guy a solid, whoever gave you the gift and be like, hey, just so you know. And you present it that way. And by the way, if they're the ones that then like talk about you behind your backs about being cheap about 25 bucks, that's their fault. So I would, I would not have any hesitation whatsoever. Especially if it's like a good relationship and it's a normal person and if they bought you a gift, it probably is a pretty good relationship, a guy buying another guy a $25 gift card. Although maybe it wasn't a guy. Anyway, the point is, is that I would alert them for what Kyle just said. What if they're all faulty? And what if there's like seven relatives going this cheap, just grabbed him and then didn't put anything on it. Although that would be an amazing out for a Christmas. But you probably have to leave.
- [60:21]
C
Just walk out of CVS with two of those things off the rack and.
- [60:24]
Ryan Resillo
Just be like, I don't know, man.
- [60:25]
C
Some sort of weird mix up.
- [60:27]
Greg Olson
I gotta check my extra care. But I don't know that you could stay. You couldn't stay. Like, if you were staying with people for Christmas, that would have to be a drive by gifting where it's like, oh, we're gonna see each other on Christmas Eve or whatever, and then you're just out of the mix. Like, you. I don't think you could be at the house on Friday and then like, your nephew's going, dude, I try to order socks and whatever. It didn't go through anything else.
- [60:51]
C
No, that's. That's a totally fine question to ask.
- [60:53]
D
Yep.
- [60:54]
C
And because he's thinking about it enough, he's going to ask it in a nice way. We can already tell.
- [60:58]
D
Unless it's like your buddy who you know is like maybe struggling or broke. I don't maybe, but again, yes.
- [61:04]
Greg Olson
No. You know what I mean? Seriously, Saruti, I didn't think there was anything left. That's a great point to add. If the guy's just destitute, let him think he gave you 25 bucks.
- [61:14]
C
Right? If the fact that you got the gift was a surprise to begin with.
- [61:17]
Greg Olson
Just the best is if somebody gives you a gift card and they tell you the total it starts with.
- [61:23]
D
I think it's oh yeah, there's change on there. Yeah, it's like 1374 on there, I think.
- [61:31]
Greg Olson
Is this a gift card or did you return a drill? Here's an Equinox gift card. It's for $46.17. All right. 62195. This is the Manlympics. I like this 62195. Not much of a gym guy. Recently tested my bench and felt good about putting up 225. If you're not much of a gym guy and you bench 225, you should feel great. Dance in the streets Basketball comp is Chris Mullen second favorite athlete of all time. In my prime I could get hot and people would consider me one of the best players on the court when the shot isn't falling. I don't offer much outside of some occasional hustle. Feels like a little derogatory towards Chris Mullen, but we'll let it slide because it's such a great poll. My friends and I are a collection of 40 year old has been college athletes from soccer to football, the baseball and basketball players. We've argued for years on who's the most athletic. What else would you do with your time? I love this group. Love that.
- [62:24]
D
Yeah.
- [62:25]
Greg Olson
And what it even means. What it even means to be most athletic. So we decided to put on an event called the Man Olympics a few times over the past couple of years to decide who the most athletic friend is. We've done everything from 100 meter dash, mile runs, three point contest, long drive in golf. Love that you're home for golf. Home Run Derby. Usually it's a contest of 10 events held back to back to back with points awarded from first to last. @ the end, whoever has the most points wins, including quite literally gets the belt for most athletic. Our problem is we struggle to pick fair events for all to compete so it doesn't favor just a few with that, can you once and for all help us decide on the best events to participate in and decide who the most athletic is? PS Will send picks and results when we're done. All in on this.
- [63:12]
D
Lux is awesome.
- [63:12]
C
The amount of buy in you guys have found amongst each other is incredible. The a.m. the buy in that you have 10 events and somebody ordered a fucking belt and you guys are arguing about the events. I mean nine out of 10 times, like some if not most of the dudes are too cool for this type of thing and you fucking pulled it off or too busy or whatever it is. And I think already just a round of applause for the buy in from you guys.
- [63:35]
D
As adults I want to watch this like Survivor style. Like I would watch episodes of this.
- [63:40]
Greg Olson
Competition because it's not a terrible Netflix idea because there's no cost whatsoever. They just sign waivers, just have guys each like each eight episodes and then you just cast out a bunch of like. You would have too many applicants for this by the way.
- [63:56]
C
This could be like a 50 episode season of Just Background TV. That's great.
- [64:00]
Greg Olson
Get Nick Cannon and Snoop to host it because apparently there's no television production that can be done without Snoop now. You know what's the cost? Couple. Couple handhelds and you run around sweats, dude, Come on. So I think we'd all agree what benching long drive, one on one hoops and darts.
- [64:20]
Ryan Resillo
Darts.
- [64:25]
Greg Olson
100 meter dash is awesome. Just because two hamstrings are going to be blown, right? Because if you don't sprint for a long time and then sprint, the body's usually not like hey, this is awesome. Basketball is tough because it's like, so what are you going to do? Free throw contests? That doesn't really mean athletic. It just means somebody's good at making free throws. So I think you should have a one on one tournament. Games to seven, you know, I don't know. Ones and twos, keep them moving, winner takes, you know, I think, I think basketball has to be part of it because I feel like basketball really exposes the non athletes with the athletes. I love long drive. I think that's terrific. Maybe that's more of the meathead thing. But is putting really it then? If you're going to do putting, can you do darts? I think you should have to throw at a target.
- [65:09]
D
There's going to suggest like a. Do you do like, do you get like a pitching, you know like the speed test thing that you do and just see who could throw radar guns? Yeah, right, exactly.
- [65:18]
C
That's an easy Amazon purchase.
- [65:19]
Greg Olson
You know what? It sounds ridiculous. Love it. Love it. Radar gun.
- [65:24]
D
It's a basic skill. It's a basic athletic skill.
- [65:27]
C
Yeah, I was going to say you could find one of those, like, signs like Michael Scott, like that tells you your speed and just take turns. But if the radar gun might do the same job with the amount of buying that these guys have, like, could you guys just agree on an obstacle course? You know what I mean? That's kind of cool.
- [65:40]
D
You just do a tough mudder together.
- [65:43]
Greg Olson
I don't know if I like that big tire.
- [65:45]
D
That could be the obstacle course.
- [65:47]
Greg Olson
That's one part of it. Of course, is one part. Not the.
- [65:50]
C
But like a big part. Like the catch all. When you're like, listen, we like the throwing thing. We like this. But I think everyone category.
- [65:58]
D
I agree. Because, like, baseball guy, you know, he might. Endurance might not be his thing. He's going to struggle there. That shouldn't be the. The be all, end all.
- [66:04]
Greg Olson
Yeah. See, I had this roommate in college, Sully Chris Sullivan, who played soccer in high school, ironically enough, didn't play soccer at UVM for two years and then just decided to try out to be the goalie and then became the starting goalie on a D1 soccer program. He also would do dumb shit where, like, if we were in the woods, we weren't in the woods a lot, but there would just be like a run of things where he'd be like, let's race to see who can run across this thing. And I thought I was one of the better athletes, but he was just good at like all the dumb shit. So then he would run across this pile of logs where if you fell off of it, you were going to, you know, fuck yourself up and he would just fly across it. He was just good at that kind of stuff. You do backflips with skiing. And again, he just sat around for two years, wondered if he could make right, wondered if he could make the soccer team, and then became the starting goalie. Some say laid the foundation with Berto for a national championship. But I think I was better than him at like a million other sports. So he would sit there and say, dude, I'm definitely more athletic than you. I'm a D1 athlete. And you're this guy who worked out hard and took it out on the rest of the guys that were D1 athletes when we'd all laugh at you. I think there has to be one strength thing. I think the sprint thing works, but I think there all should be a mild thing. So that the non sprinters but distance guys maybe beat the strength and speed. Speed guys. But I do think basketball is really important. But then you have a dart type thing for skill. Part of it. I don't know. What else?
- [67:32]
D
What else should there be? Like a. This is a little intense, but could you do some sort of like boxing situation? Everyone's wearing headgear and gloves and three rounds and the problem is you get weight classes. That's the problem. Like a bigger dude is just going to kick smaller dude's ass. So it might not be fair, but.
- [67:48]
Greg Olson
Unless he's not. Unless that little guy's built different.
- [67:51]
D
Yeah, but it's like a built in problem, I guess. But I like some combat thing.
- [67:56]
Greg Olson
What if you did weight class thing with the gladiator style?
- [67:59]
C
Find a punch machine. Come on, find a punch.
- [68:02]
Greg Olson
Oh yeah, Kyle would. There we go.
- [68:03]
D
Kyle, crush that. Yeah, with a cigarette in his mouth. Be awesome.
- [68:07]
Greg Olson
Stupid video. Because we had a friend who also was like, I'm the most athletic out of our group. And we were like, you're definitely not. You're definitely not.
- [68:17]
D
If you're saying it, you're not the most athletic guy.
- [68:19]
Greg Olson
Yeah. So then he was like, okay, what, what's. What are you better? And I was like, I'm better at you than everything except for skiing because I don't ski. And he was like, you're not better than me in basketball. And I was like, I am. And then I reminded him of that for an entire year whenever we played. Took it way too seriously. He also said he was the strongest. I think he said he was like the second strongest. And then four guys proceeded to kick his ass in arm wrestling. And then like the strong guy was.
- [68:44]
D
Just like, I just feel like too many strong guys think they're the best athlete and it's just not true. Like in my friend group we got a guy, he's. Listen, he's strong, he's big, he lifts and that's great. I wouldn't say he's the best athlete. The best athlete in my friend group would not tell you he's the best athlete. We got a guy who is the best at basketball, but he's probably not the best athlete. Like it's actually I'm probably the best at like backyard sports because I'm like kind of twitchy and can move around. Then we got another buddy who just kind of always gets hurt. So we have like a good smorgasbord of guys who just are good at different things. But yeah, like tallying it up. Is just. It's hard. It's hard because everyone has their own thing. Like, I would. I would get crushed in a lifting competition, obviously.
- [69:22]
Greg Olson
No, it should. There only should be. I think what you have to do is you have to figure out something that every skill set and body type would excel in, Right? So you can't have more than one strength thing. You can't have more than one speed thing. You can have, but you need to have all of these different things. I do think the basketball thing, it's not because I love basketball, but I think it is really telling where somebody might be good at, like, all of this skill kind of stuff and balance and backflips and then they have to dribble a basketball. And you go, oh, my God. But again, if you didn't grow up, like, you can't learn how to dribble a basketball in your 20s. It just.
- [69:58]
D
No, basketball is that sport where, like, you could look like a baby giraffe. Like, you could look so out of place, you know, and it's like, whoa, this guy. That tells you everything you need to know.
- [70:07]
Greg Olson
What about ice skating? Do you get bonus points? I feel like, yeah, but so are darts.
- [70:14]
Ryan Resillo
I don't.
- [70:14]
D
I don't know. I don't think we put darts in. I think we put the pitching machine thing in.
- [70:18]
Greg Olson
I think the pitching machine thing can live. And I think the darts covers pool, golf. You know, some of the stuff where I think, yes, you have to be an athlete to be a golfer. But I think so many golfers, like, I've already done this. And then we heard from 100 golfers being picked, pissed about, like, we're athletes, too, and all this kind of stuff. It's like, yeah, I know, but, like, I never think of, oh, Kevin Garnett isn't as athletic as Scotty Scheffler. I mean, give me a fucking break.
- [70:43]
D
Yeah, my buddies and I used to do a version of this, but a much more nerdy version. We used to call it Ultimate Tournament. And we would just pick our, like, whatever video. Every guy would get a video game that they would pick, and we would just play it and what order you finished in. So it'd be like Mario Party. Mario Kart was in there. Madden. And we would just do. And even board games. Like, we'd Monopoly and Risk. And everyone, every single person would get, like, ranked one through whatever. And then we would tally up on this big board. And then the loser, whoever came in last, we would, like, make it. This is when we were in high school and we were losers last week. Of losers.
- [71:15]
C
Yeah, I was gonna say, sounds like a winner, dude.
- [71:18]
Greg Olson
I would do it this week. This sounds incredible.
- [71:21]
Ryan Resillo
No.
- [71:21]
Greg Olson
How long did Risk take, by the way?
- [71:25]
D
The best. Dude. I fucking love Risk.
- [71:27]
C
Settlers. Catan.
- [71:29]
D
Yeah. Yeah. If we. If Age of Empires didn't take forever, that would also probably be in there.
- [71:33]
Greg Olson
But they've a new mode now.
- [71:36]
D
The last person. Whoever came in last, like, we would make. Like, we would just take a bunch of. In the fridge, put in a cup, and you have to drink it. And. Yeah, tough times, but it would. You know, it was fun.
- [71:46]
Greg Olson
Dudes love drinking stuff when they're younger. Yeah. Like Worcestershire sauce. Be like, I got it.
- [71:53]
D
Yep.
- [71:55]
Greg Olson
We did this with Canel a few times, and he was really fun to do this with because when I would beat him, then he would tell me why I didn't beat him. Remember we did the marshmallow challenge on the golf club thing?
- [72:08]
D
Canel's not the best loser. I mean, if we're being honest, he's.
- [72:11]
Greg Olson
A surprised he wasn't a better quarterback because he hates losing to me and stuff. We did a throwing competition that I won, and he was like, you didn't. He's like, it was best two out of three. And I was like, it wasn't.
- [72:26]
D
Didn't say that. Nope.
- [72:27]
Greg Olson
And then I won the best two out of three. And then he was like, yeah, but the first one didn't count, so we tied. I was like, all right, no problem. And then we did the home run derby at Florida State where they threw his BP and neither of us got it out of the park, but I hit the center field wall on one bounce, and he hit the right field, like, pull on the fly. And he's like, I won't. And I was like, it's like 50ft further where I hit the ball. And he was like, no, it isn't. It wasn't on the fly. And I just went, okay. I was so mad that I couldn't get one out. I just couldn't. I couldn't. I had to get everything locked in. Yeah.
- [73:02]
D
I had people hit me up yesterday after the Wednesday pod came out with Danny, and we're just like, are they friends? Like, do they like each other? And I was like, yeah, I think so. I think they do. I mean, yeah, I think. You know, I think Danny. You know, Ryan gets pissed off by Danny a lot because he does things, but Danny just. I don't know. He's like. He's that. At least for me. Like, because, you know, we'll share, like text exchanges and stuff. Like, I just kind of find it funny because I just. He's. It's, it's who. It's a bit like he's doing this thing, he's playing like this.
- [73:31]
Greg Olson
I don't think it's a bit, though. I, I think.
- [73:33]
D
And it gets under your skin so much because you take it so personally. And I don't think Danny is meaning it for it to be personal, but that's just who he is. He's like, kind of just like one of those frat kids that, like, does shit that's kind of annoying. But like, also he's sort of nice and is like a good dude. So you're like, yeah, is he an asshole or. It's a little bit confusing.
- [73:49]
Greg Olson
I'm the oldest and he's the youngest, and I think it makes a lot of sense when you think about the sibling part of it, that he was the youngest and that I was the oldest. I think that's all you have to know about our relationship or that he's full of shit and I'm not. All right, I hope everybody has a great weekend. We're going to be back next week, so we're not taking the week off. We'll be doing Monday, Friday, Monday, and then Friday. Okay, perfect. So Monday, Friday, so we'll recap all the College Football Playoff stuff and then Friday we'll be good to go as well and hope everybody well, whatever. We'll talk to you next Monday so we don't need to say goodbye yet. Thanks to Oregon, Kyle and Ceru and also check out our YouTube page and subscribe as always. Ryan Slow podcast right here.
- [74:33]
Ryan Resillo
Spot.
- [75:00]
Greg Olson
Must be 21 and older present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino are 18 plus and present in D.C. gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit MD gambling help.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline ma.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY in New York.