Vikings NFC Favorites? Will Oregon-Ohio State Winner Win It All? Plus, the Cam Ward Convo With Booger McFarland.

Summary

The Ryen Russillo Podcast Episode: Vikings NFC Favorites? Will Oregon-Ohio State Winner Win It All? Plus, the Cam Ward Convo With Booger McFarland. Release Date: December 30, 2024

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1. Week 17 NFL Recap

Ryen Russillo kicks off the episode by reviewing Week 17 of the NFL season, highlighting Minnesota's dominant performance against Green Bay despite a seemingly close final score.

Ryen Russillo [02:30]: "Minnesota was better and they were a lot better for free 50 minutes."

He critiques Green Bay's execution, pointing out missed opportunities and turnovers that mirrored their performance from a game earlier in the season.

Ryen Russillo [06:15]: "Green Bay's first six possessions... It's not surprising when you've been dominating for that long."

2. Minnesota Vikings as NFC Favorites

The discussion shifts to the Minnesota Vikings emerging as the favorites in the NFC. Ryen expresses confidence in Minnesota's quarterback, Sam Donald, asserting his growth and importance to the team.

Ryen Russillo [08:45]: "Sam Donald has earned the right to be the franchise quarterback in Minnesota."

Booger McFarland counters by emphasizing Minnesota's undervalued performance throughout the season, especially after Sam Donald's comeback from turnovers.

Booger McFarland [51:17]: "Minnesota’s defense, featuring Gilmore, can make significant plays even if they're a bit longer than twos."

3. College Football Playoff Picks: Oregon vs. Ohio State

Ryen and Booger delve into the College Football Playoffs, particularly the anticipated matchup between Oregon and Ohio State. Ryen had initially picked Oregon but reconsiders after recent performances.

Booger McFarland [19:08]: "I think everybody in college football realizes that the three most talented teams are Ohio State, Texas, and Oregon."

They analyze the strengths and weaknesses of both teams, discussing Oregon's defensive line and Ohio State's offensive prowess. Booger leans towards Ohio State winning due to their robust defense and talented players like Caleb Downs.

Booger McFarland [24:29]: "Caleb Downs is phenomenal. He can make up for a multitude of sins with those other guys."

Ryen remains cautious, noting that team dynamics can shift quickly in college football, making predictions challenging.

4. Pennix and Jaden Daniel's Performances

The conversation shifts to standout college quarterbacks, focusing on Pennix and Jaden Daniel. Ryen praises Pennix's arm strength and decision-making despite being a pocket passer.

Ryen Russillo [13:40]: "Pennix throws an incredible football... His arm strength is remarkable."

Booger highlights Jaden Daniel's clutch performances, emphasizing his ability to lead game-winning drives.

Booger McFarland [23:27]: "Jaden has made significant plays multiple times this season, which is the best feeling ever."

5. Cam Ward and Booger McFarland Conversation

In a segment towards the episode's end, Ryen and Booger discuss Cam Ward's controversial decision to play only half of a bowl game for Miami. They debate the ethics and motivations behind such decisions.

Booger McFarland [42:47]: "Cam Ward put up almost 30 points in the first half and then stepped aside. It was a sacrifice for the team and his future."

Ryen empathizes with Cam's choice, recognizing the balance between team commitment and personal career considerations.

Ryen Russillo [49:32]: "I appreciate everything he's done for the program, but sometimes we have to prioritize our own future."

6. Life Advice & Scam Alerts

The episode concludes with lighter segments where Ryen shares a personal experience about a potential scam at LAX, warning listeners to stay vigilant.

Ryen Russillo [64:04]: "After being scammed once, you need to sharpen your radar for future encounters."

Additionally, Ryen addresses life advice questions from listeners, offering perspectives on family dynamics and personal growth.

Ryen Russillo [75:22]: "If you're trying to improve yourself, remember that it's your journey. Others' opinions shouldn't derail your progress."

Notable Quotes

• Ryen Russillo [02:30]: "Minnesota was better and they were a lot better for free 50 minutes."
• Booger McFarland [19:08]: "I think everybody in college football realizes that the three most talented teams are Ohio State, Texas, and Oregon."
• Booger McFarland [24:29]: "Caleb Downs is phenomenal. He can make up for a multitude of sins with those other guys."
• Booger McFarland [42:47]: "Cam Ward put up almost 30 points in the first half and then stepped aside. It was a sacrifice for the team and his future."
• Ryen Russillo [64:04]: "After being scammed once, you need to sharpen your radar for future encounters."

Conclusion

In this episode, Ryen Russillo and Booger McFarland provide an in-depth analysis of the NFL and college football landscapes as the season winds down. From Minnesota's rise in the NFC to the critical College Football Playoff matchups, and ending with personal anecdotes and advice, listeners receive a comprehensive breakdown of the sports world. The conversation seamlessly blends professional insights with relatable personal stories, making it both informative and engaging for a broad audience.

Transcript

[Ryan Rosillo]

Foreign A couple announcements. We start with Week 17 recap, Minnesota's dominant win despite the final score. Some love for a rookie. Also an award that goes way back. We're also going to talk about Penix and Jaden Daniels and their matchup. We're going to pick the College Football Playoff games and a little Cam ward with Booker McFarland who jump onto the NFC picture stuff at the end. So that'd be a lot of fun and we'll have life advice and possible scam alert. All right. Also a reminder Friday feedback rrmail.com we will be taping a YouTube only Friday feedback for the show. Again Friday feedback rrmail.com we are willing to be criticized. We're also willing, with this time of year being positive, be positive to my guys. How about that? And then we'll read whatever we want. And a reminder for this week, no Wednesday show. And because the bowl games are Wednesday, we'll tape immediately on Thursday. So no Friday. So one more show this week Thursday with Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network. It's gonna be a lot of fun. We're gonna break down everything that we saw and some more of the college football roundup stuff as you get ready for the draft. If you're one of those three and 13 teams. This episode of the Ryan Rosilla 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 Estate 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. Week 17 Minnesota is my NFC favorite today. I pick Green Bay on Friday and I was wrong. I figured they'd get the rematch and cloud the entire landscape of the NFC. But no, I could look at the 27:25 final score and pretend it was close. If Green Bay gets a stop on third and two, they call their last time out at like 1:44. Minnesota punts down two. Certainly Jordan love you would think could get this team into field goal range. It always feels like those yards just happen. No matter. I think, I swear I don't think I ever see. Well, it wouldn't be a three and out because you go for a fourth down, but it seems like there's always like two first downs on that possession in every game in the NFL when the other team is trying to drive. So here. Yeah, like I could sit Here and tell you it was possible. But that'd be a misleading way to summarize this football game. Minnesota was better and they were a lot better for free. 50 minutes. Green Bay pass rush wasn't a factor. They had one sack. Although you'd expect in that matchup that Minnesota's O line is going to hold up. And hold up they did. They're number three in pass block win rate in the NFL going into week 17. Denver and Baltimore one and two in that category. The wide receivers get open, they make great plays. Jefferson had eight catches for 92, so it's not like he went crazy. But Jordan Addison is just incredible. Like what an awesome number two for them. Darnold goes for 372. Jordan loves at 185. Jordan hasn't had a 300 yard passing game since September 29th, which was against Minnesota in that first matchup, which I'm going to get to here again, Minnesota missed two field goals. One was pretty tough, the other was a one they should have made. So you could say minus three points. On the Resolo points added chart here, Green Bay's first six possessions. Fumble, punt, field goal downs, punt, punta. And honestly, this game mirrors a lot what happened back in September 29th because the first six possessions for Green Bay in that one miss, field goal, interception, miss field goal interception downs, punt. They're down 28 nothing. Minnesota Muffs a punt. So that leads to a touchdown for the Packers, a three yard drive. So it's 28 7, but then it's punt, punt downs again. They scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to make it look close. Close 31, 29, just like yesterday. But I think yesterday was actually worse because the first game you don't expect Jordan Love to have three picks. He's been pretty pick free now for multiple games and the dynamic plays that you expect from Jordan Love were really on the other side of the football for Minnesota throughout it. So you know, you can look at the late scoring here, here with Green Bay. I just don't put a ton of stock into it because I just don't think the defense plays as intensely when you've been dominating for that long and you feel like the game is over. So I mean, I guess you could say credit to Green Bay for getting back into it. But that's two games now where Minnesota has clearly looked like the better football team and I thought Green Bay could get this one on the road. That is not the case. So now I think Minnesota, with Detroit's injuries, you want to pick Philadelphia. You want to pick Detroit, fine. You want to say they're not going to. If they were to face Green Bay a third time, all right, you know, whatever. But now when you factor in the one seed and what's on the line for this last matchup between Detroit and Minnesota, like, I can't wait for this game. And I wonder how Detroit with the injuries, like, how that secondary is going to hold up against what we saw from Darnold again yesterday. So, yeah, I think the Vikings are the favorites in the nfc. Speaking of the nfc, Jaden Daniels does it again late last night. The Sunday nighter since the Cowboys loss on November 24, where the Commanders fell to 7 and 5. They're now 11 and 5. They clinch a playoff spot. It's the first time they've clinched a playoff spot since 2020. They have not won a playoff game since the 2005 season. The game was in 2006. That's the third longest playoff drought in the NFL. Miami's been 23 years since a playoff win. The Raiders, 21 years. Imagine telling whenever those numbers pop up again. I know the local fan base has all remembered this, right? Because I mean, it's your favorite team. But for those of us that are watching all the teams and keeping up with it, like, I'll lose track of that sometimes. And then you'll see it and you'll go back and look and go, my God, like, imagine telling Detroit fans you win a playoff game this year, but. Well, actually, Detroit fans would probably understand it. Let's use the Eagles as an example. Say the Eagles win a playoff game this year, right? Likely. But then they lose their next round and you go, hey, that win, they're not going to win another playoff game until 2046. Like, that's what's happening with some of these franchises. And it's just a nice reminder of when your team is rolling and in the playoff hunt all the time, like how special it can be. So if you look at Jaden's resume, his rookie year, the Cincinnati game, I thought more so than the Giants game where they kicked a lot of field goals, the Cincinnati game, that throw to the right side against them, which was a shootout game, you're like, that was a special throw. He's got the Bears game, the Hail Mary, the Philadelphia game with the game winning touchdown drive, turning it over three times and still winning. Granted, I know Hertz got knocked out of that and last night. So there are, there are stats, there are playoff births, but there's just these special Moments that make you think, like after having such a massive quarterback draw for some of these franchises, to have him as your guy and see what he's done multiple times this season has to be the best feeling ever. And now they're getting ready for a playoff appearance. The Pennock storyline, I'm a fan, okay? I think he's going to be good. I think he throws an incredible football. 4th and 11 conversion on that last drive to tie it. The 4th and goal TD that he threw, the first of his career. His arm strength on that throw into that window to Pitts and shout out to Pitts for not doing the A.J. brown slash. Terry Glenn, where you throw the quarterback's first career touchdown pass into the stands. Although he did throw it up in the air. But that throw to pits like he knew. He's like, I got one shot at this. The first look I get, I have to get it in there. And physically what he did. And it's not just the torque on the throw, which is there. Like Cousins physically can't make that throw right now, I don't think. I think we saw a lot of evidence to lead to this change to begin with, but that was just a huge, huge moment on the losing side. So it's sort of forgotten. Although Collinsworth clearly loves Pennix, like he was going for it last night. And as a Pennix guy at home on the couch, like, I didn't want to tell Collinsworth he was wrong because he's hyping up a quarterback that I think has a chance here. But he's like, you know, some of those moments with Peyton, with Brady, I was like, whoa, we doing that. But again, I didn't really want to push back on it because it's not even just the arm strength. It's. You can tell the former players are really enamored with the way he throws a football because I think it's the ball placement, whether it was stuff at Washington and if you think of who he was at Indiana to what he is now, like, you want to talk about quarterback growth, which is also, you know, mirrors Jaden a bit there at Arizona State and just letting these guys play more and more football because the ball placement that panics will have a few times throughout a football game is just special stuff. And I think that's why the former players of broadcasters just kind of lose their minds every now and then with him. I was even looking at Penck because he's not mobile in the sense of like we think of today's quarterback. He is very much A pocket passer at times I'm like, could that be a positive for him for his career and how things play out? Because he has to stay committed to the pass. Like he's not going to run out and scramble all night long. It, it's not going to be zone reads with Pennx. It's going to be stepping up in the pocket going through his progression and I'm thinking like if he can't bail on the pocket like so many of other quarterbacks can, well that actually just make him a better pocket passer because he doesn't really have that option. And then you watch Jaden run all over the field on the game winning drive to set up the field goal in overtime. You're like, yeah, but that's kind of awesome to watch. So maybe you would rather have that couple other things that I want to get to here. The Josh Gordon award. Don't worry, this will be a good one. Josh Gordon, if you remember him, the receiver for the Browns, of course you remember, had some trouble but he was great in 2013, 87 catches for 1,646 yards. His quarterbacks, Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden and Brian Hoyer. That's impressive. We're giving it to Brock Bowers, who breaks Mike Ditka's record for receiving yards for a rookie tight end. So Bowers is at just over 1100. Dick had 1076 yards as a rookie tight end in 1961. It was also over 14 games. So I don't love how we eliminate some of the history here with guys just playing in more games, but whatever, I'll complain about it maybe during the bowl season. So Bowers is at 108 receptions. He breaks Puka Nuku's record from last year, 105 for most receptions for a rookie. So this is a special season and he's had Minshew, Aiden O'Connell and Desmond Ritter at quarterback. I just love this for Bowers because he falls to the 13th pick. Last year it was looked like he would be projected like top five guy after his sophomore season. His first two years Bowers looked like he was arguably the best player in all of college football. He missed some time his junior year. He falls. It was also a weird draft too if you remember. And it's not that hard to remember because it was only last year. You have six quarterbacks go in the top 12. The first 13 picks, excuse me, the first 14 picks in the 24 draft were on offense. So you have the six QBs, you have the three receivers a couple of alignment in there. So maybe just based on need alone, quarterback pushed him down a little bit further. But this dude looks like he's going to be a difference maker for a really long time. And it just mirrors everything that you saw with him at Georgia. I don't know if the. The standup video of him next to Gronkowski, hers dressed at his face. You were looking at me like that. Well, that guy's supposed to dominate. Well, he's dominating and he's dominating with quarterbacks. They're probably all going to be backups long term because obviously Vegas has a decision to make a quarterback here. Speaking of the draft, the Pats now after their drubbing by the Chargers, just another ugly game. Pats screw up so many small, like they're not good, but every week with them, you're like, what? What's happening now anyway? They control the number one pick. Who knows what's going to happen? The top five picks right now are the Pats, Titans, Cleveland, the Giants, and Jacksonville. I asked McShay this morning, I said, how would you have graded Drake May in comparison to Shador Sanders and Cam Ward, who'll be the top guys in the 25 draft? And he texted me he had. He was like, I would have Drake maybe ahead of both of those guys. Now, I'm not saying this to suggest the Patriots would trade Drake May and then take one of those other rookie quarterbacks and start this all over again, because I think Drake has shown you enough. Even if you want to get into the Mac Jones stuff, you're like, hey, it's kind of the same as Mac Jones, just the record is worse. Mac Jones had a much better defense and special teams and defense this year for the Patriots have been a disaster. Mack had the same lack of weapon issue that Drake May has had. But I think for a rookie year at least, seeing somebody look like there's something to build on and the fact that I would agree with McShay and watching them in college, like, I think Drake is ahead of Shador and Cam, but would you want to start it all over again? So probably not likely. And by the way, we still have another week of games here, so who knows if the Patriots even have the number one pick. But I think the storylines around what could potentially happen here are really interesting because Tennessee would probably take a QB, I'd imagine, unless they hated the second option of the two QBs. So if the guy they like goes one and they really, really don't like them. But I remember a team telling me years ago. The only way to really figure it out is just keep drafting them over and over and over again. And I know that sounds simple, but it actually just feels like the right approach. So you have Cleveland if they were to be at 3 with the lack of QBs. If it's QB 1 and 2, it's a completely different dynamic than say the 24 draft. Because what would Cleveland do in this financial purgatory with Watson? Like, imagine passing on a quarterback that everybody would generally like. Consensus would be the number three guy to take. Well, I don't know that that guy's even going to be available to them. And again, we all have to remind ourselves that this is all going to be reset. Likely that this isn't going to play out. But as it looks today, I just love some of the hypotheticals around this. And really the Giants being the biggest losers out of all of this. They're now losing the tiebreaker with the fourth pick. And if they just lost the Colts like everybody expected, then they would have the number one pick with the worst record because all these teams are sitting there at 3 and 13. So did Drew Lock just cost the Giants with his win against the Colts the number one pick? Maybe, but it's really about the Colts. The Colts. That's arguably the worst loss of the entire season by any team in the NFL this year considering a playoff spot was still on the line. And again they were favored by 7 1/2 playing against the Giants and are now eliminated. But again, it's not like the Colts were good. They were 22nd or they're 22nd today in point differential at minus 53. We finish with a stat stats to impress people. The best quarterback wide receiver combo in the NFL is in Cincinnati with Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase. I've always liked Chase the best, but was willing to admit that I was wrong if you were going to tell me Jefferson's just better than him and I'm like okay, you're. You're probably right. Statistically Chase is terrific this year and. And Burrow is as well. Their defense just isn't good. So if you're doing what's wrong with Joe Burrow content today, I. I do not know what to tell you. So when Cincinnati missed the game winning field goal in overtime and I was watching that game on the plane ride back and just this ratings thing that I want to do at some point. Like you want to talk about the NFL. Not that this is breaking news. Hey, did you hear Marty said the NFL is popular but walking like the aisle, on the flight and seeing how many televisions on the flight were watching Cincinnati, Denver, granted, yes, playoff stuff on the line, but maybe 60% of the screens on a flight are watching the NFL. And I was like, there's no, like, I was thinking to myself, if the NBA Finals were on, would, would half the TVs be on? I don't know if I like that answer. So I don't know that I'm going to share it. You know, again, it's a guess, but it just, it's just one of those moments you're like, dude, everyone is watching this game right now. And some Marvel movies as well. But look, when they missed that field goal, I'm like, this is just so fitting for Cincinnati because this entire season has been about pain. You want to talk about some of the worst losses of the regular season? Week 1 in New England, like, how did that happen? And Cincinnati has their fair share of close losses on top of everything else. But it's just, again, it's the defense. The defense just isn't good enough. But Chase is likely going to win the wide receiver triple crown, which was just done by Cooper cup, but it's only been done four times since our guy Lance Alworth did it in 1966. But here's the real stat for you. Shout out to Don Hudson, who did it five times, including four straight seasons from 1941 to 1944. Kids forget Don Hudson was a problem. Pull up the videos. In 1936, the first time he won the receiver triple Crown, he had 34 catches for 536 yards and eight TDs, fifth that year in receptions. I'll leave you with this. Eggs Mansky with 17 catches joining us from ESPN, their college football coverage on ABC and ESPN. And always a little NFL as well. It's good friend Booker McFarland. What's going on, man?

[Booker McFarland]

What's up, buddy? How we doing? I see you have the, the cut off sleeveless shirt on. I'm assuming there was a workout previous or there will be a workout post of the taping of this.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, a bit of a disruption on the day, but we wanted to make sure we could make this happen. So little taping this morning and then decided to get it in before I taped with you. So I just walked in the house, took off the hoodie and was ready to go. So there you go.

[Booker McFarland]

I like it. Let's do it.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay, timeline. So that you know, I picked Oregon in August because I was trying to be a little bit different as opposed to just Picking everybody else that, you know, sometimes you just go chalk and then every now and then you're like, let me try something a little bit different. So the first meeting I actually felt probably better about Will Howard than I've ever felt. If you look at that game, Ohio State has the two fumbles, they have eight penalties, there's the onsides recovery, and then it's just kind of a mess there at the end. So Oregon escapes. We can get the guys that were available, not available and all that kind of stuff. But look, anybody picking Oregon to win again after what we just saw in Columbus from Ohio State is a little scary. So go ahead, who's your pick and why?

[Booker McFarland]

Well, I think the hardest thing to do is to have two really high level performances back to back in college football because like you're dealing, you're not dealing with professionals, you're dealing with 18 to 22 year olds. And you know, as soon as you have one good performance, they started feeling themselves and everybody's patting them on the back. It's kind of hard to do it again because they're not used to doing it at that level all the time. With that being said, it was almost like Ryan Day told Chip Kelly, hey, listen, I know you like to run the football, but if you look outside, we got three guys that are professionals, one that probably could be the number one pick in the draft if he came out this year, and Jeremiah Smith. Let's throw the football to them. I know what your background is. I know you're Chip Kelly, you want to run the football, but let's throw this football out there. Even if the, even if they intercept one or two, we're going to complete some and that's going to put us in position. So I say all that to say this, Ryan. I think everybody in college football realizes that to me, the three most talented teams are Ohio State, Texas and Oregon. And I think if you look at Ohio State, if they play to their ceiling, I don't think anybody can beat them. The problem is this. You're not going to get the consistent high level performance from Will Howard all the time. I think we saw that this, this season. We saw the pick six against Penn State. We saw multiple picks in some games this season. We saw the pick against Michigan. And so here's what I would say. If you're Dan Lanning and you're Oregon, we gotta beat him up front. Our defensive line has to dominate the football game. Dylan Gabriel is going to have to do what he did the second half of the Season, which is use his legs a lot more, become a dual threat quarterback. Now, he's never going to be Michael Vick. I'm not saying that. But he's got to be able to move the chains with his legs. And he started to do that at the end of the season. I like Ohio State in the game, but if you told me Oregon won the game, I can clearly tell you why they won it without even watching the game. They're going to win the game with their speed, their speed on the edges, their defensive line. And Dylan Gabriel is going to make some plays with his legs. If Ohio State's going to win this game, it's not going to be because of Quinshon Judkins and Trevion Henderson. It's going to be because Tate Abuka, Jeremiah Smith all had days and Will Howard had one pick or less. That's how those. This game is going to be won. I don't know exactly which way. I like if you gave me some of that Ryan Rosillo money, which way I bet. But if I'm betting my money, I'm going to Ohio State right now.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, it's just hard to see that team play that well against Tennessee. And on top of our expectations for Ohio State was when they're putting this roster together in August. So I'm with you on the Jeremiah Smith thing. You know, even if Michigan is showing you something entirely different than Tennessee's approach to go single coverage in the outside with their corners, they looked like they were the most miserable corners I've seen in a college football game all season long. Because they were, hey, man, I'm serious. Like, that made me go, maybe some of these teams would just be cold. Cause they look so bummed out, you know. And guys, it's something you guys that played will always point out to me, you know, when I was first getting started and watching football with you guys, like the guys that go down too often, the guys that don't want to get back up or like, oh, hey, you know, 14's down again, here we go. And he's not out of the game. He's just having a bad time. And he's just going to sit there and be like, oh, no way. Five is holding up everything. And you know, you guys on the inside are just like, get up and let's snap the football.

[Booker McFarland]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

And, and for. I think Michigan clearly did a better job. But I think there was a little stubbornness in that approach in Ohio State in saying, you know, we can push you guys around, you're like, yeah, but there's two NFL first rounders on the interior and that's like the only thing you wouldn't want to do against him. You know, I was reading Bruce Feldman's piece and that influenced a bit of some of the stuff that I'll talk about today because he has this piece up on the Athletic where he talks to coaching staffs that went up against all eight of these teams and it's really good stuff. And one coach in the Big Ten said, like, I think Ohio State's, you know, clearly more talented on defense. And I, I read it and I thought, okay, Caleb's better than any 22. You know, Caleb Downs is better than any single player on either defense. So I give you that. But with Jordan Birch back, I don't know that the defensive line for Ohio State feels like it's that much superior. If you want to go Ohio State, okay, fine. But I think the linebackers for Oregon are terrific. So I, I don't know that that's where this game is going to be decided before kickoff. Some talent gap on that side of the football because again, watching it all year, I don't necessarily see it that way.

[Booker McFarland]

I, I think it, I think I, I would break the defense down like this. I think if you ask me about the front seven, I would take Oregon's front seven and, and, and, and the primary reason why is this. I haven't seen the Jack sawyer and the J.T. tuolu I saw against Tennessee. I haven't seen them all year. Like I, like where have they been all season long? Now, I'll give them credit. They played probably their best game of the season against Tennessee. But that hasn't been the performances by those two all season long. I don't know if you'd agree with me on that one. So I would give the front seven edge to Oregon. The back, the back four. I would probably give an edge to Ohio State. And mainly because of Caleb Downs. Like, he's phenomenal. Like he can make up for a multitude of sins with those other guys. His football IQ on the back end result is unbelievable and I think he's just getting better. He needs to be around the football a lot more. So if I'm breaking down the two defenses, front seven, Oregon, because Burch is a load and I've seen it consistently when he's healthy more than I would I've seen from the Ohio State front seven back in. I'll give the edge to Ohio State.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, look, I mean, I think the way Ransom is Used, you could argue he's just around there. And if you want to go with Sawyer and then Simon and start getting into it, I just, you know, I don't. I just don't think it's one of these traditional things. I think sometimes we have a really hard time with stereotypes, too. Years and years later, where you're just like, oh, Ohio State, you know, they're cut from this cloth and they're going to play this way. And, you know, this has been a couple years with them where, honestly, the offensive line might have been the issue that we'd be more concerned with had we not seen just total domination against the Tennessee team. That I thought was good going into that one. All right. The reason I want to stay kind of like from Oregon, Ohio State into Penn State is, like, this one's just tough to figure out. Or maybe it's really easy. I don't know who's going to pick Boise, other than the Heisman army. That became incredibly annoying for, like, you guys. Like, I don't. I don't know if that's undergrad for Hoosiers fans or what, but it just, like, it got really. Anyway, who gives a. I'm just going to keep moving, moving on. Is there any version of you that sees Boise State figuring this one out?

[Booker McFarland]

No. Because sometimes, man, football is not hard. Can we block them? I don't think Boise State can block the front four of Penn State. And if you're going to tell me that Boise State is going to line up and Ashton Genti is going to get 40 carries and he's going to get 300 yards, and I'm going to tell you. In what universe is that? I just don't know if you can line up and run the football against this team. And Ashton Jensen is great. He's going to be a top 20 pick in the National Football League draft. But it's really not about him. Like, it's really about the other team on the field, the offensive line, the quarterback. I just don't know if he's got enough moxie and enough dudes on the outside to be able to test Penn State. And is he going to get time? Can they block Abdul Carter? I don't think so. So sometimes, like, this game is not hard, man. We try to complicate it and come up with this scenario where maybe if they get this and understand this, turnovers and special teams are the great equalizer in football.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Sure.

[Booker McFarland]

So if Penn State turns the ball over five times, sure, anything can happen. But besides turnovers and Three kickoff returns for touchdowns. I don't think there's any world where Boise State by the end of the third quarter is within two scores. I just don't. I just think it's, it's going to be a mismatch in the trenches. And Bill Belichick always said this. The job of a really, really good coach is to take away what you do best. Now, a lot of teams have tried to take away Genti, but something tells me like Penn State, if you lose this game And Jente rushes for 350, I think James Franklin needs to be fired. Now, if you lose the game and somehow the quarterback has an unbelievable day and you get two pick sixes and three returns, okay, I can deal with that. But you, under any no circumstances can you let Genti go off. And I don't think James FR is going to do that again. I think Penn State wins and I think they win rather comfortably.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, they both take care of the football. If you look at it out average out over the entire season, you'd expect that they would because they've had good records and they're both really good teams within their conferences. You know, the red zone scoring for both teams is, is terrific. The defensive red zone touchdown percentage stuff is really good for both of them. But I think there's one storyline that's being thrown in there to try to figure out a way to talk yourself into an upset or maybe this being close. And you're right, like, you know, if Aller just has a randomly bad day here, then next thing you know we've got a fourth quarter and that's what happens in the sport. But I've heard the Oregon game used as some template for what could happen here with Penn State. And I think it's really important to understand as somebody, you know, who was on Oregon early and watched the Idaho game and watched the Boise game, that Oregon team was very weird on the offensive line for two weeks. They gave up seven sacks combined in those first two games. They ran it for 3 yards to carry against Boise, 2.9 against Idaho. I mean, the Idaho game was really alarming for a team that you're going, I think it win a national championship. And from that point on, Gabriel got sacked six times total in the next 11 games and they ended up 29th in the country in yards per carry. So it's not like top five yards per carry, but it's still really good from where they were. They had a weird two weeks with this offensive line and it credit to Boise for keeping it competitive there. But I don't think it's very fair to go week two of the college football season and look at that result and then apply it to what you think is going to happen against Penn State. Because that was the time to get Oregon those first two weeks.

[Booker McFarland]

Well, no doubt. And you also have to understand this. It was so early in the season with some of the transfers that Oregon had, especially at the quarterback position. They were still trying to figure out, like, who's who, like, what can you do? It's so early, like, what does Dylan Gabriel really like? And then we can go through all the spring practices we want to, but until you get live bullets where he steps across that white line and those coaches can't, you really don't know what type of guy you're going to get now by. By now they do. And so it would be hard for me to go back to say, yep, let's go back, let's get the Idaho game plan and implement that. And I think that's going to help us out. Like, I probably would. As a matter of fact, if, if, if you're, if you're a coach and, and, and you're going against Oregon or, or you're trying to look at Boise State, I'm not even looking at, I'm not even looking at that game plan like it was so long ago. Like, the players have changed, the game plans have changed. Most coaches, and I'm sure you've heard this because you've been around us long enough when we're scouting, we're only looking at the previous four to six games because anything before that, like, things have changed. You don't know what, like so much has changed. You're only looking at the previous four, maybe even six games to kind of get an idea of what this team or what said player is doing right now.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, you know, look, there's another way to look at the box score from that one too, and say, you know, the yards per carry things misleading because Jordan James got going in that one. You take out the Dylan Gabriel stuff, which always screws up some of the rushing numbers because the way they do in college versus the NFL. But.

[Ceruti]

Right.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I think, I think another thing to look at too there is, is Maddox Madsen, the quarterback, the sophomore there, he doesn't turn the ball over. And when you think about Genti, you go, all right, well, they must just run it a million times. Like they actually let that guy throw it. I mean, they run so many plays. So you, you know that Penn State's just Going to try to sell out. They probably don't necessarily have to stack the box as much because they're not going to be as freaked out by it. But if you think it's. It's keeping boys one dimensional and them doing something they're not comfortable doing. They actually have thrown the football a lot this year, too, despite the run that they've had. But it's just kind of hard to get there, especially with the talent on that defensive front, Penn State, because I, I love. I love like three of those guys. All right, Texas, Arizona State. If you're going to get to Texas and rattle yours, maybe the problem is as much fun as this Arizona State team is, because I think they are a lot of fun to watch. They were last in the Big 12 in tackles for loss. The one thing you need to do to Texas, they do worse than anybody else in their conference.

[Booker McFarland]

Yeah. Because if you want to rattle Texas, you got to make Quinn yours have happy feet. And I just don't know if Arizona State has the dudes up front that can. They can get down with Kelvin Banks and some of that offensive line that Texas is going to throw out there. Um, so defensively, I think Arizona State, you know, if you look at what Texas has done in the two games they've lost, they've. They've rushed for 31 and 29 yards. Now, that was against Georgia, but they rushed for 30 yards a game in the two games that they lost. And the other games are averaging about 190. So if you're Arizona State and Kenny Dillingham, you gotta say, okay, Stark really wants to run the football because yours is not just chunking it down the field a ton. So whether it's blue or whether it's Wisner, whatever it is, they want to run the football. So you're going to have to say if Isaiah Bond is out or he's going to be limited, I'm going to take my chances with the other dudes on the outside one on one. I'm going to take the runaway and I'm going to see if I can hold up one on one and I'm going to disguise and kind of make it. I'm not just going to line up and play, man, the entire game, but I'm going to disguise and take my chances against Wingo, he's a freshman, and some of these other guys on the outside. And then, and then, you know, you gotta hope on the offensive side of the football, Sam Levitt has a big day. I don't know. Jordan Tyson is kind of iffy to wide out. Scatter Boo. I get it and you can tell me this and I've been throwing this comp out all off season or all postseason. Scatter Boo to me is a comp between a Marshawn lynch and a Toby Gerhardt. So, like, if you kind of mix those two guys up, that's what you got in Cam. Scatterable like the White Rhino. And no question, like, he's got tremendous balance. He's probably not going to run away from. He'll probably run 4, 7 on a good day. But his contact balance is maybe the best I've seen in college football. I don't know if he's seen a defense the way he's going to see in Texas. So how does Arizona State get to say 28? Like that's ultimately, if I'm Kenny D. Like I sit back and say how do we get to 28 points? Because that gives us a chance. We're going to have to hit some big plays because I do believe the Texas secondary is vulnerable. I do believe Clemson showed us you can get them in the pass. If you can block them up front, you can make some plays in the passing game. So I feel a little bit better about Arizona State hanging than I do Boise State hanging. But I still don't feel great about Arizona State because of two reasons. I don't think defensively they're talented enough up front and I don't know when you take Scatterbo away, if they have enough else to, especially with Sam Levitt, that they can scare Texas into kind of getting out of their game plan.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, that hasn't really played out in his 24, 5 touchdown interception deal. But Levitt can be an adventure. Like it's a lot of fun. But I wouldn't say he makes Jennings look boring because nobody is that much of an adventure. And you know, look, it sucks the two pick six right out of the gate. That was honestly of all the things this past weekend, like an individual thing. After watching his dropbacks, I cannot imagine playing offensive line for Jennings at smu. I think it's after the first quarter.

[Booker McFarland]

You step up, like he just keeps dropping back like, hey dude, step up three steps. Jesus Christ.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I, if I were a tackle, like it was a 50 year senior, I would just be turning around being like, there's no way, there's no way. Anyway, SMU's gone out of the picture, don't need to do it. But just if you're tuning in for the first time with Levit, it's a lot of fun, but it also could maybe scare the hell out of you. But it didn't really lead to the turnovers. And maybe you expected. Would. Would I just the way we've seen Texas look, although there's probably like six or seven games, you look at some of the metrics, how consistently they underperform, what their offensive expectation is, that gets back to the red zone issues. So maybe you look at a little bit that. But I mean, it's Georgia that beat them twice. And Georgia's front is a little bit more impressive than Arizona states, which I think we can all agree on. All right, last one here. Notre Dame. Georgia, the floor is yours.

[Booker McFarland]

Notre Dame. Georgia. Conventional wisdom says Gunner Stockton, inexperienced quarterback, is not going to be able to have the same performance when he's got a little lead time as he did in the SEC title game when he just. He was on the bench. Hey, Gunner, get in. He goes in. He doesn't think a lot. I would probably agree with that. But I also would agree that they're going to come up with a game, a game plan. Mike Bobo, to make sure he's comfortable. It's going to be a lot of quarterback run to kind of supplement the running game. I think they're going to throw the football down the field a lot. When you have an inexperienced quarterback, two things you do with him. You throw a lot of screens and a lot of short passes and you throw it deep. You don't allow him to throw from 10 to 20 yards across the middle of the field. You keep him out of that because there's usually a lot of bodies in there. It's either short or deep and not intermediate. I expect a lot of that. I think if you're Georgia, Georgia's front seven has to dominate this game, okay? Because if they can dominate this game, Riley Leonard, man, like we've seen Riley Leonard, man, he will. He will curl up a little bit now. And if he curls up, that Notre Dame offense is going to be one dimensional and it is going to be all love and price running the football. Leonard has got to make some plays in the passing game. He's got to push the football down the field to back this Georgia defense up. I'm interested to see the game plan. Everybody's hurt. Georgia has ran on the edges, not up the middle. With Stackhouse and those boys, it's been on the edges and the perimeter. So if you're Notre Dame, hey, success leaves clues, man. Like, don't reinvent the wheel. Ole Miss showed you how to Run the football. Everybody showed you how to run the football. You attack the edges of this Georgia defense. I'm interested to see how motivated this Georgia team is without Carson Beck and what the game plan will be. I said on the show the other day, in, in the recent memory, and you tell me if you agree this is the biggest game in the, probably the last 15 years of Notre Dame. Because. And here's what I mean by that. Most people think they should win this game.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. They have a chance. No, it's, it's a good point. I'm sorry to interrupt. Or just for those going, are you kidding me? A national championships against Alabama. Go ahead. Your, your point is valid.

[Booker McFarland]

Yes. Yeah. The reason I'm saying is if you knew that the national championship game against Alabama, they had no shot, zero shot whatsoever. They have a legit, A legit shot based on circumstances to beat this Georgia team. And some people are, some people have them favored based on the health of these two teams. They can run the football, the momentum, who this game is against, where this game is. So you, when you factor all of that in, I think if you're, if you're Marcus Friedman, you got to take advantage of this situation. If Georgia loses, what does everybody say? They didn't have a quarterback. They weren't whole, blah, blah, blah, blah. If Notre Dame loses, you kind of say, okay, if you can't do it now, then win. And so that's kind of what I mean by this. I'm going to favor Notre Dame because I just love how this team is built. They've gone against an SEC team before they went into College Station, and I get it, A and M fell apart. But they went in the College Station and they dealt with that front four of A and M, which I think is going to have two or three guys get drafted. So that offensive line was young then. I think they're better now. They're going to understand how to deal with an athletic front. And it's just something about this, this Notre Dame team, man. And Georgia's not the same like Georgia. If, if you go back and look at, and I'm sure you, you're a big metrics, metrics guy. If you look at yards per rush over the last four or five years, like this Georgia team isn't like the Georgia defense we're used to seeing. And so I think that. I think Notre Dame can get them. I'm going to pick, I'm going to favor Notre Dame in a close game, kick a field goal to win at the end, and Some people are going to look at it as an upset. I don't because I think these two teams are pretty equal.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, look, Georgia doesn't have the skilled guys that we're used to. We've covered that, whether it's the receivers or tight ends. And ETN has been terrific. I like Nate Frazier a lot. But you're constantly worried about the ball being on the ground, which you saw in the SEC title game. And you know, the secondary is not till the standards, you know, that we, that you're used to. And the Stockton part of it is like, you know, I don't know. I think he's actually been a little overrated, to be honest with you, in the, in the leadup of, of what he actually did in that SEC title game against Texas. And if you look at some of the throw chart stuff, even that's probably not entirely fair because it's garbage time. So how much are they really asking him to throw in the other, the other experience that he got? But there's really nothing there that's stretching a defense. And then I think about the secondary for Notre Dame that I like, which I've already mentioned with Platt and other college football guests and just going like, good luck getting separation with this group against those guys. So it's not like it's going to be these wide open windows where, you know, Stockton's going to have to make some decisions here. But I think the Riley Leonard story, I couldn't tell if it was that because they weren't really playing any. Anybody and they were smashing everyone and people kind of written them off naturally after the Northern Illinois thing is like a real title contender. But he's been a different guy on the ground the second half of the season. Like he had some big, big output rushing games. And you think about him at Duke, like I've heard him compared to Haynes King a bunch of different times. I don't see that at all. I mean, look, if I had a son, I may name him Haynes King. That, that fucking guy is so tough. And I think he's a little. Well, I don't think he is. He is twitchier. There's a, it's not even a top speed thing. There's a foot in the ground and make you miss thing with Haynes King. And I thought he was going to die that night, Georgia, anyway, so I, I've seen some people look at it. It's like, hey, Georgia, let's look at the quarterbacks they've struggled with this year and a lot of these dual threat Guys and different cats. And I'm like, well, Riley Leonard hasn't really been that. And honestly, the one thing Indiana did well was disrupt the passing game because of that D line. And Leonard averaged like six yards per attempt. So they didn't even get some, like, great Riley Leonard game to completely dominate Indiana. That would be the one unit that you probably felt good about. So I'm kind of going with Georgia's front, disrupting Leonard and maybe in a low scoring game, you know, finding a way at the end. But I don't think it's outrageous at all to be picking Notre Dame in this.

[Booker McFarland]

So remember this when, when Mike Denbrock was the offensive coordinator at lsu, LSU played Georgia in the SEC title game. Denbrock was the oc. All right, so Denbrock has familiarity going against Georgia. So Denbrock is now the OC at Notre Dame. He understands like he, he's got a little understanding of this Georgia defense. So keep that in the back of your mind as we try to figure out the little schematic X's and O's. Denbrock understands what it's like to go against this Kirby smart defense. So I, I, I, I think that could also give Georgia, excuse me, give Notre Dame a little edge.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I think it's a good point, too, because I think some could argue that's why Melroe was so good against them, because there were so many people that were comfortable with, with what Kirby was going to do. Go ahead.

[Booker McFarland]

And on top of that, if you go back and look at what I forget his name, the Georgia Tech OC was with Kirby at Georgia and they were scheming up, scheming up Georgia in that Georgia Tech, Georgia game. So to me, that was, that was another point where if you understand what you're going to get from Georgia, you can scheme them up a little bit.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Is that, that's Buster Faulkner.

[Booker McFarland]

Buster Faulkner. Yes. There you go.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. All right. Yeah. He was at Georgia in 06 and then he was Georgia 2020-2022. Little Buster Faulkner for you, for the kids out there. All right, so we picked all those games. Give me your thoughts on Cam Ward with this Miami story. He plays half the bowl game and we've, we've got bullets flying in all directions here on this topic.

[Booker McFarland]

Well, I got a little familiarity with, with it. And I think you also remember last year, I forget the record, but Malik Neighbors was like two or three catches from setting the record at LSU when they took on Wisconsin and the Live Quest bowl or whatever the bowl name was back then, and I was on the sideline and I watched him play the first half. And he came out in the second half, his street clothes. And I was like, what happened? He's like, that was always the plan. He wanted to play the first half. Everybody agreed he was going to play the first half, get the record, and then he was going to set out the second half and let some of the young guys play. So I'm fine with that. Everybody gets in an uproar because Miami's in a close game and Miami loses the game. Cam Ward went out, and what people don't realize is he had to go through all the bowl practices. He had to do everything that all the rest of the guys do. He went out and played the first half, and he put up almost, what, 30 points. And from what I understand, it was a decision between he and Cristobal. Hey, play the first half. Let's see where we are. I'd like to get the young guys some. Some reps. While at the same time, I appreciate what you're doing, but we don't need. We don't need you to play the entire game. We don't need to get you hurt. We appreciate what you've done for the program, blah, blah, blah. And so I think they had an understanding of what was going to happen, and I'm cool with that. I'm fine with that because of the. Of the effort and the sacrifice that he made of the bold practices and being prepared and playing and all that good stuff. I'm fine with it because I've seen several other guys just not do any of that. And when the season's over, they throw the Deuces. I don't think there's a right or wrong way. Every situation is personal because these dudes are trying to go make a ton of money on the professional level, especially Cam Ward, who's going to be a top five pick, I think. So I'm fine with it. I really don't honestly see the other side. Rosilla, like, the other side is, well, he quit on his team. No, he didn't. He didn't quit. And so that's why I am on this. And maybe you see it a different way.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I am on the kids side almost all the time. All right. Even if I don't love how absurd some of the transfer stuff can be or, you know, we had this weird, you know, the NCAA actually, in a way was. Was like, with the COVID thing being like, let's just do what's best for the kid. Even if we have a weird stretch of, like, guys getting eligibility for eighth year, you know, because even Sark and the JUCO rule that they have now, you know, I think the nca, although they don't want to share any of their money, they've done a lot of things to maximize the experience between nil transfer rules and, you know, a few. Few other smaller things there. And it's long overdue. And these kids are getting screwed for so long. I don't. You're never really going to find me. And I, you know, and I've even had to, like, get out of some outdated thoughts that I would have that I was just married to when I was younger. Right. You know, that the brand is Saturday night. The brand isn't a player. And then it's like, all right, whatever. Like, I. I stopped saying that one years and years ago. I guess it just kind of comes down to your personality with your teammates and that kind of stuff. Of like, do you. Could you do that to your teammates? And I think that's a very personal thing. But I also think that if you look at this generation of college football players, like, I remember talking to the Oregon guys years ago, and it wasn't Chip Kelly, for those trying to guess. It was like, you know, guys are disappointed we're playing in the Rose Bowl. Okay. Like, think about that. Think about how, you know, we grew up or our parents grew up and thinking the Rose bowl was the biggest thing.

[Booker McFarland]

Yeah. The granddaddy.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. And you had, you know, flirtation with the national championship run. You lose a late game, you're not playing in the national championship, you're not in the bcs, you're not in the college. Oh, I guess I'll just play in the Rose bowl now. And the kids have completely become desensitized to bowl games, meaning anything, even bowl games that still, in theory, should mean a lot. And granted, we're on a third system now, so to tell a kid, and it makes it even worse that it was named the Pop Tart bowl, it just does. To tell a bunch of kids. Like, I bet you all of his teammates were cool with it. Because I think the guys that want to go out there and play some football, because they love playing football, are fine with it. And then the other guys, I think there's just a lot of indifference and that it's such a letdown. We prioritize a national championship over some of these. You know, college football was always cool in a way that you could kind of. It's almost like the Final Four. Like, you can make a Final Four run, not win the national championship, and still really be proud of that Final Four appearance and hang that banner and maybe you don't even have a national championship, but it was awesome for your program, the school and the fans and all those things. I hope that's never devalued. But the winning of these bowl games outside of the playoff format is so devalued. I think they probably could have communicated. Communicated it a little bit better. But I. I know at first I was like, what did he do? I'm like, for a record. And then it kind of bothered me, and then I thought a little bit more about it, Booger. And I just went, you know what? Remember, like, this generation of college football players puts absolutely no value on a lot of these games because we've kind of told them they don't mean anything.

[Booker McFarland]

I've heard this take as well. Someone said, I would feel better if he just didn't play play at all and had opted out. Or would you feel better or any different had he just said, you know what? I'm not playing in the bowl game, and I showed up?

[Ryan Rosillo]

I would have felt a little bit better about that. Okay, you feel better that he went through all the practice and did all the stuff, prepared with the team and then didn't. So you. You were cool with neighbors last year? You were like, yeah, I was cool with it.

[Booker McFarland]

Because understand, this is that as. And maybe this is where I come from. Like, you've given me two, three years, whatever the number is, you've given me all season long. Some cases, it did depend on transfer Porter, like, you've given me a ton of time. Cam Ward gave you all season long. Cam Ward gave you.

[Ryan Rosillo]

He.

[Booker McFarland]

He was everything for this Miami offense. And in a stage where he's going to be maybe, maybe at worst, the second quarterback taken, he could be somewhere with John Beck or Jordan Palme already preparing to throw in the combine. He said, nope, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna stay in Coral Gables and I'm practicing football for 15 practices. We're going to the Pop Tart Bowl. I'm gonna see Cole Kublik walk around with a damn Pop Tart suit on and try to interview people. And I'm gonna come out and I'm going to play in the first half. And I'm not just. And I'm not just back there taking snaps. He's playing football like he's throwing the football around, running around, running like he's not just catching and throwing. He's actually playing. I was cool with that. I would have felt different if he would have said, you know what? I'm out throwing the deuces. I actually. That would have made me feel worse.

[Ryan Rosillo]

So I'm.

[Booker McFarland]

I'm. I'm on that side of the camp.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I guess if you're out there and you're sitting there and being like, oh, I don't want to expose myself to injury. Well, you already did for the first half. So, you know, why. Why not just finish? I guess I would just. But again, nobody cares what I had to say. I didn't play like you guys. I guess it's. There's just a certain part of me that wonders, like, you were just fine, you know, silent. But this falls into the category of, like, the things I love and the things I despise. This is not in either of those categories. I just. If I don't like something, I try to remind myself of the mindset of a younger player. And this has been going on for a long time. Like, you know, it. You talk to these coaches and everything. Like, it's tough to get dudes to be fired up about these secondary bowl games here, because even though it's on TV and everything, like, everything's on tv, nobody, you know, so. All right. I like how we talked about that. Because, you know what I do like about you, though, is that I think there's way too much former player that is pro player on literally everything. Like, a player can never do anything wrong. And if you're in that business, if you're in that world of content, like, I'm just not interested in what you're going to have to say because I already know that you're going to say it. I opened the pod today, talking some NFL, talking some Vikings, where this is twice now against Green Bay, where they were clearly the better football team. I thought the first game was actually better because there were so many mistakes that Green Bay could point to. Then they make the late rally. I thought Minnesota kicked their ass for 50 minutes. You get the late scores. It looks like a close game moving on. But in a game where I thought Green Bay could get them, it would add cloudiness to what the NFC picture is. I feel like I have clarity because of this matchup, because of probably preferring Darnold over Hertz and the fact that Detroit has this many injuries. If Minnesota gets the 1 seed, I think they're winning the NFC.

[Booker McFarland]

I'm going to disagree with that. Realizing from. From this point Going forward, if these teams are what they are. And here's what I mean by that. I don't think Hutch is playing for Detroit. Obviously not. I think Anzalone may be back. He's not back yet. So Detroit is going to be limited defensively. Detroit, probably. I think they have the best offense because of the guy calling the plays in Ben Johnson and because of just their weapons. I just like what they do. Minnesota, and maybe I'm in a different camp. I think we've undervalued Minnesota all season long because we've been waiting on Donald. There's an old saying, water eventually finds this level. And I think when Donald threw the five picks against Jacksonville, everybody was like, ah, there it is. Sam Donald back again. But he came back and the rest of the season has been outstanding. And I think he's earned the right to get a five year, $250 million deal, whatever the number is. Like, he's earning to be the franchise quarterback in Minnesota. If Philadelphia plays at their best, their defense is as good as Minnesota's defense, although they do it differently. Minnesota's kind of featured a famine with how Flores brings the pressure and how he blitzes. I don't think Minnesota secondary is great if you're going to rely on Gilmore and he's a little longer than twos. I think if all these teams are kind of what they can be at this point, I would rank them like this. I would rank them, Philadelphia, Minnesota and Detroit. Only because of their health on defense. Detroit's defense scares me. Like, Terianna Arnold is a pass interference waiting to happen. Carlton Davis, I don't know what his health is going to be like. Like, they're just so beat up defensively. Like, I mean, he is just like, seriously, he's a passer defense waiting to happen.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Hey, Booger, when I, like, I'll look at some of the practice squad promotion stuff or signing or whatever. When I saw Jamal Adams was active and like getting snaps, I went there in trouble.

[Booker McFarland]

He. He was active and was playing linebacker. Like, yeah, like, what are we doing? I think the NFC championship game, if, if you and I hadn't looked at the bracket. So if I'm saying something that can't happen, forgive me. I. I think the bracket really should be like, if. If you gave me an NFC championship game of Philly in Minnesota, I feel pretty good about that. I think those are the two best teams. I think one's going to be and get. I think Green Bay. I haven't looked at the seating like Green Bay can only be seven, right. Philly's two, Phillies locked into two. Am I correct?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. So right now, Minnesota, granted, we still have Detroit to go tonight. You've got the head to head, so there's still a lot that could change here. But like, as it sits today, let's just do that exercise. I mean, Philly, Green Bay being your first wild card matchup like that, just not only is it potentially getting, getting Goff outside, you know, because that Philadelphia thing's lurking in some kind of whole field there, but I mean, that's the two, three. Yeah. I don't know, man. I mean, what an awful.

[Booker McFarland]

What.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Imagine going 14, 14 and 3 and playing green Bay in a wild card game, because right now Washington has the tiebreaker over them because of a better conference record game.

[Booker McFarland]

One of those teams, if Tampa wins, one of those teams is going to have to go to Tampa, right?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, that's right.

[Booker McFarland]

And it honestly wouldn't surprise me in January. It's going to be in two weeks, I promise you, because I'm outside now, it's going to be 85 degrees. All right. In Tampa, Baker, Mayfield, the Bucks got just enough that they can scare the heck out of one of those teams that's won 13 or 14 games.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I mean, it'd be Detroit right Now on the 4 5.

[Booker McFarland]

And the Bucks have already beat Detroit in Detroit.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, that was a really weird one though. I'll just point out, like that was a disastrous red zone day for Detroit offense. Like, they're not going to do that to them again. There's other times in Tampa in the playoffs where I like them because of a matchup thing. If they play Detroit and people go based on that, that was such an anomaly. But you know, I actually want to give Tampa some love here because when you start looking at their offensive stats and their scoring and how they kept this thing going, I might have been more impressed with their loss against the Niners and getting back in that game than even some of their wins. So I know you're an alum there. Can you make a case for Tampa getting through the nfc?

[Booker McFarland]

I can make a case of them winning a game and competing in a second game. Their offensive line is really young, athletic, they can run the football. This kid, Bucky Irving is. He's a poor man. I mean, a really poor man. Like when you start looking at the backs that and that are, that are three down backs, like he's that type of guy. I think Yesterday he had one 120 rushing, another 80 receiving, almost 200 yards, all purpose. As far as offense yesterday, Mike Evans is a Hall of Fame receiver. The key for temp is always this. Now that God is out with the Godwin, is out with the ACL, what do you get from McMillan? What do you get from these other ancillary pieces? Kate Otten has had a really good year. What are you going to get from the. From the pass catching threats not named Mike Evans. That's the issue for Tampa. And defensively, can Ty Bowles scheme up enough defenses to get off on third down? Because Baker has been pretty outside of a game or two. He's been pretty consistent. Yeah, man. I mean, I mean, the Bucks are just, like I said, they're just good enough to scare you.

[Ryan Rosillo]

That offense is remarkable. Like, when you look at where they're at statistically, I think it's scoring number two in the nfc, maybe number five. Maybe it was number five going into the week. But there's just some nice reminders there considering, you know, the challenge that they face, like a lot of other teams with health and all that kind of stuff. And then Evans just beasting guys. He's still making that big brother catch in the end zone where he just embarrasses you with the way he catches it and just holds the ball away from you. And, I mean, that guy's going to end up in the hall of Fame. He just. He should, because the continued production the entire way through. All right, last thing for you here before we let you go. Your MVP would be who?

[Booker McFarland]

I've gone back and forth to. Me, there are three candidates. It's Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Saquon Barkley. And I've been prisoner of the moment after Josh had one of those crazy performance. Josh Allen. If you look at the statistics, Lamar Jackson is having a better year this year than he had in either one of the two MVPs that he's already won. And Saquon Barkley's only the nice guy to go over 2k. If you told me today to make a vote, I'd probably go, Josh Allen. I fall into the camp of when you're doing something that we haven't seen you do before, like Lamar, his numbers are better, but we've seen him do this before. Josh Allen is doing it and he's not turning the football over. Rosillo. That's been the knock on Josh Allen. He turns the ball over too much. He's not turning. He's got six turnovers all season. Six. And so I would probably vote Josh. Lamar. Saquon And I realize I'm being a prisoner of this being a quarterback award. And if you ask me, tomorrow or after the regular season finale, it may change, but that's where I go today.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, look, I think the last thing with Josh was, you know those backed up interceptions where it's 1st and 10 and he just throws a dangerous ball and they're on their own 20 and it's the second quarter and you go, you don't need it. I'm actually enjoying Brady on the broadcast. Like the Darnold interception yesterday, you can just see he's sick because Brady doesn't throw that pick. Like, he's just not giving you the ball back there. And Brady's talking about how much he's enjoying Darnold and all this stuff, and then you just like, I wouldn't throw that pick. Like, I just, I wouldn't throw that pick. And I think Allen still had that in him. And then there was the red zone stuff. We get into the elbow injury and all those different things and he's just not doing it. So, like, it was the last level of whatever the video game was for Josh Allen and quarterbacking. And he's mastered the game this year where, if you look at Lamar's picks, I think you could argue he should only have. Well, maybe there's some that are dropped in there, too. I don't know off the top of my head. But when he had three before he got the fourth, that was bad against Pittsburgh. The first three that he had on the.

[Booker McFarland]

None of them were his fault.

[Ryan Rosillo]

None of them, like, ridiculous things that were happening. So you could argue like, the first real pick was just the Steelers game. And I would love to come up with a new way to identify all these things. If Allen wins, I'm okay with it. I hope he doesn't win because people are like, it's his turn. Because Lamar's still doing probably the most valuable job.

[Booker McFarland]

But that's how this goes, though. Like, like, oh, no, you're right, you're right. I mean, again, Shaq could have won the mvp. And now I'm getting to your wheelhouse. Shaq could have won the MVP every year. So could LeBron. Like, man, but at some point we're going to come up with reasons to give it to other people. Hey, Russell Westbrook, the triple double, let's give it to him.

[Ryan Rosillo]

That was a mistake.

[Booker McFarland]

He averaged a triple double the next year. Nobody even brought his name up. Like, come on, man, think about that. Think about it. We gave him an MVP because he Averaged a triple double. He averaged one the next year, I think, correct me if I'm wrong, And we never saw his name up.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It was like four straight years. I mean, the, the other part that people lost their mind. The Thunder won 47 games that year. So they were the seven seed. Yeah, six seed. Yeah, they were the six seed. That had a lot to do with Durant leaving Westbrook staying, falling in love with the idea that Westbrook was the conquering hero staying at home. And people did not look at the usage rate. So.

[Booker McFarland]

And by the way, and by the way, I know we're wrapping this up, NBA MVP right now. Is it anybody other than Shay Gilgis Alexander right now? And I think. And the reason I say that is because a lot of people thought he should have won it last year and he's having as good a year this year. So right now, if the season were to end today and I realized we're early. Is it anybody other than him?

[Ryan Rosillo]

It's going to be hard to argue. Jokic is 17 and 13. People that had SGA1 last year were wrong. But yeah, I think, I think it's sga. And look, the SGA is going to win on the record thing because basketball, that's what happens. But like I'm just happy that in the cup and it's not an anti sga, not because he loses it in that game, but just a reminder of who Giannis is. Just a reminder of. Like when I voted Giannis second last year, that was pretty rare, right? Like people were already on to sga. They were already on everything. If you have SGA second last year, I'm not going to get super mad about it. If you had them number one, I think you're wrong, but their record is nuts. Like I watched was it the Memphis game last night? Booger, if you wait around to do your thing offensively against okc, they're going to swarm you and they're going to screw you up. You cannot. I've watched it so many times this season with their defense where they must be just a joy to coach, because the message just gets through to every single guy that checks in. It's like, this is what we're going to do. This is what we're going to do to disrupt it. And as good as Jalen Williams is offensively, and there's some really good on ball creation, a lot of it comes back to sga and it's such a hard role. You saw it with Booker without Durant and Beal and how much his efficiency dropped off because it was just left to him. It's happened to Ant basically nightly. Even with Randall's numbers, you know what they're going to try to go to. It's happening to Steph. I think some of their clutch losses, I have a lot more to do with him just trying to do the impossible and carry it with such a significant drop off to who the number two guy is. It's not as significant for sga, but there are certain possessions where it's within what they're trying to do and then a lot where it ends up back with him. Like the Pacers win at the end of last week where he hits that three where the Pacers were really good defensively. He just had to make it happen. So it feels like SGA with the record and the statistical profile, it's his right now. But I still would expect with Denver being healthier that Jokic can get back in this.

[Booker McFarland]

I gotcha.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Was that good?

[Booker McFarland]

Yeah, that's good stuff.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You were like, okay, dude, that was a little longer than I wanted to be. You're the best, buddy. Enjoy the new year. We'll talk soon.

[Booker McFarland]

All right, Later, Bear.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay, you have our picks. FanDuel wants me to pick a four leg money line for this one, so let's do it. That means Penn State and Texas are getting picked, but it also means Georgia, who's a favorite minus one and a half in this one, but we'll go with them in the money line. And then Oregon, the only dog that I am taking for the College football playoff. And that is at +493 as of today's taping. Check out all the Latest odds on sportsbook.fanduel.com you want details? Fine.

[Booker McFarland]

I drive a Ferrari 355 Cabriolet.

[Ryan Rosillo]

What's up?

[Booker McFarland]

I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you can possibly.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Imagine, and best of all, kids, I am liquid.

[Booker McFarland]

So now you know what's possible.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Let me tell you what's required. Email address lifeadvicermail.com Season's greetings. We're back at it here. Although we did tape Friday. So let's see here. I might start with a potential scam alert or I'm the worst. So we'll find out. Season of scams right now. So I land at LAX after an east coast jaunt and I'm waiting for my luggage baggage claim and I notice this jacked black guy walking through baggage claim. I mean, just incredible arms. Jacked. He's got a T shirt. It Just says Marines. Like the Marines T shirt. We all know it. He's got a pretty brand new fully loaded tactical backpack. I think you know the one I'm talking about. It's tucked in and he's, he's kind of got shorts. He's. He looks pretty buttoned up and I cannot express how big his arms are. Just rippling muscles, sleeves rolled up as well. And I mean you just can't, as somebody who goes to the gym, you just can't help but notice it and acknowledge his superiority. So he goes up to some guy behind me. I'm not really paying attention, I'm waiting for my bag. There was also a guy in full compression who was pretty big, waiting for his bags as well. Just full on compression, head to.

[Kyle]

Gotta be careful in those flights, man. Blood flow, all that.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, you would think. I actually, I respect the hell out of it. I love it, I wouldn't do it, but whatever. So then he comes over to me and I'm like, what do we got here? And he starts like showing me a passport, a military photo of. I think it was him in uniform. I wasn't really paying attention. And then also his phone is out with like search flight results on Priceline or something. And he throws, yeah, he throws so much terminology at me in such a short amount of time. It was like I'm detailed out of whatever and I'm, you know, this is my, I don't know, regimen, whatever. He's like. And I'm, I'm, you know, and he wasn't really saying what he was saying. He just kept talking and he was like super polite. He was not aggressive. He was just very matter of fact about this. And I just find. I was like, what are you asking me? And he's like, I'm trying to get home. But then he also mentioned like a Ford he was trying to get back to. I was like, are you asking me for money? And he's like, yes. I go, I'm not going to do that. But I appreciate everything you do.

[Kyle]

Thank you for your service.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I gave him a thank you for your service, but I'm not giving you any money. And I think you have to be scammed once to then have your radar up about it all the time. Because it happened to me once when I was Boston, you know, rural kid in the big city. And I don't know how, this guy just was a wizard, man. He just started like I was driving my car, I was in this back area. Not like it was dangerous or anything, but I was like going through this back area and he just like runs out into the street. He's like, hey. He's like, my car, I don't have any gas. And I, I work at the airport. So like, I can pay you back, but I just need like $10 to get in. And just. He was just so disheveled and he was so fast. He was so good. And even though I think I was figuring it out this morning, I think I made $120,000 over six years in this period salary. But I'd like to think I have a heart. Some may not see that, but I think people that know me do know that. And I, I'm like, all right, you know, like, here's 10 bucks. And I drove away and I was like, that guy was like a crackhead. You, there's no way that wasn't going towards gas. Like, you got totally scammed. And by the way, like, you being able to get your money back from him at the, like, you'd have to have a flight booked to even see him at the airport at the place that he worked. Like, none of that makes any sense. None of it is easy. And you just lost $10. And from that point on I was like, you need to sharpen a little. You need to sharpen a little. So I think I'm just not the guy to go to. And who knows? I mean, I guess I hope it wasn't a scam, but then if it wasn't a scam, I, I probably could have gotten a little money. I bet you somebody would have just fallen for it and bought the guy's flight. But then I was thinking it was like, who shows up to an airport without a ticket? Like, who shows up to the airport, packed up, going, hopefully I can just hit up 20 people and get enough for a one way flight back to wherever. And even 20 may not cover it.

[Kyle]

Did you get a figure from this guy? Like, did you get, did you get any sort of thing? What he was looking for? Was he like, listen, it's last minute, so it's going to be like 7:20 or what? No. So you didn't even get that far. And really. But the way you started this, I thought you would have left with a timeshare. You just sound like you were mesmerized by this guy. It sounds like he could have. I thought he was gonna.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You thought he had me.

[Kyle]

I thought that was the way this was gonna end. Like, so anyway, you know, I'm down 500.

[Ryan Rosillo]

But he was a nice guy.

[Kyle]

Well, thank you for your service is great. Like the. No, but thanks for all you do.

[Ryan Rosillo]

He just had so much stuff out and he just was talking so fast that I immediately was like, well, this isn't true.

[Kyle]

Something's off.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. And then I, as I thought about it a little bit more and then I thought, like, wait, if you're active, can't. Don't they have to get you back now? Could it be that he's active and was going somewhere that was personal? You know, like, I don't, I don't know the answers to this stuff, but as I was driving away and was thinking about it a little bit more, I was like, there's no way he just showed up to the airport being like, this will work. But maybe, maybe it would. Maybe somebody would just go for it. Maybe, you know, and maybe he was telling the truth. Who knows? Great arms, though. Great arms. Well, I guess, yeah, I guess. Nothing else to add there.

[Kyle]

I hope, I hope it was a scam too.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I hope you're right. I really hope you're right. You're kind of like, I hope. Yeah, I hope it was a scam.

[Kyle]

I need it to be a scam. Christmas time too. Jesus Christ, Ryan.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I know, I know. All right. I, I don't have anything else.

[Kyle]

Would have been best if you were like, if you did the same thing. You were just like, my year end taxes. The way this works, man. I'm so like, if you just got equally in the weeds with him.

[Ryan Rosillo]

All right, I'm done. Yeah. All right, let's see here. Okay, a couple, a couple good ones here. My niece is dirty. Okay. Writing you from my husband's email. And he told me to send my stats. Normal woman height, but I own a pilates studio, so I should have a strong core, I think. But also just had a baby, so probably no stats to brag about other than a nine and a half pounder.

[Kyle]

Oh, that's a big one.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Anyway, big fan of life advice. My husband's a huge fan of the pot. I'm reaching out because I need some advice in a delicate family situation. I have an older sister and while our relationship has always been rocky, we're on good terms at the moment. She has a two year old daughter, my niece, and she parents in a very different way than I do. Her approach is more off the grid. For example, baths are optional in their household. I've always thought it was a little unconventional, but since having my own child, I have an 11 week old son, it started to feel more concerning. I recently saw My niece in person. And it's hard not to notice. She's dirty her nails, feet in clothes, and she has an odor. Wait, two year old kicking off B.O. that's tough to do.

[Ceruti]

I got, I mean, I have a two year old. Her breath stinks. Sometimes, you know, you don't brush those teeth, you know they're going to fall out. It just gets gnarly.

[Kyle]

They're going to fall out anyway. Why should we?

[Ceruti]

Well, that was my information. My brother in law is a dentist and I'm like, does it really matter? Like they're just going to fall out. And he's like, I mean, true.

[Kyle]

The gums stay though, right?

[Ryan Rosillo]

The gut.

[Kyle]

They used to keep your gums.

[Ceruti]

It's just an overall hygiene thing. I get it, you know? Yeah, sure, try it.

[Kyle]

I mean, they're gonna fall. Why even make the bed? We're just gonna get in it eight hours later.

[Ceruti]

That would also be my logic.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, yeah. I don't know that I've ever heard a parent say they're just gonna fall out anyway.

[Ceruti]

Well, I mean, all right, now it's like, hey, cool dad of the year over here.

[Kyle]

But we're talking about intrusive thoughts here, right?

[Ceruti]

Like if we skip a night here or there, like what's the worst that could happen?

[Kyle]

How much damage are we doing here?

[Ceruti]

She does get bass every other night though.

[Ryan Rosillo]

She hops up on the couch, she gives Rudy hug. Hey, there's a mouthwash through that first kid. Get her a smint.

[Ceruti]

Oh no. She accidentally. At my buddy's house, they had like a mint chocolate cake and she thought it was chocolate cake. And we're like, you're not going to like this. And telling you you're not going to like this. And she wanted anyway put it in her mouth immediately. Just spits it out into my hand. Not a big mint fan. Mint's an acquired taste.

[Kyle]

Yeah, I'm out of mint and desserts.

[Ceruti]

Oh, me too. It's disgusting. Anybody who likes chocolate, there's just so.

[Kyle]

Many better options, that's all.

[Ryan Rosillo]

What about mint chocolate chip?

[Ceruti]

No, Disgusting.

[Kyle]

Yeah, it's like near the bottom of my listing. It's near the bottom of my list. I just rather not have dessert.

[Ceruti]

I think it's the bottom. I think it's the bottom of the barrel. It's the worst.

[Kyle]

If someone made it homemade and wanted to see what I thought I would try it. But yeah, I'm just, I'll say I'm not a big dessert guy if someone offers me that.

[Ceruti]

What are the. Are the snow caps. Are those mint too, right? The movie theater one.

[Ryan Rosillo]

They're kind of.

[Kyle]

No. Are they?

[Ryan Rosillo]

I don't think so.

[Kyle]

They look like they should be when.

[Ceruti]

You get a fancy restaurants, little green thing.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Let me text my grandfather after dinner.

[Kyle]

Mint. Yeah, I'll do an after dinner.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Man, what he's got on snow caps. We get this to a tie.

[Ceruti]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Here. You guys just both said yuck on your peppermint patties. You and mint guy wore gone. I bet you are.

[Kyle]

He's gonna pull one up, isn't he? Oh, no, he's start. He's either starting his record or he's gonna reach into his drawer and pull out York Peppermint Patty.

[Ceruti]

I don't know which peppermint Patty tattoo on his back.

[Kyle]

There's a flag just over there.

[Ceruti]

No, I'm in on mint chocolate chip mint ice cream.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Hell yeah. Nice.

[Ceruti]

No. Okay.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Well, I've just never heard two people so disgusted by it. A neutrality I would accept here, but I don't.

[Kyle]

I lean more neutral than yuck. But yeah, I'm just frozen York peppermint Patty. It's tough to beat freezer Reese's cup at that point.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I don't know.

[Kyle]

Like, we're putting chocolate in the freezer. I'll just pick a different one.

[Ceruti]

Yeah, I agree.

[Ryan Rosillo]

College roommate used to throw a few junior mints in his mouth on the way out before brushing his teeth. So it all comes back full circle.

[Ceruti]

Maybe that's.

[Kyle]

I was a junior mate guy back in the day. I was a junior mint guy. Doesn't. Doesn't seem like as. As appetizing, but I'll give you that. That's a. That's a good product.

[Ryan Rosillo]

There's gotta be a lot of candy where they have meetings. Like, we're just losing market, you know?

[Kyle]

How's Werther's doing? I mean, they're losing customers every year.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Like, should we have it taste like something? Should we give in? Should we try to have less dust in the package? What do we need to do here to catch up with this younger? They're all on the Internet now. All right, so back to this dirty curious. Go ahead.

[Ceruti]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Thanks.

[Kyle]

Forgot.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Thank you. As someone who's now bathing the sun every night, it's really hard to ignore. Here's where I'm stuck. Do I say something to my sister, knowing it could spark a huge argument and possibly damage our already fragile relationship? Or do I stay quiet and let her parent the way she wants, even if I'm uncomfortable with It. I'd really. I really want to approach this the right way, and I'd love your perspective. Thanks so much for reading this. All right, well, I'm not sure why you want our perspective on this one, but. Yeah, that's. Look, whenever. Whenever you're talking about parents, talking to other parents about the parenting, it's almost always a loss. Like, it's just. You're never going to be favored in that matchup. So, like, if I told Saruti, if I came by, I was like, your kid's breast stinks. How would you handle that?

[Kyle]

Be like, I know, dude.

[Ceruti]

There's not much I could do, unfortunately. Yeah, just kind of is what it is. But. Astute observation. Yeah, I'm with you. Like, there's nothing. Unless it's. I mean, you know, I'm sure there's somebody who's gonna email it and be like, this is harmful to the kid for some reason. I don't know. Maybe it is. But, like, unless it's, like, actually something that's harmful to the child. Like, you kind of just have to sit this one out. Maybe you try to convince the kid that baths are awesome, you know, like, on the side and be like, you know, it's like the most fun thing, and you start giving her, like, bath toys, and, like, she wants make a.

[Kyle]

Fun game in the bath that only could be played in the bath.

[Ceruti]

Yeah. So that's that. But. But as far as, like, directly telling, you know, your. Was it her sister? Right, her sister, that your kid stinks and you're doing it wrong. You already had a rocky relationship.

[Booker McFarland]

Probably.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Probably.

[Ceruti]

We're just sitting this one out. See. See what it's like when she's five, you know, maybe it gets better.

[Kyle]

Yeah, I guess. What kind of, like, level of uncle are you? Like, are you, like, you know, Christmas toys? I wanted to see how they're doing in school. Like, you're. Are you checking up? Like, it could be hard to watch. Like, there's a few people in my mom's orbit who like their extended families just, like, they have dirty kids and like, you just. I hate to hear what she's like. Yeah, the kid, the hair is always mangled. They're not eating when they're before going to school. Like, the parents are just doing it wrong, and it kind of breaks my heart. And if that was my sister, I don't know. I don't know. I might be a little okay with trying to broach something because, you know, I don't know, like, bad habits are bad habits, and like, sounds like the kid doesn't have much of a chance of having good habits unless, you know, there's some sort of. Of positive reinforcement in the way of something being good. So. I don't know. I just. I remember the feelings whenever my mom, like, gives me updates on her friends, extended families who just have, like, for lack of a better word, like, dirty, unsupervised kids. It's not the kid's fault. You just feel bad and it just sucks, you know?

[Ceruti]

You know, that kid's getting.

[Kyle]

It just sucks. Yeah, if you feel like. Yeah. If you feel like you're watching it and you're actually. It's. It's not like a friend of my, you know, a family member, my mom's friend, where I'm not gonna ever dream of saying anything, but if it's something as close as, like, a sibling, I don't know. You think you'd be able to try something at least so you could sleep at night and be like, listen, I. I said something and I tried to say it in the nicest way that this irresponsible person would. Would agree to. So I don't know. I. I think it's not as easy as just like, well, you know, what am I supposed to do? There might actually be something you can do.

[Ceruti]

Yeah. Like, I have that relationship with my sisters where they would tell me if, like, hey, your kid stinks. It'd be like, oh, yeah, our bad. Like, maybe change something because, like, it. It probably would suck. Is like, the aunt here being like, oh, man, this kid is just headed towards, like.

[Kyle]

And you're, you know, he's gonna show.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Up at kindergarten school.

[Ceruti]

Yeah.

[Kyle]

Right. School starts in three years. Like, is it gonna be better by then? I don't know.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah.

[Ceruti]

So that's tough, but I'd give.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It's even worse that it's a girl.

[Booker McFarland]

Yes.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You know?

[Kyle]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It's like a dirty boy. It's like, all right, whatever.

[Ceruti]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You know, like, is this girl gonna be 17 before she learns about Q tips? Yeah. So, you know, that's not going to be cool. You're not going to win a homecoming queen that way. I think what you have to ask yourself, as you even pointed out, the relationship is fragile, rocky in the past. You're in a good place right now. What's more important to you sustained, you know, like, calmness between the two of you or the dirtiness of her kid? Because here's what I would tell you is if you say, hey, bathe your, like, granted, we can do it. In the nicest possible way. And you know, it's kind of funny. You guys are like talking about like making baths fun, but then the sister's going to know what you're doing, like what's going on, like I'm bathing your kid, you know, Then it's like even weirder and like some of the aunts, uncle stuff like on one side of my family, like the aunts could yell at us and I'm glad they could by the way because we were all just a bunch of kids and running around and you're at everybody's houses and it was totally fine. The, the sisters, you know, on my mother's side of the family, like if you screwed up, one of the sisters is going to let you have it and everybody was fine with it. I don't think I ever remember anybody on that side of the family ever like saying, hey, don't, don't talk to my kids that way. Because they're all incredibly close. And I actually think it was like the right thing to do because if I was doing something wrong I shouldn't have to wait around for my direct report to get in my case here. So in, in this case, like a lot of it has to do with, you know, those boundaries and if you're, your long term goal here is to have a better relationship with your sister, the kid's probably not going to be clean no matter what you do and you know, when they're five or something and this continues then, then maybe, you know, become at 2 years old, it's really not that big of a deal, you know, unless they're in daycare and then maybe the daycare person brings it up and that would be nice, that would be great. Gets in front of it and then you don't even have to really deal with it. Maybe your sister's more willing to listen instead of just going at it with you because of your history. I just think that even though the reward would be a clean kid, you're probably still not going to reach that because you're not with the kid all the time and they're just going to default to what they're already doing. So you're probably going to cause more of a problem with your relationship to solve something that's not going to be solved.

[Kyle]

I like Ceru's idea of like a $50 bath toy. Like something no 2 year old could resist. Like, I don't know, maybe it's, maybe it does something. I don't, I don't know, I don't know.

[Ryan Rosillo]

How.

[Kyle]

Where we've gotten in the world of.

[Ceruti]

We got boats, like, these little boats and.

[Kyle]

Yeah, boats are classic.

[Ceruti]

Huge hit.

[Kyle]

Boats are classic.

[Ceruti]

Can't go anywhere else other than walkers.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Like, hi, sorry to trouble you, but I have a really dirty niece and I'm trying to raise money for a boat.

[Ceruti]

Wow.

[Ryan Rosillo]

All right.

[Kyle]

My flight got canceled.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. What else?

[Kyle]

I need gas.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I can't wait until someone emails me and be like, that's our cousin Derek, and he didn't make it home. Thanks. All right, New Year, weight loss. I was thinking maybe we should do December 1st resolutions. Just get ahead of it, like, a month ahead of everybody else.

[Kyle]

Not flood the market. Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Have 13 months to accomplish it.

[Ceruti]

Yeah. I'm pretty adamant about not doing resolutions because I just. I think they're lame as hell because it's like, hey, if I want to start doing something, just let me start doing it. Why can't I start doing it now? You know, it kind of. It kind of pisses me off, to be honest with you, because then. And then I did realize there's a commercial running now that, like, the second Friday in January is called, like, Quit January or something. It's like, Quitters Day. Yeah. Quitters Day. Yeah. Didn't know that. That's.

[Kyle]

So. It's like a construct. You're probably out on Valentine's, too, right?

[Ceruti]

Total. Yeah, totally.

[Kyle]

What do I need a special day to say I love you?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Unless.

[Ceruti]

Unless your girl wants to go to a call her daddy type podcast live show. Then.

[Kyle]

Then apparently you do it.

[Ceruti]

Then I'm flexible.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. What's wrong with you? Or if your buddy wants to call you and give you Orlando Magic updates.

[Ceruti]

I. I did want those.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Valentine's Day.

[Ceruti]

True.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. I see you as a big New Year's resolution. Yeah. Tristan S. Tristan to buckets. All right. Do you have. You have a New Year's resolution, Kyle? You're usually pretty good for one of those every year, right?

[Kyle]

Oh, yeah. I haven't really thought about it, but I guess if there's, like, stuff floating around, it's definitely improve the golf game, learn video. Doing that stuff now, trying to learn video stuff just, you know, cement my value, I guess. Yeah. So get better at golf. Get better at video and. Yeah. I mean, I think. I think I'm doing pretty well otherwise.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Maybe it's videos.

[Kyle]

Some golf videos.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Wow. Play nine miles style. Yeah. Get a tracer camera setup. Have your round take forever. People behind you.

[Kyle]

I would never.

[Ryan Rosillo]

All right. Six foot one, 185, 190 parentheses. And that's the problem. Exclamation point player comp Doughy defensive specialist in the Euroleague. I'll keep it quick. I graduated college in June 23rd, around 170 pounds. So we're talking year and a half. He's added 1520 pounds of mass here. I've ballooned up to where I'm now in the year and a half since all right, in a very demanding 70 hour work work week at minimum job. All right, so I kind of murdered that sentence. He wrote it better than I read it. But I think everybody understands, so we'll just keep moving. I'll preface the rest of the email by saying this I'm not in typical I'm not a typical New Year's resolution for a fat guy spot. I'm actually not fat yet, and people always tell me I'm in great shape. But I know myself at my peak and I'm far from it. Right now I'm looking to lose the weight or the fat, I should say, because I have put on muscle and it's simple enough. I have a healthy breakfast and dinner every day because I make them at home. The problem is I eat lunch at the office every day. My co workers typically opt for options Ubereats or restaurants near the office. Far less than ideal for someone trying to eat clean. How can I avoid this? My current plan is just ordering my own food before everyone decides where to go and cutting out my weekend cheat meals. It may isolate me from the group, but at this point the priority is the weight. The fact that I'm not really fat yet also contributes to taking from my co workers when they order burgers and I get a salad. What are your thoughts? Do you have any advice on the mindset I need for this? More context? I work out at least four times a week, more often closer to five to six. I've just eaten like a pig for a year. Look brother, I know it because early Boston radio station days, your boy, as we've already pointed out, was not flush with cash and so they very often would get food sent from local places to get a shout out right on the air. The problem was a lot of that food. Food was not the healthiest. I remember some. I mean no offense to fuddruckers, but they may come by just geared up and I'm sitting there looking at a lounge full of burgers and fries and every other thing. I can't even believe I could eat a cheeseburger in the middle of the day and then go on the air like that one kind of Always blows my mind. But when you're used to doing it, it doesn't throw you off. Like, I just. Now the idea of, like, okay, let me just pound a quick cheeseburger and fries, and then I'll do a show for three hours. Impossible. But back then, even though the funny thing is, is, I don't know. I mean, I was always kind of around 230. 237 is the most I've ever weighed. And if you look at a picture of me, then I'm just full, you know? And because I was eating every lunch, like, there's a picture with me in red Auerbach. You'd be like, who's. Who's the. It wasn't skinny fat, because I was big. And I don't know. I don't know what was going on. I was drinking maybe a little bit more, but I was never like, just a. Just drink all the time, guys. So it had way more to do with the food. So I. I get the point. All right? Like, you're there. You have access to this food that maybe you would never eat at night on your own. I don't think it's bad to have the cheat meal on the weekend thing. I. I'm never going to be somebody who just will never have anything that's. That's not a cheat meal. I'm always going to have that going on. But it sounds like your main concern is being ostracized, and that's fucking stupid. Like, I'm sorry. Like, all right, let them give you a hard time for having a salad while you have your salad. You've already pointed out what your priority is and what you care about. So, like, what's. What's the holdup? Just stop. Stop getting in on it with. Dudes are doing wings for lunch. Don't do it. You know? Or you could make your own lunch in the morning and say, I have lunch. I'm trying to save money. You know, what are they going to do? Be like, oh, what do you worry about being fat and poor? Like, who are these guys?

[Ceruti]

Yeah. Yeah, I was. That's what I was gonna say is, I don't think anyone. No one's gonna get on you for, like, wanting to eat cleaner and not. I think that's admirable.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I guess they are, though. I don't know.

[Ceruti]

Or is he just afraid he's gonna lose quality time with, like, you know, that that might help him, whether it be just with. With work, friendships or just even, you know, his career or something. It was like, Hey, I gotta duck out of this. So I'm not gonna be one of the boys, which does suck. But I don't know, can you just bring your bag lunch somewhere? Like, just post up at whatever place they're going to, or if they're getting UberEats, just. You can still. I don't understand. You can still sit with them. It's not like you're ostracized because you're brown bagging it.

[Ryan Rosillo]

And by the way, this is really more about them, too. I mean, it's like the buddy. It's like your buddy that drinks the most out of the group. Okay. And he wants you to drink more so that he feels better about his habits.

[Booker McFarland]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

All right. And I think we all know who that guy is. Like, a lot of us. I know I have, you know, a couple over the years, certainly not now, but, like, a couple of friends over the years where they would be, like, thrilled if you wanted to do what they wanted to do. And it's really about them processing everything. So, like, you know, you get to a point like, I've been made fun of forever for when we're on the road or something, and it's like, oh, Priscilla's gonna want a salad. Or, oh, he's gonna want this. Or he's gonna want, like, all right, go ahead, make fun of himself. It's like, I don't, like, seriously give me a hard time because I want to eat better. So remember that. And it already. You've already pointed out, like, these are your priorities and this is what you want to do, and you're mad about the weight that you're putting on, and you don't like eating unhealthy. Just remember that you wanting to be better is their problem, you know? And I, to Rudy's point, like, there still has to be a way you could socialize with it. And look, they can make fun of you and whatever, and you just laugh and. And smash. Your heart's a palm, you know, I don't know.

[Ceruti]

You know what? And you know what's funny is, like, I don't. I don't think I'm alone in this, but, like, there's a lot of content on social media, right? Of, like, people just trying to show off and humble, brag about themselves or just even sharing too much information. But the one thing that I always feel like I love seeing and I'm always like, this is. Never cringe. I'm always like, this is awesome. Like, do you. Is when people are trying to, like, lose weight or get healthy. Like I will like the, the videos of people like when they're bigger and they're in the gym or something or they're, or they're like, hey, this is what I eat in a day is a calorie deficit of someone who's actually trying to lose weight. I think that stuff's awesome. So I, I don't know, I, maybe I'm, I don't think I'm alone in that, in that, like, I always find that stuff like I'm not even trying to be like sappy here. I find that stuff like actually genuinely inspiring. And I, this is to a lesser degree, like you said, you're kind of pre fat. I've kind of tried to do this too because I'm not, I'm, I am kind of skinny fat. Like I, I, I eat, I don't know that I eat poorly, but I don't eat awesome if that makes sense. And I could probably exercise more. And I always like kind of look for motivation for people. Like, look at this, this person who's like putting all document all their stuff on social and trying to be better. You're just doing it in front of a couple co workers if they're not pumped for you. Like you don't want to even hang out with them anyway. Like they should be maybe trying to figure your stuff out.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, yeah, get on LinkedIn. Maybe this isn't even about the food. Maybe you're just working.

[Ceruti]

I'm just a nasty, don't do it on LinkedIn. Actually, I take that back. That would be cringe. But if you're, you know, I don't know, I just always find that stuff really cool. People who are actually trying to like get healthy, that's, that should never, I don't know, that should never be like made fun of.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Look at Ceruti offering support.

[Ceruti]

Yeah, because I genuinely hate most things on. And you know, people like, hey, this is what I do in a day or get dressed with me. Like all this stupid stuff, it's just like, hey, look how hot I am. Or look at whatever just trying to humble brag about themselves. But the fitness, weight loss stuff that's actually genuine is I love it. I actually do love it.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, look, and I didn't have this until I just get older and you start realizing like, why are you worried about other people? You know, it's, it's an awesome freedom when you get to a point where, and I'm not going to say like I never do it, but to consistently be monitoring what everybody else is doing is just like such a classic waste of time. And like, to Suru's point, here's like a perfect, like, example of growth. Like, when I'd be younger and I'd be at the gym and you'd see some guy who was a complete mess in there, you might look at the other meatheads and kind of do like, oh, my God, this guy's a disaster. And now I look at that person, it's like, fuck yeah. Like, good for them. Like, no one should ever be made fun of for going and trying to feel better about themselves. All right, in, in a like the least intrusive way possible, by the way, like, you're not messing up anyone else. Like, for the way, you know, when you think of like, personal benefit and all these things, it's like, okay, but is somebody else losing on the other side of this? In this case, whenever you're like anyone that wants to be healthier, you're likely not doing anything wrong to anybody else. Unless you're like really annoying at a restaurant asking if they can cook without butter or something like that, you're like, yeah, well, I don't know enough about that. I think there was. There was one person that I knew that like, brought some meal prep with them to a restaurant and asked them, like, can you put this on the side? Like, that's where you're like, okay, just don't go, man.

[Booker McFarland]

Just don't.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Just don't go to a restaurant.

[Ceruti]

Yeah, just don't go. It's okay.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Stay inside. All right, I think that covers it for all of us. Thanks to Borgon for the mint debate. Yeah, thanks to Kyle. Thanks to Ceruti. We will be back on Thursday so we'll get through all the playoff games. We'll be on Thursday this week, so another two episode week. Please subscribe to the pod. Check out our YouTube page. Ryan Rosilla podcast right here. Spotify must be 21 and older. Present in select states. For Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18/ plus and present in D.C. gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com call 888-78977 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.