← The Ryen Russillo Show
The Ryen Russillo Show
Conference Title Game Picks & Stidham Optimism w/ Chase Daniel & Ted Nguyen, Plus the UFC’s Dana White!
01:59:38
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- [00:00]
A
Hey Priscilla listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcast and Spotify Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. The Ryan Rosillo show presented by DraftKings. This show is very very busy. We have Chase Daniel breaking down the NFC AFC Championship games. Bit more on Stidham because he knows his system, he played in this system and he has some great YouTube videos on that. So we'll do that with pickpole games with him. Same thing with Ted Nguyen his film study what he's looking at and why he's going with both the Rams and the Broncos. So I think he's going both dogs in this and Dana White in front of a big UFC event with Justin Gaethje and Patty the Baddie. We're going to talk not really about that event as much as where the UFC is now positioning and of course those big names Connor and Jones. If they're going to get back in on this, we've got life advice, the alliance and my All Star ballot for the NBA. So a lot in today's pod NFL playoffs let's go. DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL makes every moment feel bigger. A running back cuts through the line as strip sack flips the field. A tight end hauls in the kind of touchdown grab you'll talk about for years. Postseason games shift Fast, and with DraftKings live betting options, you can stay right in the moment. Plus, DraftKings has your back with early exit protection. If the player in your eligible NFL prop bet goes down at any point in the first half, you still get paid in cash. New customers bet just $5, and if that bet wins, you get 300 bonus bets instantly. DraftKings sportsbook every drive, every play, every moment. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app now and use the code RYAN. That's code RYAN R Y E N to turn five bucks into 300 in bonus bets. If your bet wins in partnership with DraftKings, the Crown is yours. Gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER NEW YORK. Call 877-8-HOPE and WHY or text HOPE and WHY CONNECTICUT. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org on behalf of Boothill Casino in Kansas. Wager Tax pass through May apply in Illinois 21 and over in most states.
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B
Void in Ontario.
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Restrictions apply. Bet must win to receive bonus bets, which expire in seven days. Minimum odds required. For additional terms Responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co Audio limited Time offer. I feel like this is a culmination of over a decade's worth of work on this one. Chase Daniel joins us now. You can check out his podcast, Scoop City, and also his YouTube page, which I was watching this morning. Some awesome breakdowns for you that need to be re familiarized, I guess I would say, with Jared Stidham. So I saw him play God, it's like 18 years ago. So, Chase, thanks for doing this, man.
- [02:53]
B
Yeah, thanks for having me on, man. It's been a long time coming. Follow your work. You guys are crushing it, man. You're one of the OGs and just appreciate everything you do for the sports media.
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A
Well, thanks. And this is why, like, you were in a quarterback room forever, because you just have that way about you. You compliment me right out of the gate and so appreciate it. You know what's funny is we'd had you booked and then now sit. Him's the starter, which I was looking at the numbers the other night, and I was watching it with my guy Van Pelt, where he has four career starts, which is the least amount of starts for any quarterback to have at a conference championship game. Not so fast. Jeff Hotstetler had five when they won that title with the Giants against the Bills. But you come in and it's like, all right, let's. Let's do a Stidham breakdown. Because Chase understands at least what's being asked of Stidham in a massive spot here. You did some YouTube stuff on him, so give us the breakdown.
- [03:42]
B
Yeah, look, I mean, I think I have a familiarity with the Sean Payton offense, right? Because I was there for five years and pretty much like Denver's coaching staff for these last few years, when Sean went there, he pretty much did like New Orleans west. Like, it was like everyone in New Orleans. He hasn't changed the offense. He's added some stuff, I think, that Bo Nicks has done. But when you look at it and you look at what city can bring to the table, I mean, we were there in training camp this year, and I got to sit in quarterback meetings. I got. And it's just like, first of all, that group coached by Davis Webb, is like, really, really tight. Like, they do such a good job of just having each other's back. And I don't know if you saw the press conference yesterday where there was like 70 people in Jared situms outside, like, hey, welcome to the conference championship. The first thing he said, he was asked about himself. He's like, hold on. You know, I want to go back and I just want to say, hey, thoughts and prayers with Bo. And he just Made it. Not about himself. Like, that's the type of guy he is, first and foremost. Now, when you get onto the field, like, I went back and I watched every preseason snap and I watched two of his four starts. The one thing, just putting it all together with Sean Payton and himself, like, he's going to sling the rock, like he's going to throw the football down the field. I think as a backup quarterback, when you're in a spot like this, the easy thing to do is protect the ball, run the ball. Let's not turn it over. Let's win with our defense. I don't think that's going to be the case. And knowing who Sean Payton is, they're going to be aggressive out the gate. This offense isn't going to change, like, at all. Like, I know sometimes you're trying to change. What does City do? What does Knicks do? I think Stidham is actually a much more athletic guy than you think. So that could help with some of New England's, like, disguise pressures, getting out of pressure, moving on the run. And so, yeah, I just went back and did the breakdown and I'm like, man, like, everyone's probably counting Denver out, including Vegas. I don't know. Lion is like. But last time I checked. But I think they're going to, like, be in this game. Like, I think they're going to be aggressive with play calling. I think it's going to come down to the end. I think it's going to come down to special teams. And look, it might take a half for Jared Situm to get the understanding of the speed of the game, because there's a little bit different thing when you're running scout team all year long versus when you're going against the Patriots defense in the AFC Championship game. So it'll be interesting to see how this whole thing plays out when I.
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A
Go back to sit him and watching him in college, you know, he starts at Baylor, lights it up, and then he's at Auburn, right? And that was a big deal for Auburn to have him. And so he was. He was a name, right? And it was good enough to end up being on an NFL roster after two years there. But the thing that scared me a little about him is that it wasn't just the sack totals. And I was looking him up again this morning. I mean, 35 sacks of a season isn't. Isn't a nightmare. And it got better in the second year that he was at Auburn. But it wasn't just the sacks. It was. It felt like he Was a guy that as soon as he started feeling it, he would feel it even if it wasn't necessarily there that he could get him. Oh, right. And that's what I saw, especially that first year. I'm like, man, this guy, it's just tough to get him settled. That was 2000, you know, 17, 18, we're talk. So I don't even know how relevant any of that stuff is. But the lack of game reps, it was the first thing I thought of. Of like. I don't know if it's even a good point or not, but it was definitely true when he was playing.
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No, it's a great point. I mean, because it is. And look, I obviously I've been in, I was in the league for 14 years and I think I had five stars. So it's very similar. Now he's not as long as me, but like when you look at like the makeup of a backup quarterback and you go in on really this isn't a short week. But like I just liken it to my experience in 2018 where Mitch Trubisky gets hurt, I think in the Minnesota Vikings game. And then it's a Sunday night game, Thanksgiving game is on Thursday. We had like 78 hours to prep and Mitch hurt his shoulder. Hey, Chase, you're starting. I'm like, oh my gosh, like, wow, okay, like hadn't played in quite some time. And the tendency, and I had this a little bit in my head was like, hey, don't try to do too much, right? Don't try to do this. And then eventually as the week went on, it was like, man, this is just football. Like you almost want to keep it so simple where you allow the athletic ability and you allow just the game maker skills, the playmaking skills of st to come out. But when you do get into a game and I, and I struggle with this really for the first quarter or first half and you haven't felt those game speed reps your feet. And that's what I'm going to be looking at with steady a lot is like your feet are just so much faster than the drop and you're not seeing things open because your feet don't match up with the drop.
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Drop.
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Right. And another thing people don't understand is like, look, Denver doesn't have a lot of these. Like they have, they have Cortland Sutton, like Martin Mims is your number two. They've Troy Franklin's out. They've got some other guys that are out. Here's the thing about that That a lot of people aren't understanding is like when you're a backup quarterback for the whole year, right? So City has been running scout team, meaning he's been, he hasn't even been running his same offense. You know, they played last week against the Bills. He was Josh Allen for the Bills. So he was running Josh Allen's plays in practice. The Buffalo Bills plays against the Denver Broncos defense. And it's really not full speed and it's really not that. So now he's got a turnaround this week and it's today's Thursday. So it's really your first full week, first full day of practice. Like if you, here's another thing too. Like I'm just, I know we're, we're going a little bit deep here though that, you know, can be a little bit worrisome is if I am starting in this game and I'm steady, I want as many full speed reps as I can get. Well, if you're in week six of the NFL season, Wednesday's a full padded practice. You're rolling, you probably get 45, 50 reps. Well, guess what? Wednesday, starting in for Sean Payton, like week 17 or week 18, those aren't full padded practices. Those are walk through practices. So you're losing out on 40 to 50 reps you may have had early in the year. And they do that because rest, it's a really long season. They're playing their 21st game, so he's going to lose those. So this Thursday in practice is his only full speed day. And a lot of it's third down day, right. So these base downs, these early downs, these first and second downs, he's not getting those reps. He'll be fine, but it will take a little bit of time to settle in.
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I was watching in your breakdown just some of the progression stuff and what I like, you know, for those of us that didn't play this position, because I'm always really interested in just the designs of what the routes are. Right. And how hard an offensive system can make it on a quarterback or how easy they can make it on a quarterback. And I'm sure you could probably get to the point where your eyes, you know, the Brady level, the mastery level, probably Stafford is up there. I'm sure there's some other names maybe I'm not even necessarily thinking of, is that there are certain systems where the guys can get through progression so fast that you don't need to make these like kind of layup combinations of routes where the, where the eyes are a little bit easier and it felt like in some of the stuff that you were showing with Stidham, is that what Peyton's calling is like, okay, if it's a post on the outside, then my eyes are to the right already and I'm reading the safety. But if that means that I have a crosser that's going to end up there, once I made a decision whether or not to rip it or weight, like I'm still generally looking in the same area as opposing to have to shift everything over, reset my body, figure out how my foundation like all of these different things. Because I do think there's probably still some guys that are so, like, they're so convinced they're such offensive geniuses and maybe the matchups are great and the numbers work out and it's like, yeah, but you're asking, you're asking this quarterback to have a mastery of, of looking through all of the different stuff. So, so it feels like Peyton, even with, even with Breeze, like he's. He's going to make it at least easier, quicker for you to make those decisions because he's not going to ask you to be going through four things and scanning the entire field when you haven't even played. If you're still.
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B
Are you sure you weren't an offensive coordinator back in your old days? I mean, you sound like I'm getting.
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A little bit better at it this year.
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B
This is super impressive. Yeah. So you hit it right on. And this is such a deeper conversation, but in short ways. You know, I know you've been following the narrative of football as it's continued to progress. Right. And the whole narrative this year, at least in the middle of the year, toward the end of the part of the year was, and I think Kirk Cousins had a really good sound bite on it in his first game back after Michael Finish got hurt and he started to play. He was talking about pure progression passing versus coverage based passing and how everything right now is moving toward that progression based passing. Exactly like you said. So progression based passing is exactly what you said. It's, hey, I'm going to sweep the field. I'm going to start my eyes right. If one is open, I'm going to throw it to one. If one's not open, okay, is two open? All right. If three is not open, three. It's a little bit more granular than that, but for the most part it helps. These college kids specifically nowadays that play one year or have 20 starts just come in and be able to play quick Gone are the days of the Drew Brees, the Peyton Mannings, the Tom Brady's where it's coverage based passing. So coverage based, I love this. I'm a nerd, so I hope you like it too. Coverage based passing is where you have a route concept on one side, you have another route concept on another and you have a hot route for your back. So there's three really things. This side's for cover four, this side's for cover three. If you get man check to something. If not, here's your hot. And that allows guys to be in a little bit more in depth but sometimes not play as clear if that makes sense. When you have progression based passing like Sean Payton has, you're able to just be like, you know what, forget the coverage because the coverage like the pay. I'm telling you right now, I've. I played 14 years. I was, I was with Breeze, I was with Sean Payton, I was with Andy Reid. I've learned from some of the best. I don't even know what the New England Patriots are doing on defense half the time. And I have the clicker right like, like I'm like, is that cover four? Is that for press? Is that two? Is that cover three? Is that a carry? Is that man, how do they play out? So think about what Stidham has to deal with that on the field. So to combat that offenses, specifically Sean Payton's offenses and some others are going pure progression passing and I will say this about Sean Payton, is that a lot of what Bo was running Knicks, there's a lot of like, I'd say like 20% is literally just half field progressions. They're going block it up play action. Let me just have three reads to one side, a high, a medium and a low and be able to throw it to him. And I think that's probably what you're going to get. You're going to get them, block them up. Some of these shots early. Sean loves quick game on early downs to stay ahead of the sticks. This game to me and I was able to to call on ESPN app the Outcast for New England versus Houston last week. So I'm very familiar with both teams, spent a lot of time studying it. New England defensively on third down, they're pretty good and I think this game is going to come down to third down specifically from Denver's offense versus New England's defense.
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I want to give you some thoughts on the Pats roster here because I was looking it up, you know, it's a team I grew up rooting for. Eventually I no longer cared all that much. But towards the end of Belichick, well, I. My biggest divider was I couldn't believe that Belichick decided to do the predictable Belichick thing and be like, I'm going to move on from Brady to prove some kind of point. So at the end of the Belichick run, it was, I think, the worst roster in the NFL. I think when they did that NFL top 100, they didn't have a player. Maybe Judon was on it. I'm not sure. It doesn't matter. Like, all right, fine. Maybe there was one other roster that was just as bad. So cool. You were the 31st worst roster, if you want to get into some of that stuff. So if you go back to the 23 roster, I think five guys are out of the league. Only four guys actually are starters. If you're looking at starters, only four of the starters from that team are even on this team now. A 51% roster turnover in its entirety from even the start of 24 to where it is now. So, like, I look at what Drake May has done, and I think part of my battle was, okay, May is it. This might be that special. And I'm fine. I'm all in on it, right? Because I'm always a little hesitant about quarterbacks because I just think it's so hard. It seems like he checks every single box and they may have the guy for 15 years. There was a little schedule stuff and I just was. I kind of got to a point. I was like, is this roster. They've done a great job with this, but is this roster actually this, this good? When you think about the talent on this roster in comparison to, hell, even the rest of Denver, outside of Knicks, when I think of Seattle, when I think of the Rams, I think from a talent standpoint, I don't think it's a stretch to say it's the fourth best roster. Even though I like everybody else. I'm going to pick him in Denver this weekend.
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It's not a stretch at all. I mean, it's. It's definitely the fourth best roster, without a doubt. And. And that's not even, like, that's not even a bad thing, to be completely honest with you. It just tells you how much coaching matters and it tells you how much Josh McDaniels has mattered, specifically offensively. Because to be completely honest with you, Ryan, like, when I look at the Pats team and I'm like, all right, yeah, the schedule issues, this, that and another. I understand that, but when I look. Excuse me, when I look at the team from an offensive standpoint, I'm like, who do you have to throw to? Like, I'm like. And it's. That. That's just. That is not offensive in my mind, because I'm like, all right, you got booty.
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Look, I can see you're already doing it, because I've been doing the same thing. And then you look at this past week, and it's like, booty's gonna be this good, you know? So, like, I'm. I'm with you. And we're almost, like, apologetic about this because it still kind of shocks me. So keep going.
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And. And, well, I mean it. And it is. It does shock me because that just tells me, like, how good the freaking quarterback is.
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Like.
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Like. Like, to me, even. Even, like, Will Campbell and the left guard, like, both those. Those are rookie guys. Like, they have struggled this year. They have not been good at all this year. And then you have Pop Douglas having a touchdown against this Houston Texas team. You're like, who is Pop Duck? Like, well, I didn't even know who he was until I did the game last week. And then you have Booty making, like, one of the craziest catches in postseason history. I think, like, just the. The thought of, like, how the one hand and that just is, like, who. Like, obviously, I think Matthew Stafford's going to win the mvp. But if Matthew Stafford didn't have the year he did, it's without a doubt Drake may because of what he did this year with his roster. And the thing is, they're only going to get better with that. But I do just, like, there's this thing called, like, play, play call sequencing.
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A
So.
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And I'm sure you're aware of it. It's like, how do you sequence play call together? All right, first and ten, we're here. All right, second and four. What are you doing? Okay, I think I'll go play action because third and four, we got the. Josh McDaniels has done a phenomenal job of not only setting up plays, but calling these plays in a sequence that just makes so much more sense than. Than any other offensive coordinator in the league because of how much he's had to deal with. He's really been on full display. He's the assistant coach of the year, in my opinion. It's not even close. He's been able to get Drake May this far, and look, he's done it against some really good defenses. I. I thought. I thought Drake May played a lot better than a lot of probably people thought. If you just look at the stat line, you're like, oh, like less than 200 yards passing last game. This Houston Texans defense, I mean, it was. I hate to use the term generational, but it was one of Those, like, top 10 in the last, like, 20 years type of defenses that he's went against. He's played pretty well.
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A
I thought it was that kind of defense. Like, I picked him to get to the super bowl because I thought they were like, it was so much fun to watch them. That Pittsburgh game was the epitome of the whole thing. And then, you know, when they started getting gashed at the end, I was like, they just know they can't do it anymore. Like, that was their soul being ripped from them just because of what the offense was doing. So does it. Are you picking New England or are you going to be the rare Denver pick here?
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So I've. We did our Scoop City podcast yesterday. It's out now. And I picked and I picked Denver, to be honest with you.
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And.
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It'S nothing that has anything to do with New England. I just think there's something in just knowing Sean Payton. He wants to prove that he can do this with a backup quarterback more than, you know, like, he cares about that kind of stuff. He's petty right. In all the right ways. And I just think he's going to. They're going to really lock in. I actually think this game comes down to defense and special teams. I. I really think that this Denver defense is legit, especially rushing the passer. And yeah, I don't. I think this is like a. I think. I really think it's like a 1713 game. I just don't think there's a lot of points like it. Like, if Denver scores three touchdowns, in my opinion, they win. I just don't. I just don't know if they can. Maybe a special team touchdown or something like that. But I, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go with. I think most people pick New England.
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A
Yeah, I. I think straight up, I mean, in this one stum, it just feels like. It just feels like a tough one for the consensus to come to that side. Maybe with all the points, different stories.
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B
How pumped would. How pumped are you though, if they do win and they're b. The Patriots are back like in the.
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A
I'd be so pumped, you know, for the fans that it very spurs ish. Like some lean years and then right back at it. Like, that's not supposed to Happen. No.
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B
And the roster's not even that good.
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Yeah. I think whenever I say that, like people generally like you've been down on the Pats the whole year. And I was like, yeah. From like can you win the Super Bowl? Conversation. Yes. Absurd record. Love may. But you know, this is a bit like Indiana with Signetti where I go, if you look at the talent on the roster, this isn't even, this hasn't even started yet. You know, they haven't even started stockpiling top 20 classes coming in here. And if they do that and Signetti was able to do this with, with this group, that's it's kind of how I feel about New England. Look, it's not an apples to apples thing here, but Vrabel and this group, they haven't even really got this thing rolling yet from putting together the roster. Because when I think of all the dudes on Seattle, all the dudes on the Rams that I love, all the guys on the Broncos defense and all these personnel guys, I'm like, I'm just not naming that many guys on the Pats defense. So it's wild.
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B
If you win the super bowl, which like, all right, it's two more wins. I'm just saying if you win the super bowl, you're going to go back and you're going to look at this postseason run about how well or how good of defenses you guys face because it's a gen it these defenses that you're going to get through. Think about the Chargers, Chargers defense, top three, top four in the league. Like they are good. They are really, really good.
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A
They rush the passer well.
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B
They beat up Drake, may they Houston Texans, you just talked about it. I think they're generate Denver Broncos in my opinion are third best defense in the league. And then if Seattle, which I think wins, Seattle is on another level. So if you get through those four with the type of talent you have offensively around, I just think it's going to be one of the greater accomplishments in a long time.
- [23:04]
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- [23:10]
C
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A
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- [23:29]
E
Keep up.
- [23:30]
A
It's golf tune in to every match, only on espn. Let's talk about that Seattle defense because, you know, momentum wise, I don't know where you were with the Rams, but, you know, maybe midway through the season, maybe eight weeks to go, it's like, hey, look, I think the Rams are the best team. This is their year. Doesn't mean they're going to win the Super Bowl. Single elimination kind of stuff. And then that Seattle game happens where they blow that lead. And in that moment, I was like, don't forget this when they face each other again. Do not pick Seattle when they face each other again. And now you're like, okay, the Rams offense seems to be struggling a bit, so maybe you can start there because maybe it's. Maybe it's an overreaction. Be like looking at what Seattle did against this just undermanned San Francisco team that found a way to even make it this far. But you're at home. Return the kickoff at 7. Nothing. That fan base is just going wild. Momentum wise. It just feels tough to pick against the Seahawks.
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B
I mean, I'm with you. Like, I'm picking the Seahawks. And I. And look, I grew up with Matthew Stafford. He's in my backyard, Highland Park. Went to South Lake, Texas. Like, we were with each other in 20, 20, 20 on the Detroit Lions, which is a forgettable year. But I do think Seattle just, man, like. And I put out a tweet and I probably shouldn't have, but I put out a tweet after Seattle just dismantled the 49ers. I'm like, I really just don't see them losing again. Like, like, forget about who the quarterback is. They can overcome if Sam Darnold doesn't play great. The defense and the way they swarm and the special teams and just the way Mike McDonald has that team play playing right now. To me, it's so fun to watch. Like, I do think, like, for all the crap that Sam Darnold has gotten from the Minnesota, like those two last games, I thought for the most part, like, he didn't have to do much last game, but the first game in the playoffs, I thought he played, like, really well. Like, I thought. I thought they managed it well. I thought he managed the Rams game in Week 18. Well, that's the one I'm talking about. Because, you know, he made some throws when you're like, oh, let's not really highlight, but then you go and actually study it. I'm like, man, the Rams.
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A
The Niners game.
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B
Sorry. Yeah, sorry. The Niners game. Sorry, The Niners game. For the one seed? Yeah. I'm like, dude, see, I got college football.
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A
I don't blame you because that, that Rams, Seahawks, Niners thing was just. It felt like it was all happening.
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B
Sorry. The Niners Week 18 game for the 1 seed. I thought Darnold played actually really well. Exceptional, to be honest with you. And the stats are going well. You know, he didn't throw away the game. Like, he stepped up to it and then. And. But now you got the oblique and like, can the Rams hit them? Can they, can they get to him? Here's the one thing that I'm a little bit skeptical about. If the Rams offense plays well enough to score points, can Seattle's offense keep up with a battered Sam Darnold? Here's the one thing about Sam Darnold, and I've studied him for quite some time. He's really, really good in a clean pocket. Like, he's, he's exceptional. He can like pure progression. But as soon as you hit him and if you hit him early, it's a different quarterback. It's a different quarterback. And that happens. You could say that for a lot of guys. But if the Rams are able to hit him early and just speed up his clock, I'm not talking about Sam Donald seeing ghosts because he's way past that. But I'm saying, can you speed up his clock enough to force him to speed up his drop and speed up the decision making process? And the Rams, Shula does a lot of different things. You know, what coverage are they in? How are they this. I think they got to get to him early if they want a chance in this game.
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A
Is there something you think Chris Shula is doing as a DC to get Darnold just out of rhythm? I mean, other than just, hey, get after him. But I mean, this is six interceptions in this matchup in the two games against the Rams.
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B
D. Well, yeah, and Shula just does a great job of what I was. He disguises a lot. It's not like, hey, lineup cover two. Oh, I know where to go. It's not just lineup cover three. It's like press man. And Shula did a great job in these first two matchups of getting pressure on him early and causing him. People don't understand, like the NFL teams, like, when you talk about pressure number, they don't look at sacks. Like, sacks are great in their negative plays and they're huge for wins. They look at pressure percentage. So how fast are you getting to the quarterback? And I don't even care if it's sack. But are you touching him? Are you hitting him? Are you battering him? How tight of a pocket is it? All this stuff matters when you play. And even though the sack numbers might not be crazy, if you get close to him and throwing in a tight pocket, like, that's something that he's just not great at.
- [28:04]
A
I want to talk about you a little bit more here because I remember, you know, when you got started and you're like, all right, is this. Is he going to have a career? You know, and you start five games over 14 years, did you feel like, hey, I could see this is a stupid question to ask any pro athlete? Because you're not going to say. Well, no, because you're not going to say, I actually knew I couldn't be a starter that entire time. But was there ever an epiphany of, hey, this isn't a bad life, and I'll do this, and I may never, ever get a chance of even getting a season of being the guy.
- [28:43]
B
Absolutely. And that was the, like, the start to the end of my career. Like. Like, when you think like that as a.
- [28:49]
A
Well, when was that? Like, give me how many years. You were like, all I need is a shot. All I need is a shot. And then it was like, yeah, this isn't happening.
- [28:54]
B
Oh, man. So 09 was my rookie year. I went to Washington team and six months with Jim Zorn. And then I remember getting a call from Sean Payton as I'm in the office of Jim Zorn, trying to sign.
- [29:09]
A
Back for practice squad.
- [29:10]
B
And I'm sure. I'm sure you've heard this story, maybe you haven't, but I'm literally like, the next in line to sign a practice squad because they. They kept three. And I look at my phone, and it's a 504 number. New Orleans. I don't. I don't. I, like, end it. Because I'm like, oh, I'm next in line. Like, I'm like, nervous, right? I'm like, end it. Another call. End it the third time. Like, maybe I should answer this.
- [29:32]
C
Pick it up.
- [29:33]
A
And he.
- [29:34]
B
And I'm like, hello? And he's like, chase. I'm like, yeah, Sean Payton, walk out of the office. First of all, are you sure it's Sean Payton? Second of all, how do you know I'm in the office? He's like. I'm like, are you sure? I'm like, no, I'm. He's like, chase, walk out of the office. I'm like, all right. So I walk out of the Office talking to him. Long story short, he's like, hey, you're going to come down here. We want to sign you to our practice squad for two weeks, but we promise you, you're going to get on the active rosters and number three behind Mark Brunel, yada, yada, yada. And I'm like, are you sure? Like, I. Again, I hadn't even talked to my agent at this point, so I called my agent, like, yeah, it's real. All right, so get on a plane. And I think that was a defining moment in my career because I was able to learn under Brunel and Breeze for one year and then was be able to be Drew's backup for the next three years. And I just remember Sean almost every month being like, don't let Drew win this job. I'm like, what are you talking about? Like, don't you need to push them? Like, you. You. You were a starter in this league. And I just think that, like, constant. And he did it some. I think that constant just, like, talk in your head was like, okay. Like, yeah, I can do it. And I think after, like, I think after the 2011, my second year backing up preseason is my third year in the league where I just lit up the preseason, even though it was against backups, I hate that. Like, you still got to go out there and do it. That's when my mind was like, oh, I. I think that I have what it takes to start in league, and it took that long. And I signed with Andy Reid, first big contract in after the 2012 season, and I'm there 13, 14, and 15. And then him saying to me, dude, you're a starter in this league. Like, and not just, like, blowing, like. Not just blowing smoke. Like, Andy's like a father figure to me, and he's just so great. And so I'm like, okay. So I'm like, sweet, all right, I'm gonna leave. And that's when I signed the huge deal in Philly with. With Sam Bradford, and, you know, whole thing where they trade him away and Carson Wentz jumps and stuff like that, and I'm in Philly for a year, and even the Bears stuff, like, I thought I was going to get a shot in 2018. I mean, this just keeps going on forever. But it just like 2018, 2019 with Trubisky, I felt like I played. Actually, the starts there were pretty. Pretty good. And then probably the Detroit year, I would say. I never said this publicly. Well, probably the Detroit year. Like, during that year, I played And I'm, like, sort of crappy. I'm like, I could see, you know, one or two more years. Ah, I just don't have that same vigor of, like, coming in and doing the work and doing this. And was always grateful. And then the last two years in with the Chargers, I think was like, all right. The last year I knew, I was like, I'm probably pretty done. Like, I had offers after my last year in Chargers for a couple backup jogs, decent paying, but you know, when you have kids. And like, I saw the last few years I played with the Chargers, so we live in San Diego. That's like home base for us. We were driving. I was driving up to Orange county every day in back to work. I. I saw my kids, like, 10 hours a week. The last two years of my career. I'm like, this sucks. Like, I'm like, I love what I'm doing, without a doubt. But, like, I. I want to be, like, around the kids. But anyway, I had. I had other offers, and we're just like, you know what? Let's get into media. Because I did. I did NFL Network my last year playing on the Monday night show because I sort of knew that was going to gay us get the case. But long story short, I think probably, like, the Detroit year, and I always used to tell myself, like, I want to do this as long as I can till the wheels fall off. And something just sort of changes emotionally in you, and you're just like, ah, you know something, all right, it's time to move on.
- [33:24]
A
Well, I appreciate you sharing that with us because it's something I'd always wanted to ask you. I wanted to ask you about it. Like, I wanted to interview you, and I think we hit up, like, team PR and be like, why do you want our backup guy to be on the show? And I was like, I just need to know more about him. How he keeps getting resigned and then he's never playing. And then it became kind of like this national thing. Every time you resigned, then everybody's adding up your career earnings. You have it was that. Did that start to piss you off?
- [33:50]
B
No. What? No way. Like, dude, we live in such a culture that, like, everyone gets so offended so easily.
- [33:56]
A
Everyone.
- [33:57]
B
Like, what happened to, like, the good old days before Twitter and Instagram, where you're just busting everyone's balls, man? Like, I. I like that. Like, I do the same thing. Like, even now in today when I'm in media and I just have a little. It's weird. Like, I have a Little bit of a bigger platform in media and people, like, the. The amount of tweets and stuff from different team bases, and I just, like, laugh at that stuff. Like, I never get. I never get, like, all up in arms about that. I think it was funny. Like, I'd even. I think I even retweeted it, like, the first time that we're earning some. I'm like, yeah, you know, whatever. Like, it's cool. And at that point, it was like, all right. Like, I know I'm probably not going to be a starter in the league, but I just. I'm very big on, like, just not. Not getting offended. Like, I just think our culture and some of this stuff is so soft these days, and I don't want to get too far into it, but I just. You gotta have fun with it. Like that. That, to me, was like a fun tweet.
- [34:52]
A
Yeah, I. I guess I. Maybe I was annoyed, as a content person of other people in content being like, you're doing it again. Like, we've. We've already covered this, although it needed to be updated every single year. You said something, though, in 16 that I can't. Well, it happened to you, so you remember it. But it's very easily forgotten because when I was obsessed with, like, whether or not you were going to get a chance this back, like, when I'm at ESPN.
- [35:15]
B
Yeah.
- [35:15]
A
You were number two behind Bradford in 16 when they drafted Wentz. And so then Bradford's out, then, as you just said, Wentz jumpsuit. And I remember, like, doing a segment on it being like, he. What were they just nice to him? Like, hey, you're going to be the number two. Until we decide that you're not going to be the number two, we're just going to have Wentz be the third. Did you actually think you were the second stringer and you got jumped by Wentz, or did you know that it was like, he's a rookie. They're just putting him third on the depth chart, Man.
- [35:44]
B
Good question. Really good question. And Philly fans hate me one, because I think they. Everyone thinks I stole money from Philly, which, you know, maybe I did, but also, like, I'm not the biggest Jalen Hurts fan, so Philly fans, like, just can't, like, just those two together, can't stand. I. I would say, like, when. Because Doug Peterson got the job, and Doug Peterson was the OC And Casey, so we were boys. He brought me in to help, you know, whatever. But if you look and you just look at the contract that they gave me, I think it was like 3 year, 21 million upside for starting. I'm like, okay, that's like one of the. And that was in 2016, mind you. So it was at that time easily the biggest backup quarterback contract there had been. But it was for three years and there was incentives to where it could get to like 12 years. So it was one of those like, okay, fringe starter. And I'm like, oh, dude, this is awesome. Even though they have Bradford there And even in OTAs, I'm, I'm flipping days with Sam Bradford. I'm going with the ones he's going to, you know, and they pick Carson with number two. And it didn't really hit me at that time because I'm like, okay, well, it's just a crowded quarterback room. You know, maybe they let them sit a year and learn and maybe they, you know, do something with Sam and I get like, you know, six, seven, eight games to start. And then, you know, it's one of those like where I'm very self aware of like the situation. I'm not like so dumb in my mind. Well, of course they dropped number two. He's the franchise. Like, yeah, but I would say the. I haven't told this story either. When I was in, you know, that, that time off between your last preseason game and like cut day, and then you get a little bit of time off, maybe like two or three days. We had gone up to, we had gone up to New York City, my wife and I, no kids or anything. He's affiliate in New York City. You can make it in an hour, 10, hour 20, whatever. And we go on vacation. And the first night I'm like, oh, I need this with my, like, I hadn't seen her. It's been training camp. The, the, the rigors of that. And I, I, my phone, I'm like, I'm not by my phone for whatever reason, which is really weird because I always have my phone and someone texts my wife's phone, like, get Chase to get to his phone. Like, what? And all these news and it's all over ESPN, all over that. And there was about a 15 minute period where I'm like, they're trading Sam Bradford away. And the news hadn't been released that they're moving Carson up. I'm like, holy cow. Like, maybe this is my chance. Like, I'm like, I'm thinking like, oh, okay. Because here's the thing too, about Carson and what made it in my mind is Carson broke a rib or hurt his ribs. If you if you. I'm probably not remembering, but. And he hadn't really practiced in, like, three weeks, so we even had to sign another guy. I'm like, okay. I don't know if he's out or what. I'm like, oh, for sure. I'm going to start. And then Doug Peterson calls me, like, 15 minutes later, hey, here's what's happening. We want to get it to you before. And it was just, like, sort of crushing a little bit, because it's like, not that, like, I would have been a great start. Who knows? But I think it was like, in my mind, the entire career had made it to that arc, to where it'd be like, this is sort of crazy for 15 minutes. And then it's back to real life.
- [39:05]
A
That was good. That was good because I remember it. I mean, obviously not with that perspective, but I just remember being like, is anybody paying attention to what just happened here? And then it was like, hey, you know, whatever it was, it was just the went story. You know what I love the most about one of these stories, though, is just the idea of, like, you being younger, because any young athlete would have done it and be like, dudes are saying, I'm gonna maybe take Breeze's job. And you're, like, telling your buddies that you're like, I'm coming for him. But, hey, check out Chase's YouTube page. Over 100,000 subs already. It really was a help to me getting a good understanding of how he's looking at these quarterbacks going in these conference championship games. And check out Scoop City, his podcast. And let's do this again, man. Thanks so much.
- [39:43]
B
Yeah, thanks for having me on, man.
- [39:47]
A
Before we move on with the show, a quick word on the tool that keeps people's workflow tighter than my takes. Microsoft 365 copilot the world moves fast. Your workday even faster. Pitching products, drafting reports, analyzing data. Microsoft 365 Copilot is your AI assistant for work built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft 365 apps you use, helping you quickly write, analyze, create, and summarize so you can cut through clutter and clear a path to your best work. Learn more@Microsoft.com M365Copilot He's a must read before the big NFL playoff games. Ted Wynn joins us now from the Athletic. His film breakdowns are incredible. Good to see you, man. Thanks for doing this.
- [40:44]
D
Yeah, no problem. Good seeing you.
- [40:46]
A
All right, so I was reading the NFC stuff on this one. Let's start with which I think it's surprising maybe to a few people. And it made me be like, oh, yeah, I guess so. The Rams rushing offense, where they are historically from a success standpoint and how they match up against this Seattle front that I think we're all in love with right now after last week.
- [41:03]
D
Yeah, I think so. Actually in terms of success rate, which is a efficiency measure, they are the most efficient run game in the last 25 years and it matches up with the eye test. They do a really good job with their interior offensive line. They do a really good job from a schematic standpoint. And Sean McVay has really evolved the run game to the point it is now where it's kind of a mix of outside zone. They do some duo which is more of a gap scheme run and they don't have explosive running backs. Kyron Williams is not an explosive running back, but he does a really good job of finding these holes and just maximizing, maximizing those runs. So you don't see these ten 20 yard runs a lot, but they just keep grinding out those four yard runs whenever they need a first down to get those first down. So this is a very efficient run game. And like you said, the Seahawks run defense is one of the best in the league and they do it out of sub personnel. They don't have. They don't put that third linebacker on the field. They always have a nickel or dime personnel on the field.
- [42:07]
A
But.
- [42:08]
D
And they have light boxes, they keep two safeties deep and they're able to stop the run, which is kind of the secret to their defense. You can't run on them with the light bodies on the field and when you pass on them, they have an advantage because they have the light bodies on the field. But the Rams were able to actually run the ball extremely efficiently. The most efficient that anybody ran on them in that regular season matchup. So. And still it wasn't a great game. They averaged three yards a carry, but they're very efficient and they kept that defense honest.
- [42:38]
A
Yeah. Do you look at the yardage totals of the loss in Seattle and going, hey, how come everybody momentum wise is now on the Seahawks? Because again, it's 581 yards of offense in a game they should not have lost. And yet now today, like I'm guilty of it too, it's just like, hey, this Rams offense is regressed. That feels real. I don't know if it's a Stafford finger thing, but momentum wise it's like, you know, it's it's hard to watch what Seattle did against the Niners, granted a limited Niners team and be like, all right, I want to pick against them in that stadium. But 581 is a tough number to ignore it. It wasn't like it was in September.
- [43:15]
D
Yeah, I mean it was a big blip. I mean, they've been so consistent defensively throughout this entire season. They had one bad game against Baker Mayfield when the entire secondary was out. I mean, I don't think they had, I think they may have one starter in the secondary during the time that game. But since they've gotten healthy, nobody has been able to really have a good game against them. But Matthew Stafford had an explosion spot against them without Devonte Adams. It was really Puka Nukua and a bunch of no name receivers out there. And like you said, Stafford had a phenomenal game. A lot of it has to do with his ability to manipulate the defense with his eyes. He had so many passes where he was looking off guys. And that game winner to Puka Nuku, it wasn't a game winner, but it was a touchdown in overtime that could have been a game winner to Puka Nukua. He was looking to the sideline. There was no route to the sideline, but he was looking there the entire time and he threw inside the Puka. He moved the linebacker just enough and it was a touchdown. So I think what, you know, pocket manipulation, eye manipulation. We've seen Stafford do this in the super bowl too. It's going to be a big thing to watch in this game.
- [44:27]
A
I love Nicki Minwarri. I loved him in college. You know, when you're 6, 3, 2, 20 and run a 4, 3, 8, it kind of surprises me that you would ever go in the second round because it was also, it wasn't like he was just a measurable guy. When you watched him in tape, you're like, okay, this guy brings it. And now it's been, you know, you think about Witherspoon and there's so many dudes on the SE Seattle defense that I, I just love. But talk to me a little bit more about the flexibility of what an eman worry can do as a safety who also can sort of be like a hybrid linebacker, especially with some of the stuff that the Rams like to do with all these tight ends.
- [45:02]
D
Yeah, I, I was surprised to see that he fell to the second round too. I, I thought he might have been a late first round grade because there were some missed tackles and there were some, some whiffs on tape as far as coverage stuff, too. So I just think he landed in a perfect spot for him and they put him in a perfect spot. They put him that big nickel spot that Kyle Hamilton played for McDonald when he's with the Ravens. So we talked about how the Seahawks like to stay in sub personnel. They do it at the highest rate of any team in the league. And Nick Imawari is really the secret to making that happen because he's their nickel, he's their fifth defensive back, but he's able to defend a run like a linebacker. And, you know, he is not like, he just tries to fly around blocks and. And make tackles that way. If you watch that Niner game in the regular season, he was taking on George Kittle, he was taking on Kyle Juszczyk and pushing them back. You don't see defensive backs do that often. Linebackers have trouble doing that. So he's really the secret to making the Seahawks run defense work. And then when they pass the ball, he's as good as any guy at running with tight ends and using that freak athleticism and coverage to shut guys down.
- [46:17]
A
Darnold, 30th in the NFL on interception percentage. He's got the six against the Shula defense. So you could say, well, hey, he's just actually a guy despite the one seed that turns the ball over a lot of. I think going into the playoffs, I pointed out the number that I'd read from maybe ESPN research with his 20 total turnovers, it was the most turnovers for a quarterback of a number one seeded team going back to like the 70s. So is it a Shula thing or is it a Darnold thing? What has led to the turnovers here against Los Angeles?
- [46:46]
D
Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a Darnold thing. You know, it's kind of been his. His M.O. his entire career. His big weakness where, you know, he sometimes he'll misread the coverage or he won't see an underneath defender and he'll put the ball in harm's way. And I think Chris Shul and the Rams just do a really good job of pressing on that weakness with their coverage disguises. I think the Rams have a very smart defensive back group that recognizes patterns and they could. They could see things on film and translate it with aggressive play on Sundays. So, you know, one of the. In both interceptions in that regular season game against the Rams, it was just really good play design. One where he made it look. The defense made it look like man coverage all the way up until the ball was thrown, but it was actually a cover two. The one went for pick six and went in the red zone where they brought multiple players on a blitz and they had a defensive lineman drop out into the slant, slant window and pick off that ball as well. So these interceptions are designed and I think Chris Shula is going to do a really, he's really going to create some designer type of plays that Sam Darnold's got to deal with, especially on third and long. And it's not going to be easy like the Niners game where they're able to run the ball down the Niners throat. The, the Rams run defense has been one of the better run defenses throughout the season. So they're going to be in some third and long situations and when they get in those situations, Darnold has to be really careful with some of the disguises that Shula is going to throw out at him.
- [48:19]
A
Your pick.
- [48:21]
D
I like the Rams in this one. I still have a bit of a fear of Sam Darnold in these big games and he hasn't really gotten that monkey off its back in my eyes. I felt like the last game was, this was so dominant, especially right off the bat. You have a kickoff return for a touchdown. So I want to see Darnold prove me wrong. I just don't trust them in big games just yet.
- [48:44]
A
Okay. What is in this kind of unknown AFC matchup here? And I know you've already done the prep and his piece, his film breakdown will be up on the Athletic a little bit later today. Maybe by the time this comes out, it'll probably already be out. What's the one thing that jumped? Was there a surprise? Is there something one team is doing that you didn't expect? Like give me the headline kind of result that you got from studying these two teams?
- [49:08]
C
Yes.
- [49:08]
D
Sorry, I misspoke when I told you it'll be out tomorrow morning, but.
- [49:11]
A
Oh, okay.
- [49:12]
B
Yeah.
- [49:12]
D
The one thing I will say is Jarrett Stidham is a much, much better quarterback than people anticipate. I covered the Raiders for a long time, so I was there when he had that big blow up game against the Niners defense when the Niners defense was at its peak, when it had Nick Bosa, Warner Hufanga, all those guys. He, you know, he threw for three touchdowns and almost beat them in a huge surprise winning a regular season. He's had a few starts since then and I thought he's looked good in every one of those games. He's really aggressive, he has a good arm, very Accurate. I think the one thing that you lose going from Bo Nix to Jarrett Stidham is sack avoidance. Bo Nix's superpower is avoiding sacks. He's extremely good at doing it. Jarrett Stidham, you know, he's not a statue in a pocket, but he's not Bo Nix. It's a far as avoiding sacks. But I think the good news is the. The Broncos have one of the best pass blocking offensive lines in football. So I don't think it'll be as big of a deal. So, yeah, I just think nobody should be underestimating Stidham. I think the drop off between him and Bo Nix is not as big as people would anticipate.
- [50:26]
A
I was really happy with, like Knicks in, In that game against Buffalo. You know, I've. I've not been the biggest fan, and maybe that's just because I think, like, hey, I think his ceiling is kind of average, which is maybe good enough with Sean Payton and the rest of the personnel stuff that they have. But, you know, the Green Bay game was incredible. The way he'll. He kind of gets like hot and cold. You know where I think the play calling in the beginning of that game, like Peyton and their entire staff were so dialed in. But then you're like, okay, now let's see in the middle part of the game when things are becoming a little bit more unpredictable, and then he goes on like this cold streak. And so, like, look, I mean, there's a lot of quarterbacks who'd be like, hey, you're gonna hit some throws, you're gonna not. But his. His running thing and keeping some stuff alive, like getting the third downs with his legs that he can't get with his arm. Because I still feel like a lot of his completions, maybe this isn't entirely fair. Maybe it's irrelevant now. Cause we know Knicks isn't gonna play because he hits Mims. That Mims throws incredible. There's some go balls that he had in some of these comebacks that were terrific. But I feel like if I ever were to just kind of like go, what do the Knicks throws usually look like? The pallet. And it's like receiver turns on 12 yards, it stopped inside the zone. You know, he finds that spot, boom. Like that to me, feels like the Knicks completion. And so maybe it's not that hard necessarily to duplicate that stuff. But I'm with you in that if you're asking Stidham to deal with pressure in the pocket the way Knicks does, that's a big, big ask. And I Don't know that I have enough. Like, you have more access to him because you're covering that team at that time. I. I just. There's just not enough games. There's not enough games for me to have any definitive opinion. Hell, I'm talking with Chase Daniel about him having happy feet in 2018 with Auburn, and that might be completely irrelevant here eight years later, but if I see it, if I see it against New England's defense, I'm going to start thinking about it all over again. And like, yeah, that's a guy that I saw in college, but that could just be, hey, you're in the AFC Championship and you haven't played in forever, and that's why you look that way.
- [52:25]
D
Yeah, I. For me, I have the same kind of relationship with Bo Nix as you, where, you know, I'm. I don't think his ceiling's that high. And then he starts the season as one of the most inaccurate passers of throws over 10 yards in the league. Like, I think he was 32nd and off target rate.
- [52:42]
A
Just interrupt there. There was like a deep ball chart of, like, air yards missed. And it was, you know, Bo Nix was like Greenland, which I know is topical right now, but like, all the other quarterbacks, just where they were graphing the chart. And like, Knicks was all. I think that was like, by week 10 or week 11. So keep going. Because I just thought like that when I saw that, I was like, yeah, that's kind of where I am with him. Like, something's missing. Something's missing. And he was missing a lot of those areas. So keep going.
- [53:08]
D
Yeah, And Sean Payton is phenomenal at dialing these up. So there's wide open guys that he was just missing downfield. But then he has these great games out of nowhere, like that Green Bay game that you talked about. And there's these games where I think, all right, he's turning the corner. He's proving me wrong. I think I have to reset my expectations for Bo Nix. And then he goes out and has two or three games that are really bad, like, just finishing the regular season. He was really bad and had a bad game against the Chargers backups. And I kind of doubted how he would do against the Bills secondary, which is actually really good. They're really good at disguising. And they gave Trevor Lawrence a ton of trouble in that first playoff game. And when you look at the stats, Knicks actually really struggles against disguise coverages. I thought he was going to really struggle against the Bills, but he went out and he Had a phenomenal game. He read the disguises, he made good decisions, and it sucks that he got injured, but it looked like another game where he was turning the corner. I don't know how he would have done in that second game. And I think that's going to be one of the things to watch out for with Jared Stidham is he hasn't had a lot of game action. So how is he going to react to New England's pressures and coverage disguises? Because they've really turned a leaf defensively as far as turning up those blitzes and turning up those disguises that make it really hard for quarterbacks. So Stidham, who I think is a pretty good quarterback, but it's just a lack of playing time and then going out and seeing an exotic defense like New England's, how is he going to react to that in real time?
- [54:41]
A
Okay. And I think the reason why we're both talking about Knicks is we're trying to come up with like, what are we actually asking Stidham to replace? And I'm still not sure that I even have that answer. What jumps out about New England and what they do on defense? Because you just touched on them there, because it feels like this group is coming together without maybe the name awareness of certainly all the other units that are still alive.
- [55:05]
D
Yeah, I mean, I think one of the things that I was most excited about New England coming into the season was them pairing Carlton Davis with Christian Gonzalez. Because anytime you have, obviously Christian Gonzalez is one of the most talented young corners in the league, but when you usually pair up a corner with another great corner, you can't run away from. From that corner like you could throw away from Christian Gonzalez if there's a mid corner on the other side. But it's really hard to do it. Carlton Davis, who's been really good, and you know, you saw those interceptions and getting. Making those plays against Houston, and now it's coming together because Christian Gonzalez feels like he's finally healthy. He's shutting guys down in the playoffs. Then you have Carlton Davis, who's extremely opportunistic on the other side. Marcus Jones is a pretty good nickel corner, and then Melton is finally healthy, so you're pairing him with Barmore. And then you have all these disguises and exotic looks that the defensive coordinator and Frables thrown at you. They've really taken off defensively in these playoffs. And one thing that I have to put a caveat on is they did face two of the worst offensive lines. You're going to see with the Chargers offensive line and then the Houston's offensive line. But I do think schematically they do a lot of things that are challenging for quarterbacks. But we're going to see how they do. Going from two of the worst offensive lines to having to play one of the better offensive lines in the league with the Denver Broncos.
- [56:34]
A
What is fair about what's going on with Drake May right now? Because you know, I could throw in my 2 cents. I'm not really concerned, but yeah, there's some stats you could get upset about. I am for the record, like I don't think this is some playoff exposing of Drake May the quarterback. Your thoughts?
- [56:51]
D
Yeah, I mean he just hasn't been that good in the playoffs. He's lived on explosive plays in the playoffs, but the turnovers are an issue. But I think part of his MVP case is that he was able to elevate a very average New England offense and make them good. But the problem is when you're in the playoffs and you're playing really good defenses that supporting Cass is going to get exposed. His offensive line just isn't very good. They couldn't protect them against the Chargers. They definitely couldn't protect them against the Texans. But he was still able to overcome that and makes enough big plays. But that offensive line is a problem and you only could elevate them so far, especially when you're facing these really good pass rushes and he's going to see another one in the Denver Broncos. Also, K Shan Booty's been really good, but when he's your number one receiver, it's just, you know, that only could take you so far. So I think May is elevating his offense, but the supporting cast is so far behind the type of defenses that he's seeing that the ceiling for this offense just isn't as high. The defense has been carrying them. We'll see if that could carry on against Jared Stidham. I just don't think this offense is going to be one that is going to put up 20, 25 to 30 points a game.
- [58:13]
A
So are you picking Denver?
- [58:15]
D
I'm picking Denver. I'm not a betting man, but Denver picks. I'd be very happy to take Denver plus five in this game.
- [58:24]
A
Okay. All right. I have to ask you, this has nothing to do with football. I guess. I guess you could argue. I don't have to ask you this, but I feel like I'm a ball knower when it comes to you. I've been aware of your girlfriend in the Past and you posted a picture of you or your girlfriend on social media yesterday. People were shook. People were shook. I guess I don't want to ask a press conference question here. The reaction, the reaction, your reaction to the reaction, perhaps, because it just felt like there's no way a ball knower film guy would be able to pull this off. And you have, and I'm psyched for you.
- [59:01]
D
Yeah, I appreciate it. I think any girl appreciates a little public gratification or whatever. So I posted her before and it's funny seeing the responses because yeah, everybody just assumes like, yeah, this, you know, nerdy film guy, you know, probably has never even touched a girl in his life. So it's been funny. I think the new response now in this age is, oh, she's AI. You know, that's a new one that I'm getting. So it's been hilarious and she's been kind of keeping track of it. It's been funny for us both to see.
- [59:38]
A
I love when people find out about it for the first time. Like, I had a couple people hit me up and like, don't you have this guy on? Isn't he like a film guy? I'm like, what's wrong? Like, maybe he's, maybe she appreciates how focused he is, that he can break things down, he can evaluate, assess, have an opinion. I don't see, I don't see why he wouldn't pull this off. So I'm, I'm just, I'm happy for you, man. Good stuff. Appreciate it.
- [60:01]
D
Yeah, she'll be thrilled that we, we talked about her on a podcast too.
- [60:09]
A
Yeah, I don't know, I don't know how this is go, but I've just felt like it had to be addressed. It had to be addressed considering the tweet, the post, all the stuff just happened yesterday. So I like to be topical on top of all the film stuff. You're great, man. Thank you. Enjoy the weekends. We'll have you on again soon. All right, sounds good.
- [60:26]
D
Appreciate it.
- [60:28]
A
The Alliance Conference Championship weekend edition with Serutti, with Kyle. My name is Ryan. All right, Kyle, this has been a tough pod for you today. Long one guy's just shitting on your pats and you're like, how are you doing?
- [60:45]
E
You know what, what I did actually, after this whole week, I went and bought Madden 26. I was like, I'm not going to buy it this year after all the Drake May stuff.
- [60:53]
D
Is he good?
- [60:53]
E
Is he not good? I just went and bought Madden 26, very discounted. And I'm starting to play a season right now. I'm on. We just beat the Dolphins before and I just want to do this whole thing. I'm. I'm all the way in now. I'll be. I'll be quiet when I'm supposed to be quiet, but I don't have to be quiet at this part. So I've been feeling good. I'm just blocking out the haters.
- [61:13]
A
And he shook it all though. You know, we got a film breakdown guy. We got a guy that knows and played in Peyton's system.
- [61:19]
E
I bet you he didn't pick the Patriots last week either.
- [61:21]
A
It's all.
- [61:22]
E
I mean, I haven't checked, but I bet they didn't pick him last week.
- [61:24]
A
I know the top of your host. Yeah, it's like going, hey, you realize how shitty this roster is? This is amazing. You know, so this is. This is just a three way.
- [61:35]
C
I gotta be honest. I.
- [61:37]
A
Looking for what I was picking mmmp on the Patriots.
- [61:41]
C
Looking for what I was going to pick today. I kind of like some of the Stidham props, but I was like, I can't do that to Kyle on the pot. Like I feel like that's just like not a good vibe situation. And then we have Chase on and Ted who are both like, yes, it was awesome. He's going to fling it around the field. My. Should I though maybe I should take him. Maybe I'll do it on my own.
- [61:56]
E
Do what you want to do, man. I'm not. No one's. No one's pulling any punches on this show for me. So just go ahead.
- [62:01]
A
It's fine.
- [62:02]
C
Yeah, it feels like there's a little too much on Denver momentum though. It's like everyone's kind of on Denver now. And I'm like, man, is it actually a good spot to buy back into the past? Maybe you're there, Kyle.
- [62:11]
E
I hope everybody on ESPN does that again.
- [62:13]
A
And they all just picked Denver. I don't think I just went out, dude. Didn't know Stroud was going to turn into fucking. I don't know what that is. What was that comp. Yeah.
- [62:24]
E
My algorithm's been feeding me people hates Jesus. My algorithm's been feeding me people in Patriots jerseys, like doing the worst kind of content. Like Patriots fans be like all the other NFL fans be like. And it's just like I'm already revved up enough. I don't need to see this anymore.
- [62:41]
C
You know, that's funny. I mean, we'll get to the bed at some point. I stumbled upon this guy. And it was like actually maybe a couple guys who were like Niner fans who are like, you know, acting like they're acting like they're on the team. They're like shit talking the Seahawks players. Like, if you think that you're going to do that to us twice in a row, you got another thing coming, brother. And then they just like throw on a jacket or something and they try to see them all badass. And you're like, you're a grown man and you're doing this on Instagram and TikTok acting like you're on the team. Tough look.
- [63:08]
B
Tough look.
- [63:09]
C
And they got humble pretty quick. But I mean, you know, that is one of those things too. It's like it's for the content man, because they know they're going to get a bunch of engagement and they don't care how much of a loser they look like. And I'm the one who's sucker for talking about it.
- [63:18]
A
There's too much content. If I were president, I would have a new cabinet member. It would be like you're emperor of content and we gotta find a cap. We gotta have a hard to doom scroll all the time. And then you're just gonna say you can't do anything anymore. Like you're just done. I don't care if it's legal. Not legal. You know, who knows?
- [63:35]
C
As long as my guy, Carolina Mike keeps is able to keep doing his thing.
- [63:40]
A
Got him.
- [63:40]
E
Got him on video at the. Was it a weight game or something?
- [63:47]
A
There should be like a new arm of government that just goes. I don't want government interfering all the time. I'm not building a shed in the woods. I'm not that. But I just think that there should be just a. Hey, there's too much. There's too much right now. Oh, what's your thing? Oh, you have a Boston accent. You're gonna eat some fucking food. Rate it.
- [64:06]
C
Yeah.
- [64:06]
A
Okay.
- [64:07]
C
Is it. This should be like, is there any. Is anyone better off for having seen this content? Yes or no? No.
- [64:12]
A
All right, you're out. Oh, that's a steak sandwich we all got to try. All right. Anyway, and if people think I was making fun of Portnoy, I wasn't because his accent I still can't understand. I don't know what it is. And look, all right, moving on because I know seems like a life advice. Yeah. Should we just move on? All right, let's move on. All right, let's get the pick out.
- [64:35]
C
Kyle should just start because I mean.
- [64:36]
E
This Is kind of my segment now. Yeah, I'll do it. Sure. I was going to say Patriots minus two and a half alt spread. Because I mean, the, the money line is just crazy. Nobody wants to take that bet. If that's not okay. I'll take a Jarrett Stidham interception. Seruti was giving me a little. Talking a little crap off air that maybe the odds were a little bit too wonky. But it's. I think it's what, -192. If you add you guys out, a couple of picks, that'll be something that's, you know. Yeah, but in the right range.
- [65:02]
C
I'm not trying to. I'm not trying to be a hater here, but I think the sit of interception is like pretty. It's like minus 200 as well. All right, take a look here.
- [65:09]
E
So what are these guys talking about anyway? I'll take the Pats. Minus two and a half.
- [65:14]
C
Take the Pats. Yeah, that's good.
- [65:15]
A
There you go.
- [65:17]
E
Alt spread.
- [65:19]
C
I am going to go with Matthew Stafford over two plus pass and touchdowns. I should say so. Over one and a half. He had none last week, but previous to that he had I think 12 straight games of two. Plus. I know the finger is still kind of an issue. They hung 37 on Seattle the last time they played. I know they lost. He's done it in both Seattle games this year. I believe the Rams are going to win this game. I'm with our guy Ted. You know, I'm just. I'm kind of a Stafford homer a little bit here. So I'm going to take two touchdowns or more for Stafford passing touchdowns.
- [65:51]
A
I think Darnold's going to have to get the ball in the air. Even though I think Kenneth Walker is one of the most underrated players in the NFL, I fucking love that guy. And obviously with the injuries at running back, the whole thing and like, I know that the oblique injury here with Darnold has me feeling a certain way. I just think it's going to end up that he's going to have to get the ball in the air. So they think they may have to like he's. I'm not doing a great job with this, but like it just feels like even if he's throwing picks and even if, like it just feels as if. Especially if you look at his game log over the year, you know, that first Rams game is a mess. It's till 279. The overtime game, 270. So I think over 250 is where I'm going to land unless the weather ends up just being terrible. And then Walker runs for 180 yards and Darnold has 112 and the Rams are in the super bowl. So.
- [66:44]
C
All right, so that'll be crazy. Passing Pats minus two and a half alt spread and Stafford to throw at least two touchdowns is plus 411.
- [66:53]
E
Right, right in the zone.
- [66:54]
A
See?
- [66:54]
C
Yeah.
- [66:56]
A
All that mess.
- [66:57]
C
I'm saying 4 11. Sorry.
- [66:58]
A
No, I'm just saying if 4, if 311 ever broke up, you wonder if they would go.
- [67:03]
C
You're big 311 guy.
- [67:04]
A
Yeah. Love 3 11. You guys don't follow Nick Hexum.
- [67:10]
C
I don't.
- [67:13]
A
USC 324. This weekend on Paramount, the headliner, Justin Gaethje going up against Patty Pimlet and Dana White joins us. Okay, Dana, let's get into this fight. I'm excited about it like so many other people are with these guys and their styles. What has you most excited about this matchup?
- [67:28]
F
Yeah, so I'm always interested in the top five guys in the world. Nightweight, the champ is, is Toporia. These two are going to fight for the interim title. Armin Tsurukian, Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje and Patty Pimblett. Those are the top five guys in the world. So anytime you have guys in the top five that are facing each other, you know you have two of the best in the world and it should be fun. And I mean neither one of these guys are ever in a boring fight. You obviously you thinking everybody always counts Patty Pimblett out, yet he's undefeated in the ufc. Justin Gaethje is non stop action from bell to bell. So you ask yourself stylistically, if you're Patty Pimblett, you probably want to get it to the ground and try to submit them. Gaethje wants to keep it standing a bang, but who knows, maybe, maybe Patty will stand and, and fight with them. Every time people think Patty's going to lose, he proves him wrong and wins. So it should be a fun one.
- [68:28]
A
Can you tell with a fighter like the legends, right. The guys that are so tough that how enamored we are with these guys that are truly the special ones.
- [68:38]
F
Right.
- [68:38]
A
Can you tell like the difference between, hey, the, the toughness in the drive but also the miles catching up to that fighter?
- [68:47]
F
Yeah, well, you know what's crazy? You know, I don't know how old you are, but I'm 56. When I was growing up, when you were an athlete, professional athlete, and you started to get into your 30s, you know, you were looking down the barrel of your career being over. And nowadays, not just in the ufc, I mean, these guys that are. I mean, Jon Jones just came back and won the heavyweight title, and then, you know, there's tons of people here who have been around for a long time, and the same thing. Brady played for a long time. It's just. It's all changed. You don't know. In fighting especially, you don't know when it's the end of somebody's career until they put on a couple of those performances and you're like. Or, you know, they get knocked out badly, and you start to realize, all right, it's time for this guy to wrap it up. And when it's time to wrap it up, you're not in the top five in the world. You know, that's for sure.
- [69:46]
A
You mentioned pariah. How does this result then affect his involvement in what's next? Because I know Patty was like, hey, if I win this thing, he's going to wait. He made me wait in this whole thing. But I would imagine you have as much to say about that as anybody.
- [70:00]
F
You talk about Toporia.
- [70:01]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [70:02]
F
So these guys are fighting for the interim title, which means whoever wins is next for. For Ilya, when he's ready, which is a few months.
- [70:13]
A
Okay.
- [70:13]
F
He's going through some personal problems right now that he's got to get through, and then he can get back into camp and fight the summer.
- [70:20]
A
So it doesn't matter what Patty said about Tippuri at all then. It's. It's like, well, they don't like each.
- [70:26]
F
Other, so they're going to say a lot of things about each other. But at the end of the day, Patty Pimblett is very easy to work with. He's a great guy, and so is Toporia.
- [70:40]
A
I know. Whenever you're talking about fighters, you know, I think I can tell in watching so many of the press conferences over the years, when you'll say, like, hey, I love this guy because we called him and he fought. Right? And I think you do a great job of, like, making a point of that, of, like, making the public realize, like, this guy. Even though we're talking about fighters, like, you have to love fighting to even be at this level. We know some guys are going to love it a little bit more than others. Some guys are probably going to want everything on their terms. They're going to want a perfect amount of rest. They're going to maybe want to even play it a little bit, like, hey, how do I have an Advantage with my rest versus the next opponent. All this different stuff. How much do you hate maybe having to manage that part of it? I mean, there's a promotion, there's a business and all that kind of stuff. But realizing, hey, there's a list of guys, as soon as I call, I know they're ready to fucking fight. As opposed to like, oh, this guy's Mr. On his terms all of the time.
- [71:27]
F
Well, it's not even that, that it's on his terms. You know, when you get these guys in the top 10, a lot of guys are afraid to lose their positioning, right? You know, they're ranking in the top 10, and then you got the guys that you call up and they're just ready to go. They don't give a shit who they're fighting or, or, you know, where it is or what the deal is. They're ready to go. And yes, I do like to point out those type of guys.
- [71:54]
A
Who was the best? Who was your favorite ever?
- [71:57]
F
You know, people talk a lot of smack and like, oh, he was the goal, this and that, Conor McGregor. When we pick up the phone and there was a change of opponent, it wouldn't even phase him, wouldn't stun him. He would.
- [72:08]
D
He.
- [72:09]
F
He would literally say, call me, call me. When you got somebody for me to fight, let me know, you know, and then, you know, when you looked at Conor at that time, everything was very high stakes for him. You know, he was a huge superstar pulling big pay per view numbers, and usually guys that would get in that type of a position were the worst to deal with. Conor was never like that. He wouldn't show up to press conferences on time and shit like that, but he was always ready to fight.
- [72:37]
A
Are you sick of being asked about Conor's future with the ufc?
- [72:41]
F
No, listen, he's the biggest star ever in the sport's history, and he's one of the biggest sports stars, period. So I get it.
- [72:51]
A
Is it done, though? I mean, is this actually ever going to happen again?
- [72:54]
F
I don't know. I don't know the answer to that question.
- [72:58]
A
I'm sure you want.
- [72:58]
F
I mean, look at that. And it isn't me, right?
- [73:02]
A
I mean, you grew up with boxing. Anybody that understands any of this stuff, like, the dumbest thing ever is to think that a fighter is never going to fight again, right? Because it's just not like they need to do it. There's something about the way these guys are wired. There's always that paycheck that's waiting out there for them. I Mean, I'm sure they're. They would do big numbers because we'd all be waiting. We all want to see what would happen. I just can't fathom that, like, this much time off, like, I'd be excited about it. My hopes would be very diminished about who he would be.
- [73:26]
F
Now, I'll tell you what makes Connor different than, than a lot of other fighters is that, you know, fighters will make a lot of money fighting, and you eventually burn through that money and you have to fight again. Conor has been very successful outside of the Octagon with businesses and things that he's done. He's been able to make a lot of money in the Octagon and a lot of money out of the Octagon. And when you have people that fight and they make that kind of money, Khabib Nurgomedov is another one. Like, Khabib had a. Could have fought for a long time and tried to break records and do all this other stuff. He made so much money that, you know, he didn't have to fight anymore.
- [74:14]
A
What I love about the UFC is that you're not heavyweight dependent, right? You don't need the heavyweight class to be the end all, be all. I mean, there's, I'd probably say over the years, like, the light heavyweight, it's probably been my favorite, maybe middleweight, whatever, it doesn't matter. But where would you like the heavyweight class for the UFC to be in comparison to kind of where it is right now?
- [74:37]
F
Listen, we're in a good spot. I'm happy with our heavyweight division. I'm happy with all the divisions right now. You know, even when you look at the women's bantamweight division, we're looking at Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes, which is the greatest female fight of all time, period, in any combat sport. You know, Joshua Van and flyweight Peter Yan just won. Volkanovsky is going to fight next week. We got the whole thing playing out with Topuria Mackenzie Dern, who's probably going to fight Whaley Zhang, now Valentina still at the top of the women's flyweight division. Then you got Islam Hamza Chimaev, Alex Pereira and Tom Aspinall. I mean, if you look at all the champs that we have in every division and what we're looking at coming down the pike in 26, it's going to be a fun year.
- [75:31]
A
Why do you think Aspinall Jones, like, was such a problem? Like, why do you think it was like, Jones wanted to tease that out. It felt like forever, and it just was like, do you actually want to do this?
- [75:41]
F
And Jones is a very unique guy to deal with. So, you know, that's nothing new. I, I, I've said it a million times, and I'll say it again. He's the greatest of all time. He's the goat of this sport. There's, there's no debating it, but he's a nightmare to deal with in a lot of different ways. And he's a guy that, you know, in my position, he's a guy you absolutely, positively cannot count on.
- [76:09]
A
So if he calls you up and says, hey, I'm, I'm back in, which I think all of us are wondering, like, it's going to happen at some point. Do you?
- [76:16]
F
Well, he's been saying he wants the White House fight. It's not like you say, hey, I'm out. See you later. He wants the White House fight.
- [76:24]
A
Is he going to get it?
- [76:25]
F
There is any fight ever in the history of the UFC that I can't risk putting somebody in the main event that, that I can't trust that won't show up and deliver. It's him.
- [76:42]
A
How was the National Championship?
- [76:45]
F
I was good right up until the end. It was a great game. Here's what everybody said to me. So I'm going to the game. Everyone's like, ah, that's not going to be a fun game for you, you know, and it ended up being a great game. Went right down to the wire, right down to pretty much the last play. So it was fun.
- [77:05]
A
Can Trump bring you and Jake Paul together?
- [77:09]
F
So what's funny is that's the first time that Jake Paul and I have ever met face to face.
- [77:16]
A
Really?
- [77:17]
F
Yeah. What? I don't know.
- [77:21]
A
I'm just trying to think of, like, is your internal dialogue like, this fucking guy, or is it like, hey, this is kind of funny? Like, who cares?
- [77:30]
F
I'm sure it was the same for both of us. We're not going to act like idiots in front of the President of the United States. So, you know, we were very cordial and we had a conversation, but I.
- [77:41]
A
Don'T know that I'd blame you for being like, I can't stand you. Although, look, I respect the hell out of what he's doing, you know, I.
- [77:50]
F
Mean, I don't hate the kid. You know, he's, he's, he's doing his thing, and everybody can talk shit about Jake Paul. You know, you don't like him. You don't do whatever. The kid has maneuvered himself around, made some money, made himself relevant and good for him.
- [78:08]
A
Okay, let's talk about the TV deal, because I would say somebody who's worked at espn, I was there a really long time, and you could see just everything changing really quickly, and everybody's trying to figure out, where do you need to land when all of this stuff stops? And you've got this deal now with Paramount, and I wonder, in. In mapping all this stuff out and knowing that you're going to need, like, partners, you know, who knows when this deal expires onto the next thing. Why did this make the most sense for the UFC right now?
- [78:38]
F
Well, as we were. If you were to ask me, you know, six months before our rights were up, give me your top three places you think you're going to land. Paramount would not have been in the top three. You know, I obviously didn't see it coming. It's the fascinating thing about business. And, you know, once you get out there and start shopping your rights or whatever, whatever the deal is, it's like when we sold the ufc, Ari Emanuel was our agent. I would have never dreamed that Ari would have been the guy that ended up coming in and picking it off. So you never know when you. When you go into these type of things, but as you start to go out and shop around, you start to feel out the synergies. And obviously, Netflix made a lot of sense for us, too, and we really like them. And it looked like Netflix was probably going to be the home for all the pay per views. And then we were going to chop up the fight nights amongst some of the different networks. And then literally at the 23rd and a half hour, Paramount came in and said, we want all or nothing. And the deal closed quickly.
- [79:55]
A
Does your. Like, there's this position you have, which is a really rare position, to make this kind of decision and figure out, like, hey, we're going to give you everything. And then you look around like, it's not a secret, that it probably means way more revenue for the NBA to split up all of their stuff for the NFL, like, and we've looked at it and be like, you realize all the different services that you have to have to watch an entire NFL season right now. Is there any part of you, like, as a football fan, that sees the complication of that influencing this part of the Paramount thing, beyond the money, where you're like, this is just an easier transaction for our fans to know where.
- [80:27]
F
Our home is 100%. So here's the thing, you know, to be able to have everything on the same channel, including boxing now Too right? It's such a home run. And not for us, what we're doing, you know, the fights, no matter where they end up, but for the fans. So for the last however many years, the fans have had to pay for ESPN plus, then buy the pay per view, and our fans have been very good and very loyal to us. And to be able now for, you know, for the entire year, it will cost you less than what a pay per view was last year. And, you know, all the other entertainment that I have on Paramount plus right now, Landman and Mobland are two of the greatest TV shows that I've ever seen, and they're both on Paramount Plus. You should get Paramount plus just for that, right? On top of that, you get all the UFC and all the other movies and TV shows that they have on Paramount Plus.
- [81:30]
A
So is there, as you're debating this, Luke, And I think it's one of these things, like, hey, in five years, like, am I going to be right? You know what I mean? In five years, is this going to make the most sense? Or should we have chopped this up? Or is this the better partner? Because I think the difference, at least with your brand, you know, it's always going to be successful. But I imagine it's really hard to figure out, like, hey, are we making a great decision or are we making a decision that we think is right right now? Like, any of this stuff, I think it's just so hard because it's all moving so fast and everybody's grabbing all this content any possible way they can and packaging it.
- [82:03]
F
I don't need five years. I already know we made the right decision. And it's not take the money out. Because people always like, oh, the money, the money. We're gonna make money no matter where we go, right? You know, we're gonna get paid no matter where we go, and we'll make it work. Our first deal with Spike TV was $35 million, and we built the business up global. You know, the money is never it. If I could tell you, if I could express to you the level of excitement that Paramount and CBS has for being in business with us, it's unbelievable. So I already know that I made the right decision. Now, remember, I was with these guys back when it was a whole different company and different guys were running it. So. So there's a guy when we were on Spike, and I'm a very loyal person. We want. We, you know, we went to renew the deal with Spike tv, there was a guy that was running that part of the company, Philippe Dumont, okay? This guy put a bullet in every brand that the MTV VH1 terrible calls himself Philippe Dumont. His name's Phil fucking Doom, and he's from Jersey, okay? He wants to sound like he's from fucking France or something, but we went to a lunch with this guy, and for the first 40 minutes, me and Lorenzo had to sit there and listen to how rich he is. And basically, his. His deal was, I built the ufc and I'll just build another one. You know, I'm not going to pay you guys what you want. So everything happens for a reason. And that led us to the Fox deal. Eric Shanks from Fox Sports, we had a great run with those guys, still have a great relationship with everybody at Fox, which then leads to the ESPN deal, right? Had a great relationship with those guys, going out on great terms with them. And here we are at Paramount. That was meant to happen. Phil Dooman was that whole thing. Everything happens for a reason. So I couldn't be happier. I don't need five years. I know we made the right decision, and we're already pumped to be with Paramount.
- [84:16]
A
I spent a lot of time talking about basketball. We. We do a lot of, like, eras. Hey, this guy could play. This guy couldn't play today. And there's a lot of people, Bird Jordan fans, hanging on that, that's the best basketball. This isn't the best basketball. I'd look at the evolution of the athlete and be like, hey, you can like things about the past, but it's just. It's just ridiculous. But then I think back, like, I remember first meeting you when you come up to the studio. We were at 15:10, the zone there in Boston, and he'd bring us all the DVDs and shit. And Chuck came by and I met you that for. I was like, man, in college, we would just sit there and we'd get these pools going, and we'd be watching these guys come out and they'd be fighting, as you know. And the listeners, maybe some of the younger ones don't remember, is you would just fight a tournament that night. You'd fight multiple tournaments. I think UFC 17 was the last one. Or that's when it. When it stopped, like, late 90s there. If we were to do an eras thing of, like, the best fighters. Now, you've been around for all of this stuff. How would you compare like. Or how would you get into the conversation of, like, I don't want to diminish the toughness, but the pool of this many generations being Influenced by the ufc. The pool of available fighters in the competition is so much greater than just random badass Don Fry. Who's going to be, who's going to be our guy in one of these early days UFC events?
- [85:34]
F
Yeah. If you look at obviously the pre, what I call the pre Zufa era before we bought it, which is, you know, before 2000.
- [85:45]
A
Right.
- [85:45]
F
And then you look at from, from 2001 to today, where the evolution of the sport, you know, the original UFC was the answer to the age old question of which fighting style was the best. With karate, beat kung fu, with boxing, beat wrestling, stuff like that. What they never realized is that they were creating a sport and we sort of saw that came in, you know, created a league, got it back on television, got it back on pay per view and all that. But the evolution of the sport, not just the, but the training, I mean, when we first bought it, like Chuck Liddell is a perfect example. Chuck used to have to go do boxing training, kickboxing training, then he'd go to a jiujitsu class, then he'd do a strength and conditioning. Now all of that is in, is in one place. You train for MMA and the list goes on and on about how the sport has evolved since then.
- [86:47]
A
So do you think if you take like a Mark Coleman from then and then just plopped him into a title fight today, is he not skill, is he not well rounded?
- [86:57]
F
No, I think that Mark Coleman, you brought Mark, 26 year old Mark Coleman back here, he's still a problem. Yeah, you bring in 26 year old Chuck Liddell, he's still a problem. I mean Mark Coleman is, is the, is the godfather of the ground and pound, you know, great wrestling take you down because they had a submission. Chuck Liddell had bombs in both hands. I mean he could stuff the takedown and he would knock you out. And he had an iron chin back then too.
- [87:31]
A
My favorite thing about Chuck is that every time somebody would try to take him down, I don't know how his body was made, what the torso, leg ratio was on him, but he would just spread and he was like, oh, I guess you just can't take down prime Chuck Liddell. Like there's just, there's just I shoot him and I have him and then he just doesn't go. Or he would get back up in a way that was like, how is he getting back up? So I'm with you. Like, I never want to be disrespectful of previous eras, but I think the greatest thing about this sport is that back then, you're talking about, like, oh, this guy's some karate badass, and this is some dude from Brazil, but nobody's doing it. And now I don't care which gym you go to, like, people, there's just kids everywhere that want to do this stuff. And you're just building a greater foundation of future athletes. If that many more people are doing something, it just means the competition and the skills that you have to develop to even get to these levels is so much more clout. There's just. There's some way more traffic is the way, should I say, to even.
- [88:31]
F
And now you're talking globally, the whole world. I mean, if you look at Australia, right? So in Australia, when we first went over there, there was Elvis Sinisek. There was one guy in the whole country that, that. That could fight in the UFC. Now there's multiple world champions, multiple top 10. I mean, talking about that little place on earth, all the bad dudes that are coming out of the end, they got one of the. One of the best camps in the world there at the time when we first bought the company, BJ Penn, you know, now you got Max Holloway. I mean, two of the baddest dudes ever. Both come off, you know, Hawaii. And it's just. It's fascinating, which.
- [89:17]
A
And I'm going to let you go here shortly, but you know, when you look at, like, American basketball and you're kind of going like, hey, where are the Americans? Like, look at all the MVPs that are international players. And there is some synergy there, too. If you think about the dream team, early 90s, you guys coming in, it's only like 25 years of this thing being, like, completely on the radar. Like, who knows what this thing is going to look like in another 25 years? Which is, again, why I.
- [89:40]
F
Well, you know what I always say, this has always been my philosophy, right? I'll go to England, right? I'm laying in bed, watching tv, and I land on cricket. I don't get it. I'm never going to get it. You know, I don't understand the game. Now I can. I can go to Mexico, flip through the tv and a boxing match is on, right? The two guys are fighting and. And the guys are talking in Spanish. I don't know what they're saying. I don't care what they're saying. This doesn't need to be explained. To me, it's fighting. I get it. I like it. And my philosophy was, that's how this is all over the world. When you have a fight with the right people at the right time in the right place, the ceiling is 8 billion. There's 8 billion people in the world, and you could get almost all of them to watch it. If you have the right fight, which.
- [90:37]
A
Place that you've traveled you think is the most passionate fighting culture?
- [90:42]
F
It's a great question, actually, because I say it all the time. I'm like, if you've never seen a fight in England, you got to go check out the fight in England. Paris, France, which you would never. Paris, France. The energy in the bus. You go down to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The fans are awesome. The fans are awesome up in Canada. I mean, everywhere we go around the world. Australia. I mean, we. We sell out soccer stadiums in Australia, and the crowd is incredible. Like, everywhere we go, you know, when you match, make the fights right, and you put on a great show and, you know, I say this all the time. I sell holy shit moments for a living. That's what I do. And if we get, you know, two, three, four of those holy shit moments, it's just. It's a very unique, incredible experience to watch the UFC live.
- [91:30]
A
I can't wait. This weekend, UFC 324, Gaethje Pimblett, Dana White, and right in front of this White House event that I know. I can't wait to see how this thing even comes together on this one. What's the attendance going to be at this?
- [91:45]
F
We were literally working on that yesterday. It's going to be around between 4 and 4,500. 4,000. 4,500 people.
- [91:53]
A
That's going to be a select list.
- [91:55]
F
And then 85,000 in the park just across the street at the Ellipse. 85,000 people in the park at the Ellipse. We're going to have a big stage. We're going to have screens. Yeah, we're going to roll in and.
- [92:11]
A
Take over D.C. landman Spottings in there. Going to Billy Bob inside, or will he be across the street?
- [92:17]
F
Have you watched Lamb man yet?
- [92:19]
A
I have, yeah, both seasons.
- [92:20]
F
And what do you think?
- [92:22]
A
I love Billy Bob. I love the location. I miss Jon Hamm. I don't quite understand the nursing home scenes, but it's been an awesome show.
- [92:30]
F
Does suck that we lost Jon Hamm. His character was great, too. I know Billy Bob. The daughter and the wife are incredible. The lawyer is great. And the writing, from the minute that show starts till it ends, I literally laugh my ass off. The writing is so, so good. And Billy Bob Thornton is just Absolutely brilliant.
- [92:49]
A
He's awesome in it, man. And Paramount. Stewart.
- [92:51]
F
See Mobland yet?
- [92:53]
A
Mobland I liked even more than Landman.
- [92:55]
F
I got to flip a coin on that one. It's. They're both neck and neck. Incredible.
- [93:00]
A
I could watch Tom Hardy just looking cool for 60 minutes. I mean, I feel weird saying it, but he's just great at it.
- [93:07]
F
Well, for all us guys that love Snatch, you know, it's like Guy Ritchie is back with his style of. You know, it's so good.
- [93:17]
A
Well, I'm happy for you that you are Paramount. It's fired up for the next fight and everything you guys are doing over there. So thanks, Dan. I always appreciate it, brother.
- [93:23]
F
Have a great day.
- [93:23]
A
You too. This segment is brought to you by Microsoft. I'm going to go over my NBA ballot for the All Star voting here in the East. It was totally straightforward. My votes were the same votes that played out. I didn't think there was really any issue to it. It's Brunson, it's Cade, it's Jalen Brown, it's Maxi, and then it's Giannis. There's an argument if you're looking at the Giannis number of games played and where the Bucks were in the standings, I mean, you can do that kind of st. But I think when you ultimately are like, one of the three best players in the world, I'm going to go ahead and do that. And I didn't think there was another player in the east that it was like, this is outrageous that you're not putting this guy in there. In the west, it was a lot more crowded. The automatics are SGA Jokic, Luca Wembanyama and Curry are the starters. My ballot was a little bit different there. I think that you could throw into that conversation clearly Ant, who I did vote for over Steph. I wrote down all the names and the process and the way I did it, and then, you know, look, I just try to be that guy where I'm like, oh, man, I guess I'm. I can't. I can't justify Curry over Ant. I couldn't. Ant won the media and the player vote, but he was too behind in the fan vote. So the aggregate of where Steph was, he wasn't gonna. He wasn't gonna get the spot over Steph. Women. Yama. I had a little bit more of an issue with, apparently. I think there was only, I don't know, maybe 30 of us that didn't vote him in there. He's a top 10 player in the league. There's no question about that. But it was a games missed and the fact that it wasn't even just games missed, but he was averaging 23 minutes a game in December and he had only passed the 30 minutes in a game threshold twice. And both those times were after the ballot was due. So I'd put my ballot in before he'd even played 30 minutes in a game for this first time going all the way back to November 14th. So I'm not outraged about like him being a starter, but I'm telling you right now, like if you do a deep dive on who Kawhi has been since he's been back and I was kind of surprised that I got there and you could also go standings and everything. But like, look, it was, it was like, okay, since he's been back, he's been playing at this level and he's played this many games. So I, I know that the clear counter is, hey, you're going to go to the standings and all this stuff. There's, they're not one, there's not really one collection of fast rules, you know, hard and fast rules. For me on this kind of stuff. I, I thought the east was really easy. I had no problem with Giannis then because I thought the west was so hard and I had to start separating some of these different things. I'm totally fine with having Ant and over Steph. I didn't love the woman Yama part of it, but I just thought Kawhi and especially with the limited minutes part women Yama. I mean Durant might have had a better case than when Binyama did, but that's not the case. He's going to be starting. So yeah, a little bit of a breakdown for you there. On my all star ballot, Microsoft Copilot, the AI assistant that actually helps you get stuff done. CoPilot works across Microsoft 365 Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook. Turning chaos into productivity. Need a presentation? Copilot builds it. Need a summary of a meeting? You definitely zoned out in Copilot's got you. Let copilot do the heavy lifting. You just take the credit. Learn more@Microsoft.com M365 copilot you want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari 355 Cabriolet.
- [96:39]
B
What's up?
- [96:41]
A
I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you can possibly imagine. And best of all, kids, I am liquid.
- [96:50]
F
So now you know what's possible.
- [96:52]
E
Let me tell you what's required.
- [96:53]
A
All right? Life Advice lifeadvicermail.com We will get to it. Today's podcast is really long. There's a lumberyard email in here that I love. I had a few people reach out about investing in their lumber yards. I can't imagine that wouldn't. Anyway, that goes. Would that go right? Is there any way that that goes? Well, if I just get somebody through a life advice email and was like, yeah, all right, here's. Now where's my hoodie? And I just want to see the financial statements you can forward to this guy. And can I pick up a shift? I don't think I do it in California, so I don't. I don't know that I could ever commute.
- [97:27]
E
Nor. Norcal though. You know, a lot of stuff going on up there.
- [97:31]
A
There's probably actually a lot of places in California. If I went a little bit more.
- [97:34]
B
East.
- [97:37]
A
That'S where you want.
- [97:38]
E
Never really thought about going. Gotta say, never thought once about checking out.
- [97:41]
A
Never thought about east, really.
- [97:42]
E
I know there's some parks maybe that I should.
- [97:44]
A
But I just.
- [97:45]
E
I don't know. I'd watch the weather report and stuff and I'd just be like, nope, Inland Empire sounds cool.
- [97:51]
A
Pretty sure the report was Jacob Astorius, the jazz ensemble. You mean the actual weather? Yeah. Yeah, okay. Correct. I think there's a lot of stuff in California that we would be blown away by that we don't think about. And it makes me think I should just do a summer discovering California. But I'm not going to read that email right now. Podcast is already again, too long. Although I have to. I gotta find this one. Maybe I'll end with it a little bit. Yeah, shots fired. We'll start with it. So I'm under 6 foot tall, slightly fat, though less than I used to be. Shout out. Planet Fitness. As an only child and the lead singer of a ska band, I'm starting to feel like you guys are trying to alienate me personally. All of that is 100% true. Just absolutely unloading the clip on me today.
- [98:43]
E
I don't have Scott thoughts. I mean, that's more of a Ryan thing.
- [98:45]
A
But I like Scott. I just don't know that I would identify as a ska guy. Yeah, yeah.
- [98:54]
C
My only introduction to ska was Tony Hawk, pro skater. I didn't know that was real music until probably several years after I played that. I thought it was just for the game. There's no way this could be actually someone making music and then. Yeah, so PFT loves him some ska. That's not surprising.
- [99:10]
A
Yeah, I don't know.
- [99:11]
C
Other than like The Mighty, Mighty Boss. Stones. Right. Who else? What other. I mean, the W Finger, Goldfinger was the.
- [99:17]
A
The Specials. There's probably some special songs that you like that you don't even realize how much you like.
- [99:23]
C
Magic.
- [99:25]
A
Yeah, I guarantee there's a couple. There's two special songs that you like that you don't even realize that you like. Okay, maybe Police somewhat influenced by the ska movement.
- [99:36]
C
Like the Police.
- [99:38]
A
Yeah.
- [99:38]
E
I never really thought your ska was bad. Could you pull off the only. Only Child thing maybe a little bit.
- [99:43]
A
But I think it's stopped saying it.
- [99:46]
E
Yeah, I mean, I tried to put like some. What do you call that? Like when you try to add something on to make it less mean and you're like, no, no, no.
- [99:54]
F
It's.
- [99:54]
E
It's exactly as mean as I want it to be. So maybe, maybe you could pull in the reins on that one.
- [99:59]
A
But I could think the Scott thing is.
- [100:01]
C
I could. That's right.
- [100:06]
A
Yeah. I don't know. I mean, maybe it's because I've dated a couple, only children, and it's just so obvious how different it is. And so when we have these emails, I'll just see all these triggers where I'm like, okay, okay, okay. I mean, how many times you been right about it?
- [100:23]
F
Right?
- [100:24]
A
It's almost like always. It's an unbelievable hit rate. Certainly better than alliance for me lately. I, I just. If that email is real, that this guy's an only child lead singer of a ska band. You know what? You're right. Sorry, dude.
- [100:39]
E
Yeah, you got a lot on your plate.
- [100:41]
A
No, I mean, sorry about some of the stuff we've been saying lately, you know, so what?
- [100:49]
C
Stop. No, but sorry.
- [100:51]
A
Yeah. Will it stop? No. When I see only, Only child triggers in the email, I'm going to bring it up. I mean, we did it too. We did it with a non. Only child where the guy was worried about his roommate situation who lived on the floor and looked like he was only watching Rambo. First Blood was like, I could, I could, I could do that this summer. I was like, this feels like a guy that things have kind of worked out. He's a little bit more neat. I guess he's going to have two older sisters. And then the guy wrote back, was like, yeah, I'm the youngest of three. I have two older sisters because I've lived with that guy too. I know what, I know what he's like. All right, emails, good ones.
- [101:38]
C
I'm going to get AI on that, filtering the good ones, you know?
- [101:41]
A
No, I don't Know, I'm not sure that I 100% trust her right now.
- [101:44]
C
I would agree, actually. A good point.
- [101:46]
A
Yeah. We had a lot of people with the coffee shop.
- [101:51]
C
Leave me alone. What do you want me to do?
- [101:54]
A
Quick idea. I had to push it out.
- [101:59]
C
Damn it.
- [102:00]
A
All right, all right. Well, you know what we'll do is we'll do small business. Yeah, we'll do a small business special.
- [102:07]
C
No, I want to hear the email.
- [102:08]
A
I was looking forward to.
- [102:09]
C
Come on, I want to hear it.
- [102:14]
A
All right, let me go back. Follow up Serdi's Coffee Shop. Quick idea review by SC Bean LLC for what makes his spot special. As I've grown into adulthood, like many others, my appreciation for a quality cup of coffee has only increased. While there's desire, addiction to caffeine is on a heater as of late and shows no signs of stopping as my wife and I are expecting our first child. One of the many joys of parenthood I anticipate is the resurgence of breakfast food. Quick to make and good enough for you if you want it to be. This inspired the concept. I propose a split level diner coffee shop that's got a true greasy spoon seating area and service with a coffee bar downstairs instead of a cup of joe and asking them to leave the pot. It's a full espresso menu. Cheers. And I think 5% gross sales royalty should do. So he wants you to open up. This is expanding before we even get started. I got a diner, but yeah, high end coffee inside of the diner.
- [103:14]
D
That.
- [103:15]
E
Two floors, huh?
- [103:16]
C
I like that.
- [103:17]
A
Two floors. A lot of square footage there, Kyle.
- [103:20]
C
Yeah, there's a coffee spot in the Cape that I really like called Snowy Owl. They literally just have. It's like a hut. It's just like, like there's. It's like it's a guy in a room in front of me, right? And I was like, you know, there's probably not a ton of, you know, cost in that. You know, I don't want us to rent that space out, but like, the overhead is not big. But I do think there is a food component that I'd be interested in. So that would obviously have to be a bigger space. Do you guys feel like I. There's a lot of times where, like, I feel like sometimes I at home could cook better breakfast food than places that I'll go to get breakfast food at. Like, it's the one thing where it's like, why do I cook? Why do my eggs better? Why is my toast just better? You know what I mean? I think you buy the right ingredients.
- [103:56]
E
I think the on mass production of eggs type things can get a little bit, you know, we're sacrificing stuff here because we're going to make a bunch at a time. And yes, I do absolutely think that my little homemade egg McMuffin will be better than if I went to another place that was trying to do that. Absolutely.
- [104:13]
C
So if you could scale that, replicate like, hey, just like this is something you get at home. It's decent, it's relatively cheap, and you've got great coffee, I would.
- [104:21]
B
Yeah.
- [104:22]
C
Yeah. Give me your number. I'm in. I'm interested.
- [104:24]
E
I feel like everyone starts that way and then it ends up with fucking shitty folded eggs and.
- [104:29]
C
Right.
- [104:30]
E
Everyone starts with a good dream.
- [104:33]
A
A lot of people are doing bad eggs out there.
- [104:38]
C
I would agree.
- [104:39]
A
Yeah, yeah. You know, work scrambled eggs. All right.
- [104:45]
C
Stainless steel work.
- [104:46]
A
Yeah, sorry for the long email. It's super short, by the way. Six two, two thirty. No big lift numbers, but I've got the engine right. Sure do, partner. One full marathon and two halves down. Finally cracked the sub two hour mark on Ryan. Kyle Cerruti. I'm hitting a culture in the office wall. I work in finance in a major southwest city, but I'm a Midwest guy at heart. I'm still stuck in that pre Covid mindset where showing up to work while sick was a badge of honor. Back then, if you could stand up, you were at your desk. It was about toughness and the grind. But now that same toughness feels like a social crime. I got sick before MLK weekend. I took Friday off, had the Monday holiday and work from home Tuesday. I'm back in the office now. Feel 100. No fever, no aches. But I have that lingering dry post viral cough that sounds way more dramatic than it is. I'm sitting here crushing cough drops, but every time I clear my throat, the floor looks at me like I'm a biohazard. In our hybrid setup, two in two work from home. Glad I figured that out on the fly. I could stay home, but my pre Covid brain says taking another day for a tickle and the throat is soft. Meanwhile, the modern office etiquette says I'm the jerk who won't take the hint. Where are we on the lingering cough? Am I a grinder for being here or the guy everyone hates? Well, it depends on what you're in. If you're in solar panels, I'm sure everybody's psyched. If you're in. Well, there was a joke there But I'm not going to do it anymore. There's probably some people.
- [106:15]
E
Daycare thing.
- [106:17]
A
Yeah, I hadn't thought of that. You know, there was a time there if you sneezed, you may have been shot. Like peak covet stuff's like, you, you like, you know how like dare you? Yeah, yeah, how dare you? My mom, six feet, right. Who knows? We all did our best. But my head, my, my. Like one sentence response or it's going to be a couple sentences, but it's. No one gives a. That you didn't miss work because you were sick anymore. No one cares. Like, it's a cool thing to be able to say. It fucking means nothing. Stay at home.
- [107:01]
E
I've never.
- [107:02]
C
You are sick.
- [107:02]
E
I don't even know how to go about it. Like, I've just never once I was like, there's no way I can like, with a straight face be like, I'm just really not feeling good today. Like, I could totally do. I can walk, I can't whatever. Like, I just don't. I've never said the words to the person that needs to hear them. So I, I don't know. I'm a little tired. Here's what I would have done is I would have lied and said my doctor says I'm not contagious anymore, you know, instead of trying to. And I'm not even worrying about it unless somebody says something to me. Like, if they're just looking, they're just looking. If they're like, dude, are you sick?
- [107:32]
F
That.
- [107:32]
E
That's when I'd be like, no doctor said I'm not contagious. Maybe that's, maybe that's illegal, but I don't know.
- [107:39]
C
Yeah, as a guy, I've been sick a lot recently. I think, you know, has to do with, I think the kids situation. Daycares. Speaking of daycares, it's just a, you know, a cesspool of literal germs all the time. And you know, it happens. I oftentimes sound and look and maybe even like are coughing way worse when I, when I know, unbelievable.
- [107:59]
A
I better look and sound terrible.
- [108:01]
C
I'm. I look, yeah, I'm a parent, so just excuse my appearance when I am honestly feeling a little bit better. That's sometimes when I sound and look and you know the worst. And you have this like weird cough because you got all this mucus. But you're actually, you're like, the cold is kind of gone in me. So like I, you know, I've always thought about that. Like, you probably think I'm horrible right now, but actually I feel as good as I felt in days. So there is, I think, a little bit of a, of a, of a, of a gap there in people's understanding of it. I will say back at the ESPN days, I mean this always, this always went back to like, I've mostly worked in jobs where if you call out, you're fucking somebody else over, right? You have ruined somebody else's day because now they're going to have to figure your like take your shift or do a double or whatever. And I've always been self conscious about that. And I hated it. I hate it when people would do that to me. So, you know, I would be somewhat sick. But if I'm like not dying, you know, if I, if I'm able to move around and do things, I would.
- [108:50]
A
Mostly go to work.
- [108:51]
C
Whereas now, you know, I'm with Kyle. Like working at home and doing this kind of thing and not going to an office as much. Like there's really no excuse. But if you're in an office where people are actually understanding of wanting you not to be in when you feel sick, I think you got to use that to your advantage. Call out like if you're, if you're able to do that, like maybe it's guilty on your conscience. I wouldn't feel necessarily great about it. But if that's the culture at your workplace, I think you got to embrace it. Or can you just ask them if you work from home? Hey, I'm not feeling good. I know people don't like it when I'm coming in sick. I feel like I could still do work, but I'll stay at home to avoid the germ thing. Is that the answer? Because I feel like that helps everybody.
- [109:23]
E
I think his conscience is post MLK 4 day weekend. He took the Friday off too. I think he was like, now this is excessive. I'm definitely good. And then I'm just gonna have this little cough. That's where I would have just brought the little white lie. Hey dude, not contagious. All good.
- [109:36]
B
Gotta check that.
- [109:36]
C
Yeah, that was always the worst. There were people I remember back at espn they would like, you just knew the first day that they were back from like a week long vacation. They were calling out sick and you're just like, all right, cool. So now we're pulling a double here. We're having to figure out your situation because you just got back from Disney World and you needed an extra day to somehow cope with all that and you're screwing everybody Else over. So that was always in the back of my mind.
- [109:56]
E
Mo's had a couple of those guys back in the day. Could smell it on him on a Friday. Like, oh, yeah, I won't be seeing you on Monday, will I?
- [110:04]
A
Yeah, you always know who those people are. Like, we could name them. All right now. I could do Serena. I could go five for five right now.
- [110:10]
E
Those people are Kendrick. You boned me a couple times, Kendrick. Actually, no, strike that.
- [110:16]
A
I don't like that.
- [110:20]
C
Get the quote. Get the quote.
- [110:22]
A
Panel ready again.
- [110:23]
C
Wouldn't let us send that one out.
- [110:24]
A
It seems like whenever you just start talking about sporting goods, the phrasing just challenge model.
- [110:29]
E
Yeah, it's that whole space.
- [110:31]
A
Richard's department store. Look, we're all three guys, I think, that generally show up to work like you expect. But I'm just telling you now, at this stage of the game with me, nobody ever gave a fuck if you took a sick day. Every now and then, I think maybe missing shows, I don't know. Did I miss two ever because of just not feeling well. Especially when you're the one that's on the air, too. Like, if you're just that banged up and sick, it's like, oh, I think Roethlisberger. You know what I mean? Like, nobody even really necessarily. You'd love to be that guy. Be like, I never, ever, ever missed a show. I never, ever called in sick. It's like, well, what about 99.5% of the shows I showed up for? The problem is, is there is that person out there that. That draft dodger when it comes to vacation and sick days. Like, I think there was somebody that we worked with that used to then just like, counted all of their sick days, all of their personal, personal days and then vacation days. It was just this bomb of time off, and I was just going to do it.
- [111:37]
E
Math wizards.
- [111:38]
C
Yeah, right.
- [111:39]
A
Like, I get. I get this many vacation days, and then you can. You were allowed by corporate to have this many personal days, and nobody fucking takes them. Except there's that person that's like, oh, that's just nine more days of vacation. July's gonna be sick, right? And guess what happens? Like, you can be that person and you're kind of gonna. You're probably gonna get away with it longer than you want to. Maybe there's a little bit resentment to Rudy. That means usually somebody else is always bailing you out the entire time we are talking about with this one email, right? You're sick. There's a work from home culture Already in this place. It's cool that you have these midwestern values. You sound like you've got a fucking sick frame on you. You're running faster and faster all the time. You missing a Thursday because they want you to miss the Thursday. That's not going to change anything. It's not going to change anything. And you're going to wish that you were convinced of this at an earlier age. So I'm not telling the world, I'm not telling the younger generation out there take more sick days. You already know who you are. Like, you're either that person that is pushing the limits everywhere. And maybe you get away with it, maybe you don't, but don't bitch to anybody else when the layoffs happen and you get let. Let go of. Because you know that person's always like, oh, I can't believe they let me go. It's like, do you want to sit down for five minutes and talk about why you're gone? Because it's really easy to figure out why you're not going to be keeping your job when the other people are. But I don't know that 100 attendance person has ever appreciated the way that you think you are. It's true.
- [113:02]
C
I think you're right. For me, it was always like a personal thing too. Like, I just didn't like being that guy. And I was.
- [113:08]
A
I love it, babe.
- [113:09]
F
What?
- [113:09]
A
Why do you think I love you guys? Team fucking attendance.
- [113:12]
C
When I think growing up, I think I've told this before, but like, my parents, like, you would basically. I could not, I could not take a sick day, like home from school.
- [113:22]
A
You. Oh, yeah, I got like, I'd have.
- [113:25]
C
To be actively puking.
- [113:26]
A
Yeah.
- [113:27]
C
And they'd still be like, yeah, just like kind of go get on the bus and if you don't feel well at school.
- [113:30]
A
Yeah.
- [113:30]
E
Then call me.
- [113:31]
A
You know, you're not.
- [113:32]
C
Yeah, yeah, exactly. So I don't know, maybe that just like has, you know, permeated through the rest of my, obviously my work life. But yeah, I, you know, I remember being hyped up all day.
- [113:43]
E
I remember getting like hyped up to.
- [113:45]
A
Like, you can do this.
- [113:46]
E
Oh, man, this is not, what's, this isn't how you're supposed to do it. Meanwhile, if the other kid's parents knew that they were sending like a flu ridden kid to school, you know, they'd be doing the same thing that this guy's office workers are doing. Anyway, I just remember getting that like, pep talk because she's like, I can't miss work. And so you have to figure this out, man.
- [114:04]
C
Yeah. You know, I do think there is a correlation, though, between like, the kids who, who grew up with that sort of, like, environment at home. Like, no, you're just going to have to tough it out. And the kids who just like, got to stay home whenever they wanted to. And like, you know, maybe the parents had to talk about, like, talk to the administration about like, the amount of days that they missed and they're, they're, they're drastically coming close to the one of not graduating. I'm happy in the camp that I'm in.
- [114:24]
E
Yeah, me too.
- [114:26]
A
Yeah, I like, I like us. All right, quick one here. 62190. No current gym stats, but training for half marathon. All right, goal is sub two hours. We're gonna hook you up with this other guy. Not a question. Well, I think it is, though. I feel the story has to be shared. Last night, watching the national championship with my girlfriend's family. I get along well with her dad, especially since he only has daughters and appreciates having somebody around who's willing to discuss the finer details of the Seahawks run pass ratio, among other things.
- [114:52]
E
I got one of those. That's good. A lot of points. You score with that one.
- [114:56]
A
That's what your father in law dynamic is, only daughters.
- [114:59]
E
Here we go. I'm here to fill a void. Let's do it.
- [115:04]
A
I'd love to fill that void one day.
- [115:05]
C
That's a good space. Yeah, I'll be that guy one day. I have two daughters, so.
- [115:09]
A
Yeah. Back to the story during the game when the cameraman flashed over to one of the U's more famous current students. If you know, you know. All right. Did we find out that that was actually not her and it was a different student? I'll tell you right now, sports shows seem to have been doing a great job talking about college women in the past, so. I don't know.
- [115:38]
C
I think it was her. I don't think that. Was there any debate about that?
- [115:42]
A
It might have some other thing. Yeah. All right. Let's just say we couldn't put that.
- [115:46]
E
Bet in the parlay. Let's put it that way.
- [115:50]
C
My wife asked me about that last night.
- [115:53]
B
How'd that go? Who is this?
- [115:54]
C
And I was like, oh, man. She's like, what's her deal? I was like, you know, she's just like a. You know, she's an actress.
- [116:02]
E
Internet famous.
- [116:04]
C
Yeah. She does some things. And she's like, you mean porn? I was like, yeah, Yep, I do.
- [116:09]
A
But now we don't even know. All right, so they show her on tv. Her dad and I glanced at each other from the opposite end of the couch, and I realized he knew. My girlfriend asked what was up, and I claimed surprise over the ref's call. Guess I have two questions. Nice. Did I avail myself there? Girlfriend didn't ask any further. How do I make sure this isn't weird with my girlfriend's dad?
- [116:36]
C
Never discuss. I think it's weirder for him to know. Right. Like, you should feel like you have the upper hand here. I think, in a way, never discuss it.
- [116:44]
E
But the one thing I'm wondering if the jig is up here is why did she randomly ask, what's up there?
- [116:50]
A
Must have been a real.
- [116:53]
E
Laugh. I want to know.
- [116:54]
A
Like, the notebook. They were locked in on each other, right?
- [116:57]
E
I mean, how's your poker face? Obviously, it sounds like somebody's isn't good. And you guys are both looking at each other. I'd wonder if she. If you guys made it obvious or.
- [117:04]
A
She knew and she.
- [117:05]
E
She looked at you to see if you knew. That's the question. It's not like it's.
- [117:09]
A
Were you.
- [117:10]
E
Were you guys being hot about it, or does she know? And she's actually just checking to see if. What your search history is like.
- [117:20]
A
I think you're fine here. Yeah. I think you never talk to your dad about it. I mean, I don't know what the look is, you know, because it's just been like, wow, you know, so it's sort of weird that then you would connect on it. But if it's this other. Further. Further understanding. Yeah, I think you're fine.
- [117:37]
C
My guess is it's one of those things like, both of you don't want to talk about it, so it won't be talked about.
- [117:42]
A
How would you even start that?
- [117:43]
C
That's the same. If he's like, hey, we got to talk about that thing the other night, then that's. There's no way that's going to happen.
- [117:48]
A
No. What are you going to do? Be like, oh, she's running late. Hey, you just. You get five. I want to ask you something.
- [117:54]
E
Third quarter.
- [117:55]
C
Follow up, the tension in the air there. Hey, wait, do you remember, though? That reminds me. Remember when we had Mia Khalifa on.
- [118:02]
A
We did. We did. On the ESPN radio show.
- [118:04]
C
She was such a big Danny Cannell fan, and she was like, a big Florida State fan, and, God, she was terrible. But I think she was just, like, so hyped up to talk to Danny because she just, you Know, she was a big Florida State fan growing up or whatever. And so back in the day, like, you'd send the pre show email of, like, the time for all the guests and it would be like a big distribution list. The amount of dudes that came into the control room to be like, just.
- [118:24]
A
Passing by, what's up?
- [118:25]
C
What's. What's going on at 1:30 Eastern, and just like a big old smirk on their face like, oh, you know, all right, okay. Everybody knows. And I will never forget that there were, I mean, people that I just did not speak to on that way coming in, being like, just, you know, just saying something about it. And people know, dudes know, you know.
- [118:42]
A
Did we get shit for that or did they understand that? It was like she was a huge fan of Danny because of the Florida State thing and nobody totally. It was a totally normal interview. It was kind of straightforward. But you're right, she was like, so hyped that.
- [118:56]
C
Yeah, nobody was like, hey, that's that scene, you know, when you were nobody. There was. It wasn't that. It wasn't about that. It was basically just like her kind of like fan girling over Danny for a while. And I, if I remember correctly, like, she, like. It was. It was a bad interview. It was a really bad interview.
- [119:11]
A
We should have her on again. Redemption.
- [119:12]
C
I don't think we should. I don't think we should know if you've seen her content lately, but. Wow.
- [119:17]
A
Rudy, have you done. Have I.
- [119:20]
B
No.
- [119:20]
E
She's in sports space now, right?
- [119:22]
A
Or she pivoted.
- [119:23]
E
Did she pivot from sports? I remember she was like, yeah.
- [119:26]
C
I think she's just trying to be relevant, you know, I don't know. Wow.
- [119:29]
A
In a different way, really letting her have it.
- [119:31]
C
Yeah, well, you know, he's got the.
- [119:34]
E
Mind of a producer.
- [119:34]
C
I'll leave it.
- [119:35]
E
I don't want to.
- [119:37]
A
Yeah, because there was another person that we worked with. I'm kind of kidding here because I was going to say, like, hey, take it easy. Because there was like, somebody else that we worked with that was like, well, I'm kind of friends with her. So I was just curious how this. I was like, no, you're not. You're not friends with her. You're not friends with her. This guy was famous for doing it all the time. Hey, well, you know, it's tough for me because, like, I kind of know both people like, enough to care the way you're presenting this right now, because I don't think you do. All right, that'll do for the show, really long one. But you know what, we're releasing it on Thursday. So you have all Thursday, Friday with us, which is really kind of the strategy behind what we're doing on these Fridays, because before we were launching these things and they were probably getting to the east coast at like 6:00pm on a Friday, which I imagine at that point you got shit to do. So that's why we released these on Thursday afternoon. So thanks to Tom Kevin, Kyle Cerruti, the Ryan Rossillo Show, Barstool Sports. Sa.