Hey, pardon my take listeners. You can find every episode on Apple podcasts, Spotify or YouTube Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music.

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On today's part of my take, we have an extra long Thanksgiving special for the people. We have Fred Smoot in studio. We have Kirk Cousins. We're going to talk college football. We're going to talk Monday night football. We're going to do a weekend preview. We're going to do a Thanksgiving preview. We will tell everyone exactly in the spot that they can stop the show if they unfortunately have to work on Friday, as is tradition.

We say it's like when you go out of town and you leave food for your. Your cat.

Yeah.

And then you know you have it on a timer. We're going to put you guys on timer. So you get your Wednesday episode, then you get your Friday episode.

Yeah, exactly. So we're looking out for the awl, sending you into a long week off with Thanksgiving and it's brought to you by our friends at DraftKings. Getting some holiday shopping done this weekend. Pick up some touchdowns. They're on sale at DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. What else would you expect from the number one place to bet touchdowns? DraftKings has door buster profit boosts and bet one get one promotions on all types of touchdown bets. Be sure to check the DraftKings sportsbook app all weekend for flash deals that will have you dancing in the end zone. Grab some TDs with the DraftKings sportsbook. They're on sale from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app. Use code TAKE to opt in. That's code TAKE only on DraftKings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem.

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Okay.

Hey football guy.

Yeah, Martin.

Yeah, Barn.

And my.

Take.

Yeah.

Welcome to part in my take presented by DraftKings. Grab some TDs with DraftKings sportsbook. They're on sale from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use code TAKE to opt in. That's code TAKE only on DraftKings. The crown is yours. Today is Wednesday, November 27th and John Harbaugh unfortunately owns Jim Harbaugh 30 Jim Harbaugh saying before the game, I'd laid down my life for my brother, but I would not let him win a football game. I enjoyed the Harbaugh Bowl. The Ravens are very, very good Chargers. They Quentin Johnson decided to start dropping balls again at the worst possible time. But that was a Ravens like the Ravens dominated that second half and they are who we thought they are. They were a Super bowl contender.

I think the Ravens dominated the Second half. And also the last two minutes of the first half.

Yes.

Going forward. Going forward, on fourth down.

That was crazy.

That was a great call. And you know what, I'm going to say it. If it hadn't worked out, I would absolutely kill John Harbaugh.

Duh.

But it worked out. So he's a genius.

Yeah.

But if it didn't work, fire him.

I feel like that call on what were they on their own 20, 19.

2019.

Yeah. I feel like that call was the Harbaugh bowl getting the best of him, where he's like, normally I wouldn't do this, but against my brother, I gotta fuck. You got to, you gotta fucking do this.

This was their super bowl for sure. Their mom and dad were watching. It was their anniversary. They're watching with Tom Crean.

Yep.

That should have been the man in cast last night.

Absolutely.

It should have been Jack and Joanie and then Tom Green.

I, I, I walked away from that game not really changing my opinions on either team. Like Ravens are really good. The Chargers, they have to, I think the Chargers are, are good and they have to play perfect to beat a Ravens like team. I do wonder little, little thought I had when I was watching the game. Is there a chance Hank bet the Chargers to miss the playoffs?

Well, Hank cashed out of his charger super bowl bet.

Right.

Pretty much the same thing.

Do you think he.

I didn't.

You did not. I didn't. Are you sure?

I'm positive.

100%.

I've again draft King Sportsbook. They have a great feature, the barstool betting group. All my bets go in there. So it's trackable. There's, there's proof. There's a, you know, documented history. Yeah, no Chargers to make the playoffs.

Has been placed a fully documented history of your troll bets.

Not troll bets, just smart good plays. If you want to win some money, follow me on drafting.

How's the hungry dog doing this year?

It's up to units, which is positive.

Yeah, right.

Like you want to be positive when you gamble.

Do you want to be positive about things?

So yeah, plus two units is good.

You don't have a positive mindset. Derek Henry continues to be a beast is the return of the running backs and the fact that Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley are complete game changers in today's NFL.

And I do think that some of the reason why they got Derrick Henry was just because he's so fucking big that they will, they will not forget to put him in the game late on. They'll like keep him going, you know, he's a giant looming presence on the sidelines. So if John Harbaugh is starting, starting to think like, let's get cute with it like we did in the playoffs last year. Derek Henry, he's so big that you, you're like, oh, shit, yeah, we have that guy. Let's keep running him. And he just, he wears you to, he tenderizes you over the course of a game.

And it also just further proves what we already know.

But I would tackle him by his chain. Yeah, why don't more people do that? Just reach in, grab the chain. A kib tlaib. He would have fucking ripped his throat out.

They the when he gets outside and it's just one on one, it's, it's their. Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry are the same, but they do it in a different way. Saquon Barkley, when he gets out in space one on one, you know he's going to make a guy miss. There's just nothing the guy can do. Derrick Henry, when he gets out in space one on one, the guy just can't tackle him. Especially if we're like, the NFL has gotten a little, the edge rushers have gotten a little lighter. Like the teams are playing, you know, too high safety in the, in defensive linebackers are a little bit there. It's not Ray Lewis anymore where it's like, you know, these guys in the upper £200, it's just Derek Henry can just bowl over people. And it, we're stupid, we have dumb opinions, but it just needs to be reminded that situation is so, so important in all the sports, but especially NFL. Because if Derrick Henry was still on the Titans and Saquon Barkley was still on the Giants, they'd be having okay years on bad teams and we wouldn't be talking about them. But when you put them on good teams with a ton of talent around them, that's hard to defend.

You get the best of both. Where it's like, yeah, running backs still do matter, especially when you have an elite one and they're the cherry on, on the top of a really good football team.

Yeah, maybe the Giants were right to not pay Saquon Barkley.

They were. I, I, they were wrong to pay Daniel Jones.

But I do think I know what you're saying. It's that like, a good running back on a good team is worth the investment. A good running back on a team, it'll just kind of make you like, a little bit less bad.

Like if the if the New York Giants had Saquon Barkley this year, and this is where I feel bad for Giants fans because it's basically a constant. The clip of Mara and Joe Shane like, you know, talking in the off season, that's just being hammered in their head and memes does the. He's trying to deflect from the jets where he just keeps posting like rushing yards for the Giants, rushing yards for Saquon Barkley, touchdowns for Saquon Barkley, touchdowns for the Giants, all those insult stats. If Saquon Barkley was on the Giants this year, would the Giants have maybe one more win?

Yeah, at least.

Like, they would still be a bad football team because they don't have everything else. They don't have a quarterback. So I, yeah, I think the running back position is like, if you already have the foundation in a good team and then you add an elite running back, then it's. Yeah, that's, that's where running back becomes very important and takes you to super bowl level.

It's definitely worth it. And there's, there are a few games where you can look back on and be like, one play really, really did kind of change the outcome of this game. And this one would be Quentin Johnson dropping that wide open pass and then.

Probably still would have lost. But that was, that was a 30 yard game.

It was a 30 yard gain at least. And it was huge in terms of what happened right afterwards. They give the ball away, they punt away, and then the, the Ravens go score touchdown. It feels at that point like it's out of reach. Now in that instance, if he catches that, I still, the Chargers have a pretty good chance to win that game or at least come back and make it very, very close down the stretch. Now I have a question for you about the way Justin Herbert handled that.

Yeah.

So he drops that. That's kind of been the knock against Quinn. He's had some bad times in the NFL. He's looked pretty good this year.

His hands don't always work.

They don't always work. It's okay. It happens. So when, when he drops that pass, Justin Herbert goes back and immediately throws two more passes to him in the fourth quarter and he drops both of those as well. Do you think that that was the right thing for Justin Herbert to do? To be like, I trust my guy, I'm going to try to build back his confidence? Or do you think it was very mean of Justin Herbert to keep throwing the ball to him? Or was it dumb of Justin Herbert to keep throwing the ball Is there.

An option C that the Chargers don't have elite wide receiver talent and you got to kind of just do what you get. Like, Joshua Palmer was getting these deep targets. Like, it reminds you that the Chargers.

Are the whole team out of lad.

Yeah. Glad McConkie is awesome. But the Chargers are, I feel like an elite wide receiver next year away from being a real, real threat. Because it is, like, when you throw it to Quentin Johnson in crunch time, he's had a nice season. He's kind of recaptured a little of what we thought he was going to be when he was drafted out of tcu. But it is a reminder that, oh, man, if they had a T. Higgins or, you know, one of these guys, you know, a DJ Moore or, I don't even know, like, you can list a bunch of guys where it's like, even a Jordan Addison, if they had someone.

What if they had Zay Flowers or Jordan Addison, Big Cat.

Yeah.

Hypothetically. Hypothetically, two receivers that were drafted right after Quentin Johnson.

Yeah, that would be nice.

Yeah. I think it's kind of funny that we're talking about the Chargers and we're like, they're. They're a good receiver away from being a really good team. Which goes to show you how much Harbaugh has completely flipped. What the charges were on its head.

Yeah.

Like, the knock against the charges in the past was always, like, kind of a soft team. Couldn't, like, run the football, couldn't stop the run. Their defense is very good.

Yeah. J.K. dobbins getting hurt was obviously big.

Yeah. That was.

You can't really rely on him to.

Be healthy, but he's changed the charges up so much.

Yeah.

That they're sometimes winning games that they would have easily lost in the past 10 seasons. And instead, we're talking about them like, they just need, like, a great wide receiver.

Yeah.

This is all they used.

Yeah. They used to have. And it's. It's. I mean, this is a rebuilding year for the Chargers and I. They're going to be a playoff team, and I still. I still would take, like, the Chargers can beat anyone. They. Again, they have to play a perfect game. They can't have the Quentin Johnson drop. I have a fun fact for you about the Ravens and their dominance. You ready for this? The Ravens, the only team to hold the Baltimore Ravens, under 20 points this season. Who is it?

Let's see. They lost to the Raiders, but I think that was a high scoring game.

Yeah, it was recently. Within the last three weeks. Oh, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Okay. Yeah. So the only team to hold them under 20 points. That's how good the Ravens offense has been. Before that, who's the only other team to hold them under 20 points?

The Steelers.

Week 18 of 2023 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Before that, who was the only team to hold them under 20 points?

Steelers.

The Steelers. Week 5 of 2023, the Ravens. As long as they don't have to play, the Steelers will just dominate anyone on offense.

Yeah.

So the last three times they've been held under 20 points, it's been the Pittsburgh Steelers. That was from Alex Kazor. Kazora. Sorry for butchering your name, but yeah, that's what the Ravens offense is. It's. It's just elite. And I don't even think like Lamar. What? It wasn't like one of those nights. He had a couple moments, you're like, holy shit. But it wasn't a true. Lamar has taken over this game. He played good.

Yeah.

Not incredible. And they still scored 30 points.

He did have that sick touchdown run where he did the exact same thing he did in his high school highlight.

Yes.

We just stopped at the corner and let the guy go right by him.

Yeah. Did you.

So the charges right now? I've got them. What are they? 35 to 1 to win the Super Bowl.

Yeah. Well, you don't have them.

No, no. I'm looking at the odds right now.

Yeah. Yeah. Hop back in.

I think I might hop back in on the Chargers to win the Super bowl at 35 to 1.

Yeah.

What do you have, Matt?

I have 40 to 1 and 35 to 1. So hop back in. Be a friendship thing. Not you, Hank. You're not in the friend group. By the way, you mentioned that Lamar touchdown run. So Kevin Clark had an anecdote. He called the high school coach of Lamar Jackson.

Yeah.

His name is Don Hannah. And Lamar Jackson did that kind of play against him in high school, and Don Hannah said, like, he was questioning whether he should be a football coach. After Lamar Jackson did that, he said, there's something I'm not doing to put my kids in position to be successful. The feeling stayed with Hannah for a long time. Jackson had made him question his own coaching. Fast forward two years later, and he's watching Florida State and Louisville and he can't believe what he's doing against one of the top teams in college football. I feel a lot better. Fast forward another two years later, he's doing against the NFL and no one can tackle him. And he's like, oh, actually, I'm fine. I maybe should be an NFL coach.

Yeah.

So Lamar Jackson had a guy basically questioning his existence for like a five year span off of how great Lamar Jackson is.

There's a good lesson in that. Don't blame yourself so quickly for small mistakes that you make.

Yes.

Because maybe other people make those mistakes much more publicly than you.

Yes.

So I like the idea though that the Steelers have built a defense kind of specifically to beat the Ravens. And if you can, if you can beat the Ravens, then it'll make you pretty good against everybody else too.

Right?

Right. Yeah. You just need to find a way to play the Ravens. It's basically a Kirby smart Alabama situation. If one team to beat. If the Steelers ever have to play the Ravens in a Super Bowl, I'm taking the Steelers. Yeah.

I mean, you might not beat every team all the time, but if you can beat the Ravens consistently, then you will do. You'll be hitting probably like 60%, 70% against the rest of the NFL.

Yeah. Okay. Do we have anything else from week 12 before we get in? So. So the plan today is we're going to talk college football. We're going to do the Thanksgiving games with a pick and then we are going to have an interview with Fred Smoot and then we can. Everyone who wants to stop can stop. If you have to work on Friday, you can stop. Then we're going to do all the Sunday games and then we're going to finish with the interview. Great interview with Kirk Cousins.

Try to close your eyes and figure out who's Kirk Cousins and who's Fred Smoot.

Yeah.

Bet you can't.

Yeah, it's going to be tough.

Where's hot sequel thrown in Hot Sequel.

Thrones right before Fred Smoot. So it's basically the regular show and then we add on Friday show at the end with another interview for the people. Let's do a little college football. By the way, it's brought to you by our friends at Game time. Game time, the exclusive ticketing partner of Barstool Sports. Football season is here. We can't wait to get out to some games this fall with the help of game Time, the official ticketing partner, Barstool Sports. You know how much we love game time. Now with their brand new game time picks feature, they're making it even easier to get to a game. Game time picks filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets. I was looking at tickets.

Rivalry weekend, Hank Camp Randall Battle for the ax.

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Need it very cheap, very affordable tickets. You can get in for as cheap as $35.

Okay, so go if you want to go see $28. Apologies. Wisconsin hopefully keep their bull streak of 22 years alive. You can go to Game Time Tickets and just pull up your chosen event, turn on the GT Pick setting at the top of the screen or browse the best local Game Time Pick steel near you on your Game Time app homepage. What are you waiting for? Buy those tickets to see Wisconsin and Minnesota on Friday. Download the Game Time app and use code PMT to easily score great deals. New Game Time picks. What time is it? Game time. Okay, week 13 in college football was I don't want to take a victory lap, but I'm going to take a victory lap because, and I think I speak for all of us here, we were all on the side of the 12 team playoff rules. The 12 team playoff is going to be great. Anyone who says the regular season won't matter is not seeing the big picture. Not to name names with Tom Frenelli. We saw on Saturday a chaotic, chaotic scene all across the country in games that would not have mattered if it weren't for the 12 team player.

Ole miss 2 loss. Ole miss team losing to Florida. That game doesn't matter if it's a 14 playoff. Two loss. Alabama losing to Oklahoma, that game doesn't matter if it's a 14 playoff. We had Texas A and M losing late to Auburn. That game doesn't matter if it's 12 team or if it's a 14 playoff. So having these games means so much and I know you know you're like, well a two loss team or shouldn't even be in the conversation. Well they are now because a 12 team playoff. I loved it. I loved every second of it. It basically started the Saturday started where Indiana was the big loser because of how Ohio State treated them. And by the end of the night the big winners were Indiana and Tennessee because the SEC spent all the early slate watching Indiana lose and being like, told you so we're going to get six teams in and then they piss down their leg. And now the SEC is littered with three lost teams that maybe one of them gets in but may that might even be too.

Maybe not. Yeah, so. So if you're an Indiana fan, your Saturday went as follows. Never daunted game starts first quarter, never daunted second quarter. I'm starting to feel maybe a little bit daunted, but I won't publicly say that I'm daunted A touch of dauntless second half. You know what? I'm definitely daunted. And maybe it's okay to be daunted. Maybe, maybe we're not ready to be undaunted just yet. Then the SEC games start. We're fucking never daunted. We're never daunted. Now you get to point to the scoreboard for SEC teams and anyone that says to Indiana, well, maybe, you know, you shouldn't get your ass kicked by Ohio State and just point to the rest of your schedule being cupcakes. Well, guess what? Now the SEC and teams like Notre Dame, you can't make the schedule argument anymore because Indiana, if you just look at their losses and you look at their wins and their overall strength and schedule, you can't say that you should be in over Indiana anymore.

Yeah.

So it was crazy. And now I'm going to take. I'm. I've been a big like pro college football playoff guy since they announced it. I think that having a 12 and eventually 16 playoff is awesome. It's good. Every other sport has a tournament like this. I'm going to take, I'm going to do Devil's advocate for Tom Fresnel.

Okay.

Because this thought crept into my head on the drive in this morning. Is there an argument to be made that teams like powerhouse teams are losing more frequently because they don't have that same sense of urgency every single week? Like you have to be perfect or else you do not get into the 14 playoff?

No, I don't think that's the case. I think it's the parody of the nil and the transfer portal has made it so it's a lot more flattened out. And it's not like this year is. I mean this year has had chaos, but we still have a undefeated Oregon team, we still have a one loss Ohio State team, we still have a one lost Texas team and one like. So there still would be a 14 playoff that we just never paid attention to five through 12. And now we are. You know what I mean? Like the conversation on Saturday would have just been Ohio State, Penn State almost losing to Minnesota. By the way, shout out James Franklin. That fake punt was awesome. Like it would have, it would have just shifted our eyes to we're only watching those four teams play and not the rest of the teams that are still eligible for the playoffs.

Like if you're Georgia, you don't think that there's like a small, small bit that's like if, if you, if all these games are must wins, they come Out. They play just a tiny, tiny bit more focused or harder against Ole Miss.

No, I mean, I think they play. I think Ole Miss was just the better team.

They were the better team that day.

Yeah. Yeah. I think it was a thought.

It was a thought that I had. Now I'm still in favor of the playoffs.

Tom's point. I understand. Tom's point is that the, like Notre Dame losing to NIU in the past would have been a catastrophic loss that ended their season. You do lose a little of that. I agree with Tom there. But Notre Dame's playing good ball right now. Like, I know that Army. I had Notre Dame versus Army. I thought they were going to kill him. They killed him. Army was undefeated going to that game. I want to see Notre Dame and I don't know if Notre Dame can win the entire thing, but they could probably win a playoff game, maybe two. I do think there's been such a mess at all these. All these, like, conferences and we. I mean, the Big 12 has eight teams still. Still could get into the Big 12 championship game. I do strongly think that if your name's not Oregon, Ohio State or Georgia, you're not going to win the whole thing. But I'm happy about the 12 team playoff. So it's kind of like we're going to get to the same thing at the end. But it's going to be more fun during the season because you have these crazy results that like Alabama losing to Oklahoma.

Alabama already would have had just a disappointing. This season is over before Saturday night. Then having that, it's like, holy. How do you not make the 12 team playoff? You're Alabama.

Could you see Tennessee going on a little run? Tennessee also, possibly. I was a big winner throughout.

Yeah. Yeah.

This Saturday, like everything that had to happen in Tennessee and more happened.

Yeah. I said that the Indiana and Tennessee were the big winners. The. I could. I'm still a little nervous about Nico.

Yeah. But I've seen like flashes here and there from. He hasn't been good this season, don't get me wrong. But he's had a couple plays, a couple games where I'm like, oh, this guy's really good. And I. Anytime I see that out of a young player, I'm like, what if they just become that player?

Yeah. The other big winner, we should say is the acc because now SMU and Miami in a collision course too, which I'm not ruling out. More chaos happening this weekend. I think rivalry weekend throughout the record books, there could be more chaos. We don't even See, but SMU and Clem or SMU in Miami, both of them should get in now with a bunch of three loss SEC teams.

They should. Yeah.

And Texas A and M, by the way, is still alive if they win out. So if Texas A and M beats Texas, they'll be in the SEC championship game. And if they win the SEC championship game, they're automatically in.

So there's another big story that happened after Oklahoma beat Alabama. Brent Finnables, the under fire coach, I would say for Oklahoma, that's fair to call him. He spent a Saturday night at a Taco Bell in Norman. After beating Alabama, he and his daughters spent $94 at Taco Bell.

How many daughters?

I'm going to guess two.

Okay.

I'm going to guess two daughters.

That's a lightweight order.

That's 94 at Taco Bell between a football coach with two daughters. He might have had like $70 worth of orders.

Yeah.

So I don't know how that breaks down, but I do know that that's, that's kind of a big boy. It's a big boy order to do that with your daughters.

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, hey, he deserved it. They rushed the field twice.

Yeah, they rushed the field.

There was rushing the field everywhere. Hank already pointed out because he seems to only care about our teams losing pft that Nebraska rushed the team on rush the field on Wisconsin.

It's a big win for Nebraska.

Yeah, they deserve it.

They haven't. They haven't been to a bowl game.

In like a decade.

Yeah. Been a bad, bad football team.

Yeah, really bad. And shout out our good friend Dana because he turned around that offense.

Yeah, Good shout out to Dana. Also, news breaking this morning. Mack Brown has been fired.

Oh, I thought he was going to come back.

Mac Brown has been fired by the University of North Carolina.

He said he wanted to come back after he had tried to retire halfway through the season.

He quit. He quit after JMU beat them. I think it was 70 to 50.

Yeah.

And he quit for 24 hours. I don't even think it was 24 hours. I think it was like a five hour.

Remember he told his team, I don't think I can coach you anymore. And then on Sunday they talked to Mack Brown's assistant and he was like, he'll be at work. He'll be at work on Monday.

Yeah. Don't. He says this all the time. This is Mac. So do you think Mac does. You think he gets another job, he goes back to tv?

I would say he's probably done.

Probably going to tv.

Yes. I would say he's probably done. That's interesting, because now we'll see. I mean, if. If Kirby Smart wins the national title this year, we're going to have. There's. How many national title head coaches will be. Will there be like. There'll be. Just be Kirby Smart.

Just Kirby Smart.

No. Dabo.

Yep, Dabo.

Dabo. Because Jimbo's gone.

Yeah. Harbaugh's gone.

Harbaugh's gone. Ed O's obviously gone. Urban Meyer's gone.

Saban's gone.

Saban's gone. I don't know if we're forgetting someone. I'm sure we are. And fucking this up.

No, I don't know.

I think we're right. I think that's it. So just be. I mean, obviously Ryan Day or Dan Landing could. Could join the crew this year.

Yeah, I think that's it, right?

Yeah. It's crazy. Mack Brown was the. Was the best part of the trivia question of how many head coaches currently have a national title.

Yeah, that was the. Do you know Ball question about Mac.

Last thing I wanted to talk about with college football. Do you want to do a new segment?

A new segment?

It's called our unbiased take on the Heisman Trophy race.

Okay.

Okay.

It's hot. Why is it so hot in the studio?

All right, so quick, unbiased take on the Heisman Trophy race. I have a couple things I would like to say to Heisman voters that might be listening. Listen here to.

Put your laptop down.

Okay.

All right. Put my laptop down. I have some stats I have to read as well. I'll find them on my phone. So unbiased take on the Heisman Trophy race. The first thing I'd like to say is. So I believe the Heisman ballots go out on Monday and you can send them in as early as you want. Or you could wait for conference championship weekend to happen. We know how politics have worked in the last whatever decade actually going all the way back to 2000, fraught with, you know, maybe some voter fraud, some irregularities. What I would like to say to the Heisman voters is send in your ballot early. Make sure your ballot gets counted. You get that ballot on Monday or Tuesday, you fill it out, you send it right back. So I've read conference championship weekend can change your opinion. Yeah.

There's nothing to stop you from registering in multiple states either. You don't have to worry about signature verification if you're in California. I know sometimes it'll take the voters from California maybe two Months to process the vote. So you should get them in now just so you have a higher likelihood of them getting counted. If you look at it, I think it really comes down to two guys. Big Cat. I think it's, it's Genty from Boise.

Ashton Genti having a great year.

He's having a great year. Fantastic year. You know, they're saying that he, he's doing things that haven't been done for like 30 years or so.

Hold that thought real quick.

Uh huh. I'm holding the thought. I'm holding space for that thought right now.

Unbiased, Unbiased, Unbiased. Heisman Trophy talk. Can you say that last sentence again?

Yeah. Ashton Ginty is doing stuff that, you know, people are saying that it hasn't been done for 30 years or so.

Yeah. Melvin Gordon in 2014, I can't remember what team he played for. He had 2,587 yards, 7.5 yards per carry, which is the same as Ashton Gentee, 32 total touchdowns. Now Ashton Gentee right now has 2,000, a little over 2,000 yards and 28 total touchdowns. So he could get to those numbers. Melvin Gordon played in. I think it was the Big Ten.

Yeah. And didn't Melvin Gordon, he, he put up some of those stats against a very avanted Nebraska defense.

400 yards against Nebraska.

A really tough defense with great linebackers.

Another random guy. Cause we've never this before. Again, Ashton Gentee having a great year? No, no, like he's having a great year. Monty Ball, I don't know where he played 2011. He had just south of 2,000 yards, 39 total touchdowns.

And he was fat.

And he was fat. And he did that. I think, I think he was in the Big Ten as well. We also have just random guys. Kevin Smith, who played for UCF in 2007, he had 2500 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. And Rashad Penny, who actually plays in the Mountain west in 2017 had 2,248 yards, 7.8 yards per carry, which is more than Ash and Gentee and 23 touchdowns. So it seems like we maybe have seen this before. Again, we're very unbiased here. This is our unbiased Heisman Trophy take. Yeah.

And you know, Barry Sanders did it a long time ago. All time great. Nothing to take away from Barry Sanders. He had some very, very impressive stats that are, I think currently, as they stand, better than Ashton Jinty's. So Ashton Jinty is doing stuff that has almost never been done before with the Exception of those, what, five people that you mentioned?

Well, actually, I want to give credit to Ash and Genti real quick because he has done something that's never been done before. As far as I know, he had nine total touchdowns against Utah State and Georgia Southern. I don't know if anyone else has done that. So a third of his touched or. Yeah, a third of his total touchdowns came against Utah State and Georgia Southern. So he has done something that no one's ever done. Yeah.

So. But overall, big picture zooming out. Very impressive season.

Incredible.

I'd say one of the best seasons for running back of all time in.

The last five years.

Five years, yes. Now, wait, Georgia Southern, they beat Ole Miss, right?

I don't think so.

They lost Ole Miss. Yeah, they had one big. Oh, yeah. James Madison beat James Madison. That's what it was. So you're right. Big Cat, pretty impressive season. Travis Hunter was the other name that came to mind.

Oh, who's he play for? I don't even know.

He plays for the Colorado Buffaloes. Ask me what position he plays.

Pft. What position does he play?

He plays two positions, Big Cat. What at?

Oh, is he kicker and punter?

At the highest of levels, he probably could. He could be like Sammy Ball. And he also plays a little bit of quarterback, too. They do a lot of direct snaps to him. So really kind of three positions.

Okay.

For the Colorado Buffaloes he plays wide receiver, cornerback, and yeah, occasionally he'll take some snaps as the quarterback in some running situations. Now he's doing things that nobody has ever done in the history of college football.

Not even in the last five, 10 years?

Not even in the last five to 10 years, no. And it's like every time he puts the ball, you put the ball in his hands, he scores a touchdown, which is pretty impressive. And he doesn't get bottled up in halves either. I've noticed that sometimes you can say about other players they might be bottled up for a little bit, but you give them enough reps, they're going to break one through.

Yeah.

You can't bottle up Travis Hunter.

Right.

You can't bottle him up.

Right.

The guy is. He's a beast. He is a ball hawk and he's dynamic with the ball in his hands. And he's probably going to be invited to be the to the awards for the top defensive back in the country and also the top wide receivers in the country. I believe that's. And is it the Jim Thorpe? Yeah, he'll probably be nominated for both of those awards.

I got a Question for you. Pft. So does he cornerback and wide receiver, does he play over 100 snaps a game?

Yeah. Even more than that, you could say, because you don't take into account the penalties. As our good friend Joel Joe Clatt. Oh, tell us. When you look at the total snaps that he plays, it's way over 100 snaps per game.

Yeah. So. All right, last question about this guy Travis Hunter, who I'm just learning about. So he plays both sides. He doesn't score touchdowns, does he?

All he does is score touchdowns.

Did he score a couple on Saturday?

He had a pair of touchdowns on Saturday.

Colorado. You said that he played for Colorado. Yeah, they lost to Kansas. So did Kansas throw for like a million yards or did they run for a million yards?

No, they ran the football.

Oh, they ran the football. So actually, actually he, he, he did his job and he. If you watch the game, which I didn't, but I'm just saying I might have watched the game. They just didn't throw at him because he's such a good corner.

They don't really throw at him, but even when they don't throw at him, he still manages to get interceptions.

That's crazy.

Yeah.

Wow.

Any questions, Hank?

No. I feel like it seems like there's no media bias whatsoever. It's not a popularity contest. People are, I've seen people say that. It doesn't really make sense. Like this isn't a. Has nothing to do with his popularity or, you know, the sexiness of it. It's just strictly numbers.

Well, I mean, PFT just explained it like we're, it's one guy who we've literally never seen this happen before and then another guy who we see it happen every five to 10 years and then also maybe sometimes against better competition in the Big Ten. Melvin Gordon, Monty Ball. Again, I don't know who they play for. So. Yeah, I mean, this is a no brainer. If I had a Heisman vote, I think I'd go Travis Hunter. We, we did a bad job this year. We didn't really talk about the Heisman much. So I'm happy that we're kind of at the end of the regular season when again, you should send in your vote early, often right away. No, no, I don't count conference championship weekend.

No, don't wait. Don't wait to see what happens. Anything can happen.

So send in your vote early. And it sounds like it's kind of. It's Travis Hunter. If I had to vote right now, I think I'd vote Travis Hunter.

Whose line is it anyway? You guys said you haven't been locked in, but who's who? Whose line is anyway, Would you say for the Heisman Trophy right now?

I mean, it should be like, Travis Hunter minus, like, 5,000. If everything what PFT said is correct.

Right now, it's Travis Hunter minus 800. Ash GT is plus 600.

Well, that's kind of crazy, because it doesn't seem like, again, we're. It's something we've never seen before.

I mean, minus 800 is, like, basically a sure thing.

No, no, I wouldn't say it's a sure thing at all. Tell the truth. Tell the truth.

Look at me right now. Hold on.

Tell the truth, Hank. Did you bet on Ashton Ginty to win the Heisman?

No.

No, I did not.

Okay.

And if you follow me on the DraftKings sportsbook Barstool betting group, you would.

Know that at that point, I would almost respect it. If you bet on Travis Jensen, I'll be crazy.

I bet on Travis Hunter.

Unbiased. Unbiased. Heisman Trophy conversation is over. I put my sweatshirt back on. What the fuck are you doing? What the fuck are you doing? I'm just.

I'm. I'm just talking.

Piece of shit.

I'm doing a thing. I thought I was trying to speed from the hate. Okay, my bad.

Okay.

No, you just said it was a sure thing. What are you doing?

That's not what I said.

Travis Hunter has said nine receiving touchdowns, 74 receptions, 911 receiving yards. He's got two carries and a rushing touchdown. Okay, that's a pretty high percentage, isn't it?

Back to unbiased.

What is Ashton Ginty's carry to touchdown ratio? Is it better than two carries with a rushing touchdown?

Does he.

Does he score touchdowns 50% of the time he touches the ball?

No, definitely not.

Does he play defense?

He does not play defense.

Okay, so Travis, he also plays in.

The Mountain west, which I like. The Mountain West. Great. Mountain West.

Travis Hunter, 23 tackles, eight PBUs, three picks, and, oh, yeah, he has a forced fumble at the goal line that won his team a game.

Wow.

Wow. That's crazy.

That is crazy. Hank and I don't like you, Hank.

Lock it up. Come on, Hank.

I love you.

Fucking clean it up.

You too.

All right, unbiased Heisman talk is over. That was our college football talk. I'm happy for the listeners that we were able to finally talk about the Heisman Trophy, which we haven't done all year. So you think.

You think any voters out there just hate Dion so much that they'll take a vote out against him.

Well, those people should. Those people should hand in their vote. And don't. Don't vote if you're. If you. If you are that biased or unbiased.

Be a big J. Be a big J and admit your biases and be like, you know what? I am going to recuse myself from voting because there's a conflict of interest.

Yeah.

Because Dion wouldn't answer my question at a press conference.

Yeah. And vote early. Vote often. We can't say it enough. Make sure you get that in commerce. Championship games don't really matter. Okay, let's do our Thanksgiving preview, and then we'll do hot sequel Throne and get to Fred Smoot. It is brought to you by our friends at Amazon. Black Friday football is on. It's only on Prime Video. This Friday, the Las Vegas Raiders take on the Kansas City Chiefs. It's an old school rivalry for a new game day. Join Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreet, and Kaylee Harton for this exciting matchup. Coverage begins at 1:30pm eastern with kickoff at 3pm not a prime member. Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial and you can cancel at any time. It's Black Friday football, the Raiders and the Chiefs. At 1:30pm Eastern, it's on Prime Video restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details. I. By the way, we did that whole thing and I don't know why. So Pug Max is in Philly. Pug is. I don't know what we have on the TV right now. We have like a. They're like a English, like artifact binders.

Why are we watching Pug?

What did you put on the tv?

I don't. I have Max up right now.

No, you do not. We are watching two British women look at like an old scroll.

This is a good furnishing example because it said pounds.

Yeah, yeah.

No, it was the teeth.

Yeah.

What a beautiful pair of earrings that we have here.

Oh, look at this.

Wedding present. But they actually came from my mom.

We put through her granny, so.

My great granny. Oh, how wonderful.

Oh, granny.

Absolutely stunning.

When is this? This is from when we colonized every country in the world. Our prince.

Our prince Harry has left for the United States. But now he's in a professional separation from. From his girlfriend.

Yeah, let's not talk about the kingdom for a girl.

A pedophile. Max, you're back. I don't know why we had that on.

Are you in a bathroom?

Max, can you hear Us?

No, I'm in the basement. My mic just got fucked up again.

Oh, no.

Are you pooping?

You're in a bathroom.

We should look like you're in a bathroom.

We should do an episode where we're all pooping.

Oh, that would be good. Part of my poop. Max, real quick, before we talk about Thanksgiving games, in the Black Friday game, did you. Were you able to hear our unbiased Heisman conversation?

Yeah.

Hanks a fucking asshole.

He always is.

What was that?

It was like, basically, PNCI were playing a perfect pick and roll. So was I. And Hank just showed up and just tripped.

No, you weren't.

I said it.

I said basically. You got.

Whatever he said basically.

You just tried to jinx it. You know, you've done that a million times.

I was doing. I was talking. I was talking.

He doesn't.

He doesn't. It's his life.

He doesn't know how to get out of it.

This is life I did love.

This is the Brooks.

This is.

There's sometimes when I troll sometimes.

I did love Barstool Paul being like, all he does is try to make the podcast better. And all you guys hate on him.

Yeah.

And, I mean, Hank did a phenomenal job on. On Monday's episode. I will say that.

Yeah.

Phenomenal.

Phenomenal podcasting by Henry.

Yeah. Instead. Instead of calling time out to hate like Mr. Kraft would like him to do, he literally calls timeout to hate so he has more time. I have Travis Hunter.

Like, I have Travis Hunter.

I actually think it'd be very funny if you had secretly had J this entire time.

Like, that's where it's like, you guys are coming down my throat. I'm in the same exact.

What are we doing?

We're coming down.

I don't think you did that on purpose, but I think your brain.

Yeah.

If I said it was a law, you don't know how different I said. So basically, that's opening up the idea to. To. To whatever. I was trying to play into their bit.

How was that playing along? I'm just curious.

It wasn't a bit, by the way.

Because I was doing the. Like, you guys. I was basically giving the sides of people who are against Travis Hunter, and I was giving you guys the opportunity to refute it by being like, oh, like, it's. It's a popularity contest. No. Like, oh, it must be a sure thing then. Like, no, there's a giving a reason for why it's not a sure thing, and you should vote early.

Hank, there's A great quote by Kurt Vonnegut. I think he says we are what we pretend to be, so we must be very careful about what we pretend to be. And I feel like you have pretended to be a troll so much that is actually running through your blood right now.

I think it's opposite. I think he does 50.

Your entire career is based off being a troll. This whole, like the T word gets thrown around.

How do you think I know that negative thing?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right, let's talk Thursday and Friday games. We're going to do one pick each for Thursday or. Yeah, for Thursday and Friday and then we'll do two picks on Sunday. What is the updated standings? Do we have that?

I believe Max had two wins last weekend. So Max is now a half game back of me. So he's still in last and I'm one game back of you, Big cat. I think you might be one game back of.

We're a human centipede of losing picks.

Yeah, nobody is losers.

Me and Hank, 12 and 12.

Big Cat. 11, 13.

Pft.

10, 14. Max 9. 14 and 1. Okay, so let's talk the games. First up, Bears at Lions. Lions minus 10 over under 40. Eight and a half. I am on high alert of a very embarrassing Thanksgiving.

Yeah, this is a. It's bad timing to be playing against the Lions right now as the early game on Thanksgiving.

Yeah.

Because that's going to set the tone for your entire day.

It feels. Yeah, I know the Lions lost last year to the Packers. I don't. I don't feel good about the Bears chances in this game. Did you guys see Matt Eberfus? Who, by the way, I. They should fire him after we get embarrassed by the Lions because at this point, I know the Bears have never fired a coach in a hundred years history in midseason. At this point, you should honestly tell Caleb, like, hey, we fucked up with Shane Waldron and Matt Eberflusse. Our bad. We're firing them right now. It's your franchise. You're going to have a very big part of who we hire next because it's your franchise.

So you're saying fire Eber flu after Thanksgiving after.

Right after Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving.

Leave him in Detroit.

Leave him in Detroit. He was asked about the challenge that he had of Jordan Addison where, you know, he might have gone out of bounds and they challenged the play. He says it always warrants a challenge when you have that big of a gain. Even if we don't have the best look at what we would have.

Yeah, it's not good.

Admitting that essentially, if there's an explosive play, even if you think that it everything was fine, just challenge it. Because you just want to challenge.

Rage challenge.

Yeah, yeah. It happens all the time. Coaches challenge a play because they don't like what happened, but they don't admit that.

They don't.

They want to admit. But he admits it.

Yeah.

Which is pretty crazy. There should be somebody on that staff that is in charge of watching the plays and telling them when to challenge. That's bad. It's a bad thing to think. It's a bad thing to do. And it's a pretty, pretty terrible thing to admit publicly.

Yes.

It's almost like he wants to be fired.

Do you think is David Montgomery going to play? I don't think it matters.

I don't know.

Yeah, it doesn't matter. The Lions are going to do whatever they want on offense because that's the biggest thing is the Bears defenses take falling off a cliff injury. Update Will lion play on Thanksgiving? This is Pug Pug on the computer. He sits out walk through practice. Yeah, the Lions are going to win this game. I don't know what to say. I just hope the kill plays well. Like the Lions are going to win this game. It's crazy that we are in a world where for the longest time the Thanksgiving early game was the Lions, like in the midst of a terrible season and you have the sad pilgrim guy taking a nap halfway through the game. Lions the best team in football and they get their. Their center stage on Thanksgiving. I wish it wasn't at my expense, but it is. And I understand the deal here.

I'm always curious about the pattern of Lions fans on Thanksgiving because you've had this game for a very long time. It was only yours. And I think Jerry Jones was like, I want to get in on some of that turkey action.

Give me that.

The Cowboys should have one too, but it's been the Lions tradition. What is the pattern? What do you go through? What does your day look like as a Lions fan? Do you have family over and you all go to the game together? Do you have like a lot of stuff pre made before you go to the game? Then you go home, you pop it in the oven. Do you, do you get a nap on Thanksgiving if you're a Lions fan?

I think if you go to this, are you saying guys, people who go to the game, People that go to the game? Yeah, I think if you're going to the game, the perfect way to do it is you go, you tailgate and you have everything ready for after the game and you do Thanksgiving dinner, like.

At the tailgate in the parking lot after the game.

That'd be fun.

Which has to hit so much harder if you have a good team.

Yeah. Or you could actually do it before. I mean, it's 12:30 local time. You could. You could do a. Thanksgiving. You know, do Thanksgiving dinner at like 11:30 and then left. I mean, that's. I think that's too early for regular people. But if you're going to a game, Thanksgiving dinner at 11:30, then leftovers when you get out of the game.

Yeah, you might be able to. Depending how cold it is, it might keep pretty well in the parking lot afterwards. But, yeah, it's gotta be a whole different animal for Lions fans having a good team to watch, a fun team to watch on Thanksgiving. Hopefully they. Yeah, you have a good one afterwards because eating a sad, somber Thanksgiving every single year, like, I bet people from Detroit have a completely different vibe of what Thanksgiving is like from the rest of the country because they had to deal with such shitty teams for so long that they'd be forced to watch in the morning.

Yeah.

And then Thanksgiving is probably pretty low down on their. Their list of national holidays compared to the rest of the country.

But now it's a celebration.

Now it's the best. Yeah.

Now it's a celebration. By the way, this is just a fun stat I came across since playing the Buccaneers. The Eagles and lions are combined 16 and O. So the Bucks are the third best team in the NFC. This is all I got from that set.

Yeah.

I mean, 16, 0. The last loss for the Eagles and the Lions is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's pretty crazy.

The Lions are. It's crazy. I think they're the best at everything. Yeah, I really do. I think that. I think that they're. They have maybe the best running attack in the nfc. I think they've got the best. Yeah. Max.

This is Max. He said the best at everything. Everything.

I mean, that's incorrect, but that's fine.

Well, they can't be the best at.

The best at having Saquon Barkley, but.

They'Re also not the best at running quarterbacks.

That's true.

Lamar and Josh Allen would be. I would take them over Jared Goff.

In terms of running, but I'm saying, like, as a team. Yeah, they might be the best at everything.

This is also, by the way, the biggest favorite the Lions have been since 1968. That's pretty crazy. So 1968 was the last time they were this big of a favorite on Thanksgiving, so. Yeah, they usually. It's usually a bad scene. Max, did you do you wanted to dispute that. What is the. What are the Eagles better at?

I mean, they're. They're comparable at every single position. Their defense. And the defense is better. The Eagles defense is unequivocally better.

Okay.

They are better at yards allowed per.

Game.

Which is a pretty important thing for a defense.

And they are better at. They are better at running the football.

Which is a pretty important thing for an offense.

So that's also true.

But yeah, no, the Lions are better at everything.

I'd like to walk back that take gracefully. The Lions are better than the Eagles at almost everything.

No, this is perfect though, because I love that everybody who doesn't everybody across the NFL has just anointed the lines. The winners of the nfs. They've anointed the lines as the winners of the Super Bowl.

I agree with you.

Even though when you just look, look at the stats, the Eagles are right there.

Yeah.

They're a different team than the first four games since. I mean, since Baldiani has come out.

It's.

They're the best team in football.

Yeah. The. I. Yeah, I think the Eagles are right there. I know Lions. Lions fans have also gotten to the point where they're. They've. They haven't embraced the fact that they're just like the favorites to win the super bowl. And like, they'll be mad if you pick against the Lions. It's like if you pick against the team, doesn't mean you think the team stinks. It's called a spread.

Right.

I'm one in one picking against the Lions in the last three weeks when I had the Texans and then last week I obviously had the Colts. The. Here's another stat that's going to suck for the Bears. Favorites of over 10 points are 9 and O against the spread on Thanksgiving since 2005 and 110 against the spread in the wild card era. So big favorites Thanksgiving, they just crush.

Yeah.

All right, next game. Gross. Jerry World Giants of cowboys. Cowboys minus four over under 37 and a half. I don't know. It's just gonna suck.

Is this true, Lock, or are we getting more Tommy?

I think it might still be Tommy. This is a. This is a perfect nap game.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Good timing. Good timing for the nap. I would like to see Drew Lock start in this game. I don't know if we're going to get him, but Jerry Jones came out this week. He did his. His hit on 105.3. And he said, I don't see why we wouldn't be thinking about keeping Mike McCarthy around, giving him an extension.

So they are thinking about it.

I also think there's a chance Jerry just might be with Mike McCarthy.

Yeah.

Just like he knows he's going to fire him, but he's trying to be nice guy Jerry in public.

Listen, he. Wait, what is that? Qb. What does that. Stop typing. Giants QB Drew Lock revealed final requests he made of Daniel Jones. What was that? Hold my hair.

Can I have your locker?

Yeah. They're going to shoot me. She like jokes. He wouldn't let Daniel Jones out of the building after hearing of his Release until the 4. Oh. He just. He said he was going to kidnap him. This game's going to stink.

One last thing he would do before the team. This is sad, the facility. If he leaves without doing a jersey swap. Oh, we're going to have a problem because I really want a Daniel Jones jersey.

Wow. I mean, you could go to probably Dick's and get one for $20.

I have a theory. I think Drew Locke, as you know, he's played backup quarterback a few times. I think he wants to have the jerseys of all the guys whose jobs he took, even momentarily.

Yeah. Yeah. Which I guess he technically hasn't.

So he needs to get Tom.

Oh, no. Yeah. No, he hasn't taken his job yet.

Has he been playing scout, team safety?

He might have.

He might have.

Yeah. I've taken his job there. I don't really know this game. I'm probably gonna end up betting the Cowboys and it's. Something weird is gonna happen because it's the NFL.

Does this not, though, feel like a great time to take the Giants?

Yeah. Well, it's just. The Cowboys won, the Giants got embarrassed.

Yeah.

Flip it.

Yeah. Also, I recall Tommy DeVito's season last year starting pretty poorly. Right.

Well, he.

And then. And then he had a couple games.

Where he came in, when he came in. Yeah, he had. I think there was that Raiders game that wasn't very good. And then he had the Monday night game against the packers, which is great. That was big. Yeah.

So Tommy. Tommy is capable of pulling it together. Do Italians do the seven fishes on Thanksgiving?

Yeah. I don't know if Tommy's capable. I think. I think he is what he is. We'll see. I would like to have an Italian Renaissance with. With Tommy. That would be nice. That'd be a lot of fun. All right.

How many crowd shots are we going to get of Sean Stellato.

Oh, I don't know if he'll be there.

Yo, you don't think so on Thanksgiving with all the cameras on him?

He's got to do the seven fishes.

You think Sean Salado is more of a low key guy?

He doesn't like seven fishes.

I think that's only Christmas, though.

Oh, yeah, that is Max.

What do you. What do Italians eat on Thanksgiving?

I was chomping at the bit to correct you on that. There's no seven fishes during Thanksgiving.

Lasagna Eve.

Lasagna. You guys eat lasagna?

Lasagna is an Italian Thanksgiving thing for sure.

Yeah. What do you eat for Thanksgiving?

I.

Everything.

I go traditional.

Oh, okay. Next game. Next game. Packers. Dolphins at Packers. The line right now on DraftKings is Packers minus three and a half over under 47. Tua in weather under 40 degrees, which I think is going to be like 20 degrees on Thursday night in Lambeau. He is 0 and 4 straight up 1 and 3 against the spread. Yeah, it doesn't. I'm very nervous about the Dolphins chances in a cold weather game.

I'm kind of in on two of them being a destroyer of narratives.

Well, here's the thing. The Dolphins are in a weird spot because they are five and six. They have the chance to make a run here down the stretch. They have been a good team when two has been playing and they've been obviously terrible team when he's been out. Why not have this be the game that you destroy? The cold weather narrative? I would like to see because we're taping this early. My big thing is like, is Mike McDaniel making too much of the cold? Because remember when he did the T shirts before the Buffalo game? And it's kind of one of those things where if you talk about it so much, that's all you're going to think about. He's probably watching Just let it be cold.

He's probably watching film on the weather. Yeah, he's probably got the boys in the meeting room tuned to weather.com and showing stuff on the. On the big screen about it. I don't know. This makes no sense to me. It makes no sense why I would right now start to believe that the Dolphins can win a cold weather game. But for whatever reason, the fact that Tua talked about it, I think I'm in. I think I'm in on the Dolphins winning a game. How cold?

It's going to be like 20 degrees in Green Bay on Thursday night.

I want to see what kind of haircut Tua comes out with. If he has a fresh haircut, he's not winning that.

He's got the frosted tips right now.

That's perfect for the cold. Yeah, but if he has like, if he hasn't worried about summer cut though, if he hasn't worried about getting a shape up, if he's got, you know, stray hairs, looking kind of shaggy, that's a. That's a quarterback that can win in the cold weather.

I'm not a hater, but if I were going to be a hater and I was trying to get some copium going and be desperate to try to tell myself the packers are not that good, I would maybe point out the fact that the Packers, I believe, have only beaten one team over.500.

Okay.

So I think it's just. The Houston Texans would be the only team. Are the cardinals exactly 500 right now? I think the cardinals are exactly 500.

Are you saying that the packers are fraudulent?

I'm just saying if I wanted to say, you know, hey, look at this. This is interesting. The Houston Texans are the only team they've beaten that are over 500. They've beaten the Colts, the Titans, the Rams without Cooper cup and Puka Nakua, the Cardinals, the Texans, the Jaguars, the Bears and the Niners without Brock Purdy.

Interesting.

Oh, I guess the Cardinals. So Cardinals and Texans. Cardinals are six and five. So Cardinals and Texans, two teams.

Did you just have.

If I had to just say that.

So the Dolphins record on Thanksgiving is what, 7 and 1, 2, 3. 5 and 2.

5 and 2.

Okay, that's. That's something.

I don't even remember the Dolphins playing on Thanksgiving. That doesn't even.

2011 was the last time.

Yeah, yeah. That doesn't even feel like a real thing.

And I think all these games were indoors. This is the first time the Dolphins have played outdoors on Thanksgiving. Huge, huge storyline. Destroyer of narratives, man.

He's like Khaleesi. Okay, last game Friday. Black Friday works. Pumped for this game, right, Hank?

Pumped, pumped.

Chiefs, Raiders. Chiefs minus 12 and a half over under 40. Two and a half a. No, Connell.

I think we're going back to aoc. We're just skipping over Desmond Ritter.

Yeah, I. The only take I really have on this game is. I think this is. I know the Chiefs big spreads have been, you know, they don't cover big spreads very often, especially on the road. So they're home here. And they also have struggled a little against the Raiders. I think this is a get right game for the Chiefs defense because they gave up 30 points to the Bills. They gave up 27 points to the Panthers. They've hit a little bit of a low. I think this is Spags being like, hey, guys, this is Aiden O'Connell. If I don't get three turnovers this game and, you know, and like five sacks, we got problems. So let's. Let's really do. Let's do what we should do and what we're. We're built to do and just smother them as a defense.

Do you think Antonio Pierce pays attention to the spread?

No.

You don't think so?

No, because remember, he kicks field goals in weird times. Yeah.

But some. Some of those weird times where he kicks field goals are very convenient for the spread.

I think he doesn't care about the spread. He just is addicted. Addicted to kicking field goals. And sometimes that helps.

Sometimes it accidentally.

Yeah, because he is addicted to kicking field goals. Yes. Yeah, that feels like the. Because. Why? Why? Because they covered last time.

No, they. They lost by 10. What was the spread of that game with the Broncos?

Oh, no, they. They did not cover that.

They did not cover that.

Broncos. Remind us.

But did they try to do something at the end of that game?

No, I'm thinking of the ch. The. The.

There's one.

The Chiefs game they played earlier this season, they were kicking a bunch of.

Fields, and I think it was the Rams, too. The Rams earlier this season. I want to say they. They were down maybe nine points late and kicked a field goal to get within six.

Yeah, he might.

He might pay attention to the spread.

Either way, this.

I'm paying attention to whether or not Antonio Pierce is paying attention to the spread.

I got my eyes on this game because this is what. This is my personal. The Chiefs better just smush the Raiders. Otherwise I'm. I'm not going to just go off the record. I'm going to go off how they're playing.

Yeah.

Does that make sense? Like, they. They have to. The conversation about the Chiefs being 10 and one. I think they're the 60. There's 64 teams that have started 10 and one in the NFL in like the Super bowl era. They're 63 out of 64 point margin.

Okay.

So I'm going to start really. If they win this game by six or three, I'm going to start leaning into that and being like, I don't believe this. 11 and 1. If they win this game by two scores or more, that's exactly what they should do. Smash the bad teams.

Yeah. I could also see this being the max Crosby game. Max likes to show up in very important games every now and again just to remind people that Max Crosby is like a great defensive player even though he's stuck on a shit team.

Yeah. I believe it was the Chiefs game that they kicked a field goal to cover the spread. Eight and a half. Yeah. Earlier this year. What were you gonna say?

I was looking at the. Yeah. So the Rams one as well.

Yeah, yeah.

Rams was a big one, so it was a seven point spread. I believe they were down nine.

Yeah.

And they kicked a very sad field goal at the end to get it within six.

Yeah. Yeah. What were you gonna say? The other thing?

Oh, I forget. I was just talking about Max Crosby. Like we have forgotten a little bit about. He's gotten lost in the sauce this year.

Yeah.

Because there's been really nothing to pay attention to, especially their defense as a whole has been bad. And I feel like he. He shows up occasionally on these standalone games where everyone's like, oh, yeah, remember the Condor?

Yeah. Absolute monster the this game. Oh, man, I just. I'm excited for it. That's all I really have. Wait, Hank.

I have a question for Hank. Yeah, Hank, does the NFL make sense?

Yeah. This is a big question.

No.

Oh, it doesn't.

Okay.

No, this. It would make absolutely no sense if the Raiders beat the Chiefs on Black Friday. Right?

No, but an inner inter division game.

Yeah.

I think this might be my the NFL doesn't make sense game because Pug.

Just pulled up the. Remember the first time they played this was the Mahomes. Kermit the Frog, he said it will be handled when it's handled.

But then they didn't.

Well, they cut, they beat him, but he didn't cover. Yeah, yeah. No, you're right. You don't get handle.

You don't get two Kermit the Frog games.

But he also said it will. It will be handled when it's handled. Maybe he meant when they come to Kansas City. Has actually say when it would be handled. He just said it will be handled when it's handled.

You think they delayed the handling of it?

Well, it's very genius of him because he can just wait till they beat the raiders by like 30 and be like, all right, you see that? That's exactly when it was going to get handled.

Handled.

Told you it's going to get handled.

I mean, last weekend playing down to their opponent, Panthers look good. Panthers offense look good.

Yeah. But that you're doing last weekend, this weekend, like Panthers was the NFL doesn't make any sense.

So Would you rather.

So you're chasing. You're chasing. The NFL doesn't make any sense. High.

Who do you trust more? Bryce Young or Bryce Young? AOC Bryson.

But.

Okay, the NFL doesn't make any sense.

But Bryce Young.

But the NFL doesn't make sense.

They were 11 point and the Panthers were in that game. I feel like that was the game. The NFL doesn't make any sense.

I've talked myself into the Raider. You can hear. You can hear me getting stupider and making.

Are you saying money lines? Because that's all that matters. NFL doesn't make sense because if the Chiefs win by 10, it's not like Raiders money line. Okay.

Wow.

Wow. This also will be our definitive. Is Shadour Sanders tweeting after a Raiders loss, or is he tweeting after going to church? Because this game's on a Friday, so we'll find out.

Well, he preemptively did it last week.

Yeah, so we'll find out. All right, let's do our picks. Then we'll do Hot Seat, Cool Throne, and get to Fred Smoot. Who's up first?

This shouldn't count.

It's no snake, but this actually counts more because there's less to choose from. I guess you want it to not count who's up first. It would be Pft. So I'm fine with it not counting. What do you want to do?

We count it every year, don't we?

No, no, I'm. He's saying it shouldn't. You should get to go first this time and.

No, I guess you're right.

You're right.

PF should just go first.

I mean, there's. He. There's only four games, so he. It is a benefit to go first here. Yeah.

Okay. I'm going to take the Lions.

Okay.

Until further notice.

How do you not take the race. Raiders after this? After that whole speech?

Because I'm taking the money line.

That's crazy. Lines minus 10. Take the Raiders plus 13 if you're gonna.

You're taking the money line, but you don't want to play. 13 points.

I'm diversifying. I'm diversifying my legal.

You have to take the Raiders. You just gave us the speech.

How can I not diversify my part? I'm going to bet the Raiders money line on my own. But, Hank, Hank, we're a national football podcast. I would.

National sports podcast.

National podcast. I would feel irresponsible giving out a pick like that to the listeners that tail us every weekend and live and die with our bets. And if you do that, you're an idiot, by the way, because we're awful at games.

But it's 13 points.

Wait, what do you mean you'd feel terrible?

I don't want to endorse that publicly and tell people like, hey, you just did.

Yeah, you did.

I'm not. I'm taking the lines until you're betting the money line.

But you're not. You don't feel confident giving them 13 points.

Correct.

But you feel confident them winning.

I don't feel confident them winning. I am going to do it because I want the rush of being right about something.

Okay. But that doesn't. You're. You're playing both sides.

Yes.

You want the. You want the rush of being right about something. You're not making your official pick. So then if the Chiefs kill him.

Yep.

You can be like, oh, I never said that.

No. Yeah.

Okay.

I don't. I don't want there to be any consequences to being wrong.

Okay.

How is. How is that a new phenomenon on this podcast?

You're doing a free bet?

I'm doing free bet.

Free roll on the Raiders audio. Free bet.

But I'm taking. I'm taking the Lions until further notice.

Yeah. All right. I'll take the over in bears. Lions over 48 and a half.

I will take the under in Dolphins. Packers under 47.

Good pick, Hank.

Thank you.

I'm taking the over in Giants Cowboys 37 and a half.

Although I did that last week. I was like, Tommy DeVito can't score. And the Bucks almost did it on their own.

Yeah. But. But it didn't hit Cooper Rush.

Yeah.

Can't score.

Yeah.

So you're right, Max.

But it was more of a. It was more of a sweat that I was expecting.

Max, I disagree with PFD. I will be taking the Chiefs minus 12 and a half.

Oh, okay.

I was actually going to take the Chiefs if it came back.

Okay. Let's do Hot Seat. Cool Throne, brought to you by our friends at Chevy. There's a reason we've never done a Mount Rushmore pickup trucks. And that's because for part of my take, there's only one pickup truck. The Chevy Silverado. Why is that? Silverado is a partner. A partner you can depend on. We've all spent time driving and using the Silverado for all kinds of, pardon my take, jobs, adventures and other shenanigans. Silverado has been our ride for a cross country trip to the Super Bowl. Silverado helped us dig the biggest hole ever in the state of Ohio last Year Grit Week Silverado helped us give fullbacks the recognition they deserve with the low man award. And this year Silverado was out west with our with us for our latest Grit week. Silverado brings the grit too. Legendary grip paired with modern truck tech inside and out. Massive screens, up to eight cameras with 14 different views help make driving, towing and parking all easier. We love the bold blacked out look of the new Silverado HD trail boss. So head on over to Chevy.com and build your own Silverado or Silverado HD and check out all the current offers on Silverado.

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Hank, my hot seat is me. Just unfortunate timing. Celtics are in town for the NBA cup game against the Chicago Bulls and it's this Friday, one of the only weeks we're out of town.

Damn. So you're gonna miss coach.

Gonna miss coach.

You're not gonna be with coach?

Not gonna. Not gonna see coach. He will be back in December.

Do you expect a text from coach? Just to let you know, hey, I'm in town.

No, no, he's probably busy. He's probably game planning. I don't think he's. He doesn't need recommendations. I'm sure he's just kind of like a hotel prep. Maybe go do some jiu jitsu.

Gonna leave something for him at the hotel maybe.

Yeah. I gotta find out where they're staying. But yeah, NBA Cup. It means more sad I don't get to see the. The court in person. Just unfortunate scheduling. I would like to talk to the schedule makers next year.

Yeah. Make sure they get that.

How are we doing with our bets on the NBA Cup?

Good question. I think you and I are both 5 and 1.

Oh wow.

So we'll put out our. If you're listening to this reminder, every Tuesday we put out all of our bets in on all of our socials. Pft and I think are five and one. This is. We're playing for a free bet. $10,000 free bet. I think pretty cool. So NBA Cup. I love, I love the NBA cup and I am actually a believer in the, in the, in the courts.

I like them.

I do too.

Have you seen the red ones?

Yeah, I know different.

You can't really see. I just like something different because otherwise the NBA cup was stupid in my mind. I'm, I'm, I'm. I'm totally a sucker. Admitted sucker.

They're doing Color Rush.

Yeah, I just like to be able to see the basketball.

Nah, that's overrated.

Yeah.

Okay, cool.

My cool throne is business.

Oh, yeah. He was my cool throne as well.

Paul Bisonette lose. Pft.

Or you went first.

Yeah, you should have tried to go first. He. A report came out that he got in a. In a fight in a restaurant. And then when the details of the report came out, he's just. Just like. He's like. He's like two men in one. Like, he's. He's so much more manly than. Than anyone I can even like all of us combine aren't equivalent to the man that biz is. Basically, he was at a restaurant that he goes to a lot, sitting by himself, saw a bunch of like, group of eight drunk golfers gone out of their mind trying to order a drink. And the bartender told him, no, like, you can't drink in this area. They were getting mouthy. And he just stepped in to try and diffuse the situation and they just started fighting him. Eight on one. And he.

They were getting physical with the. With the manager. Yeah, the guy was assaulting the manager. And. And Paul is like a superhero.

Yeah, he.

He got up, he's like. I saw that they were unequipped to kind of handle themselves. There were smaller guys. So nobody's sticking up for these guys. So I said, you know what? I'm gonna tell these guys where to stick it. And then he got up in the dude's face, was like, stop assaulting the waitstaff or we're gonna go outside. And then one of the dudes punched him from the side.

He got booted a couple times.

Got boot outside the city.

Yeah, I got booted. Got back up. Up. I'm sure he These guys up a little bit. Yeah. Seven guys.

He said that he dropped one of the guys. Yeah. When he got bum rushed outside.

I can't wait to see the cctv.

And he wants. He wants the guy's names. He wants to take. I think the way he put it was like, I want all their names. I want to take them all out behind the barn. One on one.

Yeah.

Which is awesome.

And he said he dropped all the charges if he could just take these guys one on one.

Yeah. Rough and rowdy.

He looks great too. I mean, obviously they really, really his nose up pretty badly.

Yeah. He's going to probably need a surprise.

Surgery, but besides that he. Not a scratch on his face.

What did he say? Can you play the start of the video real quick? He biz is the best. We love biz. And he's just. I mean, he is just so manly. The fact that seven guys, I would just get. I just get knocked. I'd probably die.

He's like, he. There was a strategy, too. He's like, you know, you can't stay still. You got to keep moving backwards because, you know, if they get you on the ground, then you get fucking. What was he calling?

Boot.

Boot.

I got boot in the CVS parking lot.

Boot.

What do you.

What do you say? Started again. What's up, gang? I just wanted to pop by because the news is out there and I'm getting a lot of texts and calls. Love you guys. Thank you guys all for reaching out and checking.

Gave a bunch.

Yeah, I just want to kind of address what happened.

I think it's. Took some. Gave more.

So you hear it from my mouth. I don't know what's kind of. I know there's a few articles that came out and news is floating around, but long of the gist of it. And I addressed the whole thing and talk way more in detail on tomorrow. It's just podcast. Like, it just so happens this happened last night. Today was a recording day, and to be quite frank, it was kind of nice to hop on with the boys and just have some laughs and. And what do you say about it? For four hours? So he said, go to dinner at this place called Houston's. I go there, like, three, four times a week.

Some of the finest staff venues, and.

Just like, good people, and I love going there. Oh, I thought he said it was a family joint or something.

No, he kept saying family restaurant.

Oh, yeah. I mean, it.

It is a chain family restaurant. Yeah, it was a family restaurant. I actually listened to Spitting Chiclets this morning to hear the full story from. From Biz. And, yeah, he's like, it's a great restaurant. Very militaristic.

He's the best. I love him so much.

Yeah, he was like, it's an awesome restaurant. It's like. It's like a military.

It's like going to eat at the military, pretty much.

What does that mean?

So he wants the guy's name.

I want the guy's name.

I'm tracking down their names right now. I'm. I'm trying to get the names to biz, and I can't wait to see what he does.

Yeah.

Because, I mean, biz is. This is the ultimate good guy move that he pulled, and it's dangerous what he ended up going through. Like, if you. If you fight seven guys at once and you get knocked on the ground and they start kicking your head, like, that's Some dangerous.

He's a badass.

Imagine blacking out in Scottsdale with your boys. I mean, that. I guess we would never be in situations where you just fight a random guy, but no, these guys got in a fight. Blackout drunk, woke up in jail, and then it was like, yeah. The guy you got in a fight with is Biz.

He's asking for your name with you.

He has a national podcast.

Yeah.

Global podcast. Because he's Canadian. So he's. He's a worldwide podcast. International podcast. And he's coming for your neck. Like, this is just the beginning.

He is just the one guy. Like, if you're like, hey, someone at barstool got jumped and he was fine and now wants to fight him all. So, yeah.

Biz.

Yeah.

And also somehow, like, just the way he explains things. I. I mean, I. It's why they're spitting. Chick was so popular. Like, wit and biz. Just the way they talk, I could just listen to forever.

Yeah.

Just him. Yeah. Explaining the whole thing. What is. What was the mellow. What do you say the restaurant was?

It's a very militaristic restaurant.

Militaristic organization.

Yeah.

Great organization.

His. Great guy. All time dude. I can't wait to see what he does once he finds out who.

This is.

The start of his John Wick story.

Yeah.

Like, imagine rough and rowdy.

Just a tournament. One right after one right after the other.

They should have to do it on the ice.

Yeah. Knocks him out.

Yeah. You want one.

Rough and rowdy on skates, you know?

So one thing that Hank conveniently omitted from his story. These are a bunch of golfers.

Yeah.

A bunch of golf courses.

He did say.

Okay, all right.

A little too. Turn it down a little.

Going through everything Hank says with a fine.

A little bit, just not actually. You're just choosing narratives and then just spitting them out there.

All right. Your hot seat. Cool throne. That was your cool throne. So what was your hot seat?

My hot seat is Drake.

Oh, yeah. Explain this to me.

So Drake's on the hot seat. Probably gonna screw this up.

Drake. Yeah.

I had this on my hot seat, and I didn't want to.

I don't.

It was too complicated. Too many conspiracies.

I read.

I read a few headlines, and then I just saw people talking about it online. So this is what I believe happened. Drake is suing his own record label.

Yep. Umg.

Because he's claiming that they artificially inflated the stats on Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us diss track, which was. It's the track that ended the battle this summer just absolutely destroyed him. The one certified pedophile. Yeah, that one. So Drake is suing his own record label because he's claiming that there were, like, bot views that gave him, like, millions of views and downloads and listens on his song, and he's saying that ended up being bad for his career because now everyone's talking about how great this song was. He's not familiar with the Streisand effect where now, first of all, if you call the cops and get, like, the courts involved because you lost a rap battle, that that might be the worst look of all time.

Agreed.

And then you're only driving more attention to Kendrick Lamar.

Agreed.

Who I get. The only person that had a worse beef with with Kendrick than Drake would be Father John Misty. Did you see that story?

No. So I'm not up to date on any of these stories.

All right, so I think it's like the last six times Father John Misty has put an album out.

Okay.

Kendrick Lamar has put an album out that same day.

Oh, shit.

Kendrick, like, sneak drop fuck is father. You don't know Father John Missy?

He's.

He's very popular. He's a singer, songwriter. Okay, but is he.

Was it religious?

No.

Yeah. Why is his name Father John?

That's just kind of his name.

Okay.

But no, he's very popular. So for the last, I think, six albums that he put out, Kendrick put out an album on the same day, just completely stealing all the shine. And then last Friday, Father John Missy had an album coming out. And then Kendrick, like, very sneakily dropped one that nobody saw coming, like, a couple hours after Father John Misty had like, a little bit of time to be like, finally, I got away from Kendrick. And he's just, oh, no, Kendrick is going to put it out again. But yeah, I think I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is a bad strategic move on Drake's part.

Yeah, I'd agree.

I don't know. I think that's where I get. I was trying to get in the weeds, and then I was like, this is. But the more I looked into it, the more I think Drake might like, he's not going after Kendrick. He's going after the label. The UMG tried to say, like, you're not mad at us. You should be suing Kendrick Lamar. And he's like, no, I'm coming at you in the closet. That they're not trying to.

The headline of Drake suing based on, like.

But I think Drake knows that, and he's like, I'm going to. I'm going to. People are going to, you know, say I'm being a pussy and like, I'm, I'm a sore loser, but this is for the greater good and I'm coming at the label.

Right. But I'm, I'm stupid. I don't understand any of this. All I saw was Drake suing in relation to beef with Kendrick Lamar, and I ended my judgment of the whole thing right there. Yeah, he's calling, like, damn. He called. He called the cops.

Kendrick, he called the cops because he got beat in a rap battle. Too bad.

Yeah, that's what they're supposed to be. That's what I'm explaining. All right, my hot seat is anyone who's trying to go after John Fanta on Twitter spaces. I don't know if you guys saw this last night, but Fanta, a. I think it was a Cincinnati fan was mad at Fanta for his bias for Xavier over Cincinnati.

Well, if you look over the course of the last several seasons.

Correct.

John Fanta has been saying that Xavier's a better basketball program than Cincinnati, but.

It happened on the court.

Yeah.

All right, play it real quick. This is Phantom in all his glory.

Adam, go.

Hey, John.

Thanks. Just following up on the cross down shootout. How bad did it hurt to finally rank Cincinnati ahead of your buddy Sean Miller this week?

This guy sucks. Didn't hurt me one bit. Adam. I, I do my. I do my job.

Cincinnati's better than Xavier right now. You've had, you've had Xavier ranked ahead of him all season until this week. I just, I figured it had to hurt. I know your buddies with Sean. I mean, just, you know, I got.

A job to do, Adam.

So, Adam, you call me up.

This is where this is. When it's over and you want to, you want to tell me.

It must hurt me to rank somebody.

Against over somebody else.

I've seen the media bias in Xavier's favor for the last several years and now, yeah, they've been a better program. They kicked Cincinnati's butt. They've been a better program by a wide margin, frankly. Cincinnati, we've been waiting for this version of Cincinnati. Cincinnati's been their butts. If they can't. You're using the past couple years.

No, no, no, no, no.

You're using the past couple years. That's your argument.

Xavier's been better than Cincinnati in every face.

If there's a media bias, I go off score. The scores of the game were Xavier over Cincinnati.

Want to add.

Tell me about how I feel about stuff. I don't lose sleep over who, where I rank a team. I lose sleep over whether I took.

The trash out on time, whether I.

Picked up the right groceries for my wife, if I'm taking care of her right now.

And the Cleveland Browns.

I didn't lose any sleep over them, Adam. But I might lose sleep because of you.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving, Johnny.

Go Browns.

No, you don't get to salvage the call.

That's my favorite. I want to make that shirt. All right, so you don't get to salvage the call.

So Fanta is. He's given off strong, strong lawyer vibes. If I ever get arrested for anything, yeah, I want John Fanta representing me in court. Bring that same passion. He sounds like Matlock.

He's the best. He's just the best. He just brings it to the people. He's ready to get in the mix with the people. You don't get to salvage a call. John Fanta. And then my cool throne is our Black Friday Cyber Monday sale. So we will have. We have new every people been asking the new pardon might take hats. You can see if you're watching us on video. We have new Stella blue merch. We also have new Stell blue coffee coming on Thursday night. Friday it is single blend, 100 Colombian. Very, very. I just had a cup of it. Very, very good. So we have hats. We have PMT shirts. We have everything. So go support us. Store.barstoolsports.com we appreciate everyone who buys everything. These hats are awesome.

They are. They're awesome. I'm gonna give the camera the wrist face real quick.

This hat is my favorite. This one is the best. It's just a football. And by the way, this is just showing how long we've been doing this. I think we're officially at the point where an established is cool. So the hat says established 2016. You can't like cell blues. Established 2022. You can. We probably need a couple more years. Establish 2016 is like, that's a while. That's cool. Because you know you can't do that on a hat. Like after a year.

Yeah.

Like if you're an ogawl, it's like cool to wear. Like, oh, it's 2016. Yeah. I've been listening since 2016.

Yeah. It's a long ass time. Although I do. I like the 2022, but I still need. We still need a few more years for Stella Blue. Okay.

Black Friday games are great.

All right, let's get to our interview. We got Fred Smoot in studio and then we will do our weekend preview and then we'll do Kirk Cousins before.

We get to Fred Smoot. It's brought to you by Campbell's. It is soup season. Perfect weather for soup. Soup will warm you up from the inside out. Soup fills in the cracks after a nice dinner as well. Today's episode of Part of My Take is brought to you by Campbell's Chunky Soup. The soup that eats like a meal. When you think chunky, you got to think of players like Chop Robinson, Frank Ragnow, Montez Sweat, Sam Hubbard, Dexter Lawrence, Jason Kelsey. These are all Campbell's Chunky guys. They're powerhouses. 250 pounds of pure, unstoppable energy from some of those guys. Chunky Chili Mac is my new favorite flavor of Campbell's Chunky. Those guys can't even compare it to how great chunky Chili Mac is. It's packed with beans and meat to keep you going strong. Chunky takes satisfaction to the max this soup season. Grab a can of Campbell's Chunky today. It'll take your satisfaction to the max. Campbell's Chunky. Check it out. Soup season. No season like it. Soup may be the most underrated meal. I mean soup every day from now until at least March. Soups the best. Also, Fred Smoot is being brought to you by our great friends over at Mugsy.

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Okay, we now welcome on Recurring Guest. One of the greatest talkers we've ever been around in studio. It is the man, the myth, the legend, Fred Smoot. Fred. Yeah. Welcome into the studio. Welcome into the office.

Thank y'all for having me, fellas. It's good to be around a whole building of talkers.

Yeah.

So now you don't feel like an outsider. Like, you won't talk about inclusion. This is inclusion at his finest.

Yeah. And no one could talk like you. So let's talk some ball. I mean, you. Are you watching every game? Are you still tuned into every game? Are you still like, man, why haven't you coached, by the way?

No, I ain't gonna do it.

Why?

I was. I was blessed with the gift of gab.

Yeah.

And guess what I do go help. I help my sons. I help his friends. I train them sometime. Coaching is a lot of damn time. Like, you gotta realize Coach Gibbs, I remember when he asked. A lot of people don't understand this. I actually kind of springboard Coach Gibbs to coming back to football.

Okay.

I was actually driving home after the season after Coach Spur, you quit on us. When Coach Spur, you quit the pb, ESPN say, hey, come. Come do an interview right quick. And I'm just talking, you know, outside of my head. And the last question they asked me, well, who gonna be y'all, coach? And I was like, the only person can save us is Coach Gibbs. He happened to be at watching ESPN at that time with his wife. The only thing Coach said he didn't want to do was ask his wife, can he go coach again? Because it's just so much time.

Right.

And she looked him in the face, said, you do want to go coach again? He was like, yeah, I do. Two days later, he was out here. Coach.

Wow.

Thank you.

That's how it happened. So I could watch Coach Gibbs come in there on a Monday. He don't actually get to see Mitch Gibbs to a Thursday night off. Friday, he spends the night there.

Yeah.

And all the coaches I watch and my friends, they're doing coaching now. I was like, man, can I give football that much more of my life?

Yeah.

No, I rather talk it. I enjoy talking it because I can get in and out of that. I can do my studying beforehand, and I can spew it out, and I can get going back to my life. Life.

I love it. Yeah, you are very good at. Could anybody talk with you? Like, was there a receiver that you'd be matched up with?

That would be my classmates. Like, if you look at My class, the 2001 class, I want y'all to go back through this class draft pick for draft pick. We might have the most dense class in each position. Quarterbacks Michael Vick, Drew Brees, running backs Ladanian Thompson. Like I can just go on with the running back. We had tons of running back, wide receiver, one of the best talkers of all time, Chad Johnson, like Steve Smith. That ain't even getting into the Santana Mosses, the Reggie Wayne's. And I'm getting into all them guys. Then we got the Richard Seymours, we got that. We got guys at every position you can think of. It ain't a position we didn't have in that 2001 draft. That 2001 draft, when it's all said and done, we might have 10 yellow jackets in that draft.

Wow. So I'm looking at the list pretty good. But was there something like Chad was the guy on the field, he could.

Give it back to you and me, Chad and Steve Smith was all in junior college at the same time with Dion Branch, Javon Walker. All us in junior college at the same time. So we yapping at each other before we even own on Saturdays. Once we get into the Saturday part up, we yapping, then the league comes and all this kind of transform into who we are.

So I. The junior college thing, yeah, I, I feel like I've never really dove into it, but what was the decision to go to junior college? Was it like you, you didn't have any offers and then how, how does it work where you're in junior college and are there guys that are like, hey, these guys are going somewhere else. And then you're playing with guys who are like, hey, this is the limit.

Yeah.

How does that all work?

Well, to me is I had the academics, I had everything. But I was about 165 pounds, I was skinny. And I did not all my, all my college, they recruited me. Of course they smart, they want me to red shirt, they want me to put on some pounds, they want to protect me. And I'm like, no, I want to play football like Fred Smooth. Just sitting on somebody campus. Being a regular student ain't gonna work for me. I need to play football. So luckily I had one of the best junior colleges in America down the street from me. Heinz Junior College. By the time I make it there, Grady Jackson, Michael Myers, all these guys leaving, they on a two peat. I come there, we three peat, national champions, we whooping everybody around the nation. So I was like, yeah, I'm going to go here, win me a couple of championships. Then I'm going Division 1, because I do not want to stop playing football. I want to get better game in and game out. And a lot of my draft class, we was all in junior college together. So that's what the big thing about junior college.

It gives you a chance to do what the other guys. Guys can't do this, like, because old Miss wanted me to come. They were like, come on, we want you to come on camping. I like, no, no, no, no, no. Now, like they say, a idol mind is the devil's workshop.

All right.

I'm like, no. Fred Smoot needs reps. I need. I need to rep. I need, and I need to rep against the best. That's one thing about junior college. Ain't no age restriction. Ain't nothing.

Yeah.

You can play against some grown men.

Yeah.

All right. So it's a whole different. The belly of the beast. So I enjoyed junior college because he taught me less.

So you're there for two years?

Well, a year and a half.

Two years, Year and a half. So. But. But when you're playing junior college, you're obviously always thinking like, hey, the next step is, I want to go to Division 1.

Yeah.

And so after you do a year and a half in division college.

Yeah.

Were the offers flooding in or was it.

Oh, yeah, they were flooding. They were flooding in when I was coming out of school.

Right.

They just all wanted the same thing for me.

Right.

And that's not to play football.

Right.

And I wasn't willing to do that. So now when I. My second chance to get recruited, now I'm getting recruited. I'm the number one defensive back in junior college. So now I'm getting recruited by everybody like I was when I came out, but now they want me to play.

That's awesome.

And luckily, my coach, Jackie Sherrill, one of the greatest college coaches of all time, baby, he recruited, like seven of us from junior college. We were the top at our positions. We came to Mississippi State, and for the next two years, we had the number one defense in college football giving up, I think, nine points a game.

Right.

So he understood I need to go get players that's ready to play now because the worst thing could happen to you at junior college is sitting. Because we play on Fridays. I'm watching football all Saturday. All I do is watch sec, so I'm watching Champ Bailey. I'm watching everybody, and I'm like, I can play with these guys.

Yeah.

So you itching to get to play with these guys. And, you know, you don't have the time that they got. So once you get there as a junior, like, ain't no, ain't no sitting no bench. You got to be ready to play. Now, right away.

Yeah.

Did you think about leaving the state or was it always you're going to stay in Mississippi?

Oh, no, I was thinking about leaving the state. I almost went to Indiana with Randall. Randall and his brother was at Indiana with coach Cam and he was going to let me play both ways, wide receiver and cornerback. I almost went to West Virginia. They literally had seven pros on their team. So I was taking trips. At first I was only taking SEC trip because, you know, it's SEC against the world where I'm from. But then after I say I get recruited again, I say I'm going to do what I didn't do the first time and I'm going to give other divisions a chance to recruit me. And that's what I did. I got to go see some great schools. And by the way, I really love Bloomington, Indiana.

Yeah.

The times that I can remember because it was a blur for the whole weekend. It was great in Bloomington.

Wait, so you, you, at what point did you decide you're not going to play both ways? Because we've talked about it obviously all this year. Travis Hunter playing both ways. Yeah. It's insane. Like I, I don't think people understand how hard it is to never come off the field.

It's hard, especially at the rate he's doing it.

Yeah.

Usually I was going to do it similar to Champ Sitting. Like I got to play offense at Mississippi State.

Yeah.

But it's, it's trick play. It's a package. It's not you are a wide receiver and you are full time corner. Because it just, usually it's just too accent too much. Not too much when it comes to being in shape, but too much mentally. Like imagine this guy has. He had to take that whole defensive playbook, then come around and remember the whole offensive playbook. That's a lot. Luckily, he's been a part of coach Prime's team since he was a freshman. It makes his crossover to that very easy. But I think what it takes on the body, the toe, what it takes on you mentally, most guys can't do it. And I think when he gets drafted travel, they would draft him as a corner.

Yeah.

And they would spot play him as a wide receiver because if he gets on a pro team, he could legitly be your best corner. But he's probably gonna be your third best receiver. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's gonna be different.

Similar thing, like where they have different packages. Yeah.

They have a package for you or two. I could see that happening, but also I could see a team saying no because he. He's skinny like me.

Yeah.

Like when we, like, pro in college. Two different things.

Yeah.

I don't know if he could take that 17 game pro. Happen to check receivers that 6, 5, 230 pounds, and then turn around and catch on DBs like Jalen Ramsey. I don't. I don't know if you can do that.

You also don't want him going across the middle. Well, like taking big hits.

Well, the thing about it is, I can't put you in and don't do stuff like, if I put you at wide receiver. You can't have limitations. We're going to play because if not us at the cornerback position, we're going to know he ain't going across the middle. I'm just going to play him outside. I'm gonna pick the ball off. It's simple mail.

It's gotta be nice for a cornerback to play wide receiver every now and again because then you get those flags occasionally.

Right.

Like every time you touch a wide receiver. I feel like cornerback is the hardest position to play.

It gives you permission to be a diva.

Yeah.

You get to play a little wide receiver. You could do a little crying. You can go over there and say, it ain't. It ain't fair what you're doing right there. And like, the one thing about receiver, it's turned into that it position. Like every kid on the playground now wants to be a receiver. Back when I was coming up, Deion was so hot, all us ex receivers, we wanted to be a cornerback. The cornerback was the glamor position. But because of college and the Nil and Jamar Chase and all these type of players, it's back to the wide receiver position. Is that it? Position that everybody wants to play.

Is it true that a cornerback is a wide receiver that can't catch? And that's why you got.

Hey, listen, man. Like they always say, man, a grasshopper tell a lie to a horse if you let him.

They always say that.

They do.

They do in Mississippi.

Yeah, yeah. Receive.

I mean, DBs can catch. Because think about it. What's harder to catch a ball that's meant for you, A ball that's not meant for you. All right, so for me to go steal this ball, I got to anticipate jump in front, catch a ball that don't belong to me, steal this ball that's the one thing about a cornerback. A cornerback is somebody that you don't take to church with you. We're taught to lie. Lie. This is how we lie to ourselves. You can beat me for 80 yards, I still turn around and tell you, oh, I'm so. I'm lying to myself. I have to lie to myself. We talk to cheat. I gotta stop you by any means necessary sometime. I hold you sometimes, I won't hold you sometimes. I do this, I do that. And we paid to steal. The more we steal, the more rich I am.

Yeah, right.

So everything that you do as a cornerback, it's kind of got this. This bad boy connotation to it.

Yeah.

So you have to mentally be strong to play that.

Yeah.

Did you ever do the trick where you'd find out what color jersey your opponent was going to wear?

And I'm gonna wear gloves.

Yeah.

Yeah. So if they wear white jersey, I'm a wear white gloves. They wear black jerseys, I'm gonna wear black gloves. Yes. So when I'm holding them, you'll never know it. See, that's them OG tricks. You being elite five, six years before you start to do stuff like that. Luckily, when I came into my meeting room, imagine walking into this meeting room as a rookie. I get drafted. Martin Schottenheim would drive me to the Commanders. Washington, it was Redskins at the time. I walk into the meeting room, Deion Sanders sitting in there. Dale Green sitting in there. Champ Bailey sitting in there. Mark Carrier sitting in there. Sam Shay sitting in there. I walk right out like, why did you draft me? Like, boy, go on back in there and learn from them dudes. I had so much. Like when I say I had just a brain trust.

Yeah. That's probably the best defensive back room of all time.

Of all time. Yeah, of all time. Nobody could compare to that defense. Come on. I just named three yellow jackets. Yeah, I just named three yellow jackets. And people with AGA over these, who the best? It's crazy what I walked into.

Yeah. What now you are such a good talker. Fast talker as well. Were you ever. Did you ever moment where you're talking shit on the field and you were talking too fast and the guy was like, I don't even understand what you're saying, Fred.

Oh, lots of times. And I think it's the fast talking plus the Southern. The Southern talk. So sometime it could come off as Charlie brownish, Especially if I'm like, really emotional about this and I'm. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I done had Reggie Wayne Just look at me and say what you like. I hope that wasn't supposed to get to me. Cause I haven't understood nothing you said the last six plays. And I'd be like, all right, I'll tell you when you get back out here. See, I was one of those talkers. I wouldn't just talk when the play was going on. I mean, one going on. They're like the snap of the ball, jam the guy. Now I'm running up the sideline. I'm talking to him as we run. Like, that's my whole thing. And I'm really just trying to get you to focus on me.

Right.

That's how I won so many battles. It wasn't because I was the better player. It's because mentally I had you thinking about me instead of doing your damn job.

Yeah.

So that's where I win these mental battles at. And don't let you mess up one time. Now it's been an avalanche.

Yeah.

Because you are who I thought you were. I told you to wear pants out here with pockets in them so you can put your hands in them. You need that, like, to make it with me today. Like, so I would just drill it on. And if I start before the game. Game. During the game.

Yeah.

And after the game, we ain't lose a drop.

Yeah.

Now they think you crazy.

Yeah.

Like, yeah. That ain't like, I'm not dealing with you.

Were there any wide receivers that were great talkers back? They're like, oh, game on.

Me and Chad, me and Plex, me and Steve Smith. Plexacoden had some. I don't think people understand how big Plex is.

Yeah.

Plex is basically a power forward in basketball, in the league. He's huge. All right. So battles with him. And a lot of people don't. Joey Galloway was a beast, especially when he was at the Cowboys. Terry Glenn, those guys. So I had. Oh, fast Freddie Mitchell, who came out with me. And Freddie Mitchell is a idiot.

Fred X. Yeah.

Freddie Mitchell. Let me tell you something. Class one, another one of my classmates, Freddie would go four. Course, we was rarely up on them because them the Donovan McNab years with Andy Reid. So they was. They was in their bag. They was winning. We'll be down like 15. It'd be like two minutes left in the game. Freddie would come across the middle, catch like a nine yard ball, and this is only catch of the game. And he would just get up and just. Fast Freddy, this style. Like, just be quiet. Dude, what are you doing? Like, if the game is over with. You're not part of the offense. What are you? Every chance I get, Fred, they gonna feel me. And that's every pro athlete. Like, that's why y'all see a five yard catching a wide receiver, get up and give you the first. Like, it's hard to get those things to happen. So I understand why people celebrate them.

Yeah.

Who's one guy in the, in the league right now that you would like to match up against? You look like you could still play, by the way.

Oh, don't let it fool you. The one thing, listen, this, this old truck right here got a good paint job and a bad motor, all right? But I would love to play a against a lot of these dudes. I love to play against Ceedee Lamb. I love to play against the ones that come off as arrogant. Them, the ones I want, the quiet ones. You won't see me come at them at all. Like a Devonte Smith that barely says something. Just goes out there and burn you and go home and watch tv. I'm not going to really say nothing to him. But A.J. brown. Yeah, but see, A.J. brown is from Starkville. That's where Mississippi stated. That's why him and Forbes got this thing going on because he went to Ole Miss. This I played against DK Metcalf. Daddy. Terrence Metcalf. He came out of my class with me.

Yeah.

Me, him, Deuce Metallister. Like our all star team in Mississippi, we played the all star team from Alabama. High schoolers. We had 11 pros on our team for me, Deuce McAllister, Ken Lucas, met Kel. They had one pro on their team, Jamie Winborn. And they beat us.

Damn.

By seven points.

What happened?

Our quarterback, Romero Miller, threw an interception. Larry Castro ran it back. They beat us 7, 0.

Oh, so you did your job on defense.

Oh, we did our job on defense.

Shut them out.

But at the end of the day, they just showed you football. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Sometimes the best coach team will win most of the time.

Yeah, I would put, I mean Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, those three states right there in particular. What is it about those three states that produce so many high level football players?

We running from some. We're running. We know we can get out of whatever situation we is by that ball. That ball can show you the world. I remember one of my young coaches, I mean youth coaches telling me this. You want to see the world? This ball will show you the world. You do right by this ball, it'll show you the world. Then you, you Built in a different way. Like, when we start playing football, we start playing at four or five years old, like, and we trying to get out there with the older guy. They ain't gonna quite let you unless you, like, like, oddly built or something like that.

DK probably.

DK was out there. He was probably out there. He was three years old, probably out there. You know what I'm saying? He's huge. His dad was huge.

Yeah.

But, you know, once you earn your stripes there in Mississippi, I think you think you could play anywhere because you're just not. You're not starting as a ninth grader in Mississippi. Like, it's unheard of for a guy to even have that chance to do that. Just too many greats. I think about it. This is the home of Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, Brett Favre. I want to go yellow jacket for yellow jacket. Mississippi is up there, baby. We got hall of Famers from Jackie Slater, Walter Payton. I can keep going now. Like, we're there when it comes to football. And I know Texas, Florida, California, get all the love. But California, you a whole coastline. Texas, you could be your own country.

Florida, come on.

Like, y'all huge compared to us. But if you put Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi together, we got just as many as they do. Yeah, that was one state out of Mississippi, Bama.

Yeah, that would be a great.

Like we would have. When it comes to sports, we would be right up there with everybody.

Yeah.

Louis Abama. Yeah, that'd be what?

You gotta have some Orleans in there, too, man. You gotta have some Louisiana in there.

Yeah. So last time we had you on was, like, five or six years ago. Twitter got bought by Elon Musk for $44 billion. You invented Twitter.

I did. Nobody believes it, but I did.

Smooth smack dot com. The invention of Twitter, where people could just go online and talk shit to each other.

Yeah.

When you saw $44 billion, you're like, fuck.

You know what?

That would have been nice.

Why am I chasing this brown football when I should have been. I should have been chasing my intellect.

Yeah. Like that.

Why they say never want to be on the team. Want to be the team owner.

Yeah.

It's a difference. But when you grow one of. I say this. We did it. And it was me and a couple of my classmates, and I was. I was like, man, I just need an avenue to get at these guys. Cause they usually, like, try to talk trash to me after the game. That ain't good enough. I need to talk trash before the game.

Yeah. You were just basically searching for More trash talks.

Yeah. So we went to the Internet. We started to build it. We built it out, and I was shocked because they were starting to respond to me. Like, I knew I was going to lash it out, but when they started to respond to me, that's when I think it caught on.

Yeah.

And once it caught on, it was good. And then when I left to go to the league, you know, when you leave college behind, you leave everything behind. And I left it behind, and I should have kept it. I should have nurtured that baby. I should have grew that baby. Instead of Elon Musk app, it would have been Fred smoothing. All right? And I. And I would have came here and be like, oh, I like barstool. Let me buy everything.

Yeah, you would have. 44 billion. What would you do with $44 billion? First purchase, man, you know what?

This the thing we do. We get to see billionaire habits. Because every team is owned by a billionaire, and you get to see a couple of billionaires, and most billionaire, they. They usually go be villains and be in a yacht in the south of France. Ain't that where villains go to just live and enjoy themselves? It just. I think as a millionaire now, you can have what you want, but a billionaire, you can create what you want. It's a different thing. Like, a millionaire could go visit an island. A billionaire could buy the alley. Like, so it's a different dynamic to the airness of them both.

I feel like you'd be a man of the people.

As a billionaire, I'm still gonna be who I am. I'm never gonna change that. That's why I love the Harris group. And the owners we got now the commanders, Magic Johnson. We have the most approachable Mitchell rails, the most approachable billionaires in the game right now. You can. You wouldn't even know they billionaire. They don't even act like billionaires. And I had to ask these guys, how did all y'all become billionaires? Cause all of them from the same little spot in Maryland. Like, you would think these billionaires would be spread out. But even with Dan. Dan was from Maryland. I was like, what's going on in Maryland? What are they teaching in elementary that they not teaching in Mississippi that you, too, can be a billionaire.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So staying on the commanders, we talked real quick before we sat down and started taping. You didn't want to waste anything off the air. So, yeah, you were telling me why I should not be worried about the commanders and should not be worried about Cliff Kingsbury later. On in the season.

You shouldn't. We just. We at the infancy. We had to start of something great. Nobody would have thought we'd been seven and four. Right now we got rookies that hadn't had a break since last year before their college year. For some reason, some idiots put out our bye weekend week. What? 14?

Yeah.

December. Bye.

That's ridiculous. These guys just got their first break on a short week on a Thursday night game. You talking about Ellen bodies? You talking about hurting? You talking about testing your depth. You talking about texting your coaches, your players, everybody physically, mentally, emotionally. That's what. That's what's going on right now. That's why you see us get to the fourth quarter and it just die. I just ain't got that energy. Think about this. They ready to crown Pittsburgh Steelers, the best team on earth. They just got out of Northwestern Stadium.

Yeah.

Like they just got out of Northwest State. We're one inch away from Zach Ertz. Leaning in different ways. How about this is what I want to say too. I'm tired of the old referees. I want youth. Yeah, I want youth. I want my referees to be able to see 400 yards and run 800 yards. All right? I'm tired of the old dirty old man. I'm tired of it. Get them out. Get them out. All right. We got to get these plays right.

But.

But Philly got out of there by the Herald, Nate Chitty, Chin Chin. The whole state of Pennsylvania just got out of FedEx by the hair of a chinny chin chin. All right, we're right there. If you're gonna tell me that Philadelphia and they super bowl wonder right now. Pittsburgh in a Super bowl wonder. We're right there and we ain't supposed to be there. So relax.

Okay? Juice me out.

I like it. Yeah, I'm excited. I'm back in now. Yeah, I was never out, but it starts. You start to think about it. Things have looked different for the last.

Couple weeks that just tell me you got spoiled.

Yeah, you got spoiled.

When we had them numbers that you knew was going to go down, you knew he wasn't going to be able to keep that up. At third down. He was 80% on third. Like these numbers one did by Tom Brady, you knew they had to come back down point.

Yeah.

Come on now. We have to be realistic here. All right? Like I told him. Now, you can lie to a lot of people in this world, but lie to yourself. That make you ignorant.

The grasshopper horse thing. I've heard that people say it all the Time. Grasshoppers tell a lot to a horse. If you could.

Yeah. He also. Fred had had a great line because I was guaranteeing something and he said the only guarantees is you're a past baby and a future ghost.

Yeah.

That's it.

That's it.

That's it. Now in between, that's up to you.

Yeah.

What you do. But we know for a fact we don't remember stuff from being no baby.

Yeah.

We just know we used to be one.

Yeah.

And we ain't gonna remember much about being a ghost. We just know we gonna be one. Good, bad or ugly.

A difficult question, but I have to ask.

Please.

The Love Boat. I know we talked about it six years ago, but I saw you did a quote where you're like, I wish people would stop bringing it up. Because it wasn't even that cool. There's no way that it wasn't that cool.

First of all, let me ask you something.

You had a double sided dildo.

And let me ask you something. Have you. You've been to a bachelor porter before?

Yeah.

You've been to a bachelor before. Was it the end all be all?

No. But there were fun times.

It was fun times. And guess what? We had the same ingredients y'all had at y'all. Bastard. The only way. My best. It could have been better than yalls. If I. If an alien would have flew down and came down. A female alien. I didn't have no female alien at mine. Like, it was like people try to glow it up. I think it. Because it was just a lot of millionaires doing this.

Yeah. It was also funny.

Yeah.

I mean, a Love Boat.

Yeah, definitely.

That's funny.

But guess what? The Vikings been doing this since the early 1700s.

That's true.

They been going to villages doing this for a long time. We just got into character too much.

That's right.

And it wasn't nothing but a. You know, every team has its rookie party. All right. And that's basically how they haze us as rookies. All right. Mine, I had to take my guys to Capitol Grill. The whole defense, they ran the tab up for $20,000. It hurt me with this one. They took up money, we threw a party. That was it. It only got blew up. Cause we got caught. Yeah.

Cause someone pissed. Right. Someone pissed in the wall.

Somebody lying.

Yeah.

And that's it. And I like. Because no rules were broken. It was a legit bachelor party.

What do you mean by rules? What do you mean by no rules were broken?

Well, you know, take a couple rules. No no, they tried to say some rules were broken, but at the end of that we all just. We got charged with disturbing the peace. We, we paid a fifty dollar fine when it was over with each.

And I'll tell you what, getting charged with disturbing the peace, that's a pretty badass charge. Yeah, I would love to get charged.

Well, disturbing the peace on the lake. Yeah, the lake of Minnetonka. You know, ain't but two people been watched in them waters. That's me and Prank. We the only two right there been washed in the water. Lake Minnetonka. But I always said it was over, it was overhyped because guys like to come. They say, oh yeah Fred, they'll come nudge you. How would that party like? And I'd be like, what you doing, old dirty old man? Like, what you trying to do? But everybody thinks it was the I've been to Betapor parties. I'm sorry, not. I've been to better parties and I'm sure y'all have too.

Okay.

Like it was just, it was Ricky's money getting pushed to the limit. They gonna enjoy themselves. The veterans ain't really sized.

They chilling because they saw in their rookies.

Yeah, but they more secretive anyway. They ain't doing nothing. But the rookies they are, they are out of control. They don't care. You. If I had to give you this money, I'm about to enjoy myself.

Yeah, right. If somebody gave me millions of dollars when I turned 20 years old, I would have done some stupider shit.

That's what I always like to ask people. Let me take you there, P. Yeah. 25.

Yeah.

I give you 10 million in jail. What do you think the one thing that's going to kind of lead you ascrate is going to be your friends.

Yeah.

Is it going to be you trying to do too much for this? Go too much, be in the streets too much? Or is it. What do you think would have been that one vice that had been like.

I think I would have found new vices.

Oh, that's what it is.

I think you give me $10 million when I'm 25 and I'm like, I will try anything.

Yeah, well, why do people look at athletes and be like, that's a damn shame, I wouldn't have did that. Yeah, no, it's when they're 40 years old.

Right. I think it, I think it's a weird thing where you see pro athlete 23 years old and in your head you're like, that guy's older than Me, Even if you. You know what I mean? Just because they mature. They're mature and they have the money that you can only dream of. So you put a. You put PFD's, right? Like 23 year old me. You gave me $10 million. I'd be dead.

No, that's most people.

No, that's most people. Because now it ain't like, imagine this. I always tell people this. Imagine waking up on just a Saturday and you can go anywhere in the world you want to. And you in your 20s. That mean if I can make it up in my head, I can go there. I can wake up like, mm, I'm going to Alaska. Yeah, I'm gonna see y'all. I'm out. Like, nothing stopping you, but you.

Yeah, right.

So whatever you can dream of, you can do it. So imagine just having one simple thing. Having a. A girlfriend that just like to be spoiled. She can get up in the morning. I want to go to Paris. All right, let's go to Paris.

Yeah.

Now you're in Paris for four days. You didn't plan to be there. Now I'm in Monaco for five days. I ain't playing to do this is like, it just happens.

Yeah.

I also think it's like when you grow up, that's when you learn to love sports. That's when you watch a lot of sports on tv. Yeah. You got your favorite team, you watch these guys. And you're so ingrained with the idea of watching that when you were a kid. That's how you learn to love the sport. That even after you, after you age out of that and age past the playing years.

Yeah.

You still have that somewhere deep inside where you think professional athletes, grown men even like, compared to me.

Yeah.

It's like. So when I watch Seinfeld now, right?

Yeah. Yeah.

I'm older than the guys on Seinfeld, which. Which up my, my brain.

Yeah.

Because I grew up being like George Costanza's. He's like, you know, a middle aged man I'll never be. Now I'm like six years older than George Costanza was during Seinfeld, but I still think of them as adults. Same thing with professional athletes, I think sometimes.

Yeah.

Also, it's just, I think some people like to just complain about people that make more money than them. So they'll see an athlete be like, look at these entitled, spoiled brats, you.

Know, like, like we didn't work for that our whole life. And like, it wasn't that big old E if over there. Cause we all One big if from not making it to the league. If we ain't hurt our knee, if we didn't ball out that game, If I didn't choose this school, I could have did some just easy as just choosing the wrong school. And I don't make it to the league. Coach don't play me. Coach don't like me.

Ooh.

Just that one simple thing. But for some reason, when athletes get to the league, people think we run the damn lottery. You know, it takes no energy to win the lottery. But I've been putting. I've been lifting, running my whole life.

No.

Knowing it wasn't guaranteed that I was gonna make it to the league, Right?

Yeah.

Well, maybe not lifting you right, about that. Yeah. What happened with the one bench press of the combine?

Listen, I told them this. Look, you see how long my arms are?

Yeah. There you go.

Do you see it?

Yeah.

I have the reach of somebody. Six, four.

Yeah.

If you want me to bench press, it's gonna be harder for me to do it. So I said, you know what I'm gonna do, what the guys don't do. Cause most corners and receivers do not do the business.

They don't even get on there.

I said, I'm gonna give them what they want, but I'm only do it one time. Like, I got on there, did it one time. I racked it. I said, you ain't come for no bodybuilders. Y'all came for an athlete. Come on, watch me run. So we went outside, and all the scouts watched me run and do my drills.

I'm like, oh, so you could have done more?

Maybe one more. One more.

That's a good way to spin it, though, to be like, I'm only gonna do one. Yeah.

But that's it.

I'm not gonna tell you that. All I can do is two, but I'm only gonna do one.

And guess what? One of these scouts and one of the coaches, DB coaches walked up to me and tapped me on the show that way. He said, you know what? I'm shocked you even got under there. DBs don't even get under there. YC don't get under there. They tell me a lot. They tell me, you don't care about humility. They just ain't a part of who you is. I like, I don't care nothing about that.

Yeah.

Like, it is what it is. They can't beat me playing football.

Right.

I don't care about them out benching me. Y'all don't say he benched 500 pounds after I get a pick.

Yeah.

Y'all just say, he out here playing football. He good at it. Yeah.

I feel like that doesn't translate at all. Especially the cornerback. I mean, you want to know that somebody's strong. Right? You know, you want to know that somebody's willing to tackle, but I don't.

Want you to be so strong that you stiff.

Yeah.

Like, when you see athletes or guys walking around Gold Gym and they walk around there like this, they can't play sports. They're not flexible enough. They are one big muscle rat. All right? And we even say it when the guys walk in and we draft a guy, and I'd be like, oh, he too much muscular. Like, he. He ain't gonna be. His flexibility won't allow him to have a longevity in football. He gonna tear muscles.

Yeah.

Every. Every year. Not me. I could be at the bottom of a pile looking like Gumby, just rubbery, and I'm gonna jump right back up.

Yeah.

Everybody talk all that about how much I. Bitch. How many games did I miss?

Yeah.

Yeah. Not a lot.

No. Thank you.

You were a tough motherfucker because either.

You got it or you don't.

Yeah.

Weights won't save you.

Yeah. When you. When you ended up retiring, how. Because you seem like a guy who loved being in the locker room.

Locker room was my thing.

Yeah. Right. So how long did it take you to mentally, like, get out of there? Yeah. Or like. Yeah, you retire. I know. It's. It's a hard. It's a struggle for some guys.

It hurt. It hurts you mentally, because now you feel like you by yourself for a first time because them 52 other brothers from 52 other mothers, they ain't. They ain't rich. You every day and think about it when you sit in a locker room, all 53 of us got the same problems, whatever those problems may be. Family. Not really loving on you no more. Just want you for money. Could be. We. We. Hey, did all us choose the wrong woman, you know, like, so if we got these same problems that now we're just talking to each other, leaning on each other about. And now that's gone. And it ain't really gone because you can still call your brother up, up. It's just that it don't come full serve to you on the platform.

It's not there every day.

Every day. Now you got to reach out for it right now. You got to reach out to you, man, how you doing? You know, how you doing, brother? I'm doing good. So I think it's more the mental separation. I think about this being in love with something or somebody for 30 plus years and she just divorces you cold. That's what football does. It just quits you, you quit it. It don't matter.

He's being quit right.

And I don't think it's everybody love. Money don't get that. But it's some stuff football can give you that money can't buy you. Yeah, that crowd walking out there, a hundred thousand people. Imagine this. Imagine how mentally stimulating it is to have a hundred thousand people saying your name simultaneously at one time. Smooth in the ground, just started shaking. You can't buy that with money. All right. The energy just coming through your body that becomes addictive. I want it over. I want y'all to say it over and over and over again. You can't get that, that competition of one up in another, man. Did everybody say this is the greatest athlete in the world? I just one up them so. No, he not now. He ain't the biggest gladiator. I am. That's why I say the only thing that could literally beat football is that gladiator sport to me is boxing. Because ain't nothing badass like walking around saying, I'm the heavyweight champion of the world.

That's true.

I could kick everybody's ass.

Baddest man on the planet. On the planet.

That's the only job I think that could one up the quarterback position at football.

Everybody calling you champ all the time. That has to be awesome.

Not just champ. Imagine how your girl feels when she walk in and be like, my husband could kick all of you turds. Like, not all of you. Yeah, all 8 million of you. My husband can beat all 8 billion of you. If it's somebody not from Mars, my husband will beat you. That's badass.

That's true.

One of my favorite quotes of all time was I think, did you say 2/3 of the water is covered or.

2/3 of the earth is covered by water and I cover the rest? I said that in contrast college.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Was that true?

Most definitely. I felt that way.

Is there a guy that, that you couldn't guard?

It is no guy that I couldn't go. It's some guys that give you more problems. I would 10 because we, we had got into the tall corners when I started to come out. Well, for a tall corner, your kryptonite gonna be a short receiver. So if you checking a guy like Santana Moss, he gonna give you hell. You see it tight now with the big Cornerbacks, when they go against the smaller receiver. But put him against Calvin Johnson. He has no problem with Calvin Johnson. It's the guy that he can lose sight of. So when I said this, I was just feeling myself in my bag, you know, you're in school, you got all this useless knowledge in you. Let me mix this with a little football and run with it. You know what I'm saying? But I wouldn't say it was no guy. I say Tyrone Calico, when I was in college, probably gave me the most problems in college. He end up being a hell of a player. Kind of cut short by injuries in Tennessee, but he was a hell of a player. So I played against some guys. But if I get to play against you more than once, I can solve the problem.

Did you guard Calvin Johnson one on one?

Yes, I did.

What was that?

Like, he's the biggest human being I ever seen in my life. Like. But I have no problem with tall guys because I'm. I'm not going to lose sight of you. You can look. I have no problem with. To. No problem with Randy. You ain't got. You ain't gonna see me on their highlight. Cause they ain't burning me.

Tio was so good. There was one thing about him, though, whenever he would play against you guys.

Yeah.

He was afraid of Sean Taylor.

No, you damn right.

Yeah.

Like, come on. Because one. Hey, Beast. Let me introduce you to another Beast. Like, because the one thing about Sean is he's their size, but he's faster than them. And that's the craziest thing about it. I remember one day we were sitting in the back of the huddle and Levi Arrington and Sean were talking in the huddle, and I was like, is it me? Are they the same damn size? Yeah, like, they just say, like, when we got him as a Rookie, he was 240, 245, sometime played at 250, and he's still the fastest man on the damn field. That's unbelievable. Like, it's something when the 1%, the top 1%. Because once you're in the league, you part of that top 1%. But then it's the 1% of the 1%. Sean was the 1% of the 1%. Meaning he's sticking out amongst the 1%. You can still be like, he different.

Yeah.

Coach Gill would talk about it. He different coach, like.

Yeah.

Cause we can't control him. When I say can't control him. He had one speed. We'll be doing walkthroughs, you know, walk Throughs touching people. We're not. Not. Sean, come right down here. And we doing. We're doing ones against ones. Clem Portis, get the ball. Come right down here. Sean, mow him down. Coach be like, come on now. Half speed, no tackling.

Yeah.

Height. Mow him down. And he'll be like, coach, if they put the ball in their hands, I'm gonna mow them down. He dead serious. Like, when he just. When he comes to practice, he clicks in and it's all I remember one day, I don't know if he was a little late or what. This dude comes out there with blue jeans under his football pad. I said, something that happened today.

Yeah.

I said, ain't right. And he just started mowing through people. I like, dude, Greg will. You know, Greg Williams loves this type stuff. Like, so even though Coach Gibbs telling them, lay off, Greg just got this grin on his face, like, let him lose. And that's what tight play was. Your teammates is not safe. We was on defense together, playing against Dallas. We beat Dallas. Dallas. But I got Jones on the running back. Jones, I got him. I'm holding him. And Sean just come knock the whole powder down. He hurts me. He hurts Jones. I have to go to the hospital because he lacerated my kidney. Oh, my God. Jones got a concussion. And this is the people that was in the pile.

Yeah.

Like, so that's friendly fire. That's all of above. Like, I'm laying in the hospital, can't fly back with the team. Cause he lacerated my kidney. So that's what type player. Like, the one thing that I just always wish I could have seen him play out the career. Because that last year we were heading to Green Bay. This dude leading intercept, leading the league in interceptions. Got like 6, 7 at this time. He headed for 14 picks this year at the rate he's going then he had slimmed up. He had slimmed up. He was like 220 pounds, so he ain't faster right now. I was like, man, because me every. All they were talking about, like, dude, this dude keep going the way he going, he gonna be the best safety ever played again. And Air was like, yeah, man. Like, he is. So when you got a guy like Ed Reed agreeing with you on a situation like that, yeah. That tells you the depth of this player because he had Ed Reed's ball skills exact to the tee, but he hit, like, running lot. That's. That's the perfect safety. If God's building a safety.

The.

His name is Sean Taylor.

Yeah. All right, well, Fred, this has been awesome. You are. You're the best. We got to have you back on again. Not wait six years the next time. I got one last question. Rollback question. Rhode promo code. Take 20 off your first purchase. Qzips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts, roback.com promo code, take. This isn't even a question. It's just that you did a Reddit AMA a few years ago.

Yeah.

And someone asked, what should I eat when I get home? And you said, if possible, my friend. Low in California salaries. I was just funny.

I just want to say no, I did not say that.

Yeah, you did.

No, I'm gonna tell you who said that. I had a guy that used to do my PR and I let him run.

Your PR guy?

Your PR guy said he has the foulest mouth of all. Because I. I did read it like once or twice, but I did all mine visually. Like, I got on there and did it and I just let him do. And he did that. You gotta realize my mouth is filthy, but my mouth filthy in person.

Yeah.

You will never see me, like, look at my Twitter. You see anything wrong down. That's crazy. Like, I don't write things down. That's crazy. Yeah, that was all him and I let him have that one.

Also, you, instead of saying eating pussy, you would have said running through the okra patch.

Right.

Thank you.

Yeah.

You know, I say mine with a little bit more mystery to it.

Exactly.

Now people have to come and ask me what's running through the okra patch. It heals what it sounds like.

Yeah. Like.

But other than that, I'm more. I'm more clean, pure. Because I didn't did the. The top of the line medias. So I know how to say what I need to say and how I need to say it.

Yeah.

Now.

Yeah. Grasshopper and a horse. Yeah. What is that again? What the hell is that again?

No, no, it was a grasshopper. Tell the truth to a horse.

Okay.

You let him.

Yeah. Oh, man. Well, Fred, thank you so much, man. We really appreciate it.

Hey, anytime, man. Thank y'all for having.

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Talking some games. We'll rip through a few of these because we're obviously taping on Tuesday. So there hasn't been a ton of new news, but I wanted to start with the Seahawks at the Jets. Jets plus two and a half over under 41 and a half on DraftKings sportsbook memes. What. What most recent news have we heard about the Jets? This past week we have hired an outside company to find our GM.

What outside company is that?

That'd be the 33rd team.

Okay. What do they do?

They are consultants to the owner to.

Find a proper GM to lead your team.

Are they a media company?

Kind of.

So like hiring barstool sports?

Pretty much. But the Commanders also just did that.

Ah, well, they had an extensive search and they hired the. But it was the executives from the Golden.

It was led by the.

It was led by these guys. Wait, Mike Tanenbaum? Is that the guy who said that you should trade Miles Garrett to the Lions and the Lions should give up three first round picks? And Jameer Gibbs, he was doing media. Is that.

Is that the same Mike Tan bomb that hates Josh Allen and said he would never have drafted him?

Say same guy who has a winning.

Record as a GM as the jets with the Jets. Memes, how old are you again? 29. People keep making fun of me for that. Why? I don't know. Why. Why do they make fun of you for being 29?

I don't know.

No, no, that makes no sense.

It's me.

He doesn't like when people think that he's. That, it's a compliment. They're like, how is he that old? I thought he was 22. Which pisses me off because I get the opposite.

Yeah, well, that's. That's weight related, max, just so you know. Because I get the opposite.

You think?

Yeah. People are like, oh, you're 50. So, memes, you're 29. So how old were you in 2008?

Ish.

2008. Let's do some math.

13.

Okay. All right. So my question is. So there was a report that came out that Aaron Rodgers is so injured that he doesn't want to do a scan on his injuries, but because he doesn't want to be taken off the field, this report coming from most likely Aaron Rodgers. When the shit goes down and he's like, oh, yeah, actually, you guys don't even understand how injured I am. Memes. Has this ever happened to the jets before? If a player played their injury? Yeah, that actually kind of hurt. Hurt the team? Not that I could remember. Okay, so you're too young, because it has happened before. And it was a former packers quarterback named Brett Favre who tore his bicep and decided to keep playing through the injury and basically was so bad at the end of his jets run that he should have taken himself out, but he didn't. It's insane.

They started 8 and 3 that year, too. Yes.

And then he tore his bicep and he basically was like a. Going to play through it. Because I'm Brett Favre, similar to Aaron Rodgers, who obviously, they didn't start 8 and 3, but is playing through an injury. They are just living the same life.

Wait, do you think that. You think Aaron Rodgers leaked this news?

Probably.

Even though the same news was leaked when Brett Favre was the quarterback.

What do you mean?

Yeah, like that might be coming from Woody Johnson.

Yeah, true, true.

Like, he's. He's the one common denominator in all this. I think he's. It would benefit Woody to get the story out there that. That Aaron Rodgers is being an insubordinate dick and he's injured and he's costing our team games.

I think it helps Aaron Rodgers, though, a lot, too, to be like, he's such a warrior. He wants to stay in this game.

That's. That is true.

Yeah, he. He's.

He.

You guys don't even understand what he's dealing with.

Yeah. So he refuses to get scans.

It's Brett Farv. Brett Farv did that in 2008. He Basically, after the season, had to get surgery on his torn right bicep, and he's like, yeah, it. It kind of affected me. Yeah, like torn right bicep. Memes.

Where are you seeing that the commanders hired the 33rd team?

Spielman, the other guy that's not Townenbaum.

Was part of the search for Adam Peters. Right. I agree with that. I just don't think that they hired the 33rd team.

What do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean?

I mean that. I don't think that they hired the 33rd team to try to fight. They might have had Spielman. They might have had. Had the guy from Golden State warriors and some other guys. I just never heard that. So I was. I was wondering, Wash, what is.

What. What's going on here?

This is a blog on the. On the 33rd team.

I'm confused on who the 33rd team is. So I know who the 33rd team is, but I don't really know. The jets hired the 33rd team, did they not?

Correct. Yes.

Yeah.

They hired the organization. Now, I will say that being a coaching and executive search firm is the best job in the world. Yes, it is the best. In fact, the 33rd team had a blog up, I think, like, two weeks ago saying, here's who they should look at hiring if they do fire Joe Douglas.

Yes.

So, like, they had. They had blogged it. So they've got their own list that's ready to go that they had also hopefully shared with the rest of the league.

Yeah, no, it's. It's. I mean, it's Ernie, of course. He's Bill Polian. All these guys who are basically. They just. They. They get a million dollars to be like, hey, here's the person you should hire.

Yeah.

A friend.

You should hire Ben Johnson to be the coach.

Yeah. I think the Seahawks are. Their defense is really good. And this is. This is basically. Gino, just. Geno, stop throwing picks in the. In. In the end zone. Gino, you guys can be good. You guys can go to the playoffs. Just be good. Geno. Geno, revenge game.

Yeah, Gino, revenge game. That's huge. The Seahawks are the team that is just impossible to figure out.

Yeah.

Every time you think they're good, they're bad. Every time you think they're bad, they're good.

It's the entire NFC West. One of those teams is going to go to the playoffs.

You Know that the jets are bad.

Yeah. And.

But the Seahawks. I.

But Aaron Rodgers is hurt.

Aaron Rodgers is hurt. But they had a buy.

But we don't know how hard they had a buy.

He might have gotten healthy.

Yeah, he might have gotten healthy.

I. I don't hate the Jets. I don't hate the jets this weekend. At least they're not favored anymore. That was a weird stretch where they were.

Yeah, it was very weird.

Very weird memes. Do. Do you think that the jets have a chance? I think they might.

Nope. Okay. Yeah. I think Kenneth Walker is gonna have a day. Yeah, probably. Probably. And a lot of guys are going to quit and then some guys will be fined for a job for next year.

But the season is over.

Yeah. Oh, wow. I think that was the first time he said that.

Over, over.

Fully over. All right. Steelers at Bengals. Bengals minus three over. Under 47. I like the Bengals here because the. Zach Robinson put.

Zach Taylor.

Zach Taylor. Sorry. Zach Taylor put ping pong tables back in. In the Bengals locker room.

Yep. Being in.

That's it.

Being a head coach is a never ending cycle of taking the ping pong table out and putting the ping pong table back in. I saw an interesting quote about that, and it came from their kicker. Evan McPherson hasn't had a great season.

Nope.

He said he felt the Bengals teams over the past three years have been really close, that ping pong has played a role in that because players spend time with the teammates. They might not otherwise.

Yeah.

It sounds like Evan McPherson as a kicker is left. Like, it's. The only way that people hang out with me is if we're playing ping pong.

Yeah.

Can we just get, like, the punters and the kickers to feel like they're part of the football team?

Yeah.

He might not be wrong.

Yeah. No, he's not wrong. And he's. Yeah. Zach Taylor on the ping pong tables. Returning to the locker room creates a little energy, gets guys to interact, creates competitiveness.

Competitiveness all the time. You compete from the time you step foot inside those doors.

By the way, President Pug is doing a great job on the computer. He's pulling up for us something that Max would never do.

You're crushing it.

Well, Max is too busy with his add Just like throwing a football to himself.

Got Pug. Screw.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Government name. What are you doing?

Pug has nice, delicate little skinny fingers that are able to type much faster.

Yeah, he's doing Pug. Max, Pug's putting you to shame right now.

I mean, sorry. I Got fat fingers. Yeah, no, we had to.

We. We might have to have Pug sitting in here. He does the computer Max on the couch. Yep. Be nice. Also, Jer. Brin Pratt guaranteed a win. I don't really know if you can be a Bengals defensive player and guarantee a win.

No, you probably shouldn't do that. The. The Steelers didn't look awesome against the Browns, but I'm going to chalk all this up to just AFC north games.

Or you could do. Well, this is AFC north game, so.

Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm saying.

You could do George Pickens. It was a snow.

It was a snow. Pickens got in a fight after the game with a defensive back. At first I thought he was fighting a. Yeah. Turns out it was a db. The Bengals being favorites. Does that make sense?

Yeah. I think the Steelers are on fraud watch for me.

Okay.

Yeah, I do. I mean, their defense is very, very good. I think they're on fraud watch.

Tomlin, as an underdog, though, we always say it.

Oh, for sure, the Steelers absolutely could win this game, but this is a game that if they. If the Bengals get life back in this, I'm putting the Steelers on fraud watch. Especially with who the Steelers have. Have the rest of their way.

The ping pong table.

They got to play the Ravens again. I think they play the Chiefs. I think they gotta play the Bengals again. Steelers have a very tough schedule down the stretch, and I don't know, like, who The Steelers have beaten a lot of bad teams. And the Ravens, who they always beat, they also lost the Cowboys. You know what I mean? Like, I. I just think if you look at the Steelers, I'm. I'm not saying they're frauds. I'm just saying fraud watch.

Did they beat the Chargers?

They beat the Chargers. When Justin Herbert couldn't walk. Yeah, he literally had, like, severely sprained ankle. And I remember watching that game, he couldn't move at all. He couldn't do, like, play action.

Beat the Broncos.

I think they did beat the Broncos. That was Bo Nicks, his second start.

In the NFL Commanders when the Commanders were looking decent.

Yeah, but I mean, Raiders, Giants, jets lost the Cowboys. Who could lose the Cowboys?

No one. Well, they had Dak, too.

Yeah, they did attack. I just. Again, I don't. I'm not putting the Steelers under frauds. This is their fraud watch game because the rest of their season is Bengals, Browns again. Then they have to play the Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs, Bengals. That's really tough. If they leave, if they let the Bengals back in Here because I think the Bengals have a little bit of easier schedules. They let the Bengals back in this thing. The Bengals will most likely be playing for something in week 18, so it's like a double whammy against them. They're hurting themselves twice. They got to win this game. And then I'm not. And then they're off the fraud watch. Okay, next game, Cardinals at Vikings. Vikings minus three and a half over under 45 and a half. I think the Vikings are going to win this game.

Okay.

Hanks taking notes?

I am. Again, the Cardinals kind of fall into the same line as the Seahawks with me, which is, I'm not really sure how, how, how to peg him at all. Yeah, I can't peg the Cardinals. I do think that the Vikings are a legitimately good football team.

Yes, I do, too. I, I, I think I have a read on the Cardinals. Ish. And it's if you can run the ball, their offense looks explosive. When they can't, it looks broken. I think I said this two months ago. Vikings can stop the run. So that's why I like the Vikings.

Vikings can really stop the run.

Right. And the Vikings is the first time they've, they've been home in three weeks, four weeks. They, they've, I, they think they played three straight. No, they played two straight, Three straight road games and they've been playing tough games. I think it's going to, I just like the Vikings in this game.

I will say, though, that if the Cardinals win this game, I will believe fully in the Cardinals.

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

This is like Kyler would be locked in if he, if they somehow win this game on the road, that would be a huge win for them.

Yeah.

But until they do, I just think that the Vikings are very. I believe in Sam Darnold. Still think he's having a great season. He's had a couple of missteps. But, like, I still think that what we see now is Sam Darnold. That's who Sam Darnold is now.

Agreed.

I don't think that he's going to suck down the stretch or turn into a different player. I think he's legitimately good quarterback right now. If the Cardinals can go in and win this game, then I will be like, yeah, Cardinals should win their division.

Yeah. Yeah. Agreed. Next game, the Tennessee Titans at the Washington Commanders. Commanders minus five and a half over under 45 and a half. You have to win this game. PFT.

We said it last week, must win.

But you have to win this game.

Must win and can't lose at the same time.

You have to win this game.

It's a. It's a double must.

How. How are you and Hank, by the way? I noticed you guys didn't sleep in the same house the last two nights.

No, we haven't been speaking.

Yeah, Memes is. Memes is legitimately. Memes is the child that, like, if mom and dad disagree over, like, they get in, like, a little spat because they're going driving somewhere and they get lost. Yeah, Memes is like, oh, my God, they're getting divorced.

Yeah. No, we're fighting over the radio. I want Kendrick on. Hank is a huge Drake fanboy, so we're having those arguments in front of Memes, and. Yeah, it's kind of. It's kind of awkward. Memes does think that everyone's breaking up all the time, though.

PFT was in the gambling cave yesterday going to every single person saying, did you see Hank.

The clips of Hank. Well, so. So what's interesting is they came to me yesterday. So who's that? Little update. People in the gambling cave that happened to be around at the time. They came to me because they'd listened to Monday's part of my take, and they came up to me. They said, hank is so full of shit.

Who?

They're not on trial here.

I have sources.

The walls.

All right, I guess we'll do an unnamed source off.

Okay. So the walls came up to me, and they said.

Because I heard what meme said. You were just walking up, trying to find people to know that's not the case.

No, no. They. They came to me, and they said. Said, Hank is so full of. I listened to Monday's part of my take, and you were absolutely picking up on Hank, trying to, like, secretly root against you during that game. And then they said, we can actually find the clips. And so there Hank was showing people his future bet on the Commanders not making the playoffs and laughing whenever the Commanders would do something bad. The Cowboys do something good. You were showing it around, and you were laughing, and they sent me the clip.

Is this true?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Before you watch the video. Hank, is this true?

I showed someone the bed slip. I think that someone also might have went to jmu, which I is interesting. Interesting piece of evidence. The jury member that we're talking about here.

Mm. So you.

So I wasn't laughing. I was not laughing when the Commanders did something bad. I laughed when they missed the extra point, the same way I laughed when the bears. Like, that's just like a train trauma laugh.

Yeah. Yeah.

Trauma Laugh now, but, like, showing someone.

A bet slip because again, I also showed them the commanders to win the super bowl bet slip. So it's, like, true. I have the commanders to win the Super Bowl. If the commanders make the playoffs, I will be commied the out.

All right, so do we have the video here? The videos, Pug.

Oh, too loud, too loud, too loud, too loud, too loud.

Okay, that's the missed extra point. There's Hank laughing.

Where's the laugh? Where's the last. Where is the last?

Zoom in, Pug. Can you. Can you make it big?

I am going. I have my hand for the podcast. I have my hand over my mouth.

Okay.

I was going, oh, my God. Oh, my God.

We should start at the first one because I think the. The first.

I jinx. Pug doing a great job. He's all over the place now.

I think it might be the other one, Pug, because that's one where he's showing the bets.

Yeah, the one that's first.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so here's Hank looking at his phone, and this is after the spin move touchdown showing EBO Commanders missed the playoff.

There wasn't a laugh. He's just showing.

Showing the bet slip and smiling.

Okay, that's. I mean, that's not guilty of anything crazy. That's the clip. Yeah, there's.

There's more.

The clip would be more damning. There's more like if he had, like. If he had, like, pointed to you and then throat slash. Okay, this is the second clip.

He's an A plus receiver, but he.

Doesn'T have a quarterback.

Now, keep in mind, Hank running and left laughing.

This is. Pause it. Pause a. Pug positive Pug. The laugh there was because before that clip, that was when you turned around and told me to suck your dick. And you. So after that, after you said that I was actively rooting against commanders, I was happy they lost. After that, everything before that was nothing. So that smile that I had after they missed extra point was literally after you turned around to me. DX sucked in my face and said.

You, Hank, I didn't suck my dad in dx. There was no dx.

Okay? The.

The entire. The entire reason that people.

Let's play the third clip because I'm curious where the smiles and laughs are.

The entire.

If you're gonna pull this evidence, show it. And let's show the evidence. Show the evidence.

After listening to Monday's show and told me this was because they listen, I. Hank can bet however he wants. I think it's a Funny troll bet. But then Hank try and convince me that he was not rooting against the commanders.

That.

Where is the evidence of me rooting against the commanders? You just showed evidence that proved nothing that you just said.

Show showing the bet slip and then laughing. And then.

Wait, can we show that again? I don't think that was laughing getting up.

I don't see a laugh around the.

Clip one pug. Clip one pug. Please show me the laugh here.

Cuz.

Cuz. Cuz. Eo laughs Patriot scored touchdown.

One for two and got it. Need the late card.

There's. There's some smirking going on.

So we've gone. So we've downgraded from laughing.

Can I say something real quick sidebar with upft.

Mm.

Okay. I've watched these clips. Listen, Hank's a piece of shit. He's a troll. He's a piece of bad guy.

Correct.

I think he might be too much in your head right. Right now.

It's a possibility.

I think you're overthinking Hank's existence a little. Memes is nodding right now.

Well, the thing memes. You don't get to do that.

I think he might be winning because you spent 48 hours collecting that.

Now, see, no, here's where I'll disagree with you. I have not done any collection. These are people that are out there in the company that agree with me, that think that. Hey.

And again, well, let's try. Where'd this person go to school?

Well, it's multiple people actually. Hank.

Who else? All right, who else?

There were three people yesterday that were telling me about this that were. It's just convenient.

Name their names.

You're right.

It's like, why.

Why are you protecting their identity?

I'm going to send their. I'm going to send clips to you.

Because I've had, like, in your head, and I'm destroying you.

I've done zero. I've done zero sourcing. These are all people that have come to me and said. Said Hank's piece of. He was rooting against you all game. Hank can root however he wants. My whole thing is, you have no evidence I accurately picked up on Hank.

We have a whole stream.

And now Hank is saying that I did not accurately pick up on that. That's my whole thing. And if me caring about that is Hank being too far in my head, then guilty is charged. I am. I am 100% guilty of Hank being in my head again.

Like, I really don't care. I know I'm in your head. I know I know. This is a dub for me. You went on this whole soliloquy on Sunday about how you picked up on these things, and you have evidence that was on stream. The evidence that you just presented proves nothing, what you just said.

Well, I didn't have people go back through the entire stream and pull things out. They just sent. What? No, I didn't. They just sent these clips to me. I didn't ask them to go through the entire stream.

Did you ask any clips?

When they said we can find the clips, I said, yes, send them to me.

Max, do you have anything to say? Max is in his bathroom taking a. See anything? Just good wi fi there, Max.

Yeah. Oh, here he is.

Oh, Max. No, he sucks. You suck, Max. He's got nothing, I think. Yeah. I mean, again, I have your back in the fact that Hank does root against us and he is a troll, and these are all facts, but he's gonna. He's gonna kill you by you. Like, he's. You're all consumed by Hank.

I am consumed by Hank a little bit.

Right.

But I needed somebody healthy. I needed somebody to take the sting off losing to the Cowboys and Hank is a great scapegoat to have around, but I'm just saying facts are facts. Hank was rooting against the commanders, was pretending that he wasn't.

The facts that you're. The evidence that you're using to prove those facts is just prisoners. Nothing like. That's where it's like, I would actually. This was a court of law. Like, I'd be even more innocent than I was on Sunday.

I probably. I probably should have that.

Innocent was. That evidence was horrible.

Okay. The. The evidence. The evidence was shown to me.

The evidence showed something, but not really the full. Like, he wasn't, like, laughing. He just showed a bet because the game was going a certain way.

I have circumstantial evidence. I did not go back through the footage.

You're gonna have to. I.

No. Then Hanks. In my head, I think. I think I will concede the point to Hank that the evidence is not as compelling as I was told it would be. And we can move on from there. We're still not going to talk?

Yeah, don't talk.

Great.

Max, you're back.

I'm back. I'm back.

Okay. Thoughts?

I think I've been in pft scenario.

Right. I have, too.

Something about Hank.

Yeah.

That when you're going through it and you know that he's happy, that it makes you angry. He does a good job of it. It's Good for the show.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I'm. I'm not completely faulting PFD because I've told Hank to suck my dick many a time.

Yeah.

For really no reason.

Yeah. Yeah. No. You. What you're saying, I agree with. Because I. I've been in this. I've been in PFG shoes many, many times as well. That's why, as an outsider in this spot, it's like, there's nothing you can do. You got to just give it up because he's gonna drive you nuts.

He's driving me nuts.

Another good way to show you're losing Max. The PFT is that Big Cat and Max both would love to have evidence that goes against me and call me piece of shit and say, you're right. The fact that they can't and they're tiptoeing around being like. Yeah, but just means, like, they know I'm 100.

Right.

They just really don't want to admit it.

I mean, I've been. Yeah. I've been in your shoes many, many times. I mean, the. The Wisconsin JMU game when he showed up in all purple, and he's like, I'm. That was our purple. That was. That was for work. And I wish that was.

Literally.

This is the point. At some point, I wish you didn't.

Speak to me that night.

I wish I had a point where I. Someone had been like, hey, just give it up.

Because he's.

He's. He's going to just destroy you mentally. That was because of his existence. So, yeah.

Little peek behind the curtain here. I'm not. I'm not actually mad at him. Hank, at all for any of this.

Yeah.

But he is driving me insane. The fact that he won't admit.

Correct.

That he was doing something.

That's all I wanted as well.

That's all it boils down to.

It's like, Hank, he's really good.

Hank is very good at his job. He's a very good troll. He's doing a great job stirring things up. And even though his bet go, his bets go against me. Guess what? That's betting. You're gonna bet against your friends at some point.

Tommy's future.

You're allowed to do that. But then when it gets down to him denying something that is true, then I start to be like, I. I'm going insane.

Yeah.

Hank is driving. Means I need this Thanksgiving break to get away from Hank.

Yeah. No, he has a very good ability to just make you insane.

Yeah.

And he's done it to all of us.

You're doing a great job.

Hank Memes, you've had it too. Where Hanks made you go insane again.

This is where the existence things comes in. It's like the Patriots playing the jets means.

Yeah, no, no, I don't.

No, thanks.

So listen, I'm sorry, guys, I'm. I really.

I mean, when. When Hank just literally says we're thinking about hiring someone to, to help with your load, you're like, I want to kill you, Hank. You're trying to fire me.

Yeah, well, that's just life related.

Doing his job as a good boss.

Hank's name and memes his phone was enemy for years.

I didn't know that.

That's insane.

That's good. That's good to know.

That's good.

It's henrol now. All right, so as it pertains to this game, I'm just gonna take Washington.

We have to win this game and we gotta win it decisively. I'm again, I'm officially concerned about the offense right now. Here's a thought experiment for Cliff Kingsbury. Close your eyes and imagine Terry McLaren lining up on the other side of the football occasionally. Because he only has him line up on one side like 97% of the time. He's never in motion. He's an awesome player. Let Terry move around a little bit. The Titans do scare me. Every team scares me now.

Yeah.

Right now. If you were to look at the commanders and say, are they a good football team? I think the answer is no. I don't think that they are at all. So we, I mean, we still control our own destiny. If we can just manage to beat teams like the Titans and the Saints.

Yeah.

And the Falcons just got to win this. And the Cowboys.

All right, let's do rapid fire. A couple of these games that are kind of gross. Colts at patriots. Patriots plus three over under 42 and a half. Anything, Hank?

I think the Colts. This is a game where Anthony Richardson is bad against like complex defenses. The Patriots defense is bad. I think this is where he'll have like four touchdowns.

Yeah, I could dominate.

What are your thoughts on Gerard Mayo? Basically simming football games where he's like, I can't do anything once they're out there on the field.

Yeah, that's bad coaching. He's, he's, he's bad with the media.

Yeah, we talked about that on Monday. Where it's just like. Don't say that.

Yeah, don't, don't.

That quote makes no sense.

What was the game? Was it. It's not Madden. Was it football? Like football coach. Head football coach.

Yes.

Where you just like do everything except actually, yeah. Football manager is the one where you like do the transactions, get your team prepared during practice and then the game happens and you just hit like six him and you don't get to control anything. That's what, that's what Gerard Mayo has been doing.

Yeah. He needs that bad. Yeah. I did this game. I don't. It's gross. It's gross game.

I think it's a cold.

Yeah.

I think Anthony Richardson.

All right. Goes off couple other rapid fire because it's. These are not the best bucks at Panthers. I. I mean the Panthers playing a lot better. Maybe they. Maybe they keep this one tight too. Panthers are plus six over. Under is 46 and a half.

Yeah. So Bryce Young has looked good.

Yep.

I saw, I saw people doing cut ups of the. All 22 of Bryce Young throw for good reasons which I've never seen before. They look, they looked like he was actually slinging the ball. Like he was dropping him in some tight windows. He was decisive with his throws. I just like the Bucks too much.

Yeah.

I feel like that was a very. That was. They say that there's no moral victories in the NFL. The Panthers had a big time moral victory last week.

Yes.

That was huge.

They.

They blew the Chiefs out morally. Yes. But. Yeah. Baker's on a mission right now.

Baker.

I like the Bucks.

Baker. Baker. Baker. Baker. Baker. Houston at Jacksonville. Jacksonville -5 overs, 43 and a half. I. I just had Urban Meyer didn't know who Mike Vrabel was. That was a crazy story from the man in cast.

Was that a joke that he always.

I don't, I don't know if it was a joke, but I, I believe it too.

If it's a joke, I'm gonna start using that line.

Yeah.

Just like people I know very well.

Yeah. So who are you?

Who are you on the couch?

Yeah. But this is a. If Houston wants to get right going through the December stretch and make a push, this is the game. They have to do it.

Yeah.

I can't believe Doug Peterson. How.

How has he not been fired?

Did he wake up every morning during the bye week being like, okay, today's the day?

Yeah. In a way, I actually was thinking this is. This is worse than being fired for Doug Peterson.

Yeah. This is a way to get back at him.

Where you have. You go into the work. You go into your office every morning into work, you tap your key card and you think to yourself, this is the Day where my key card doesn't work anymore and it works. And you're like, what the. And you have to do that over and over and over again. At some point, having it not work has got to be so relieving to you because you've been thinking about getting fired for the last probably seven, eight weeks.

Yeah, he's just been flinching all week.

He's been flinching. He's been flinching at the door and he's like, somehow this is still going on. I would really like to just play golf.

Yeah, maybe. I mean with Trevor Lawrence back, maybe the Jaguars do something. Maybe they could.

I mean, I don't really believe in the Texas that much either.

I don't know. Yeah, no, I don't either. This is a gross game. It. The Texas need to win this game. This is a proven game for the Texans. Take care of business. Chargers at Falcons actually is a pretty good game. Chargers off a loss, Falcons off a buy where I forgot the Falcons existed. We did do a great interview with Kirk Cousins coming up, but that is. They were one of those Jaguars and Falcons kind of both. I just kind of forgot about their existence for a week.

Loser leaves town.

Loser leaves town.

If Falcons lose, they can still. They can still make the same with the Chargers. Yeah.

Loser. No, this is not. Loser is.

Loser is slightly more for real.

Loser. Loser got to the town limits and then turned around and went back.

Loser called a realtor.

Yeah. Loser looked around in another town. Yeah, they're going to stay put.

Loser checked on insurance rates in a new city.

I do think the Charger Rogers offensive line against a weak Falcons pass rushes is a mismatch in this game. It feels like. And then Rams. Saints was another one that I had listed that's like this. I mean the Saints have already left town, but Rams, you have to win this game if you're the Rams. There's a lot of back against the wall games this week.

The Saints left town, but then they came back. Yeah, they're like a cat. You, you hated this cat. It shit in the house all the time. You drove it outside town limits, left it like opened up the door to its crate, put it out in the forest and then the cat came back. Yeah, the cat showed up and the Saints, they've looked like a different football team since the Rizzler has taken over.

Yeah, the Rizzi Rizzy. God, he's doing the thing. But yeah. Don't you feel like this is the last stand for the Rams?

Yes.

You have to win this game. Yes. Go Win this game.

If you don't. If the Rams don't win this game, then I think your pinky's 100% safe.

Yes, I would say. I would say it's already safe. That's why I made it my pinky team. All right, a couple games that are good games. The last two, Eagles at Ravens Ravens minus three over, under 51. I'm going to say right now, this is my if the Eagles win this game, they're for real game, Max.

So what does that mean if they lose?

They're not for real. Me.

Not for real.

Can you hear me?

Yeah, yeah, we can hear you. They're not for real. They have to win this game.

So losing on the road at Baltimore, like, they just have to win every single game to be for real.

Yeah, that's why I did that. Because I've done that a couple weeks and you're like, what the fuck? Why is every single week they have to be the win this game to be for real? I was trolling you, Max.

Nope, nope, nope. That's me being dumb. That's me being dumb.

That's okay.

That's okay. I'll do you win this game. The Ravens do stop the run very well. Are you worried Jalen hurts maybe has to win this game?

No.

Yeah.

This is a tough game.

Yeah.

This is obviously a tough game. I'm not going to overreact one way or the other. Other, actually.

No.

I will so overreact if they win this game. If they win this game, they're favorites to win the Super Bowl. But I'm telling myself I will not overreact if they lose this game. It's going to be a close one. Sirianni hasn't coached too well with decision making in close games.

I still.

I do think Sirianni is coaching very well right now. I'm worried about a close game. I think this game might come. Come down to the kickers. There's two kickers that haven't been great this year that are historically good. I think. I think the kickers are going to. Are going to be a factor in this game. That's my take.

Okay.

Okay.

I would say the winner of this game, I would put them firmly as the second most likely team to win the super bowl in each conference.

Yes. Yes. No, I. If the Eagles win this game, I don't know why they wouldn't be just as likely as the Lions.

Lions are better at everything.

They're that way right now. But. Okay, wait, wait a minute. You said if the Eagles win This game, they're second most likely.

Yeah. Yeah, they already are. But I. Yeah, I. I'm with you, Max, in the fact that I. I know the Lions have been killing teams, and I know the lines look really good, but I think the Eagles. Like, if those two teams play, will. It will matter a lot where they play. Cause if the Eagles can somehow get the one seed, I think that changes the entire dynamic of the NFC playoffs. But I think that's as evenly matched a game as you can get.

Yeah, I agree.

Okay.

We're all. We're all on the same page if the.

Except pft. This will be a fun game.

This will be a fun game to see where. Where everyone's at. See where the Ravens are at. See where the Eagles are at.

PFT's not on the same page with you in terms of where the Lions are versus the Eagles. He thinks the Lions are way, way, way, way, way better.

I just think they're the best team in the NF NFL.

Well, yeah, and then you just said that they were better at every facet, and then we looked at the stats, and you were just wrong.

So I was wrong about that. That's. That's correct.

Yeah.

More wrong evidence.

So your.

Your opinion might not.

Don't take the bait.

There matter.

I know. I think my opinion matters. National podcast. I think that you're being a little disrespectful of the city of Detroit and everything that the Lions have accomplished this season. They're a historically good football team right now. It's a great story. I'm rooting for my underdog up in Detroit, and I'm still showing respect to the Eagles.

No, it's not.

I. I don't think you are. And I'm not saying that the. Like, the. I'm not saying that the Eagles are better than the Lions. I'm just saying that the Eagles and the Lions need to be on in the same conversation.

I'm literally having that conversation right now.

I think the Lions are better than the Eagles, I think.

But I'm forced in that conversation.

Yeah, I think the Lions are better than the Eagles right now. I think the. The difference between the two teams is Razor.

I'm fine with that. Yeah, I'm fine with that. But the other national podcasts around the world are not saying that. They're saying it's the Lions and then everybody else. Yeah, and I just wanted to say that I don't think that's the case.

Yeah, No, I think that.

Well, you got to win this game to prove It.

Listen, especially if the Eagles get the one seed and Detroit has to go in the cold to Philadelphia, I would say that that's about as close to a toss up game as you can get.

Yeah.

Is that good enough for you?

Yeah, that's fine. I'll accept that.

Okay. All right. That's a good.

Kick the fuck up. You're going to drive me crazy. You're going to drive me absolutely insane. Can you imagine looking across the Thanksgiving table at Hank.

No.

Knowing he's betting against all your Thanksgiving games.

Yeah, just. Just smirking. All right, last game and then we'll do our picks and we'll get to Kirk Cousins. Niners at bills. Bills minus six and a half. Over under. Six over. Under. Sorry, 46. I don't really. We're taping this on Tuesday. This game, you can't handicap or talk about if you don't know if Brock Purdy's playing or not.

Yeah, we don't know what's going to happen.

It's a Bill's route. If he's not playing.

If it's Brandon Allen again. Yeah. Take the Bills for everything. If it's Brock Purdy, probably still also take the Bills.

Yeah.

Because I think the 49ers are broken.

Here's a stat that I was. I read, but I didn't fact check. So if it's wrong, whatever, I don't care. Doug McDermott or, sorry, Sean McDermott. Sean McDermott and Josh Allen are 19 and 2 in the regular season in December and January, regular season games. So they finished the seasons very strong.

Is there any chance also might not be true? Wait, are you pulling up something about Daniel Jones right now?

Just trying to see if there's a.

Chance he goes to the Niners.

Yeah.

Because I was going to say that seems like. It seems like a fit for him. Right. It seems like Kyle Shanahan would like a quarterback as a backup like that. It's certainly a lot better than, than Brandon Allen, but he wants to play for a contender. I don't know if you can call the 49ers a contender right now. Like even with Brock Purdy, would you say that the 49ers.

No, I've. I've been on. The 49ers are broken for a month now and I, Yeah, I don't. I haven't seen like, even in their wins, they've played with their food. In their. In some of their wins, they're just. Yeah, I don't think they're. I think they're broken. I think they're just having a really bad season from hell where everything's gone wrong and it's it. I don't expect them to. Yeah, was that just. That was. Pug is like over 4 since I.

Complimented it went to his head.

Just random noise while we're talking. All right, should we do our picks? Our picks? Let's do our TD parlay first. Brought to you by DraftKings Gambling Problem.

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Sponsored by DraftKings. Who's In? Is it? Who's picking? We all. We all sucked last week.

Do we all miss?

I think we all miss.

So then we should stick with the three that one.

Stick with the three that one. Every day is game day at DraftKing Sportsbook. Now through the end of the year, it's extra special. All customers will get a special daily promo every single day from profit boosts, odd boosts, no sweat bets and more. There's something for everyone. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app now. Use code TAKE. That's code TAKE. Use advantage of the special daily promotions only on DraftKings. The Crown is yours. Okay. Conviction. T. Higgins.

Jonathan Taylor.

Ah, I had a conviction one, but Big Cat made me feel less convicted about it. Oh, no, because I was going to say Jamar Chase. I will audible. No, no, no, no, no. You had. You had the conviction. You had the conviction.

Jamar Chase is more like some conviction. Yeah, yeah. Conviction.

Drake London.

That's good. Conviction. Okay. That's going to be some good odds. Let's win this one. Let's win this one. All right, our picks. Our picks. So we obviously just did our 1 pick for Thanksgiving, so we don't know what the records are as we're taping this one, but. So I go first. Am I going first? I will take first up. Give me the Seahawks minus two and.

A half okay, I will take the Steelers Bengals under 47.

Ravens Eagles over 51.

Max, I will take the Rams minus three.

Yeah.

Wait, who. Yeah, PFT gets two.

I'm going to take the Saints plus three and then I'm going to take the Seahawks jets over. Has that been taken?

No, I don't think so.

Seahawks jets over 41 and a half.

Okay, Max, I am going to take the. Wait, did you take Seahawks jets over.

Yeah. Or hitter over.

Which one over? I. I will. I will take that under.

Okay, so Max and I are going head to head on two picks.

Love that. Love that.

Oh, wait, what's it? Oh, that's big. I mean this, this could be everything.

This might, this might be the weekend that cost one of us the bachelor party.

Or given the way we've all picked you guys go one on one.

Yeah, possibly Debbie.

That's been. We're really bad. We go 500 or worse. Okay, memes. I'm going prime time. James plus five and a half. Love it.

I'm gonna go Will Levis and the Titans plus five and a half.

Okay. Has anyone the Patriots Colts over 42 and a half.

No, but I like it.

Yeah. Okay. They just play over games. Okay. Should we finish up with with fantasy boys before we get to Kirk Cousins? Brought to you by body armor. This segment is brought to you by Body armor. Real hydration, real ingredients packed with electrolytes, vitamins and nothing artificial. Body armor sports drinks has great tasting flavors like strawberry banana and blue raspberry. Not only do we hydrate with body armor, but some of the best athletes in the world do as well, like Christian McCaffrey, Joe Burrow and Sabrina Ionescu. So go get your body armor today at your Walmart or local grocery store near you. Okay.

Oi, oi, oi, oi. Hey, it's Johnny Salami. Didn't even know we were doing this week. My stardom.

Leftovers.

Leftovers, good.

Start them. Good. Stardom.

You've probably paused the podcast. You listen to this on Friday. You got the leftovers in the fridge. Get up, go put some in the microwave, get yourself a nice meal.

Love it.

Good for the whole weekend. My Sid, him is Drake.

Drake.

I don't know what the this guy's doing.

It's a.

It's a rap battle and he's going to court. Getting lawyers involved. What a loser. I remember back in rap, back in my days, people ended up dead over rap battles, not in court.

Yeah.

Or locked in Diddy's basement.

Yeah.

What are your thoughts on Diddy?

Bad guy.

Okay.

Kill Biggie.

Bad guy.

Killed Biggie. Killed the lot of people. My sleeper, Jonathan Taylor.

Yeah, there we go.

Okay, good, good.

He hasn't scored in two weeks.

Nice.

He hasn't scored in two weeks. He's due PMT ballet pick.

Nice.

Jonathan Taylor.

Nice.

That's a great pick. That's a great pick. I love it. Hey, what's up? This is Sean Stellato.

Nice. What's up, Sean?

I definitely knew that we were doing fantasy this week.

Stay with me.

And I'm not. I'm not stalling before I get to my first one. I'm just saying for. For the record, some of us come prepared to this podcast. Like me, Sean Stellato. I'm starting deep frying your turkey.

Yeah. Deep fry that Friday toss.

Toss that Friday toss that bitch in the oil.

Make sure.

Hey, safety first.

Yeah.

Make sure you fry it indoors. Make sure you don't defrost the turkey at all. And make sure you drop it in. In all at once.

Yeah.

That's the key to having a real great, safe, delicious, juicy, deep fried turkey.

Yeah.

My situm this week is gonna be Drake because Drake's a. Drake doesn't know what he's doing. And guess what? Now he just made a very, very powerful, powerful enemy out of most of the listening public. And we're gonna find out about this Kendrick Lamar song and listen to it even more.

Yeah, the braids.

And he's going to be going on. Kendrick's going to be at the super bowl in Lil Wayne's house trashing everybody. Big year for Kendrick Lamar.

Yeah.

Love that guy. And then my sleeper this week is going to be Drake London. That guy's going to catch. That guy's going to catch multiple touchdowns, possibly from Kirk Cousins.

Yep.

Good Italian guy, Kirk. And he's gonna be throwing to Drake in the end zone. Yeah, I'm sleeping right? Drake. And I'm sitting Drake.

Okay. So what's up, guys? It's Anthony Lasagna. I knew we were doing this too. I just thought we were doing it. But I didn't prepare anything either. Well, no, I did prepare something. Oh, my fan, my stardom is rivalry week.

Yeah.

Yeah. These two teams don't like each other. They're gonna play in rivalries all weekend. It's gonna be sick.

Throw out the record book when Texas and Texas A M get together.

Yeah. My sister item is gonna be shorts. Why? It's Wednesday's official start of no shorts. Oh, really? Yeah.

Summer's over.

Keep your beers outside.

Yeah. And my sleeper Is Drake Bulldogs, the college basketball team. They're 6, 0. Love that they won the Charleston tournament.

The good, the bad, the ugly for Drake's this week.

Yeah, yeah, that's it. That's all of them.

Very cool.

That was fantasy boys. Before we get to Kirk cousin. Breaking moose. Breaking moose. Breaking moose. I just got a text message from Big Dom.

Oh, yeah.

You listening, Max? Big Dom text me. It was just a picture of the Rizzler and he said, how are you, bro? Tell Max I have some Eagles gear for him. Love this kid. He could be my son. Oh, that's all.

Let's go.

Love this kid. He could be my son. Just so you know, is about the Rizzler, Max.

Oh, it's not about Max.

No, that's about the Rizzler. But he has Eagles gear for you. That was the picture of the Rizzler. And then he said, I love this kid. He could be my son. Yeah, yeah. But he's got Eagles gear for you.

Yeah, Big Dom's the best. I'll always take the Eagles gear. I get great compliments on all the Eagles gear that he sends me.

He is the best. He is the best. Okay, let's do our interview with Kirk Cousins.

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It'll be with them all year long. Aura frames.com promo code pmt and now here's Kirk Cousins.

And now for something completely different.

How about this backdrop? I Got.

It's sick.

It is nice. Yeah.

I like this.

A fake.

It's.

Although it's a green screen, but that's a literal backdrop.

That's real.

That's real.

Holy.

Is it a real wall?

Like.

Like, this is like a you're in the future touch.

We should just start the interview right now.

Is that.

It's Kirk Cousins, a recurring guest friend of the program.

Is that Ellie Cousins, or is that textured? Can you touch that? Because I want to know, like, my.

Like, I can go. I can go back here.

Yeah, like, that's sick.

Like, my hand can go behind the falcon.

Okay. All right, so this first question is actually perfect. First question going from. Oh, clap. Can we run everything? All right, so we'll just jump right in. Kirk Cousins with us, recurring guest. How was the switch from purple to black? Because, I mean, like, you had to get a whole new wardrobe, right?

Oh, my goodness. It was a. It was a big switch, the wardrobe. You know, I'd love to tell you that was the biggest challenge, but there were a lot of other challenges with switching teams. But, yes, certainly the wardrobe. I heard a lot of high school friends who said, man, Kirk, I. I bought the Michigan State stuff, then I bought the Washington stuff, then I bought the Minnesota stuff. Now I gotta buy Falcon stuff. So I think I've cost my family and family friends a lot of money over the years switching teams. But, yeah, the wardrobe changed. We kind of took a lot of our purple and gold stuff and had to drop it off at my neighbor's house in Minnesota and say, hey, you guys can go through this, because we'll keep a few things as mementos, but the rest we don't really have a use for anymore.

Yeah.

How did you feel the first time you put on the all black black? Like, I always think of the Mike Vick era all black Falcons uniform.

I. I like the swagger the Falcons have always had. I mean, you mentioned Mike Vick. You mentioned Deion Sanders is another one that comes to mind. I love our throwbacks wear with the red helmets. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs. Barrington is where I would have gone to high school before he moved to Michigan. And we were red and black. And so I kind of. Kind of takes me back to my childhood growing up in Barrington, outside Chicago. So I love it, and, you know it. You always look a little better when you're winning and playing well, so that's. That's usually what you got to do.

Yeah. Yeah. You're a Blackhawks fan, so you got. You you can just cross over like that. It's perfect. Sweet. I want to go back to something because you said you would say that the switching colors is the hardest part about joining a new team, but it wasn't. What is the hardest part about joining a new team? Because I don't even. I don't think that's ever kind of crossed my mind. Players, especially someone who's been in the league for as long as you've been in the league and had a success to be like, all right, now I got to kind of not start over, but kind of start over. Right? Yeah.

So I used to joke with my wife when I was in Minnesota. I would say, I don't know if I'm putting pressure on myself to play well because I want to play well or if it's because I never want to move again.

Right. Yeah, right.

Because moving, moving from Washington to Minnesota, it was really difficult to start over, you know. Nice to meet you. I'm Kirk. You know, tell me how to call the plays. Tell me, you know, who my teammates are. What do they do? Well, you just. You start over from scratch and you're in. I was in year seven, but I felt like a rookie, and it felt like it took a whole season to get to a place where you go, okay, I really have been here. I'm established. I'm one of the guys. It took time, but now I'm here. And I knew when you change teams, you have to take that on. So it wasn't a surprise. But there's no easy way to do it. You can't just snap your fingers and make up for the last. Last, you know, several years of not being there. So I worked as hard as I could this off season to create that. I thought we did a good job, but that's just a big challenge is. And then you have all the off the field stuff of finding a house and moving and living out of boxes for a while.

But it's amazing because you see on the ticker, like, you know, like NBA or Major League Baseball. So and so, you know, is traded or so and so switches teams. It's just kind of like a simple thing. And the next night you see him in a different jersey. But yeah, we all kind of forget. Get all that goes with that.

Yeah.

In baseball season, I always wonder how long it takes them to figure out the new individualized personal handshakes that you have with everybody on the team. That would be. And you strike me as a guy that would want to say hi to everybody at the Facility. Like, every employee, try to learn their names.

Learn names.

How do you learn names? Do you have a trick?

Yeah, I wish I had a trick like Michael Scott in the office, but pretty much just try to memorize. And when I got here, I asked for, like, basically like a yearbook printout of different staff so I could, you know, start to try to learn names. But even that, like the NFL staff from when I was in Washington to now, it feels like they've doubled in size. And so every staff, the strength staff, the training room, the PR team, it's just so many more people, and that's a good thing, but it's also a lot more people to get to know.

Yeah.

How is the Achilles feeling? And do you have any words of wisdom for your Sunday Night Football?

Yeah.

Broadcasting partner Mike Tirico.

Yeah. And fellow Michigander. Just learned. Just learned that he tore his Achilles. Crazy. But, yeah, I don't.

I.

Maybe Achilles were. Were torn at the same rate 20 years ago, but it feels like something you hear a lot more about now than we did when I was growing up. But it's coming along. It's. It's been great. You know, I'm really grateful that, you know, I've been able to play this whole season and was able to go through all the training camp and really much of OTAs, and so. So, you know, the injury was a setback. It was a lot of unknowns, but now looking back, I'm grateful that, you know, it was really more of a bump in the road than a true detour in. In this football journey.

Yeah. I mean, it's also. I mean, you tore your Achilles on a NFL football field. I feel like most guys our age, we tear our Achilles doing, like, the dumbest things possible. I'm very nervous that it's like, we play pickup hoops every Friday here.

Time bomb.

I'm just waiting for it to happen.

And just know that's not a good feeling. I. When I'm retired, I'm going to play pickup basketball and a lot of tennis, and I kind of worry about my other one. I don't worry as much about my surgically repaired one, because it's pretty locked down. But the other one I wonder about, so we'll see. But honestly, I love sports so much, and I love playing. It's. It's worth the risk.

Yeah.

As you guys know.

Yeah. Yeah. So. All right, so grade this take for us because you, you know, you're having a great season. The Falcons are top of the NFC south right now. Now, go back Though to week one, we thought, okay, Kirk coming back from an Achilles injury, then having to face TJ Watt was probably not the funnest game possible. And that, like, we. I think we said the. The Monday show that we did, we're like, look, it would. It looked like it was maybe a little too fast just to start, but he'll be fine. And you could see that as the weeks went on, it's like, you got your feet back to you. You got your mind back to you. Is that fair to say that? It was like, holy shit. Being out and having an achill new Achilles that I have to trust in the pocket against TJ Watt is not exactly how I wanted to start the season.

I think you were spot on, but probably less so about the Achilles and more just period. Just. Just being out since the previous year. Week eight, yeah, it did feel like, all right, I got to get some rust off. If I had a fully healthy Achilles that never tore and I had been out since week eight, the year before, there was still an element of. Of. Or. That was. The element was I gotta. You know, this. Gotta get familiar again. Wearing a red jersey in practice, not playing in a preseason game. It was a big jump to the real deal. And then we played, like you said, a really good defense that has kind of proven all year to be one of the better in the league. So that was. That was something that I was like, okay, this needs to get back here quickly. And even in Philly, the next week, another good defense. Yeah, you know, we did okay. We moved the football, but it was really the last drive of the game in the two minutes that started to feel like, okay, we're starting to. I'm starting to get more comfortable. And.

And the NFL season, so much of a roller coaster. You have weeks where you think you figured it out, and then you have a week that sets you back, and you wonder if you can even gain a yard. And so it kind of goes the whole gamut, but certainly do feel like, you know, I've worked my way back now, and that's a good feeling to know that after all we went through last year, tearing it and rehabbing and feel like, okay, I'm back now. Is. That's. That's encouraging and what you always wanted.

Yeah. So talking about the roller coaster, how do you. How do you stay even keel during NFL season? Because from where we sit, if, like, the Bears lose a game or pretty much any game I watch, I'm like, oh, that team stinks forever. And then I just write them off. Or like, a team wins. You're like, that's the best team I've ever seen in my life. We don't really emotionally stay even keel. So how the hell are you? Are you able to do it week in and week out?

I wish I could tell you I do it well. I know what I need to do now. Whether or not I do it is a different story. It's hard not to ride the roller coaster. It's hard. You know, I. I internalize the losses, and you take them hard. And sometimes, you know, like Bill Walsh, I heard he used to take the losses really, really hard, but he did not celebrate the wins in the other direction. It was sort of like a win got you back to zero, and then a loss was like, negative 10.

Yeah.

You only kind of live in the negatives or at zero. And I can relate to that. Like, the win never really takes you to plus 10. You just always feel like, okay, we got the next game, and we got to get the next one, and. But the loss is hurt, and so it does beat you up. It is a roller coaster. But you do try to just, okay, one game at a time, stay the course. Each game counts as its own entity. You kind of tell yourself the same messaging. And Mike Shanahan told me my rookie year, I think it was Kyle Shanahan used the phrase a lot, too. He would say, tough times don't last. Tough people do. And so I would just always say that to myself, you just got to get back up, get on the horse one more time, choose to be a tough person and believe that if you do that, you'll last and that the tough time will pass. And, you know, that's always kind of helped me through the tough losses.

Yeah. Michael Silver was on our show a few weeks ago, and he shared a pretty interesting story about your time in D.C. he said that after you got in and you started playing pretty well as a backup for RG3, but when he would be hurt, you'd fill in. You'd do a great job. That in his exit interview, Mike Shanahan went to Dan Snyder and said, you should make Kirk the starting quarterback of the team, and you should trade Robert, because you're never going to get as high a price for Robert. And Kirk's actually the guy that you want to build around moving forward. Did you get that sense at the time that. That he was, like, all in on you?

Yeah.

I don't know the details of those conversations. I. I know when I was drafted, their message was, we really believe in You. That's why we kind of picked you in an unconventional manner. Winner. But our plan would be to trade you in a few years that you. If you can play well in preseason games, you would really help us, because then you can become an asset, and we can trade you for a draft pick that we can get or whatever. So. But then as. As we went, they always were very affirming, encouraging, believed in me, and that's really continued, you know, even long after they left Washington. I've always kind of viewed Coach Mike Shanahan as a mentor, and I'll always reach out to him, you know, to get his input on things. Things. But, yeah, someday we'll have to all go back and kind of rehash those. Those years in Washington, but it helps to always have people in your corner. And I do think that that Mike and. And Kyle and Matt LaFleur and Sean McVeigh, Mike McDaniel, you know, even Raheem Morris, you know, he was. He was there, too. Like, they were all in my corner, and that.

That really helped me believe in myself, because at the time, I think you even wonder, like, am I good enough to play in this league? And when you have them telling you you are, it really helps.

Yeah, that. That's crazy that you got drafted and they're like, hey, you're an asset, and we're not going to play you, and then obviously end up playing. But that's got to be a weird feeling because you. You want to play football.

I think it's pro football. I think that's the way it is. I mean, I remember going to Michigan State and. And signing your scholarship and feeling like, okay, I'm the quarterback in this recruiting class. I'm going to be the guy to kind of lead this group of freshmen coming in next year. And two weeks later, Coach Dantonio calls me and says, hey, change of plans. We're going to take a second quarterback. His name's Nick Foles. He's going to sign here this weekend. And you're like, oh, okay. So you realize pretty quickly, like, we're all just assets, and people are going to do what they need to do to kind of build up their team. And it may. It may not be in your best interest, but you've got to always just compete and do the best you can. And in that case, it worked out for me and Nick both. But, yeah, it was kind of from day one of college football, like, okay, it's a competition, and you got to earn your spot every day, and it's Kind of been that way now for. For, I guess, 18 years now.

He gave you those anger issues at Michigan State where you had to go and beat up the entire hockey team.

Yeah.

Yeah. Oh, my goodness. People don't know these backstories like you do, so you may have to go into detail later. But, yeah. I wake up one morning, we played Ohio State the night before. I wake up the next day. I stay with my family in a hotel near campus because they stayed in town after the game. And I come to find out that it's being reported that I led a fight on campus at the local hockey house. And to this day, I have no idea why my name got brought up as the ringleader, but all my teammates thought it was hilarious because they actually know me.

Yeah.

And they were going to sell T shirts that said, I party with Kirk Cousins on the back. It would say late nights and hockey fights, but yeah. And so they like to report on the news and everything, but there was nothing to it, and so it died. But, yeah, that's pretty good that you would even know that. That was, like, 20 years ago.

The bad boy reputation don't.

With Kirk Cousins. Wait, so going back to, like, going to Michigan State and the Nick Foles, if you were in today's college football and that happened, would you have transferred? Because I do think that there's a weird.

What a great question.

Yeah, great question.

Yeah. Because it's a weird thing that happens now where I think guys might give up a little too quickly and look for somewhere they can start right away. And they don't realize that staying with a program and seeing it out is very beneficial in a lot of ways.

So the what ifs I've asked myself are, would I have transferred right away, potentially missed out on a lot. What if I had had the chance to transfer after my first year starting or my second year starting and just said, you know, hey, I'm going to go to the. The best opportunity. It may be Michigan State, it may not. Like, I don't know. I think. I think you kind of would have missed out on. On what it means to be a Michigan State Spartan and to. And to kind of have that as your program the rest of your life. You know, it may have been more lucrative to switch teams, but. But just seems like it's just a totally different world. It's one I didn't live in, and so it's hard for me to put myself there. And asking yourself those questions makes you realize how different college football is now.

I know it's Crazy.

I mean, there's a chance that you go somewhere else and it's the perfect situation for you. And that's all well and good, but there's also the aspect of if you stay at a program for a while, you get that whole network of people that you have to be in touch with for the rest of your life.

Well, we started this interview talking about how much I don't like to move. So, yeah, true, maybe I wouldn't have wanted to leave, but no. Remember thinking, okay, once I signed my scholarship, at that time, if I transfer, I have to sit out a year, right? And who knows in a year what could happen? So I remember feeling like, pretty stuck. Like, okay, I've. I've got to make this work or plan on sitting out a year. And what ended up happening was Nick just. It really wasn't that I had beat him out. The competition really hadn't even gotten started yet. But he transferred to Arizona and that's what he had to do. He had to sit out a year and he was patient and then ended up playing there and ended up getting drafted ahead of me. So. So, you know, it all worked out for everybody. But, yeah, you're just. It was a long, long journey.

Yeah. Yeah. What.

What kind of car are you driving now, Kirk? I remember you used to have that sick ass minivan. It was nice. It was a good minivan.

So I still have that conversion van. Not back. Sorry, not that conversion van. That conversion van is totaled. But I had to double down and I went to the like, conversion van Explorer vans in, in northwest Indiana. I went to their, like, factory and I like went through and I picked out all the specs I want. So I've got like the full like moon roof.

Hell yeah.

Like the bucket seats that can swivel like.

Yeah.

Perfect for like road tripping with your family to big ten college football games. So I still have that style of conversion van, but it's not my daily driver like it used to be when I was in dc. So the daily drivers, Mercedes Benz. I got a great partnership here with them in Atlanta, which is a sweet deal when you, when you move here and you realize that playing quarterback for the Falcons, you get to drive a Mercedes. That was. That was awesome.

Yeah, they got the sprinters. If you ever are looking to seriously upgrade, get one of those sprinters with like, you know, the four rows in it, trick that thing out.

I feel like that's almost like above my brand. Like, I'm more of a true conversion van guy. The minute you go to, like, sprinter van style. That's like another altitude.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you, you're driving around a sprinter van. You're just expecting, like, a drunk bachelor party to try to get in at any point. Like, if you stop too long in a red light, the. I want a conversion van so bad. I'm, I'm jealous. I know. I want so bad. I, I, I, I tell my wife that I'm like, I'm gonna, we're gonna get a conversion van or an rv, like, later on in life and just drive around America. And she's like, well, not with me. So I think that'll be the end of our marriage.

But my wife, My wife did not like the concept. And she, she's usually right about everything, but on this one, she'll admit she's like, you know what? This conversion man is pretty sweet. You sit high, it's comfortable. The boys always have entertainment. There's plenty of room. We can pack a lot. We drove it when I, when I signed with the Falcons, like, the day I was, it was out that I was going to sign with Atlanta. We were in the van and road tripping to Atlanta from Michigan. So, like, we even did the conversion van road trip to come be a Falcon.

That's awesome.

I love that.

I love that. So the. We haven't talked to you since you were on quarterback on Netflix. What is. Has it changed at all? I mean, I think we all watched it and we're like, kirk Cousin is just like, a really awesome dude. Like, that was kind of our takeaway. Like, they, you know, it whatever you think about him. And we were watching him, it's like, yeah, he's, you know, he's getting his sweat sweaters from, you know, Kohl's or Target, and, like, he's just an awesome dude. So has anything changed at, like, your, the perception that you feel or even your wife getting recognized? Like, has anything changed from that?

Yeah, you said it. My wife was kind of the star of the show besides Patrick Mahomes, and she definitely gets recognized a lot more, which is fun. And I think people getting to know me is what's really fun about it, because you don't get a chance to, for your fans to get to know you just playing for the team. They know you as a football player, but they don't know you as a person. And I felt like that show, in one way or another, just kind of helped people who have followed me or followed other teams I've played on, on to get to know me a little better. Which was a huge win. And then also just for posterity's sake, like, my boys are pretty young, so in 10 years, to be able to pull up that show and say, hey, boys, you want to kind of go down memory lane and kind of see some of what dad did in the 2022 football season, I think that'll be valuable content to have. So that's kind of fun, too.

Is.

And a win coming out of it.

Yeah.

Your home movies are on Netflix.

Yeah. That's pretty cool.

Well said.

Really.

It's in the cloud. I like that. Yeah, I. I read that you're a big musical guy, and have you had a chance to see Wicked yet?

So you are on it, and I just appreciate the research you've done because you're. You're hitting all the. All the main points. Saw Wicked last Thursday. We were on our bye week. Got to go. Brought the boys. I had a hard time because I was singing along to all the songs in the movie theater. I don't think the people around me like that, but I was waiting for my wife to, like, nudge me, and she never really did, so I just kept singing. But I was in, like, a high school swing choir at my high school, and we sang the Wicked song. So, like, I learned them without having seen the musical. Then I saw the musical in college, and so when the movie came out, I had to go, yeah, it's awesome, but it's just part one. I didn't know that. I thought it was the whole story, but it's just part one. And then the conclusion comes out next year at this time. So. Big musical guy. My mom put us in musicals growing up. We went to a bunch of musicals growing up. Just love it.

That's.

You should be in the second one. Yeah, like, as an extra.

My. So I was trying to get in Happy Gilmore, too, but they were taping in New Jersey during the season, so I couldn't get there. So it's not a bad idea to try to get in a musical. But my dream is. Or not my dream, but like, a retirement goal is to be, like, a background person in, like, a local musical in my hometown and have, like, you know, the people come to the show and be like, is that that cousins in the back there doing a box? I was like, yeah, that's. That's me. So on my many list of things to do in retirement, it'll be have a small role in a local musical.

I love that.

Yeah, it's great. You should get one in in Wicked, too, though. Like, I feel like there's somebody out there.

I feel like your guys platform is a great springboard to make this happen.

Yeah, we can get this done.

You want to get like the average dude football fan to go see Wicked to put Kirk Cousins in the back of it.

Yeah, we all show up.

Yeah.

So.

So how are you liking Atlanta? Things been going pretty good.

Yeah. What's. What's the.

The one thing that's different about the offense that you're running right now that was like the hardest to adjust to compared to Minnesota?

That's a good question. I think Zach Robinson is our play caller. You know, it's just a different person. I've had nine play callers in 13 years, and. And so that change has always been difficult, but what I've been fortunate to have is nine good play callers. So aside from the change, I've kind of always been around a guy who knows what he's talking about, knows what he's doing. It's just more about us kind of getting on the same page and meshing our backgrounds. And so that's partly what's happened with me and Zach is just kind of meshing our backgrounds. And that happens a little bit with the whole team, you know, like saying to Drake, London and Darnell Mooney, hey, here's what I've done in the past. What have you guys done in the past? What are your favorite routes? Here's my favorite routes. Here's what I did with Justin Jefferson. Do you think you can, you know, get comfortable doing that and just trying to get on the same page there? And even with the old line coach, you know, hey, do you like this run? Do you like that run? If I get this blitz on this run, do you want me to check to a different run or do you want me to leave it on like.

And sometimes, like, the O line coach in Minnesota would say, hey, check that run. Go to a different one. I then got here in OTAs, I started to check the run, and the O line coach is saying, why are you checking it? I like to run this run into that look. So you realize there's different philosophies, and you've kind of got to rewire your brain to learn what these coaches want to do. But it all works, you know, as. As long as everybody's on the same page and we know what they want it. It. There's no one way to do it.

Yeah.

Should we talk about walking your trap? Take over your trap?

Absolutely. We should.

How. How do you think that's going right now the. Because it was very funny, the press conference. I don't know if everyone was into it on the, in the, in the tunnel, but maybe. Maybe I read it wrong.

No, no, you. You actually are very perceptive. So I made the mistake. I. I did not. I didn't prep anybody.

Yeah.

So I just, I just sprung it on him. So, like the front row, like, I'll never forget Zach Harrison, one of our D linemen, was like, all about it, looking me in the eye. Totally like my hype man. And then I realized, like, the guy like five rows back can't even hear what I'm saying. So there was buy in, but like, there wasn't good communication on my part to get the whole team on board.

Yeah.

But like the three guys that could hear me, we really had it going, you know? No, it's good. I remember when I was playing for the Vikings, we always used to bring this boombox out in the tunnel. I think a lot of teams do that, but they would play that, that rap sometimes. Walk in your trap, take over your trap if we went to an away game. And so at a press conference, they asked me about the importance of winning on the road, and that just came to mind, like. Yeah, I mean, you're supposed to walk into someone's trap and take over and. And one thing led to the next. Now we've actually lost our last two away games, so we've got. We've got some work to do on that front. But it's still a rallying cry. I mean, it doesn't change win or lose. It's still something you got to do in this league.

Yeah, we just. You just got to let everyone know that that's what you're going to be doing in the tunnel so we can get it.

I got to like, brief them beforehand, bringing it out of.

Yeah, but you can also use that for home games. Like, they're trying to walk into our trap.

Yeah, we can't let them.

This is my trap.

Yeah.

Defend our trap. Exactly. You're exactly right. And yeah, as a guy with a musical background, I probably just assumed everybody's just going to jump into my chant and buy right in. But, you know, some guys didn't grow up doing musicals.

Work to be done. Yeah.

How awesome is it to just hand the ball to Bijan Robinson?

Oh, I was going to ask that.

Question and just watch what he does.

The mark of a great running back, among other traits, is can they make the first guy miss? And as I had a high school friend comment recently, they Said he makes the first guy miss every time.

Yeah.

So it's. It's fun. I mean, and the thing is, I don't care if it's a pitch, if it's a handoff, if it's a pass, like, let's just get the ball in his hands. I used to say this about Dalvin Cook. Let's just get the ball in his hands. And good things happen, especially when getting the ball in space. So he's having a great year playing at a really high level. And it's. It's just more about as defenses are keying on him. How can we. How can we be creative and how can we get the ball in his hand in space so he can go do us?

Yeah.

Yeah. He's so much fun to watch.

So fun. I. People get mad at me because like, every Monday when we do the recap, like, I'd say three minutes of the Falcons recap is just like, I love watching B. John. Like, everything he does, it just crazy hands.

He's got great hands.

He's. He could.

He could legitimately play wide receiver here in the NFL because he can run routes, he has late hands, he tracks the ball well. But we found the best way to use him, I think is similar to how the Saints have used Kamara, which is, he's going to show up in the past game, but we don't need to make him a wide receiver. He's going to have receiving production just as a running back. And. And so, you know, I just think he's a big asset and, you know, and I kind of wonder what his ceiling is, you know, if we can continue to get him more and more productive to where he can really do some special things.

He's got that great dead leg where he puts the leg in the ground and then takes it away and the guy just sprints past me. Like, how did. How did that even happen? Does not compute.

Yeah. Oh, you got another question?

I was just gonna say it's, it's.

It's.

It's Kirk Cousins revenge season coming up. Right now you've got two revenge games, I think both away games, right? So you're going at Minnesota, you're going at Washington, which is the biggest revenge game for you.

Well, I would say that while I'd love to win them, you know, and I said this when I went to Washington 22, like, there's just so much gratitude for what they did for me. Like, first of all, they drafted me Washington. Second of all, they franchise tagged me twice. Like, they. They. They Changed my whole life. And then Minnesota, you know, much the same way. Even more so. The way they brought me in free agency, you know, gave me a great contract, gave me great opportunity, gave me great coaches, great players around me for six years. And even on when I left, like, the way that qu. Handled it, Kevin handled it, ownership, Roberzinski, like, they just handled it so well. My agent would get off every call with them and just say, kirk. The Vikings are just handling it really well. They're being honest, they're being candid, they're being open. Like, it's just been a great process. And so, you know, it's. It. Yes, I want to win, but there's just so many people in that building that I care about. And so revenge probably wouldn't be the word as much as just, like, you know, wanting to go walk in their trap, I guess, and play well and do your thing.

But. But. But, man, I. It's hard for me not to root for everybody there, too, you know?

Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, that's the perfect Kirk Cousins answer. It's like, it's. It's not. It's not a revenge game. You're too nice of a guy. You're like. When a. Like, somebody sees, like, a dog that they haven't seen in years, and the dog, like, freaks out, is super happy to see him. That's not. That's not revenge. That's like, you. You just being Kirk Cousins. But I would. If you had revenge and, like, hate in your heart for those games, I would actually bet against you because I'd be like, that's not. I want Kirk to be Kirk. Not to, like, have this giant chip on his shoulder on a Everybody tour. Yeah, that would be concerning to me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sometimes. Sometimes that Kirk still exists, though. Adam Thielen used to say, like, you know, we need that dark Kirk. He would say, like, we need that. That Kirk who's like, you know, that you like that Kirk. So that guy's. That guy's still in there. I don't think you play as long as I've played unless that guy, you know, gets out every now and then and has some walking around money.

Yeah.

When was the last time dark Kirk came out?

I think that's a great question. It's happened this year. It's happened multiple times this year. Year.

Bucks game. Yeah, I feel like that was.

You probably have to ask my teammates a little bit. I've kind of gotten fiery in the. In the. In the. In the locker room pregame a little bit, so. He's shown up and, and usually people respond well to it, you know, so. But you can't force it. You gotta let it happen.

Yeah.

How, how can we tell as viewers at home when we might be witnessing dark Kirk?

If you see me, if you see the veins in the neck, if you see me pointing my finger.

Yeah.

If you see me pointing my finger in someone's chest.

Oh.

If you see, you know, the scowl, if you see me pacing. Dark Kirk is starting to rise to the surface.

Okay, I love it.

I'm gonna keep an eye out.

Yeah.

Sometimes the referee gets it. A lot of times the referee's the target.

Yeah.

That's another thing to look for floor.

All right, so, Kirk, this has been so much fun. We, we love having you on. I have one last question. It's a Roback question. Rho.com promo code, take 20 off your first purchase. Qzips, polos, hoodies, joggers, shorts. Roback.com promo code take. I want to go back to one thing you said playing hoops when you retire. So we have a full gym in our office in Chicago. Yeah, yeah. So open invite. When you do retire, what should we expect from your game? If you come in and I, I would assume you just probably dominate us.

I'm the high school version of Sean Livingston.

Okay. Okay.

So I am a, I, I'm a tall high school point guard who's not overly twitchy. Usually the high school point guard is the quickest guy in the court. I'm way taller than the guy I'm guarding, but I have a great rate floor vision. Like my ability to pass. I see it, I see I'm pass ahead and then I'm great with the one handed pass. I'm great like inbounds plays. I'm the guy passing it from the sideline or from the baseline. And if I'm on the far baseline, go deep and I'm launching it all the way down the court. Don't really look for my own shot, but I'll probably give you six points a game and I'm going to communicate well on defense.

You sound like a dream. Yeah, dream to play on pickup hoops. This is like the, like if you had to say, the perfect teammate of pickup hoops as well. Like, and communicate. Calls out the picks.

Coach, coach. This is the conversation every day in the weight room. You know, oh, who was our starting five on the Falcons? Who's our starting five on the Vikings? For years you hear this and I'm like, guys, not everybody can go drop 30 points. So, like, you want me on your starting five? Because I'm going to distribute. I'm going to bring the ball up the floor, I'm going to communicate on D. I'm going to be your backside help. Like, you need that guy. So, you know, I, I kind of am like the Draymond for the Warriors. Like, I don't have to, to, you know, get this, get all the accolades. I'll just fill in where I can and still be pretty productive. But I said that to Drake London, who's a great basketball player. I said like, what's my NBA comp? And I kind of told him, you know, my game. And he goes, Sean Livingston. So I'm rolling with that. And then before I sign off, guys, I'm a big Jon Gruden guy.

Yes.

I go see him every year in Tampa. We watch tape together. He kind of challenges me, gasses me up, tells me what I'm doing well, tells me what I'm not doing well. All the stuff he's done talking ball with you guys lately, I've just lived that for years with him. It's so good. So I just think it's awesome that he's on board with you guys and I think he'll provide great content.

But he's the best. He's. He's. He's the absolute best. I don't know if you heard the story, but we watched the Eagles Commanders game with him live stream. So we watched the whole game and then he gets on the plane the next day with Dave to go back to Florida and he was like, how did this end up on the Internet? And Dave was like, what do you mean? And he's like, how'd this end up on the Internet? He didn't realize that we were live streaming the entire game. And he's so authentic. Like nothing. Like he was just him on the live stream. He just had no idea the cameras were on the entire time.

He's so good. It's a perfect fit. He's going to provide great content. I learned so much from him all the time. And there's really no off switch. He is one of one. When I was a rookie, I didn't really know him at all except for doing the Gruden QB camp coming out. And Kyle Shanahan was his quality control guy, you know, way back in the day. And Kyle said it's like watching a movie, like there's no off. There's like. But he's not acting like there is no off switch. And it's amazing. So I always go down there at every off season because I just feel like, man, two days with him, I'm going to come back excited about football, excited to put in the work, excited to lead, challenged as to how I got to get better, but also, you know, pumped up. And if he. If he does that at all, half of what he's done for me for the barstool staff, he's going to be a huge ass.

Yeah, he's been awesome.

He is. He's the best.

When you get, like, a tunnel screen called for you to throw during a game, are you like, man, Coach Gruden would hate this.

He hates screens.

Oh, there's all kinds of times where I'm like. Like little things that I know I have to do at a high, high level because Coach Gruden's watching, and if I don't do it right, he's going to pull up this tape in March, show me like he.

He.

One year. One year I led the league in completion percentage. I was like. I think it was like, 69.7, let's say. And the first thing we do, I sit down with him in Tampa after the season. It might have been my first year starting, and he opens up like a black screen PowerPoint with white numbers, and it just says 30.2. He goes, you know what that is? And I said, no, what is that? He said, that's the number. That's the percentage of incompletions you had. He goes, kirk. He goes. There's like. He says, I'm like, there's never been a 75% completion percentage guy in the NFL. He goes, you're the guy to do it. Like, I'm going to show you all this, all the silly incompletions you had that you have no excuse for, that you could have completed 80 of your passes if you had just completed these easy ones. And we go through this whole clip just to make me feel bad of all the passes I missed to Jordan Reed and to Pierre Garcon and desean Jackson. And so it was stuff like that where you're like, heck, yeah. Like, I'm gonna go back and try to complete 80 of my passes.

Yeah, I gotta be better. And there's no excuse for missing an open guy. And so. So he just challenged you. And he's. He's a coach at heart, and I just love seeing him get back in it and have an impact.

Yeah, he's the best. He's the best. Well, thank you so much, Kirk. This has been awesome, man. We. We love having you on. And if you're ever in town, we gotta. I don't know, if you're allowed to play pickup hoops while you're still playing the NFL, maybe you could come and coach us. That would work.

I would love it. I love it. Someday, Sean Livingston, the high school version of Sean Livingston coming to its town near you.

All right.

Such a perfect comp. I love it.

Thanks, Kurt. Okay, boys, good long show for the people at home Thanksgiving week. Let's send it off with some numbers. Maybe we'll get it this time.

Memes.

17, 3.

I'm trying to help you, memes. I'm gonna go 92.

I'll give you 99.

Oh, go 94. Pug.

Oh, Max.

11.

11, 27. Oh, I thought that was the number. 27. I knew it wasn't, but I thought it was.

Love, you guys.