PMS 2.0 1479 - BA Day with Bruce Arians, MNF Recap, Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen, Dan Orlovsky, Nick Saban, Darius Butler, & AJ Hawk

18:57Pat McAfee:85 Bears. But other than that, every team I've ever been a part of, the good ones, the great ones, everybody gets along. And it's obvious whenever you turn on the tape and whenever we watch you live, it was like that. Now, you're a quarterback playing better than he's ever played. And you forget he's a stallion as well. I mean, that guy's thighs are – he is a mountain of a man. And he's playing his best ball. Go ahead, D-Bud. Yeah, absolutely. We've seen some unbelievable turnarounds this year around the league. Mike Vrabel up there with Drake and then Ben Johnson with Caleb. but what you have been able to do with Trevor Lawrence, who's a little more callous, he was kind of the prince that was promised since probably his high school days.

19:30What was that moment, I guess, this year between you and him where you felt like something really changed because he's been playing unbelievable down the stretch? Yeah, Trevor's definitely been playing at a high level. I mean, when I first got here, we had a lot of honest, open conversations about what his goals were, where he wanted to go within his career and his position. And yeah, it took a little bit of time, and that's why so many of these quarterbacks need that time right timing and circumstances matter and at the bye we just had some honest conversations about okay man just cut it loose let it rip whatever happens just play the next play like we just want you to go be aggressive go be you and that's going to be plenty good enough man and look we had to tailor some things to all right at the bye you're trying to figure out who you are truly and we wanted to make sure we were doing and everything we could from a run, pass, protections, whatever it was, putting him in a position to be successful.

20:27But, man, the guy's playing at a high level, man. The third and ten throw to Parker Washington in this game where he gets drilled right in the teeth and hits Parker on a crossing route. Big-time throw by a big-time player that's playing with a lot of confidence right now.

20:43Pat McAfee:A couple quick questions about a couple plays. You just mentioned one of them. Obviously, I was a heartbreaker to the lot of us. okay how about you guys third and goal i think on the four maybe and uh they put me up on a jumbotron okay i did not expect that yeah i take my shirt off through a whole thing okay it's in the spur of the moment we're trying to get loud i'm just sitting on the jumbotron shirt off obviously quickly up onto chair let's make some noise place gets loud thank you loud house shows up by the way and then they score a touchdown so why didn't you why didn't you fucking say hey not this one okay you made me look like an asshole liam and on that note there's another play that takes place where i'm watching you on the sideline first of all you're fit you got good fit you and your assistants got good fits there's good swag good mom yeah no problem 15 seconds this thing comes off right 15 seconds this thing's off yeah you flip that thing up there's like seven seconds left on a play clock i'm watching you yell to trevor and you point at the close wide receiver okay like this is college hey right here this guy runs it out first down and i'm like how often is he doing that and what is that is that a relationship that you and trevor can have like how does that kind of work because i i had not seen that we're at the game was a lot and it maybe was because i was paying attention to you just so happened on that particular play but it looked like literally lane kiffin or somebody in college going like hey here and then literally first down I'm like, what the fuck?

22:05Pat McAfee:Did we not hear him? I'm in a sweet little boozed up back here. I heard him. How often is that happening? And do you think that is a sign of you and Trevor's relationship and the offense as a whole? Yeah, you're 100 % right. It was a pressure look where we had a plan to get into it, but we did cut out and we were trying to get something communicated there. But Trevor was already going there. He was already making the check. He was already getting us getting us into the right call and the right play and he did that so many times on Sunday against the Blitz like that was him checking to our zero audibles getting us in and out of the right plays multiple of them weren't even in the play call that were just him going and audibling and checking to get us in the right play and man that's the preparation the way that he's gone through it with Grant Udinski and Spencer Whipple and these guys he's just preparing at a really high level which is then allowing them to go out there play free and go trust his playmakers on the perimeter go and make plays so um credit is all going to trevor and those guys man he has done a phenomenal job i've really this is the throw i'm talking about i mean right on the chops getting smashed and delivering a strike i mean that's what big time quarterbacks need to do and on money downs third down red zone um he's he's just man he's taking off for us yeah and first of all the fact that trevor is making audibles to things that aren't even a part of play calls i don't love hearing that oh okay i don't love that at all okay happy for trevor very happy for duval okay very happy for everybody down there because it's been a lot of lean years down there and congratulations to you you i forget you're like the first first year head coach ever to have 12 wins in a season or something like that so whenever you talk about the history of coaching bro the history of coaching a lot of legends names have been out there your name is now a part of it dude I know you don't want to talk about that.

23:55Pat McAfee:In 16 games. Yeah, in 16 games. Didn't even need the 17th game, so there'll be no asterisk about the new season or anything like that. Like, what you have done down there is special, and watching what Trevor is becoming is special. And as an Indianapolis Colts fan who's got no first-round picks the next two years and no idea who's going to be our quarterback, I don't like to hear that Trevor's become a super genius as well as being a stallion. So congrats to you guys on making our lives miserable. Now, you also make another trade to make everybody's life miserable. Go ahead, Con, man. Yeah, Coach, you guys get Jacoby Myers at the trade deadline, and it feels as though he basically maybe unlocked everything that you have envisioned with this offense.

24:30What has he meant to Trevor, to the other guys in the room? I know you guys just signed him actually to a new extension, so you also paid him. He'll be a Jaguar for a long, long time, maybe the rest of his career. What is it like having a guy like him on the field when you're calling plays? And also, just real quick, you look fantastic, Coach. Last time we had you on, we had the tail of the tape. You and Bob Sala, we had your weight wrong. Looks like we probably have it wrong again. You're 215. That jawline is fantastic. Keep it going, whatever you're doing, Coach. Hey, coach. Fantastic work out there.

25:02Appreciate you. Got to give credit to James Gladstone, Tony, you know, for collectively coming to an agreement that Jacoby's the answer. That was the guy that we wanted to go and get at that time to help our offense take the next step. And, man, the guy is just a pro's pro. I've got so much respect for him. He's a former quarterback. You can always respect and appreciate those former quarterbacks that, man, he's got ball skills. He knows how to get open. He's an extremely intelligent football player. But you watch what he does without the ball and how he blocks and how he competes. That's why these guys love him.

25:40That's ultimately why you pay a guy like that is he's willing to do whatever it takes for the team. and he's continued to build a relationship with Trevor. The other receivers now have continued to get better because of that. It allows those other guys to go do what they do really well because, well, Jacoby's going to make those tough catches across the middle on the sideline. I mean, he came in here week one when he got here. He jumped right in at Z on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. He did not have one missed assignment throughout the entire week, and he didn't know anything we were doing.

26:16Pat McAfee:That's insane. So you got a super genius wide receiver coming in there. You got a super genius quarterback all of a sudden. Number 11 shouldn't be allowed to play on offense, Parker Washington. He's going to be an all-pro returner. I don't like the fact that we got him dancing. Travis Hunter's coming back next year. Brian Thomas Jr. I mean, who's Brenton Strange, by the way? ETN, too. I mean, ETN. What the hell? Basil Tootin. They need to investigate the Jaguars. Yeah. They need to investigate what's going on down in Jacksonville. I'm telling you, watching your team was sick. It was like fun to watch your team.

26:47Pat McAfee:The offense is both explosive and powerful. It's like you can travel, I think. I think this could be a playoff-style offense and playoff-style defense. And obviously, we're very close to that time. Hosting a playoff game down there in Duval is very much within your reach, which is crazy even thinking about. You might be the number two seed, depending upon how everything works out in the AFC. Whenever it comes to your team, I don't want to talk about the maturity of it, but how do you feel about your team playing in the biggest games and winning seven straight in the biggest moment? It feels like you guys are maybe poised for a damn play.

27:17Pat McAfee:I know you don't want to talk about that, but it feels like your team does have the right stuff almost to go on a run right now. Do you feel that as well? And does the locker room feel that? I think we learned a lot from Houston. It was a tough day. It was a tough moment. And there were some tough days to follow. But you learn so much, just like in life, right? You learn so much more through adversity and through going through tough times. And we were able to grow from that, learn from it, and actually go apply it. in our week's preparation and the way that we perform on Sundays for 60 minutes.

27:49So I can't say how we'll perform in the, in the playoffs. I just know that we've got a huge game coming up Sunday against Tennessee, a division rival that is going to come in here and play their tails off. They got one of the best defensive players in the national football league in Simmons and Ken Ward's playing at a high level right now. They're scoring a lot more points. So look, it's this group understands, I think what's at stake. They, we've talked a lot about playing our best football, meaningful football in December and January and what that looks like. We've got maturity and leadership on this team, which I've really appreciated.

28:21Pat McAfee:You've got some great wins under your belt, too. It doesn't feel like it's slowing you guys down. It doesn't feel like you're celebrating. You're continuing to roll forward. Go ahead, Coach B.A. Liam, the Denver win, that was such a huge, huge win on the road against supposedly the best team in the AFC. Is that the one you think is going to give you the most confidence going forward into the playoffs? Yeah, that's a great one to point to, Coach. You know, you never know, right? We hadn't been in a ton of hostile environments really throughout the season, honestly. That was one. I mean, they did a phenomenal job packing that place and having a home field advantage that our guys just went in and played free.

29:02It wasn't perfect. We didn't start very fast offensively. Once we got clicking, though, some good things were able to happen. Our defense were able to get a couple turnovers. So that game definitely helps your confidence being able to say, man, we're going to need to go on the road in hostile environments, probably in inclement weather, and be able to go on the road and win football games in January. So that's definitely one that you can point to that says, man, we should have confidence going to do that again.

29:29Pat McAfee:Huge win. Obviously, Denver Broncos are everybody's Lombardi darlings going into the season because how great their defense was. You're obviously able to get a win over there. And you talk about just chaotic, madhouse-like environments. And congrats on a big win in the Loud House. You know, congrats on a big win in the Lucas Oil Stadium. Appreciate it. That was, I mean, that place was pretty cool to play. Our guys couldn't hear anything. Yes! Don't lie. Don't lie. Yes! I like that. I like what you just said. That's a big deal, Liam. You know that's a big deal. Okay, we take a lot of pride in that.

30:00Pat McAfee:We're in that. You saw, I'm on Jumbotron. We're in the hit. You take a lot of pride in that. Yeah, we did the quarterback in the middle of a play. It was a down. He couldn't hear him. Did you hear me? He said he couldn't hear him. Trevor was making that play himself. That's what he was saying. He said his voice was loud enough. It was better. Denver was mental. That was absolutely mental. But Indy showed out last weekend. They showed out. Thank you. I appreciate everything you're saying right there. That's very nice. Now, you've got a couple of massive wins on the road. You win seven straight games.

30:28Pat McAfee:About to win the AFC South. Obviously, you do something no first-year head coach has ever done in the NFL. and it feels like you still very much have a lot of chips you can stack on all the boys' shoulders. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Coach, as the season has progressed and you guys have been on this win streak nationally, it's kind of been like, okay, well, let's see the Jaguars do it again. And then it was kind of the Denver game. Hey, if they can go on the road and beat them, then we'll see. And you guys beat the shit out of them, and then it's kind of – it gets moved to, hey, let's see them win a playoff game.

30:56You guys have obviously used that to your advantage, and it's clear you don't give a shit that the national narrative isn't really there. but honestly why do you think that you guys don't get respect nationally as being one of the best teams not only in the AFC but in the NFL man it's a good it's a good question I can't really speak to too much of the the history not knowing you know not obviously being here very long but the one thing I can point to is um you know we've won a decent amount of games this year we've done some good things in all three phases and we have one pro bowler our long snapper so it's not really hard to find motivation for these guys um you know i think they're all competitive within themselves and their peers and the guys they're playing against and um you know that's an easy one to

31:44Pat McAfee:motivate these guys with look at them just light up too yeah yeah yeah we like you said the other day i don't know about the narrative but let's keep it going please let's keep the narrative going let's continue to do that yeah we got no pro bowlers of course yeah yeah of course we got no pro bowl everybody stinks on this team thank you thank you if you could continue to say that we would like every part of it but it's going to become i think in short time especially with your leadership and stoner out there you know make it some plays personnel wise you guys seemingly are building the foundation right now for a great run for the jacksonville jaguars and uh i would like to say as somebody obviously that we played down there i played down there every single year and obviously know the jacksonville jaguars kind of fan base and operation down there Shad Khan, the owner, and I'm saying this as somebody who's paid attention, he has tried everything to get people to like the team, for the team to win.

32:31Pat McAfee:I mean, he was going to build a whole city within the city of Jacksonville for the Jacksonville Jaguars if it was going to mean that they were good. And then we see this clip of him at Lucas Oil Stadium after the game. It's like, this is the most casual owner fist bump I think I've ever... Casual, yep, hey, we're going this way. It feels like he is actually around. Like, do you feel his presence? What is he like as an owner? and I would like to say I'm pumped that he's seeing success because he has put a lot of money into the Jacksonville Jaguars. I mean, he built two pools. Try putting one pool in your house, okay?

32:59Pat McAfee:He put two pools in a stadium elevated over things just to try to get people to come hang out on Sundays to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars. It's like I'm pretty happy for Shad, and let alone this speech to start it all, we remind the world of this speech basically twice a week. I mean, we have to because we love Shad, and I appreciate the fact that he's having some success. What has it been like working for him and with him, I guess, throughout this entire process? I mean, I can't say enough good things about this guy. I mean, Shad Khan has given me an opportunity that, you know, nobody else had ever provided, me and my family.

33:34And how smart. And when you talk to Shad, you learn something every single time you talk to him. And he is extremely present. I mean, he comes in the night before. He's at our team meeting the night before the games. We're able to hang out, talk about things moving forward. We meet every Monday and go through it, go through the game, go through what's next. And the amount of support, I think back to London when we lost a really challenging game in London against the Rams. And you're sitting in your locker in your office, and he's in there, and he's just – all he was was supportive. All it was was, hey, how do we get this thing back on track?

34:15It was all solution-oriented, and that's all he thinks about. That's all he tries to do is create solutions and an atmosphere for our players that they can go and perform at the highest level. So to be an owner like Shad, it takes so much patience, obviously, and how much he cares about this place. All he wants to do is to win and have this place be special for these guys.

34:37Pat McAfee:I think he was getting a lot of pressure to move his team to London by a lot of people because he obviously has a lot of connections over there, and the Jaguars weren't that good. So I was like, hey, you should do this. I think he was actually against it. I think he was like, we're Jacksonville's team. We'll do a couple games over there. We'll certainly call it home because the connections we have over there. But watching him has been fun. Bumpers. Bumpers. Didn't have them. Shod. Solution-oriented. Don't we fucking need to maybe just... He created bumpers? Yeah. What? Yeah. He's got a... How old is this guy?

35:15Pat McAfee:I have no idea but I know that mustache I don't know how old that thing is but every second it's growing more glorious I know he enrolled at the University of Illinois when he was 16 yeah dog we're talking like actual dog and then his yacht I forget we saw it on one thing it's like the biggest you can have 350 feet I want to buy a soccer team I want a football team I fucking love this guy everything he's had to do with the Jags has been like sell on why we could be good And then now it's like you guys have turned it around. Congratulations, man. I'm happy for you. I have your team. Good luck the rest of the way.

35:51Pat McAfee:And hell, maybe we see you out there in San Francisco at the end of this whole thing. Your team, fun to watch. Congratulations on it all, Coach. I appreciate you guys having me on again, man. Hey, thanks for joining us. You know? Yeah. We didn't know whenever you were cutting promos on the media. Like, oh, we definitely had to have said something at some point. That certainly got in there. And then I see Josh Heinz Allen in person. and I'm like, I hope that I am not on a board of this guy says terrible shit about us. Because in real life, you've got to run into these people. You know? Yeah. Got to call out how you see it.

36:22Yeah. Yeah. There's a few of those out there, for sure.

36:26Pat McAfee:You're the man. Ladies and gentlemen, Liam Cole. Yeah, Liam! I wouldn't want to be that guy with Josh Hines out. No way. I'm telling you. It's just a different size. Is that a building on the field? What is it? I had no idea. And then on the other side, Walker. Dog. Just like. Yeah, he's a big cuss, too. Big, big cuss. And they were not playing any games with Phil Rivers. Phil Rivers was trying to do a little something-something, maybe a little chirping. Yeah, right. I'm on about it. Phil Rivers tries to help up Josh Heinz Allen after the ball throw. Josh, yeah, right. Get the hell out of here.

36:56Pat McAfee:I mean, it is like we're not here for games. This is – it feels like they are a very dedicated team. Now, do they have enough juice? To his point, he started talking about who all is playing at this point. Do they have enough juice to win the Super Bowl? It's like this year nobody has a clue who's going to win the Super Bowl, right? That is really the only question. Nobody has a clue who's going to win it. Everybody thought maybe the Rams. Everybody thinks maybe the Seattle Seahawks, but obviously Sam Darnold's always going to get those questions. San Francisco 49ers, is Fred Warner coming back?

37:21Pat McAfee:Do they have enough weapons on the defensive side to go ahead and do this thing? Denver Broncos, Bo Nix playing great ball right now. Defense is obviously a defense. Maybe the Broncos are able to do it, especially if they're able to get to number one seed, which feels like they're probably going to. So, you know, the last question would be the Patriots. It's like, are the Patriots the team that are most likely to get the job done whenever you talk about all three phases? and then you think to yourself, well, they got the MVP, right? Hell yeah. Do they have the MVP up there in New England? Especially with what happened last night with Matthew Stafford.

37:51Pat McAfee:I saw him throw a couple picks out there. I saw him miss a guy. I'll tell you what, you want to win MVP? You can't miss guys on Monday Night Football on Week 17 in Atlanta. I saw people saying this award is as good as Drake Mays strictly because of what happened last night. So let's go to a man who's actually going to be doing the voting for who wins the MVP and all the other awards, a member of the Associated Press Voting Committee for the NFL, live from Hammer, Don Ton, AP Ton. Hey, Tony. Tony, obviously your voter at Ton Diggs there, Hammer, Don Ton native. We would like to chit-chat a little bit about these awards that obviously mean a lot to legacy, mean a lot to careers, contracts, everything.

38:34Pat McAfee:You name it. These awards that are voted on by people like Ton Diggs, who is obviously a NFL journalist who reviews all the film and all the numbers every single week. That is no joke. He takes his vote very, very seriously. I think that is something that we would like to get out there because we've seen other voters for other awards in the past basically say, somebody's going to have to vote for it, so I might as well do it. But Tone takes very, very, very serious – is everybody okay, by the way? Yeah, what was that? I don't know. I hope everybody's okay. Deep exhale. Somebody just – yeah. yeah oh that was me i think yeah that's because how much you were thinking i hope you're okay geez louise i just heard that and radiate through i thought somebody might die yeah i did not know bruce you're older i want to let you know my first thought was to look and see if you were dead or not i did not because i'm not an ageist okay i would like that to be on the record i did not immediately look at the oldest guy that we have whenever a sound of a potential last breath a human ever takes goes through the microphone okay i did not think that was on me okay all right okay good all right so anyways the ap voter you're laying it out pretty well yeah okay yeah you're feeling it and understanding it but he takes it very seriously is what i'm saying looks in all the numbers understands that it matters at the end of the day especially we're talking hall of fames right now it just came out the finalists these things are going to be judged against people when you're talking legacy yada yada yada all of it the mvp award is it as easy for you as a voter now how many voters are there in total do you know 50 i think okay so 50 total voters so you're just 150th of a vote so like that is to senator yeah that is exactly like a senator so he can't sway everybody he cannot speak for everybody but he can certainly speak for himself and i assume there's a few others that think the way that you think matthew stafford has that monday night football game this late into the season it is a two-headed uh two-horse race everybody's saying for the mvp do you automatically just toss it over to drake may or kind of how do you view the entirety is it play by play week by week game by game or how are you kind of viewing it in total for the mvp of the season personally i don't think it should be week by week game by game it's it's a season long award but as far as the sports books are concerned and the public sentiment are concerned matthew stafford went into last night at minus 300 right there you see drake may right now is minus 400 so that is based off of one game now a lot happened in that one game Matthew Stafford threw a couple interceptions, so now he's the same interception total as Drake May and things like that.

40:58So the stats are more in line. But last night, as far as one game being deciding for the MVP, as far as the odds go, last night was a huge night. Week 17 was a huge week 17. We saw what Drake May did. He had one of the most historical performances of all time for a single game against the Jets in week 17. And then Stafford comes out on primetime and puts out what he did last night, not his best game. So as far as the public was concerned and the sportsbooks were concerned, last night was a huge swing as far as the MVP odds are concerned. But as a voter myself, you know, you have to look at the entire season.

41:33But last night was a big part of the entire season.

41:35Pat McAfee:Yeah, it certainly is, especially with heading into the playoff run here and the most important part of football. We put together a tale of the tape here for Tone. Now, Tone didn't necessarily get to pick all of the things in there, but we wanted to put in a tale of the tape between 38-year-old, I believe Matthew Stafford or 37. I forget his age. Maybe 39. Somewhere around there. We got drafted in the same class. Shout out to him. He was pick one. I was pick 222. D-Butt was pick. 41. Okay, so we're in there. Okay, so we understand and appreciate he's 37 years old. We understand and appreciate the hell out of Matthew Stafford and what he's doing at 37.

42:07Pat McAfee:And then we got a 23-year-old. A 23-year-old on the other side in Drake May in his second season as a whole. So obviously when you talk about total touchdowns, 42-34, you got Matthew Stafford spinning there. Remember, Devontae Adams was just scoring touchdowns literally every single time they got in the red zone, and that was obviously coming from Matthew Stafford. Pass yards, Stafford's got them, 4 ,448-4 ,203. Rush yards, though, Matthew Stafford's taking some sacks. He's going backwards. And whenever you're prop betting Matthew Stafford rush yards, boy, those kneel downs at the end of games and sacks and everything like that certainly take a big-time hit.

42:44Pat McAfee:Drake May, though, 409 yards rushing. This guy can get moving, obviously can get busy. Led UNC in rushing and passing whenever he was there. Total yards, obviously 4 ,612 now if you do the math. Verse 44, 46, he actually goes down from his pass yards. Matthew Stafford with the ball in his hands running is actually detrimental to his MVP resume is what this says. 46-12, then 71 % completion for Drake May, which is absurd, by the way, just so insane. 65 for Stafford. Eight interceptions combined. Three fumbles for both of them. And then stats versus common opponents. Obviously, this is a big deal because you want to jump them directly against each other.

43:23Pat McAfee:1 ,585 yards to 1 ,545 yards. 14 touchdowns for Stafford. Okay, so we had one more touchdown than Drake, who had 13. But then Drake only had three interceptions. Matthew Stafford had six interceptions. So we give the stats win to Drake May. 6-0 versus those common opponents. Drake May, Matthew Stafford, 4-2. Division title, obviously, the Patriots got it. 13-3 record, they got it. 76.5 QBR, he's got it. Now, strength of schedule. Whoa. Worse than a league, Drake Mace, playing nobody. Matthew Stafford, 6th. Now, if you go back up to common opponent, though, you know, Matthew Stafford with the 6th strongest schedule goes 4-2.

44:00Pat McAfee:The 32nd strength of schedule goes 6-0. So there's two losses in there that the 32nd strength of schedule didn't get where the 6th strength of schedule did get. So, I mean, that kind of goes against each other. And are you a tough son of a bitch? Matthew Stafford certainly is. Drake May certainly is. Yep. That's the tale of the tape we kind of put together. Now, I would like to go to somebody who is obviously going to propaganda for one side of this particular tale of the tape and a man who is potentially pushing for the tale of the tape to showcase the tone on who should win the MVP, Boston Connery.

44:30Pat McAfee:Yeah, second-year quarterback, 23-year-old Drake May, obviously favorite to win the MVP. Absurd situation for the New England Patriots to be in. Yeah, crazy. Second year, I mean, we went through the list before with both AI and just ourselves. AI was wrong. We are still smarter as humans. Lamar, Marino, Mahomes, Kurt Warner, minus the Barnstormers. It does feel as though no matter what, like Drake May is on a historic pace. It's incredible just to be a fan of him. Now, when you think about that V in the middle of MVP value, and again, I'm making a case for Drake May, obviously. With Devontae and Puka and Kyron Williams, it feels as though a lot of quarterbacks could have success in that offense.

45:10Now, to the same token, a lot of quarterbacks could have success against this strength of schedule, but not to the greatest, highest QBR in the history of any single game. Not to the 71 % completion percentage. Things of that nature seem to just be exponentially greater when it comes to the value that Drake May brings. I personally, as a fan of football, do think Matthew Stafford, with his entire resume, the fact that he's never gone an MVP or a first-team All-Pro, at some point this guy should have deserved it throughout his career. Now, maybe it is this year. For him to lose to a 23-year-old, I think, would be nuts just because of how much is left in Drake May's career.

45:52But when you're looking at statistically, yes, it is Drake May, but I do think there's other things that go into it, and they have played an incredibly hard schedule.

46:00Pat McAfee:Vrabel, first couple of years head coaching here, first year with the Patriots. Josh McDaniels, we all just think he's going to be there forever. Yep. And then Drake Mace, 23 years old. So, Vrabel's got the defense probably forever. McDaniels and Drake probably got the offense probably forever. Yeah. So, we're all in it. Now, what, 23-year-old win, the NFL's MVP in a league that has Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes. Amongst Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers still playing. Phillip Rivers playing. Is a 23-year-old about to win it? Joining us now is a guy that says he shouldn't, ladies and gentlemen.

46:40Pat McAfee:What? The face of quarterback and football for ESPN as a whole, friend of the program, ladies and gentlemen, Dan Orlovsky. Dan Orlovsky. Dan Orlovsky. Dan Orlovsky. Tell us why the 23-year-old should not win over your former teammate and obviously good friend, 37-year-old Matthew Stafford. I would like to let you know as a draft class member of 2009, I'm pulling for Stafford. I love the dude. I think he's had a fantastic year. But it's outrageous what Drake May has done this year on a football field with this New England Patriots team. What is your kind of takeaway? Because I see you on X kind of flapping your thumbs.

47:13Pat McAfee:Yeah. Letting people know that we need to potentially put a little bit more respect on Stafford in this MVP race. Yeah, it's very close. And I said that kind of going into last week. It felt close. And then coming off of Drake this weekend, it felt close. And then Matthew kind of laying an egg last night certainly made the conversation even closer. I love the MVP conversation. I love arguing about it. It doesn't mean that you're knocking another person. Like last year when I got called a lot of different names because I thought Josh over Lamar, even though I praise Lamar. What were they calling you?

47:48What were they calling you? What were they calling you just so I know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. What was it? It's when people get in a line across from each other and try to see who can get from one distance to the other fastest. It's something along that line. Oh, Dan O in the O stands for only whites. Oh, is that what they were saying? That's what I think they were saying. Wow, I didn't know they were saying that.

48:12Pat McAfee:That's crazy. Holy shit. Thank God that wasn't us. Yikes, Dan. That'd be crazy. Is it true? Sorry, go ahead, Dan. I want to make sure that folks. That's good journalism. They will, though. You can kind of clear the air if you'd like. Is that true, what they were saying about you? I don't believe it's true, no. I think my actions and my words speak to that. That's cool. That's good to hear. Hell yeah, Dan. Dan likes black quarterback. That's what we heard. That's what I just said. One vote for him. Hell yeah. That was hilarious. All right, so I think I would say, one, if I was voting today, I would vote for Stafford.

48:49Oh, fuck you. I think Drake May's season this year, I really believe is up there with as good a second year performance a quarterback has had in the NFL. I think it's a lot on par with what Joe did a couple years ago when he took Cincy to the playoffs and to the Super Bowl. This is what I would say. For everybody that continues to point stats to me, okay? And I understand stats, context, all that. You guys all want to talk about stats. You can't in one hand talk about the stats and in the other conversation say, well, who he did it against doesn't matter. Yes, it does. How you acquire the stats and who you acquire those stats against has to be a part of the conversation.

49:35And it doesn't mean we have to knock people for it, but it has to provide context in how those stats were acquired. If I went right now and played high school football, I would be ridiculous. You don't know that. We don't know. These kids are good.

49:48Pat McAfee:These high schoolers are good now, Dan. You got to play. Yeah, but I would be awful. So who you do it against has to matter. It's different leagues, though, dude. It's uncommon opponents, right? Different leagues. No, I understand it's different leagues. But, okay, so if you took a quarterback and you played him against Seattle's defense on a consistent basis, and then you took a quarterback and played him against the Jets' defense on a consistent basis, one quarterback is going to have better stats because of that defense that he's playing against. Or if you took the same quarterback, how to play against Seattle, how to play against the Jets.

50:20Ten times in a row, you're going to perform better against the Jets than you did against Seattle. I understand common opponents, but there's 11 other games. What if they put Drake in with Puka Nakua and Devontae Adams? We can play this game. Okay, when did they play? When were those common opponents? Was everybody on the opponent healthy? Did everybody – I was doing that every game. No, you guys are doing it. No, you're doing it. You're doing it. You're doing it when you're talking. You're doing it. You're doing it. Okay, here's another question. Okay, let's move the goalposts again. These are facts.

50:55These are facts. This isn't Dan having an agenda. These are facts.

50:59Pat McAfee:Oh, Dan A. Yeah, I know who you're talking about. If we're talking about those two specific players, who over the body of the season has played against an accumulative amount top three pass defenses. Okay, so top three. How many defenses would crack into the top three? An accumulation. So if you took all the pass defenses that you play against over the course of these first 17 games, it would equate to a top three. That would be Stafford. If you took all the pass defenses, who would have played against the 32nd? Drake. Oh, man, I felt like it was Drake May there, too. I knew it was coming. He didn't even let me answer that.

51:44So that has to be a part of the conversation. Like, it has to be. This isn't a knock on Drake. I just said what he's done is outstanding. Feels like it. But I think in the big picture, I'd also say this. The Rams' strength of schedule is like, I think, a.563, which is the highest in, I think, 20 years for a team to go to the playoffs.

52:05Pat McAfee:Oh, to make the playoffs. Of course, of course. All right. Well, good luck to your Matthew Stafford, and we hope you get the win. It's a good campaign. You're running a pretty good campaign. I always say you're running a pretty good campaign. Having somebody cook some stuff in a microwave, I believe it was your boy behind you while you're doing it. It's like, hey, Dad's cooking right now. I like that. I like a little symbolism. Let's go move with the boy. Team cook. Yeah, I think that's good. Someone went into the microwave? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Maybe get some buckets of water, too, while you're back there.

52:33Pat McAfee:Did you tweet? There it goes. Are you saying he's carrying water? He's holding Stafford's water here. Jeez, I don't like that. I don't like that they're saying that about you. They're saying it, though, for sure. I don't love it. Okay, guys, what does Stafford winning MVP do for my life? Well, you're teammates with him. Obviously, you were. If he doesn't win MVP, am I going to be friends with him after the day that the vote comes out? Yeah, but there won't be an MVP party that you get to go to. Oh, MVP parties are so cool. I'm not going to an MVP party. What? I hate detention. Get in that immortal bed with him.

53:03Pat McAfee:Yeah. A immortal bed. Dan's got a tweet loaded up, too, that he's ready to retweet from. Oh, my God. this summer or at some point when he came over here and said, I'm not worried about Stafford coming in this year. I'm not worried about his back. Was that right? Dart emoji. Oh, my God. Was that right? That's what he's going to say. The Dan Wagon strikes again. You tell me, quote, 37 years old, best arm talent in the history of the NFL. I was lucky to call him a teammate. Still lucky to call him a friend. God bless Matthew Stafford. I probably texted him twice in the last eight months. Whoa! You're so cool, dude.

53:43Whoa, whoa, whoa.

53:44Pat McAfee:Oh, yeah. Truth revealed. Wow. How many times did you text Drake May? I don't have Drake's number. That's what I thought. What I thought. That's why. Hold on. Go ahead. There's a story behind that, but you go ahead. You go ahead. Oh, you said his footwork wasn't good. This guy wouldn't be able to be a good quarterback for maybe 10 years, and his drunk uncle said Dan Orlovsky was not going to be. No, what I want you to do right now is say, guys, America, I just made that up. That's not true. Dan never said that. He kind of did it. It's going to take him the longest to develop. I kind of did it.

54:14Pat McAfee:This is what you said. He kind of did it. You said out of all the quarterbacks, he's going to take the longest to develop. He's got to get his footwork. He's got to do this. He hasn't played enough games. I said he was going to be a great quarterback. I just would sit him for two years. Yes. What the? Look at this. Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I said something vastly different. So that's not what I said. Let's get it right. Okay, all right. Did you actually say that? Two years in this climate? Yeah, well, he's in his second year. But nonetheless, Dan, is that why you don't have his number? Because you said that?

54:42Pat McAfee:And he said, I'm not talking to this guy for at least two years. No. No? Why not, then? What was it? You don't like it? I'm going to keep it to myself. That's very cool of you to do that, Dan. I'm proud of you. A lot of things happening. Dan's not racist, and he's keeping stuff to himself. Maybe that's why he didn't give him his number. I like that. I asked Patriots to sit Drake May and not ruin this talent. All right. So I said two years. You said a lot of things, I think, about that. I was wrong about that, for sitting him. I have come out publicly and said I was obviously wrong with my perspective of sitting him.

55:11I've publicly acknowledged that.

55:13Pat McAfee:Well, I hope Drake's family hears that and lets him give him your number. That's what I hope happens. No, no. Yeah, don't ever forget not the maze. Now people are going to think, oh, let's see who's Drake May. You do. You kind of are lobbying against him. No, he's white. That's a good point. And that's why Drake wouldn't give him his number, though. Because Drake May is kind of all about everybody. Animal cruelty? Yeah. animal cruelty and racism two things drake may freaking hate all right we appreciate the hell out of you love you dude you're the best hey and i want to let you know the uh who was that that was dan yeah that was it the family press conference the gift that keeps on giving family forever and the few will hunt thing i want to let you know we've shouted those out because uh you've taught uh taught us about them they got cool companies they reach out to us and say thank Thank you for the love and all that stuff.

56:04Pat McAfee:I think you, uh, you rep good stuff. I think Dan, I appreciate that. You got good taste in it seems brands and humans. Oh, thank you. Thank you. Yeah. I don't know how to respond, but thank you. They seem like good people. I don't know them like that, but they seem like good people. Um, so yeah, I'm a, I'm a fan of the kind of their companies and what they represent their messages. Good show last night too. You look, you look, once again, love that shit. Dan, you're killing it now. there's a lot getting thrown right now few will hunt why not everyone you know well they're not they don't got it in them like you what dano said though is stafford's been hunting let's go ahead and give him his fruit for his Labor.

56:50Pat McAfee:Yeah, fruits of his labor. Bingo. I mean, guys, just who you do it against. Yeah. Power two on the other side. We appreciate you, Dan. Oh, yep.

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58:10Pat McAfee:Football! Heh heh! Hell yeah. It's great cadence. Ladies and gentlemen, that's Super Bowl champion multiple-time coach of B.A. Hey, man, bro. B.A. Tuck Stables here at Boston Corner and at Ty Schmidt. Nine-year NFL vet Darius J. Butler is here. Brock County Hall of Fame. That's right. Tomorrow night, we'll be on the sideline for Ohio State-Miami on ESPN2 Field Pass. Celebrate New Year's Eve with us. Can't wait for it, D.B. Cannot wait. Going to be an outstanding game. I expect an outstanding environment as well. What do you think the matchup? I mean, nine and a half is a lot of points. Obviously, I'm biased.

58:40I think they match up well. It's going to come down to the quarterbacks, I believe. And I will, going into this game, even though I'm a UM guy, I will give the slight edge to the young quarterback, Julian Sand, over there. But I think it's going to be a battle. My brothers will be in the building, so be excited.

58:54Pat McAfee:I watched your brothers for two and a half minutes at your Christmas party, I believe, go from one side of my room all the way to the other to sitting right next to you, debating Ohio State and Miami. It was wonderful. Thank you for putting that entire thing out online. and I'll tell you it was captivating because you had to listen through a couple other conversations. I believe I saw your sister there. She had a full conversation with somebody. Completely separate. Different convo behind Darius' brothers who were standing in front of the Christmas tree here. There seemed like a bar or something here.

59:26Pat McAfee:Darius' sister and maybe I don't know who else. Brother. Brother, having a full conversation right here. But all you're captivated is these two in the back just going, I don't think so. And it's clear that they're doing something. Then you start catching the audio. You're kind of ciphering out the rest of the room. It felt like I was in there with you. Like I was in the meta universe. That was a special thing to have. Whenever you talk about Ohio State fans, you talk about Miami fans, it obviously goes back to national championship conversations. And that's being referenced and chatted about. And there it is.

59:51Pat McAfee:There it is. You can hear their conversation. Look, we got a baby and a dad. I don't know if that's dad. That's my brother-in-law. That's my sister's husband, Jason. That's obviously my niece right there. But, yeah, it was just full Christmas Eve celebration going on. So you got brothers. You got families. You got sisters. You got parents, grandparents. But, you know, football is always going to be at the top of the conversation. So, obviously, you can tell how normal this is because nobody's paying them any mind. No, at all. A full on back and forth debate. My older brother on the left, Big Mitch, who you guys met, he's lifelong.

1:00:26He was born and raised in Miami. So, he's lifelong. At round one. Yep, we saw him down at round one to Texas A &M. And then Denzel, he's my second to youngest brother. He's just an antagonist. So he doesn't really have his team. He doesn't root for Florida State. He doesn't root for Miami. He just wants to be on the opposite of whatever the conversation is. But he knows ball. He knows ball. He knows what he's talking about. So, yeah, it was great.

1:00:50Pat McAfee:Yeah, I enjoyed that. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your Christmas party there. And I appreciate the fact that we're going to be on the sideline. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is the man who won a national championship in that national championship between Ohio State and Miami, has a tree on Ohio State's campus. And tomorrow night we'll also be on the sideline celebrating his New Year's Eve, watching these Buckeyes get their first win, potentially, of this year's college football playoff. Ladies and gentlemen, college football national champion, Super Bowl champion, Ryder Cup winner, all-time leading tackler for the Green Bay Packers, A.J.

1:01:16Pat McAfee:Ha. Yay! Walker, obviously, down in Miami, they like the team that they have. They appreciate the opportunity. They've been talking about what happened in that national championship a little bit, but also talking about how the U is back, and this is a team that can do it. They got the moxie, they got the swagger, they got the physicality. And Coach Cristobal, he'll fight anybody, I think, if he has to, for the entirety of the U. Obviously, we're boots on ground for Miami, Texas A &M. Tomorrow night, getting our eyes on Ohio State for the first time. What are your thoughts on the game, AJ, that we're going to be lucky to be there for?

1:01:48Yeah, I mean, I think D-Bot's right. Obviously, we'll see who wins the quarterback battle between these two great quarterbacks. But I think, like old school football, this game is going to be won in the trenches. We watched Miami's O &D line play very, very well, I feel like, against Texas A &M in round one. So I think that's where this game is going to be won. And honestly, if Miami and Fletcher can run the ball downhill like they were able to against A &M, it could be a tough day for Ohio State. So obviously, they've got to worry about stopping that run first.

1:02:15Pat McAfee:How do people in Columbus feel? Obviously, having seen the Buckeyes since losing to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship, what is the mindset? Like, this is the only ball that matters now? Who cares about everything else? Or how is Columbus feeling? Yeah, I think so. I think, like, okay, here we go. Our season has officially started, kind of. Like, this is what we do. This is what the plan is. Let's go be the first time team like in the college football playoff era to go back-to-back national championships. We watched them on the run last year. We know what has to go right and how difficult that can be to go win that many games against unbelievable opponents.

1:02:47So, yeah, I think it's squaring up to be an awesome matchup, even though Ohio State is, what, nine-and-a-half point favorites right now? Yeah, nine-and-a-half is a lot of points.

1:02:54Pat McAfee:Let's go to Hammer. Done! Done! Is it nine-and-a-half because of what happened against Oregon last year, Tone? and what's the percentage of bets on who for that particular game? That feels like a lot of points. So I'm looking right now, 60 % of the bets are on the Hurricanes, I assume because of the amount of points. And, yeah, I mean, I just think it's because Ohio State's been one of the two best teams in the country all season long. They have the best defense in the country going up against that Miami offense. I just think it's like – I just think they are – the books are respecting Ohio State and how good they are.

1:03:29I don't think it's anything against Miami. I think it's just the respect that Ohio State has. And they've kind of got a chip on their shoulder again coming into this playoffs. And we saw what happened last year when that happened.

1:03:38Pat McAfee:Yeah, you talk about the books respecting Ohio State. They have them to be the favorites to win the national championship as a whole. They just lost to Indiana. Indiana is still in the tournament. So that's how the books feel. Like, well, not again if they were to play that is how they feel. But also I think the books go the way the bettors go. I think a lot of bettors, Ohio obviously legalized, but a lot of bettors, I think, trust Ohio State as well because of the juggernaut, and we've seen them do it in the past. Tomorrow night's going to be special. I am so pumped to be there for this one. We weren't supposed to be at this one.

1:04:06Pat McAfee:Found out we could potentially be at this one. Shout out to Foss and everybody, and we're like, yeah, we would definitely love to do that. Let's see if we can. They make it happen. Shout out to everybody at the Cotton Bowl for literally everything that took place. Cannot wait for that on ESPN2, and the entire college football playoff should be great. We'll revisit that in about 10 minutes when Coach Saban joins us because obviously we'll be off Wednesday, Thursday, and we'll see him at the Rose Bowl. AJ, let's talk about last night with the Rams and the Falcons. What's your big takeaway from the Rams losing again on the East Coast?

1:04:36Pat McAfee:Coach B.A. brought up, hey, they lose in Philly, lose in Carolina, they lose in Atlanta. Feels like East Coast trips could potentially be problematic for the Rams. Is that something that's fixable? Is that real? And what are your thoughts on them starting so slow against this Falcons team and the Falcons inevitably getting a huge win for their entire program. Yeah, I mean, you can't make a West Coast to almost East Coast trip and turn the ball over three times and let Bijan Robinson run all over you, catch it, and you'll break so many tackles. What is the stat? 190-some of his yards were after contact.

1:05:09That's unheard of. This run was fun to watch, actually, in real time. Watching this happen was crazy. He doesn't even look like he's trying, and B. John just outruns everyone. He's a special, like, generational-type player. And obviously the Rams, they knew that going in, but hey, executing the plan to actually stop the guy is one thing. You can have a great plan, but you've got to make tackles. Look, I mean, they have him three, four yards deep, and all of a sudden the guy turns into, what, 25-yard run.

1:05:36Pat McAfee:Yeah, since ESPN began tracking the yards after contact, 190, Saquon had 168 in 2019. Adrian Peterson at 167. Derek Henry, 164. And Jonathan Taylor, 159 this year against Atlanta. So Atlanta's good to see them back on the right side of this particular stat. I saw Adrian Peterson say, we couldn't let him get five more yards. What are we doing? We couldn't let him get 200 yards. He said 200 yards is a huge, that's a huge thing for a running back. He was at 195, and Adrian Peterson was not happy. Like he, the video was like very much like, what are we talking about here? because Adrian has six 200-yard games in his career, which is good for second.

1:06:17Pat McAfee:Derrick Henry just passed him with seven 200-yard games. So Derrick Henry, we think about his entire great career already. He only has seven 200-yard games. Getting 200 yards is outrageous, the amount of yards and carries and everything that has to go right and tackles everything that has to go in there. Adrian Peterson, like I only got it six times. All we remember is Adrian Peterson just running through people. He's got to 206 times his entire career. So he saw one last night for Bijan and was like, Like, hey, what are we doing here? Like, we need to let this thing happen. Bijan didn't care, obviously, in the moment.

1:06:46Pat McAfee:They get a win. But I appreciated AP saying, like, this dude's real. Like, let's go ahead and, like, make sure we understand that as a whole. I definitely appreciate that from AP. I understand it, obviously, being in that kind of small fraternity. And I also get it from the Falcons standpoint, too. I'm not sure who kept mentioning it in the booth, but I think Algier had fumbled all year long. Basically never fumbled. So you're in a situation in the game, especially with the Falcons, who in B. John has had a couple of fumbles, untimely fumbles. So you put in a more sure-handed running back. We know how important the ball is.

1:07:18The ball is the program. So I understand it from their standpoint as well, but definitely understand what AP's saying. You only get so many opportunities. Second to last game of the season, he had an unbelievable day. Why not let him at least try to get 200?

1:07:30Pat McAfee:Benjamin Solak put out a great stat. B. John is at 2 ,195 scrimmage yards. He needs 89 more across tonight in week 18 to clear Saquon Barkley's 2 ,283 from last season for most scrimmage yards for any player over the last six seasons. Special year, obviously not great for the Falcons, though. So you'd be talking about him potentially in MVP conversation if they were a team that was going to be making the playoffs or a part of the NFC South championship convo. What are your thoughts on the Atlanta Falcons as a whole, as an organization? Obviously, they get a huge win like that. That can change or maybe dampen the outrage for moving on from Raheem, Or do you think that there's going to be call for change in Atlanta?

1:08:09Pat McAfee:And what do you think the future looks like for them? No, I think patience is the key. You know, the way they're playing down the stretch, big win in Tampa. You know, they're stronger together, look great in Monday Night Football. They're a very talented football team. I thought starting the season they were the most talented team in the NFC South. Now, again, that inconsistency has to go. You know, you can't lose 30 to nothing to Carolina and then come back and beat the Rams. There's got to be some consistency. Some of it was Michael Penix, who I love. I think he's going to be a great one. Kirk Cousins, healthy again.

1:08:41Great backup, can come in and service you and win a game like this. So, yeah, I think the Falcons are in a position right now, just be patient. And another team I would think is the Indianapolis Colts. Be patient. You're very, very close. Don't let one or two injuries run you out of the whole damn thing and start all over again.

1:08:59Pat McAfee:It's getting a lot up here. It's getting a lot everywhere. It sounds like you think, though, Chris and Shane, we're close. You've got to sign Daniel Jones. I mean, right, and one. And then a bunch of shit happens. Every year. But, yeah, I thought they made some good moves going down the stretch. It didn't work out. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't. You think we need sage, at least? Isn't that what sage like? Yeah, wards off the evil spirits and whatnot. Sage, right? That's what it's called. It is a herb. Yeah, correct. Kyrie Irving. Yep. I believe since, yes, he's saged. He's a big sager.

1:09:34Pat McAfee:Yeah, he's saged the court. So you're saying the Colts just need saged, not a full turnover, because there's something in that building. Every year there's valid excuses for why the team is asked. I mean, you go back to Andrew Luck literally retiring 14 days or 17 days or nine days or whatever it was before the season, and then they're chasing literally from that moment seemingly with Band-Aid, Band-Aid, Band-Aid. Phil Rivers took us to the playoffs. Shout out to him. That was in 2020. But other than that, it's just like we paid everybody. This is like guys are in their second contracts with the Colts here and haven't won, really.

1:10:05Pat McAfee:And every year there's valid reasons. Now, allegedly there was a lack of professionalism there in the building for a while. So maybe that was leading to them getting unlucky. You know, it's crazy how that type of stuff kind of goes hand in hand. But you're saying like at least give it, especially because Danny Dimes feels like we found what the quarterback should be or should look like. But he won't be back for beginning of season. So we have to figure that whole thing. It just feels like a tough, tough. Yeah, to me, I'd say, okay, go back eight weeks. Everybody's excited as hell. Oh, yeah. Jumping out of the building.

1:10:35And you can't lose sight of that. It wasn't one and eight. Now you clean it up, blow it up. It's about to be, though.

1:10:43Pat McAfee:Hopefully we get one. I think we've lost seven straight now or six straight losses. That's tough. That's tough. Same things happen in Tampa. Yeah, what happened to Tampa, you think? Your guess is as good as mine. All of a sudden, we can't make a play to win a game. and we got veterans busting coverages, giving up ADR touchdowns in critical moments. Baker, I don't think, is totally healthy, and all of a sudden the interceptions are back. So those things lead to really bad play. But I don't think they'll make a change, and I don't think the Falcons will make a change. And to me, I hope the Colts don't make a change because I think they're close.

1:11:21Pat McAfee:Okay, so you're saying Sage in the Colts and Bucs. Yeah, a little crown, too.

1:11:30Pat McAfee:That's hilarious. Okay, let's get back to some conversation about college football. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is the greatest college football coach of all time, a man who we've seen become an absolute superstar on college game day. And his business is good. Business is good. We just acquire a little bit of the national prayers. We got a little toy-o-thon going on down here in Birmingham. We got a little bit of Ferrari Dyer in Miami. We got a little Mercedes Benz over here. Ladies and gentlemen, maybe the greatest leader in the history of leading people in things, Coach Nick Saban. Yay, Coach!

1:12:05Pat McAfee:How you doing? Thanks, Pat. Full of shit, like always. Okay, all right. You know, we're talking about dealing cars, selling cars. Those are the people that are full of shit. You know, I think we moved some Toyotas the last time when you were down there in Birmingham. him when that screen goes full and you got toyota thon poster here you got a picture of uh lexus alexis down here you got another one over here one of the funniest moments in the history of our show literally you going i'm not trying to sell nothing don't you worry about that and foxy back there cuts to a full screen and it is literally you sitting in a toyota thon commercial maybe one of our greatest moments but every conversation we have with you is obviously spectacular we appreciate you joining us here college football playoffs we're down to eight now tomorrow night in the Cotton Bowl Miami Ohio State we haven't seen Ohio State since the loss in the Big Ten championship obviously it's a long layoff Miami gets that huge win over Texas A &M in the one of the windiest the windiest game I've ever been a part of I don't know what everybody else in the history of football would say but the wind certainly changed everything about how that game was going to go and went what are your thoughts on Ohio State having a big layoff and maybe Miami riding some momentum or how do you kind of view both these teams before the Cotton bowl you know I was always concerned in college football when you had a big layoff between games and how you manage that with your team and there were many times when I didn't do it the right way and we didn't play very well and you know later in the career when we kind of made it a one game season it worked out better I don't know how Ohio State's done that but I will say this from this standpoint I think Miami's going to have to do more on offense to beat Ohio State you know they really played in the bag against Texas A &M.

1:13:42They played really good defense, and they just ran the ball and ran the ball. But I think against Ohio State, it's going to be a little different story in terms of how they're going to have to score more points, make some explosive plays, sort of run the ball, but then have play action passes and attack down the field, you know, some to try to create some explosive plays. They got the quarterback to do it. I think they're going to have to score more points to be able to beat Ohio State because it's a tough matchup against the Buckeyes now with the receivers they got, Julian Sayan. They struggled to run the ball a little bit against Indiana, but they still can make a lot of explosive plays.

1:14:20Go ahead, Ainge. Yeah, Coach, what are you going to, for this Ohio State offense, I guess, what will you be watching early? What do you think the key is for this offense to have success against the Miami defense? We know firsthand how good this Miami defense can be, especially how big and physical their D-line is. You know, I think that I was surprised that Ohio State couldn't run the ball a little bit more consistently or against Indiana. And I think when you can run the ball, just good enough. And I'm not a conservative guy. Everybody thinks I'm a conservative guy because I was a defensive coach.

1:14:51But if you watched us play at Alabama, you know, we sort of changed with the times and got out of being conservative. And I think that that's one of the things that, you know, if you can run the ball a little bit and you have the kind of skill guys and a quarterback that Ohio State has, they can give you a lot of problems and a lot of headaches in terms of how do you stop that defensively. And Miami plays pretty simple on defense. So if they can block the pass rushers and let Julian Sane operate, I think there'll be holes in the back end that they can take advantage of. So I still think Ohio State's got one of the the best offensive teams in the country.

1:15:31Pat McAfee:Okay, so let's talk about that offense. Somebody's got new keys. Maybe they walked into Birmingham Toyotathon and picked up a new car. Go ahead, D-Buzz. Obviously, head coach Ryan Day has called a bunch of plays in his time, but he's taking over play calling duties now from Brian Hartline. What's the difference between the two, you think, and how different of a challenge is this for a head coach on a big stage like this calling plays again? Well, I don't know that, you know, it's Ryan Day's offense. And, you know, they sort of transitioned, you know, last year a little bit with the coordinator that they had.

1:16:10And they took some of that stuff and Ryan Day applied it. I don't think it's going to be a big issue because he's an offensive guy. He's used to calling plays. He's called plays a lot before. I don't think it'll be a problem. Now, I will say this. I had to call defenses once as a head coach because the defensive coordinator had some struggles and got marbles in his mouth and couldn't spit shit out. And it was a burden for me. You know, I was always helpful in the planning of what we did on defense, especially some on offense and special teams. But, man, it was hard for me to do that and call defenses and still be the head coach once I got used to not having to do it.

1:16:55So I think it wouldn't be a big problem because it's only been a little while since, you know, Ryan Day has done it.

1:17:02Pat McAfee:Yeah, you feel like it affects the rest of your leadership and game management and situational awareness and player relations and everything like that? Is that what you're saying? That's what it did for me, you know, in not a great way. because you've got to really stay focused on what you're doing. I mean, there's two kind of preparations for a game. You know, you've got the preparation of, okay, here's the game plan. Here's what we want to do. All right, now when Thursday and Friday comes before the Saturday game, now I've got to start thinking about how am I going to implement this stuff and how am I going to call this game?

1:17:33Well, when you're just helping the planning part, you don't really have to go through that, and toward the end of the week, you know, you're more involved in, okay, what am I going to talk to the team about? What do I want to emphasize? what I want to say. I always had quarterback meetings on Thursdays and Fridays so I could talk to the quarterbacks about what we had to do to win, what the plan was, how we're going to execute it. All those things start getting affected and it was just hard for me.

1:17:57Pat McAfee:Did you guys win? Yeah.

1:18:03Did that guy go back calling plays again after that game? He figured it out? No.

1:18:13Ha, ha, ha. He's probably head coach.

1:18:15Pat McAfee:Oh, you were the greatest. Yeah, you got all the coaches in the playoff are basically your coaches. Now, on that note, let's pivot away. Actually, hold on, one final question. Coach B.A. wants to hit the Ohio State team in a massive storyline that could develop through the playoffs. Go ahead, Coach. Nick, yeah, you know, this goes back probably with you and Bill, but Matt Patricia's defense seems to be very, very complicated. Having played against him, it's really not. But he gives that illusion of being so complicated. I think this could be a huge problem for Carson Beck. What do you think? Yeah, well, I think the first thing it's going to be is, you know, they end up in what is double sink, which you know what that is as a coach, but they're playing zone, they're playing six buzz, they're playing three buzz.

1:18:59They got two big guys on the edges, one linebacker in the game, and some DB, usually Kalen Downs coming down in the box. So it's hard to run against them. But then they do a great job of disguising those looks and playing really good pass defense and coverage from the same look. So that was my point earlier talking about Miami is I don't think – I think they're going to struggle to run the ball against Ohio State the way they play defense. Matt Patricia's scheme is, you know, outstanding, and it's not really that complicated to your point. But it is hard to run against. So if they can't mix it up and make some plays down the field, I think they're going to have a hard time.

1:19:35Now, Ohio State's got a good secondary too, and they got some good coverage, you know, packages that they do from disguise looks, which confuses quarterbacks, and they rush well enough. So I think it's going to be a challenge for Miami to move the ball and score points.

1:19:49Pat McAfee:We're going to be lucky enough to be there, and then obviously we'll fly over to California for game day at the Rose Bowl, 6 a.m. local time, Coach, 6 a.m. local time. And I guess it's going to be raining. Yeah, it's going to be raining out there. Can't wait to see you out there. Going to be a blast. And then we got, obviously, Rose Bowl taking place. Huge game. Huge, huge game. Crazy line, if you would have pointed out, about three years ago for a football game. Go ahead, Con, man. Yeah, Coach, two guys you're very familiar with, Cignetti and DeBoer. How do you think this matchup goes for both of them?

1:20:22What do you think each coach is kind of focusing on? And then for yourself, kind of with this game, your last game was the Rose Bowl. How much around the actual football game do you have to try and keep out from the team just because, you know, granddaddy of them all. There's a lot that goes into the Rose Bowl, the parade, all that type of BS. That isn't actual football. How hard is that to keep that out of the locker room and from the team? Yeah, well, I think all kinds of distractions are, you know, a challenge this time of year, especially with the calendar being like it is. You've got a lot of distractions at these bowl games.

1:20:54You've also got the portal coming up on the day after the game. So you've got players thinking about that. You've got coaches leaving to go other places. is, I mean, there is a tremendous amount of distractions, but I think the key to the drill is how mature is your team about handling disruptions? You know, I think that's really important this time of year for all the teams that are in the playoffs because the attention the media gives it as well as all the other things that are going on. So our team, I mean, we played in 2009 against Texas in the Rose Bowl. It was a great experience for us. It was different.

1:21:30Players stayed pretty focused, played a pretty good game. And then we played Michigan in my last game there in the playoffs and lost in overtime. But, you know, that's a great atmosphere to play a game in. So if you're a competitor, I mean, you really love playing in situations like this, stadiums like this, games like this that have significant meaning in terms of the outcome and what your opportunities are to win a championship. And so it was always great for us. And I think it'll be great for these two teams. And it's going to be interesting. You know, I was so impressed with Indiana's defense against Ohio State.

1:22:11I didn't think they could play as physical as they played. And that could be a problem for Alabama because they struggle to run the ball. You make the game one-dimensional for, you know, Ty Simpson. that could be an issue. I mean, because Indiana's going to score some points now. They've got two good of players with, you know, Mendoza and the receivers they've got, their ability to run the ball, the balance. You know, and Kirk Signetti, to me, does a great job. You know, their team does not beat themselves very often. So you've got to beat them, and it's going to be a challenge, I think.

1:22:48Pat McAfee:Fernando, I mean, I'm just watching, he spirals. He throws darts, and he's 6 '4", 6 '5". I mean, and then you hear him speak. I mean, he is – it's been unbelievable kind of watching the rise of Fernando Mendoza as a whole and Indiana. And Coach Saban, you even mentioned it. It's like I think whenever Oregon was playing Indiana, and obviously Oregon way out there, not in a big five city or a top five city in the – you get it. Like Oregon's still way out there. But we've seen Oregon be good at football for a long time. I think you even mentioned it. They were like, it's hard for me to wrap my mind at the early in the season around Indiana being good at football still.

1:23:26Pat McAfee:I think that's for a lot of people, man. Like, I think that's for a lot of people. Obviously, we're here in Indiana, and watching the excitement of the Hoosiers, in which there are many around everywhere here in Indiana, for this football team, it's still very much like a happy, jovial surprise. Like, it's crazy that this is happening for them, but I don't think they're the only ones. I think the college football world thinks it as well. Whenever you think about the story of Indiana and what they've been able to accomplish, it would be special in the Rose Bowl to get a win over Alabama, Coach Saban.

1:23:53Pat McAfee:You know, and do you think Alabama understands that too? Like, hey, we're Bama still. This is still Alabama. And for Indiana, it's like even the fans of the Hoosiers are like, this is just all crazy. We're pumped. We're loud. We're supportive. I guess flights out to California are all Hoosiers flying out there for the Rose Bowl. It's obviously going to be, they're going to be massively represented out there. They're super supportive. But it's all a surprise to them. You think Bama understands what this would mean for an Indiana Hoosiers entire program, not just this particular game? Does that make sense, Coach?

1:24:23Yeah, it makes absolute sense. The guys I play golf with, we're on the first tee, and the guy looks at me and says, we should be able to beat Indiana. That should be a win for us. And I said, what are you talking about? I said, Indiana's got a really good team. He says, I just can't get around my head that it's football, that they're really good in basketball, but not in football. I said, you better get it in your head because they've been good last year and they're really good this year. I said, did you watch them beat Ohio State and how physical they played? So to your point, I think in the outside world, away from Indiana, people still don't have the proper respect for Indiana.

1:25:01Now, I'm not saying that's true for Alabama's football team. I know their coaches have respect and I know the players have respect and I know they know it's going to be a very, very challenging matchup for them. but I'm just saying from a fan perspective because you know fans just they don't look at the game you know from a technical standpoint like we all do and Indiana is a damn good team and I just think on a national level people still don't see them as a great team that they are it's crazy what

1:25:30Pat McAfee:Signetti's been able to do I mean it's crazy the in the players in the evaluation of the transfer portal like not because you said it very early in this entire transfer portal process you spend the money on the wrong guys. That's a Nick Saban quote from week one of him on college game day through his transfer portal. And it has lived up to be very true in a lot of different situations. But if you spend the money on the right guys, which Cignetti has proven to be able to do here now in back-to-back years, having to reflip his roster, even though the defense have some staples that have been around, it's like he hits.

1:26:01Pat McAfee:He's been hitting in his talent evaluation, which is a massive ordeal. And I think that bodes well for their future after he just signed a massive deal to keep him in Indiana. And to your point about the national kind of argument and the guys you're golfing with, they're not the only ones. Let's go to Hammer. Don, Todd. What's the percentage of public bets in this Rose Bowl game? 73 % are on Bama. And I think that goes to exactly what Coach is saying about the national perception of IU still as a football team. Okay, let's go to Oregon, Texas Tech. What's the percentage of bets for that one there, Tone?

1:26:31Pat McAfee:50-50. 50-50. Okay, that's good for Texas Tech now. Coach, let's talk about Texas Tech a little bit. Obviously taking on a great Oregon Ducks team. We're big fans of Coach Lanning. Obviously, we're big fans of the Ducks. They're favored by two and a half, taking on a Texas Tech Big 12 championship team. Now, when you think about this Texas Tech squad, what are your thoughts? Obviously, we got to see them live and in person. The trenches are big. They're strong. They're explosive. They have all the backing in the world. And they, alongside Indiana, were able to utilize the NIO and the transfer portal era to create magic down there.

1:27:04Pat McAfee:And it feels like they're making the right decisions. What are your thoughts on Texas Tech and Oregon? And how about Texas Tech being the home team and getting a bye in a 12-team playoff in 2025? Yeah, well, I think Texas Tech's one of those teams that just seems like they have the right chemistry, you know, as a team. But I tell you what, their defense, that front seven they have, they got really good linebackers. They got a really good front four. They got two really good rushers, 31-9. And, you know, to me, that's going to be the key to the game. How does their front seven on defense match up with Oregon's offensive line, and how can they affect Dante more?

1:27:42Because, you know, Oregon's got great skill guys. They make a ton of explosive plays. Can you affect the quarterback in a way that you minimize the explosive plays and how he can get to the back end of your defense? And I think that'll be a real key in this game. Now, the other issue I have is Oregon's defense played 95 plays against JMU and gave up 34 points. Now, you know, our players here, when we had all these great skill guys, Waddell, Jerry, Judy, Smitty, I say, you guys are scoring too fast. You know, I'd be on the sideline saying we're scoring too fast because the defense is out there the whole time.

1:28:21That was the issue in this game for Oregon defense. They scored so fast in the game, I couldn't believe they even had the ball when you watched the film. There'd be seven minutes to go. It was one score. Six minutes to go. Oregon scored again. And the defense was out there again. They played 95 plays. They scored too fast on offense.

1:28:38Pat McAfee:Who's going to slow them down? Believe that's it. Is Lanning going to slow them down? Is he going to tell them we can't be doing that, Coach? How does that usually work out whenever you're telling the offense not to do what they're supposed to do? Well, they knew I was just kidding. They used to get on me about that, you know, that they were scoring too fast. Now, I know you've got Bruce Arians there, and he totally disagrees that the offense. Hey, if we can score, let's score, brother. Let's go ahead and run it up in that. Start when you can score. But it was a problem because Oregon's defense looked like they got tired in the second half of that game.

1:29:12I mean, 95 plays they played in that game.

1:29:15Pat McAfee:Yeah, and then Lanning also got tired of seeing his defense out there. He put his ones back out. You know, they arrested some players. All of a sudden they see something happening. Then he goes ahead and puts guys back on the field. We talked to him about it afterwards. Yeah, there's a standard. You know, there is a standard that needs to be upheld. Guys have their shoes untied on the sideline. We want a college football playoff game in Autzen. Shout it to us. The second team goes in. Third team guys go in. All of a sudden, JMU's walking down the field scoring. Then Lanning goes, nope, not doing this.

1:29:43Pat McAfee:Get your ass back in there. You motherfuckers. You guys get an opportunity one time. You get a chance to go back out there. I think Lanning gets a win over JMU, a home playoff game win over JMU, and is pissed coming out of it. That's good for Dan Lanning, I think. Texas Tech, obviously, they have a mature team, a lot to pull from. It feels like you have a bunch of motivated teams, which is why I think we're going to have a great quarterfinal of the college football playoff. Let's talk about some other college football news that happened since the last time we chatted. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Coach, I think a lot of people were surprised when Michigan hired Kyle Whittingham, just how quickly it came together because all we were hearing was, hey, if Alabama gets beat by Oklahoma, they're going to go after Kalen DeBoer, and that's going to be a done deal.

1:30:24And then you look at him being 66 years old and not really having any ties to Michigan. But it seems like a lot of Michigan fans were pleasantly surprised with this, maybe just because he's going to stop the bleeding quick and you're not going to have a mass exodus of talent on your team. When you look at this whole situation, were you surprised that Kyle Whittingham got this job? And given the circumstances, do you think this is the best possible scenario for Michigan? Well, I don't know about best possible scenario, but I think it's a good fit at a good time with a guy that has a proven track record and a process of winning at Utah, which is not one of the premier jobs in the country, and he's done a fabulous job there.

1:31:06He's smart. He's tough. He creates a good culture in his organization, and that's what they need at Michigan right now to settle down from all this BS that they've had go on, and I think he's the right kind of guy to do that. I really do. I mean, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, And, you know, I mean, 66, I got eight years on the guy. I mean, he's a young man.

1:31:32Pat McAfee:I agree. He is a young man. Same with Campbell. He's a young man. But it feels like they at least know who they are, right? They know exactly what they're looking for and who they are, which is certainly a bonus whenever you're hiring. Like Matt Campbell to Penn State I thought was a good hire because Matt knows exactly who he is. He knows. Whittingham, I think, knows exactly who he is. I think that is something that's a benefit in this day and age, or do you think that may be detriment for the late hire? No, I think it's great. You know, I think what people don't realize is coaches that do more with less, which I think, you know, Kyle did at Utah.

1:32:07I think Campbell did at Iowa State. They don't have all the resources to have the best players. You know, I went through that a little bit at Michigan State. LSU wasn't very good when I went there. They were three and eight. And you learn how to maximize what you have. So then when you do get good players, which now they're going to have an opportunity to do it in better situations, and they're going to coach them and develop them the way they need to and be able to evaluate and recruit the right kind of guys, they're going to have success.

1:32:38Pat McAfee:Yeah, I think so. And I think that's what the Michigan people are saying too. It's like, at least we know a guy that wants what he wants. Like we know exactly who this guy is. And Bryce Underwood, quarterback that they made a lot of money for, Obviously, this first year didn't end up what they wanted it to be, but maybe another year of development, especially with Whittingham. Who's that quarterback that was at Utah for seven years, Cam? Rising. Cam Rising. Still got a year. He was there for a long time. I think he was fighting for another year. Yeah. He got another year? Maybe two. You don't know.

1:33:05Pat McAfee:Come on. We don't know. This is ridiculous. Does anybody know? When are you going to figure it out, Coach? When are you going to figure it all out, Coach? When are you going to do it? Just see the L. I got it figured out. Nobody will listen. So, you know, what are you going to do? I mean, we got to have, you know, some kind of anti-dressed exemption. You got to get the political parties together on it. I think the college people have to get over the fact that, you know, a graduate student can be a graduate assistant, get paid, is not an employee. So players don't have to be employees. And these graduate students have representation.

1:33:44you call it a union if you want but it's restricted on what they can negotiate for they can't say you know i have a lab that takes 10 hours and i'm going to go on strike so we only have to go six hours can't do that and you do the same thing in football put some restrictions and determine what you can and can't negotiate shouldn't be anything that has anything to do with athletic development we already have those restrictions 20 hours a week whatever it is that practice time so there is a way to do this that satisfies both parties, that gives cover to both groups so that we can move forward. And, you know, I got killed in the Wall Street Journal for saying things like college football is messed up.

1:34:25But the thing about it is, is everybody just looks at the playoffs have created tremendous interest in college football. There's a whole bunch of teams now that have a chance to get in the playoffs. There's more interest than ever, higher TV ratings and all that. But the underbelly underneath that is not really good. It's not really good for the development of players. It's not really good for all the sports that we try to sponsor in college. I mean, and I think we've got to decide that we want to be, you know, a professional developmental league. Are we really going to have college athletes who go get an education and develop value for their future as they're playing and making money?

1:35:06I want them to make money. I think they should make money, but there should be some restrictions on how they go about doing it. And the movement is as big an issue to me, a bigger issue than even the money. I mean, everybody being able to transfer all the time. I mean, that's not a good thing. Now we even got a basketball player going to Baylor after he played in the NBA. I mean, you heard me say this before. We want to have a quarterback gets wrapped by the New York Giants. He's going to be playing for Penn State. I mean, what about that?

1:35:38Pat McAfee:It's a house of cards, you're saying. It's a house of cards. Calipari and Izzo are blowing me up. I'm not even a basketball guy. Telling you you need to figure it out? Yeah, you need to figure it out. That's what we're all saying is you need to figure it out. And also, when J.J. Watt put out a tweet about a tackle, the Bears made a tackle the other night where somebody was saying, and J.J. Watt was like, you've never made a tackle before. Like, that is impossible. and people are telling J.J. Watt that he was wrong about tackling. I respect the Wall Street Journal telling you you're wrong about your thoughts about college football.

1:36:10Pat McAfee:Think about the goal that that takes to be like, the greatest of all time doesn't know shit. Let's go ahead and expose that. And then on the internet, that's giving a lot of people some Twitter thumbs. It's like, J.J. Watt, tackling? Yeah, right. Shut up. You don't know shit. It's crazy time, but you need to not listen to any of that. You need to continue to forge the river, okay, and continue to try to make things right. we will obviously be as loud as possible for you. But also, I think everybody, Calipari and Izzo included, are like, hey, there's only one guy that can really probably get the attention of all these people that we need to get the attention of, and it's Nick Saban.

1:36:44Pat McAfee:So good luck with that, dude. Good luck with that. We appreciate you doing that. I want you to know you're my inspiration, so thank you for that. Well, you're my inspiration, Coach. We love you, man. We'll see you in California. All right, buddy. Look forward to it. Happy New Year, guys. Appreciate you. Happy New Year, Coach. See you next year, Coach. We love you. Ladies and gentlemen, Coach Saban. He loved that one. D-Butt hit Tim McAfee with one of those this morning. Oh, I feel so good. It was the first one in the office. It was the first one I'd heard to be utilized for the 2026 New Year, and boy, it hit.

1:37:21Pat McAfee:I forgot. Oh, my God. Forgot about that one. Yeah. Tim on his way out this morning. D-Butt, see you next year, Tim. It was like, oh. That was it. So make sure you have that in the back pocket if you're watching right now. If nobody in your area has utilized it, make sure you find the right time. Because we actually won't see Coach Saban until Thursday, which will be the new year. Can't use it on somebody you're going to see tomorrow because tomorrow's not the new year. Has to be Thursday and beyond. Drop that shit. Be the first one to do it. It's a good time to use it right now. Thoughts on that.

1:37:52When do you stop saying happy new year?

1:37:54Pat McAfee:Interesting. January 2nd. No. What? What if you see somebody for the first time January 6th? January 10th. January 10th. Jeez. I think you're good for whenever. If you see someone you haven't seen in a long time, you see them in July, tell them happy new year. You're right. Why not? You're right, Ty. I think July, it's been a good year. I hope it's been a good year. It's a stretch. Don't you think? Well, I don't know. Seven months? You haven't seen this person for a long time. If you haven't seen him, though. You don't know. I hope it's been a happy new year. Yeah, if you hit him with a happy new year and it hasn't been, though, hey, happy new year.

1:38:23Oh, yeah? My freaking life has exploded. You know what you do in that situation? What's that? Okay, nice. Haven't seen you in a long time. I don't plan on seeing you for a long time. Like, figure it out. Happy rest of the year. That's not what I was looking for with this conversation. I was trying to be polite. You're going to be a dickhead back. Take a hike, pal. That's fair.

1:38:41Pat McAfee:Kind of right. I get it. July's five months from the new year. Correct. It's further down the road. Seven. And you say, if I don't see you, have a happy new year. You tell me in July. These are very, you know, this is someone who you didn't plan on seeing. They maybe catch you by surprise. You certainly don't. What is it? July what? Late July 28th? No, I'll say like around July 4th. Oh. If you're not saying happy 4th of July. Well, you can squeeze that in too. You bump into someone who you really don't want to see, you really don't want to talk to, but maybe they come up to you and they start bothering you.

1:39:17Hey, happy new year. How you doing? Yeah, happy 4th of July as well. See you next year. Boom. Hey, I missed it first seven months. Exactly. Happy New Year, dude. Guaranteed. Someone do that. Try it this year. Whoever you see and whoever you're talking to, they will appreciate it.

1:39:32Pat McAfee:I feel like July is a little bit too far down the road, but I like that you're still doing it. I like it. I think any time in the first five months, May up through May, I think you'd be happy. So we'll cut it off at May Day. Give someone a May Day basket. Hey, Happy New Year. Cinco de Mayo. I can say Happy Fourth of July, though. Like if I see someone January 8th, I don't have to say Happy New Year. and say, hey, if I don't see you, have a good 4th of July. Certainly. You do that with Easter as well. I run into people and, yeah, I find out it's their birthday, and I certainly have never wished them a happy birthday in the past.

1:40:04Pat McAfee:I say, I'd like to wish you a happy birthday for this year and all the years that I missed and probably next year as well. I have dropped one of those with a high five. I've never done it for the 4th of July. We should start saying, like, hey, in case we don't see 250 this year. It's a big one. Happy Fourth of July. So I think we should pay it respect and maybe not Happy New Year in July. It's a big one for the country. Can't stop me from doing it. Well, that's what I'm learning. All right. Free country. Exactly. Happy Fourth of July. Bingo. Happy New Year. Happy college football playoff quarterfinal eve.

1:40:38Pat McAfee:Yeah. Hey, that game's tomorrow night. Oh, yeah. Look alive. Okay, that game is tomorrow night. It really speaks up on you. It certainly does. It has been a busy couple days here in the Thunderdome. And, boy, we get a chance to do the field pass. Miami and Ohio State tomorrow night. That is tomorrow night. Okay? Mm-hmm. It's all lock in. Yep. Can't wait. I'm ready. I'm doing a sideline. I feel like I'm in the game. Chris Ball is going to accidentally turn his head left one time, and I'm going to come in, double leg takedown. May put him in a figure four leg lock. Boom. Sit back, maybe the walls of Jericho.

1:41:13Ryan Day comes in.

1:41:14Pat McAfee:Ryan Day comes in. I kick him in the head. I put him into a maybe a figure four as well. We're doing both these bad boys right here on those guys. That'd be a hell of a picture. Celebrate New Year's with us. All right, let's get away from college football and back to the NFL. We are so incredibly lucky that Coach B.A. joins us every single week. We've loved having you in the office and in the Thunderdome and on the show B.A. this year. You need to know that thus far. We're going to get to another incredible segment that we've done all year called B.S. or No B.S. with BA where we will read quotes that have been stated as a matter of fact.

1:41:50Pat McAfee:And BA will tell us whether or not it's BS or it's no BS, brother. Con Man's got the first one for you, Coach. Yeah, Coach. The NFL Coach of the Year race this season is the tightest race for any NFL award ever. Close your eyes. Throw a dart. Pick any of them. Is that BS or no BS, BA? That's no BS, man. This is really, really tough. You got three guys with the first year with Liam Cohen, Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson, who took franchises that were down and won their division. And just incredible. And then the veteran guys, McDonald, 7-1 on the road, Shanahan, Payton, and D 'Amico Ryans, who started out 0-3.

1:42:32Now, they might be the hottest team in the league. And for me, personally, this is really hard, but I got to go with Liam Cohen. I just think I love Braves he's a dear friend Ben Johnson what he did with Caleb Williams and the Bears it's just an amazing job but Jacksonville it's kind of like Indiana football they don't get any respect alright and now you gotta go back when they were really good with

1:43:00Pat McAfee:Fred Taylor yeah Brunel Jimmy Brian Boyer Bortles Selly Selly yeah the two gigantic defensive tackles Ainsworth Oh, yeah, smacking him up. Who was the video? Oh, I want to say Robinson bad. No. That's not Robinson bad. Anyways, we know what you're talking about. It's been a while. But, yeah, my vote goes to Liam Cohen. There's been greats in Jacksonville. Obviously, Maurice Jones drew. Fred Taylor, obviously. Brunel, obviously. Jimmy Smith. Jimmy Smith. They've had players, you know, that have obviously been able to do it. But for one reason or another, Blake Bortles. I mean, come on. Who else was there on the defense?

1:43:39Pat McAfee:Jalen Ramsey? Yeah, Jalen Ramsey. Miles Jack was on that. He was unbelievable. I mean, you talk about, like, they've had football, good football, reasons to be optimistic football, but for one reason or another, it just seemingly never worked out. And then the fans obviously started turning against, and then bad decisions were made, and it felt like Sean was doing his thing. And the fact that Liam in there, young, stoner in there, young, come in there and turn it around the way it is and get the most out of Trevor, I would love it if Liam won. I think it's going to be tough with everything else going around, once again, because of the national presence and conversation about them.

1:44:08Pat McAfee:Not that that's their fault at all. But I love the fact that a lot of these coaches seemingly have programs and cultures that are going to be in place for a long time. For the good of football, it feels like we've got 10 new programs that are potentially going to last and thrive in this entire year. That's what's so cool about the parody that we talk about in the NFL right now, especially with the playoffs. It is new this year, but because of how great all these coaches are, it's like, hey, this stuff isn't going anywhere. This is very early on for a lot of the teams. Let's head to Hammer. Don, Todd.

1:44:33Pat McAfee:Tone, what does the vote revolve around for Coach of the Year? You are AP voter. What are we looking at? You know, B.A. said he could throw a dart, basically, and you could pick any of them. What are you looking at as an actual voter for the coach of the year? Yeah, recently it's been a lot of, like, hey, taking a shitty team and turning them into a good team, which is the case, obviously, for Vrabel and Cohen and Ben Johnson. And then there's the guys like Kyle Shannon who deal with, you know, injuries. Like, hey, they have done so much better with this team based on the injuries, what you thought would have happened to this team.

1:45:05And then you kind of have guys like Mike McDonald who just weren't like the Seahawks were, you know, they were supposed to be middle of the road or whatever, but they've overperformed to where they are. And then Sean Payton is just, you know, one of the all-time greats or whatever. So it's, I guess, like, this is one of the more, like, yes, you can look at stats and their record, but it's kind of just like a more of a personal preference award, in my opinion.

1:45:28Pat McAfee:Well, good luck. I can't wait to see who you personally prefer. We'll certainly make those votes public and let the world know who you decide to choose. They will be published. Yes, which, hey, transparency. That's what we want around here. That's what we want around here. Yeah, as long as no one in the office gets mad. As long as you pick them right. Make the right choices. That's why you get the vote, brother. You got to be able to take the shots on the shins. Oh, no, outside of that office is fine. In the office. You better respect me. Who are you worried about? Who disrespects you because of this?

1:45:57He's looking at con, man. I made my submissions. I already submitted my picks to AP Tone.

1:46:03Pat McAfee:I appreciate you doing that, trying to sway him. you're not the only one. A lot of people are getting in these AP voters mentions and stuff like that, trying to showcase new stats on why they should. I'll plead on my address after. Okay. Send gifts. Yeah, send gifts. And then immediately afterwards, forget my address. Do not show up. Okay, we do not need that. We appreciate you representing the show. Let's make sure we get it right out there, Tom. Let's go to the next BS or no BS with BA, Ty. Yeah, Coach, defenses who rely on turnovers are not, I repeat, not sustainable for winning a Super Bowl in the modern NFL.

1:46:32Is that BS or no BS, BA? That is no BS. You're going to run into quarterbacks like Tom Brady. He's not throwing you the ball. He's going to take those high percentage plays. But now when it's no biscuit time, he's going to fire it in there and win the game like he did in Atlanta. Peyton Manning, he's so prepared. He's going to know what you're doing before you do it. And you're not going to fool him. And a guy like Ben Roethlisberger who's just got ice in his veins, and he's going to take his team and go win the damn game no matter what happens. And so, yeah, I think these guys, when you run into these quarterbacks, you're not – and again, look at the Bears 49ers game just the other night.

1:47:16First play of the game, pick six. Oh, here goes the Bears. They're going to get all these turnovers. No more turnovers. They give up 42 points. You got to get off the field. You got to get off the field other than getting turnovers.

1:47:26Pat McAfee:I love the fact that you're like, hey, listen, it's obviously good to get turnovers. We're looking for turnovers. Turnover margin is very good for our team. But whenever the well dries up a turnover is whenever you find a quarterback that's not going to do a turnover. That is at the end of a season normally. That is why the people you're going to face in the playoffs or in the championship or in the Super Bowl, they're going to be there because they have a quarterback that doesn't turn the ball over. So you have to have something else, not just the ability to turn the ball over is what you're saying.

1:47:52Pat McAfee:Yeah, exactly. And those guys, Tom, Peyton, and Ben, what do you know about them? You know them at all? Just a little bit. Yeah, I think you coached all of them, obviously. Those are the things that separate the greats from the good, is turning over into big situations, into big moments. This year, though, which quarterback is that quarterback, D, bud? Yeah, I mean, I'm looking at those guys and played against all those guys. I don't see those guys in this field particularly. I mean, the best, the most veteran quarterbacks, you got Stafford, but we know Stafford in certain situations. He'll throw you one.

1:48:20He'll throw you a couple. Josh Allen, reigning MVP. Certain situations, he'll fumble one away or throw one to you as well. So who's kind of that quarterback? Jalen Hurts kind of comes to mind, a guy that's not going to turn the ball over. Brock Purdy does a decent job, but you talked about it a couple weeks ago. What about him in inclement weather? So I have a lot more question marks with the feel of quarterbacks that may be out there this postseason, but I feel you as far as that well drying up when it comes to turnovers. That's the other interesting thing if you just look at kind of those top teams, you know, one, two, three pending.

1:48:52Actually, never mind, Niners included, one, two, three, all outdoor stadiums. If you look at the seeds on both the AFC and NFC. So playing in possible conditions, especially if you look at Denver colds, New England colds, Seattle can be cold, Chicago and Philly freezing. So, like, there's a chance. You are definitely going to have to prove it outside.

1:49:08Pat McAfee:Yeah, that might amplify, though, the turnovers. You never know. But what B.A. is saying is you can't just live off the turnovers. You have to have something else. And if you turn the ball over more than the other team, you're probably going to win the game. But that can't be the only thing you're relying on. You've got to be able to stop the run, brother. You've got to be able to stop the run and make open field tackles and not allow explosives. That is football since the beginning of time. Okay, and the last BS or no BS for B.A. Go ahead, D-Bud. On that note, this feel. There have only been 11 wildcard teams to make the Super Bowl since 1970, and that number ain't becoming 12 this year.

1:49:40BS or no BS, B.A.? I think that's BS. Oh, we got bullshit. We got BS here. I think we got a problem. Defense travels, and the hottest teams in the league right now, Texans, Seattle, Niners all have great defenses. All have quarterbacks who are playing really lights out right now. I can see any of these teams and I'm going to throw Josh Allen in there too because he's went to New England and won already. These guys can go on the road and win and it doesn't matter what the weather is or where they're going, they can go win the ball game for you.

1:50:10Pat McAfee:You got to forget, one of the Seattle Seahawks or the Niners playing for the number one seed will also become wild card team. They'll become five teams, so one of them will be in there. Obviously, Patriots are winning the AFC East and have won the AFC East. So that means Buffalo Bills are a wild card. It means Josh Allen's a wild card. A lot of teams, a lot of stars could make it to the Super Bowl this year, especially because the conversation is anybody can win this thing. One through seven on both sides, it feels like. Yeah, you look at these teams. Houston's five and three on the road. Seattle's seven.

1:50:38They'd be seven and two if they're a wild card team on the road. Niners, seven and two on the road. Buffalo, five and three on the road. They know how to win on the road.

1:50:45Pat McAfee:Yeah, and that's what you're going to have to do for a wild card, obviously. You get no home field advantage. San Francisco could be home for the rest of the season. Yep. All the way through the Super Bowl, which is insane. Likeliest wild card round matchups. AFC 7 Chargers versus 2 Patriots. 6 Bills versus 3 Jacks. 5 Texans versus 4 Ravens. Chargers, Bills, Texans. We think they can win it all? Nope. Chargers, Bills, Texans. Okay, can they win the AFC? Yes, is what B.A. is saying. I think they are. And in the NFC, Packers, Rams, Seahawks. Can one of them win the NFC? Certainly. B.A. says yes.

1:51:15Packers maybe, huh, Ty? Hey, we'll see. I feel pretty good about the opening round game against the Bears if it stays that way.

1:51:21Pat McAfee:Yeah, let's go to Hammer. Don, Don. You're either hosting a playoff game or not in the playoffs. Uh-huh. You think you guys are more likely to make the Super Bowl or a wild card team to make the Super Bowl in the AFC? Oh, wild card. Tony! You guys might host a playoff game. You might win the AFC North. I agree. It's probably going to happen. I really like that Texans team, to be honest with you. Defense is so good. Yeah. Defense is so good. C.J. Stroud, he has won a playoff game. Two? Yeah, multiple times. We think he also has the right jib to be able to stand and deliver in the biggest moment, which is obviously great.

1:52:05Pat McAfee:But the defense, he's only going to have to score 17 or 20. And he's starting to find it right now with those rookie wide receivers, too. Like, that first half against the Chargers, like, that looked like, oh, okay, this is C.J. Stroud from his rookie year. All right. And before we exit ESPN, Coach B.A. has two game balls he wants to give out. Obviously, every week teams give out game balls on Monday in team meetings. It's a huge ordeal. B.A. picks one NFC, one AFC. Who's your NFC game ball, B.A.? Oh, big dogs. B.J. Robinson won a night last night. That's B.J. Robinson. Unbelievable. And then AFC, Derrick Henry.

1:52:39Pat McAfee:Hey! Running backs. Two running backs who had a hellacious game. 200-yard games. Unbelievable. Doesn't that kind of go to the fact that maybe ball is all the way back to being a run league? Week 17, two game balls, two running backs. You tell me if that was what it was like seven, eight years ago. I'll tell you what, ball is at a great place. We're lucky to be covering it. The college football playoffs quarterfinal round kicks off tomorrow as we enter a new year of 2026 and great ball ahead. AJ, what a time to be alive, brother. Beautiful time to be alive. Unbelievable football. just starts here in a matter of hours, I guess.

1:53:15So yeah, I can't wait.

1:53:16Pat McAfee:Well, the ball's already been happening. Thank you. We don't need to get community noted. There's been bowl games throughout the weeks and the days. And we appreciate them having their games. And obviously we're watching all of the bowl games happening all over bowl everywhere. And we're grateful for that. Tomorrow we will not have a show, but we will be live on ESPN2 at 7.30 for the Cotton Bowl. And then we got game day on New Year's Day at 9 a.m. Eastern, 6 a.m. local. then the Rose Bowl at four. And then obviously an epic week 18 is on the horizon. We'll be live on Friday, though. I don't know if that's a good idea or not.

1:53:51Pat McAfee:We'll be live on Friday, though. We'll see you then. Be your friend, tell a friend something nice that might change your life. Have an incredible new year. Goodbye. That was the last time we were going to be on show right before the new year. Oh, I should have said fucking see you next year. Yeah, I should have said it too. Just reminded us too. Just moments ago. just talking somebody should have hit that all right if this goes in nobody will notice that we didn't see okay okay all right we're good yes all right we're good nobody knows nobody knows that we missed that yeah no still say it too that was like i've never been more proud of myself than when i was at my actual first rodeo and somebody tried to hand me a tequila shot warm because everybody was doing it and i said i'm not doing that and they said is this your first rodeo and i said yeah it is my first review and i walked it off just walked it off and then went to another and was just waiting for this ain't my first rodeo ah never came so i hit i hit i almost hit both of them still have on deck the this ain't my first rodeo if i get to another one.

1:55:04Pat McAfee:Those are things we have to think about in real time when the moments are potentially available. Can't miss those moments. See you next year with sitting right fucking there. We still got another out coming up. Yeah. Yeah. Show's still going. See you next year. If this goes in, we'll hit it. We'll get one. Okay. Is everything alright? Why are we all doing it now? Okay. You two fucking jokes. Hey, so Tone, that was you? Tone. Tone, that breath. I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure, yeah. Oh my god. Yeah, I have to hold my breath until I start talking because Mike's right here. I know a couple people like that.

1:55:44Pat McAfee:I literally thought to myself, somebody just died. Who fucking died? You looked over here. I did not! Clearly, you can watch the film back. My brain was like, Bruce just died. Like, that is literally what my brain did. Yeah, I thought it was a mic that just someone didn't know it was on. In the back? Yeah. First thought and then nobody was doing anything and I'm like, no, mic's on on and then somebody's dead these are things running through my head and it's like oh it can't be too can't do that that's be ageism to do that so then i just felt like i had to address it publicly who the did that i had to secretly let it out and it wasn't a secret inside voice became outside voice because how excited you were about how serious you take the ap voting bingo yep and he's i do i just hope everyone knows that you know i consult you on I consult AJ, I consult JJ, I consult D-Butch, Coach, everybody.

1:56:32Pat McAfee:I'd like to let everybody know that what he consults me on doesn't matter. Like, I don't actually sway him in anything. No, you do. Darius does sway him. Yeah. No, we just talk. AJ sways him. AQ this year for Protector of the Year. AQ. The Trenchy. Yeah. Who's going to win that? The Trenchy or the Protector? The Protector. I think they'll wait to see who wins the Trenchy to get the Protector award. It does feel as though Joe Tooney has been getting a lot of love, the rub lately, which he deserves mightily. He'd be a pretty perfect guy to start off the Protector of the Year award. You see that stat with him?

1:57:09Pat McAfee:Yeah, nine straight or something? Division winner every year of his career. Is it nine or eight? It was nine. I think this year it was nine. I think it's nine. And he also has the best record as far as individual player. He's like 135 and 40 or something. Why do these people let him out of the building? For New England, it was the regime change, kind of. Like, Brady left, and then, you know, he just signed with KC. And then, yeah, KC was a trade. He got traded. That's what I'm saying, yeah. But Chicago came in and made massive moves at offensive line. Trading for Tooney, we thought, was gigantic.

1:57:39Pat McAfee:I think at the time, if you watched our reaction back, we're like, that's huge, especially for the Chiefs who need offensive line. It's Patrick Mahomes. Your only downfall is whenever you can't protect Patrick Mahomes. So we were very alarmed by that. But it felt like the offensive line position was always like, If you had one, you keep them in your building. That is what you do. And now Tooney is very clear that everybody loves him. I think everybody has come out. He's got four rings, right? Four rings? Yeah, one with New England and then all three with KC, I believe. Hilarious. Or two with New England.

1:58:08Two and two. I think it's two and two. Yeah, yeah. He was on the 16 team, yeah.

1:58:11Pat McAfee:Because if you're on your third team with four Super Bowls in nine years, it's like, wow, this guy must be hated in the locker room. How would these people let him out of the building? And that is nowhere near a conversation with Joe Tooney or any offensive lineman basically in the history. It's like, what a play by the Bears. What a play by the Bears. Genius. Hey, we need certified success at offensive line. Who do we get? How about the guy that's fucking won every single year? Yep. Let's get him. Well, it's going to cost a lot. Yep. Cool. If we don't have an offensive line, we're fucked. That is basically how it should be viewed.

1:58:42And in free agency, Drew Dahlman, the center from the Falcons, he was kind of the number one center, one of the top linemen. He got signed. And then Jonah Jackson, who Ben Johnson was with in Detroit, they traded for him. from the Rams, and then they obviously took Darnell right in the first round the year or two years before. It's literally what the Lions did. Go ahead, sorry. And then Ozzy Trapello is a rookie who they drafted in, I think, the second round this year. So, like, yeah, they, I mean, for however long, it was kind of just, hey, we need to get this right, and they just never did, and then Ben Johnson was like, no, we need to fucking get this right.

1:59:14Pat McAfee:How about Poles going all in, too? That's a good play by Poles, who's a former ballplayer, obviously, offensive lineman. And a lot of Poles' picks worked with Ben Johnson's offense. It was kind of a... Sympathetic. And Dennis Allen. Dennis Allen's defense and a lot of the guys that they drafted on defense who might have been not the same. They're unbelievable with Dennis Allen. Here is from May 20th, 2025. This is obviously before the season. $3.6 million at left tackle. Obviously, Braxton Jones in his first year. Joe Tenney,$51 million. Dahlman,$42 million. Jonah Jackson,$52 million. Darn out right,$6.2 million.

1:59:48Pat McAfee:He's young. At the super pricey positions, Bless you. Bless you. Bless you. I mean, it's just, when you talk good football like that, my body just wants to lose its mind. Makes you sick how cheap those guys are. Well, not just how cheap the two tackles are, but like how this is clearly what he thought every team he coached, like no matter where he went to coach, this would have been what Ben Johnson would have like stressed on and harped on. He just picked up Detroit and moved it to Chicago. Didn't he? Didn't he Foxy? Yeah, 100%. I mean, if you look at last year's Lions team alone, let alone the other ones.

2:00:21Pat McAfee:Last year's alone, four out of the five linemen were all first-rounders, and then we lose a couple of those guys, and we can't block anyone anymore. So, yeah, that's a bummer. And I knew if Ben Johnson got the run game going, that would make Caleb better, and it all worked. So, yeah, we're in an interesting spot. Yeah, interesting spot. It's the same division. You're not going to have to watch it, see if it works down there in Chicago and continue to sustain success, or maybe MCDC gets full offseason with his new coordinators. Ryan Kennedy, OC. Yeah. Are they giving him that role? They're talking about it as we speak.

2:00:50He should at least be the voice of the team.

2:00:52Pat McAfee:I like that. Might play corner when they play the Steelers. I think he's already doing that. Yeah, he pretty much did. A couple of weeks. Already signed. Shot him down two games. Zero receptions for Ryan Kennedy. Two games. What a wild scene that whole thing is. Don't they have a player on their team actually by the name of Ryan Kennedy? Or Tom Kennedy. Tom Kennedy. His brother. Yeah. Are they related? Yeah, I think so. They're part of the Kennedys. Yeah. It's actually JFK's, I think. second? Yeah, great. Let's get to a break. Let's get to a break, obviously. This is when that happens. We'll be back on the other side, wrapping up all the storylines and family lines.

2:01:32Pat McAfee:I guess we'll certainly look into that. Have to. Yeah, the bloodline.

2:01:39Pat McAfee:How's he doing? Shout out to the Usos. Usos tag team champs. Yep. Oh, good. Here we go. No doubt. Roman. Cena coming back? No. Why don't you think he's a man of integrity, you fucking... I do. You called him a liar? I believe he's a man of integrity. Him? I think the business might need him. He's right there. I'll tell you what. Him... Final, final. These weren't the actual... It was actually flipped. Yep. So this is kind of... Maybe he's not a... So he is a liar. Maybe there's one final final. I mean, there's only two finals on there, isn't three his thing? Well, Dwayne Johnson. That could be the, yeah.

2:02:24Pat McAfee:Yeah, sure. Maybe this has all been one big work. I'll tell you what, him immediately asking me if I'm questioning his integrity was quite a grandstand move. Yeah, Cena, baby. That was such a good move by him. Age, I did not expect it. I honestly did not expect it. I'm like, what's the big deal of telling everybody it's your last time? You have no idea. What fucking Saudi Arabia says,$60 million for you to come and do whatever. Not enough. He goes, I feel like I've been a lot of things. I hope you think that I've been a lot of things to you throughout our relationship and knowing of each other.

2:02:57Pat McAfee:My integrity and who I am as a person, I don't really love everybody thinking I'm just a liar. I don't love that. You think I'm just lying? Fair. This is off air. This is like, I'm like, all right, well, fuck. Shit. Deep thinker, man. He tapped out like a little bitch. I do like that. They're continuing to run with that. I do like that. Guinter dropped another one last night. He did. Like a little bitch with his German accent. If this goes in, final, final. Okay. Oh, the guy's shooting his lights out. Yes. Oh, he's back. All right, sick. We're excited for that. See you in Riyadh. Season. Yeah.

2:03:37Pat McAfee:They got football going on over there. Yeah. You hear that? Really? Is it really? Pretty good, right? Wasn't it? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think they're doing super-duper football over there, right? Oh, that, yeah, that Tom Brady and guys are going to help with or something? Yeah. Taking football. They had that big announcement, that big press conference they did a couple months ago. Yeah. Yeah, it was at Las Vegas Stadium. Yep. It was during the Canelo Crawford fight. Correct. I do recall that. Tom was standing there in a sweet suit. God bless him I don't think the crown prince God bless him was there I believe he was It was Turkey wasn't it Oh yeah you're right it was Turkey God bless him Turkey a la chic God bless him Crown prince God bless him Please God bless him as well Yeah you're right God bless them all God bless everybody I read a rumor that Michael Rubin's going to be all-time quarterback.

2:04:35Is that true? Yeah. I did see something. I saw something on that. Both teams, yeah. I've seen him on the beach. He's pitching in the World Baseball Classic, too, as a reliever. He can spin it. What country? America. What do you mean?

2:04:49Pat McAfee:I didn't know. I didn't know if they were putting together a team, like the Fanatics teams playing in the World Baseball Classic. I honestly did. That would be something maybe they would attempt. They are putting together a team. All fastballs. Gary Vee, all the guys who do bring the fastball. Got a text from Gary Vee yesterday. The Jets will rise. Shut up, Gary. You're wrong. Good for him still sticking with him. I'll tell you what. Too quick in the back with this video. This guy's not full-time quarterback, okay? This guy is not. Too quick in the back. Too quick in the back. It does look like he's throwing 139, though, doesn't it?

2:05:24Yeah, it's 45. That one for sure. 48. Sorry.

2:05:29Pat McAfee:I'll tell you what, though. You get some gloves on. You can make those catches. He's got some movement. He's got some movement to his ball. Some of the guys are going to have big catch radiuses. That's what Justin Jefferson was dealing with this year anyways. Oh, yeah. Nailed it. Come on, man. Play up. No, I'll see you guys tomorrow. All right. We'll wrap up all the sports storylines on the other side. They're certainly worthy of sticking around for. if you have anything else to do with your life i think now would be a good time to go do it but when we get back there's a lot to talk about hall of fame finalists that's a big deal especially because people we know are in there that's good news um people are saying things about marcus freeman's hair and his future okay okay the hair i mean yeah more into there's a dart controversy drama that needs to be talked about over here in america more i'm kind of embarrassed that our sports community hasn't picked up the maybe most electrifying athlete in the world.

2:06:30Pat McAfee:Jackson Dart? No. I did see his dad put out a tweet. Dart's dad is certainly an electrifying dart, but what we're talking about is the game Darts. Okay. WDC. And a guy named Luke Lettler. Everyone knows him. I don't know if enough people need... On the other side, you're going to learn about your favorite athlete of all time. Okay, and just know that he decided to let the crowd know. Thank you! Thank you! What does he buy with the money? Well, a couple years ago, it would have been just a couple kebabs and vapes. Maybe a Coca-Cola or two, but now, I don't know what this new Luke Whitler is going to buy with the prize money.

2:07:16Pat McAfee:We have followed this man for a while now. And by followed, we mean every time he did something awesome, it would come across our algorithms, and we would talk about it on this show. Yeah, I had to. He's tatted now. I don't know if you guys have seen the chess piece. What? Oh, yeah. That's what he's meant. I saw his hair right now. I was doing a big swoopity-woop there. Yeah, my hair's clean now. Yeah, he's locked in. Yeah, he's coming into his own. That's Luke Littler dart ball. Exactly. Exactly right.

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2:09:45Pat McAfee:for all these awards that are about to be given out. And he'll obviously get them all right, won't you? I'll do my best. I got them all right last year. Oh! It does feel like you had a great – it does feel like you had a great – what, that ballot, I guess is what they would call it, from top to bottom. 100%. We're incredibly proud of you. We hope you do well this year. And we're excited to see who hates you the most after we give out all the votes. And good luck to you on that. I'm thankful I don't have a vote on anything. The Saban doesn't have a vote on Heisman, right? I don't know. I don't think he does.

2:10:18Pat McAfee:So it used to be I was the only person on the set that didn't have a Heisman vote. Reese has one. Dez has one. Herbie had one. I think Coach Corso used to have one. So, like, I was the only one up there without a Heisman vote. So literally it was nice. Like, these guys are making this decision. Remember, it's them. It's not me. It's nice to not be the one that has to take it on the shins, AJ. So let's remember that whenever these AP voters go ahead and do the awards. We need to judge them. We do. This is a very important thing that happens around the NFL. every single year for a lot of different reasons.

2:10:47Pat McAfee:So I hope they get it right, and I hope they take it as serious as Tone takes it, AJ. Legit. So they don't have to make it public, but they can if they want to. Is that how it works? I don't know, Tone. What is it? I know yours is guaranteed to be public because you're on this program. Is it everybody's public? I don't remember. If I remember correctly, at least the MVP everyone was public last year. I can't remember about the other categories, but I remember because Josh and Lamar, it was such a heated thing. I remember it coming out. But I can't remember about the other ones, to be honest. Yeah, me neither.

2:11:17Pat McAfee:All I know is Tones will be. Yeah, we'll certainly air him out, for sure. Go ahead, AJ. No, I think it should be. I think, isn't it always baseball? Like, the baseball writers, they don't put theirs out when they're voting for Cooperstown for their Hall of Fame. Is that what it is? Yeah. A lot of them do put it out on their own. That's like a new thing. AP releases all awards ballots, which was news to AP voters, says Florio in 2025. So, maybe last year was the first time. Yeah, here's actually how they all voted it out and that would be rob maudy right yes it is rob maudy new guy i don't know how new but relatively new in charge of the ap voting process and he's the one that reached out uh to us to get tone to be a part of this so we obviously appreciate rob giving us an opportunity to be represented out there and uh you know he's been pretty transparent with us about how other voters have felt about you know potentially tone getting a vote and things like that yeah but think about it where we're at now versus where we where that happens and how people think and all that stuff i think there's a lot less hate for you getting a vote than maybe it was a year ago we shall see in it all but i also like the fact that rob monty's like yeah you know what everybody does need to see these and then ap voters who have been just hiding behind like no i didn't do that i voted for you i voted for you all of a sudden don't have the opportunity to do that anymore that's how it should be that's how it should be we should know who's voting what yeah certainly around this time of the year when we have like the hall of fame finalists and you look at their stuff and it's like oh wait this guy was only all pro this many times or like we have that discussion every single year speaking of here is your 2026 pro football hall of fame finalist class congrats to all of them reggie wayne go on reggie adam venateri let's go brother eli manning obviously on there drew breeze on there larry fitzgerald frank gore let's go frank would be dope to get three former teammates in there uh in one season or in one class because that means can't would be electrified And obviously, Canton is a place that every player hopes their bust will remain for eternity because it means you impacted the game enough that the story cannot be told about the sport without your name being included.

2:13:20Pat McAfee:AJ, anybody you see on there that you get excited about immediately off the top of your head? I mean, I feel like all these guys deserve to go in. But I mean, Luke Kuechly absolutely should be in there. Also, Marshall Yonda. I love Marshall Yonda. He should go. And Kevin Williams. Good to see Kevin Williams in there. He was still in Minnesota when I was young in Green Bay. and he was an absolute monster on the D-line. B.A., anybody you see on there that you think, obviously at this stage you've seen so many Hall of Famers, met so many Hall of Famers. Anybody in this particular class you're jacked up about?

2:13:47Oh, yeah, Larry Fitzgerald, obviously, just the human being and the great player that he is, but the human being he is also. And Reggie also, having coached both those guys, and I got a special spot on the wall for both of them.

2:13:58Pat McAfee:Yeah, Larry Fitzgerald had that, hey, you'll get paid$11 million a year to play for however long you want to play. Could still play right now, we assume. Obviously, Fitz is a legend. and all these guys are. D. Butch, your thoughts as you look at the finalists? Michael, you all said all very deserving. Spent some time with Torrey Holt, Luke Keekly, and obviously Vinny, Reggie, all the former teammates, Frank Gore. All these guys very deserving. Drew Brees, your first ballot. Willie Anderson, long overdue. Right tackle, great long-time right tackle. Torrey Holt, I feel like he should have been in a long, long time ago.

2:14:27Reggie Wayne, when you talk about postseason success, wide receivers, he's right up there at the top of the list. Just all very, very deserving candidates.

2:14:35Pat McAfee:Adam Vinatieri, all-time leading scorer in a sport that revolves around points, probably worthy of being in the Hall of Fame, would not let him be a first ballot last year. You know, like football. We're just like, no, we're not going to let a kicker be a first ballot, I think, with a lot of the voters. But also in the Hall of Fame voting, you need the person that's representing you in the room, the media person, to really go to bat for you. Now, I'm not questioning who the Colts have, but it took Dwight Freeney a little bit longer than I think we all expected for him to get in there. Is that because in the room where it happened or because of what the classes are?

2:15:02Pat McAfee:obviously very hard to get into the Hall of Fame, but it's like Adam Vinatieri, if there's ever been a kicker that is warranted going in to the Hall of Fame, it would certainly be Adam Vinatieri. I think we all assume that he's going to get in this year is how I feel, but maybe that's just too naive to the entire process as well. No, I mean, I was assuming, I think we were all, like you said, you know, I guess he wasn't going to get in because he was a kicker first ballot, but I think that was just kind of like an expectation last year, and then when that didn't happen, it's like, not only for being the all-time leading scorer, if you go back and think of just the five most clutch kicks that you can remember in NFL history, he's got like four of them.

2:15:42So it's just like the playoff success too. I don't know. I would assume he gets in, but this class is also loaded.

2:15:48Pat McAfee:Eli Manning, we haven't even mentioned his name. Haven't even mentioned Eli Manning's name. And obviously he's a Manning, so he's going to be mentioned, and he should. Multiple times Super Bowl winner. Took two from the Patriots, which is why everybody loves everything about him. But it's like you look at his final record, it's like, well, it didn't go great. It was like, well, he's on some ass teams. Like, what is the view of if you get in, if you don't get in? I think Eli Manning, obviously a Hall of Famer. But there's a lot of people out there that are like, Eli Manning, what, because he's a Manning?

2:16:15Pat McAfee:He deserves to be in there? Fair conversation. There's a lot of those. Yeah, I mean, it's a conversation. When you look at a quarterback, you're talking about all-time greats that dominated eras. That's who Hall of Famers are. And then you have around the 500 record regular season. Right on the dot. Yeah, that's a big part of the argument, especially with – I know we don't say quarterback wins are a real stat, but when we all look at it, we all keep those numbers for sure. But on the flip side of that, postseason, the big games matter the most. So you beat an undefeated team and you beat the Evil Empire twice, like that's a big deal.

2:16:49Then one overall pick brought two. We always talk about leaving the franchise better than you found it. You put two on the man to leave, like that's a tough argument. That's very good.

2:16:58Pat McAfee:looking for that since. How about Sizz? We haven't even talked about Sizzle. I mean, he was a game record and obviously one of the greatest personalities we've had in the sport. Yeah, and also just when you think about the Ravens and the time, it is Ray Lewis, it's Ed Reed, and it's Terrell Suggs. He is just like those other two, at least in my mind growing up. Terrell Suggs, Ball So Hard University. That is one of the best Sunday night football intros of all time. And then also, another guy was Frank Gore. Like Frank Gore feels like a guy who played in the league for 25 years and he never wore pads once.

2:17:30I think he did though.

2:17:31Pat McAfee:He did play for 25 years and you're right. I don't think he ever had pads on. He was such a hilarious teammate just strictly because you could tell his work ethic was insane but then his toughness outrageous. Like just so incredibly tough. Durability. I think he had maybe an injury in college so people question his durability. There it is. So he had multiple injuries in college if I remember. Yeah, the convo. And he had like a prove it that he was a durable guy and he just okay, I'm not going to wear pads and I'm going to play and this is not going to avoid contact. Frank Gore, special athlete in the history of the game.

2:18:03Pat McAfee:Certainly warranted a B and talked about forever in Canton for sure. And then you got Witten and Woodson down there representing the Cowboys. Your thoughts, B.A., on Witten potentially getting in there because people forgot how good of a football player he was whenever he won in the Monday Night Football booth. Talk about numbers. Now, his numbers go off the charts as a tight end and he was the glue of that team offensively for so long. He played for the Raiders after he did the commentary, right? Yeah, I had to go back. Needed to. We all needed him to. Didn't we, AJ? We all wanted everybody to remember that Witten is a great football player.

2:18:36Pat McAfee:Like, actually, that's what we wanted people to remember because people were not talking like that about Jason Witten. We've seen the booth for just one year, one season. Yeah. I think that's always needed. Yeah, one of the best. With the booger mobile, you mean? I mean, there was a lot of things being tried there, and I appreciate that. But Jason Witten, what people were saying about him, people forgot immediately how good of a football player he is. and it's like, yo, yo, yo, this guy was a guy. And not only that, I think he was beloved by the heavyweight. I played against him multiple times in Dallas when Witten was rolling.

2:19:03He was running the show there. He was awesome.

2:19:06Pat McAfee:Congrats to all these guys. Legends. Legends. Now there's five that can get in, right, in the modern and in five. That's tough. What's the different one? I don't know what the name of it is. The senior category. There it is. I almost said the olds. Which also plays. Is that like, what's Belichick in? Isn't he in something? He's part of the seniors, I think. I think there's five others. So, seniors and then contributors, I think, is how they kind of do it. Because Belichick and Kraft are both up for the same year. This year? Yeah. They're both up. Yeah, they're both going in. I think so. They expedited the wait for Bill Belichick, I believe.

2:19:43Yeah, for coaches actually changing from instead of five years, just one year. Yeah, just one now.

2:19:47Pat McAfee:Yeah, and I think they did that for, I mean, probably most coaches because these fuckers never stop, you know. Yeah. Whenever he retired coaching, he said, oh, I looked up Jake was 40 and I was like 40. I think it was your exact quote. It's like football. These football coaches are just locked in buildings. Not now going to obviously love their significant others, love their kids, all that type of shit. But like ball requires a lot, especially in the coaching position. Whenever you have to build relationships with so many people and it's a full hands on type of operation. If you're not doing something, somebody else might be doing it.

2:20:21Pat McAfee:And if you're not doing it, are you letting down everybody that works for you? Yeah, so it's a hard thing. And these football coaches that are going to end up in the Hall of Fame, they've committed a lot of their lives to it. So it's like, you know, the conversation about we've got to make them wait another five years after this. I don't know if we got that with some of these people. And I like that they did that. But I like that it's a celebration of football as a whole every year that we have over there in Kent. Interesting city to have it in. Certainly. Yeah. We were there for the first time this past.

2:20:48played in the Hall of Fame game that didn't happen.

2:20:52Pat McAfee:So we were kind of in, I was kind of in Canton for like maybe 12 hours or whatever. Didn't really get to experience it. This year we did the show live for the Hall of Fame experience. Canton, the city for the first time. Interesting. You know, it's a very interesting setup for the Hall of Fame. It very much is. Beautiful. The actual location of like the Hall of Fame is sweet. Like the building is very nice and everything. But I also wonder if they maybe never envisioned that it was going to get as big as it is and become as big of a deal as it is because, boy, it does just seem like a diamond in the rough.

2:21:23And that's no disrespect to Canton, but that's kind of what it is. What do you mean? What do you mean? What are you talking about? Canton's a diamond in Ohio. That's rough. No, that's not what I meant. Canton is kind of a shithole. What? That's not true.

2:21:40Pat McAfee:They have an Applebee's and a Chili's. That's a good point. They don't have the Dave & Buster's, though, and that's how you know it's kind of the real. I enjoyed our time in Kent. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But it was interesting that what Canton is, it's like, oh, it's the Hall of Fame. And then, obviously, it's classic Ohio town. Like, that is just what it is. MGK was there. Shout out to MGK, by the way, coming through. He's putting a rap album out in 2026. Uh-huh. Okay. It was raining. Maybe that's the thing. If the sun wasn't out, how can we judge it? He said he scored a football. Oh, yeah. He was so distraught right after that, too.

2:22:11He did this one.

2:22:12Pat McAfee:Oh, no. That's the biggest mistake. I can't do that. But coming on the show, I said, let's not say anything that makes me look like I don't fucking know a ball. Has had to answer questions about that in other interviews. And I don't like that that's what he has to think about our show because I love that he came on our show. I'm very thankful he came on our show. But yeah, it does feel like the only thing anybody really listened to coming out of it was he scored football. And he did. Yeah. We had conversations about Kent. And some of our first thoughts was, hey, this would be great in Vegas or another spot.

2:22:42But after getting an opportunity to speak with a few of the Hall of Famers that were all around the hotel and the lobby and the restaurant, they all love, love coming to Canton every year and obviously seeing that fraternity and all the different things that they do. Like, no bullshit. Like, they love it. Me and Gump spent a little extra time down there. They love coming out there. So that was surprising. So I guess it is a little diamond in the rough, but they enjoy it. Well, also, didn't they say, Foxy, if they get rid of the Hall of Famer in Canton, and they're just going to blow up the town and get rid of it?

2:23:12Yeah, they were talking about that. They did not say that. David Baker said that? No, David Baker wasn't there.

2:23:18Pat McAfee:My takeaway was there actually wasn't a lot of former Hall of Famers or old Hall of Famers there. And we were saying it should be in Vegas, Miami, L.A. because then you could have a reunion of all the Hall of Famers because most of those guys, they don't want to go to Canton, Ohio. Oh, there's a lot of guys there. There's a lot of guys there. You guys are in the wrong hotel? Yeah. Where were you at, Foxy? The one with the cockroaches. In the hotel with no Hall of Famers in it. Larry Zonka was chopping it up. John Randall, Roddy Barber. Tim Brown was eating dinner right next to him. Yeah. Dogs everywhere.

2:23:52We were also there two days early. The ceremony or whatever was two days after we left. Yes, thank you. You're right. Yeah, Ty. No, it wasn't me saying it. You were saying it. No, because I remember, you know, I said, I can't believe that. Look at Tim Brown's eating ribs. Oh, no, we were there the same day. they had the luncheon. Everybody was to attend the luncheon, and it did not look like everybody was attending the luncheon.

2:24:16Pat McAfee:That's bull. I don't believe it. It was bad. What's this right here? Who signed this? Who signed this helmet? Let's see. Ron Young. Huh. So, just like we said. Is that just one on there? Anthony Muglio. Steve Largent. Hold on. I mean, some of these guys' signatures.

2:24:38The big names. The big ones. Larry Zonk is on there. Yep, yep. Is that him? Robert Brigadier General Hall of Fame. Jesus, legend. So there's him.

2:24:54Pat McAfee:I will say this. I loved our time out there doing the Hall of Fame, honestly. It was like a trip down football memory lane. And it is a nice little nostalgia trip. 57? Yeah, he's good. who's a dog. He's a good player. Wait, he went in in 57? I don't know. Maybe boring in 57. Good luck to these guys trying to make it into that elite crew. Steve Largen signed this thing twice. That's awesome. I love it. Wow. See, that's what we're talking about. That's the extra effort it takes to make the Hall of Fame. That's why whenever these guys make it from this finalist group, they should be incredibly proud of themselves and we will celebrate them next year.

2:25:28Pat McAfee:Are we doing a show live from Hall of Fame? Feels like you guys certainly want to go back. I love the actual Hall of Fame. And the people were awesome at the Hall of Fame. They were great. Agreed. It was a cool setup. It was a cool setup. And the guys that came on the show. Yeah, and the weather was horrendous. Did you guys go in the gift shop? Did you explore the gift shop? The gift shop was sick. I didn't get to go in the gift shop. It was quite a scene. Like 150 ,000 people in there. Yeah, so much cool stuff. I'm not fucking going in there. No way. So it was packed out. So what are you talking about?

2:25:52Pat McAfee:Nobody going to this place. Great market shop. I didn't say that. I said Canton's a shithole. I didn't say that nobody went. Canton is a shithole. But the Hall of Fame is sweet.

2:26:03You'd love the Mark Shop, too, because it's a majority Packers and Cowboys stuff. They really lean into that shit, which, to be fair, made me freaking pissed.

2:26:13Pat McAfee:Oh, yeah, not enough Patriots stuff? It wasn't even just Pat stuff. It was like, okay, so they're just doing Packers and Cowboys gear. That's cool. I want to buy some cool gear. All right, let's talk about some football stuff. The Diggs family has certainly had an interesting day today. Trevon Diggs of the Dallas Cowboys has been released from the Dallas Cowboys. If he goes through the waiver process and he's unclaimed, he'll be a free agent heading into the playoffs. Obviously, I think two years ago he had like 11 or 12 picks or something like that, led the league. Obviously, something has taken place with this particular defense, with Iberflusen, it hasn't worked out.

2:26:45Pat McAfee:What has gone wrong, you think, with Diggs and Dallas with this new defense? Because it used to be a staple, a pillar. And obviously we know him and Micah are tight whenever all this stuff was kind of taking place. It felt like Diggs and Micah were together a couple times in front of the camera. Micah gets traded out of time. out of town digs doesn't really work this year what happened do you think d but from an on-field perspective or is it the off-field stuff that kind of affects the on-field yeah i feel like it's kind of a combination of it all uh i know he tore his acl i believe after that big year almost defensive player of the year type year uh different system obviously with flus never seemed like he quite clicked with the new uh regime over there to play callers and stuff never really got quite fully healthy either so um and obviously with some other stuff off the field with the concussion that happened from the TV thing, so he missed a bunch of weeks.

2:27:31And then even when he was back having good weeks of practice, he still wasn't active on game day. So you kind of saw this coming down the line. But I'll be interested to see if a playoff team takes a shot on him.

2:27:42Pat McAfee:Who would be a team that would potentially need another corner? The first team that comes to mind, they got good corners, they got a bunch of turnovers would be the Bears just because the relationship he had with Al Harris, their DB coach, secondary coach, we had a ton of success with in Dallas. And then you would just have to look at other teams who have dealt with some injuries at the cornerback position. But right now, the first team that pops to mind, even though the need isn't necessary here because Jalen Johnson is healthy and the Sean Wright has had a pretty good year, Al Harris' connection jumps out.

2:28:12Pat McAfee:Field Yates putting out how much it would cost a new team if they were to acquire Diggs. They'd be on the hook for$472 ,000 doing base salary for Week 18, plus$58 ,000 if he's active this week. And then playoff checks are all the same, right, still? Are they still doing the same? Man, people don't love that. sign up for the playoffs then, right? Yeah, that's exactly, maybe not week 18 you're saying, let's go ahead and get out at$472 ,000 but somebody might have to sign him before that to get him from another team maybe I don't know what the market would, honestly Yeah, which then somebody would be just saying we'll take the$472 ,000 before the week 18 then we'll go, what's his contract look like going forward?

2:28:49Pat McAfee:No guaranteed money it says on his deal beyond this season so he's free agent basically after this year so you'd literally just be leasing him for a playoff run I'll be excited to see if anybody does that Because if they're claiming him, that means they're going to pay the 400. Picking up the contract. He wants to go unclaimed, obviously, so he can go play in the playoffs. Yeah, he wants to go play somewhere. Yeah, where does he want to go? What about the Bills, Butsy? Aren't they dealing with corner injuries, or am I wrong? Benford was back. Harrison has been playing decent. Their pass defense, I want to say top-ranked pass defense, at least since the half of the year.

2:29:21No, I don't see it. And then you've got to do your research if you are a team with, and this is what happens kind of behind the scenes, you know, and Coach, obviously you know better than I would, Coach is reaching out to Shadi and everybody on that staff. Hey, what's been going on? What's the issue off the field? What's going on with them? Tell me what the public doesn't know. And then on the other side of that, based on what the tape, you got to make a decision if you want to bring them in your building.

2:29:45Pat McAfee:B.A., what are those conversations like? Obviously you've been a head coach numerous times. Yeah, I think general manager, head coach, you have to have a relationship with somebody in that building that gets real facts, not bullshit facts. And to me, it's very, very hard. Why are you letting him go now? You know, something, that's a red flag to me. If I'm the coach, there's a red flag. I got to do all my homework before I bring this guy in the building. Yeah, you don't want to ruin your culture for the playoffs either, but also, isn't there a lot of thoughts from NFL coaches and cultures nowadays as opposed to back in the day?

2:30:19Pat McAfee:Back in the day, if you were labeled a distraction, and basically everybody was like, yep, we're not dealing with it. Now there seems to be a newer era of coaches that are like, it'll work here, though, even though it didn't work there, right? Isn't there a little bit more of that now? Yeah, especially if you have a need. If you've got a need and he's healthy, that's the other thing. Passing waivers and passing a physical, two different things. Yeah, interesting. It does feel like people take a little bit more shots on things that are labeled or players that are labeled a distraction. Got to have a strong culture.

2:30:46Got to have a strong culture from the head coach and then your leadership in the locker room. They've got to make a decision on, all right, is this a good guy to bring in? So that will be a big part of it too. I would go straight to my leaders. You want this guy? You know him? You want him? Yeah, we want him. Okay, we'll get him.

2:31:04Pat McAfee:All right, let's roll for the playoffs. It's only six weeks. What could this guy potentially do here? A team like the Rams would make a lot of sense. They've got a really good D-line. Their defensive coordinator, Shula, is the hot name right now, and they're looking to play the Eagles, who he's already played or at least has a lot of experience with, has played twice this year, you would think, and I'm not sure what their money situation is, but you would think that they might be able to do it, especially with a lot of noise around the Rams, and they've been able to silence a lot of it. That Shula guy is just a defensive McVay.

2:31:31Pat McAfee:Did you see him do the interview before the game? His neck thing was throbbing. His hair was just like, holy fuck, they found a brunette McVay defense version. That's what they just put out here. And then his last name, it's like, yeah, I grew up in football, just like McVay. It's like this fucker is the defensive McVay it looks like. Now, will he get a head coaching job? Probably. Will one of these teams sign Trevon Diggs? We shall see. Now, Stefan Diggs, brother of Trevon Diggs, of the New England Patriots, a lot of conversation this year about how much he has helped this Patriots team and how mature he's been, how much of a leader he's been on this squad, how much his buy-in.

2:32:06Pat McAfee:Well, breaking as of today, the world is learning that he is facing strangulation and assault charges, and he's to be arraigned here a week before? The AFC Championship, January 23rd. January 23rd, but there is a potential delay in arraignment until March. And then his people have come out and basically obviously said that this is uncorroborated. This is not true. There's also a story coming out that maybe they're trying to get this figured out behind the scenes. The New England Patriots obviously had to come out with a statement. Here is what the New England Patriots had to say about the entire situation.

2:32:40Pat McAfee:The New England Patriots are aware of the accusations that have been made regarding Stefan Diggs. Stephon has informed the organization that he categorically denies the allegations. We support Stephon. We will continue to gather information and will cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities in the NFL as necessary. Out of respect for all parties involved and given that this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time. Okay, so that's all happening. That's a very real thing that's taking place. Now, what the outcome of this particular entire situation is, we don't know at this moment.

2:33:10Pat McAfee:That's a lot of drama. There's very serious allegations. and that Patriots team seemingly has everything going in the right direction. Interesting how this pops up, and obviously we hope everybody's okay. Yeah, there's a dead and police report that's going around just talking about the entire thing. Who knows if that's true or not, but they do have a lot of experience with situations like this. Jabril Peppers, I think it was last year, just got accused of a situation not like this. I believe it was with a girlfriend where he basically missed 11 games, and then after he was cleared, his name was cleared, it ended up being kind of like a hoax type situation.

2:33:46His name was cleared, and then he kept playing for the Patriots. It'll be interesting to see what does happen because the Jabril Pepper situation and the Stephon Diggs situation, much different charges. But, you know, I think a lot of people were saying the NFL typically waits until the legal situation is resolved in court and everything. So if they push it towards the end of March, this would be a next season situation. And if not, you know, maybe around then something will come out more legitimate.

2:34:13Pat McAfee:Teams wait on the NFL to do something. And then the NFL, if it's legal, waits on local law enforcement as well. So just like the Patriots said, obviously the entire sports world will wait for the entire investigation. But Trevon Diggs is now cut from the Dallas Cowboys. Stephon Diggs facing legal charges. Stephon Diggs still on the New England Patriots. Trevon Diggs may be making a playoff run as well. So crazy day for the Diggs family. crazy day in darts yesterday their youngest and brightest star okay decided to do something that i've never seen him do okay this guy's been holly jolly phenom of darts for a long time over there in england and you know we all understand what the darts world is the darts world is a video that pops up on our algorithm over here with one of the most electrifying environments it feels like everybody in a theater is on top of the dartboard and reacting to every single inch of every movement that every dart player makes.

2:35:07Pat McAfee:There's loud. There's quiet. There's a hush. There's boos. There's chaos. There's some of the greatest environments in all of sports. And if you're a young lad that's able to kind of break through and crack through what this audience could bring in the torture chamber of darts and how maniacal you have to be where just a matter of a centimeter is a champion in last place, you got to think about something special. And you think about Luke Littler. Take us to yesterday. Luke Littler, before his match against... Oh, Rob something. Really good guy. Yeah. Rob Hillard. Rob Hillard at Ali Pali. This happens in his pre-Dart match interview.

2:35:49Just sum up how you're feeling. It's a bit of a hostile environment out here. What's going through your head, Luke? I'm not bothered. Really, I'm not bothered. Really not bothered. Can I just say one thing? You guys pay for tickets and you're paying for my prize money. So thank you. Thank you for my money. Thank you for booing me. Thank you. Come on.

2:36:14Pat McAfee:Luke Whitler. Now that was after the big win over Rob Cross. And then he was asked about it again in a post-game, post-match press conference. This is what he had to say. Hi, Luke. Well done in that performance. I asked you a few days ago what makes you lose your head. So how close was you to losing it on that stage tonight? I think I lost it. I think you're still there. yeah again one of them things the fans like I said there just gotta leave it all in there can give the odd the odd little ones out for the checkouts and the breaks of throw but yeah just leave it to that that winning dart You said that you lost it up there but still have Bridgel for 106 do you think two years ago 18 months ago you'd be able to go through the atmosphere and still come out with that performance and that victory?

2:36:58Yeah, I mean, I think two years ago, I think I would have started throwing my darts left-handed, to be honest. But that's how much I've grown. That's how much I've matured. And, yeah, people might not say mature, but try and be in my position.

2:37:12Pat McAfee:Him saying, you don't know what walking a mile is like in these boots with these darts, so you'd have no idea. And me telling that crowd to suck it, a lot better than what I could have done. I could have taken those darts with my right hand and beat Rob Cross with my left hand. Instead, did you see him delivering this wrong environment? Did you see what he did? He needed an audio, please. 48.

2:37:38Pat McAfee:Tops now. Surgical.

2:37:45Ty,

2:37:49Pat McAfee:tell us about Luke Littler and what he's doing for the dark community and him finally basically telling the crowd that this is my world. You're lucky to be living in it right now. Yeah, he is arguably the greatest athlete in the world right now. Most dominant athlete, I think you could probably say. And, you know, yeah. Hey, guess what? It's happened to Patrick Mahomes. This guy starts winning Super Bowls. And while he is a very likable, lovable guy, eventually people just say, you know what, I hate this son of a bitch. I'm tired of seeing him. We like him, though. We would like him. Love him.

2:38:16We love Luke Lipp. Me fakes. I love him a lot, actually. Then that's the other thing is, you know, you have to – I think you become more fond of him because I know I have to see a couple of these press conferences. I got to watch him four or five times because I don't know what the fuck he's saying. But, again, then you look at just the surgical precision of his gameplay. Watching darts, if you've never done it, I mean, you're kind of just waiting for a 180, you know, triple 20.

2:38:43Pat McAfee:He had 17 of those in this match with Rob Cross. He's 18 years old. So we've seen him for multiple years now. He was this young phenom and prodigy that came in. and he started winning these dart matches in tournaments. He qualified for the quarterfinals, which on New Year's Day here, after beating Rob Cross, and we assume he'll win that one, and then he'll win again. And I assume it's going to be the same hostile environment here. This tournament is not, I guess, big Luke Littler fans, but what we need the world to know is since this guy entered the dart community, he's been the guy. And not everybody's going to like that, especially in the old guard of the darts, AJ.

2:39:18Pat McAfee:You know, whenever he's looking for me vapes and kebabs. Exactly. And everybody else is worried about putting a roof on their head. It might ruffle some feathers. And that's Luke Littler dart ball. That is literally what Luke Littler has done since the beginning, and that's why we love him, AJ. Is he only 18 years old right now? Or is he 18 when he got in? He's 18 in that video. 16 when he got in. Yeah. Wow, good for him. Why do the fans turn on him? Just because he's so dominant, that's what happens? Yeah. Well, because he's spending his money on me vapes. Yeah, vapes in kebabs. And I also don't know where he's from in England, but regionally he could have been in Rob Cross's territory.

2:39:54We don't know. He went to St. Helens Dart Academy. Since nine years old, he's been on top of the world. Is that a real thing? Yeah, at this point in time, he will get out. Look it up. And that's also why people don't like him anymore is because Peter Wright, the snake bite, he's kind of become the fan favorite after Luke the Nuke has kind of changed his entire persona. No, he's right. And that's why people don't like Luke the Nuke anymore. I mean, got a little beard, got a little money, He's got a little jawline, getting a little yoked. He's not changing, but his regime is.

2:40:24Pat McAfee:Hey, same precision, though. He is nowhere near his prime yet, and he is still better than everybody. Exactly. 17-180. Best athlete in the world? Is that what Ty said? Yeah. I said, you know, you could argue that he's the best athlete in the world. He is the most dominant athlete in the world right now, for sure. Yeah. That's Luke Littler, dark ball. What are the odds on him winning the quarterfinals? Also said the hammer died on AP Tone. Luke Littler's odds in his quarterfinals at the Ali Pali darting thingy. They're not listed because he's such a high favorite to wear. Yeah, we appreciate that.

2:41:00Pat McAfee:All right, Tone, why don't you come over here, Bubba? Okay. I also did see people are pissed because his mug is on bags of corn nuts just all over England. He is minus 2 ,500 in the quarters. That's Luke the Nuke, baby. Is that the right school, Bruce? I don't want to put bad. Is that Warrington?

2:41:20Pat McAfee:So him saying he would have taken me darts and put it in his left hand He would have said What's that? Yeah exactly It's still on the table It sounds like he just thought of the idea at the press conference It was like let these fucking assholes do what they did again And I'm going to be in there Yeah kind of a who do you think you are I am situation He's only 18 man what a problem Oh my god Luke Littler I thought he was going to say he would have turned around and started throwing darts into the crowd if it was two years ago. Same. Wow. If it was two years ago. Imagine with the precision, too.

2:41:54He's going right eyeball, left eyeball. He's, like, calling a shot. Oh, yeah. You're a pirate. You're a pirate. You're a pirate. Yeah. Couldn't even charge me as an adult. Forehead. Bam.

2:42:03Pat McAfee:What if he popped an eardrum, too? Oh, yeah, man. Helen Keller. He might help pierce your ear. He might pierce somebody's ear. Eyes and ears. That sucks. Unbelievable. I mean, there's a chance. And nose. What if he shuts somebody's nose? Hey, stick your tongue out. I'll give you a tongue ring. And then that'll be trapped in his jaw. Who wants to print out what? They need to stop booing him. They better. I mean, that's real destruction. That's real destruction. Yeah, I mean, people aren't going to be paying for his poise money just because they won't want to go to the matches anymore. It'd be dangerous.

2:42:36Pat McAfee:Those environments are sweet. Yeah. Remember how we were very close to all hopping on a plane and going to one on a whim. They were very, very, very close. They got a chance. I mean, if they come over here, they got a chance. We tried to book Luke Littler on. Remember, we had like a two-week run there. Oh, yeah. It's the biggest story in the world. Yeah, Luke Littler, the 16-year-old phenom, comes in and takes over to Dart World. And then it's like, oh, shit, I've seen these videos. This is what it's like every time they do darts. They're like, yes. And then we had a couple of lads invite us over to come over.

2:43:07Pat McAfee:Because you get a table, and then you just get a bunch of beer. and you just lose your mind. It's like a great setup. We can buy a couple tables. Yeah. And then we're in there. Yeah, it's a sick. Yeah, the intros. They got it going over there. They got it going over there. That was during COVID, I assume. Or does those two people know something we don't know? Those guys are supposed to be anonymous. Okay, they're secret. Yeah, exactly. That's secret security. Yeah. That's Luke Littler. Yeah. The Bulletproof guy. The one guy comes out to Bulletproof. I mean, it is one of the most electric entrances in all sports.

2:43:38It's like Roman Reigns, Bulletproof Guy. Oh. Yeah. You sure? I'm sure. We need, yeah, Bulletproof Guys. It's, I'm bulletproof, that song. I mean, I guarantee, and he's singing it, and everyone's going,

2:43:53Pat McAfee:freaking bananas. Luke Littler needs to just fucking say, I'm done with it, and come out to Sandman. Boom. Fursuit. He comes out of something by Pitbull. Yeah, Fireball, I think. Pitbull's got fireball. Never mind, dude. That makes sense. Keep Pitbull, yeah. Mr. Will Y. Yeah, yeah. What a guy, Mr. Will Y. He used to be 305. What if he's going to be at the game? He owns that stadium, right? FIU? FIU, yeah. Mr. 305 Stadium, you mean? I think they call it Dolly Stadium. No, they call it Pitbull Stadium. Dolly. Whatever the case. Coach B.A., we love you, man. Thank you for traveling. Happy New Year.

2:44:30Pat McAfee:I see you next year. See you next year. Got it. Yeah! Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice about Change Your Life. Coach B.A., anything for the team? Great show. Better win next week. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Team on me, team on three. We'll be back tomorrow night, ESPN 2, for the Cotton Bowl on the sideline. Spend your New Year's Eve with us if you want. If you want. Should be a good time. You're all the best. Team on me, team on three. One, two, three. Team! Goodbye!

2:45:08And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional cause. Visit activate.espn.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN, all in one place. Sign up or activate now. From 30 for 30 podcasts.

2:45:37Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman from Miami, gunned down. The key to this case, it's Brian. Boy, he's ripping. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody. This might be a hit. You want the truth. Biggest one of convictions. We've been placed under arrest. We had a killer amongst us. Murder at the U. Listen now.