PMS 2.0 1481 - OVERREACTION MONDAY, Week 18 NFL Recap, Adam Schefter, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, Darius Butler, & AJ Hawk

11:53Pat McAfee:TJ Watt was back.

11:54Adam Schefter:Interception.

11:55Pat McAfee:Aaron Rodgers breaking things down. Colin plays in a huddle yet again. The touchdown of Calvin Austin allegedly from the way Aaron Rodgers broke it down. like this? Calvin's the sweetest guy. I have such a love and appreciation for Cal and his disposition. And multiple times in the huddle, I'm asking him on various plays, what do you want on the backside? What do you want on the backside? And he wouldn't give me a straight answer. And on this particular huddle conversation, I said, what do you want, Cal? He said, and somebody to my right, I don't know if it was McCormick or Pat said something about like, man, just go cook them or something so I said all right Cal you run the hitch and go back there and he did he did cook him guy ends up on all fours they scored touchdown obviously that ends up being the winner but D but whenever you think about this Steelers team in this type of game what can it do for them going into playoffs should we be considering the Steelers a Super Bowl threat or should we be talking about everybody that makes it as a Super Bowl threat I mean look it's only 14 teams in the dance once

12:56Adam Schefter:you get in the dance obviously anyone can go on a run especially with the landscape that is right now with the teams, the quarterbacks, the coaches. Only two teams right now, I think, as a head coach-quarterback combination have went there and done it and won it all. I think that's Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni in Philly, and then Sean McVay, Matt Stafford, and the Rams together as a unit. So it's wide open on both sides. So absolutely you can look at this Steelers team, if you are a Steelers fan, especially, and say this team can go on the run. And then after these two games that DK's been out, you get your biggest weapon back on offense with some fresh legs in the playoffs.

13:28Adam Schefter:So yeah, you should feel great. Obviously, you know, what happened in the fourth quarter defensively. You know, Lamar Jackson, we mentioned him earlier. He was 6 for 8, 172, two touchdowns. In the fourth quarter, you had some blown coverages on the back end, but, you know, you found a way to get it done. I definitely have some questions about what was going on on the field with, what was his name, Maximilian? Yeah, your father, the father, the father, the father. John 316, For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son. Those who believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

13:59Adam Schefter:That's the verse. but this right here, I did have to ask. Look, I love Jesus.

14:04Pat McAfee:John 316 is kind of the story of the Bible, it appears.

14:07Adam Schefter:Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's one of the very popular verses. Mount Rushmore verse.

14:12Pat McAfee:John 316, it sounds like it is the Rushmore verse. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Okay, so that's like kind of the entire religion, right? That John 316 guy, he was at every event. Remember, that was like kind of his thing? Is this a new John 316 sign guy? I don't know.

14:31Darius Butler:It looked like a little better handwriting. I'm only familiar with the Austin 316 verse. Why? You have your John 316.

14:36Pat McAfee:Austin 316 says, I just kicked your ass. Now, on that note, John 316 and Father Maximilian Maxwell potentially working for the Pittsburgh Steelers last night. If God was to continue to work for the Pittsburgh Steelers, what an incredible story this would be, honestly. And this includes if Tomlin was to move on. Like, if Tomlin is seriously considering television, which Jay Glazer, once again, we got a very tight with Tomlin. Like very, very, very tight with Coach Tomlin. They are very tight. So yesterday when he's standing in front of a 45-foot screen. Yeah, correct. Did you see Jay in front of that screen?

15:09Pat McAfee:Oh, yeah. And did you see the boys with their view of him? Yeah. That was awesome. It was the best. It was incredible kind of watching him stand in the back with that big screen behind him. But whenever he goes, you know, hardball, like I don't know if he's going to get fired, but certainly would have to make a decision in conversation. He's certainly bigger. Coach Tomlin, maybe he moves into TV. That would be something. it's like, ooh, Jay Glazer saying that means something. I think Tomlin's actually thinking about it. Maybe he's sick of the entire just being above 500 as well. Like, maybe he's like, listen, I tried my ass off.

15:35Pat McAfee:I'm not buying it.

15:36Adam Schefter:You think he's a football guy through and through. I trust Jay and his relationship. But every time we've heard Mike Tomlin speak, whether it's been a college job or retiring, he's like, hey, I'm the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Like, it's not a better job in the world when it comes to sports. So I believe him. I'll take him at his word. And every time we see him, whether it's a post-game conference or talking to the media or talking to his team. We've talked to some of the players there. He still has that same fire. He still shows up. He always hits us with a new one-liner. I'm sure he had the guys ready to play for sure last night, man.

16:08Adam Schefter:We had a lot of talks and rumblings about Cam Hayward definitely coming into this season, wanting a new contract. What is this, year 15 or 16 for him now?

16:17Pat McAfee:He's the third longest tenured or second longest tenured stealer? It was him. Van Roethlisberger's number one.

16:23Darius Butler:Yeah, so Cam is now the number one non-quarterback.

16:27Pat McAfee:Mike Webster, I think?

16:28Darius Butler:Yes, Mike Webster and then Cam. And then Cam passed him this season, I believe.

16:31Pat McAfee:Okay, so it's Ben, then it's Cam, then it's Mike Webster? Okay, got it. So when you're talking about Steelers and then his dad, Ironhead, obviously for the Steelers. So whenever he was asking for a contract before the year, all the goodwill that Cam Hayward has done in Pittsburgh, his family has done in Pittsburgh. We're talking generations of goodness to Pittsburgh, this Hayward family has done. This past offseason, whenever he was looking for a new contract, that he had to kind of hold out, kind of was like an uncomfortable situation. Yinzers were like, hey, old man, why don't you just go out there and play?

17:00Pat McAfee:You've already made it legit. There was a lot of that from Yinzers. And I'll tell you what, Cam Hayward did go out there. He showed up. Last year was all pro. This year seemingly all pro. Last night he decided to take the game over seemingly for different parts of it. He was a tight end on the field goal on the rush side, not on the back side. So on the rush side is if we're kicking on the right hash, probably going to bring in the rush from the left side. Cam Hayward is right in the middle of that rush, okay, on the left side of this entire thing. Then he's also pushing his brother into the end zone for the tush push.

17:29Pat McAfee:And then on the defensive line, he's jousting every single play right in the middle of everything. It's like Cam Hayward decided last night, and I'm not just saying last night, but clearly last night because he was even doing a little talking. You know, let's go. You know, his giant body. It's like if he can continue to get wrecked games, it's like, why not the Pittsburgh Steelers? On that note, it's time to get to our top five. Top five. Top five. Top five. headlines coming out of the end of the nfl season let's start with number five this is driven by ram and you know anytime you drive a ram you're gonna think to yourself wow this thing's all all power oh hell this thing's so comfortable wow this thing's so easy to use oh look at all the space i got and then whenever you hit that gas pedal it's gonna sound like and that's gonna be that power you know i believe the hemi is coming back that's right but i also know that the ram truck even if it doesn't have a hemi it's got a stronger engine than you let's get to the top five number five We're dancing.

18:20Pat McAfee:Okay? This is what we've been waiting for. Super Wild Card Weekend is officially locked. It is Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of magical NFL football. Now, throughout the season, you think to yourself, who's going to get to one seed? Who's going to get to two seed? Who's going to get home field advantage? Are we going to make it? Are we not going to make it? There's teams in the bubble. We need this to happen, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Baker Mayfield, a long day. Yeah, he did. Man. Nice house. Mm-hmm. Real nice house. Looked like getting some work done, too. Yeah. Him sitting up on that island. Oh, yeah.

18:48Pat McAfee:In the kitchen? She was bumped out. That's a good house. Yeah, great house. Hey, you earned that. You earned that. Baker was a walk-on, I think, at one point. Yeah, he was. Baker was a walk-on at one point. What a story. Yeah, what a story. Literally, Instagram story, and metaphorically, Baker Mayfield's story as a whole. He's watching along, seeing how people are doing. Everybody's waiting for something. Now we got it officially locked. 14 teams make it on Saturday. Rams take on the Panthers. Rams favored by 10.5 on DraftKings. Just five weeks ago, the Panthers beat the Rams. People will forget about that.

19:22Panthers hosting a playoff game.

19:24Pat McAfee:Congrats, Carolina. Congrats. Congrats, Carolina. Had to have something happen for them, obviously, in the other game that was happening in the NFC South between the Saints and the Falcons. And congrats to them getting that done. But they have 61 % of the public bets strictly because they're getting 10.5. They just beat them five weeks ago. This Carolina Panthers team, I think, could be stingy. They could come up and get you. Or what the books are expecting, DraftKings are expecting, is Matthew Stafford in the playoffs now. This is whenever all the stars come out. You know, people say the biggest games create the biggest players in the biggest moments.

19:58Pat McAfee:That's why they're called the big players. Well, there's a chance that some of these stars are either coming out of the dirt or some of these stars are already there and they're going to go on a run. Matthew Stafford, Pukun Okua, and the boys over there in L.A., they're in the big lights all the time. Is this whenever they play their best, or is this the Carolina Panthers finally coming out and saying we're for real? Now, a lot of people are going to be pissed that the Panthers are hosting a playoff game. Their record is ass compared to a lot of other people that have gotten into the playoffs.

20:21Pat McAfee:But this Carolina Panthers team can beat anybody. And on that note, this Rams team could beat anybody. Last year in the playoffs, will they be able to do that again? And Matthew Stafford, he's going to win the MVP, it appears, after a four-touchdown day, D-Bud.

20:32Adam Schefter:Yeah, Stafford has had a phenomenal year from wire to wire. And I mentioned it earlier. You know, if you're going into this playoff run with a head coach-quarterback combination, you probably feel most comfortable either the Rams or the Eagles. But, yeah, on the road at the Panthers, team you lost against. Mike Jackson had a pick six in that game. There was some weather. There was some other things going on. Panthers is a good team. Good defenders for sure. I think this would be a great matchup. Ten and a half is a lot of points, especially on the road.

20:56Pat McAfee:Packers, Bears. You guys split during the regular season? That is correct. How do you feel going into the playoffs? I saw Jordan Love not playing. I saw Caleb doing his thing over the weekend. Your thoughts? As a Packers fan, I actually feel very good. Like you said, Packers are limping into the playoffs worse than probably any other team in the entire playoff field. And they didn't play anybody yesterday, so you worry, hey, are they going to be rusty coming in? But Chicago did play everybody. They haven't been sitting anybody at all, and they didn't look great yesterday. Yeah, exactly, against the Lions.

21:27And, again, it's a lot of those guys for the Bears. This is the first time they've went to the playoffs. The Packers team is young, but they're experienced. They've been to the playoffs before. And for them, they know each other very well. So, yeah, as a Packers fan, just like Bears fans are probably confident, I'm very confident.

21:43Pat McAfee:I like that we get an NFC North rivalry game right there on Saturday night, a Super Wild Card weekend. And then, oh, yeah, we go to bed, wake up, have a little breakfast, talk to the fam, maybe go talk to God, and then all of a sudden the Buffalo Bills are down in Duval against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bills favored by one and a half. I'll tell you what, we'll talk about it here in a moment. I feel for those Bills fans, what they're going through right now. Big time. What's that? We'll talk about it in a little bit. But they're going through it this weekend. They say goodbye to an old friend.

22:12Pat McAfee:That's right.

22:12Adam Schefter:It's always tough.

22:13Pat McAfee:It is. But it might not be goodbye because there is a chance, technically, that it could have another game. But nonetheless, Bill's taking on the Jags. I think the Jags say goodbye to an old friend as well. And that friend was one that was dragging them down. The friend that they are currently friends with is one that is prosperous.

22:27Darius Butler:Oh, yeah.

22:28Pat McAfee:The Jacksonville Jaguars are a great football team. Yeah. The Jacksonville Jaguars getting off the bus look like a great football team. When you talk about having the speed, the explosive, the power, everything you could possibly need to win a playoff game. Jacksville Jaguars have it. Then you talk about offense. Do they have enough to be able to keep up with Josh Allen? I don't know if anybody does. Josh Allen is Josh Allen. Trevor Lawrence playing his best ball. Liam Cohen's seeing it better than anybody. I watch Liam Cohen, like a fucking college football coach, scream out after the 15-second play clock thing goes out to the thing, Hey, this guy, going to be wide-ass open.

22:58Pat McAfee:Our team could hear him. Didn't matter. First down. Hey, that guy, going to be wide-ass open. Trevor, you got it? Hey. First down, wide-ass open. Liam, seemingly a super genius, and the way they've been able to rebuild that in such a quick amount of time, without the second overall pick, I don't know if as many people have respect for the Jacksonville Jaguars as they should, but I'll tell you, beating the Buffalo Bills, super wild card weekend to kick off Sunday, would be a great way to say hello to the world, D-Bud.

23:24Adam Schefter:This is a great, great matchup. I mean, I love all these matchups. This is a big-time matchup. You talk about not having the respect, I guess, league-wide from the casual fans. I think if you've been paying attention to football this season, you have to respect them at this point. But, yeah, Trevor Lawrence, we always start with the quarterback. His turnaround since Liam got there is unbelievable. And it'll be a close, close race for Coach of the Year. Liam will probably get my vote because of what he did with Trevor Lawrence and that team, you know, having Anthony Campanelli on the defensive side of it.

23:52Adam Schefter:I believe they're tied with the Bears as far as takeaways, but their numbers up and down defensively are better than the Bears. So they definitely have a chance at home against Josh Allen, who everybody's going to look at as, if you don't get it done this year, Josh, you don't want to hear it.

24:05Pat McAfee:On that note, Patrick Mahomes not in. Joey Burrow not in. Lamar Jackson not in. So is this the year Josh Allen goes on a run? New England obviously back in a big way in the AFC East. Conman, you've been saying the Bills window has been closed for like five years. You were saying it as a New England Patriots fan, but it does feel like this year would be the year it'd be wide-ass open, but they have some things on their roster that the Jacksonville Jaguars can certainly take advantage of, Conman. Yeah, no doubt about it. I mean, it will be a Josh Allen or Buss type of playoffs. You know, it's kind of been that way for the entire season.

24:36He's been carrying them. Can he carry them in the playoffs? I think we all believe that. He's done it for multiple, multiple massive games. And then for the Jags, it's kind of the opposite. Last time they hosted a playoff game was against the Chargers at home, and they ended up squeezing it out. We'll see if they can do it again.

24:52Adam Schefter:Yeah, if you look at these quarterbacks that are in the dance right now, I believe Josh Allen is second with all-time playoff wins behind, obviously, Aaron Rodgers. So, yeah, I trust 17 in the playoffs.

25:02Pat McAfee:Trevor Lawrence has had one of the craziest playoff experiences of all time. We all watch that. I think he threw four picks in the first half, came back and won in the second half. It's like, will he be able to do that again? I don't know against Josh Allen, but we shall see. San Francisco 49ers taking on the Eagles. Interesting move by the Eagles. Coach Sirianni came out and said, it's my decision. It's what I think. Yeah, we disagree. Obviously, there's going to be differing opinions. He said, I'd like my guys to be healthy and fresh going into the playoffs. They could have got the number two overall seed if they really went for it and said they chose to rest.

25:33Pat McAfee:So now the Eagles lock in at three. They're hosting the San Francisco 49ers who lose to the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle Seahawks might be a basketball team.

25:45Pat McAfee:They're not a part of Super Wild Card Weekend. Still in it. Yeah, great football team. Congrats to them and to the Denver Broncos, by the way. Number one seeds across the board. Niners, Eagles, any quick thoughts on how this one should play out? I mean, they kind of had bad blood previously from the last time that the Eagles went to the Super Bowl. So I don't know if this is like a budding rivalry, but it's tough because we were talking about the Niners being one of the hottest teams in the NFL going into this. I think the Eagles are the one team, though, who we've kind of just packed them in.

26:15I would not be surprised at all if the Eagles start to play their best football when the playoffs start, and I think they're still as likely as any team in the NFC to go to the Super Bowl.

26:24Pat McAfee:80 % of the bets sitting on the San Francisco 49ers plus 3.5. What's that mean, Tone?

26:28Darius Butler:I think it's just because, like, the talk all season long is how bad the Eagles have looked, even though they are what they are, and the offense has not looked great, and then they don't look great yesterday against the Commanders. San Francisco obviously didn't look great against the Seahawks on Saturday night, but they had been on a run with Brock Purdy where the offense had looked really, really good. So I think it's just like a recency-biased thing in this situation.

26:51Pat McAfee:How about Sam Darnold, though, just quick? because I don't want to move past it too much because we need to give him some credit. Some of the biggest moments, he made the biggest plays, and they were completions to his own team. That's right. Yep. That needs to be talked about. Yeah. Congrats, Sam. Congrats, Sam. Congrats, Sam. 14 wins back-to-back years. Is Jalen going to be first guy ever? Tom Brady. Okay. Yeah. Pretty good. Pretty good. And I would like to say get the monkey off his back. He did it. He got the number one overall seed in a big moment, made it. Now, they ran the ball very well.

27:21Pat McAfee:And obviously the way they scripted that entire thing was very beneficial to a quarterback, as it should be. Maybe others should have done that in the past. But whenever he needed to make a couple, I mean, he made a couple. Good for Sam Darnold doing his thing, and congrats to the Seattle Seahawks. If Jalen Hurts can play as well as Sam Darnold can play against that Niners defense, the Eagles move on in my eyes.

27:41Adam Schefter:See, that's a big if. I've seen Jalen Hurts do it on this stage multiple times, multiple years, a couple Super Bowls. I've seen Sirianni, and I've damn sure seen that defense, who have been playing well, kind of take it to another level. So I feel very confident about my Philadelphia Eagles in this matchup. Brock Purdy coming off being held to three points after that hot run before running into that Seahawks defense kind of concerns me as well. And Coach B.A. sat here a few weeks ago and talked about Brock Purdy in these outdoor kind of late-season environments. I don't know what the weather will be in Philly on Sunday, but for all those things, I feel very confident with the Eagles.

28:16Pat McAfee:Okay, and then Chargers-Patriots wrap up Saturday Night Football. I cannot wait for this one. Now, the Chargers basically chose to be the number seven seed, rested their players, could have stole a win, and not been this seed, take on the Patriots. Now, New England can obviously utilize that. I will say this. Following this Patriots team for the last three years has been a blast with this guy, okay, alongside Connor Campbell. Boston Connor is a Patriots diehard. I think there is no faking that. I think that is his life. I think we have experienced it. There was times where we thought maybe his team was going to stink for the rest of his life.

28:51Pat McAfee:And that he was just going to have to try to relive the memories of when he was just a boy. And the New England Patriots were good. This man was going to parades over the span of his first 20 years of his existence. Then all of a sudden, maybe it never happens again. He's going to have to tell his little baby boy and baby girl. And maybe even grandbaby. And grandbabies, grandbabies. Say there was a time when the Patriots ran this whole damn thing. There was a thought that that was going to take place for all Patriots fans everywhere, Connor Campbell more specifically. But instead, somehow, the Tennessee Titans, good luck to whoever gets hired there.

29:22Pat McAfee:I'm sure it's going to go great. Yikes. They kick him out the door. He sits in Cleveland for a year, and somehow, lo and behold, the team that he played for, the team that he loves, the team that he's in the Hall of Fame for, the team that he's in the Ring of Honor with, he has an opening all of a sudden because they fire a coach after one year, one and done, just like Pete Carroll had. He comes in there, flips the entire thing, and oh, yeah, they got an MVP candidate in his second year at the age of 23. And the offensive coordinator, yeah, he's been a head coach before. It sucks. He doesn't like it.

29:52Pat McAfee:He just wants to be a coordinator. This Patriots team's back in a big way, and Saturday night's the chance to really say it for real. Has Drake been able to do it in the playoffs? Has Drake been able to do it in the playoffs? That's the question we find out Saturday night against his – what's that? Saturday night. Sunday. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I said it multiple times. Sorry. Let me get you hacked up. Sunday night. I apologize. They're feeling Saturday. Yeah, well, every day feels like Saturday right now. Sunday night, Chargers and Patriots. But the Chargers team, hit or miss, it feels like.

30:19Pat McAfee:We've seen them play very good. We've seen them not play so good. Who shows up against the New England Patriots? I guess we find out. You have to feel great to be in the dance with a real shot at this thing. Yeah, I feel incredible. I mean, you go from 4-13 to 14-3 over the span of one year. That's going to get your juices flowing. You're going to be bricked up no matter what. What really gets me going is the fact that last time the Patriots won the Super Bowl was 2018. Who did they play in that first round? The L.A. Chargers. And I believe they were L.A. I don't even think they were San Diego yet.

30:49Phil Rivers flew all the way over. Another kicker there, too, who led the Patriots on that little bit of a run? Sonny Michel, rookie running back. So we kind of have rookie running back right now, Trevion Henderson. There's a lot of parallels between the two. In reality, I think what you mentioned is going to be a huge message. Hey, the Chargers could have easily been the sixth seed. They chose to bench everybody, not play anybody, have a little mini bye week. They chose to kind of move down to that seventh seed in order to come and play you guys. Now, maybe they didn't want to go to Jacksonville again because they did blow a 28-0 lead in Jacksonville.

31:21So they said, hey, we can't go there anymore. Not doing that. Let's go to Foxborough, play Vrabels. Boys, I feel fantastic. I think the MVP fodder will be awesome this week as well up until, you know, basically until the Super Bowl February 5th when it gets announced. But that will be a motivator. Everyone getting healthy for the Patriots this past week. I mean, we just beat the absolute dog shit out of the Miami Dolphins with Milton Williams coming back, highest paid player on the team. Will Campbell coming back, leading the way on multiple rushing touchdowns. Efton Chisholm, the third superstar, kind of budding for the New England Patriots.

31:54And Stephon Diggs getting 1 ,000 yards receiving again after kind of going through a little bit of an ACL and some other things. But it does feel as though the Patriots are rolling in all directions. It is a great feeling to be back on the biggest stage and hosting playoff games. I mean, we're talking about a chance where they're hosting two, maybe three playoff games on the way to a Super Bowl. I mean, it's remarkable that you can flip a team in a culture like this. And you mentioned it on a day like today, Black Monday, where coaches and GMs are getting fired. Just keep in mind, look to the New England Patriots.

32:26Look to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Look to these teams, the Chicago Bears, that were absolute shite and in one year flipped it. I mean, we're talking about teams that can legitimately go and win the Super Bowl because of a few changes.

32:38Pat McAfee:And Vrabel, I think we all thought was going to be a great coach. Or knew he was going to be a great coach. Ben Johnson all knew he was going to be a great coach, right? It felt like everybody thought he was going to be a great coach. Liam Cohen came out of nowhere. That was a late hire. Nobody really knew. Remember, he wasn't even going to be able to put together a staff, allegedly. They were trying to slander his name pretty good. With Duvall. And they did the Duvall thing. It was hard not to talk a lot of shit about that. But then you see what they're able to do. It's like if you find a good leader, there is a chance you can flip an entire culture.

33:03Pat McAfee:These are all NFL players. If you're able to rally an entire building in the same direction, you're able to get in the dance. And obviously, Tomiko Ryans and Casario have been able to do that down in Houston multiple times. C.J. Stroud might be playing his best ball, and then they play against Pittsburgh Steelers at home on Monday night. Steelers, obviously, impossible to beat on Monday night football. Is that change whenever it's the playoffs? And does that matter? How does that matter? How is that a real thing? I genuinely want to know that.

33:30Adam Schefter:I mean, I don't think it matters. Me neither. Every game is its own game. We've obviously been in those buildings. We have those stats, whether it's, hey, we start slow as a team or prime time or whatever it is. But the game is going to be the game. Once again, another great matchup. I can't wait to see this Houston Texans defense on prime time, that defense again. You mentioned C.J. Stryke playing some good ball as well. So, yeah, it's going to be another banger. I mean, this whole slate, man. I mean, you couldn't really, you couldn't react for a better slate. Fantastic.

34:00Pat McAfee:That's why Super Wild Card Weekend has become must-watch. Maybe best weekend of ball that there is all year. Obviously, Super Bowl weekend's sweet. There's only one game. Championship weekend's sweet because there's so much on the line. Divisional round's cool. The fact that we get two, three, and one here of all meaningful football with great football teams. It's beautiful.

34:19Adam Schefter:It's so beautiful. College football playoffs right before it. So beautiful. We got to enjoy these boys. It's a dream. We got to enjoy this time.

34:27Pat McAfee:Let's close our eyes. I don't even feel like I deserve it.

34:36Pat McAfee:Everyone's like, you got to do that. Oh, yeah. Just kind of take it in. We're here. Let's go to the number four headline coming out of the NFL season. Goodbye to the Ralph. I guess since 2021, it's been called Highmark Stadium, Blue Cross Blue Shield. The new stadium will be Highmark Stadium right across the way. This has been the home of the Buffalo Bills since 1973. Wow. All the documentaries and stories that you hear about the Buffalo Beals come from the Ralph. I was very lucky that I got a chance during my career to play at Lambeau. I got a chance to play at Candlestick. I got a chance to play at that one place out there in Oakland.

35:09Pat McAfee:What's the name of that? Coliseum. Coliseum. I got a chance to play in a lot. Yeah, the Black Hole. I got a chance to play in a lot of places that are football movies. Playing in the Ralph my rookie year in the middle of a blizzard felt like I was in the middle of a football movie. Place is obviously very special. I had a lot on the line that game, although all my teammates did not. It was very fascinating. We were attempting to lose that game. It was the end of our undefeated season that we had. For me, I had to have a couple inside 20. I had to average over something to get a million-dollar escalator, which was obviously the most amount of money that I could ever fathom in my life.

35:41Pat McAfee:So it was a joy to be there. Obviously thankful for everything the Buffalo Bills people have done for football as a whole. You're talking about a passionate, loyal. I don't even know if there's any other place that has gone through what fans have gone through to remain the fans let alone the four falls heartbreak after heartbreak after heartbreak kind of happening with the Ravens right now just not at the Super Bowl level that was all at the Super Bowl level for the Ravens end of season the last four years it's just heartbreak heartbreak heartbreak heartbreak heartbreak but whenever you talk about the Bills the weather digging out your own seats having to get to this place in the back of tractors.

36:21Pat McAfee:And then what they do every single time they show up is be the best fan base that you can have. It's like, congrats to Buffalo. Congrats to the Ralph on a hell of a run. And the scenes coming out after the game here, this is from Jason McCourty who was calling the game, where nobody left and they just relive some of the greatest moments of the Ralph. Now, some people, I assume, are very tuned up and blacked out at this moment and will not remember this other than some of the pictures, hopefully, people have of them out there. But it's like, this is a special fan base, special place. And obviously their next stadium is going to be awesome with big-ass bison out front.

36:50Pat McAfee:But I like whenever people get emotional about something, and they certainly did about the Ralph. I think that's a beautiful thing. Yeah, it just shows you how much football means to the people of Buffalo and just fans in general. Like in that Sal Capaccio tweet, I mean, there's a security lady who's been there for 32 years. That is so long just to be at one place in general, let alone work at one place. That's remarkable, but also to keep in mind for the people of Buffalo, These new stadiums are remarkable. They are so nice. You're going to love it. You're going to love it, okay? After you get over this, after you get over this heartbreak, and hopefully the people over there got to yank something out of that stadium to keep forever in their base.

37:30Might have another game in there. Yeah, might have another game in there. Can still host the Chargers in the AFC Championship, but you're going to love this new Highmark Stadium. It's going to be gorgeous.

37:38Pat McAfee:Yeah, it was a perfect night, cold as hell. Obviously a great way to send off. I wish there was a little bit more snow in there so you could feel it. And once I read Sal Capaccio's tweet, I completely forgot, like, oh, it is going to be an emotional day, especially for Sal Capaccio. Yeah, especially for Sal. Especially for Sal. There's a lot of Sal's up there in Buffalo. You're the Buffalonians. Brother? Yeah. Yeah, there's a lot of good Buffalonians up there. And it reminded me of whenever I was a child, and they tore down the igloo. They did this downtown Pittsburgh. They tore down the igloo.

38:05Pat McAfee:And I'll tell you what, I was bummed out alongside everybody else. This is the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And they just went ahead and just took that thing down. They showed it across the entire city whenever they started. Now, you'll see there's four different winners that came and went while these things were being turned out. That's not how I remember it in my head at all. I think I had a little Mandela effect. In my head, they imploded that thing, and we all got out of school for it. That's how my head remembered it, and then we got to send it in there. Turns out they took their sweet-ass time.

38:35Pat McAfee:Somebody had a good contract on this thing, and they go ahead and say, we're going to need another 12 months or so. We're going to need another 12 months or so, So whatever the case, the city of Pittsburgh was very emotional whenever this went down. Three Rivers, same exact thing. Very emotional. It's like the Ralph. I can understand it. I appreciate it. And we had one this weekend, Tone.

38:53Darius Butler:Yeah, we did. And it's like I remember waking up and watching the implosion of Three Rivers Stadium. It was like everyone was down there. It was like it was something. And I remember when we were growing up, a kid in your grade actually had stadium seats from Three Rivers in his basement. It was awesome. Shout out, Josh Rowden. Thank you. Yep, you knew. That was like something that happened. And I'm sure that was something that happened in Buffalo yesterday. It's just like so many memories in that place. And like when you think about something and you think about these stadiums, like it's not just like the football, but like you go there with family.

39:23Darius Butler:Like it's a family tradition and the tailgates and everything like that. It's an emotional day for sure.

39:27Pat McAfee:Yeah, I'll tell you what. The reason why I knew it was Josh Ronix is he had a couple ping pong tournaments in that basement. Boom. Get a game winner. Pretty exhausted. Let me go and sit down in three rooms. Yeah, we did. Right next to the – Yeah, the amount of shit being talked to at that entire thing. Josh Rowan, a great dude, great family, and also his dad loved collecting that type of stuff. Shout-out, Stu. Yeah, shout-out, Stu. It wasn't just that. I mean, he had. I think you'd probably find a piece of Mary Lou's hair down here. Uh-huh. If you really had, too. Good people, good times. Nothing stops for him.

39:54Pat McAfee:Boom. Best truck. Down the line. Let's go to the number three headline. Miles Garrett Morales. Congrats, Miles.

40:02Adam Schefter:Thank you, Miles.

40:03Pat McAfee:I thought he was going to get this a couple weeks earlier. Obviously, he was on a wrecking path to kind of make this happen. He's been all over the field. and we know of Miles Garrett's greatness strictly because we've gotten a chance to witness it. It is a shame, though, much like Joe Thomas, the teams he has played on for the Cleveland Browns have been asked whenever you're a goat. Now, they paid him$40 million a year, reset the entire market because they understand his greatness. He, at one point, was worried that he didn't win enough games and he wanted to win more games. He's not worried about getting into the Hall of Fame.

40:32Pat McAfee:Now, he signs on to be a Cleveland Brown pillar in his first year post-brand-new contract in which he resets the entire market. He breaks the sack record. Now, it did take 17 games as opposed to 16 games. Heard Michael Strahan talk about that. I think that's a very real argument that's going to happen as football continues to go. Adam Vinatieri, all-time leader in points. 16-game season. I think at some point somebody's going to come with these extra games and potentially catch them. Nonetheless, very impressive, very pumped. And Strahan might come up to Joe Burrow someday and say, You screwed me!

41:04Pat McAfee:Oh, yeah. You screwed me! I think he was going to get them regardless. I think Joe knew that, but people are saying,

41:10Adam Schefter:Joey, he laid down for him. I mean, yeah, I understand it. Joe, we've all seen what Joe has been through health-wise and getting to the last game of the season. He probably saw 95 getting off the ball from his periphery and knew he probably had no chance of getting out of the group. But this was awesome. This was cool. His dad been in the crowd with this camera, and it looked like he got emotional. I don't even know if he had a chance to get a picture because he was so jacked up once he finally got the sack. And in 17 games, that'll be a conversation, but then there'll be other people that say, this amount of snaps and all the stats that we have now around it.

41:41Adam Schefter:But we've all watched Mavis Gehring. He has been one of, if not the most dominant defender in his generation, you know, from wide to wide, from coming into the league as the number one overall pick. He's lived up to all the stuff, man. He's just an unbelievable player. Great person for that city. Hopefully they can build a winner around him, but he's a great pillar to build around.

41:58Pat McAfee:Hopefully they're able to. Honestly, there's a lot of change happening in Cleveland as we speak. Who knows what the next iteration looks like. Mark Gassino had a hell of a run, okay? New York SAC Exchange. Doug Martin did his thing. Obviously, Strahan comes in and TJ Watt and then Miles Garrett. Congratulations to all these dudes for being incredible on a football field. Gasno, you're ahead of your time. Yeah, he was. Back to back. One of the goals. Ahead of your time, dude. Let's go to the number two headline coming out of the NFL season, shall we? Yeah, the only thing with that Miles Garrett thing, just for Zach Taylor to go up there after the game and say, We're fighting for our freaking lives.

42:37Dude, no one's watching this game. No one's watching this game unless you're watching it for Miles Garrett. What are you talking about? Go on. What are you talking about? Well, the whole entire thing, you know, he was pretty upset, and Jamar Chase mentioned it as well. I don't think he was as upset as Zach Taylor was. You know, they kind of stopped the game for Miles Garrett to celebrate and enjoy this historic moment that may never happen again. Now, granted, like you said, 17 games. Eventually, maybe the season goes to 18. Still got it. Not his fault. I'm not saying. Yeah, not his fault. It's certainly a conversation.

43:04Certainly a conversation. and once it goes to 18 games and someone breaks this record, guess what's going to happen? They're going to stop the game because it's history in the NFL. The only thing anybody will ever remember from the Bengals season probably or the Browns season in the 2025 NFL season was Myles Garrett got the sack record in Cincinnati against the Bengals. So for some of the people to be upset about them stopping the game or everything, that's ridiculous. May we remind you, when Drew Brees broke the NFL passing record, this is what happened. Okay? Monday night football. Yeah. Never forget.

43:40Only game on. And also, this record got broken maybe a year later. Look what they did. The refs, I think, took off their hats and took knees to shake his hand. I think the coach of the other team walked over and said, hey, Drew, congratulations. Now, whether that was Ron Rivera or not, who knows. But still, look at what happened. For Drew Brees. They did a – he basically won the Super Bowl. They brought a podium out. They did. I don't know. He gave a speech. He did. He did the one for me, two for you. He did that whole thing. Three for us. Four for them.

44:11Pat McAfee:Wait, this is doing a break? No, this is on the show. No break. This is on the game.

44:16Adam Schefter:Oh, I missed that.

44:17Pat McAfee:Yeah, it's like whenever legendary NFL records get broken, you know, passing, sacking. Right. I would assume. Rushing. I bet Emmitt Smith had some. Oh, yeah. Yeah. These big ones. The huge ones. There's going to be a moment of, holy hell. This league's been around a long time. There's been a lot of great players, and obviously this impact. Family. Family's about to walk on the field. It's second quarter. So I think a lot of people probably judged this moment as well. And then the NFL came out and was like, hey, this is a huge deal, man. Like, we would like our players to know that if you become.

44:48Pat McAfee:What? I don't remember that. Yes. This all happened. All of it. This happened. Yes. This did happen. Look at the Jumbotron. All-time pass yard leader. Congratulations. I mean, they stopped. This is second quarter.

45:00Adam Schefter:They just should.

45:01Pat McAfee:Game after that one of them. Yes, they should. The game happened. This game has been going on a long time. And for you to break one of those. David Baker. Hell yeah. Taking that thing right in the hole. Put it in the hole. With the white gloves. The gloves. I don't want to put my fingerprints on it. Shout out to David Baker. All right, anyways.

45:15Darius Butler:He played left tackle actually right after this.

45:17Pat McAfee:Yeah, well, they needed a guy. Obviously, he had somebody get hurt. They ended up winning the game. David Baker obviously played left tackle for you. He's a good place to be. But nonetheless, whenever these big records happen, there has been precedent already set that we are going to celebrate it in the moment. And, yeah, I didn't like Miles catching a little hell there for getting Rudy. Yeah, I was going to say, if you would have been like, you know, listen, stopping the game is one thing. And for them to, you know, put him on their shoulders and take him off the goddamn field, like Rudy, that's another thing.

45:41Pat McAfee:All right, let's go to the second headline coming out of the NFL season. A most valuable momentum shift. Matthew Stafford is now the MVP favorite. I appreciate that we put Matt on the graphic, you know, even though he is a Matthew Stafford. Mad respect for what Matthew has been able to accomplish this late into his career. He is now 180. We had a conversation last week with Dan Orlovsky. Dan Orlovsky said, Matthew Stafford, what are we? Yeah, right. Harder players, harder competition, everything. He's done it. This is Matthew Stafford. We said, you're just kind of throwing Drake May out because he played against bad teams, is what you're saying?

46:13Pat McAfee:Yeah, strength of schedule has to matter. Then he throws four touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals, and the conversation is, hey, this is a good football team. Arizona Cardinals is a good football team. You know, so you can obviously cat, dog, chase, tail situation in this entirety. What we know is if you're in the MVP conversation, you've had a fantastic year. And Matthew Stafford, I think, did put a stamp on it this past weekend, throwing for four touchdowns. Now, when you look at the stats, it's absurd what Matthew Stafford's been able to do. When you look at what the Rams are able to do offensively, it's crazy.

46:42Pat McAfee:And, Tone, you're a voter. One of these votes have to go in, and you've been saying this entire time, I want to look at the entire 17-game picture.

46:49Darius Butler:Yeah, they have to be in by 3 p.m. today. Obviously, the award will be announced Thursday before the Super Bowl. Going into week 17, Stafford was the favorite. And then he had that bad game against the Falcons. And Drake May had an all-time game against the Jets. And then this weekend, obviously, it flips again. So it's like these last two weeks have been monumental towards this race. I just didn't like the, oh, it has to be this guy. Or it has to be this guy. Both these guys have had unbelievable years. 46-8 is absurd for Stafford. And then Drake May, 35-8 with his rushing yards and with his rushing touchdowns, too.

47:24Darius Butler:Like they're both absurd. Drake may leads the league in completion percentage and then average distance per target. Like to have those two things together is yeah, exactly. Drake may is the best on third down to like both of these quarterbacks are very, very deserving. Just like last year, both the quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen were very, very deserving. I don't like people putting down either to make the case for their guy, but that's just how it is these days. But like either I don't want to be surprised if either of them won. Well, that's the other thing. Like as a Patriots fan, I feel like if you just do take a step back and realize like Matthew Stafford has never really been in the MVP conversation.

47:57He's never really been – I don't know if he's ever been all pro. Drake Mays, 23, hopefully he will be back here no matter what the schedule is. But Matt Stafford does deserve it in his own right, especially when what's the most important thing, scoring touchdowns. People have been throwing shade on the 15 one-yard touchdown passes, but that doesn't matter. Just because they're one yard doesn't mean that's not an unbelievable ball. How many times have we shown Devontae Adams, you know, him throwing it in the perfect spot where only Devontae can get it? Like, that should help his case in many senses.

48:32I mean, in this case, Pukenicu, a great play. But still, it is just – it feels as though Stafford should win it this year.

48:38Pat McAfee:Pukenicu is up for an award or two as well. I mean, you could have a couple awards heading to the Los Angeles Rams this season. And the crazy part about it all is it's been a rebuild after rebuild after rebuild out there for L.A. and seemingly still have their pillars, still have their studs, and obviously still have a chance to win to Lombardi.

48:52Adam Schefter:Yeah, Mr. Stafford has just been unbelievable. And he, what is he, 37, 36 this year, however old. And him being with Sean McVay, obviously they're on the same page. And just coming into each and every game damn near, it seems like he was always in full control. And throwing those touchdown passes, leading in yards, all the different things, like you said, Tone, either one of these guys could win it. But Matt Stafford, with the questions that we had about his health coming into this year, the rebuild kind of around him, bringing in Devontae. Like, people can talk about those, you know, one-yard touchdowns.

49:20Adam Schefter:that's hard to get on the same page with a receiver like that, especially down there. Everyone would do it, you know, the same way people look at Tush Push. Like, everyone could do it. Everyone would do it if everyone could do it. So that's a tough spot to be in, but Matt Stafford has been phenomenal wide-to-wide. So has Drake May. But this, I mean, I'm not surprised that Matt Stafford is the, I guess, slight favorite at this point. As 2009 draft classies, me and Darius, we'd like to say, hell yeah, man. Hell yeah.

49:44Pat McAfee:Hell yeah. That's a damn good dog. That's a damn good dog there, Matthew Stafford. Now, valuable, and we talked about it last week, and then J.J. Watt, you know, went again yesterday. Drake Mays definitely more valuable to his team than Matt Stafford. Why would you say that? I mean, you just mentioned one of the guys, Devontae Adams, Scott brought in. You mentioned Puka Nakua, maybe winning Offensive Player of the Year. Two running backs right now balling over there.

50:08Adam Schefter:They're pretty good. That was the argument. Henry.

50:11Pat McAfee:Okay, go ahead.

50:12Adam Schefter:Travion. Josh McDank. They got good coaches. Hunter.

50:16Pat McAfee:Hunter. Hunter? Hunter's very good. Puka Nakua or Stephon Diggs? What, weapons? Yeah. Would you take Puka or Stephon Diggs? I would take Puka. Would you take Devontae or Stephon Diggs? I don't know. No, no, no. There you go. What's Puka up for? What is Puka up for?

50:32Darius Butler:Offensive player.

50:33Pat McAfee:And I think he's got pretty good odds.

50:35Darius Butler:Yeah, he's second behind JSN, who's had a historic season.

50:38Pat McAfee:Okay, so Christian McCaffrey also in this entire conversation. I mean, there's a lot of great players. A lot of great players. Matthew Stafford hops into that trailer during training camp. Comes out spinning it. $140 ,000 bed? Is that what they said? Holy. It doesn't look comfortable either.

50:58Darius Butler:What's that? The bed doesn't look comfortable either. What? So. We had eyes on the bed? Yeah, we had eyes on the bed. It looks hard. There's no cushion. There's no padding. Heels your whole body.

51:08Pat McAfee:I don't think we've seen the actual bed. We've seen a 3D graphic, I think, of what the bed looks like. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't think they've shown us what the actual bed looks like. I think we have, in theory, this is what the bed looks like. And it's Matthew Stafford laying down, and there's just red light therapy everywhere, and then he's laying on a thing, and then they say it vibrates you to the proper medium or whatever the hell you're supposed to get. Then there's a red light thing that you're supposed to get. Then there's a temperature thing, a sound thing. It basically just cures your entire body.

51:38Pat McAfee:Yep. $140 ,000. Don't you worry about it. I have thought about purchasing a few of these things. It looks cool. It looks very cool, and if you have a hurt back, then you go in that thing, and then you become an MVP at 37, I'm thinking about maybe we need to lay our eyes down. Sold! Yeah, exactly. Exactly. They've had a hell of a run, that immortal group. And then let's get to the number one headline for this particular Overreaction Monday. It's Black Monday. Folks are getting fired. And folks are staying. That's right. Sure are. There's always a yin to a yan. There's always a zig to a zag. You know, some teams see what happened in New England.

52:14Pat McAfee:and Chicago and Jacksonville and think to themselves, well, if we just make a little bit of a shift here, we can go on a potential Lombardi run. And then other places say, we like our guys. The Bengals have said, we like our guys. Zach Taylor and Duke Tobin sticking around for the Cincinnati Bengals. Now, it was reported late into the season that these two have contracts for at least another year, and that made everybody think to themselves, Bengals aren't paying multiple contracts. So they are going to stay. Indianapolis Colts, Shane Steichen, head coach, and Chris Ballard, general manager, will be sticking around.

52:46Pat McAfee:That announcement came 35 seconds after losing our eighth straight football game here in Indianapolis, which means a decision was already made before the game even started. The outcome against the Houston Texans, who obviously have an incredible football team, really didn't matter to what was going to happen in the future. Now, I will say this about the Indianapolis Colts. I am a Chris Ballard fan. I love the human Chris Ballard. He has been nothing but good to us, to the city of Indianapolis, I think the organization at the time, whenever he got in there, kind of piecing everything back together after all the hell that had been taking place and the mistrust and everything that happens, okay?

53:21Pat McAfee:Now, this is going to be 10 years, no AFC South championships, and nobody really talks about the AFC South being, you know, like a juggernaut, okay? No offense to Houston over the years, they're back, which even more so. No offense to Jacksonville over the years, they're back, even more so part of the conversation. And the Tennessee Titans stink. Stink. They had Frabel there for a while, so they were good for a bit. But it's like the lack of success for the Indianapolis Colts is alarming, I think, for Colts fans, for them to decide just that quickly after the last game of the season to stick with the same people that have done this entire time.

53:58Pat McAfee:Now, every single season, there is valid excuses. Valid. I mean, Danny Dimes had us as the number one team in the league. We're 8-1. And then all of a sudden, he comes back after Bayou, has a fractured fibula they can't move it's like well moving was a massive piece of his offense so once we lose him though everybody else just kind of says yeah we're done we stink offensive line can't really move people anymore jonathan taylor not really able to do what he was able to do because when danny dimes was playing i think there was more eyes on him than it was on jonathan taylor the defense couldn't get a stop people got hurt we traded away two ones for sauce gardener haven't really seen him on the field so everything kind of just collapses in on itself this year and it's like were they waiting for a reason to make an excuse or is there actual excuses every year I think there is actual excuses every single year.

54:38Pat McAfee:But, boy, are we just going to continue to do that? Feels like the Colts are saying yes. Carly speaks at 2.30 officially to break it all down.

54:44Adam Schefter:Okay, so give us some more definite answers. But I was surprised, just like you were to hear, that they were coming back right after the season was ended. I thought there would be some sit-downs, some conversations, maybe some interviews. But, yeah, I thought Chris Ballard did some great things this offseason. I was very excited. Didn't see what Danny Dimes did this year. Obviously, you got banged up. You can't control injuries. But every team deals with injuries. To have that seven-game slot at the end of the season, that was very, very tough. And then when you do take that chance to go and trade two for Sauce Gardner, if he comes in balls and he's the reason you go and win the Super Bowl, it looks great.

55:18Adam Schefter:But if it goes how it goes, it looks terrible, man. So bringing them back, bringing them both back, it's definitely a decision. I know a lot of people get excited when you just clean house and start over, but we've seen teams kind of just be in that mode every two or three years. So the big three kind of, I guess, taking their time to see how it all plays out. I guess I get that side of it too. Here we are. We got another year. See if we can figure it out.

55:39Pat McAfee:Hey, if you were to run back what I said on this day last year, just go ahead and do it again. We found a couple of the same good pieces to bring a culture. Like I think Danny Dimes up the culture. Like I think whenever he got in here, I think he changed some things. I think Cam Bynum, whenever he came in, his energy changed some things. I think there was some accountability. I think there was some professionalism that got brought into the building because we had heard what had been happening in the past. It's almost like guys gave up and they stopped being pros. Late to meetings, missing this, missing that.

56:06Pat McAfee:It's like that's not what winning teams do. Like that's not how it goes. This year everything was great. Everything was great. Then an injury to the quarterback slows us down. But then just losing every single game. It's like, well, is there any fight? Like how does that happen?

56:19Adam Schefter:We'll see you next year. That's when everything else is supposed to step up. Defense, the run game, offensive line. Like you got to figure out a way.

56:26Pat McAfee:We don't have any ones this year or next year as we rebuild. That's great. I think we got some pieces that could potentially move. Good moves. You just got to think that you look at Ballard's resume, 31 other teams probably would have fired him after his fifth or sixth year, and he's going into year 10, which is crazy to think. Well, there's six coaches who have been fired already. We assume there will be more. Good luck to all these men as they try to find new homes in their families. Obviously, that's a whole piece of it. But organizations are trying to get to the Lombardi. Who will make it?

56:56Pat McAfee:Who won't? We will continue on the other side. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life.

57:04Darius Butler:Welcome back to, uh, yeah, that's a pepper thing. First up, we've got Harrison wrapping his Dr. Pepper in a tiny quilt so it feels at home. Oh, how tender. That's a pepper thing. And over to Becca, who's whispering affirmations to her can. You're sweet. You're unique. You're the best thing I ever poured over ice. She swears it makes it taste better. It's not a science thing, but it's a pepper thing. Why do they all do it? All for that sweet, delicious, truly one-of-a-kind taste of Dr. Pepper. It's a pepper thing. This is Ark Raiders, a multiplayer extraction adventure where most of humanity shelters underground.

57:39But Raiders rise to the surface in search of something greater. In the Rust Belt, every run is pressure. Every decision is a play call. Face the relentless machines of Ark and rival Raiders chasing the same prize. Push forward or extract while you're ahead. Team up. Trust no one. Ark Raiders is on sale now. Available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. Rated T for Team.

58:32Pat McAfee:Football! In Atlanta on Friday for the Peach Bowl. Miami takes on Ole Miss. Hey, that Ole Miss story. Yeah. Getting more and more awesome. Don't look now. As the day rolls on. And then that Miami team, Ole Miss knows this. They're ready for it. They're one of the final four teams in college ball. Miami's coming to fight you. Yep. I mean, Miami is coming to fight you. You better hope that you have the one ref crew that we were not at that was actually calling penalties because all these other ref crews that we've seen for the college football playoffs are very good at what they do and very committed to letting the boys play.

59:07Pat McAfee:I mean, that has just been kind of the MO of these college football playoffs. Refs in Miami is a physical ball club. I know Ole Miss is ready for it, but we can't wait for that over there at the Fiesta Bowl. And then we'll travel over to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl as two Big Ten teams will try to punch their ticket to a national championship. Now, you listen to some Big Ten people. They say, don't we think Indiana, Oregon should be on two sides? Big Ten has been the most dominant conference. we should at least have an all Big Ten National Championship if we want it. But the conversation instead is at least one Big Ten team will be in the National Championship.

59:39Pat McAfee:Will it be the Oregon Ducks? Sko! Ducks! Or will it be the Indiana Hoot Hoot Hoot Hoot Hoot? We'll be talking to Fernando Mendoza in about 30 minutes or so. Cannot wait to catch up with him. What a storybook year he has had. Obviously Heisman winner, number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. Can he continue to lead the undefeated Indiana team to a national championship? We shall see as he takes on a great Oregon Ducks team from all the way in. Eugene Toxic Table is here at Boston Corner at Ty Schmidt. Want to have the hammer? Dang. Cowboys AP Tone is here. Nine-year NFL vet Darius J. Butler is here.

1:00:14Pat McAfee:Yes, sir. Good to see you, D-Bush. It's a great time to be a football fan.

1:00:17Adam Schefter:Oh, yeah.

1:00:18Pat McAfee:What do you do if you're not a football fan right now? That's so stupid. Learn a lot about Venezuela, I think. Hey, we're all kind of doing that as we speak. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, from Anattican, Ohio, a man who's a college football national champion, Super Bowl champion, Ryder Cup winner, ladies and gentlemen, A.J. Hall.

1:00:32Darius Butler:Yay, Roger!

1:00:34Pat McAfee:Hey, A.J., we're all leering a lot about Venezuela. You know, it's kind of getting into all of our algorithms, even though we are sports people. But football is about to infiltrate the entire world. The biggest games are about to be five days, back to back to back to back to back. I can't wait for it. How do you feel as we head into the most important time for football? I mean, obviously, I'm pumped with the college football playoffs that we will be at both of them. That's going to be amazing. But, yeah, the NFL playoffs, like how they shaped up. That game last night was awesome. Whether you're a fan of the Ravens or the Steelers or neither team, like at least it was an awesome football game that came down to the wire.

1:01:07Pat McAfee:Yeah, not just down to the wire, down to the wire, down to the wire, down to the wire, down to the wire, you know? And it was like Aaron makes huge play. Lamar makes huge play. Boswell never misses, misses. Tyler Loop, this kid's seemingly very good. I think they've only attempted like four kicks past 50, so I wonder about the leg strength. I do wonder about the decision-making process in it all and how he goes forward. This can be a big mental hurdle for this guy for the rest of his career if he's able to bounce back because I assume the people of Baltimore have not been very kind. I assume it has not been the most part of it.

1:01:40Pat McAfee:Luke knows that, though. He knows that. That's a part of it. There's only 32 kickers. You need to make your kicks whenever you have your opportunity. Even though I have missed and everybody else that has ever kicked the ball has missed, including Adam Vinatieri. This is going to be a part of his development. Will it be what the Baltimore Ravens is going forward? Will he be able to handle it? Will he be able to bounce back? We shall see. And what do the Ravens look like going forward? Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, senior NFL insider for ESPN, friend of the program, guy who cut a great promo on Saturday about what he was going to talk about on Sunday, NFL Countdown, Adam Schefter.

1:02:09Pat McAfee:Yay, it's me! Working the phones. Schefter, he's in the middle of it, obviously. Nice watch. I got stuff going on. I did want to show off the watch that I have and the ring. I don't know if he knows that he is currently live on our show. I don't hear anything. Are you sure? No. He doesn't hear anything. We hear you, Shefty. We hear you, brother.

1:02:27Adam Schefter:I'm clear.

1:02:28Pat McAfee:Shefty, you sounded great. You're a keyboard, actually. I didn't know he's old-score typewriter. Is that what that was? That was the coolest he's ever looked. You think because he's so cashed? That was unbelievable. Because he's working on the other side like this is what it looked like. I'm going to showcase the watch to the world. Ladies and gentlemen, cool Adam Schefter. Yay!

1:02:47I don't know what the audio issues did. I love that.

1:02:49Pat McAfee:Can you hear us right now or no? I hear you. You look so cool. You need to know that you look so cool there with your watch casual, looking off as you're typing on a typewriter, it sounded like, and getting everything done. Let's dive right into it. We know that you have a political show to get on in 15 minutes. Okay, so Jonathan Gannon. You should. We would love that. I don't know if you're going to be able to get it. From my understanding, I don't even want to get into that. I don't even want to get into Mayor of New York City talk. But nonetheless, we know that there's been six coaches fired already.

1:03:22Pat McAfee:Most recently, Jonathan Gannon. Obviously, Pete Carroll announces a one and done. Stefanski felt like you and every other insider knew going into yesterday that Stefanski was probably done. Raheem Morris comes out of nowhere. And then obviously the two during the season. Which one of these firings, the last four there, was most surprising? And why did you guys all know that Stefanski was probably on his way out? You know, listen, there are a lot of calls. I happen to think when I did the report on ESPN yesterday, you know, a couple of things I put Shane Steichen, Raheem Morris, Jonathan Gannon, and Todd Bowles in the category.

1:03:58I lean safe on all of them because you're talking to people within the teams and they give you the sense that they think they want to keep them. They want to do that. And then ultimately, push comes to shove in the end. And you say, oh, well, Jonathan Gannon's lost nine straight games and their defense has given up an average of over 30. And like, it seems obvious. Now Raheem Morris, that was a little surprising. I expected the general manager to be let go. But I think what happened there is the Falcons just wanted to overhaul their entire organization. And Raheem got swept up in that. And he's out.

1:04:32Stefanski, I don't know. It's just calls, instincts, reading between the lines. I don't know. I can't speak for everybody. But I had him out yesterday because I believed he was going to be out. And I believe he's going to be one of the top candidates in this coaching cycle, too. And yesterday we talked about John Harbaugh. Like, everyone talking in about Mike Tomlin, I felt like John Harbaugh was the real hot-button issue over Mike Tomlin. And those conversations obviously will occur. Todd Bowles is another one. Like I said, maybe I mentioned him before. I was told they don't want to make a change, but I was told that with Jonathan Gannon, too.

1:05:10And a change came. And Raheem Morris, and he's out. So these things are fluid, but you have an idea of who's on the hot seat and then who ultimately gets the chair pulled out from underneath them.

1:05:22Pat McAfee:I appreciate you having a thermometer on everybody's ass around the NFL, especially this time of year. And we're talking about coaches and assistant coaches and family. So it does suck, but it is the business. And they sign up for it. They understand what it is. Jonathan Gannon obviously announced he's out. Shane Steichen, you mentioned you were leaning towards safe yesterday. Carly Ursa is going to have a press conference at 2.30. What do you think she's going to be saying about keeping Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard? Because obviously those are a couple of massive moves for new ownership here.

1:05:49Well, Pat, you texted me yesterday. You said if I could take people behind the curtain, I'd be like, what are you thinking? And I said, I think they're both safe. And you're like, how do you know that? It's calls. It's checking in with people. And sure enough, they didn't waste any time. Right after the game, they announced that both men are back. And I just believe it's new ownership. Carly Ursa-Gordon is getting used to the job. I believe that she believes in both those men, and she's willing to stand behind them right now as she continues to watch them and see and learn. Again, six weeks ago, we're talking about Shane Steichen for Coach of the Year.

1:06:28Pat McAfee:No, it was longer than six weeks ago. It was longer than six weeks. We lost seven straight. Thank you. Maybe 10. Yeah, eight to 10 weeks ago, brother. Life was good then. But on that note, I like Shane Steichen and I like Chris Ballard. But, man, it's a long time with no success. This is a long time with no success with a lot of excuses in a league where meritocracy is supposed to be the thing. So hopefully they're able to figure it out. Can't wait to hear what she says at 2.30. And obviously, I respect the hell out of the big three. And whatever Carly says, I got nothing. I will support you, Carly.

1:06:58Pat McAfee:I will. And I think Colts fans are going to take a little bit for them to support it. But if you win and we get back to 8-1, you're a super genius. But if you guys stink again next year with a bunch of trash ass, I'm not doing it. Okay, let's move along. Let's go to Baltimore. Obviously, if Luke makes that kick, the Baltimore Ravens are hosting a playoff game and they're winning the AFC North. Instead, potential holy water from Father Maximilian Maxwell potentially pushes that thing to the right. Let's talk about the hardball situation because you and Glazer both saying basically the same thing yesterday during your coaching report.

1:07:31Pat McAfee:Tomlin doesn't feel like it's that hot. Tomlin will make the decision. I think you both have alluded to him potentially doing TV, which would be awesome. We would very much welcome Mike Tomlin on a microphone more often because he hits a home run on a mic every time he's on a mic. And if he continues to coach, he continues to coach. Both of you said that Harbaugh feels like a much different situation. Is Harbaugh in the world where he would have to make the decision to step down? Or how do you think that would kind of come about, especially after how last night unfolded? You know, I think, look, Mike Tomlin's been in Pittsburgh 19 years.

1:08:01John Harbaugh has been in Baltimore 18 years. They are the two longest tenured head coaches with their teams in the National Football League. And these questions have come up with them repeatedly. And I think, you know, we heard it from the fans of Pittsburgh. We've heard it some from the fans in Baltimore. I think over time, fans, they've called for their head coach's job. They don't have an appreciation for the job these men have done over time. And they want something new and something fresh. so with John Harbaugh I don't think either one of these coaches Mike Tomlin John Harbaugh are getting fired I think look the Ravens season is over so these conversations can now occur you go in you talk what is your vision for the future do you want me here what is your vision for the future do you want me and and they talk it out but it just feels like there are things to discuss this year the season didn't go the way the Ravens wanted it to go it was another year where either Zay Flowers drops the ball near the goal line in the AFC Championship or Mark Andrews on the two-point conversion or Tyler Loop, it ends in disappointment.

1:09:06And when that keeps happening, you have conversations to discuss how you want to address it and how you want to fix it. And if either side wants to make a change, and maybe mutually, by the way, like Baltimore wants to move on and go hire whoever else, John Harbaugh automatically, to me, becomes the Mike Vrabel of this year's coaching class. He automatically vaults to the top of most lists and he'd have a job tomorrow tomorrow so what does john harbaugh want to do where does he want to coach right we we've got openings in arizona we've got openings in new york we've got openings in cleveland where does he want to go coach does he want to be in baltimore does he want to go elsewhere

1:09:42Pat McAfee:that's up for him to decide it's interesting i didn't really think about john harbaugh's opinion in this whole thing that is crazy coach you've certainly earned it over the years but if it does feel like baltimore you know if you just read the tea leaves seemingly coming out of there Maybe the message has run stale. Maybe it is something that is new that is needed there. And maybe that conversation will lead to that with front office and ownership whenever he goes in there and talks about the future. Just like whenever Pete Carroll went in there with Schneider and Schneider said, get the hell out of here, old man.

1:10:10Pat McAfee:And then moved on to McDonald. And then now they're the number one seed in the NFC. Those decisions are hard to make, bro. Those are hard decisions to make legitimately. Go ahead, Shefty. Maybe it's like a married couple. They've been together 18 years. Maybe they're both thinking about breaking it off. and then they said, you know what? Let's stay together and make this work and move forward. Oh, if you like pina coladas, then getting caught in the rain. You know, it's funny, Shafter. I don't want no spoilers here. Husband and wife are actually writing to each other there. That's right. It's crazy.

1:10:42Pat McAfee:Yeah, they're both looking for somebody that loved the good old days, the pina coladas. It's cool. Turns out she was laying or he was laying right next to him. The more you know. And then they met up with each other at the end. So they were like, yeah, that's that song. Respark their relationship. Good for them. 100 % sure. I was a little bit of a Parrothead. Is that what it's called? Yeah. Jimmy Buffett. I was Parrothead there for a little bit. We had some good summers. Great. Boy, those shows are a good time. Pretty reckless, those shows. Pretty reckless out there. But, yeah, that's what you're saying.

1:11:15Pat McAfee:They're potentially writing to see if anybody likes Pina Coladas or winning football games. And then maybe they just need each other. Maybe that's what they need over there. We'll see in that entire thought. It's hard to move on, though, from somebody you've had for a long time. But, boy, it feels harder to move on from somebody immediately after one year. Pete Carroll kicked out yet again. What do we think happens now in Las Vegas? Go ahead, Tone.

1:11:37Darius Butler:Yeah, Shefty, obviously Pete Carroll, they signed him to a three-year deal there, out after one. All the coordinators were fired during the season, basically. They signed Geno Smith also. Who knows what's going to go on there. But is Tom Brady, is he running this search, or who is running this search for the Raiders in their new coaching regime? John Spitek, the GM, and Tom Brady will, I think, identify and hire the next head coach of the Raiders. Obviously, Mark Davis will have a big say and some of the other partner owners. But I think Brady and Spitek are out in front of this. Brady and Spitek are out in front of this and we'll see how it plays out.

1:12:14Things happen. Things happen. News waits for nobody here.

1:12:18Pat McAfee:Absolutely. Especially on this Black Monday. Now, the Pete Carroll, Tom Brady, spy tech situation out there in Las Vegas, they also have the number one overall pick? They do, yep. So they're going to get Fernando Mendoza, who will be joining us in about 15 minutes. Raiders fans, just know you can watch the interview that we're about to do with him, a conversation we're about to have with him, or watch film. This guy is a guy that can turn an entire franchise. If they get a couple things right around him, you can become the Chicago Bears. You can become the New England Patriots. You can become the Jacksonville Jaguars.

1:12:48Pat McAfee:That's why if you don't make any moves after a long time of failure, people are going to say, what the hell is going on? AJ has a question for you, Shefty. Yeah, Shefty, we hear from people on ESPN and all over the internet that Stefanski is most likely going to get another job within this coaching cycle. Do you think that's the case? And also, what are some hot names of people that you think may be off the board quick to get hired? I think this is a little bit of a different year. First of all, I do think that Kevin Stefanski will wind up with another head coaching job if he wants one. I think he's going to be a little bit selective about what he chooses because, look, he just got fired in Cleveland.

1:13:25And so if he gets fired again in the next job he chooses, for whatever reason, then the chances are he's out of hate coaching chances. So you want to be very selective and careful. But I do think that the Giants and the Titans both will have interest in talking with Kevin Stefanski. I do think that he'll be a top candidate in this cycle. I think when we look at some of the others, I think Raheem Morris may get some head coaching interviews here. I think Robert Sala could get some play. I think – Oh, no. Somebody just – Somebody just missed the entire – Get some interest I hear and get some interviews.

1:14:03Jeff Halfley in Green Bay is going to be somebody. Matt Nagy. Like, you know, we know some of the names. And you just don't know how Vance Joseph in Denver – You don't know how it's going to play out and how each guy will interview. Those are some of the names I think that will have some requests here and go on some interviews.

1:14:21Pat McAfee:Mike McCarthy. Yeah. Mike McCarthy. Big boy. He's going to be a part of these. And we're excited to see where he ends up. Feels like he feels really rejuvenated after the year of hunting with his dogs and hanging out and watching ball. Oh, it's pretty crazy watching all games. Don't just want to get. I learned so much. It's been a fun year. You guys really, you guys really good. Ebbs and flows of every week. It's pretty crazy. I'd be excited to see him get another shot. Yep. I don't know what his record is, but I think it's up there. Very good.

1:14:44Darius Butler:Same as Tomlin and Sean Payton.

1:14:46Pat McAfee:He's been good to us, and we're not going to openly campaign for anybody, but I think Mike McCarthy would be an awesome coach for somebody after the year that we spent. He's been such a surprise to me, just such a surprise. The way he talks, how he talks, the way he views things. He's a deep thinker, this guy. Mike McCarthy's a deep thinker. I did not expect that. I think a lot of people probably didn't expect that. He loves ball, too. Loves ball. Speaking of ball, you've got to talk. Where's the coach? AJ, how many years did he coach you for? All nine. My nine years in Green Bay, he was my head coach.

1:15:16His first year was my first year. Okay. And how do you feel about him getting a head coaching job? Absolutely. He's the man. And he's even grown and become, I think, even a better coach as he's gotten older.

1:15:26Pat McAfee:We would like him to go to a good spot, though. There's some ass places right now where we need him not to go. We would like to see him go and have a good time. We would like to let those places know. We have not told McCarthy that we think your places are ass, though. We have only supported Mike McCarthy doing his thing. Now, let's talk about Mike McCarthy and AJ. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, so the guy who replaced Mike McCarthy, Shefty, for whatever reason, the Matt LaFleur stuff, even with his win percentage being one of the highest in NFL history through your first eight seasons or whatever, a lot of stuff is still coming up that basically says, like, hey, if the Packers don't have a deep playoff run this year, there's a chance that he's going to be let go by Ed Policy.

1:16:06Are you hearing anything else to that? and who would be the one kind of pushing for that? Is it the media? Is it Ed Policy? Is it people in the GM suite? I mean, who? Because by all intents and purposes, Matt LaFleur has been very good as the Packers head coach, but he has fallen flat in the playoffs. Well, it wouldn't be a media decision. It would be, I believe, an Ed Policy decision as the president of the team succeeding Mark Murphy. He is the one in charge of those decisions. And Matt LaFleur was asked about his job security this year and commented on it, which led to about a week worth of speculation.

1:16:42And again, I feel the same way about Matt LaFleur that I do, Kevin Stefanski, if they moved on. And he's going to be going for the last year of his deal. I think he'd get a job in this cycle as well. So I don't think it'd be much of an issue. I think the bigger deal here is can they figure out a contract of fair value to keep him there? I think that's what this is about, them trying to negotiate a contract, seeing what they can come up with, seeing if they get a deal done. If they get the deal done, it's a non-talking point and his future is secure there. If they can't figure out a contract that works for both sides, well, then you have to ask yourself, are they willing to let him go into the last year of his deal, which he would be, or what do you do about that?

1:17:22And very rarely do teams want coaches going into the last year of their deal, which I believe the priority will be to re-sign him to an extension this offseason. And let's see what happens with that first. Him and Gucci both? Yeah, both. I think both.

1:17:35Pat McAfee:Okay. Congrats to the Packers. They like their guys. They like their guys. They like their guys. Playoffs. That's what it sounds like, Shefty. That's what I heard from you. All right, a couple quick ones. We know we've got to go talk politics. Go ahead, Con. Yeah, Shefty. Arizona, Kyler Murray, what's the situation there? Are they going to kind of hold on to him? Is he going to be part of the new regime? Is he going to get let go, traded maybe? And then same with Miami and Tua. Tua's also done in Miami. What are those situations there? I think the expectation is in both places, no matter who's making the decision.

1:18:05Obviously, I'm looking for a new head coach. Miami is currently looking for a new GM. I would think that they're both going to be planning to move on from their respective quarterbacks, and it's just a question of how they decide to extricate themselves from those particular contracts, which are burdensome right now.

1:18:20Pat McAfee:Let's talk about a young quarterback. Go ahead, Darren.

1:18:22Adam Schefter:Yeah, a lot of these head coaches that had these turnarounds joined young quarterbacks. Cam Ward had an injury on his throwing shoulder yesterday. Any update on his injury? Sprained AC joint. Doctors told him they don't think he needs surgery, so that's an encouraging news development for him, as you guys would know better than me. The last thing you want to do is hurt yourself on the last game of the season and have to spend time in the rehab room while everybody else is going away on vacation.

1:18:46Pat McAfee:Oh, brother, that was my last four years, you know, just kind of living in there. You actually kind of get more committed to the craft. You get more committed to the business. You start learning more people. It sucks. Everybody else is doing really cool stuff. What do you got? 6 a.m. they're going to rub a metal thing up and down my knee so that I don't get any scar tissue on there it's part of it though, that's part of being a professional athlete, happy to hear that it wasn't worst case scenario for KM, excited to see how they build down there in Nashville, obviously a great city alright, good luck out there Shefty, you know remember, Venezuela it's crazy, crazy my senior year of college I gathered together all my friends it was spring break, and I gathered together everybody so we could go to Venezuela on a spring break trip because I heard there were nickel beers.

1:19:34So I got, we have like 15 guys and we went to Venezuela. And while we were there, civil war broke out. 89. Okay. And they had a, they had to like smuggle us out of the country. It's true. I remember like, you know, you don't realize how dumb and ignorant you are at that time. Like I'm on the phone, I'm drinking beers. My, my best friend's on the phone with his daddy. They're trying to get us out of the hotel. I'm like, have a beer here. Have a beer. He goes, cut it out. Shut up. Tell that story now. That would be a good story.

1:20:07Pat McAfee:1989, Venezuelan history. We appreciate you, ladies and gentlemen. Adam Schefter. First news break was probably that. What's that? There's a civil war. Breaking news. Civil war is broken out in Venezuela. Him boozing, by the way. It's funny. You guys need to get to the embassy. Stat. What? It's nickel beers. Not doing that. I learned a lot about Venezuela. I think we all did. Got a lot of oil down there. A lot of gold. A lot of lot down there. What a wild weekend that was. Yeah. Marco Rubio interrupts Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Reds. Who won that game?

1:20:42Darius Butler:Was it Detroit? I think it was Hockey Town, a.k.a. the Pittsburgh Penguins.

1:20:47Pat McAfee:I'm watching that game, obviously having a good time watching it. Pittsburgh Penguins might be the hottest team in hockey right now. Look out, Sidney Crosby looks like he's 24. I don't know how that works. He's aging backwards. This guy's fucking Benjamin Button. He's got magic happening. And then all of a sudden, Marco Rubio pops in. If you don't know, now you know to the whole world. Oh, my God. It's going darn out here. Hope everybody's all right. Hey, days of peace. There's one guy can't see shit or hear shit. Nope. Happy New Year. Good night. What a wild time to be alive. Shout out to football.

1:21:22Pat McAfee:Shout out to football. Shout out to football. Okay, let's put up Super Wild Card Weekend on the schedule. AJ, which one of these games, outside of the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, obviously a highlight for you and for Ty is the fact that one of the greatest rivalries in all of ball is wrapping up day one of Super Wild Card Weekend. Which one of these games are you most excited about, AJ? I mean, all of them are awesome, but that San Fran-Philadelphia game, for some reason, jumps out at me. Honestly, if I had to pick today, I'm not sure who I'm picking to win that game. I just think San Fran has been hot.

1:21:53They're good, and we know Philly, even though people don't talk about it or don't really mention it, I feel like they're defending champs. They were awesome last year. We know they could find a way to turn it on, but I'm curious about that one right there, same fan Philly.

1:22:03Pat McAfee:Hey, Coach Tariani, is it a dog mentality to arrest all your players when there's something on the line? Well, listen, that's my decision. Everyone will be talking today about how big and dumb of a dipshit I was. Let's say Saquon hurts his knee or Jalen hurts his throwing shoulder. You think anyone gives a shit if Taron McKee is out there and he gets his brains bashed in? No, they don't because they don't want to see Terrence McKee playing the 49ers in the playoffs. So is it dog mentality? Not exactly, but, you know, what the fuck's the difference between the three-seed and two-seed anyway?

1:22:36Darius Butler:I have a question for you, Coach. So is the three-seed, two-seed, that's less important than Devontae Smith playing to get his money? So it's worth risking him for an injury? Well, I'm a players coach, and, you know, So if you want to fucking bitch and moan about me sending a guy out here, get a couple extra shekels in his bank account, sue me. Sue me. I guess I won't do that anymore. And then guess what? When we win Super Bowls here and Devontae dumps me with the Gatorade bath, he might slide me, I don't know, 10 Gs or something. Thanks, Coach. Thanks for remembering me, Coach. Appreciate you, Coach.

1:23:11You can't win. You can't win. It doesn't matter what you do. You do the right thing. Everyone says you're a dipshit. You don't know what you're doing. You did the wrong thing. they double down and say he's the biggest dipshit there it is. So, I don't know. It's almost like I didn't win a Super Bowl last year. It's almost like I'm one of these other fucking rum-dums who's getting fired today. But I'm not. We're the three seed in the playoffs. Did you guys win your division earlier than everybody else in the league? Yeah, absolutely. Wrapped it up like six months ago. We haven't played a meaningful football game.

1:23:38Outside getting number one seed, we knew that wasn't going to happen. We haven't played a meaningful football game in two months. Well, Coach, what did you think about the Bears losing? You could have played the Packers by chance, maybe the two seed? No, well, I kind of knew what I personally, no, I don't want to get anything with them. I thought it was kind of a chicken shit move by Ben Johnson. He was trying to figure out a way to lose that game so he wouldn't have to play Packers in the first round of playoffs. But we said, you know what? No, no, no. We're not doing this. Everybody in America wants to see Bears Packers again.

1:24:05And we got a little bad blood with 49ers. You remember a couple years ago, Nick Bosa was basically saying like, hey, these guys suck. We know exactly how to beat them. I can't remember. I think that might have been a year we went on to win the Super Bowl. So, you know, maybe he knows something that I don't know. But, again, I'll just let everybody else talk all their bullshit, say whatever they want, and we're just going to – are we going to play a football game? Is it going to be outside? Yeah, okay, that's just how we want it. And we'll play in a parking lot if we have to. CMC's on a historic run right now, Coach.

1:24:33Yeah, guess what? He's got to come into the link. Okay? So I'm not calling for Eagles fans to, you know, maybe put a sock full of batteries and smack him in his knees before – Whoa, whoa, whoa. But if that were to happen, let's just say, Coach wasn't the one telling you it, dude. I know.

1:24:49Pat McAfee:That is not actually Coach Sirianni's words, by the way. That is Ty Schmidt impersonating Coach Sirianni, for those that don't know. Sure. Remember a couple years ago, whenever we started licensing our show on ESPN, some sports media people would have typed that out as if those were actual quotes with no context at all. Just throw us right into a fire. Got Ryan Day. Exactly. That's how they got Ryan Day. Exactly. Fake Lou Holtz got him cooked up there. I appreciate that we have Packers-Bears on Saturday night. I also appreciate the fact that the Jacksonville Jaguars, come on, man.

1:25:22Darius Butler:I know.

1:25:23Pat McAfee:AJ, after watching them live, after having eyes on the product of the Jacksonville Jaguars, you think to yourself, like, coming off the bus, they're a real team. And then, well, a lot of people can look good. Are they actually good? It's like, yeah. And Liam Cohen draws up people to be wide-ass open. Nobody really talks about Liam Cohen being some offensive guru. McVay, Shanahan, maybe Kevin O 'Connell gets some love in there. Nobody really brings up Liam Cohen. This dude's dialing up wide-ass open guys on a regular basis, and Trevor's playing better ball than ever. Now, on the other side, an actual alien in Josh Allen.

1:25:59Pat McAfee:That's a great game to kick off Sunday's Super Wild Card, AJ. Yeah, it is. And the fact that Jacksonville not only is relevant, like they're a legit Super Bowl contender now. That's the thing. That's what Liam Cohen has done to this team. I'm sure they're also loving the fact that they are underdogs at home. I doubt Liam ever mentions that to the squad. They don't even have to talk about it. I'm sure they know it. But I think they have like this – they're in a nice sweet spot to where they kind of have a chip on their shoulder. No one's giving us a chance, even though they are a very, very good football team that can get hot and has a chance to make the Super Bowl.

1:26:29Yeah, and they're showing ETN right now, which is perfect timing. The whole thing with the Bills, you know, is being healthy on offense, which they actually are now. Kincaid knocks his role in. Keon Coleman playing again, Gabe Davis, everything. But can their defense, you know, get a stop for Josh Allen? Can they stop the run, do all those things? That was kind of the only reason everyone wasn't too, too high on the Bills running the Super Bowl. And now it does feel like, you know, maybe they have a shot.

1:26:53Adam Schefter:Yeah, that Bills defense kind of has turned the corner and been playing well. Better against the pass, better against the run, which was definitely the Achilles heel down the stretch. But the thing with Liam, like, I think most people knew he was a good play caller, a great offensive mind. Like, if you run back that shot of him running into the locker room, and that's been him from wire to wire. We obviously gave him a bunch of shit for the Duvall stuff, too. But that's the thing that surprised me the most, just his character and how we always say teams, you know, take on the identity of their head coach.

1:27:21Adam Schefter:I never saw this from Len, didn't know much about him, obviously, as a coordinator. But when you see the personality of a guy, it's why you've seen other people that have the great football mind. But when you go into, you've got to stay in the front of that room from week one to week 18 and then throughout a playoff run and have your team on the same page, ready to run through a wall for you. That's tough to do with a group of professionals. So the way that he's been able to do this for a first-year guy and what, a year five quarterback, year six quarterback? Like, unbelievable from Liam. Yeah, and if you're a Buffalo Bills fan, look at that locker room.

1:27:51See, this is why you build a new stadium. That is so sick having that. This isn't even their new stadium either, by the way.

1:27:57Pat McAfee:Jacksonville is building a new stadium, which leads me to my next point. Like, congrats to Shod Khan. We said it last week. I would like to reiterate it. shod con has done everything he possibly could for the jacksonville jaguars to be good while not meddling bingo like not meddling at all just like i'll hire this the right people right these are the right people this is the right people i'll give you everything you need you want to build a new city sweet well how many cities do you want to build let's anything for the jags to be good let's do that well we're not getting a lot of fans to the games we think people uh how do we turn this into a festival let's get djs let's get pools let's go ahead and build that indoor stadium But it's like, Shad has really left no stone unturned, basically, in trying to make this Jacksonville Jaguars team good.

1:28:40Pat McAfee:And they're here. So congrats to the entire organization. Yeah, and you guys always talk. They used to tarp off. Yeah. I mean, tarping off the whole fucking thing. Big sections. Clowns. Clowns. Clowns, exactly. Fans are dressing like clowns. This video right here, like you guys always talk about, you know, like teams who are the tightest are often. and granted, I haven't parsed through every single team who won this weekend who's going to the playoffs, their video inside the locker room. We see a lot of these from the Jags, and them giving Trevor the grill, you can tell this team is actually very, very tight.

1:29:14And then you go back to Liam Cohen. I understand that Baker's been banged up this year, but you look at what a lot of people say about Liam Cohen, Bucs fans are wishing he would have stuck around and he would have got the head coaching job because he was the one that really unlocked Baker last year and kind of took him to a new level. And we maybe should have seen that coming, you know, in terms of just unlocking Trevor. Now, I don't know if anyone would have expected them to go 11-4, but it seems like everything is just going in the right direction for the Jags.

1:29:43Pat McAfee:Right direction, yeah. Cam Little says, I'll send this ball in the direction of the uprights from anywhere.

1:29:47Adam Schefter:Unbelievable.

1:29:48Pat McAfee:From 67 and hits the net. Okay, so you get to the 50 down there. Now, there is a little – Jacksonville does have a one-way jet stream That certainly does help. The Colts had an opportunity before half one time for like a 65-yarder. Chuck Pagano didn't send me or Vinny out there for it. Decided to throw a Hail Mary that we did not complete. Certainly a conversation that happened while we were jogging in the locker room of what the fuck are we doing here. We got a downwind for this opportunity. We don't go for it. But every opportunity that this guy goes for, he makes. Cam Little is cold, dude. He's already got a jersey in the Hall of Fame, this guy, for what he's done in the past.

1:30:22Pat McAfee:Now he hits a 67-yarder like it's a chip shot. This dude's outrageous. So Logan Cooks, their punter, bombs.

1:30:29Adam Schefter:Yep.

1:30:30Pat McAfee:Absolute bombs. And a dog. And he's a beast. Yeah, he will fight you. Yeah.

1:30:33Adam Schefter:Shit matters. We saw it last night. All of it. Kicking game. Like, kicking game is huge playoffs. And these, you know, outdoor situations obviously won't be, you know, this week you're in Jacksonville. Who knows where it will be. But a lot of these games, we talk about, you know, the GOAT, Vinny. Like, a lot of those play games came down to big-time kicks. So if you have a weapon like this, that's unbelievable. I love his swag.

1:30:53Pat McAfee:Yeah, me too. Congrats, Cam. Cam. Congrats, Cam. His last name is little. He's not that little. You know, he's actually average size. Colts do have a little guy kicking for him, and he put his entire body in. That's not his first time. We've seen that live in real person. I mean, he's a pretty active guy on the sideline. We've chatted about it before. I think he's like... Three and a half, 3.75 pylons, probably, if you stack them on top of each other. Because he's running down the sidelines a lot. We see him, you know. He's a little guy. He's very active during games. I mean, every single time he can run, he's definitely going to do that.

1:31:27Pat McAfee:Yesterday, he said, you know what, I'm going to throw it all at him. And that's not the first time. He's done this multiple times during kickoffs this year. He tried to get his head on the ball, too. He tried to get his head across and put his head on the ball. Absolutely. So, Blake, I want to let you know, we appreciate your effort. Keep it going. We need more of you out there. I still don't know how that dude kicks the ball so far without small he is. I mean, he's clearly a small fellow. He might be the smallest guy in the history of the NFL. Actually, might be the smallest guy in the history of the NFL.

1:31:54Pat McAfee:And he had a 60-yard field goal in Seattle. So it's like, Blake, keep doing it. You're the least of our problems in Indianapolis. We're lucky that you're there, Blake. Keep it rolling. Join us now. Speaking of Indianapolis, there's a town about an hour and 15 minutes south of here called Bloomington, Indiana. It had been forever known as a place where Bob Knight made the Indiana Hoosier basketball team a relevant conversation for every single sports conversation in the entire country. Now, it's known as the place that has the number one football team in the country. Now, it's known as the place that is home for the Rose Bowl champions.

1:32:26Pat McAfee:Now, it's known as the home of the Heisman. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us, quarterback for the IU Hoosier football team, Fernando Mendoza. Fernando! How are you, brother? Great, great. Boys, really appreciate you having me on. It was great seeing you guys on the sideline. And then during the end of the game, that great migration you guys made on our sideline. Yeah, it was a great migration. Thank you for showing us love. I didn't even think about calling it a migration. That certainly was what it was. You know, as you know, the exit is right up that tunnel for us, so we were trying to get ahead of it.

1:32:57Pat McAfee:We didn't know how we were going to get from one end zone to the other. We looked at the Alabama sideline. That was pretty bummed out over there. Nope. Indiana sideline, we're going that way. So we just started walking through. Thank you for showing us love. It was nice to see everybody. The vibes are obviously immaculate. Sig got a big smile and even a hug. Okay, even a hug. I told him, like, hey, it was an honor to watch your boys. But let's talk about this. It was an honor to watch your team. You're the first team in CFP history to be able to get through the long bye. And it wasn't rust. It was just rest.

1:33:27Pat McAfee:How do you think you guys were able to handle the amount of time off with the Heisman and everything else and still come out buzzing like you guys did? What are your thoughts on the prep that you guys had during that long layoff that nobody else has been able to succeed with? Yeah, I think Coach Signetti and staff had a fantastic plan throughout that month break. And going in that first drive, we started on the first drive I haven't had a three and out. They sacked us twice. And I can definitely see why teams can get off to a slow start, especially the first play. I was like, wow, this is real football again.

1:33:54I haven't played football in 26 days. Essentially, like, they essentially had a whole other fall camp of just anticipating this game all the way up to the Rose Bowl game. And so I can definitely see why teams get off to a slow start. However, once we got that three and out, we went on the sideline. We're like, all right, we're going to play our brand of ball. We know what we got to do. And we were so hungry for this game and all the anticipation of this game that's been brewing for the 26 days ever since the Big Ten Championship. We are ready for it and ready to conquer the moment.

1:34:20Pat McAfee:Yeah, it looked amazing. It looked fantastic. You're obviously spinning it to all your weapons. Tell me about the run game. Pat Coogan wins the offensive player of the Rose Bowl, which is obviously a special moment. I did not know that Perk Herbstreit decides who the players of the games are. He wanted to pick the entire offensive line. They said that's not possible, so he picks Pat Coogan. You all go crazy for him. Tell me about the offensive line and obviously how important it's been to this entire run. Well, first of all, I want to thank you, Mr. Herbstreit, for that because Pat Coogan getting the offensive MVP has been so huge for our team.

1:34:52I think it's given another boost and jolt of confidence for offensive line. They've done such a great job this year, and whenever I, you know, or any other player on our team gets an award, we always try to emphasize it. Hey, Pat Coogan, the rest of the offensive line, all those guys are ballers and the only reason we're up at this point. And I think him getting that award has really shown the offensive line our appreciation for them and the world's appreciation for them and really kind of giving us a little boost and jolt, especially going against a really tough Oregon defensive line next week.

1:35:19Pat McAfee:Reese Davis, fantastic job up there. You know, Reese delivering the ladies and gentlemen, a little misdirection a couple of different times. I love the delivery. I love the celebration you all had for him. And I appreciate that Pat, you said, was the one that basically gave the speech about you all being misfits, right? Quite a leader and a rallier for your entire squad, I'd assume. How many of those guys do you have? and do you feel like this is the tightest team you've ever been on? It looks like you guys love each other down there in Bloomington. Yeah, this is an extremely tight team. Not only tight on the field, we're very tight off the field.

1:35:51And Pat is, I mean, he's basically, if not the captain, one of the biggest captains on our team and especially our offense. He always gives us pregame speeches, halftime speeches, and makes sure that we never have that complacency. And it's all a trickle-down effect from Coach Sig to the coordinators to our position coaches to then the leaders on the team to then really just throughout the entire team. So I think Pat is a great representation of that. He always boosts us with a little jolt of a pregame speech, whether it's a misfit speech, whether it's a speech he gave us before the Rose Bowl, or a speech at halftime saying, hey, Oklahoma, they were up 17-0.

1:36:24We don't want to fall in that trap. They're a good team. Alabama's resilient. Let's stomp them. Let's drag them to the deep end until the last bubble comes up. Then we can celebrate. And so having guys like that on the team and having that mindset on the team is really why we were able to pull away. Oh, I love that.

1:36:38Pat McAfee:I just got kind of chills hearing that. And I couldn't even imagine Cignetti hearing one of his boys. That's a good one. That's good. Yeah, fucking last bubble, actually. Yeah, we're talking about real death here. Now, on that note, the last question from me before the boys have questions, and we appreciate you, Fernando, taking time here. Obviously, the game is just a few days away. You warm up when you spit. Every ball you throw is a perfect spiral. And I don't want to jinx anything. You throw absolute darts. I mean, dots on a very regular basis. Every warm-up throw is a dart. Every warm-up throw is right on the money.

1:37:12Pat McAfee:I mean, you are a special elite ball thrower, brother, which is obviously great for the next level, and it's great for Indiana right now. There was one time, when, what, third quarter maybe? Yep. Maybe third quarter during a commercial break, you were spinning it. Oh, yeah. Signetti walks. Do you remember this? Sig walks right in between you and who you're throwing the ball to. You clear his head by about that much, and then it turns over right into the hands of whoever was catching it. I thought you killed Signet as the ball was rolled because where we were standing, I was literally watching it all happen.

1:37:44Pat McAfee:It goes right over top of it. Is that a normal thing? And who's the person you play catch with all game? Is that the same person every single time? Yes, I would say during the TV timeouts, especially in these college football games, there's a lot of TV timeouts. And I would say it's not underappreciated, but a moment about college games that people don't talk about enough. You're about to get on the field, then all of a sudden you see the stick and it says three minutes or 250 and you're like wow man I'm ready for this drive and I just gotta wait so I always try to get I always have a routine always like a way to get myself ready I always get a lot of throws in with my younger brother or another quarterback Grant Wilson here on the team and we're throwing they're giving me tips and tech about my technique hey shorter stride hey be more stable and then after I do that I get some water you know throw a little prayer up to god and to the man jc and i get ready to and then i get ready to execute on the next drive and so i would say one thing about you know the signetti incident is i'm always very confident in my accuracy not only if not the most important it's one of the most important components of a quarterback and so it's something i pride myself on and every quarterback they would tell you they really pride themselves on their accuracy and the way their ball spins yeah well yours is tight and that signetti takes a lot of pride in what you can do too yeah he just walked right i mean that ball was right over his head i'm like i don't know how many people are watching this right now but the entire world would have found out about that if that would have taken place but instead perfect layer throw right over top of sig's head turns over drops right into somebody's hands either alberto or grant it was uh it was special watching you man it was a great day go ahead aj yeah fernando i guess watching your guys's defense in person it's it's a thing of beauty how how they play how fast they play how physical how disciplined they are i I guess how quickly did you realize that, hey, this defense is unbelievable?

1:39:30I know you got to campus about a year ago. I'm guessing in spring ball you probably watched these guys fly around and knew you had something special. What's it like to be on the sidelines and watch your defense just dominate? Yeah, the first couple days of spring camp I was like, wow, this defense is either the best defense in the country or I'm not as good as I thought I would be. So having that experience and being able to play against such a great defense through spring ball, through fall camp, giving myself a ton of tough days and a ton of tough looks, a lot of tricky looks because Coach Hayden really does cook up the defensive looks.

1:40:01It's helped myself develop so much as a quarterback. And, I mean, as a linebacker, I'm sure you can appreciate the efforts of Aiden Fisher, Isaiah Jones, and Elijah Hardy. All those guys are ballers. And I would say every part of the defense, whether it's the defensive line, whether it's the second level or the third level, they're all intricate in their own ways, and they all play in such harmony and symphony with a great synergy all towards a common goal of trying to disguise looks, trying to confuse the quarterback, while also creating disruption.

1:40:29Pat McAfee:Harmony, symphony, and great synergy. And they all thump and bump. I mean, they are tackling through the ground. The most physical teams won. That is our big takeaway from the quarterfinals. The most physical teams, the most dominating teams in the trenches are the ones that won. I think that's going to continue to go forward. And your team has been special there, both on the offense and defensive line. Last question here about the game. Go ahead, Con, man. Yeah, Fernando, Riley Nowakowski seemed to be kind of an unsung hero for your team. He was lead blocking. He also picked up a massive third down, breaking a tackle, running up the sideline.

1:41:03Oh, here it is. Perfect timing. What does he mean to your entire team? What kind of player and person is he? And also, just so you know, the edits right now on social media of you after dropping a however that leads into you just slicing and dicing. the Alabama team is just absolutely fantastic internet so hopefully you see one or two of those yeah no for sure the internet is always undefeated no matter what happens so shout out to the internet shout out shout out shout out but Riley is I mean he's a great player I think on the field he's he's a tight end but he's also a little bit like a fullback he's like a college use check like a college Kyle use check obviously you know Kyle's a fantastic player so So, you know, his prices are there.

1:41:47But I would say he's a college virgin. Not only is he fantastic in the pass game with that big catch, but he's like a little muscle bowling ball. And so whenever you always throw him, you know he's going to get the maximum yak. And he's also so fundamental in the ground game. He's a great lead blocker. He's essentially the fullback of our team. And to have that is such a great fundamental because, you know, like you said, all the teams, the most dominated teams throughout the quarterfinals, they're the ones that won the game. And as long as everyone loves talking about the quarterback and the receivers and the skill positions, but it really comes down the line.

1:42:17And he is just like an added boost. Like essentially, if anything, another offensive lineman that could also catch the ball to our team.

1:42:23Pat McAfee:You guys are moving his ass. I mean, the amount of motion he had, like a time he killed. Jersey was filthy. Filthy, early. I mean, you had him all over the place. I'm like, is that – because it's too big of a body to be moving as much as it is. And I'm literally sitting there, Nolkowski in motion again, this guy. I mean, he's a big dude. To be running like that, obviously that goes to the cardio. That goes to the fitness. That goes to the commitment to ball. That goes to 30-some days or 26 days of no football and remaining locked in. Shout out to the who? Who? Who? Who? Who's yours? You guys are fun to watch.

1:42:55Pat McAfee:Let's talk about the next game now. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Fernando, looking ahead to the Peach Bowl, how much can you guys take away from the previous Oregon game? Obviously, going to Eugene and getting that big win when everyone was kind of saying, hey, is Indiana still for real? Is there anything you can take away from that? and have you thought at all about how while it is a neutral site game, it was probably 80 % Indiana fans at the Rose Bowl, and I assume it's going to be very similar down in Atlanta. Yeah, Austin Stadium was a fantastic environment, and we had pre-snap troubles that game. We had a couple false starts, a couple penalties, and so I think that having that home field advantage in Atlanta, which you never know until you get there in the game and you see how loud the crowd is on either side.

1:43:39However, assuming that we're not going to have to go on a dialing count, just because of how far Eugene is from Atlanta, and as well as just it being a neutral site game, it's usually 50-50, and hopefully there's more fans on our side. I think that would be huge for us. And going to Austin Stadium, I believe it was week five or week six, going to play against such a great defense led by their coach, Coach Lupoi, and just an overall great team that is always motivated with Coach Lanning, it spoke a testament to that point of the season that we could really do this, and we were destined to become a great team and be able to make the college football playoffs.

1:44:13And I think throughout the entire season, we've been able to prove that point. However, beating a good team twice, not a good team, a great team twice, is extremely difficult. They're star-studded on both offense and defense, draft picks all across the board. And so to be able to have to play them twice, you know, they have changed a little bit throughout the season, but having to play them twice is going to be tough. It's going to be a great challenge for us.

1:44:33Pat McAfee:Yeah, it's good for the Big Ten to see you both there, obviously. Big Ten has been dominant through the national championship. So that's how Big Ten people are talking. Yeah, that's how Big Ten people are talking. But through the entire bowl kind of season here, the Big Ten has just been. Yeah, it has been real. Hey, the Southerns are going to have to look in the mirror. I mean, the Southerns are going to have to look in the mirror. I saw a couple on Paul Feinbaum's show start to say, we're in trouble down here. We are in trouble down here. A lot of pressure on Ole Miss. Yeah, a lot of pressure on Ole Miss.

1:45:05Pat McAfee:And he might be the guy, honestly. Hey, the Final Four teams are awesome. I don't know how much you know about what's going on in Miami or what's going on at Ole Miss. You four are representing college football perfectly. And the way you guys play, and the way you operate, and the way you act is special. Dan Lanning and Signetti are basically just a younger and older version of each other. I mean, it has been awesome to kind of follow along with all the stories. Now, for you, you added a weapon in the Big Ten Championship that the world got to see. That continued at the Rose Bowl, and everybody else is getting healthy.

1:45:33Pat McAfee:Go ahead, Tone.

1:45:34Darius Butler:Yeah, Fernando, Pat's obviously talking about Charlie Becker there. He has been awesome. Obviously, you have Cooper. You have Surratt. You talked about Noah Kosky. You got your running backs. And then I saw you do an interview. I can't remember who it was with, but you were talking about the old Dominion game and maybe potentially trying to do too much. And then you realized, hey, like, I just got to be a point guard for these guys. How awesome is it? And how much does it benefit you to have all those weapons? And then is it you just read the defense and dictate that the defense dictates where you're going?

1:46:02Darius Butler:Because you have all these guys. And no matter who you're going to, it's the right decision. Yeah, so our first game is Old Dominion. It was a rough game for myself because I thought, wow, I'm an anticipated transfer. I need to go out there, and I really need to be not Superman, but just try to show everybody that I'm such a great quarterback and make all these insane throws and kind of run all over the place. And that game actually had zero passing touchdowns. I actually searched it up later. It was the first time a Heisman quarterback's ever had zero touchdowns in the first game. So, you know, able to bounce back from that.

1:46:33But after that game, my quarterback coach and I, we sat down, and we said, hey, you just got to be a point guard. All you got to do is be a point guard, distribute the ball. When the defense gets too much depth, just check it down. There was one play in Alabama that actually set us up for our second touchdown that was great that one of our running backs, Black, got open on a check down and ran for 12 yards. So it was really about being a point guard. We have such a great offensive line, such great receivers, and we also have such a fantastic run game that we're all going to be able to complement each other.

1:46:58And all I need to do is be the most efficient quarterback possible. So that's been my goal throughout the entire season. And there's been many games where I've had a really high completion percentage or been really efficient, such as the Alabama game, and I believe that's the best way to help my team, so I'm going to keep on doing it every single game.

1:47:11Pat McAfee:I'll continue to gas you up any chance we get. Hembo just sent a stat that is exactly what you just talked about. Fernando Mendoza, 14 of 16 with three pass touchdowns. He joined Tua 2018 Orange Bowl. He's the only quarterbacks with more pass touchdowns than incompletions in college football. Pretty good. That was the rest of us thing, too. Comes out pretty clean. I'm telling you, when we were watching you throw in warm-ups, we're like, this guy doesn't, there's not a single flub. No flubs. And with the paint on the ball, obviously you see it a little bit. You throw seeds. And then you've got a fatter ass, I think, that a lot of people think.

1:47:47Pat McAfee:You are. Hey, you're a stallion. I think not a lot of people understand. You were running a little bit more there in the Rose Bowl. Was that a conscious decision before the game, in the game? Like, how do you kind of view and make those decisions? Because you are a strapping lad. I don't think people really fully understand that. You're obviously incredibly smart. You could spin it. You're tall, and you are thick. I mean, you are, you know, pause, obviously. Respect his entire thing. But you're a big dude, and you were moving, brother. I don't think any of us expected that. I don't think Alabama was looking for that as well.

1:48:19Pat McAfee:Is this part of your game we haven't seen, or we just don't respect enough, Fernando? Yeah, I would say with a fantastic offensive line, we really haven't been able to see my run game too much. and, you know, Coach Owens and the strength staff here got me up from, I think, 205, 210 to now a low of where I need to weigh in and weigh ends every week at 225. And with that, I've been able to put on good weight where I'm able to run and I'm able to still be fluid in my movements. And whenever the team needs me to run, I can always run. And so my mindset's always – every play is essentially a puzzle for me.

1:48:54I have five or six options, you know, with throwing the ball, And then my sixth or seventh option will be, hey, let me just run the ball or throw it away. And so sometimes when, you know, there's a third down and three that we had, that was pretty crucial. They bluffed cover zero. Was able to tell their bluff. Going through my progression, wow, no one's there. Alabama did a great job. There's a reason they're in the college football quarterfinals. Like, they're a great defense. At that point, hey, I got to put my body on the line. I got to maneuver something, and I got to go get the first down.

1:49:20And so whenever my team calls on me to run, I'll always be able to run.

1:49:23Pat McAfee:Oh, my gosh. Just listening to you frame it as a puzzle. Because you're a nerd. You're a football nerd as well. So not only are you 6 '5", can move, can spin it, you're also a football nerd. And it being phrased is like every play is a puzzle basically, and then in real time you're just, okay, yeah, Queen's Gambit on the ceiling. We're figuring it all out. Middle of the play. This is a good football team. Man, they're pretty good. Wow, they bluffed me. You got me. All right, let's see what's next.

1:49:48Adam Schefter:I would actually, you know what, I would actually like to see you fill out one of those puzzles or, hey, point at the bikes so you prove that you're a real human because a lot of people out here think you are maybe a robot or controlled by AI. So what do you like to do with your teammates? What human hobbies do you like to do with the boys? Yeah, the boys, especially here in Bloomington, Indiana. It's a very fun college town. So we always like to go out and eat. We always like to go out and eat. And after some big games, especially at the Big Ten Championship game, when we got back, we like to go out.

1:50:17So we like to go out. We like to go eat. And so whatever you can imagine in a college town, we do. And so it's always a good time with the boys. I love to hear that. It feels like you guys – Don't want to say too much on national television here, but, you know, I'm not trying to throw anyone on the bus because we are focused on Oregon. And after Alabama, we got home at 5 a.m. So at that point it's like, hey, we're always on Oregon. But, you know, there are times that we have fun, and I think that's the best part of college football. If you ask any players who've played college football, it's not only the big wins, it's hanging with the boys after the wins.

1:50:47Yeah. It's the crazy nights after the wins. It's just – it's the great moments.

1:50:50Pat McAfee:Hey, that's what we're doing it for.

1:50:52Adam Schefter:Go ahead. He's the only quarterback on the team to beat the bye week so far. And I got to say, that's exactly what Chad GPT would probably say. I go out to eat with the boys. I go out to eat food.

1:51:04Pat McAfee:Hey, I like that people are saying you're an AI quarterback, brother. It's a great time to have an AI quarterback here in Indiana. You're doing great things for us. We appreciate the hell out of you, man. Muchos gracias, amigo. Appreciate you guys. Thank you so much. God bless. Hey, no problem. See, I spoke some Spanish there. Did you hear that? I thought I really did it. I thought I nailed that. You said absolutely not gringo. Is that what you said right there to me? No, I mean, your Spanish is great. Your Spanish is great. It can definitely go through a lot of Mexican restaurants in Indiana.

1:51:33Pat McAfee:There's plenty. There's a lot of them. Yeah, we can't wait. You're the man, ladies and gentlemen. Fernando Mendoza. Fernando! Okay, he's Cuban.

1:51:45Adam Schefter:Miami.

1:51:46Pat McAfee:Did I speak the proper Spanish here? You thought he was going to throw it back at you. Didn't you think he was going to throw something wrong-winded? Bro, I thought De Nata was coming back right there. I was so excited for it. I even potentially had a response, depending upon what he said. Potentially had a response. If he would have went too far in there, I would have got in there. But I appreciate that, dude, man. Special. You know, and Transfer Portal is open right now. The window is open. And Indiana just signed a bunch of people. I mean, they got Josh Hoover there from TCU. They got an N.

1:52:19Pat McAfee:They got an N. I mean, Indiana has been the transfer portal kings. They really have. Them and Texas Tech. Texas Tech has done very well. They flipped their entire program. I guess Vandy you could also add into the conversation with what they've been able to do. And what Kurt Cignetti is able to do is evaluate very well, but also say those are our guys. These are the type of guys we want. Cignetti and Mendoza feel like. Yeah. Doesn't that feel like a match made to happen? Oh, my goodness. Absolutely perfect fit. But you said how Signetti evaluates talent and brings the right guys in, but then how that coaching staff gets those guys to play together and play so hard and so fast.

1:52:56That's, to me, the most impressive thing.

1:52:58Darius Butler:It's funny. It feels like Sig's doing two jobs at once because a lot of the guys that they brought in, they either played or he definitely watched film of them playing. They played Michigan State this year, and then they brought in the BC running back. The BC running back had a good game against Michigan State. So while he's watching film preparing for Michigan State, he definitely saw these things. These college coaches have to do one job and then another job while they're doing that job.

1:53:21Pat McAfee:Turbo coming to Indy. That's a good name. Hell of a name. That's a good name for a running back. But, yeah, both Lanning and Signetti had their press conferences. Hilarious. Both of them just like mental warfare happening, but also sharing the same sentiment. It's kind of bullshit what we've got to do right now while we're preparing for the biggest game. But, hey, I guess it's college football now. I couldn't study for four hours because I got recruits on it. But we'll see how it goes. And then Landon goes, keep worried about the recruits over there, Sig. We got the same thing happening here. It's a crazy time for, obviously, football, but it's a great time.

1:53:52Pat McAfee:We're so incredibly thankful that we get to talk about it. Be your friend. Tell your friend something nice. It might change your life. We'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye. Really think I got it in there. You did. I came up out of nowhere, the music. Shout to Nick. He's back. Hey, baby. Hey, Nick. See you, Nick. All right, Nick. Sunshine. He's delightful. Big smile. Big smile this morning. Oh, yeah. He came skipping it. Joviu. Yeah. Steelers' victory last night? That's good to hear. Yeah, I spent a lot of emotion last night.

1:54:17Darius Butler:So, you know, all that was left was the good stuff. It was nice.

1:54:19Pat McAfee:Yeah, we appreciate that. You should have had a lot of good stuff last night. It was the greatest ending it could have possibly been for the Pittsburgh Steelers. There was a lot of agonizing moments up until that ending. Yeah, but the dopamine dump after that ball because of Father Maximilian Maxwell's holy water. Thank you, Father.

1:54:37Adam Schefter:The Seagull on the road.

1:54:38Pat McAfee:So he's actually, from our understanding, a substitute priest. Not anymore. There might have been a Wally Pipp situation happen with the priesting over there for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I genuinely don't have any follow-ups to the story, but Father Paul normally priest for the Pittsburgh Steelers. We met him. He is the head priest up there at St. Vincent. St. Vincent actually has an arch abbey, which is a monastery with a bunch of monks. It is a very Catholic place, like maybe the most Catholic place in America. I have no idea how many of these there are. Father Paul is the head of the Arch Abbey.

1:55:15Pat McAfee:Father Maximilian Maxwell, he is the prior to the Arch Abbey. He's the prior of the Arch Abbey. He's vice president of the Monastery of Catholic Monks.

1:55:28Adam Schefter:That looked just like Chuck for a second. It did. Oh, my God.

1:55:32Pat McAfee:Chuck Pagano was trying to get some sage after that holy water, but just didn't get it quick enough. And Father Maximilian, substitute father, might be step-priest time to step in full-time here. Yeah, I mean, it's over. We love Father Paul. Love Father Paul. He was good to us. He was great to us. He gave us some sweet trinkets from up there. Not trinkets. Potter still has them. Right. I'm Catholic, I can say that. They're trinkets. and also a couple ice cold beers that his family was making. But, and again, I don't know if this is corroborated. I don't know if this is true. I have heard that maybe he doesn't bless the field with holy water before the game, and Father Maximilian decided, you know what?

1:56:16I think I'm going to tonight. And then it's in the same end zone that Tyler Lute misses the kick. You found your new team chaplain right there. And listen, it is a Wally. It's probably the biggest Wally Pipp situation since Wally Pipp got Wally Pipp by Lou Gehrig.

1:56:33Pat McAfee:God bless him. Yeah, God bless him. Oh, and God did, I guess. He did. God kind of made the decision here. A little bit. I don't know how the Catholics feel about signs from God. Pretty strongly. Yeah? Especially if it's a priest who's kind of, it's like, oh, this guy's talking to God. I know they say they all are. This guy's got his ear. So like in Avatar, the little Alway tree lands on Jacob Solly. Yes. The little leaf. Yep. Or whatever. Yeah, there it is. And they all go, holy hell. Yep. Don't kill him. He looks like a doofus, but I guess, you know, they're saying. AWOL loves him. AWOL loves him.

1:57:10Pat McAfee:Yeah, that's a whole thing. So that's actually what it, the Catholics view that potential, right, as a very obvious sign. That's a sign from our Lord and Savior. Now that, would that be father, son? It could be the Holy Triumvirate. Somebody. The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, potentially. Which is? Yeah. In Omnipatre et Fille Spiritus Santo. Or in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I'll tell you what, and if it's making folks miss kicks to go to playoffs, I think a lot more people are going to start buying into Catholicism in Pittsburgh.

1:57:40Darius Butler:I think you might be right. Mike Tomlin, TJ Watt, Aaron Rodgers.

1:57:44Pat McAfee:Big Ben.

1:57:45Darius Butler:No Cam Hayward, huh?

1:57:46Pat McAfee:Cam Hayward had a game of his life. Offense, defense, and special teams.

1:57:50Darius Butler:Four of them. Yeah, right there. One, two, three, four. Boom.

1:57:53Pat McAfee:I don't know if they're going to have enough wooden pews around Pittsburgh for what's going on right now.

1:57:58Darius Butler:They're not.

1:57:58Pat McAfee:I think those Catholic churches...

1:57:59Darius Butler:We'll get baptized tomorrow.

1:58:00Pat McAfee:You are?

1:58:01Darius Butler:I'm already baptized. I don't know why I said that.

1:58:04Pat McAfee:Catholic church?

1:58:06Darius Butler:No. Presbyterian? Thank you. Which is? A branch of Catholicism. Got it. As you know, I can tell I win a lot. Branch of Christianity. Whatever. You get it.

1:58:21Pat McAfee:Catholicism is also a branch of Christianity. Christianity means...

1:58:25Darius Butler:It's kind of overarching. It's been a long time since CCD.

1:58:28Pat McAfee:That means Jesus. Yeah. CCD was a good time. Saturdays. I got booed. Okay. I was pretty rude. Huh? What's that? What was that? Thank you, AJ. What was that? I used to get the opportunity to go wearing my football pants because I had a game directly after it. So I'd be clunking in there in my cleats and my pants and then go take my CCD class and go to play a game. So does everybody have CCD?

1:58:53Darius Butler:Oh, what's that? That's what I'm learning about. It's basically Sunday school. Yeah.

1:58:57Pat McAfee:Yeah, but it's on Saturday morning, wasn't it?

1:58:58Darius Butler:Yeah, it was Saturday morning. I was on Tuesday night, yeah. Boom.

1:59:02Pat McAfee:Oh, Saturday morning was much better. And there's nothing me and my brothers disliked more respectfully. We were pulling teeth not to go. I'll tell you what, if it was a nighttime one, I would have been very angry, I think. I would not have enjoyed getting it. Yeah, I'm surprised you said Saturday morning. I thought that would have pissed you off, too. No, no, it had something to do. It was something to do. I had soccer probably at some point, but it was like something to do. I didn't watch that. You know I didn't watch that. Saturday morning cartoons? I'm not watching fucking cartoons. You know that.

1:59:29Pat McAfee:We all know that. We all know I'm not watching cartoons.

1:59:31Adam Schefter:Missed out.

1:59:32Pat McAfee:I'm going to CCD going, I don't know. Then my dad going, yeah, you listen. All right. They're saying, yep. Exactly. Shut up. Listen. All right. All I know is people from other elementary schools are going. So there's a chance to meet more people, talk to more people. What a time CCD was. That was a nice little gathering. Obviously, I didn't learn enough. Yeah. Because I didn't know that if you throw some holy water down, the other team's going to miss a kick. I wonder if they're fucking preaching that in CCD. They need to start, certainly in Pittsburgh. Yeah, that time you do. We all know Father Maximilian and what his heavenly hands did.

2:00:13Pat McAfee:He might be getting a little bit more power Are we looking at maybe next Pope here? Father Maximilian Is that how the steps go here? He's got a ways to go He needs to climb the ladder a little bit more But after something like that Pope Leo might look at him and be like This guy's got I didn't see Pope Leo at the Bears game

2:00:32Adam Schefter:But Pope Leo got Is he going to go to a Bears game? From the bottom of the Bears That's a good point

2:00:38Pat McAfee:Pope Leo, legit I mean, Chicago. So he started as a priest. Yes. In Chicago. I want to say Philadelphia, maybe. But from Chicago. Yes. Goes over there. Then he goes to Latin America, I think, somewhere. Yeah, somewhere. And then he goes to Italy, and then he becomes the guy. Yeah. Comes a cardinal at some point, and then. There is something with Seattle, with the Pope. Anytime there's been a new Pope announced over the last three Popes, Seattle has gone to the Super Bowl.

2:01:07Darius Butler:Oh, so they see the grace books. Yeah, they see. One seed and Super Bowl.

2:01:11Pat McAfee:Oh, sorry. Yeah, one seed and Super Bowl. Oh, boy. Oh, no. Something's got to give here. Was that Father Maximilian? Because he also exists now, too. Well, I was going to say, the sitting pope has never had skin in the game. He does this year. You know, those previous two popes, those guys don't give a shit about, you know, NFL football. I thought the one before was a huge Hasselbeck guy. JPJ II? Yeah, I thought he loved Hasselbeck. There's arguments out there to be made for that. No, John Paul. Oh. You know. I thought he had a Sean Alexander tattoo. Again, yeah. Cole Musgrove, 23, is reporting on his ex-account.

2:01:45Pat McAfee:2005, a new pope is elected. Seahawks win 13 games, advance the Super Bowl. 2013, a new pope is elected. Seahawks win 13 games, advance the Super Bowl. 2025, a new pope is elected. Seahawks win 13 games. And you tell me who's writing a story. Also, a lot of turnover for the popes. I didn't know it was this quick. It feels pretty quick for the popes. It's usually not, right? Well, it's because they're, you know. Old as. Yeah. Dying off. And maybe rest in peace to the... To all of them. Well. Leo. Well, the ones. Most of them. Let's get to a break. All right. On the other side, we'll obviously break down everything we weren't able to touch.

2:02:23And then, yeah, we'll skirt right into a Tuesday.

2:02:26Pat McAfee:No Monday Night Football tonight. No more weekday primetime. I guess next Monday. Next Monday, yeah. Is there TGL or anything tonight? No, I wouldn't do that. It was Friday. Fuck that. How was it? I enjoyed it. It came down to the last hole, and it was entertaining. But Friday night, ain't nobody watching that. So, you know, same issues as we've always had. Speaking of watching things, more people are watching now than ever. Let's make sure we're getting football right. These rules analysts, I just learned of this dude's existence. I don't know where he paid his dues or earned his actual ref stripes.

2:03:04Pat McAfee:Can't have them. can't take it. What's his name, Chase? Oh, yes. I had a bunch of people saying, McAfee talking about his co-worker. I don't fucking know that guy. I'm talking for the good of ball. Dude, for the good of ball, we need somebody who's good in there. You know? Like, that is what we need. We need somebody that's good of ball. Now, maybe he just had an off night. Maybe they feel obligated to stick up for the refs or whatever it is, but, like, for the good of ball. Then I have Connie Carberg, first ever NFL scout. I think that's right. Connie?

2:03:33Adam Schefter:Sure. First scout? First female guy.

2:03:37Pat McAfee:She wrote a book. She tweets me after I go, refs are ass. Rules analyst also ass. This is not great. She goes, so many people pulling for the Carolina Pets. I'm pulling for ball. I'm pulling for ball right now. Alec Pierce getting ejected in his biggest game. That was bad. Because the guy runs into him. It's like, yeah, right. These refs, come on. Come on. This is a lot of eyes right now.

2:04:00Adam Schefter:A TMAC, OPI, that was. Well, that was the one. Unbelievable.

2:04:04Pat McAfee:He did push him a little hard there. Let alone the two-point conversion. Let's not forget about that with Seattle a couple weeks ago. That has paid dividends for that team. Okay, so let's just make sure we're all on point. It matters. Everything matters now. Let's just remember that when we're getting in there. And you're representing all of ball. I don't care who's getting screwed or who's benefiting from the call. I just worry about ball. That's what we worry about, ball. Yeah. It's a lot harder than it looks, I think. That gig. The good ones are very good. And the other ones, you know, have some more.

2:04:36Pat McAfee:I don't think you can just drop anybody in, which makes me feel like the NFL should maybe say, like, hey, for primetime games, we are going to provide somebody. Gene Steratore works every primetime game. He's great. He's great. And he knows everything about everything. And he'll even say, ah, by the book it says you probably caught it, but in the moment I don't think. He's speaking for ball. Like he's representing football as a whole. We need good doing that. Because ball is like this. Let's keep it going like this. Yeah.

2:05:13Adam Schefter:I do like when the analysts stand up for the players too. Yeah. JJ, Dan O. Maybe Orlovsky can do it actually. He knows all the rules hands down.

2:05:22Pat McAfee:A lot of people saying Dan O knows everything there. Yeah. I don't know. Lou Dick might know more I think. Well that's kind of what it is. Is this just a dick-measuring contest between these guys? About who knows more about football? Can we talk about the game? Great game. Let's get to a break. I just need these refs to do good. It's a hard job. We get it. But we need you to do good. And rules analyst guy in the fucking booth, you're working for the people. You're not working for the refs. Yeah. It's their buddies. They're in a weird spot. They got to know that going in, though. You're working for ball, brother.

2:05:57Pat McAfee:Yeah, but their contract is... Who the fuck are you... Who's paying you right now? Who's paying? Well, it's where I come from. Does this guy even ref? There's no idea. I've never seen him.

2:06:06Adam Schefter:I don't know. I would assume that's a prerequisite. I don't know. I don't know if it is. I don't think you've had to ref. It's an assumption. Yeah, Blandino didn't ref.

2:06:17Pat McAfee:And then he got the review job. But he's good at it. Yeah. Riveron. Did this guy ever ref? He's a bit of a ghost. We were just digging back here. And he was a video replay official for a couple years. but I don't see any NFL on field. That's what I'm saying. I don't think this guy's ever reffed. Whenever he popped up and is talking, I'm like, who is this guy? He must be really good. And I'm listening. I'm like, who put this guy here? Let this guy become the voice of ball. And one thing leads to another. And all of a sudden, I'm burying coworkers.

2:06:48Darius Butler:There is a challenge coin available on eBay presented to official, replay official Mike Chase from Super Bowl LV.

2:06:58Pat McAfee:All right, let's buy that. so maybe we can get this gig being the ref consultant. Consultants. Atlanta's hired two of them. Already, huh? Okay. I'd like to sit in on some of those meetings, actually. They hire two consultants, and then they promote president to president and CEO who's already been there. So then we hire outside people to do stuff whenever the person that's been there is being promoted. I don't know. That doesn't sound... That sounds... Maybe the outside firms came in and were like, Hey, this is really the only guy you got, Beatles. Let's make him CEO, and then if you could also make him GM and head coach, that'd probably be good.

2:07:36Pat McAfee:But don't worry about Sporology, and he's the RG who'll get to the bottom of it. Sporology. Go ahead and scroll through who they got.

2:07:44Adam Schefter:I'm sure a bunch of ball-knowers. Ball-knowers.

2:07:46Darius Butler:Yeah. He might be wrong, but – I mean, this site might be wrong, but it doesn't look like any on-field. It just looks like one, two, three, four, five, six years as a video replay.

2:07:56Pat McAfee:What year were those? 19-24. That was right during the pass interference one, which we all agreed was the worst time of the reviews. You'll get better. Needs to. Hell yeah. For the good of ball.

2:08:14Pat McAfee:For the good of ball. It's a valuable spot. A very valuable spot that that person educates everybody watching the game. You're speaking for the sport. The refs too. Whitecaps as well. Can't have them being ass. but rules analyst definitely to let's get to a break and I'm not rooting for any team I'm rooting for fucking ball

2:08:36Adam Schefter:maybe just put the other guy in there love that work he's got the shirt on from game day he's got it in his wardrobe already

2:08:44Pat McAfee:I watched that back a couple times the one that he said was no good dead on couple new angles feels like that one might have missed in Utah right Yeah. Jodo! Yeah, exactly. If I recall. Yeah. No, that wasn't good. I'm telling you, I was right there. That thing was no good. Uttershed. Hey, Steve, how come everybody in here is saying that it was good, including the one almost right fucking there? Oh, standard right there. It did not go good. It was not. Go ahead, Tom.

2:09:14Darius Butler:Chase was also the Super Bowl replay official for the 2020 Super Bowl and the 2024 Super Bowl. That's where Challenge Coin's from. You can have it.

2:09:23Pat McAfee:We got this guy fresh out of the... Let's go back and check how he did.

2:09:29Darius Butler:Doesn't look great.

2:09:32Pat McAfee:What, do they have percentages on correct reviews? Good luck, Chase. You're a part of ball now in a big way. You're speaking for it to a lot of people. Let's make sure we're doing that properly. You get to. And we're thankful for you if you get it right. That's right. If not, meritocracy. We need new.

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2:12:27Pat McAfee:Football! He's the greatest, that's AJ Hawk. The Talks at the Table's here at Boston Corner and at Ty Schmidt. One half of the hammer. Done! Cowboys AP Tone is here. Tone, on DraftKings, when 60 % of the bets were on something this weekend, how did the public fare? You know, because in the past, we had been asked. You know, and the books had beat us. And AJ, I'd like to let you know, we tied. Oh. Again? Yeah. I needed a win, though. I needed a win. And I'm not going to blame Jack Carr, okay, because I appreciate Jack Carr's contributions to the United States of America and to society. But I flipped this coin right here for that Seattle-San Franke because I've been on Seattle this entire time.

2:13:08Pat McAfee:And these axes, as if they were the 1849ers that were looking for gold out there in California. Felt like that was the right play because Jack Carr's challenge coin told me as such. I will not hold this against Jack Carr, even though immediately after the game ended, I said, fucking Jack Carr. Because I got to remember, Jack Carr saved the world numerous times. Yeah, sure. And if it wasn't for us documenting it, nobody would have known that Jack Carr saved the world numerous times. Most recently, UFO out of nowhere. Yeah, invasion. Yeah, that was crazy. A bunch of aliens pop out of some portal over here.

2:13:46Pat McAfee:They're going to hit a kill switch for the entire planet. Yeah, exactly.

2:13:51Adam Schefter:Still can't believe that fucking button was right here. Right out there. Under our noses. I know.

2:13:56Pat McAfee:When I was buying a property, remember we had to go to a council meeting and all that shit to rezone this? I feel like that should have been something that was talked about, right? Yeah, maybe disclosed. Yeah, disclosure. Like if someone dies in the house, aren't you supposed to disclose that? The realtor is supposed to? My disclosure we're talking about here. Uh-oh. Maybe we need a little bit more so that those situations don't happen. Because what if Jack Carr's not here? We're not ready. We're done. I had that alien killing gun that I got off the internet. Sure. But I wouldn't have been able to use it.

2:14:25Darius Butler:You might have got a couple, but all of them. We'll send Bill out there. You wouldn't have got that big one.

2:14:30Pat McAfee:I don't know. When that big one turns and looks at Bill, I think Bill's natural reaction. Because it would be any human, not Jack Carr, any human's natural reaction would be to kind of run quiver a little bit run away from the jack are actually cracking jokes looks like that this one stopped on the way in yeah exactly geez boom bang pow boom boom right in the head right in the call right in the dick exposed all those i think so jack car's challenge coin obviously not great to us jack car as a whole though good for society so we tie seven three feels like we did well though hey we should be pretty proud of what we did here.

2:15:06Pat McAfee:And congrats to you on winning the season, buddy. Congrats to you. Yeah. You have a prestigious award that I know you'll be proud of. Congratulations. You actually win these. Wow. No way. Because you saw it so well. This is what you win. What about the playoffs? Oh, interesting. Put this down. It's not over yet. Hold the phone. Hold the phone. These might stay here. You know I love that these are here. I already picture myself wearing those things. In my mind, those are already mine. No, I've already thought about it as well. I'm bummed out.

2:15:38Darius Butler:Those are sea biscuits, by the way. If I would have flown an open-air airplane or something. Those are jockey goggles.

2:15:44Pat McAfee:These are Brian Hernandez Jr.'s goggles. Everybody knows Brock and Rodden. That's what they say about Brian. Brian Hernandez Jr. right here. These are his. He could see it better than anybody else. That's why he had these goggles. There's little layers that he used to just peel off. He's the one that actually invented the windshield wiper thing that they do. So whenever we give you these, it means you're seeing the field better than everybody else, which is what you would be doing if you were to win that strap, this strap, this year. But it turns out I still got a few weeks to save this. That's right.

2:16:17Pat McAfee:Yes, you do. Rock and ride. But, boy, seeing it's not easy this year. No, it's not. Whoever wins this this year is going to earn it through great picks and great vision of the future. And that's what this represents, H. So if this ends up in your little bookshelf room up there in your attic, you should take great pride in it and know that I will miss it mightily. You ever put those on? No, because it would be disrespectful to Brian, the rider, Hernandez. Someone should strap them on. Someone should put them on and see what they're looking like. It might be a sign. Hmm? It's only one. Of what?

2:16:47Adam Schefter:Can we put the teams up there, the playoff teams? Uh-huh. I think there's only one.

2:16:51Darius Butler:Oh, I see what you're doing. It's a horse. Uh-huh. Yeah, it's not on this track.

2:16:55Adam Schefter:Actually, they're not even on there. They're a one-seat.

2:16:58Pat McAfee:You're talking about Denver Broncos. What about the Texans? You think Bri the Ryder or Hernandez Jr. said that?

2:17:04Adam Schefter:No, they don't wear that.

2:17:05Pat McAfee:Bulls. Rodeo.

2:17:07Adam Schefter:Bri the Ryder, yeah. I mean, obviously the Colts didn't make it.

2:17:12Pat McAfee:Boy, they've been bucking us off the fucking game the whole time, haven't they? I mean, we've been going bareback on that thing with Spurs. You know, on this horse. Every season. This year, we're number one. Bang, bang, boom, bang. Seven straight. Yeah. Seven straight losses. That was a very accurate representation of the season. I'm part of the Montana State Rodeo team. Remember? Oh, yeah. Didn't you wrestle that bull? Didn't you wrestle that bull down? Is it true that you asked the people, hey, I don't want to hurt this 9 ,000-pound animal. Are you sure I can really torque them like you tell me to?

2:17:54Pat McAfee:Are you asking, is it true, as if? Yeah, I heard rumors. I heard rumors. You might have asked that, yeah. Did I tell you that particular rumor one time? I think you told everybody that rumor. It's an acknowledgment of being an asshole. Just because they had me. I'm going to break his neck, though. I don't want to break his neck. I don't want to hurt the calf. It is a valid question, though. I think it's a valid question. Boom, put it down, by the way. That thing late. Hey, that thing late. Yeah. Late leaner there. But, yeah, I certainly had to ask. Like, this looks like I'm hurting the calf. People are going to be really pissed.

2:18:24Pat McAfee:I'm hurt. You're going to hurt this thing? Let me go tell this thing that you're going to hurt 10 ,000 pounds. Things got horns. What I'm asking you to do is knock it in front of this thing so it doesn't kill you. You think you are going to hurt this particular? Well, I guess it was a dumb question. Yeah, it was a dumb question. Thanks. Next one.

2:18:43Darius Butler:Rodeo's in town this weekend.

2:18:44Pat McAfee:I'll tell you what. If I was to go, it wouldn't be my first. No, it wouldn't. But it won't be my last, too. These little fucking bull riders, they get in there. Oh, yeah. Incredible. Yeah. They wear helmets now. They got nothing to be afraid of. Okay. Do they all wear helmets or all of them? That's what Ty said, yeah. Yeah, he is. Forgot about that. Oh, on that note, now I don't know what's going on with Bull Riders. I hope they survive. Yeah, me neither. Because these Bulls are fucking bucking better than they've ever bucked in the PBRs, obviously. Worthy of a watch if it's on in between other stuff.

2:19:15Pat McAfee:Speaking of, like, they got helmets on now. So, you know the wild and wonderful Wondolas? Yeah. The Wlandas. The Wlandas? No Nets. Throughout the entire time, they have been the family that has done death-defying stunts for the entire country to watch live. We're very thankful for them. They're the original, you know, jackass. They're the original crazy folks to do stuff. And it was good entertainment. I think their entire family committed to it. And then it became like, hey, worst thing that could happen here is we're bungee jumping over Niagara Falls, you know, because they're like kind of locked in.

2:19:47Pat McAfee:And I, as just mere moral idiot, saw the worst thing that could happen there is bungee jumping over niagara falls actually sounds pretty sick you know it would check the box just one time so i think because of how much we learned about how much the wandalos will end it will end this could actually die like obviously that particular form of entertainment got dumbed down on a linear television version because we'd be watching the internet and people would be doing like actual should die stuff and we'd like see it it's like wow i can't believe it's but tv i think laws and injuries and insurance and everything got too big where we couldn't really have something that could really go for it anymore.

2:20:28Pat McAfee:Really did feel like that was a lost entertainment because they tried it a couple of times. We're walking across this, we're walking across this and then you watch it and it's them not really being entertaining and everybody, it's hard to just buy into the not actually die morbid, but that's what we're selling here is death defying act and stunt. That's what we're watching. This Alec Honnold thing he's about to do? Yes. they're saying he's fucking yeah nothing free solo climbing a building a very tall one in Taiwan live live so if we see him fall though you'll just see him fall and they won't show him hitting the ground you'll have to find that on the internet it'll be very jarring it'll be terrible but I have faith that he's going to make it I have faith he's going to make it and hopefully out of camera view they'll have a net down there that'll catch them?

2:21:21Pat McAfee:Nope. That would make sense. Once he gets past the 10th or the 5th story or whatever. Brother, they got nets outside of buildings. I don't know if you heard about people working until they didn't want to work anymore. They figured that whole thing out. But I'm saying, I didn't think I would be alive again for an actual death stunt happening on TV or happening promotional. Let's see what it is. I don't think Ronald's signing up for anything other than that. It is. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Even if there is a net, though, I think if you're that high up and you do fall with how much wind, you're going to get blasted back into the building.

2:21:54You're not going to make it to the net, bro.

2:21:55Pat McAfee:What was that thing called? Free solo. It was his doc, right? Yes. I mean, palms are sweaty watching the documentary. Oh, yeah. I mean, like actual, if this is real, which it seems like it's going to be, I mean, that's going to be a jarring, like we don't get a lot of that anymore. I don't think there's, I don't know how many of those are going to exist going forward, honestly. Fucking shout out to Honnold, dude. What a maniac. Yeah, lunatic. I was at that uh what was that Disney's up front to announce our show is being licensed by Disney and ESPN and he was the only guy I really fanboyed about I was walking by holy fuck you're the uh Alex Alec uh Alec yep nice to meet you oh I love you man he said he knows the show he watched it on the internet I'm like don't need to hear that it means you saw a clip of us talking about you what he did say about you though how we all feel he's different man literally he is he's been on right i think we've had him on yeah yeah you got a kid now yeah he's family yeah full-blown family man i wonder if that changed your mindset i think she's similar i i don't know if she's like a rock climber but she's some sort of i think she understands this person just doesn't have like the fear yeah she is also a rock climber but she does use ropes she's not a free solo or like honnold because she was in the they were just dating at the time in the free solo doc living in his van and she went with him to El Capitan.

2:23:19Pat McAfee:Can you imagine if she was just an accountant? Yeah, she couldn't be. I don't think that would ever work. I think you're marrying someone like this if you don't have similar interests. This is such an interesting thing because this documentary is so old so we're just assuming everybody has seen it. If you have not seen it, worthy of a watch that this human exists. Like, the fact that this human exists out here in our world that we're in, we're talking about living in the woods taking months of his life to just look at a rock to see how he could climb it with no ropes and then every single fingertip could be the end of it it's great and just not even really considering the outcome that is certainly right around the corner every single movement and then there was another doc about uh canadian fellow uh mark andre leclerc yeah yeah he was a ice climber he's free solo ice climber at the tip of mountains so like at the very top of mountains you gotta hike up to the tallest mountains and then at the top of them there's just ice i guess on the capsules you know when you draw a mountain the top of it normally has like a little white thing those are just he's just climbing out with no ropes and i the documentaries came out pretty close to each other and when we're watching the one or the other i think in mark andres and mark andres yeah honnold is interviewed yeah yeah he said he looked over they were like climbing two things and they like looked over and it was like each other basically seeing each other and it's like uh those two are considered the two best of all time and it's like the fact that they're doing it.

2:24:39Pat McAfee:Yeah, here's the Alpinist is the name of this one. Worthy of a watch. Now that football is slowing down, we've got no Monday Night Football tonight. You're going to hear a lot of these types of conversations from us as AJ's connection is unstable. He might have been dangling. He might have been dangling out there. This guy didn't make it. I didn't hear if I cut out, but I know this gentleman didn't make it, right? Yeah, he ended up passing away. Honnold actually talks about it too in the Alpinist about how people would know where Honnold is going. Like he has a girlfriend. He would notify people.

2:25:10Like that LeClaire guy would just disappear and go climb mountains because he wanted to, not because he wanted anyone to know he was doing it.

2:25:17Pat McAfee:No pictures, no videos of a lot of them. Yeah. So literally just coming back, hey, I climbed that. Okay. Can we see it? Yeah, love of the game. Just love of the game. Legit. That Honol thing, if they're really doing that, I kind of looked into it this weekend just because I didn't think it would be possible in this modern era that we're in to be able to do that. That's gigantic. Yeah. The numbers on that are going to be outrageous. This dude's like actual Spider-Man. He's like actual Spider-Man. He's climbing a face of a fucking rock that has like tiny crevices. And he's thousands of feet in the air.

2:25:49Pat McAfee:And he's just sitting there like this. And they have a shot somehow because of other rock climbers that is just like right on top of him basically, zoomed out with a fish high lens. And it's just like death. Just because of his little tiny little fingers like this.

2:26:04Adam Schefter:And you said he, like, looks at the – what kind of – what other, like, recon is it on, like, how the – He knows his path. He knows his whole path going up before. That's still – He knows, like, the different paths and all that stuff.

2:26:16Pat McAfee:Capitan, right, is what it was called? Yeah, yeah. Capitan. Capitan. Who's never been climbed free solo. So they documented him – because he didn't like a lot of his shit being documented. So they documented him climbing something that these climbers said was impossible to climb free solo. So he did it. And it's literally, like, people have ropes and shit that they put into these. so they'll put like something in between cracks and then that'll hold them and then if you fall you know you have something and then you spin and then you hit it it's like this this dude is nothing nothing on it just a t-shirt a thing on the back that's like chalk or whatever chalk yeah all right here we go and just like a little kid on like a monkey bar insane like fucking 2 000 however many thousand feet above sky that's crazy it's insane to watch how they you know there's i don't know if it's another doc or like an hour youtube thing they talked about filming him when he was free-souling.

2:27:03The guys that climbed around him and filmed him and all of that, that alone is a great watch if you want to see it too. When they talk about, it was real. What if he falls and dies? We're going to be documenting this dude's death? Do we put this out? It's pretty cool.

2:27:18Pat McAfee:I don't know how many of these humans exist, but there's some X Games humans that just exist out there. Those squirrel suit wears. Yeah. The base jumpers. There's a base jumper documentary on YouTube. It's called 60 Seconds to Hell. and actually the main character in the end, that's what happens. Like, they pass away. And it is insane. Is that the one where, like, six of them out of the eight of them? I think so. Yeah, I've seen that. Did they hit a mountain? Yeah, everything. One of the ladies that they follow is like, hey, when you get into this, you know, like, one of my best friends is going to die because we're base jumpers.

2:27:51This is what happens. And then throughout, at the end of the doc, like, one of the main characters in it.

2:27:56Pat McAfee:How about committing full life to it? It's crazy. That's crazy. That is. That's anything. incredible commitment. Honnold, good luck. Good luck. We'll get him, Honnold. I'm watching. I'll watch. Me too. Yeah, me too. And I'm going to have the sway. I'm going to come on. I don't know if I'll be able to. Even just talking about the Free Soul Doc and seeing that photo makes me... I got really uncomfortable watching the Free Soul Doc. He's not going to fall. He's too good. Yeah, if there's any... Can we show that? I mean, there's a lot of stuff, right, for him to grab, it looks like. Listen to me.

2:28:34I wonder how Imagine how windy it is too up there I wonder how climbers feel about it I wonder if it's a building It's going to be pretty easy For him Or if it's more so I don't know what the hell he's going to grow There's other guys that climb buildings out there But I don't know if they're this high

2:28:51Pat McAfee:But they're usually with wiring and stuff That's the cabling So him just not being cabled up I assume that the oh I don't know but looking at it yeah it's hard to tell how it goes back you know how you go up and then you're like the overhang it looks like they have that whole climb like you're it's even tougher yeah and how long is it going to take it starts at 8pm Eastern at least and what if the weather's terrible does it say like contingent on weather I would assume if it's horrible weather he's not going to climb on this day. Pastrana was going to jump in Vegas and it was windy and I think they delayed it or something definitely contingent on weather because in the free solo dog too, El Capitano is supposed to climb it one day and they wake up and it's raining and they have to push it.

2:29:34Pat McAfee:Yeah, I think there was clouds too, potentially in something that they change off of. Because they watch the Doppler, like those pro even LeClaire, they watch the Doppler just to make sure you can't get caught in the rain while you're halfway up with no ropes. Good luck, Alec! Good luck. How many of those are walking around just with no sense of fear? TC. At least two. I guess Tom, yeah. Tom and Alec. Ian Rap Sheet remember he said he's not scared of anything Blake Groupie he did a pencil on the bungee jump Rap Report did remember he said he penciled into his bungee jump feet first and then it flipped him at the end he got a whiplash at the bottom yeah I do remember that I'm not scared now it's all coming back to me Rap Sheet, Tom Cruise, Alec Honnold who else was mentioned there Blake Groupie I mean, he'll submarine into anything.

2:30:27Pat McAfee:I'm telling you, we've been saying that for a few weeks. That might be the smallest guy in the history of the NFL. I mean, it is for real. It is unbelievable. What are his dims? Do you know his dims? 5 '5", 110. Hey, he can kick for my team any day if he's going to do that. Hey, man, I legitimately feel that. This isn't the first time he has done this. He has done this before where he just full send, full fucking send on a football field. I respect it so much. It is so awesome. Legit. What's he even doing that close? Yeah, he's down in there. Yeah, the fundamentals. I love it. What if he would have knocked that ball out, though?

2:31:02His helmet almost got that ball.

2:31:04Pat McAfee:Exactly. That's what I'm saying. So, I respect it. Blake, we need more Blake. Nowhere near the size of him. We're good with the size. We got this one figured out. He had a 60 yarder, so it doesn't hold him back at all. But, like, the full, and he's got Moxie, too. I mean, he is a showman out there. I mean, he is. I respect the way Blake Groupie operates. and yeah, this is the only thing that needs to be said is what I tweeted immediately. Hey, nothing else needs to be said about him. They were saying some stuff about him on the internet. It's ridiculous. I don't like it. Uncalled for. Fernando Mendoza said he understood it though.

2:31:35Pat McAfee:The internet's always undefeated. Speaking of the internet, I felt like everybody was positive about a commentator we need to share love. Mike Tirico. Hell yeah. Good call, lad.

2:31:46Adam Schefter:Great call.

2:31:46Pat McAfee:Good call. I think people were pumped up about what Mike Tirico was doing last night and it felt like Mike Tirico was just living in the game. Like, hey, I'm in the game. Understood what was on the line. Understood what the futures were potentially for both franchises, depending upon the outcome. And had his most juice whenever it mattered the most. I thought it was a, I don't know what they call it, a perfect game. I don't know how you go about doing it. But I appreciate Tirico a lot for what he did last night during that game. Made a great game even better, which is what we're looking for, H.

2:32:14That's what the great broadcasters do, right? They just add to the aura, the excitement of a game. Tirico's been awesome for, what, 30, 40 years? like everything the guy does like he is he's awesome i think he's one of the best there is

2:32:26Pat McAfee:super smooth and everything he does and then it has the ability to be able to read the room and bring the juice and it's like whenever he does his interview with chris collinsworth at the beginning of the game uh whenever he throws it over to him and says you know this team likes the blah blah feels like he's genuinely listening as opposed to just getting through it uh what's happening because that probably is scripted and rehearsed but it feels like tariko actually listening like actually present actually in the moment whenever he's calling it and have that That type of confidence obviously comes from working on it a lot, but also having like a natural chops that not a lot of people have.

2:32:57Pat McAfee:He can call anything. Duke can host anything. He can call anything. And his addition back into the NFL's primetime booth, whenever Al Michaels moved to Amazon and he gets Sunday Night Football, has been a blessing for ball, an absolute blessing for ball.

2:33:10Adam Schefter:Best in game. Absolutely. Still got his fastball, just the way he sets up moments. And then, you know, obviously knows when to lay out. Like a true pro. Best in the biz.

2:33:19Pat McAfee:Yeah, I appreciate what they did last night. I do. We sent him a text. I sent him a text, told him congratulations. He didn't have a number saved. Mike Tirico football. Sent him a group shot of us here saying great job. And he was all pumped up. He said great job with Fernando today. Okay. So. Okay. Nice. Watch the program. Always studying. Hell yeah. I assume he just has everything. Yeah. Knowledge. Yeah, because he's got to do world events. He's got to do Olympic stuff. Do an NBA, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, because he's interviewing Jordan. Which is great. I mean, he is.

2:33:48Adam Schefter:Well, interview.

2:33:49Pat McAfee:He interviewed Jordan. Relax. Yeah. Hey, that was a good play by them. Every Sunday, right? They fucking got us, didn't they? I think he was there for Christmas. Well, I don't know. Shit. They ran the video probably in the hot. Is it still going? Is that still going? I'm not so sure. Live stream starting soon here with Carly Ursa. I was supposed to go off at 2.30. It's 2.46 right now. Did I forget about it until this moment? Yeah. Yeah, I'd say yeah. Maybe they said, fuck it. Let's fire him, actually. I mean, maybe Carly saw some names pop up and go, Kevin Stefanski, Indianapolis? Wait a minute.

2:34:22Pat McAfee:Wait, this team came from Baltimore, didn't it? Yeah. Harbaugh's available? Oh. Oh. Maybe we'll bring in John Harbaugh to lead the squad. Is John Eric Sullivan available? Oh, maybe we need John Eric Sullivan. True. Hey, Ty's been doing some research on the GM department, mostly because allegedly a Packer guy's about to go, right? I mean, that is. Yeah, John Eric Sullivan, who has been with the Packers, I believe he was there the entire time you were there as well, AJ. He is currently the VP of player personnel, and he actually got several GM interviews last year. Didn't get any, but his name is very hot right now in the prospective GM candidates.

2:35:01Pat McAfee:If you talk about Packers front office people. Exactly. Elliott Wolfe, who, I mean, I don't know what his actual title is with the... Pseudo GM. Pseudo GM. He comes from the Packers. His dad, Ron Wolfe, was the one who traded for Brett Favre. and Schneider, he wasn't the GM, but he was McCarthy's top aide when he was there and then did other things for the front office. So they have a long line of these kind of guys whose names we don't know who end up going on and getting GM roles or other big roles in front offices elsewhere. AJ, do you think that's because the Packers don't have owners and owner, so all these other roles have to pick up maybe some other jobs as well?

2:35:40Pat McAfee:Does that make sense? Do some of these personnel people come a little bit better equipped for the general management job? Is that why they get plucked at a more often rate than maybe other places? Or is it because of the stability that they've been able to have for so long? What are your thoughts on why Green Bay Packers personnel people seemingly do a great job whenever they get the opportunity to run an organization? Yeah, I don't know. They do a good job. A lot of it goes back like 20 years. Like John Eric Sullivan, too. He's a dude. He is a dude. He should be a GM eventually. I'm sure he might get one this hiring cycle, it sounds like.

2:36:10But, yeah, I don't know. They have, like, a good – you know when you go to training camp, did all of your scouts come back and hang out, like, during camp and watch, like, all your regional scouts that usually live? Like, your guy who lives in Houston comes up. Like, they're all there the first 10, 12, 15 days of camp. That's when I would, like, realize how good they were. All of them would come around. That's when we'd see them all together. And, like, you realize, hey, we're in pretty good hands. These guys know ball. They know what they're doing. They know what to look for. And they were, like, real humans.

2:36:36Like, I always respected them. I always enjoyed being around them.

2:36:39Pat McAfee:Yeah, they're road warriors out there, the scouts, whenever they're kind of cut their teeth in the NFL personnel department. Why do you think Packers people have been good? Like what John did up there in Seattle? Yeah. Crazy. Insane. Think about the amount of, like, shit you have to take to make the decisions that he made. First of all, we're moving on from Russ. Yeah, get him out of here. Oh, that's cute. Pete Carroll, that's fun. Moving on from him. Both beloved in Seattle. So you're going to make a decision that is going to piss a lot of people off. You're sitting in a chair where decisions have to be made, and you're going to make a hard decision.

2:37:14Pat McAfee:And there's going to be a lot of people pissed. It's going to be emotional. And even you might not want to do it, but you know it's the right move. For him to sit in that pocket, probably sweat his pits whenever he was making those decisions. For sure. I assume he was just sweating. Oh, man. The ass. I couldn't even imagine. Oh, geez, Louise. I mean, all of it. I assume he's doing that. But to sit in the pocket and make those decisions for the good of the program, for the good of the program, it's like that is a trait that not a lot of people have even people that sit in uh chairs that decisions have to be made like i think there's a lot of people scared to make decisions that'll piss somebody off or piss people off i think their shins don't want it especially with the rapid reaction that you currently have right now with how loud social media is and how much everybody knows about everything it feels like making a decision that's going to piss off a lot of people scares a lot of people and decision makers into making tough decisions so i think They're cowards whenever they send it to out of the building, for instance, or pass it the buck or don't make the decisions.

2:38:10Pat McAfee:Like, it's like, hey, you're supposed to be doing that. Do that. And it's like for him to do that in Seattle with how loud it got. Their stadium was getting taken over. Yeah. Okay. Their fans were not happy with him. He was still there. He was the constant. So for him to go through it, make the right decisions and have it on. It's like, God damn. That is. It comes from Ted Thompson. I think a lot of it comes from Ted Thompson. RIP. He was great GM for Green Bay, the Green Bay Packers. and also such a unique human to where I promise you, Ted Thompson, he was not bothered by outside noise, by the media, by any of that.

2:38:41All he cared about was what do I have to do to give these coaches the best players and give them a chance to win a Super Bowl. That's all Ted Thompson cared about. I think a lot of these guys worked under Ted, so I think they definitely learned at a young age, you've got to do whatever you think is right for the team, not what some blogger or what someone outside of this building thinks. You know the team better than anybody. it.

2:39:01Adam Schefter:It can get loud though. Oh yeah. But it's like a real, real, you know, culture over there and some other place too. Like you have that real culture, you have that real communication from the top down and like stability. So when you come from a place like that, typically when you go somewhere else, you know how to build a team, you know how to have patience, you know how to have your, you know, whatever your belief system is. Hey, we're a draft and develop type team. We're going to do a ton of free agency, but we'll do a little bit more. And then as the game evolves, you got to be able to evolve too.

2:39:28Adam Schefter:So just like when you go on from a great place in your coaching You got to hire the right people around you. And shit, you got to get lucky with some of the players that you go out there and draft and they actually show up and outperform probably their draft. You draft a guy, Richard Sherman, in the fifth round, and he goes on – Russell Wilson in the third round, and he goes on to be what he was. So it's a combination of it all, I think.

2:39:49Pat McAfee:Yeah, and I think the culture being all the way back instilled with McDonald who might win coach of the year or whatever, it's like, well, that's the next 20 years. Yep. At least. I will see.

2:40:02Adam Schefter:whoa I mean you're just gonna fucking crown him cause they got a bye week

2:40:07Pat McAfee:I think so I think I am he's calling plays McDonald's he's calling the defense I love him and they're 1-1-2 1-1-1 whatever it is with Houston being the 2-2-1-2 whatever it is on the other side of it so we always talk about it with offensive coordinators about how we got the play caller for whatever it's like their defense has got the they got the defensive play caller and they got the defense that's going to be able to keep them in every game. And if Sam Darnold's going to do what Sam Darnold's going to do, it's like are they going to be able to keep up offense coordinator-wise because all the offense coordinators are probably going to get head coaching gigs if I had to guess.

2:40:42Well, and you have to tip your hat to him for that too because last year they weren't terrible, but after a year he was like, Ryan Grubb's not the guy. Get his ass out of here. We're going to fire him, bring in Clint Kubiak, and we see how much things change. So he's got a track record already of kind of having his finger on the pulse there and knowing, hey, we're not terrible, but we need to get better. And DK. DK Metcalf, see you later. Gino, see you later. Pete Carroll, two years ago. Lock it. Lock it. Yeah, well, long in the tooth, lock it. But still, same thing. Think about the amount of superstar and legendary guys that he basically was like, nope, we can do better.

2:41:24And then actually going and doing that much better. It's incredible. And I guess they did not paint over all the walls.

2:41:31Pat McAfee:So that story was obviously blown out of proportion by us. But it's what we were told. So we're only going by what we were told. Yeah, congrats to the Seattle Seahawks.

2:41:40Adam Schefter:Same style, too, of when they were going to run with Russ. Like, great defense, good run game. Now you just need a quarterback that's not going to fuck it up. And? We'll see if Sam is that guy. Yeah, TBD.

2:41:52Pat McAfee:I'll tell you what, it was a big game. Big game. Big game, he did. He did it in a big game. A couple big moments. He did. He did. He did. He did.

2:42:06Darius Butler:He did. He did. 14 wins back-to-back years. 13 points. 13 points against... That's all you needed. Uh-huh. Oh! He just said he just didn't need to fuck it up.

2:42:15Adam Schefter:That's what I said. That's all you needed. He did. Now is that going to get it done in the playoffs? He did. He did. He did.

2:42:22Pat McAfee:Untackleable, that guy. He did. Are they last in pass attempts? They were second to last. Oh. He did! He did! Go on, Sam. Hell yes, Sam. Go on, Sam. Even when he does it, they say he didn't. Yeah, but he did. It's unbelievable. Good for them. I'm proud of them. All right, let's get to some overreactions. Wait, wait, wait. Speaking of overreactions, you know, Seattle Seahawks have a lot of big-time famous fans. We have a friend of the program who is a diehard Seattle Seahawks fan. He has been super jacked up about the Seahawks team. literally ever since they hired McDonald, I think. Now, he's going to argue that he's been a fan his entire life.

2:43:03Pat McAfee:I just became of an age where I could meet these people. You know, it gets into this entire thing. But there is a man who's a comedian, who's also an impersonator and an impressionist, and a guy who's going to be one of the biggest stars probably on Earth over the next 10 years or so, who is a diehard Seattle Seahawks fan. I asked him yesterday, send me a one-minute video, selfie video, okay, kind of just explaining this particular Seattle Seahawks team from his perspective and why he thinks they're great. This is what we got back in return. Hey, thanks, Pat. Look, when you asked me to make a video about Coach Mike McDonald, I immediately said yes.

2:43:35The only challenge is going to be keeping it short. I mean, we're not talking about me in the bedroom. We're talking about the coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Mike McD. I have an internal power rankings of the most important people in my life, and it's amazing how quickly he's passed most of my closest friends and relatives. I mean, my stepdad bought me a laptop when he proposed to my mom in 2003 Welcome back to Who Gives a Shit? Because my new number one is Mike McDonald. Now, it's pretty fucking obvious that he should win Coach of the Year, but I'm biased. So I decided to reach out to some of his main competition and get their perspective.

2:44:08Here's what Mike Vrabel had to say. Coach of the Year? Yeah, that's got to be Mike McDonald. Anyone voting for me has to be insane. Drake May is doing all the work. Without him balling out at QB, I'd be the defensive coordinator at the University of Phoenix Online. Too soon? Wow, thanks, Mike Vrabel. I wonder what Coach Ben Johnson has to say. Well, the thing that makes Coach McDonald better than me is the level of competition. I mean, this guy went 14-3 in the toughest division in football, and I barely won the Central against Jordan Love and Carson Wentz. Not to mention the court differential.

2:44:43He's over there winning blowouts, and I'm scraping by. We only beat the Giants by four points. Four points! I'm lucky I wasn't fired for that. Wow, those guys really know what's up. And I agree. Coach McDonald is obviously a football genius, but I've gotten to know him personally this past year, and I've got to say, he's a great guy. Beyond the X's and O's, he genuinely loves his players, and they love him, and they want to play their asses off for him and for the city. That's why he's been so successful and led us to a franchise-best 14-3 record this year. And on top of all that, I mean, come on.

2:45:17The dude is handsome as fuck. Mike McDonald looks like the math teacher your mom emails nudes to. And now there's just one thing left to do, win that fucking Super Bowl, baby. This is our year. Pat, I can feel it. I can feel it in my bones. It could be the edible talking, but with Sammy Darnold slinging the rock, JSN going deep, and the defense laying everybody out, this is our year. Isn't that right, coach? Adam, I thought you said this whole thing was going to be for your charity. Oh, no, I said for McAfee, for the Pat McAfee show. Oh. Dude, are you even wearing pants right now? I mean, what the heck?

2:45:54Do you wish? No, I'm not. It's a bye week. Back to you in the studio, Pat.

2:46:03Pat McAfee:Yeah, thanks, Adam. Unedited. That's how it arrived. Age, that is how that video arrived. Think about that. Yes. Unbelievable. The impressions, I'm excited to hear Vrabel's thoughts if that gets to him. Ben Johnson as well. Ben Johnson as well. We appreciate you. I think we can say McDonald was on the show. Yeah. McDonald, great actor, obviously. What do you mean? In the video with Adam Ray, he's doing a little gimmick with Adam. Let's get to some overreactions. You're acting right now, acting like he was acting, and that was not a candid call. Please. Acting like a douche. AJ is. Yeah, not Coach McDonald.

2:46:45What if Adam Ray would have stood up, just meat out at the very end of that with Coach McDonald on the call?

2:46:50Pat McAfee:I still have yet to see the final second there. We cut that off at two seconds after he said it. So, hey. You could have no brain. You could have no brain. You could have no brain. You could have no brain.

2:46:57Darius Butler:I don't know.

2:46:58Pat McAfee:Well, he does have a pair of Halleys over there. Got them before they were released. It's very kind of Connor to give his. Because he wears the same size, you see. Yeah, as Adam Ray, he gave up his Halleys to him. That was interesting. That was very interesting. All right, shout to Adam Ray. Sounds like it. What's that? Sure sounds interesting. Connor didn't think he was going to say yes. Connor didn't think he was going to say yes. Hey, you need help with anything? You need help moving? Yeah. What day? Today. I can't. No. Yeah, today. Fuck. Yeah, actually, you're coming. Shit. Hey, man, your shoes are nice.

2:47:29Pat McAfee:You want them? You want the rest of my sandwich? Yeah, I do, actually. But I'm still kind of hungry. Yeah, but I'm going to take it. Okay. You offered, though, right? Yes, I did. Yes, he did. Yes, I did. And Adam Ray should have taken him. I'm putting myself in Adam Ray's position on the way out. It's been a great day. Great day. Great day. Great juice out of Adam Ray. Yeah, hysteric. And Sweets appearance as well. Energy is outrageous. I mean, energy was outrageous. Yes, in the Sweets. Yeah, awesome. Energy is outrageous out of Adam Ray. It was great. On the way out, we had just gotten Tyrese Halliburton's new shoe.

2:48:04Pat McAfee:Shout out to the Halleys, by the way. Shout out to Boone. I think they're available now. I think they're available now. We got a couple pairs of those, and we were all opening them up. And it was a classic, hey, you wear my size. That's really cool. And Connor goes, do you want them? Yeah. Yeah. And Adam just immediately, yeah. Yeah, give me those. Closed the box, walked out of here. He's gone. To a plane. To a plane. He's not going home. Gone, gone. I mean, he's out of here, and he's got the Halley's. And I thought it was a really cool moment by Connor. I was like, that's really nice of you to do that.

2:48:34Pat McAfee:And then Connor goes, you thought he was going to fucking say yes and take those? And he, ladies and gentlemen, we have a press conference that has just started right now. And Adam Ray has a pair of Halley's, and Carly is speaking about the Colts. Loyalty and support, as always, but particularly this season. You're right to be frustrated with how the latter part of our season went. I'm pissed. We are all pissed. Every season is unique, and this season really was a tale of two seasons in one. We were all encouraged by our first half. we experienced a lot of progress, which gives us optimism for the future and the direction we are heading as a team.

2:49:24Then, adversity struck. But no matter what the circumstances are, we have to be able to find a way to win and finish games. Even though we didn't get the results we expected, I'm confident in what we're building and how we're building it. So with that said, Chris will continue as our general manager and Shane will continue as our head coach for this next season. We have been very clear with Chris and Shane that giving them another opportunity means that the sense of urgency for them to deliver and perform has never been higher.

2:50:08Pat McAfee:Okay. Chris and Shane are both capable of facing this challenge head on and finding a way to achieve the results that our fans deserve, which is winning games, getting to the postseason, and ultimately winning championships. Ultimately, though, I am responsible for our team's performance and the promise that we made to be the best. our extremely disappointing second half of the season wasn't up to our standard and that falls on me at the same time there were moments during the season that gave me reason to believe that we can achieve sustained success under Chris and Shane's leadership good design is never done and as with every offseason we will work diligently to improve and find a way to win?

2:51:07You guys, I will take questions now.

2:51:09Pat McAfee:Okay. Alright, Carly. Let's go! Alright, Carly. The pressure to perform is high right now on Chris and Shane. Basically, she said they know this is the last year. You either win or you don't. So, we've already kind of went all in, trading two number ones for a player. We don't have a quarterback signed officially, other than Riley Leonard and AR. Maybe AR comes back healthier than ever and does his thing. Jonathan Taylor's probably going to want a new contract, if I had to guess. Similar situation, though. Don't make the playoffs. And he's going to be demanding money. So that's going to be fun to go through.

2:51:43Pat McAfee:Pittman. Michael Pittman, dog, need him. Alec Pierce, dog, need him. I mean, there's a lot of decisions that have to get made and a lot of money that has to be paid. And we don't have ones. But I appreciate the fact that Carly did say, hey, this is fucking it. Urgency's never been higher. Now, Ty and Connor did make some noise as well. announcements were being made there from Miss Carly Ursa. Gordon. That leaky air conditioning unit was pissing me off. I was so freaking mad. Connor followed up even now after she was really getting into the meat of it all. Just couldn't handle it. I think a lot of Colts fans, no matter what she said there, were going to be like, okay.

2:52:23Pat McAfee:But I do appreciate the fact that she did say like, hey, they know that this is it. Now, granted, maybe one year under their belt, half year, whatever, as owners, Maybe they feel like right now is not a time yet for us to do a full overhaul. Okay, that's a lot of decisions that are going to have to get made. That's a lot of hiring. That's going to have to happen after the firing. Are we equipped and in the position to be able to do that right now? Then people immediately go, well, you have to be. That's kind of the way it is. It's like, ah, weighing all these options, I have no idea. I have no idea how to get to it.

2:52:54Pat McAfee:But, boy, there was a lot of Colts fans hoping for something different, I think, next year. Because different brings, like, optimism naturally.

2:53:01Adam Schefter:Yep.

2:53:02Pat McAfee:Natural optimism is just going to fall into place. It doesn't even matter who you hire. There's just a natural thought that something's going to be different next year as opposed to the last nine years. You know, like that's what people are going to think. But, boy, if you go back to when we were 8-1, those are good old days. Yeah. Those are great old days. One injury.

2:53:20Adam Schefter:Yeah, I mean.

2:53:22Pat McAfee:That's really what it is. Every year, though, it's like that.

2:53:24Adam Schefter:Yeah, that can't be like that. It can't be one injury. It's the National Football League. Every year, somebody's going to get hurt. But it was nothing that she could have said at that moment but that would have made Colts fans or any fans feel any differently. She already made the decision that – well, they already made the decision, the Big Three made the decision that Chris and Shane were coming back. So there was nothing she was going to say. But it did – I don't know. After watching, I feel a little more bummed out. As a Colts fan, I do. Why? Well, honestly, I'm not a big prepared speech type of guy.

2:53:55Adam Schefter:Ever. Where like off the – you're clearly reading like a prepared statement. Like obviously you have some bullet points you want to hit. But, you know, hey, you hit it. You have an open statement. You take some questions. So maybe that's just what turned me off, AJ. But, yeah, I'm pretty bummed out.

2:54:08Pat McAfee:It's the reading, I think, that also immediately bums you out, you know, because it's like, let's get back on it. But I think Carly's a very diligent person. For sure. Really already – we know that. Yeah, they could have telepromptered, you know, in the back. Could have given her an opportunity. I don't know how that whole thing goes. Yeah, maybe a prerecorded statement. She is taking questions. I wonder what they're going to be. Probably a lot of, like, why. How'd you come to this decision? Yeah, all that. How so quickly, too? Like, when did you make it? But she said in the thing, like, there was moments.

2:54:36She didn't say down the stretch. There was moments during the season where they truly believe in the vision that they have there, right?

2:54:41Pat McAfee:Yeah. Yes. She said that a couple times. I was going to say, hey, when were those? Could you explain those moments to us? Could you give us an example, one or two? Oh, man.

2:54:50Adam Schefter:It's a good follow-up, bitch. Thank you. Can we get beamed in there?

2:54:55Pat McAfee:Yeah, I'll see what they're doing. Oh, you mean like us, actually? Yeah, you throw a question on that. First time Anthony came on. Panthers and good questions. Anthony Calhoun's got to be there. When did you make this decision? Did anybody ask that? Carly Ursa, Gordon also quoted as saying injuries are never an excuse. You know, injuries are going to happen, I guess you said. Okay. So how do they – so what? What excuse do you say? So why do we do seventh straight? It's brutal. Man. It's all right. Tough decisions. We signed dimes. Mm-hmm. He's ready by week five. Riley, though, at the beginning.

2:55:29Yeah, exactly. He looked good, man. He did look good. Really good. Finishing third. Happy for him. I was happy for him.

2:55:34Pat McAfee:I thought he didn't know the offense or something. Like, I thought, even though he went to Notre Dame and Duke. So I assume he is a very smart guy. But, like, I assume he didn't know how to operate the offense or, like, something. You know, like, I assume there was something that they see behind the scenes that we don't see. Maybe the guy can't take a damn quarterback center exchange. Maybe there's all these things. I didn't know what it was. And then I'm watching him. I'm like, are we all thinking the same thing? Slanging it. He's big. He's fast. And the only worry was he couldn't throw the ball.

2:56:04Pat McAfee:Like when he was at Notre Dame, couldn't throw the ball. Duke couldn't throw the ball. Could he complete some because he was an athlete? Sure. But he was just an athlete playing quarterback. Watching him like actually, yeah, spin it and like layer of throw, couple deep throws. It's like this guy became a throwing talent as well. I think that's good news for the coaches in development in this entire thing. But also great news for us that Riley potentially became a go-in. Because when we were watching him at Notre Dame and at Duke, it was very evident he could not throw. So if you could stop him from running, you were probably going to put them in a bad spot.

2:56:35Pat McAfee:Then he hurts his ankle whenever he was at Duke, and then he makes it all the way to the national championship. I mean, he is real deal. But, like, spinning it, never a thing. That was why he wasn't drafted. I mean, he's got high school basketball highlights where he is fucking cooking people. I mean, he is nasty. If he can spin it now, this dude might be an actual – I mean, we might be looking at an actual guy.

2:56:59Adam Schefter:Yeah, and obviously a very small sample size, but you're going against the best, at least for the first half, like the best defense in the league. And like you said, most of us had that. We were held back, okay, can he throw the ball downfield? His first touchdown pass to Pierce, the one he missed, well, Pittman, it was kind of on both his hands. He had to dive off for it, but I thought that was a great throw. The deep corner, the second touchdown to Pierce as well. So, yeah, showing he has the ability and the fundamentals to do that. It also shows you why Shane is staying as a good coach to have him, you know, at least look this good against Houston.

2:57:30Adam Schefter:And once again, it's a small sample size. But he gave himself a chance to at least be considered going into the next year and having some meaningful reps and like training camp and offseason.

2:57:38Pat McAfee:Bayley McComas was losing his mind. I bet. Notre Dame fan. Did you see him? I put out a tweet that was like, we're watching Riley right now. He's tall. He's very athletic. He can throw now. I didn't know he could do this. Are we all thinking the same thing? He responded, yup, yup. Like three. We're all thinking the same thing as Notre Dame fan. He's got a lot of fans in Indiana already. And the moxie of the dude, he's a real athlete, this guy. Phil Rivers, too, mentor. Now, granted, Phil Rivers might be head coach somewhere. We don't know. We're not 100 % sure. That's Riley right there, yeah. Natural, easy.

2:58:15Yeah, I mean.

2:58:19Pat McAfee:RQB room? if they were to play basketball against any other quarterback room? Anywhere?

2:58:26Darius Butler:Yeah.

2:58:27Pat McAfee:Jeez. Three on three, we win. A win, Mel? Off the two-star? Yeah, we got Riley, AR, and I assume Dimes can play very good basketball. Sure. If I had to guess. I think Riley Leonard, Anthony Richardson probably beat everybody else all by themselves. And Danny Dimes, I assume he can add somewhere. I don't even know if he's a hooper or not.

2:58:46Adam Schefter:I assume he's a point guard.

2:58:49Darius Butler:I think your toughest might be Houston because Davis Mills is 6 '9", and CJ can shoot that thing. New England, too. Drake May. Pastronaut. Unbelievable. I don't know if you guys know, but Cutlets can fucking throw down.

2:59:07Pat McAfee:I trust him knowing what's going on out there. Always. Stilato, head coach, obviously. Of course. Of course. Give me V. we might actually have Jimmy Valvano coaching our team to be clear chance from the heavens rest in peace thank you for your contribution to society and sports that's huge man yeah a lot of money every year they say that amount of money it's like 100 % to it because there's big time backers yeah they're called something I forget the name

2:59:41Darius Butler:financiers

2:59:42Pat McAfee:maybe donors yeah I guess it's donors but it's a different class of donors that basically fund all the uh like the minister the front office like the people that are president of it working it because there's

2:59:53Darius Butler:a lot of people working on that every day the donations don't pay for the workers bingo the

2:59:58Pat McAfee:donations go directly to actual charity and then they got somebody paying for all the donation from somebody or something benefactors maybe i forget what it is endowments yeah the endowment endowments to pay like scholarships yeah once i learned because you assume all these big things like oh, this is some sort of somehow. And it's like, no, 100 % donations actually go because they got somebody doing that. It's like, oh, thank you for your contributions. Because you start looking into the cancer world and your family trees. That thing's everywhere. Oh, yeah. Pulling for everybody right now. Hey, Trey Go is going through it right now.

3:00:30Yeah, big time.

3:00:31Pat McAfee:Let's go. Let's go, brother. He's going to have a new liver concert in here in the Thunderdome. Mm-hmm. Can't wait for that. Year of the Buffalo. They had some heaters back there. Oh, we did. Great songs. Better than Foxy Golf. Wow. He probably is. He's pretty big. Really? Yeah, he's better than Foxy at golf. Yeah, that's the thing. We'll see him. Foxy doesn't believe that. Foxy, you haven't been out there much, huh? Have you? I haven't seen you out there. It's funny you say that. On Saturday, it was 35 degrees, and I went out there and chipped the putt a little bit outside. Foxy moved to a neighborhood where he has a golf course right outside.

3:01:03Pat McAfee:Yeah, it's very close. Foxy's living good. Hey, you deserve it, Foxy. You deserve it, Foxy. That's the greatest thing ever. I'm just cooped up. Way too cooped up. Got to be outside a little bit. Yeah, we are a little cooped up. Yeah. That means ball weather. So cold. Wife and I were talking about how the summer cannot wait for the warm weather for Mackenzie. You know? Yeah, that's the big thing. Getting her outside. Because everything now is like inside, inside, inside. It's like, we need to get her outside. We need to get her outside experiencing, running. I need her kicking a ball. Take it, yeah.

3:01:31Pat McAfee:I don't know how long it's going to take, but we need her. I think she's a lefty, too. I mean, so you're talking about maybe a little messy out there. Yeah. I'm very excited to watch that. We got the property. You got how many kids? Four. Imagine in that house in Ohio. Well, we're outside a lot. In that house, you mean? Old, old CBA. Yeah. It don't matter. Kids can fight with each other no matter what size the house is. They will pick on each other and punch and fight and strangle each other no matter what. Nice. Nice. All right. Hey, that's Hawk football. That's right.

3:02:02Darius Butler:Yeah, it is.

3:02:03Pat McAfee:Speaking of football, we need to listen and read how people around the football universe feel about their football teams. on this glorious Overreaction Monday. I put out a tweet saying, hey, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on your squad, what they should do. Should somebody be fired or hired? Are you guys moving and grooving your way to a Lombardi? All you got to do is use the hashtag. I don't want to overreact. But. Best ones will make the show in Ty Schmidt's eyes. This became a trending topic this morning. We appreciate you all for participating. And shout out to Ball for being as awesome as it is.

3:02:35Pat McAfee:Let's get into it. This is from Turnthicks. Hashtag I don't want to overreact. But. Father Maximilian Maxwell should immediately be the Pope. Have a statue built outside the shore and all the blessings forever and always. Amen. Tony, I don't think you're lying, and I assume a lot of people feel this way in Pittsburgh.

3:02:52Darius Butler:Yeah, we've talked about Father quite a bit, and he got a lot of run last night because of the missed field goal in that end zone that he was blessing. You know, he wasn't blessing for missed field goals. He was blessing for health and wealth and wellness and all the such, but it just happened to, you know, work out in our factor. And I think he should do it every single game. And I do think he should be the Pope. I don't see why not.

3:03:15Pat McAfee:So you just kind of move Father Paul out and Pope Leo out, basically in one clean sweep, actually one clean spread.

3:03:21Darius Butler:What have you done for me lately?

3:03:23Pat McAfee:I heard they're also singing, Oh, Father, I'm in me for my love.

3:03:29Darius Butler:Instead of mama because of what he did. That place was cranked when we were at a game game. Yeah.

3:03:33Pat McAfee:Last night was awesome in Pittsburgh.

3:03:35Darius Butler:I heard there was fights everywhere. Love to hear it. Yeah.

3:03:39Pat McAfee:I mean, that's expected. Baltimore and Pittsburgh, that's the most expected thing of all time. Remember, had a show at an arena that lasted four hours of Pittsburgh. Yeah.

3:03:48Darius Butler:Only one fight.

3:03:49Pat McAfee:One fight. That was a pretty good. Nobody's talking about it. Victory. We're the only ones that have celebrated that fact. Everybody else is like, shouldn't have one. It's like, have you been to Pittsburgh for 10 minutes? Yeah. Whenever everybody's doing their thing. Baltimore people are traveling into Pittsburgh. They thought the game was over with 2.20 left. Imagine the things at the Brooklyn.

3:04:10Darius Butler:That game was over two seconds.

3:04:11Pat McAfee:Right before the field goal. Standing up.

3:04:16Adam Schefter:Mike Lee.

3:04:17Pat McAfee:Oh, my God. Fourth and seven. Mike Lee gets that catch immediately. Fuck you. Everybody probably getting it right there. In earshot. Oh, yeah. Bang you. Bang. Because these are the fans that travel to Pittsburgh to watch the game live. That's a certain different style of fan as well to be able to handle that type of situation. Right here. Oh, my God. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Probably with other words being said. In the Pittsburgh, people just have to sit there in complete disbelief. I can't believe it was a job. It was fourth and seven. Are you kidding me? They had to be real quiet in that moment.

3:04:51Darius Butler:How the hell is Highsmith doing 30 yards down the field?

3:04:56Pat McAfee:So many things being questioned by Yenzers and all the Baltimore people are saying, eat shit. This is all. Shitsburg. and then this guy hops on the field for a 44 yarder and then place goes apeshit and every baltimore person has to shrivel up fucking punk right in there yeah did you see what they did with

3:05:15Darius Butler:the uh left wing on uh for the ravens on this kick no they took him and they moved him to the middle to deal with the jumper i i don't know if i've ever seen that before that's just picking

3:05:26Pat McAfee:up work okay that's picking up work the um i think i've heard it said before i don't know if anybody's actually doing it because normally on the outside there's going to be some sort of rush as soon as he saw how wide that guy was he said there's no chance he's going to make it in there because being able to get it from there to the point you have to be very fast i mean d but you'll know more old buddy knew he was too wide probably never going to make it because you're you're racing a clock there you know you're racing a clock there what's the operation time one three one one three oh one two five one point two five seconds from snap to when the ball is kicked normally and loop looks like he's a little closer to the ball so probably like one two eight one two nine if i had a guess on this particular one so if you're never going to be able to get there in 1.3 seconds uh you can kind of look for more work that's a big time move though because if that guy on the edge gets there oh boy i mean you're just kind of eyeballing it there yeah it don't look like he

3:06:15Adam Schefter:can get in yeah not from that angle you ever block one not in the league no no actually no

3:06:21Pat McAfee:college that's tough yeah i don't it is like i guess miles garrett uh what was his get off i mean

3:06:27Adam Schefter:I would have to run back. 0.23. And he already has the fastest getoff. Faster than Usain Bolt.

3:06:35Pat McAfee:That's an insane getoff, especially for the record breaker or whatever. Insane. But that's what you have to do. No. Now he moved right as the ball is moving. For the field goal, you have to have that getoff. And then you also have to hope that you don't get a good rip. It's like a lot of luck involved there, too. So not only is it insane get off and massive explosion and being all that it is very difficult to block a kick That's why these big boys in the middle of it Yeah, because they people have been really eating up the middle and getting the chops at the top I think kicking might slow down Might become more arena like for guys to get the ball just

3:07:16Pat McAfee:Forecasting a little bit here because the big boys in the middle are getting bigger faster Jared verse guys are just getting their hands Yeah, first, yeah, he just got.

3:07:25Adam Schefter:Against Atlanta. That was crazy. He rolled right in.

3:07:28Pat McAfee:And then it's just like, yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. Where are you going? It's a touchdown. It is. That's a huge play. That's insanity to think about. I can't believe Tyler Luton missed that. Man, this is a big offseason for him, H. This is a big offseason for him. He's going to have to go off social media. He's going to have to. I felt for him. I felt for him right away. I was glad. I was very happy with it. watching my kids, we all want the Steelers to win, and we say, hey, they were devastated when Likely caught that. I was like, hey, still got to make the kick, man. Like, still got to make a kick.

3:08:00Nothing's guaranteed.

3:08:01Pat McAfee:Has to be a good snap, good hold, and a good kick all at the same time, happening like a symphony with good synergy. Yep, exactly. You know, all that is taking place. And any kick would obviously be missed. That move and that, though.

3:08:14Adam Schefter:But, shit, Boswell's kick looked damn near the same slice almost. So for that to happen right like that. I mean, right down the middle at first.

3:08:24Pat McAfee:Yeah, and that's not a Boz miss either. But Boz, that ball normally stays true for Boz, you know. It might be a little moving, but that's half an up right now. That's crazy.

3:08:34Adam Schefter:And it was crazy to watch Cam Littles, like that draw he had on this. Yeah. Because it started like outside and they carried like – He's a real talent. Watching these kicks, man.

3:08:43Pat McAfee:Kicker's a big deal, brother.

3:08:44Adam Schefter:Huge.

3:08:45Pat McAfee:Chris Boswell, I guess, is also getting some Yenzer heat. Heat, I believe. The answers are asking them. They won. Shouldn't miss that extra point, pal. Okay. Yeah, you're all pro. Maybe best in the game. We need you to make an extra point whenever fucking AFC North's on the line. Okay. With some other things sprinkled in. I assume. Yeah.

3:09:05Darius Butler:Is that accurate? Yeah. Yeah. He hit a 57-yarder, though. He did. Sure. Yeah. I mean, I would be singing a different tune if Luke didn't miss that kick.

3:09:13Pat McAfee:Yeah, if they lost by one.

3:09:15Darius Butler:He'd be so pissed.

3:09:16Pat McAfee:He's so pissed. Oh, my God. Atta Bay, Boz, you're going to be good. And Luke, you're going to be good too, buddy. Oh, yeah, Luke. You're going to be better because it doesn't feel like it now, and obviously nobody is happy with it. Nobody, and you should not be. Like, definitely have to make that kick. He's going to be better for that long term. Let's go to the next overreaction, shall we? It's from Mark Zink. He's spinning a ball on his finger. He's an athlete. Hashtag I don't want to overreact. But. Watching statue bulls run the show while the Bucs had one of the worst collapses in NFL history, knowing Liam Cohen was right here, turned Baker into a star, built an elite offense, and is now thriving elsewhere while we're stuck with Todd was heartbreaking.

3:09:53Pat McAfee:Sorry about it, Mark. They're not moving on either. Was that announced today? Well, that's what Shefty said. He said, you know, again, he heard that about the Cardinals and Gannon, so you never know. But they have not said once that he is on the hot seat or he's going to be fired, and they've been calling for his job for the last, really, 10 weeks. It stinks because they were fun to watch. Awesome. Vita Vea rolling, too. Just the whole thing was so cool. MVP favorite. First six weeks. My God. Mike Evans. They're 5-1, right? Yeah, 5-1. Abuka was the rookie of the year. This is multiple times now.

3:10:29Pat McAfee:When was it? A couple years ago we were at the Texas State Fair and Baker joined us? Yep. That was the beginning of the season. They were real good.

3:10:35Darius Butler:Yep.

3:10:36Pat McAfee:And then something happened. What happens? That's what people are asking. Exactly. That's a good question. Last year, I lost at home in the playoffs to the Commanders. We did. on the last second field goal. I remember that. Imagine that loops. Exactly. And they go back and win. That's a whole different thing.

3:10:52Darius Butler:You don't use that as a verb. You're going to kill them, man.

3:10:56Pat McAfee:You know what I meant. Yeah, like the loop kick. Because that ball should have went in. That ball. Now, Dan Orlovsky did a good film. He did. He sent it to me this morning. He referenced you. Oh, I saw it live today. Oh, did he reference me? That's good. I'm happy to hear that. He said, I confirmed this with Pat McAfee and Greeny. I think so. And if you checked off on it, we're okay. They gave you your – Pretty good. That was bad. Good impression.

3:11:20Adam Schefter:Good impression.

3:11:22Pat McAfee:That was really good. Because Orlovsky sent it to me this morning, and he was like, am I crazy or what was like the caption when he sent it to me. Look at this, dude. And it was him recording on his computer, you know. I don't know. Coming over at like 6.07 a.m. probably. I'm sitting in 194-degree sauna. I got a sauna cap now. I got a sauna cap now. so I feel like I'm saving my hair. The only one I could get in time was a Viking one, so I look like an asshole. That's sick. That's what I'm doing. Dan Orlovsky is sending me over this. I'm sitting there dying sweat scrolling through the internet trying to see what's happening in the world.

3:11:56Pat McAfee:Dan Orlovsky is like, am I crazy or what? So I look at it. He was pretty accurate. So every single make that loop hits, full head down, all the way follow through. Because the thing that it's taught is basically you're looking to be looking down past your leg, still at the spot as the ball is flying. And I think he just kind of taught that so, like, you stay in it, you know, like you're supposed to stay in it. But I told Orlovsky, yes, certainly matters. Because in his last one, he, like, lifts his head up with the kick almost. And it's, like, certainly could be a problem with him not being all the way in it, not trusting it, trying to guide it.

3:12:28Pat McAfee:And he could probably showcase it by that. Or also, as soon as he kicked it, he knew he wasn't good and he wanted to look at it. You know, like, which one leads to what? Like, does your head down lead to good ball contact? Or does bad ball contact lead to your head coming up because you want to see how shitty it is? You know, so there's, it could go either way. I think only loop would know, but, uh, it feels like he knew immediately that that thing wasn't going in. And I hate that for him. Cause that's a, as soon as he looks up, he's hoping to fucking God that that thing somehow is going straight.

3:12:56Pat McAfee:And then it's not, it's only going more that way because the father blessed the old. True. Exactly. That's a tough time. I hope he's okay. Good luck, bud. Good luck. Let's go to top Villa Real, uh, at Mr. Villa Real 32. Hashtag I don't want to overreact, but it's over for the Niners. Yet again, when the lights are the brightest, Kyle Shanahan shits the fucking bed. Salah had his defense ready. Shanahan outsmarted himself again and had zero answers from Mike McDonald. Kyle can't win the big games. What a joke. McDonald's been able to do this to everybody. I think some people are underestimating how good the Seattle Seahawks defense is.

3:13:31Pat McAfee:And on the offensive side, I was disappointed in what that Niners offense looked like.

3:13:35Adam Schefter:Three points after what Brock Purdy and the offense were able to do the two games leading up to this. It is a very tough defense, but three points. And then every time, every one of these games, you see that second-half stat from Shanahan's tenure, which is insane. I don't know the exact stat, so I don't want to mess it up. He's down by 10 points in the second half. Yep. Insane. He's never won. Like, insane for him and obviously the great offensive coach that he is to not be able to, we all think, adjust down the stretch of the game. So that was very alarming going into the playoffs because with the defense, you don't think it's a lockdown defense that's going to hold teams to 17, 19 points.

3:14:11Adam Schefter:Great celebration. So, offense going to need to score some points. So, that was very alarming if you are a Niners fan.

3:14:17Pat McAfee:Did he do some sexual in the end, though, is there? He did. He did. He did. He did. I don't want to be, you know, dry snitching, but he's lucky he didn't get a penalty right there. Hey, with how these refs have been calling this, that's incredibly unlucky they're going in to score. Christian McCaffrey makes a move. I appreciate that, you know, the big guys got a little wiggle in there.

3:14:38Adam Schefter:Hey.

3:14:38Pat McAfee:They got a little wiggle in there. I want to let you know, these refs these days, they're calling that. Yeah, they are. They are calling that. You got a spotlight on. Is that sexual? Got to pick his nose? Is that gang-related activity? Yep. Can't have it. How do you deem something sexual? That's like a personal preference, I think. Yeah, because that, honestly, I guess we just learn about the refs a little bit. You know? Yeah, like, is the ref hard? Then he throws the flag. That's actually a good question. That's a very specific thing, I think. what people are into. I don't know how you make that a rule.

3:15:12Darius Butler:No question. Like a guy doing push-ups. Is that sexual? Probably for somebody.

3:15:19Pat McAfee:Oh, man. You're right, H. Hey, you never know. I guess everybody's into their own things, you know, because push-up could be pretty, you never know.

3:15:28Darius Butler:Yeah, sexual.

3:15:28Pat McAfee:Sitting down, you know. We learned about what was going on in those hammocks. Exactly. Mushing it through there. That's what I'm saying. I guess we never know. It's in the eye of the... beholder. Yeah. It's tough. I think we should reword that rule. I think we should take the subjectivity out of it. I think there should be strict sexual references that are not allowed. Just in case some of these refs start thinking to themselves, I've seen that done before. Because my first thought was hula hoop. Boom.

3:16:00Darius Butler:Oh. Good call. Mine was definitely helicopter and penis. See? I think unless a guy actually takes his dick out and starts helicoptering it, though we shouldn't be flagging.

3:16:11Pat McAfee:Hulu. That was a Hulu. Clearly a Hulu. Shout out to the boys Hulu-Hooping over there. Let's go to the next one. Doesn't matter. At Combat Leonardo. Respect. Hashtag I don't want to react, but being a Colts fan is worse for my mental health than my tour in Afghanistan was. A tenth season of playoffs or bust? What the actual fuck are the Colts doing? How many times are we going to throw this shit at the wall, watch it slide down, and then do it again? That's a great question. Does it matter? Brother. It does matter. We appreciate you, man. Thanks for your service. Thank you for your service. Boy, it does feel like those 94 percenters before the season are back and louder than ever.

3:16:54Pat McAfee:Yeah. There was a poll done, AJ, if you do recall. What's your optimism level going into the season? Colts were dead last. 94 % of the fans said, we think we're going to be ass. Feels like they're back and louder than ever at this moment. Remember, we got a lot of good guys. We like our guys. When's your next first round pick? So, I've been thinking about that. There's some deals I've crafted in my head that could potentially give us a one. We have some pieces. I think there's some non-negotiables. Quentin Nelson can't. He's called for life. Need him. Especially, he's becoming a vocal leader. We need him.

3:17:30Pat McAfee:DeForest Buckner had surgery. If he's still playing, I don't know. It was a neck. I don't know what the future is. I don't think we really talked about the Forrest Buckner much. He came and played, and then he was out again, very worried about that. Then he had surgery. I think it went well, I think, from what I'm hearing. It is non-negotiable. Everybody else, I think, should be available. Okay. I think Patriots would send you two, maybe a one for Layatu, Latu. Maybe Cam Biden. Tyler Warren's not going anywhere, especially first half of the season, Tyler Warren. Yeah, I assumed he was also off the table.

3:18:04Pat McAfee:Yeah, that's how the Warrens don't go anywhere, so it was a good call. Leotu Latu, who else? Cam Bynum.

3:18:13Yeah, he'll probably get a second, fetch a second for that.

3:18:15Darius Butler:We'll give you pennies on the dollar for sauce. Like two-fourths, maybe.

3:18:20Pat McAfee:That's not, we're not in that business. You said that's not what we're doing. That's not what we're doing.

3:18:25Darius Butler:What are you looking for?

3:18:25Pat McAfee:That deal's pretty close right there. That would have to be a one. I love Leotu Latu. He's a ball hawk. He's a dog. He's absolutely. Oh, never mind. Can't trade for him. He got that Colts tattoo on his shoulder. That's part of his story. That's just part of his story. That's fine. AQ Shipley has a full raven on his back, and then he's got a Pittsburgh steel bridge, and he's got a Colts horse. Does he really? Yes, actually. Every team he plays for? Yeah, he's got his life story on there. My life story on there. That's pretty cool. He's got everything. Yeah, every part of his life is on there. But I'm just saying, we could make some moves, bundle some pieces, get some stuff.

3:19:02Pat McAfee:We still have two, three, four, five, six, and seven picks. Which he eats in. Pierce. What round was he? You know it.

3:19:11Darius Butler:I think he's a free agent. Second round. But he's a second round pick, I'm saying. Oh, yeah. Ballard fucking eats, bro, in the second, third, and fourth round. He does.

3:19:18Pat McAfee:Yes, he does. Where's Josh Downs?

3:19:21Adam Schefter:Third. Third round. Jonathan Taylor's second round.

3:19:24Pat McAfee:Boom. See? Now we're talking. See, Ballard cooks that.

3:19:29Darius Butler:Oh, he just doesn't like first round picks.

3:19:31Pat McAfee:And that's the best freaking rusher in the track. And DeForest Buckner. We gave up DeForest for our first rounder.

3:19:37Darius Butler:Yeah, that's two out of ten years. We gave up two for Sauce.

3:19:41Pat McAfee:And we don't know how that's going to be. Okay, he got, I mean. He's picking first in the draft. Him getting hurt was tough. Both times he got hurt tough. Very early in the games. So it's not even like we saw him in the game. It was like first play of game happens both times. It's like, so excited. Sauce is playing. No, he's not. So next year we got full sauce. I completely forgot about full sauce.

3:20:02Darius Butler:You didn't see he's picking first in the draft? No. What do you mean by that? This season, over the 17 games, he had the worst record in the NFL.

3:20:10Adam Schefter:That's not him. It's not him. He's a lockdown corner. You throw him.

3:20:15Pat McAfee:I saw that. Because he came out and said that. And everybody was attacking him for saying that. It's like, Sauce Gardner, he's a corner. What's he supposed to say? Yeah, they're going to talk their shit like that. It's kind of what corners do. Then he deleted it. I didn't like that. But then I was told that's what he does. That was M.O. That's his thing. He will put something in and he's taking it down. Which I kind of like even more.

3:20:37Adam Schefter:Snapchat for Twitter. Good game.

3:20:38Pat McAfee:Yeah, it's not bad. Now, granted, I don't know if it was the right time to do it, you know, in the situation that has been happening. But, hey, a lot of people failing to respect what he has been able to accomplish on a football field. He's potential lockdown. Now, who else did we get? Ward. Ward, who is considering retirement. Was that the pregame injury? Yeah. That was crazy. Been through a lot. Yeah, that's unfortunate. So whenever we talk about, like, excuses for why a team doesn't do well, it's like I guess they exist a lot for every year of the Colts. They need sage over there. They need the sage.

3:21:11Pat McAfee:They need Father Maximilian Maxwell to get over there and throw some of that holy war.

3:21:16Adam Schefter:I'll trade a second-round pick for him. How about that? Colts? Yeah. Be worth it. Father Maximilian? Yeah. He ain't a second round. We don't have a one, brother. Put it on the coconut husk. You have to offer a percentage, maybe. Why do our guys get hurt? Maybe that's the problem. That's another question. What's your training staff doing?

3:21:38Pat McAfee:Working. On what? Too many guys, brother. We got too many guys in there all the time. Let's get to the next overreaction. I do appreciate that. That was a good one. Yeah, I thought so. And thanks for your service. Kyle B, the Polish jabroni, 91. one hashtag i don't want to overreact but this team went from selling tickets for a dollar 80 16 months ago to hosting its first playoff game in a decade this saturday night what a time to

3:22:03Darius Butler:be alive hashtag keep pounding congrats carolina like the optimism i don't even know if 180 was

3:22:09Pat McAfee:possible because of the fees and everything i think they were actually paying people to come to the games shout the tepper shout to the panthers turn that entire thing around quickly and uh obviously the record's not the best in the nfl but hosting a playoff game what that can do for a community, a city, a fan base, everything. Special, special stuff down in Carolina happening and only up from here, right, H? Only up from here for Carolina. Oh, yeah. I would expect that atmosphere to be off the charts Saturday night. That team, I would imagine the fans look around and say, man, look at where we were and here we are in the playoffs with an actual chance to win it all.

3:22:42Pat McAfee:Bryce Young was benched within the last 12 months. I mean, there's so much to talk about with the Carolina Panthers and how they've gotten to this spot. Record, not the greatest, but in playoffs win NFC South. Craziness, D.B.

3:22:54Adam Schefter:Yeah, seems like Dan Morgan was a pretty good hire. I love what T-Mac was able to do this year out at wide receiver. He developed. He was great. Coker, these guys, the backfield, the combo in the backfield with Dotto and Hubbard. They got the pieces. They just got to get more week in and week out. They got to be the same team. I feel like it's a little too up and down. But hosting the Rams coming in, they already have the confidence. They beat them a few weeks ago. So we'll see.

3:23:17Darius Butler:They are, I believe, 8-0 because it was 7-0 coming to this. 8-0 off of a loss against a spread. So they're off a loss. Spread's 10-1. Maybe they make it. No, I don't know.

3:23:30Pat McAfee:Death, taxes, Panthers potentially govern after a loss. 10-1 is a lot of points. I feel like the people think – I think DraftKings thinks that the L.A. Rams is about to play their best football in the biggest stage. Yeah, is that the biggest home dog in the history of the NFL playoffs for a game? I mean, the only one I can think of is Saints at Seahawks when Marshall Lynch with the Beastquake. Ten and a half is a lot. That's insane. That's a lot of points. All right, let's get to the next overreaction. Speaking of the Beastquake, this is from Ryan Bowles. Hashtag I don't overreact. But I was told the 49ers team was on a heater these past few weeks.

3:24:05Pat McAfee:Look pretty shit to me. Tough, gritty wins is what this team is made of. It's no longer who have they beat. It's now who you have to beat. Seahawks, Super Bowl, book it. I'll tell you what, them being home field throughout the entirety of the playoffs is potentially very sick for the NFL as a whole. As the numbers go up, getting a chance to showcase our greatest environment that the NFL has in a lot of people's eyes, looming field up there, the Seattle Seahawks. I'm excited for this team to go on a run. And with a great defense, with that crowd, if you can run the ball, which they seemingly have proven to do, why not the Seattle Seahawks, the number one seed in the NFC?

3:24:45Adam Schefter:Why not? We always talk about defense and being able to run the ball in the playoffs. Always going to come down to that quarterback as well. We know he has at least one weapon with JSN, who was on a record-breaking pace this year that you're going to find in those clutch moments. So we'll see us all out there for a win, two games, you know, the Super Bowl.

3:25:01Pat McAfee:So you're saying Sam Darnold, though, can make the big plays? You did?

3:25:05Adam Schefter:No, we've seen him, man. We just got to see him on the stage. He did? I'm not saying he can't. Shit, that's the case with a lot of these quarterbacks on the big stage right now. Yeah, especially in the AFC. The AFC's got a lot of zero wins next to their quarterback's teams.

3:25:19Pat McAfee:Yeah, but the last game was like a playoff game because it was for a number one seed. That's true.

3:25:23Adam Schefter:Nah, not really. Even if he lost, he'd have still been there.

3:25:25Pat McAfee:Yeah, but it was, you know. You've been in playoff games.

3:25:29Adam Schefter:That's a good stat. It's a different ballgame.

3:25:31Pat McAfee:Yeah, it's vastly different. But for a number one seed, for a number one seed, you see. For a number one seed. Playoff wins among playoff quarterbacks. Obviously, a lot of guys that haven't been there. A lot of guys who haven't tasted it. A lot of guys getting their first crack at it. Who will be able to bust through and become a legend? Or will one of the old guard take it home? That's what the playoffs are all about. Let's go to the next overreaction, shall we? This is from Phil Lip at Lip. Phil, hashtag I don't want to overreact. But Zach Taylor needs to be forcibly extracted from his home exactly like Maduro was.

3:26:07Pat McAfee:That is the only way the Bengals will rid their fans of the abomination they call coaching staff. If I have to go through 10 more years of white Marvin Lewis, I may just have to go into a coma. Fire Zach, fire Duke. Save Joe. That's a pretty good overreaction out of Cincinnati. That is a pretty good... 10 out of 10. But Phil Lipp knew a year left on both contracts. Exactly. Not chance. They're going nowhere.

3:26:32Darius Butler:We're not paid two coaches.

3:26:33Pat McAfee:Hey, Marvin Lewis, beloved by everybody. So maybe Zach Taylor does become the Caucasian version of that. It is a wild time to be a Bengals fan, it feels like, especially with Joe Burrow being as good as he is, and the reality that they're probably never going to actually win anything. Again, they missed it whenever they were taking on the Rams. Yeah, it'll be very interesting to see, are they going to rehaul their entire roster? They can't, really. I don't think it's fair. A lot of people are saying all Joe Burrow cared about on Sunday was his fucking hair. Okay, that was a tough press conference.

3:27:04Well, I'm just saying. A lot of people saying that. He did say that he believes in what they're doing, what their vision is. But to Ty's point, do those cap hits for Jamar and Tee and himself go down?

3:27:17Pat McAfee:Now, you guys never understand this, okay? Those cap hits don't go down. And you know what else doesn't? Sometimes when you've got calyx in your hair, they don't go down. Is this edited? No, that's what it was. He was battling two calyx, okay? For those that don't know, I got a lot of these in my hair. Age, I don't know if you have any because obviously you go ahead and take that thing straight back. So good for you. But, you know, I have some parts of my hair where it's only going to go one direction. Yeah. No matter what I'm thinking. So growing it out is an interesting thing. Him having a battle on the national stage like this with a Catholic, that's just not cooperating.

3:27:49Pat McAfee:Certainly not the fuck. But he should have taken it. He knows what to do with that thing. Yeah. If he were taking that son of a bitch over top, that thing would have had a wave on it like he was a model. It would have been like he was a model there. Instead, he just fought that thing for a good minute and a half, two minutes. And it is annoying. I do want to kind of emphasize how irritating this is when your hair is getting in your face, getting in front of your eyes. Just a tickling of the face and a blocking of a view, like a block of the view. Right now, he wants to lose his mind. You would have thought maybe after one of them, maybe the fifth one, hair would have done something.

3:28:28Pat McAfee:Exactly. That fucker was nowhere near. Yeah, you got to shake it sometimes. Just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. He should have taken a top over, I think. I think he should have done the over gimmick. I would love to see that. Or just put something in it, Joe. Joe believes in the system over there in Cincy. Yeah, certainly. Why wouldn't he? He's getting paid a fucking king's ransom. You know, half the season he's saying, this ain't fucking fun. I don't even like playing football. He never said he didn't like playing football. No, he didn't. He said he didn't like winning. But I'll tell you what, you know what?

3:29:00We'll see. Maybe next year they go with the exact same team, minus Trey Hendrickson and whoever else they're going to lose. Maybe they go 13-4, and they kind of say, fuck you to everybody else. We're going to score 75 points a game, and that's how we're going to win football games.

3:29:14Pat McAfee:They might do that. I could see that. That would be so much fun to watch if they were scoring 75 a game. I know. Got a good pick. What number? Somewhere in the top 18. Because of their ass. Yeah. Let's get to the next overreaction. shall we? The Colts don't even have one of us. Exactly. We might have one by draft time. Let's not get crazy. BCFries, or Freeze, at BCFries. Hashtag I don't want to overreact, but it's the greatest 24 hours in the history of Falcons football. Beat the Aints, Raheem gone, Terry gone, Rich McKay gone. This feels like a dream, and now the GOAT, Matty Ice, is going to step in and make all the decisions to take us to the Super Bowl.

3:29:51Pat McAfee:Hashtag rise up, says BCFries. What a time. I know local sports media is definitely excited. Yeah. Yeah, we've been listening to some of that over the past couple months. They've been calling for change down there in Atlanta pronto. Yeah. Who's going to get the gig down there? Gigs, I guess.

3:30:06Adam Schefter:I don't know. It's a great question. They got some talent, too, especially on that defensive side of the ball. James Pierce, Jr., he broke their rookie sack record. We saw Xavier Watts on primetime make a couple huge plays, rookie safety out of Notre Dame. They definitely have some talent. Obviously, you have to figure out the quarterback situation. But, yeah, I've seen nothing but this reaction from the few Falcon fans that I know on, like, X and shit, which is surprising because from the outside looking in, I thought Raheem was going to get another opportunity to think, what, just two years?

3:30:36Adam Schefter:And then he's out after that. After eight and nine seasons, they kind of finished on a positive end. They were 4-1 in primetime, which the casuals who just watched Falcons then are like, how the hell is this team where they are? So I guess that's a good reason to move on from the coach. But, yeah, this has pretty much been the fan base's reaction. I think Terry Fontenot is a big one, too.

3:30:56Darius Butler:Super winning GM, Terry Fontenot.

3:30:57Pat McAfee:Exactly, from the fans. I think they're excited. Rich McKay as well. I think they're just excited to hear there's going to be a new bunch, maybe running it all. Beatles in there used to be president of Atlanta Falcons, now president and CEO. We saw that. We learned about him. And then Sportology and ZRG, two outside independent consulting firms, will be coming in to help them with everything else. It's big. It'll work out great. That's massive. That is massive. Maybe get three of them. Maybe get three consultants. The trifecta. Yeah, because... How many total people do you think come in? 200. Consulting-wise?

3:31:29Pat McAfee:I think I saw a roster of eight on the Sportology one. I think I was looking at that one. ZRG could be endless. You never know. Because there might be an assistant to the expert on. How many consultants do they have? Yeah, exactly. Well, and also, they got their own corporate structure of consultancy. Yep. You know, because there is a chief consultant. officer. Let alone who's under the CC. Junior consultant officer. Prior consultant officer. Youth consultant. I don't know if they're... That's for the lower tier stuff. Oh, that's like the... Junior program. Junior consultant. Who they then elevate.

3:32:08What do they consult with when they're not consulting with NFL football teams?

3:32:11Pat McAfee:Well, consulting, obviously. They're consulting with consultants. What other companies? What other kind of companies do we know? Well, they consult amongst themselves about consulting so they can be the best consulting that any consultant could be. So I think they're ready to consult into about anything, you know, and that's the part about being a great consultant consulting firm. These things talk to each other. Yeah. And these things do like the gossip. So within this consultants consulting firm, there is certainly gossiping happening about one consultant strategy versus another consultant strategy.

3:32:39Pat McAfee:And then they got to consult about the consulting strategies. and then you think to yourself, well, who's the consultant and who's the consultee? Yeah, bingo. That's a fair question. And that's kind of what it's all about whenever you start consulting stuff. Now, I am looking at a lineup here, and there's a previous and a next button. So, I mean, I think there's a lot. Oh, yeah. I think there's a lot of these people, one of one down there. Here's the consulting firm. Oh, Len Perna's on the team. I didn't know that. Yes, and Kelly Lewis and Brian Lick. We know Brian Lick, obviously, very well. Rick Alessandri.

3:33:14Pat McAfee:Now, this guy knows his stuff. This guy knows his stuff. Is that my coach? Can you scroll up and we'll see who this is? This is consultee. Meet our consultants. Our collaboration and seasoned executive search consultants span industries, functions, and regions. Based out of 28 office locations, we have successfully placed candidates in over 30 countries. All right, you can turn us off. 30 countries? Oh, man.

3:33:36Darius Butler:A lot of ball being played. Jeez. Ain't no ball.

3:33:39Pat McAfee:soccer, any ball tennis, ball Greg Beatles named president and CEO congrats Greg two consulting firms needed while the president is promoted need two consulting things for business president promoted of business yeah tight ship rise up

3:34:05Adam Schefter:they get it right

3:34:07Pat McAfee:Rise up.

3:34:09Adam Schefter:He'll be all around the league.

3:34:11Pat McAfee:It's the only thing that matters. Get it right, win a Super Bowl. Good luck out there. We're pulling for you.

3:34:15Darius Butler:Brady's using a consulting firm?

3:34:17Pat McAfee:I think he is the consultant, I think. That's probably why he was given ownership, though. And I don't mind that, you know? I don't mind the Tom Brady consultant. I don't like independent... What do I know, though? We don't own a fucking team. What do we know?

3:34:31Adam Schefter:Was he running last year when they hired Pete? I believe he was involved, yeah.

3:34:35Darius Butler:Yeah, because he was the one who loved SpyTech because they worked together in Tampa. All right, Tommy. Exactly.

3:34:42Pat McAfee:Kind of a prove-it year. Yeah. Big hire. For Tom?

3:34:44Darius Butler:A lot of Tommy boy.

3:34:45Pat McAfee:For Tom Brady? Mm-hmm. Kind of is, I guess. Didn't really think about that. I didn't know who you were talking about four seconds before you said it because that feels like my brain would have never thought we'd talk about Tom Brady. One of the owners of the team. I believe there's a bunch of minority owners being added to the Raiders, by the way, that do a lot of business. Like a lot of people. There's a lot of brains about to be in the Raiders organization, I think. How do they all – what do they all – And where's Mark? Is he still just upstairs playing on his Game Boy? Maybe. I think he upgraded to PS5.

3:35:16Pat McAfee:Is that what you were playing? That's smart. Yes, I was. PS5 is fucking awesome. How was your weekend? Is that what you were playing on? Oh, I was playing Rock Band all weekend, dude. Yes, yes. I was playing Rock Band 4 all weekend on the PS5, which is a PS4 game. I realized it's gotten much harder. Some of the combinations between the hands – I almost hurt my hand. I think I pulled the muscle on my shoulder. Yeah, getting after it. Actually, from doing that, I woke up on Sunday like, fuck, man, what'd I do? It might have been because of Rock Band 4. I had a roommate my freshman year, Scott Kozlowski, went on to be a very good punter for West Virginia.

3:35:46He was so good at the game.

3:35:48Pat McAfee:Love it. Quiet, okay? I'm tired of sleeping. You're in a dorm room. It's an open room. He has it turned down. Gentleman, very nice of him doing that. The sound of his fingers hitting the thing would wake me up because he was so good. I mean, he had to be the greatest of all time. He did the thing. Yeah, shredding. Shredding. There's some of you out there, right? You used to be one of those. Yeah, back in the day. I'm getting there. I'm getting back up. The cool part with these new guitars is it was all up here. You can kind of go in this casual mode, and it's not casual. You're still playing on Xperia.

3:36:21Still shredding. But it's down here, so you don't have to move as much, and it's not as loud. It's just much more like you've got to be much more precise because the buttons are smaller. They're like this instead of like this.

3:36:32Pat McAfee:It's awesome. I was never really good at that. It's so fun. Microphone with the bop and the sing. Sure. Let me hit that thing. Which also can do with the PlayStation controller now, I learned. I can bop and sing into my PlayStation controller? Yeah, because it has a microphone on. Yeah, but you don't want to hold that. You want to fucking. Yeah, you can. Sing to the mic. Yeah, true, yeah. Yeah, you want to make a mic on that. That shitty-ass mic that they used to have. Tough. Awesome. Rock Band had a good run. So good. Oh, yeah. Still going. Hammer drunk people trying to play that late at night Rock Band.

3:36:59Pat McAfee:Just an awesome run.

3:37:00Adam Schefter:Certainly. Why that fucking dance game with the arrows? Oh, it's DR? Yeah, I can see the bone just crushing.

3:37:07Pat McAfee:Do you remember that guy? There's some guy that really beat the game. The hands on the back of the thing. Do you remember that? There was a couple experts on that shit. I happened upon one, I believe, at an arcade. If my memory serves me. In the wild? Yes, in the wild. I happened upon one. And it was holy. I remember just being completely captivated. I assume I was having a good time. And I assume my – yeah, I think it's coming back to me. I think I was in L.A. somewhere. they had a uh like it's always always up on a stage remember yeah a little bit always like up on a stage had lighting music was very loud it was like a show and i remember just being captivate in this right on the back first person i saw used the back thing as like actual leverage crushed genius absolutely fucking killing i think i tipped the person i think if i if i recall i think i tipped the yeah you use the back as like a real lever shouldn't be able to hold back.

3:37:59Pat McAfee:That's what it's there for. That's what the person was telling me. That's for old geriatrics not to fall over and break their hip. If you're dancing, you should be dancing. Yeah, but what if they're doing this? This seems to be a doubler as well. This guy ain't dancing to dominate.

3:38:12Adam Schefter:These aren't real dance moves when you're holding a bar. Nope.

3:38:16Pat McAfee:Yeah, but they're fucking getting after it.

3:38:17Adam Schefter:I mean, he's got good feet. He does. Give me a corner.

3:38:20Pat McAfee:DDR brought quick feet up, you know, but the hand on the back thing, the rail really changed the game. Speaking of changing the game, Luke Littler, holy fuck. Man. Back-to-back, dude. Unbelievable. Back-to-back world fucking champion down there at Alley Pally. Listen, they threw a wasp at him. They tried to get Luke Littler attacked by a wasp in the middle of his setup. I mean, we're only seeing the tail end of this thing, him kind of dodging. Thank God he's got good moves. It's for a million bucks. He was lined up to get this, and then all of a sudden this wasp comes. He moves, ducks, dodges, ducks, dips, dives, and dodge.

3:38:55Pat McAfee:And then he gets right back. As soon as this wasp leaves, I don't know if we have it on camera. We don't have it. He steps right back up. Boom, boom, boom. Grabs him. Keeps him moving. And then the guy calling us goes, 142. And the place goes crazy. It was fucking electrifying. I would love to watch. And then Shane Gillis' ass, he's in fucking attendance there. I mean, it looked outrageous. And Luke Littler is must-watch darts television. Yeah, and you mentioned him there. George Noble. Shout out to him. He went into the Hall of Fame, the announcer. He's done. John McDonald also. So he went in, too.

3:39:29Thank you for your service, gentlemen. But, yeah, this was one of the greatest sporting events I've ever watched, bar none. We talk a lot about some of the finals, like Wimbledon and tennis and even the four majors with golf. That's kind of where I'm putting darts at now, in my brain, at least. I am a casual to start, but, I mean, the Premier League of darts starts in February. It should be great. Littler right now is unconscious, though. You know, Guillen Van Veen had no chance. He tried to up the moxie. There's George Noble. Shout out. legend. And he tried to kind of get it done then, Bean. But once the door was shut by Littler,

3:40:03Pat McAfee:yeah, he really just had no chance. At the beginning, though, Luke was missing the opportunities. You see that down there, legs, and then obviously sets. 180!

3:40:14Pat McAfee:Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. They start chanting out there. I mean, it is electrifying. You see that one set down there at the bottom? Well, you gotta get the five legs, I believe, to get the one set. Then we're trying to get the seven sets. is what you're trying to do. That first set was won by who? Van Neen. Littler lost coming out. Littler was ice cold. Could have put it away. Actually lost. And then he walked off the stage with incredible boxy. Then he came back afterwards and he had that foot sideways good lean. And all of a sudden it was 1-8 day! Luke Littler's a weapon over there. Yeah, it was tied and Van Veen was up 2-0 on the third set and then all of a sudden, boom.

3:40:55Here it comes. Reel that pitch. There it is. Look at that. At one point, he won like 14 of 15 sets. Like Van Vee was just getting shut out.

3:41:04Pat McAfee:So right on the side, don't play this. Put the screen on the screen. Don't play it. So triple 20, triple 20, bullseye will do it, right? So once you get under 180, they start putting on the side what you have to do. And you have to double in or double out, okay? So you have to hit a double. So once those little things popped up on the side, then we kind of knew what the fuck he was trying for. and then watching them potentially miss one of those and then in real time adjust to like a double eight instead. Okay, we'll do that. It was outrageous. Go on fishing. Yeah, it felt like, because you're seeing what he's looking for, triple 20, triple 20 bull.

3:41:37Pat McAfee:And then they're zoomed in. It's like triple 20, triple 20. And then now they zoom in on the bull, right in on the bull. And it's like, bullseye, he's done it again. And it's, the place goes fucking apeshit. I don't know how it'll work in America, if it would work in America, but I do know I want to be in one over there. Yes. Because, like, it's Halloween. It's fucking carnival. I mean, they are fucking living in that crowd. Yeah, and it looked like kind of like an Oktoberfest setup because you mentioned Shane Gillis was there, and it's like tables, people dressed up. So the way the Premier League works, it feels feasible for, like, the states.

3:42:13It's just eight dudes. All of them are studs. Cool Hands, Humphreys, if you remember from last year. I remember him, yeah. Yeah, him, Littler, Van Veen, this guy, Andrew Van Gerwen, who's an absolute nuke. Yeah, here we go. Him, right there. He's middle right. Steven Bunting, he's the people's champ, I guess. People are not happy. Yeah, people aren't happy with him right now. He's titanium. Yeah, he comes out to titanium. but if they just took these eight on tour and just did like hey we're going to do round robin at a theater I mean shit the dome would be fucking sick but a theater with you know 5 ,000 people

3:42:55Pat McAfee:they shut down those arenas so they shut down like half of those arenas and put stages up and then they kind of book off like final four yeah final four they do that UFC weigh ins they do that I've seen other things where they have an arena and then they just back the stage up for however many people you get you know like we're cool with it just being like a theater here on the end and if we get more people we back it up and then you have that and then you back it up and you have that it's like i think that would be a good setup for the darts yeah because these arenas not as expensive as you would think now granted they're taking a piece but if you can fill it up which these fuckers can it would be an incredible event just to go and have a good time yeah well it's for the good time like if you just drop you know beer prices and food prices, you know, maybe if you're thinking, hey, maybe we take a hit on that, but we get more people build the sport in the States, it would be a pretty easy way to do it.

3:43:46Pat McAfee:I think it's special moments, especially if you're getting Luke Littler's 18.

3:43:51Adam Schefter:Yeah, the moxie. We got to be there for the three-peat. Next year he's going for the three-peat. I don't know. I think he might be the first time.

3:43:57Darius Butler:Do they have to do it during football season? Yeah, that's the issue. This was the first time it's fallen on a Saturday as well, I read, in quite some time at Ali Pali. It's normally on Sunday? I don't know. Actually, it's my first year competing in the watching of it. But I do think it is either. It's awesome. It is. I'm not kidding. I watched the whole pregame show. Commentators are perfect.

3:44:21Pat McAfee:Yeah. Yeah, it's great. Commentators are like baseball commentators, but also like, you know, have incredible, like because they got to fill time. Yeah, they bicker. They bicker. That's like baseball. Like baseball, I think, is more like a conversational commentary. But then they got to bring the juice whenever something massive happens. And it's like they clearly have to love darts as well. Yeah, the announcer. And to your point, George Noble. The ref. Yeah, the ref. He also plays a vital role in the 180 announcement. 180!

3:44:56Pat McAfee:And then the other guy is trying to throw while that's happening. The entire place is going crazy. Starting chance. Yeah. Like they, during the long. Congrats, Luke. You got us all captivated, brother. And I love, so I guess we got our insight from Nigel, our English course on it. It said, a lot of German fans booing Luke Littler at that one that we saw. Oh, he reached out? Yeah, well, I think he tweeted it. He said like, hey boys, one crucial piece of information you're missing is that's, I think that's a lot of German fans. That's Nigel. Yeah, he's giving us a piece of info that we need and I know if Luke Littler's throwing, it's going to be electric.

3:45:30Yeah. Well, and the tweet's about it. Like, hey, this guy's only getting better. Exactly. And they're saying, like, hey, wait until this guy turns into, like, a legitimate alcoholic. Like, he's going to get way better. Like, right now he's drinking, like, fruity drinks and doing all this bullshit. Wait until this guy starts drinking hard liquor and booze, you know, not just, like, these breezy fruity drinks. Like, once he kind of turns it up, that's when his dart game goes.

3:45:55Pat McAfee:I did see that tweet. I did see that there are some people that believe that about darts. I happen to have a friend who is a semi-professional dart player, and his entire mission is to get hammered before it starts because he feels like it's a little looser. Now, granted, he made it to the finals and didn't know it, and he lost. And that's going to happen sometimes. Just like beer fun. Yeah, I guess people start getting a little bit. Hole starts getting a little bigger that way. Darts, I don't know if these pros are playing like that. Honestly, Van Neen looked pretty tight.

3:46:20Darius Butler:He needs to have one.

3:46:21Pat McAfee:Tightened up. A little too tight. I thought he was a good player, though. He knows his time will come. The way they stand with that box and then leaning over. The problem with Van Neen. Luke Littler's body, it's like a shelf as it's leaning over. It's unbelievable. Van Veen's problem was like he just looked like a dick. It was like, dude, you can be losing and still try and be a fan favorite. Like he was losing, and he was kind of taking a page out of A.J. Hawk's book. He was pouting. No, he wasn't. He was getting a little upset at himself. Finally at the end, he hit one, and he was like, oh, I guess I still fucking can throw a dart still.

3:47:01And people were like, yes, there it is. I get a little moxie. I mean, you saw Littler. Littler was gone fishing, man.

3:47:07Pat McAfee:Yeah. I mean, centimeters away from a win and a loss. Yeah. There was a couple of Van Nien's that hit the medal and dropped out. Oh, he could have had Littler right there. Yeah. No. And, like, he would throw one in the announcer's back. There it is. Got a good marker now. You should lock this one in, and he'd miss again. I don't know how he missed that. Yeah, and that's when he'd start patting. So the marker, by the way, is a miss right outside. And then that's like a target, basically. Because you can either use it or that. There's blood on the board at one point because Van Veen cut himself on his dart.

3:47:36Pat McAfee:So pissed, yeah. Yeah, the commentator was not happy. He was unbecoming of the dart board to have blood on there. Did they switch it out? No, they didn't. I think they asked Littler if he wanted it to be up. Leave it! That is what he said. Once the leg ended, then George Noble called it in. He's like, all right. But that speck of blood was on the five pretty high. and you saw Littler not miss after. I feel like it was like almost, I think they're looking for like. That's when the commentators started going at it. They were like, it's a little off-putting, no? And one of the guys was like, no, not at all.

3:48:13Pat McAfee:And then they asked Luke if he wants to. He's like, no, it's good. Yeah, it's good. It's fun sport. It's fun sport. Once again, we don't have money in football. So we are exploring the space of everything. Last overreaction tweet here from a Baltimore Ravens fan, I do believe. Justin Beansock at JSOCK. Hashtag I don't want to react. But. Thank you, Loop. Because of you, the Ravens can finally get rid of hardball and clean house and I don't have to see Falele's bum ass take another snap at right guard. He got hurt last night. Congrats, Tony Diggs. Tomlin is still going to be the head coach and the Steelers will remain mediocre.

3:48:49Pat McAfee:I like the little positive spin here by the Baltimore Ravens, some of their fans. We don't know if they're going to move on from hardball, but it did sound like going into the game, There were certainly conversations going to happen on either side if there was a loss. Have you overstayed your welcome? Has your message run dry? Is it time for you to move on? As Schefter said, if Harbaugh was to be fired, he'd be hired tomorrow somewhere else. Maybe it's time for a new scene for him. We shall see, Tony.

3:49:11Darius Butler:Yeah, they're not. It's just not what they do. He's still employed there. We're in the playoffs. Never lost on Monday Night Football. And then we're off to the race from there.

3:49:24Pat McAfee:Be a friend, tell a friend something nice that might change our life. We're in this thing together. Congrats to you, Tone. And to you, Ty. And to you, Con, man. And debunk one of your teams.

3:49:33Adam Schefter:Thank you. Boat two. Charge the Eagles. Maybe it's a boat for you.

3:49:38Pat McAfee:Maybe. Maybe the debunk boat. Team on me. Team on three. One, two, three, team. Goodbye. From 30 for 30 Podcasts.

3:49:54Darius Butler:Brian Pata, senior defensive lineman for Miami. Gun down. The key to this case, it's Brian. Boy, he scrapped it. 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 being placed under arrest.

3:50:10Adam Schefter:We had a killer amongst us. Murder at the U. Listen now. Hey, sports fans. The ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network in service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional cost. 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.