The Ryen Russillo Podcast - CFB Conference Title Game Confidence Rankings, NFL Playoff Resumés, and Willie Colon on Niners-Eagles
Episode Date: December 1, 2023Russillo opens the show with his confidence rankings for this weekend’s conference championship games and discusses how a committee would handle the NFL teams (1:00). Then, he’s joined by Super Bo...wl champion Willie Colon to break down Dak Prescott’s play, share his pick for 49ers-Eagles, and tell stories from his playing days (16:00). Finally, Kyle joins the show to make this week’s Alliance Parlay (49:00) before closing the show with some listener-submitted Life Advice questions (58:00). The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please check out theringer.com/RG to find out more or listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Host: Ryen Russillo Guest: Willie Colon Producers: Steve Ceruti, Kyle Crichton, and Mike Wargon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
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Today's pod, all five Power Five Conference Championship teams
ranked from most confident to least confident as I pick them all.
What if the NFL had a four-team playoff?
Who would the committee pick for the NFL?
I'll give you my thoughts on that.
Willie Colon on DAC and a bunch of other great storytelling, the Alliance and life advice with Vacation Kyle.
This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. Winter is here, so be prepared and get almost
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This is what we're going to do in the open today. I'm going to give you my confidence ranking from
most confident of the outcome to least confident of the outcome of all the college
football conference games, power five. And then we're going to pivot that into with the final
rankings coming out and figuring out who's actually in the playoff. And we could have a real,
real challenging scenario for the committee. Let's look at the NFL to the point of this season,
put all the teams in the mixer. I'm going to rank them one through four and then first two out.
All right?
So we start in the Big Ten.
I am most confident about Michigan beating Iowa.
I think you should too.
The spread on FanDuel Sportsbook right now, 21.5, Michigan's favored by.
The most amazing number that may exist on any game you can bet this weekend is,
do you have the balls to bet Iowa over six and a half total points? I've been
looking at the number all week. I don't know if you've seen it go anywhere else. I haven't seen
it move. The pick of this game is just obvious. Michigan, how bad do they want to make this?
I don't imagine, even if they turn the football over, there's some crazy Iowa stuff in here.
We know that they're the last ranked offense in college football in yards per
game. It's 247. And honestly, plug in the joke, surprise it's that high. The second worst team
offensively yards per game is Kent State, and they're like 25 yards better than Iowa is.
I also looked at this because I was going through the schedule again, which is not great because
the Big Ten West, like this should be remembered. And granted, things are going to change here, but with the Big Ten West, never forget this year.
Never forget this year that this is what a Power Five division was like.
So Iowa, the only ranked team that they played while they were ranked, and then ultimately when
the season's over, the only team that ended up being ranked was Penn State, and they got shut
out 31-0. They had 76 total yards.
So I don't know how often this would happen with a Power 5 team,
but basically Iowa did not score a point against a ranked football team the entire season and for a total of 76 yards.
Now part of it's because of the schedule and then ultimately who they played
and why they have 10 wins and why they're ranked 16th in the committee rankings
because you just start to run out of teams. As somebody who had to do it a couple years for ESPN.com, you guys get mad
about the ranks. You're like, how is Tennessee still in there? Around 17, 18, you kind of start
just running out of teams. And that's why Iowa is ranked as high as they are. But the fact that
it's a 21 and a half point Michigan favorite in a Big Ten championship game tells you what
everybody thinks of this one. So that's just a straight outcome.
It's not the bet.
All right?
It's not the bet.
I'm that confident they're covering 21 and a half.
It's just a straight pick.
So number two most confident Big 12 championship game, Texas-Oklahoma State.
Texas right now favored by 14 and a half.
I think this one opened around Texas minus 12 and a half.
So people have been on the Texas side.
The last Big 12 championship for Texas. This can be a little
misleading because you'll see like, man, it's been since 2009. But remember the big 12 got annoyed
that the extra game felt like it penalized their chance of being in the BCS a couple of times.
So they didn't play it. They did not play this championship game from 2011 to 2016,
Oklahoma state resume wise, like this is the best team they're going to play all season in Texas.
It's not even debatable. And you can say, well, Oklahoma, like they beat, I know what you're saying,
but I also think that, you know,
that rivalry is another one of those games where there's just enough of these
games that if you just keep watching, like, I don't know,
something weird could happen in that one.
I mean, Alabama at Auburn is another really good example.
When they play the Iron Bowl at Auburn,
it just feels like what the hell is going on in this game?
And I think that's what you have with Bedlam in Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
So Oklahoma State, though, they've got the UCF loss that was 45-3 three weeks ago.
The South Alabama loss in September, 33-7.
They had a great comeback against BYU after being down 24-6 to get overtime to get into this conference championship game.
But Texas beat BYU by 29.
Ollie Gordon, the second running back for Oklahoma State, he is incredible.
He's been awesome all season long, almost 1,600 yards, 20 touchdowns rushing, but he's
going up against the best D-line that he's going to face all season.
So that's why I have Texas as my number two most confident winner for this weekend.
Number three, I'm going Georgia-Bama.
Now, Georgia is favored by five and a half. It moved pretty quickly to six
and a half. I think it's back now at five and a half. Depends on when you're going to listen to
this. I didn't know where it was going to go. It could be because of the Brock Bowers lad injury
updates. I think they're questionable still at this point. There's also a scenario here for the
committee if Bama were to win. So let's say Michigan wins and Pac-12 champ, whoever that is, I think those two are locks. Then Texas wins, Florida State stays clean. We'll get to that here.
Is there a scenario here where Bama is then facing either Florida State in the argument
as the SEC champ or Texas in the argument? Maybe the committee goes,
that game was a long time ago, which seems incredibly unfair to Texas.
Maybe the committee goes, oh, that game was a long time ago, which seems incredibly unfair to Texas.
I don't look at Bama at 12 and one is one of the great Bama teams.
I just don't.
And that has a lot to do with Milrow, who I thought was terrible against Auburn until the game winning touchdown.
And so he scares the shit out of me in this game, in this spot.
George's defense, we don't think it's the same names, but statistically, they're really good. I just wonder, would the committee actually leave out an SEC champ and have it be Bama? Have it be 12-1 Bama leaving them out? I know that sounds
ridiculous, but if Florida State's undefeated and Texas has the head-to-head, and I think Michigan
and Pac-12 champs are locks, I think I'd be okay with it. And I don't know that I ever would have
thought that, that I'd be okay with it. Now, the other part of it is you have to remember it's when they're re-ranking all of this stuff
after the conference championship games happen, think of it as this concept.
There is a massive step back to look at the entire palette of the season of all these
teams and then just rank them again, right?
That's kind of what they say they're doing.
And we can get into the semantics of the four best and the most deserving and all this stuff.
Maybe they have an out if Florida State wins a squeaker and they feel like,
well, they don't have their quarterback, which again, as I say that, I feel gross even thinking
that that's a possibility. I think I might be okay with the SEC being out if Bama were to get
this game. But for the Alliance pick, I'm probably going to go with Georgia just because of Melrose.
All right. Oregon, Washington. You probably thought that probably going to go with Georgia just because of Melrose. All right.
Oregon-Washington.
You probably thought that was going to be my most confident pick.
It is my second least confident pick.
I know what I've said because I've watched them both.
I've given you the common opponents, the seven common opponents in the Pac-12.
Washington's beaten by an average score of nine points.
Oregon, same opponents.
It's 27 points.
So you've already heard that stat from me. Washington, though, at least is dangerous enough on those deep shots where they can be inadequate in other elements of the game, but they're going to take so many I've seen it enough to go like, even when you think
you're ready for it, you're not ready
for it. Rome wins all of these
absurd 50-50 balls. It's like DeAndre
Hopkins to me.
He might be quicker than him too.
I'm picking
Oregon in the game, clearly, but
there's enough of a Washington part of this where
I'm like, man, the explosive plays.
Then when you start looking up the explosive plays, here's what's kind of funny about that is Washington's number three.
Guess who's number two?
Oregon.
Number one for those keeping track, LSU.
The turnover part of this, if you want to start getting into the turnover conversation here, like Oregon takes care of the football on top of everything else.
So if you were saying, well, what if Oregon turns it over a few times?
Well, they don't.
Like Washington is much more likely
to turn it over per game than Oregon is.
Oregon is second best in protecting the football
of any team in college football.
Washington was 61st.
All right, finally,
the game I am least confident about
picking ACC championship game.
Florida State right now favored
by two and a half over Louisville.
I know Louisville has lost a bit of the shine after losing their game against Kentucky. Here's
what I think about Louisville. They are good enough to hang with most teams. They can win a
shootout. We know the defense isn't going to be great, but they're going to find ways. I think
they're going to be incredibly aggressive in this game against a Florida State defense that
statistically ranks much better than Louisville. But even with the receivers, you're just not sure, like, is Florida State going to
trust a guy post Jordan Travis, who was six years of college experience, is probably one of the most
trusted guys behind center in the entire country. Even if the stats weren't great, you were like,
okay, at least we know this guy's got it and he's been around long enough that we're going to be
able to trust him in this spot. I don't know if that's going to happen with Florida State in this
one. And this is one I have literally no read that's going to happen with Florida State in this one.
This is one I have literally no read on whatsoever.
So least confident there with the ACC.
I'll give out.
Let me just run through it quick.
Michigan, straight up.
Texas, I would think even with the spread, I wouldn't want to take Oklahoma State even with all those points.
I'm going to lay the five and a half with Georgia.
I'm almost tempted to take Washington plus the nine and a half, but I don't want to take them and then have people be like,
well, wait a minute.
Didn't you pick Washington in that game?
Because that's what happens no matter what.
Somebody pays attention.
So I'll just say Oregon minus nine and a half
and give me Louisville plus the two and a half
against Florida State.
Now, what I wanted to do,
because I think it's kind of fun,
is if we looked at the NFL
and the NFL season were over after this weekend
and there was a committee tasked
with picking the four teams allowed to play for a Super Bowl, which wouldn't go over well.
And whether the league or whatever, what were you debating?
Hypothetical is never going to happen anyway.
There's no point.
So let's kind of go through who we think would be in the mix here.
I think it's seven teams, Baltimore, Philly, Kansas City, San Francisco, Dallas, Jacksonville,
and Detroit that are at least worth discussing.
San Francisco, Dallas, Jacksonville, and Detroit that are at least worth discussing.
If I were to look at the resume stuff, again, let's try to treat the NFL like it's a committee here. Baltimore has a lot of things going for itself, but Baltimore, if you were going to dig
into the wins, you're like, wait, do they have, like, what's their best win? Is it when they put
Detroit on fraud alert after they smashed them 38-6? That's probably the best win. They got Burrow
in Cincinnati the first time, but if you're in the room, you're going, well, Burrow wasn't really
Burrow yet, and then they got him a second time when Burrow played almost most of the first half.
Their losses, Pittsburgh 17-10, probably shouldn't have lost that one, an overtime loss to the Colts,
which I didn't think was terrible,
even though we look at the Colts' record, whatever.
And then the Cleveland ones were mistake-prone at the end.
Now, if you were in the room, you could argue, okay, three losses.
But again, these teams are supposed to go undefeated,
even if they were favored in these games.
But all of those teams that they've lost to would be playoff teams in the AFC today.
So that would be another pro-Baltimore point.
Combining that with Kansas City, if we were just focusing here on the AFC,
their worst loss is at Denver. Maybe one person in the room would be like, wasn't Mahomes sick?
The week one Detroit loss, we've covered it a million times. No Chris Jones, no Kelsey.
Their best three wins, Miami and Germany. Jacksonville week two, when we were like, wait, this defense
might be pretty good. But if you were looking for a resume third win from the Chiefs, it's kind of
hard to find. Bears, Jets, Minnesota, Denver the first time, the Chargers, yeah, maybe it's the
Chargers, but that would be me being like, oh, Rasul, you always liked the Chargers, but it was a two-touchdown score.
Maybe the comeback against Vegas, or would somebody say,
why were they down 14-0?
Their third win is a little hard to figure than some of the other teams.
If we go to the NFC, and don't worry, I'll get to Jacksonville here as well,
Philadelphia, the record is hard to argue against.
They've got three wins on paper that are tough to match from any other
team in this conversation. Kansas City, Buffalo, Dallas, even if we feel like they were outplayed
in two of three, I think Dallas fans felt like they were outplayed in that one as well, but I'm
not going to do that. The worst loss is maybe worse than anybody else because it's the Jets.
They were four turnovers in that one, minus four on the giveaway number for that one, but it's
their only loss. So if you want to look at that loss
and go, well, that's worse than anybody else's loss and that's going to affect my seating.
Well, yeah, except they only have one of them and the other teams have more. San Francisco,
their good wins are really, really good because they're dominant. They destroyed Dallas early.
They killed Jacksonville recently. They beat up on a Seattle team that Dallas just struggled with at home.
You know, Pittsburgh even week one.
Pittsburgh record, little misleading on that one, but complete domination.
So we know when San Francisco is really rolling,
that's why I feel like they're the best team in the NFL.
But does that matter in seeding when they went for a month there in October
and after the Dallas win, they lost three straight.
Dallas, number one in point differential in the NFL.
Bad losses.
We've got a few of them.
Maybe just the harder part for them is the great wins.
The San Francisco loss was so ugly.
The Philadelphia loss was a good loss,
but the Arizona loss didn't really make any sense.
And it's one of Arizona's only two wins.
So maybe that's a worse loss than even the J Jets lost for Philadelphia. Their wins are bad. It's Giants, it's Jets,
it's New England, the Chargers by three, the Rams, they doubled up on them, the Giants, Carolina,
Washington again, and then Seattle, which I thought was just a really important game for
them to be able to win that kind of shootout despite the defense. So we're going to keep going with this, but it feels like the last night might be their
best win if you were in the committee. Detroit, they've got a bad loss. I don't think overtime
loss to Seattle is a bad loss by Detroit at all. Their bad loss is just getting destroyed by
Baltimore, but Baltimore might be my number one overall seed here.
Thanksgiving was frustrating, but it feels like Green Bay's figured out a couple of things here
offensively the last couple of weeks. And if you're in the committee, you're locked into all
the stuff week to week. So Seattle's not a bad loss in overtime at all. It's just the Baltimore
one is so one-sided and they couldn't do anything offensively for like the first 30 minutes of that
game. And that's when they got put on fraud alert, but then won three in a row,
and people started putting Detroit back on number one in their power.
I think the Detroit flirtation with number one in the power rankings
was prior to the Baltimore ass-kicking.
Then Jacksonville is the final team that we'll even mention in this.
Out of all the teams, they're last in point differential.
Their loss is against Kansas City, which we covered on the Kansas City side of this.
They lost to Houston.
They were actually 1-2 to start the season, despite losing by 20 to Houston, which doesn't look great.
Houston's far better because of Stroud than we thought. I thought that was a nice win by them
because that game could have gone either way most recently in Week 12, but they have their
Detroit-Baltimore result by getting destroyed at home 34-3 against San Francisco.
Strength of schedule stuff.
Of all of the teams that we have in the seven here,
Kansas City has the highest or strongest strength of schedule.
Strength of victory.
Baltimore, Kansas City are kind of close.
Kansas City a little bit better of a resume.
The best strength of victory is actually Jacksonville of these seven teams.
And the worst one is Dallas. Only the
Giants, New Orleans, and Miami have a worse strength of victory number here. Want to get
real deep into it and start dabbling some ESPN FBI all over the place? San Francisco is actually
number one in this. Dallas is number two. Baltimore is actually fourth. Kansas City is behind them.
You know who's number three? You're like, hey, where's number three?
The Bills.
The Bills are not eligible.
I might be like, hey, what if the Bills sneaky turn things around?
So here's what I came up with.
Feel free to debate it till death.
Resume, eye test, all packaged together.
I'm going Baltimore.
Tougher conference.
If the AFC is the SEC, what is the NFC?
I don't know if I have an answer for that right now. Maybe the ACC. So Baltimore is my one seed.
Philly is my two seed. Kansas City is my three seed. San Francisco is my four seed. And first two out, despite the number one point differential for Dallas, That FPI loves him. The strength of victory can't do it.
I have Dallas fifth, Jacksonville sixth over Detroit,
who's mad they're not on the graphic.
Nice win by the Dallas Cowboys last night.
That's where we'll start.
Willie Colon joins us, SNY and Fox Sports.
What's up, man?
Good to see you.
Always, man.
Happy Thanksgiving. I know we're past
that right now, but I didn't get a chance to say Happy
Thanksgiving, so I'm going to say it now.
I know it's a big holiday for you, so I respect it.
It's one of my favorites.
It's one of the holidays I take pride in not wearing
underwear. I'm out there, loose.
Gobble, gobble.
That's how I feel like you are. Your spirit is kind of
like that. Are you an April
Happy New Year's guy? What's the cutoff are you an april happy new year's guy what's the
cutoff for you uh i stopped celebrating that uh april fools man when uh when a fat chick once
told me that uh you know i slept with her best friend it was an april fools thing and i said it
messed me up i don't know why it's a long story yeah i don't know how we even got there but thank
you for the added color to this if anyone offended by that description
you're allowed to say it because you at times been on the heavier side right so hey lived in
300 land for a long time ever get to four close close and that's when i had to come to jesus
moment i just put down the chips we talked about did you get any stronger at least that's the
problem i could pack the muscle but the the muscle doesn't, it is,
it's not, it's not conducive to the scale. Like it's, it's, it's, you know,
it's, you know, you're getting big.
I know most big guys can attest from like,
I know I'm at my heaviest when like I start contemplating if I'm going to
sleep on the couch or in my own bed.
It's just too much effort. I can't make it happen um i had a stat with you that i was
going to share uh and i'll share it for you at the end we have we have a stat for you that i
want to share stat of the day okay let's uh let's start cowboys because that was another great game
from dac we know what the stats are we know what the offense is capable of i was not looking forward
to a seahawks win where somehow people were going to sit here and
re-litigate the legacy of Dak Prescott. But we know they don't have the resume as far as the
wins are concerned. But I guess I'm just, I kind of want to see a little of a playoff run from him,
despite my own resistance to put him among the very top guys that show where his stats are.
I also didn't want to see him catch shit all day today
because they lost after giving up 30
or what would have been even more had they lost that game.
Yeah, I think you're spot on with that,
especially after he suffered that horrific loss against the Niners.
You know, you talk about the punt, interception, interception,
and then for like two weeks, because it led into a bye,
all you heard about was Dak being awful.
Is he? Will he ever arrive?
And how much the 49ers are a thorn in his side?
I think last night gave me one indication that he's playing at a level of confidence
that I don't think we've ever seen before.
I think the best pass he threw was the one that was really an incomplete pass by C.D.
Lamb.
It was too high.
I think it looked like they dropped seven.
And with this ultimate arrogance, he's just like, I'm going to fire this thing. where it was too high. I think it looked like they dropped seven.
And with this ultimate arrogance, he's just like,
I'm going to fire this thing.
He fires it at CeeDee.
He actually hits CeeDee in the hands, and he drops it.
And I'm just like, this dude's got some cojones.
He just sees the field.
Everybody's eating.
And to go, you're talking about out of nine possessions,
they score on eight of them, right?
And I'm just thinking, like, I don't think I've ever seen Dak play like this.
And I don't know because he has a baby on the way,
and I don't know it's because Mike McCarthy's – you know, Mike McCarthy, the more they win, the fatter he gets,
which I love, by the way.
That just tells me he's having a good time, right?
Like he's enjoying the perks of being a Dallas Cowboys head coach.
Like more barbecue, more wins.
It all goes together.
So I just love it, man.
I just love the way and the fashion in which he's playing.
CeeDee looks like a monster.
Like even with the first touchdown that CeeDee scored on,
it was like a double post.
They cleared out the first safety,
and he just comes right across the face of the corner,
and Dak just fires that thing.
Before even CeeDee gets out of that break.
And the timing and the rapport he that thing before he even, uh, CD gets out of that break and the timing and the rapport he has with this
receiver,
receiving crew.
I just love it,
man.
I think,
and I'm not even a Cowboys fan,
but I can honestly say they're fun to watch.
Last night was just a fun game to watch.
Now the defense has some serious issues,
right?
You give up 20,
21 points in the first half,
forget about it.
Like that,
you can't win a championship looking like that.
And for some reason,
you know, I don't know if you,
I know you pay attention to it,
but it was, and I'm just pivoting quickly,
it's Chiefs versus Broncos.
Broncos beat the Chiefs,
and if Patrick Mahomes and the presser goes,
I think they figured out a blueprint on how to beat us.
Well, now I think there's a blueprint
on how to stop Michael Parsons.
Because the one play he jumped off the film
was the one play that he didn't get
blocked on right like there at this time because you gotta figure he's 255 pounds now he's hella
explosive he and I think he has like a 60% win rate uh one-on-one you know on blocks but
nevertheless man you see him at times get caught up in the wash you see him at times if if the guy
if a tackle or guard counters his first moves,
he gets stagnant.
He gets kind of derailed
a little bit.
But he's a monster, right?
You leave him 1-1,
9 out of 10 times,
he's going to win.
But last night,
I thought he didn't.
I was expecting him
to pop off the tape
a lot earlier,
especially in the first half,
and he didn't.
And that's what it was, man.
So, you know,
I don't want to push back against an offensive lineman here
on the Micah impact, but I felt like at times last night,
he's still disrupting it.
So maybe he's not getting there, he's not making the play,
but you're still, like, freaked out,
especially with the way they have to use him.
Well, I also think, I mean, Dan Quinn, he just fired his gun.
Geno was under pressure all night.
And you're 100% right. Just because
you dug into sack, that doesn't mean you're not effective.
So I don't want to put that out there.
But I only say that
just because there's been so much
of this talk, like, well, he's the heir
parent to Lawrence Taylor.
And there's not a tape, and I grew up a Giants
fan. No matter who was on Lawrence
or what situation he was, he popped off the tape.
He was like, well, there goes Lawrence Taylor again.
And a little bit, you saw that out of Micah.
But I think my expectation for him because of the type of pass rush he is, I just expect more.
So this is me just kind of wanting more.
I'm glad you brought up the offensive numbers because, look, right now, today you wake up,
they're number one in scoring offense in the NFL, the CeeDee Lamb thing.
You know, I loved him out of college.
And then you wonder, like, is it really going to be one of those guys?
And, man, he feels like he is one of those guys.
We know they've had the injury issues in the secondary.
But I think the most important thing is that, like, last year,
if you look at interception percentage on just throws in general,
like Dak went on an interception fest when he came back last year.
He was at 3.8%.
But that was an aberration.
That was so far beyond.
Yeah, I mean, he's usually in the ones on that number,
and he's back to where he's been for his career.
He actually does take care of the football better,
but last year was so bad.
The Jacksonville game where it was like, man,
he could have had a couple others in there,
and then you were starting to think, like,
whatever you think Dak's limitations are,
you don't really expect him to make these awful,
like, Carson Wentz-type picks where make these awful, like Carson Wentz type picks
where, you know, some of Wentz numbers, when you look back, you're like, wait, he was that bad.
Cause the numbers look good. It's like, no, you had to watch it and be like, what are you doing?
This is devastating stuff. And Dak had some of those moments last year, but I didn't know that
that's who he was, but here's what I want to take it into. Because when we grew up, you know, being a little bit older, you're watching the NFL all season.
And you're trying not to get tricked by certain things.
Some of the run and shoot stuff, the K gun.
But look, the K gun worked.
You know, it's not like just because they didn't win a Super Bowl.
I hate when we're like, oh, this doesn't work.
You're like, it doesn't work.
Like, it kind of works.
It just may not work in the last game.
But we always knew the rule was the weather slowing it down.
These defense, the way teams were built, you had to run the football. I haven't believed in that
now for years. What do you think is the single most important thing that you have to excel in
as a football team today to be taken seriously as a team who can make a Superbowl run?
today to be taken seriously as a team who can make the Super Bowl run?
Oh, wow.
You know, it's tough because I know we talked about, you know, before we got on, we talked a little bit behind the curtain on this question.
And I've been stewing on it as I, you know, had a five-minute argument with my wife about,
you know, leaving a refrigerator open.
It's interesting because I look at offenses now
and I think the one X factor has to be a
tight end, man. I think to win a
championship, you need a tight end. And I look at
the impact of Kittle, Kelsey,
even Noah Fant last night had a couple
big catches and what he did for Geno, especially in the
middle of the field. You can even
go to Ferguson, who I thought had a monster game
last night. By the way, he may be
one of the toughest tight ends in all of football.
He took a couple shots last night. I thought he was going to get knocked out
of the goddamn game.
Me and my wife were sitting at the bed
and my wife is
a football head. She's a diehard Saints fan.
And so she gets on my nerve enough.
But she popped out of bed. She was like, I don't know who 87
is, but he's a goddamn dog. I was like, you're right, honey.
He is. Because he took a shot.
I think it was on a tight end screen, and he pops
up and he goes right in the face of Jamal Adams
in that secondary. I was like, this kid got some cojones.
Because where I come from,
a tight end like that kind of peacocking,
you're going to miss your front teeth by the
fourth quarter. And obviously it's a different NFL
and obviously we have to adjust.
I just go back to me being the old man
on the porch. I'm like, if there's a tight end that stood up
in a situation like that,
like he's going to be drinking soup for a month.
You know what I mean?
Like he's going to be eating soup.
So I love his moxie, that toughness that he showed, man.
But I think you got to – tight end is for me.
And I go back to George Kittle, and that's why I – so his impact in this game, his ability to block on the edge, be –
you know, and let me pivot back.
One of the best teammates I ever had like you there's
always that yeah and i know you've dealt with this question if you was ever in a back alley
you needed one teammate who would you bring with you right obviously you you i will take james
harrison but number two or maybe a1ab will probably be heath miller heath miller for me
by far bro and i'm not even bullshitting you, was an absolute dog. Like, what's the...
When you put dog in a dictionary
and, like, what describes a dog?
A dog is the ability to be tenacious
when nobody gives you a fucking shot.
Here goes this fucking 6'4",
white guy tied in, right?
Who we left on an island
against T-Sizzle, Tyrell
Suggs, at his best, right?
Time after time, we would leave Keith Miller on one-on-one blocks,
and he would just battle, man, and battle.
And by the way, get out on a little skinny, you know,
on an angle right or a drag and get a 10-year-old ball.
And he was the ultimate security blanket for Ben.
And on top of that, he didn't care what the job was.
He just got it done.
So there's certain tight ends.
And mind you, okay, I'm a little bit of Homer here.
He's my mold, right?
He's all I know is being a great tight end.
So when I look at the George Kittles, and when I look at, you know, Kelsey,
when I look at even, I know Bronx retired,
there's certain checklists I feel like to be a great tight end
or part of a great offense, you got to be tough.
You got to be able to catch the ball down the middle.
Go figure. And you got to be selfless. So to be able to catch the ball down the middle. Go figure.
And you got to be selfless.
So some jobs you're going to walk into, like, man,
I don't know if I'm going to come out this one alive,
but it's the mentality to say, I'm just going to go out and do it.
Whatever happens, happens.
Those are the kind of tight ends I've always been accustomed to playing with.
And Heath Miller, man, by all accounts, he's –
I know for a fact that my playoff runoff run my super bowl year if we don't have
heath miller on that damn field where even with as great as our defense was he was such a bolt in
our offense if he's not on the field we don't win because how much he meant to the office line of
protection how big he was in run game and how much he meant to bend in the past game so for me you
know outside of arguing with my wife because I left the fridge open,
that was the first thing that popped in my head.
Yeah, he was feeling himself, Ferguson,
after that go-ahead touchdown.
Oh, his money.
It was funny.
I love it.
And then when he was in the end zone,
he was looking for the corner.
He was, like, looking for him, you know?
I loved it.
I was like, man.
Yeah, big kid.
Okay, so that's a great answer.
Let's stay on that a bit.
When you think about different offenses that you've played in, um, you know, we spend a lot of time kind of from
the outside of like, Oh, charting plays and, you know, like charting is easy until adjustments are
made. So you can't chart everything. Um, there's some coaches we think are really good with it.
And there's other coaches who feel like they just don't adapt to anything. What are the best
experiences that you've had? Like when you you were if you were sitting there going hey this
is what we should have as an offense the the checklist of an offense not necessarily just
the tight end part but the coaching part of it or how versatile you could be or what you were
looking to do on third down knowing kind of how a game plays out what are the things you think back
to you know to be honest one if you if you've anybody ever paid attention to me um just solely me one thing
i struggled with was staying on side and and not holding at times right because i was just a brawler
and i never liked to keep my hands inside i like to shake the dog shit out of defenders um but one
thing aspect i think from a weapon standpoint is being able to use the cadence um a quarterback
with a short on cadence gets the job done.
And it's weird to say, like, well, doesn't everybody have a great cadence?
Like, Aaron Rodgers' cadence is beastly, right?
Like, the fact that—
What makes it so good?
Like, give me an example of what—I mean, we know what we hear on TV,
but why is it so good?
Because a lot of times when you break the huddle, man,
it's about getting the offense up.
And you use the cadence to smoke out a defense.
Because sometimes these defenses are so intricate
and there's not much disguise and emotion change from zone to man.
And sometimes, like, just a quick plan.
It's only because I'm saying this is in my head.
Like, if you go to Buffalo, Miami, I think Miami,
Buffalo is playing cover two,
but they're clamping the backside.
So they're leaving the backside corner one-on-one with Tyreek.
And you know Tua's first option is Tyreek.
But because they disguised it so well, Tua held on to the ball a lot.
But then you, so if you pivot on, Tua realized, like,
I got to see what's going on before I let this ball go.
So you started to know Tua's cadence started to change.
And what he was doing really well at the time, even though they lost that game
and they couldn't keep up with Buffalo, obviously dominated the game
and went on to win, Tua did a great job of really going into hard counts
early on downs to kind of get the defense to reveal their hands
so he could see where he had the matchups and who was clamping
and who was not and different stuff like that.
So for me, a quarterback with a good, hard cadence.
Like if you go back to Tim Boyle, Tim Boyle against Miami
for the 3 o'clock game Friday, his cadence was probably one of his top weapons, right?
Because he was able to kind of get guys on the ball, smoke out the defense,
and really try to get guys to jump and use that as a weapon within the offense.
And on top of that, I think number two,
you know, I came from a dual system,
which is double teams across the board, right?
So when I was at Pittsburgh, we had a play
called 22 and 23 double.
And it was just front side guard,
double to the linebacker.
A lot of times it was the center left guard,
double team, sometimes the backside tackle
by himself on a base block, or we had the tight end or whatever on the backside.
That's kind of like a little caveat.
Nevertheless, anytime you get two big bodies on one big body, it causes mayhem, right?
Because it's not about getting those early chunks.
It's about setting that up for the fourth quarter.
And so in B.A.'s offense, Bruce Aarons, we, we had,
we used a dual blocking system and we pretty much leaned on it. That, I mean,
that took us all the way to the Super Bowl because it allowed us to get off the
ball, allowed us to kind of impose our will,
and allowed us to really dictate how we want to run the ball.
It wasn't them dictating us. And we, and we, we practiced so much, you know,
different variations of defense against it that we became really good at.
so much, you know, different variations of defense against it that we became really good at.
So cadence, checklist, run game.
And I think three – I think number three for me is just being aggressive
on first down, man, like not being afraid to like –
you go back to Detroit, Green Bay, you're talking about Jordan Love
out the gate, bang, Christian Watkins down the field.
Like for me, having that mentality, like we're not going to... Because you know how...
Ryan, you know football. There's a 15 script,
right? It's 15. No matter
what happens, we're going to get through this 15.
And sometimes if the first play isn't successful,
you kind of pivot back.
Depends on what happens in the first
play. But for me, it's being
aggressive on first and second down, for me,
is always important. Just getting out the
gate, being aggressive, and not trying to always set up going out going for the knockout shot in different
points of a game especially early in the game i think it means a lot it sets the tempo for the
offense who do you like in san francisco philly i like philly i like philly i like the fact that
they're talking trash i like that fact that they um you know, I think they've proven they can win ugly.
They've either tied or trailed a lot.
Second half, Jalen Hurts has been money.
I think it's off his line.
I know Lane Johnson's dealing with the growing.
He's going to play.
I'm not worried about that.
But for me, it comes down to Jalen Hurts and his run game, man.
And I know it's like, oh, Willie, cliche.
Why wouldn't you want to run the ball?
I think if you go to second half of that game against Buffalo,
when DeAndre Swift had the ball in his hand, they started running the ball.
It changed the whole outcome of the game.
It was just a different offense.
I mean, the first half of that game against Buffalo, Philly was asleep.
I think Jalen Hurts was like 4-11, 33 yards.
We was like, what the hell is wrong with Philly?
And then they started giving DeAndre Swift the ball,
and they really started leaning on the run game.
And I think that just opened up so much for them.
Listen, I think it's going to be a dogfight.
It's supposed to be rain.
Brock Purdy's talking about if it rains, he's going to wear a glove.
Who knows?
But I think right now, I just like Philly and their attitude right now.
I think they've been forced to win in different variations,
and they've proven to themselves that they can get it done.
Despite all the injuries, despite all the up and downs,
probably emotionally a little bit, they've been right where –
and I know people want to call him lucky, right?
You're talking about MVS, Monday night he drops that big pass.
Until about last week, Gabe Davis is wide open, third down.
Josh Allen missed him, on and on.
So there's a lot of nuances, but I just like where Philly's at right now.
Yeah, there's numbers.
I mean, look, you can do this really with any team where you go,
okay, well, what's going on here with the pass defense?
Like if you look at it, they're 29th in pass yards allowed,
they're second worst in passing touchdowns allowed.
But then you think, okay, is the passing yard,
is that built up in the fact that there's just, you know,
there's certain teams.
Like here's a tale before I kind of finish my thought here. There'll be times like late in the season where a team's just, you know, there's certain teams like here's, here's a, here's a tell before I kind of finished my thought here,
there'll be times like late in the season where a team's terrible and they're
like, yeah, but their past defense terrific. And it's like, well,
because no one has to throw against them in the second half.
That number doesn't mean anything.
And I wonder if part of the issue with some of the secondary stuff with the
Eagles is that, you know,
you're going to have to throw to kind of keep up with them.
I've always liked that there, there are multiple meaning that that you know you're going to have to throw to kind of keep up with them. I've always liked that they're multiple, meaning that whether it was the Minnesota drives where I
was like, oh my God, they're just gouging these dudes right now. They don't even have to throw
the football. And I think that was part of the frustration if you're an Eagles fan with the
first half. It's like, those runs might be there. They might be there despite, I think, the depth
of the Bills D line,
but there's some passing defensive numbers that don't make a ton of sense. They bring in Bayard.
So that tells you that they're doing their own self-evaluation of like, we need something back
here. And I look, it's not like I'm watching the all 22 of him. I know what his rep was in Tennessee.
We know that he's been declining a bit. There's certain clips where I'm like, he looks like he's
overmatched, but he's in the right position.
Maybe there's been a couple plays in there from him
that make you feel a little bit better about it long term.
I clearly like San Francisco just because I think they're the best team in football.
I just do.
Maybe I'm overlooking a bad month,
but the fact that Purdy's come back to being statistically.
I mean, the 3-0 coming off the bye
and what they was able to do against Jacksonville,
I think still means something.
And I think the fact that they've got Chase Young and they finally –
and it's tough to say that because you talk about Hargraves and Armstead
and you talk about Bosa, you think that's enough to get it done.
But obviously it wasn't.
But now that they got Chase Young, it's like, all right, now we can –
because they don't blitz, right?
They cover and they let their front four go to work.
So the fact that they're now able to get home
and get pressure with that four, man,
I think the game is going to be one of the trenches.
And I know it's like kind of football one-on-one,
that's what you say, but I really believe that.
I think it's going to be a dogfight.
Yeah, and the lane part of it will be big
because it definitely seemed like an issue early.
And I've seen that guy play with the groin injury in the past
where I'm like, I cannot believe a guy that big, that athletic,
is still making this kind of impact impact knowing he's hurting that bad. Now, you know,
unless you know him, like, Hey, how bad is it actually? But there are times where you'll see him in the play and he looks great. And then after the play, he looks awful because he's just trying
to like get himself back set up. And you're like, God, so we've at least seen him play really hurt with
this injury that's been lingering for a while but i mean he's so good he's so important to what they
do uh and you know look the hurts part of it it hasn't been pretty as much uh lately mcshay was
just raving about him on the pod on monday because he just put him i don't know if it if it came
across as he was trying to compare him to mahomes because i don't think any of us actually think he's Mahomes level
because I just wouldn't put anybody else with Mahomes.
So that's an aside.
But that there's this feeling of when you're watching the Eagles game
and with him, and certainly A.J. and Devontae are going to win enough too
to give you options that you're like, hey, you still kind of feel like you're in it,
which might be the biggest compliment you can give any quarterback in the league.
You know what's interesting?
I go back to that third and 15 where he drops a dime
in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.
It's tough. I love Jalen Hurts. I know
a lot has talked about his poise.
You've heard
Colin say it on the herd. He's
the best, I guess,
presser quarterback out there. He always says the right
thing. He's always stoic in the moment. He's always
calm and collected. I also think there's an aspect of him where he he since
he started the knee is healthier obviously because you see him scrambling extend plays with his legs
but i also think there's a part of him man that just and i think it goes back to his time getting
benched in a national championship game when two would came in there i think the part is a part of
him where it's like, fuck it.
Like, let's just go.
You know what I mean?
Like, I've seen it with Ben.
You're right, though.
You're right.
It's absolutely what I need from – if you're going to be really good,
I need you to have that moment where you go, I'm making this throw.
And I've seen it time after time.
But I think last week against Buffalo was like, there it goes.
There goes that fuck it.
Like, I'm just, I'm scrambling left, ball in my hand, it's raining, the place is going
on fire.
Josh Allen looks like a goddamn wild cowboy out here.
I got to be the guy to make the play.
And he says, fuck it, and lets it rip.
Bang, back at the end zone, touchdown.
I'm just like, that's what it takes to play in this league.
Not as a quarterback,
but as a football player.
Because there's plenty of times
I know it's been like
short yardage,
will we got to come
to your side?
And as much as I know
what the technique is,
as much as I know
what my assignment is,
I got a big dog
in front of me,
I got to chew through his chest.
And I'm going to say,
fuck it.
And if I get an M.E. on it,
or if I blow the assignment,
I just know I got to
get after his ass. And I think every football say, fuck it. And if I get an M.E. on it, or if I blow the assignment, I just know I got to get after his ass.
And I think every football player needs that kind of that cord of fuck it in you
to just go get it.
And when I saw that play, that was that fuck it moment.
I'm like, fuck it.
I'm going to throw it.
If it's there, it's there.
Fuck it.
Let's just go.
And I love it.
Okay.
There's also some defensive numbers there with Philly
where on the season they rank really good against the run,
but the last couple games.
But then when you add it up and you dig a little bit deeper,
these Mahomes scrambles are killing everybody
because it's just like, wait, now this guy's going to do this
whenever you need it.
So it's about 120 yards combined from the quarterbacks
the last couple weeks.
I want to talk about Tyreek Hill a little bit.
I know we mentioned him in Football Sense.
Look, he's an opinionated guy. He's got a lot of stuff to say. He said recently
that he felt like this Dolphins team is way better on paper than the Kansas City team that
won a Super Bowl against the Niners a few years ago. I went back and looked at the stats, and
actually, Miami's better in scoring. The scoring defense, Kansas City was shockingly a little bit
better than I think people remember
because there's been some bad KC defenses
during this Mahomes run.
And now there's a Jalen Phillips from Miami
who I think is probably their steadiest,
most impactful guy every single week when he was playing.
And now he's going to be out.
It's not even about the debate because it's not.
Because it gets decided in the Mahomes Tua thing.
You want to tell me there's a couple more guys
if you were comparing rosters?
Maybe, but I think there's some young guys
in this Chiefs defense that are going to be names
for years to come.
But the more interesting thing I have to ask you is
what is that like when you have a teammate
who cannot help himself?
I know it was like an old lineman.
Nobody really ever wanted to hear from you.
You probably had some thoughts,
but you might not have the scrum around your locker after a game for the media.
What is that like?
I know some people may even say Antonio Brown,
but he was simply a tadpole with you then.
He was not fully formed Antonio Brown.
So is there someone you think about that you probably liked? You've already said twice on this pod, you like when people talk shit, but this is usually not something you're supposed to do in the NFL world, but now everybody has platforms. So it's happening. What do you have for us going back with guys you played with?
because that was me.
When I got to the New York Jets,
you know,
I had got to a team that I thought
was,
you know,
in Nick,
you know,
Brookshaw Ferguson,
Nick Mangels at center.
I was playing with Rex
who,
you know,
prior to him being
the head coach
of the New York Jets,
he was defensive coordinator
with the Ravens.
So I'm like,
all right,
we got some dogs in the house.
And when I got to
New York,
man,
the locker room
was a little bit of a shell of themselves
because they had gutted out all the OGs.
So during my time as a Jet, being in the room with Nick and Brick,
all I could do was talk about where I came from and what I did
and how I was going to the playoffs every year.
And I was playing with a historic defense and how the culture and the family
and the Roonies, yada, yada, yada.
And I remember in the practice room, and I started to kind of
start some type
of analogy about what I did in Pittsburgh
compared to what's going on with the Jets.
And I remember Nick Mango,
who I love, by the way, goes, hey, cut
the fucking court.
I was like, what?
He's like, cut the court. Like, we don't
need to hear about your days
in Pittsburgh. We don't need to hear about your days in Pittsburgh.
We don't need to hear about your Super Bowl,
your two Super Bowls, win one, loss one.
Cut the cord.
You're a Jet now.
Or are you not?
And I remember, bro, I was in the room.
I clutched my pearls.
I was like, what?
What do you mean?
He's like, cut the fucking cord.
He's like, you're a Jet now.
You're from New York.
You know, you went to Hofstra.
The jets were on the same campus as Hofstra when you was at Hofstra.
You're a jet.
Cut the fucking cord.
And I remember going home.
I remember going home and I was like, you know, as I'm polishing my third Modelo,
I was like, damn, I guess he's right.
Because nobody wants to hear.
Listen, if you're Tyreek Hill, the divorce ended perfectly.
You found the quarterback in Miami.
You're on pace to breaking the NFL receiving record.
By the way, the Chiefs won a Super Bowl when you left, and they're in good shape.
You got the hot girl, and they remain hot.
Yeah, look, I don't.
I think it's funny. You haven't been in that situation?
Like, as I've worked with somebody, like, oh, yeah,
my previous employer, we did what, you know,
they kind of rule.
They have this romantic conversation time after time about their time.
And you're like, dude, you're with us now.
Either you're here
or you're not and i really as a as a jet my first year as a jet i legit had to make i had to like i
had to check myself like let's not talk about pittsburgh i can't say i have anything that's
remotely as important as that as being on another team but yeah i mean spotify pulled me aside after
a couple years and they were like look we got it you worked at espn it's got it's been covered
no i'm just kidding there was never never, there was never, although I probably
talked about it far too often, but I don't know. Sometimes they work out to be great stories.
I think the bigger thing is like, as a man, well, hell, I didn't even know if this is male specific,
but probably I would say I, no, I actually, I shouldn't just limit it to men, but
I think no matter what, it gets really hard when somebody tells you to not do something.
And then you have to have the internal debate of like your first reaction is like, fuck you.
Right.
And it's like, what if Nick Mangold is making a great point?
But then the other problem is, is what if it's a good point, but this guy's a loser, not Nick point but this guy's a loser not nick but this guy's a loser and then
he's he is seeking this leadership role right like when i whenever i think about the tunnel
like when i was watching michigan and ohio state and i saw like somebody from michigan like going
crazy and he was like sitting there he's pointing whatever and then i immediately looked up his
number i was like i bet you that guy doesn't play and i was like yep he didn't play he like never plays this is this is the most energy he's
going to expend all afternoon right and i was like it's always the guys that don't play oh yeah
and so luckily it's nick mangled terrific player great career arguably yeah right but it's it's
sometimes it's not even about the message it It's the messenger. And there's really nothing worse. Like I can I can just already vision what the Russell Wilson first year experience was the new guy and at least he had had a resume to be able to
feel like he could say some of these things,
but I'm sure it got real old real quick based on previous experiences.
If you're going to say something like that to you,
it has to be Nick mangle is my point.
A hundred percent. And that, and, but that was, it's, it's, it's such a,
it's so poignant because I think that was the biggest issue with Rex's last
year as a jet.
There were too many guys who had resumes that needed a correction or maybe a
slap on the ass that he didn't give to be solely because of their resume.
And I hated that aspect of it. Like sometimes just because you played it,
you have the Pro Bowls and you've had playoff wins
or experience and you have
the contracts that tag along
your name and you went to a certain school,
doesn't mean you're not in fault.
You still have to be corrected
in year 9 or 10. But because
sometimes a guy has
a little bit of longevity and they have a career
that coach is like, well, he'll figure it out.
That's how good teams end up losing late in the seasons like there's always needs to be correction
along the way it doesn't matter what your resume looks like and i was like my biggest issue with
rex like certain guys had a resume so he felt like all they'll figure it out like because they've
played long enough like no like football's football either you're doing it right or you're not
either you're doing your job or you're not um Either you're doing your job or you're not.
But you're right.
Would I have received that from a guy who was on the team two years prior?
For me getting there, I was like, hey, Willie, by the way,
won't you come to court?
I'd probably be like, listen, I'll slap you in your mouth in front of everybody.
Don't ever talk to me like that again.
Right?
But the fact that it was Nick Mangold, I was like, yeah, okay.
Yeah, okay. mangled i was like yeah okay okay and i can see like i didn't i've only interacted with mangled
a couple times i don't pretend to know him he would have to be reminded who i was but you could
see that he wasn't exactly a guy that was gonna like waste words no you know and by the way he i
mean he's he's that was he was king in that house right so you rather hear from the king than a
peasant.
So like you said, once again, I received it.
I went to battle with the man.
So we know each other.
We've had booze.
We've hung out.
We've shared barbecue.
He knows my family.
I know his family.
Prior to me getting married, I had my side chicks at his house.
So we have a relationship.
So yeah.
Clearly.
Yeah.
So clearly.
Yes. So clearly, we got each other so he i he was
he had all the i guess room to tell me to shut the fuck up and cut the cord and welcome to new york
okay we'll leave you with this it's our stat when we were we were asking if you got stronger when
you're 400 pounds um there was a stat about people in the world who could bench 225 pounds once one rep of
225 you want to guess what percent of people on earth can do one rep of 225 wow one rep one rep
like full rep or like we're doing like me head ymca rep like kind of don't worry about the full
range of motion here we're just thinking there's like almost 8 billion of us.
A lot of people don't work out, remember.
What percentage of people can do one rep?
I mean, off the top of my head, maybe 20%.
Oh, my God.
What do you think?
We're in Viking times?
No.
I just come from a big family.
Maybe you were the wrong guy to ask.
It is 0.75, not even 1% of the globe's population can do one.
I actually think, yeah, 20 is absurd.
I mean, if it was 20, I'd stay home more often.
Hey, enjoy the weekend, man.
Enjoy the football. We'll catch up soon.
Respect, my brother. Thank you.
The Alliance
gears up for
Conference Championship weekend.
We have Kyle from Poughkeepsie.
Also, Steve is on the show. What's up, man?
Good to see you. Yeah, coming live from
the Crown Jewel. Really enjoying my time, but a little milder today.
It's been pretty brick, as we used to say when I lived here.
And it's a beautiful day.
My dad's turned 60.
Going to run out and grab some steaks.
Going to make some exciting appetizers.
Just great to be back.
You have a big smile on your face.
And I have a big smile on my face because of your smile.
So, yeah, you were tweeting about the Hudson Valley last night.
You were going deep on the rankings.
You were just letting everybody know, which I appreciated.
Okay, so there's apparently some controversy that Steve would like to bring forth to the Alliance
for an official ruling about something that happened last week.
So the floor is yours.
Well, so I took Jaden Daniels over two and a half touchdown happened last week. So the floor is yours. Well, so I took Jaden Daniels
over two and a half touchdown passes last week,
which hit against Texas A&M.
But the folks at FanDuel after we taped,
because they put out the video,
they make a graphic,
and you could obviously look at it
on the app or the website
and play along with us
and take our parlay, right?
The Alliance parlay.
They told me that unfortunately,
some of these props,
they don't apply to every state. So they're like, so we can get something in for every state.
Can you give us another bet? Just like a spread or a plain spread or a total. So I was like,
yeah, sure. No problem. So I gave them the over in LSU, Texas A&M, which also hit.
So technically I was two and O last week and I need to... Well, I'm just saying, I gave two picks and both of them hit.
So this is a democracy.
I'm willing to be overruled.
But I personally feel like I was 2-0 last week and should have two wins on the resume.
Listen, if I wanted to give anybody an extra win, it would be you, buddy.
That's for sure.
And so I feel like that...
What's that guy?
That caught in Providence judge who's just a great guy.
And he's just like, yeah, you'll be fine.
Just keep it under 60.
I think it's fine, actually.
I know Ryan did this last year, and I wish he did it earlier than he did it.
But what can you do?
Okay, but what I didn't do last year was tell you after the segment that I had an extra win.
I gave out.
You think if I went 1-0, if I missed one of them, I would just say,
hey, I hit one bet and not take the loss? You think because I went 2-0 that I'm trying to claim
two? Yeah, there's no way if you went 1-1, you'd be like, hey, can you make sure I'm 1-1? Or if
you missed the Daniels one, you'd be like, hey, guys, I also have another loss. I'll just say it.
Has nothing to do with how I feel about Cerruti. I think that's well documented.
This is such a bad proposal. I can't even believe you're doing this.
I'm desperate, man.
I'm desperate.
My record's not great.
Now that you mention it,
just like, oh, it actually turned out well,
so let's bring it up.
That's a little weird.
That's different than throwing out three picks.
I don't appreciate you guys.
I have integrity, okay?
That's not integrity.
This is the opposite of integrity.
What do you mean?
I would have told you if I won 0-2 as well. You don't think I would have told you that I missed both of them. This is the opposite of integrity. What do you mean? I would have told you if I went 0-2
as well. You don't think I would have told you that I went 0-2?
You wouldn't have been asking for us to
tack on another loss on your record
as you and Kyle are battling it out
for second. That might be true.
We know it's true
because I love you, but nobody would do that.
Alright, so
that's the difference between me being 5-10
and 4-10, and so I'm still a game behind Kyle, I guess. Listen, I've been the difference between me being five and 10 and four and 10.
And so I'm still a game behind Kyle, I guess.
So listen, it's, I've been overruled.
It's fine.
It's a democracy.
I'm, I, I, I proposed it and I've been shut down.
I have accepted the ruling.
I'm so confident in this ruling.
I don't think anyone's going to have your side.
Like, no, I'm going to get a text from Stanford.
Steve being like, I can't believe you tried to do that.
Only one person went to know and their bets in one week.
So just saying, just saying.
Just saying.
Okay. This is like going out to dinner counting, you know,
I didn't have any of those appetizers. This is not
that at all. This is not that at all. It's in the same vein,
I think. I mean, it's like after the fact.
I picked two things last week.
I picked two things. I hit them both.
I don't know. Kyle, what's your official vote?
You've swayed me. I say no now. Now I say no. He was on board too, man. I was. It sucks. I hit them both. I don't know. Kyle, what's your official vote? You've swayed me.
I say no now.
Now I say no.
He was on board too, man.
I was.
I was shocked in the beginning
because I was ready to lose two to one.
Yeah.
All right.
Well, unfortunately,
I believe Ryan was the,
were you the only one wrong last week?
Yeah, I got it wrong last week.
So I'll go last.
That's fine.
Your honor.
All right, Kyle, kick it off.
Kick it off.
Yeah, Steve actually wanted to go last before we got on last. So I'll go. That's fine. I honor. All right, Kyle, kick it off. Kick it off. Yeah, Steve actually wanted to go last before we got on the line.
So I'll go.
That's fine.
I'm going to keep it in the ACC this week.
I've been going back and forth between Louisville and Florida State.
My brother is up here from Florida State.
I think I got to go.
I did a little bit of research.
The backup quarterback for Florida State, whose name I forgot in my research.
He's been an ACC guy.
He's played Louisville.
He's played some of these guys.
So it's not like bad news has come down the pike, at least.
So I think I'll take the Florida State.
The odds just dropped from 2.5, minus 2.5 to minus 1.5.
So, I mean, might as well take this.
Actually, might as well take the money line because what's the difference?
Let's take the money line.
Minus 1.11, Florida State over Louisville.
I can't wait until they kick a field goal to win by one.
All right.
I've been kicking around a couple of things.
So the games I'm looking at is the OK State Texas game,
and I'm also looking at Michigan-Iowa.
The Michigan-Iowa over- over under currently it's 34 and a
half that seems dangerous to take it under there I know Iowa might not score but Michigan could
just win 35 nothing in this game and then I then I lose so I'm gonna stay away from that because
I'm just scared I don't know how anybody by the way can you imagine betting either side of the
Iowa total I can't imagine what would be the six and would be a more annoying time because like at least on the
over, you're going to keep pretending you have a chance for three hours. But if you bet the under,
it's going to be so stressful of going like, oh, yep, just punt it here. Just punt it like every
single time, every return, you know, hoping there's never going to be a short field off of
one turnover. I think betting the under would actually still be more miserable,
but I don't know how anybody bets the over on Iowa in any game.
I don't know how anybody bets, because I think most of these absurd tools
that we keep seeing.
I did it once this year.
And you lost, right?
I took Penn State-Iowa, yeah, and I think Iowa got shut out, I believe.
Yeah, it was 31-0.
Yep, so good times, good times there.
All right, so i'll just save
everybody the the pain of having to go through that give me i'm gonna just i'm gonna take texas
minus 14 and a half uh this might be a sucker bet this might be like a loser bet and on the
kind of the square side but they've got to prove a point right they've got to you know they're
they're gonna potentially be the four of the five depending on how things roll out here in the play
out in the final playoff ranking.
So they're going to have to make a statement.
I know, okay, State can run the ball.
I kind of like the over here, too.
But give me – I think Texas wins big.
I just think they win big.
Yeah, I mean, here we are, three favorites now.
So now I don't feel great about this.
But it's a mill row thing.
I liked it at five and a half.
It went to six and a half.
I was worried about where the number was going to go.
I liked it at five and a half.
It went to six and a half.
I was worried about where the number was going to go.
And I know that, you know, as far as the pass catching core for Georgia could be a little bit more dinged up than maybe we realized.
Could be, I don't know, gamesmanship on the injury report with Brock and McConkie.
So I'm just going to lay the five and a half
because I still feel like Carson Beck is completely overlooked
in the quarterback
conversation. And I just don't trust Milrow in this spot. I think for Alabama to have a chance,
they're going to have deep shots, Burton, Bond. They're running the ball a little bit better,
but overall, statistically on the season, you would say that's not what you'd expect from
them being able to run behind this offensive line. It's been kind of an issue even if the
short yardage stuff has been much more successful more recently.
And then Milrow certainly can run.
I mean, he's pretty dynamic there.
And there's some other stuff to tell you that Bama's defense
is actually better than you realize.
But I still don't know that that front terrorizes teams
the way we thought it was going to consistently all season long.
They closed hard against Ole Miss.
They closed really well against LSU.
And I know Milrow had the LSU game.
He had the Kentucky game.
But, like, seeing the Auburn game where he didn't know he was past the line of scrimmage twice,
that's the kind of stuff where I'm like, ah, I'll just lay the 5.5.
And I love that it went back to 5.5.
So that's the pick.
Three favorites.
No way that's going to work.
But check out all the latest odds.
Sportsbook.FanDuel.com.
You want details?
Fine.
I drive a Ferrari,
355 Cabriolet.
What's up?
I have a ridiculous house
in the South Fork.
I have every toy
you could possibly imagine.
And best of all, kids,
I am liquid.
So, now you know
what's possible.
Let me tell you
what's required.
Life advice. The email address is lifeadvicerr at gmail.com. Kyle is going to stick around despite a festivity tonight
for the family. There's even a few Kyle ones that I saved. So maybe I'll find one of those.
But before we do that tonight. Oh all right let's discuss plan tonight well
it's just a we're gonna do some dinner throw some steaks on the grill my dad's a big don't
want to do anything guy but at the same time like doesn't that make you a bit of an asshole if
you're like yeah actually i do want to blow this thing out uh it's the 60th birthday so there's
actually a few less people coming than i would have hoped uh that was not my idea but i'm still
gonna cook the shit out of some steak and make my famous poppers.
I'm going to try a few new
recipes.
BJ's and see what I can find.
You're mad at him? You're mad at him
for being too chill about his birthday?
No, I'm mad at the people around
him for just admitting
that we'll just do what he says.
Come on.
It's his birthday. let him do what he wants
he just he wants something low-key that's what i would be honest i disagree i think anybody who
would say i want to do a big thing makes you would make you actually go backwards and be like
yeah let's tone it down a little bit this year but for a guy like great guy like my dad who's like
you know i don't really do i don't want to do much we'll just keep it i was like all right fine i'm
not going to make you leave the house but let's bring some buddies over bring some of his friends
you know they're still local guys doesn't seem like that's going to like, all right, fine. I'm not going to make you leave the house, but let's bring some buddies over, bring some of his friends. There's still local guys.
Doesn't seem like that's going to happen. So whatever.
Do you think your 60th will be chill?
I don't think so.
I hope not. There's no chance. That's the safest bet of all time. We should have had that in the
Alliance, but it's not on the board. Will Kyle's 60th be chill?
Long game bet.
I'm a little tempted to follow up on these recipes you're dabbling with.
Yeah, I got a prosciutto fig thing that I'm looking at.
Maybe a little honey goat cheese in there.
Just something that we could serve cold, refrigerate, prep early.
Definitely the poppers, bacon wrap poppers.
That always has to happen.
A lot of people around here don't even know about them
because I learned about how to perfect them later in life. So we'll definitely be doing a bunch of poppers that always has to happen a lot of people around here don't even know about them because i learned about how to perfect them later in life so we'll definitely be doing a bunch of poppers
um you've seen how good i got these poppers sausage flowers they're called uh i'm thinking
about doing that that looks fun a little wonton crispy things with sausage and whatever in there
i'll have to look at the recipe again but that got me a little excited doing some baked potatoes
chives of course um yeah i don I don't know. We'll see.
We'll see. I might just get away from
me when I get into BJ's, so we'll see.
This reminds me of a story. I got some shit
from some family members because
at my daughter's first birthday party,
my mom wanted to make some
food or whatever, blah, blah, blah. She's like, oh, I'm going to make some deviled
eggs. I was like, mom, nobody eats
deviled eggs. Who eats deviled eggs?
I completely talked her out of eating deviled eggs and then everybody kind of acted like i was the asshole
afterwards but she ended up making pigs in a blanket which were 10 000 times better so who's
the real winner here it's the it's it's everyone at the party but maybe i'm wrong maybe people
you're a deviled eggs guy deviled eggs are terrible i don't i don't know who eats deviled
eggs i feel like only old people eat deviled eggs oh well i mean i'm an old soul but uh i love love a deviled egg love it i'll love five deviled eggs actually Well, I mean, I'm an old soul, but I love a deviled egg.
I love five deviled eggs, actually.
I'll look around and see if everyone's got
their first deviled egg, and I'm
definitely going to have a second one.
There'll be deviled eggs tonight?
No, I don't think I want to do that.
Yeah, I guess... Just the egg thing.
The egg thing is annoying. Eggs and boo is not a great
combo. People
that love deviled eggs will argue.
They're a very supportive group. I'm going to get
a lot of tweets about this. Yeah.
Deviled eggs are great. I can't believe you said that out loud.
Hard to disagree. But anyway. Did any of the
guys, did they drive for the
party?
No, you know, I think the holidays
got guys a little tied up.
My mom turned 60 in two more years,
so maybe we'll do that.
All right, so we had uh an inquiry from a midwestern guy good stock about a ginger that caught his eye remember that email not that long ago he sent us a follow-up which has to be shared
essentially he had hooked up with a girl in the past ended on good terms she was dating somebody
else she has a friend she's a
ginger i guess this guy's type which is great and uh he was like should i should i ask for her
permission we gave we actually spent a lot of time on it which is a shock for this pod right
so he let us know that he he followed some of the advice and here we are uh don't expect you to put
this on the pod well we're doing it because it's too good i'll give you an update i messaged the old flame she was really cool and said she'd put in a good word
i said thanks and keep me posted an hour later i was blocked
oh man i'm here for this did i know you know okay you weren't so this was somebody's advice
well no my advice was well there's a bunch of tips. We went down Choose Your Own Adventure.
We just turned on page 42, 78.
Yeah, we went all over the place with it.
It was very much like you could reach out, and if she says no, at least you'll have a great starting point of a conversation with the ginger moving forward.
But if she says yes, then you have an ally, and she's looking out for you.
But we did point out, you never know.
It's like people
can be really possessive about past relationships. I think it's one of the most interesting things
about people is that some people are like completely over it. I mean, again, not to go
too Sherry here on this deal, but like I had a serious girlfriend and we broke up. And then like
a week later I did something with somebody and I was like, I'm going to get destroyed for this.
I did something with somebody and I was like, I'm going to get destroyed for this. And then she was like, well, we weren't together. I was like, what? Like how, like I was so, I was more shocked that
she was so okay with it. Then made me be like, well, what's your deal then? What are you up to?
Yeah. Right. Right. Right. Which is like the lesson you find out later on when you time travel
through your own thoughts, you're like, wait a minute. Um, so there's always that danger is that
she's going to tell you what you want to hear, but in reality, it's still going to bother her. And that's clearly what happened. But I think
the win in this is as long as you, oh, wait, wait, wait, there's more to this. I said, thanks. All
right. She blocked me. Not sure how to take that, but I took Ryan's advice and DM the ginger haven't
received a response. But like you guys said, I don't gain or lose anything with this one,
which was ultimately the math that we came up with is you, you, you already don't have either situation in your favor.
So if you ask, you don't get anything, it doesn't really mean necessarily you lost anything. I just
worry about how quickly he may have DM the ginger. And did he share that he had been blocked by the
mutual friend? I think based on what you had said is that maybe, maybe you were never going to run
into her. Maybe I played it out of my head that maybe you would at some point, but if you
don't like, Hey, it could be six months before I ever see her, I would have maybe even slow played
the DM been like, Hey, funny story. And she either thinks it's funny and it's drinks or she's like,
yeah, she told me and you're a creep. And then, you know, nothing works out, but at least you try.
I think the latter is more likely,
unfortunately,
but I,
I'm proud of this guy for doing it.
Like,
you know,
all right.
Didn't work out,
you know,
sucks.
If I could go back in time and be in that thing,
I would have just said,
I think in these situations,
it's always better to play dumb.
Even if you're not,
that's what I would have said.
Just go about it and be like,
Oh wow.
That's crazy.
I totally forgot you guys were buddies or if I'm getting that story,
correct.
I don't know. I just kind of got them got them well he had said that she he he said that he
and the ex were like on good terms and she might be able to help him out in this situation it wasn't
just like oh they know each other listen if you guys aren't great friends you're not on good terms
i don't think i don't think like if you're not great friends i think the rest is just kind of a
wash and i don't think they were great friends, is what it sounds like.
The immediate block is... That's not a good sign.
That's not a good sign.
No, but to go from I'll put in a good word to blocked an hour later.
Just tell me you don't want to put in a good word then.
Just, you know, what is this shit?
Yeah, the email is not the asshole here at all.
Right.
Sitting there going, do you have zero posts?
Must be going through something.
Right.
All right.
That's what's so funny about the Instagram block.
Is it like lets you think you might still not be?
And you're like, man, she hasn't updated this in forever.
She has no posts.
Still follows 7,000 people.
What's going on here?
All right.
So here we go.
We'll get to an email.
What's up? 6-4, 235,000 people. What's going on here? All right. So, uh, here we go. We'll get to an email. What's up? Six, four, two 35 pro comp two 50, 2015 Marie Spates last 10 seconds of game three
in the first round of the playoffs. I love that. Marie Spates. That's it. That's a, that's a good
one. Try to keep it brief. I'm 23 and live with two buddies from college. We live in the same
city. We went to college at wow. It's funny. Cause it's like, people are telling you you're
doing it wrong. You might be doing it right. My family lives in another state and I travel, well, only if you know you're leaving
eventually. I travel back to my hometown for Thanksgiving. When I got back to my current
place after the break, I noticed some things were off. My keys were in a different spot.
I went to my car Monday morning to go to work and noticed the gas was drained. I immediately
thought that someone used my car. I hit up both my roommates and one confessed to it. He said,
sorry, that was me. When I got dropped off from thanksgiving my car was dead
and i wasn't feeling good so i borrowed it to get some meds i should have asked my bad seems fair
enough right yeah everything sort of checks out if you guys are that cool each other you're living
post-college you get along well enough if somebody needs to use a car despite some people can be
really weird with the borrowing rules we had a friend that had like a sick ride and then no one was just ever allowed to like be in it that was like one of the strangest
things ever yeah okay like it took up the parking space he got like the better parking space because
it was nicer which we all decided and then i remember like one guy got a car was it i'm not
gonna get too specific with it but it was sweet it was sweet because then it turned into something
where another roommate like
hit me up he's like can you believe we can't use that look we just can't use it
and now we have to go off limits right you can't even go to the grocery store
the weather was like a real issue for driving when you're going to vermont there's there are
stretches where you just be like okay the only option is is something that's the four by four
right more suited for this uh my
truck even with the four-wheel drive was a mess in it because it had the thing weighed 100 pounds
no tailgate took it out put in a net nbd okay um
uh let's see here let's see here so the only seems fair enough the only issue i had was
the back seat door was left open
and I found a cup left from Jack in the Box
next to the car.
I asked my other roommate
if he said that the first roommate had some,
I asked my other roommate about it
and he said that the first roommate
had some guys over Wednesday
before Thanksgiving after the bars
and they had Jack in the Box.
The first roommate has a history
of doing some shady shit during college
but I thought he'd matured since then.
We think he used my car all weekend because he didn't want to put gas in his.
The battery was fine and may have taken it to jack in the box after a night out.
Should I confront him?
Our lease is up in two weeks, so I don't see how anything like this would happen again.
We're all sort of part of a bigger friend group.
So I continue to see him around after the lease is up.
If I call his bluff and it's true he only needed it for meds,
then I'm the asshole.
Can't necessarily prove he used it more or less
and also can't really trust his word given his history.
Would appreciate any advice on how to navigate this one.
He did send us an update.
Possibly the most crucial and funny piece of information,
this guy's avoided being at the house from the hours of 5 to 1030
every night this week.
We think he's avoiding any
chance of confrontation i mean clearly these guys borrowed your car like i mean you're saying
you're not 100 sure well it sounds like it's pretty much 100 there's no gas another guy
right another guy confirmed that it was used and there was shit in the car so like dude what else
do you need colombo it didn't even have any shame in it, right? Yeah.
Right.
But like the one guy's admitting to it.
So basically, we're just asking here, like, I don't know.
You guys take it.
How would you handle it, Kyle?
I think I wouldn't want to make too many waves.
But what I would probably say is, hey, don't even ask next time because the answer is no.
All right.
I think that's it.
It's just like, I'm not going to be like, how could you?
Fuck you.
Give me the gas money, whatever. I think it would just be as simple as that. Like'm not going to, I'm not going to be like, how could you fuck you? Give me the gas money,
whatever. I think it would just be similar as that. Like, Hey, in case it was unclear,
don't even worry about asking next time because you're a guy that can't.
All right. If there's a guy that didn't do it, he's a guy that can ask,
but you're a guy that can't and that's okay. Cause you have a car.
So it's fine. It's that way. It just lets them know that, you know,
it lets them know that you're not going to be a hard ass about it but like you know you're disappointed a little angry and it's changed you know the
dynamics a little bit not in a way that we can't be friends anymore but it's like don't ask me
anymore sort of like the dude that you're like don't even ask me for money anymore at this point
don't ask me sort of like that guy can you just like kind of fuck with him and just ask him about
like different jack-in-the-box questions all the time be like dude what do you guys want to go to jack-in-the-box today like what's your favorite
thing at jack-in-the-box and just keep asking thoughts on the 32 like the 32 over there what
the tacos and uh and just and it just ever it's understood but you just keep fucking with the guy
i think that because yeah you know what the deal is like what even if he denies it what's what's
you know the answer to this so i just have a little bit of fun with it yeah you don't want
to go overboard mad because then everyone else could be like,
what the fuck?
Come on.
What is his deal?
But I think you deserve to get a little mad
and that dude deserves to feel a little uncomfortable.
So just find a way where the stakes are low,
but the point gets made.
I'd ask the emailer,
what's your mad range?
How long?
What gets you to a five?
What may get me to a five or an eight
is different for different people like there can be some things that are eights for other that's
like a one for me um i would say i'm probably i have a weird mad range where i can be really mad
about something that doesn't make any sense and then something like i just said i'd be like i
don't care that doesn't bother me uh this would at 23 i'd be kind, I don't care. That doesn't bother me. Uh, this would at 23, I'd be kind of
annoyed. I would get over this pretty quickly because there's a good chance I'm borrowing
somebody else's car. Uh, but I don't, I don't, I was never one to be like, I'm just going to take
my buddy's car for the entire weekend and then not really tell him it may have been out of necessity.
Something sort of happens, but I wouldn't be shady necessarily like this. It sounds like the
emailer isn't even that mad about it. It's more that it's funny. The guy isn't coming home, the
whole deal. So I would do this. I would just be like, look, I know you took the card. Do
you not want to admit it? Because then I'm actually going to be upset. If you took it,
it's annoying, but fine. I'm not asking for anything. I don't need 20 bucks worth of gas
or whatever the whole deal is. Because it sounds like everything else has worked out. Like you're
friends with this guy and a roommate post-college. And you said it's part of the same circle of
friends. So it sounds like you're a little conscious of messing up the dynamic if this becomes a friend-ender with this, even if he's the one that did it to you.
But on the grand scheme of things, this isn't the end of the world.
For some people, it would be like this absolute betrayal that you would do this to their car.
I personally would not necessarily feel that way at 23.
In my 40s, I'd have a bit more of an issue with it.
So it sounds like you're actually –
That's a great point.
Right.
I think you're actually okay with it based on what we're getting here in the email.
I don't know if Kyle and Steve agree, disagree.
It's just you kind of – like you just want him to say, yeah, dude, I did take it.
Be like, okay, cool.
You took it.
That was lame.
There's shit in there.
And now I know.
And now I have to pack my keys.
But again, the lease is up in two weeks,
so it doesn't even matter.
So this reminds me of a story.
When I was in college,
and again, perfectly,
like when you're young,
things like this just kind of don't matter.
You're right.
If I was in my 30s or 40s,
I'd be like, dude,
could you just not take my car?
But when I was in college,
one of my buddies hooked up
with his girlfriend in my car,
in my 94 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Didn't tell me.
Yeah, dude, that's like a dream car for me.
But other friends like started telling me about it.
And I was like, obviously I was like annoyed about it.
But I'm like, what am I gonna do?
Get pissed off and like not talk to this guy again?
And he didn't tell me.
And he knew that I didn't really lock my car
during those periods of my life.
So he just knew it was unlocked.
So he just went in and did his thing and got out.
And I just was like, yeah, I could
be mad about this for like a month or I could just say
it's kind of funny and just move on. I just did
the latter. So I think you're young enough where
these things, I would just make a joke out of it. Don't take
it too seriously. Yeah, I think at that age,
being let down
isn't really the issue because that happens
all the time. Those dudes will let you down all the time.
But I think it's the trust issue that,
that,
you know,
that's like a little more valuable.
So it's not about like,
Oh,
I can't believe you did this.
Oh,
I can't believe you,
you know,
got drunk and stepped on my laptop.
Oh,
I can't believe like,
it's not about the like being let down.
It's about like,
are you going to own it or not?
Really?
So I think that's what you're,
when you're considering this to be your group,
like,
you don't,
you don't want to set a precedent of fucking people over and lying about it.
Then you've got to weed those dudes out.
Also, your window of having drunk people
step on your laptop closes as you get older.
You would think. I did ruin Jim Cunningham's laptop
a year ago because I sat on it.
It was under a blanket on the couch, which I don't think
should be there. That's not your fault.
It is. I did give him $700, though.
I'm glad we've decided it's not my fault okay uh here's an email one more sure all
right when to go hard when to go hard this was a scary topic but it's not uh seven foot
250 pounds 44 years old ex-overseas pro,
a journalist once called me baby Greg Ostertag.
So I guess that's the player comp.
I don't know, 7'2", 50.
I don't know your baby or anything.
But Ostertag brought it.
I'm trying to understand when and if I should take over pickup games.
Usually I play quite low key.
I like to play a lot of point guard and shoot as a player from the late 90s, early 2000s.
That's a significant departure from the way I actually played.
However, like most bigs, I had delusions of guard play and I find it to be the most fun way to play now.
And I get people involved as my understanding of the game is still okay.
The problems come about I was traveling recently and ended up playing a pickup game in a gym long, long way from home.
The game was fun enough, played in good spirit, enjoyable run. My team held the court when a group of college-aged dudes showed up as well they weren't terrible but
they weren't all world either the problem started up where they got a bit lippy it didn't feel in
the spirit of what we were doing and eventually it started to grate i changed up my playing style and
headed to the block at my size and weight this was less a skills proposition than a question of
physics i took the game over and saw them off the court the problem is that in doing so i ended up dominating the possessions just to make
a point it's a competitive thing which i sometimes struggle to put away but was it worth making the
game less fun for my team just to prove a point against some people i will never see again in the
moment it felt pretty good but in retrospect maybe i should have just let it all go and continue the
way i'd started the question i guess becomes, just because I can doesn't mean I should.
Great power.
That's another shirt, right?
I also limped for a few days after
as I really did ramp up.
I've not identified the place for myself
because I don't want people to know who I am
or who they are.
It's not a big city.
Okay, all right.
Look, as someone who has a hard time as soon as the ball is in his hand and literally anything i understand where you're coming from
and i wasn't good enough to ever play in anything that anybody cared about but once the ball is
there like i've had even pickup games where i'm like hey you know what maybe you're just going to
facilitate today or maybe i'm going to do some of this or work on some of the probe dribbling and, you know, get some of
that handle back. And then as soon as I have the ball, I'm like, fuck this. So I understand, I
understand where you're coming from. Now it really comes down to, I have no problem. I'll just say
right now, I have no problem with what you did whatsoever. And I would tell you to relax on
yourself. Like you shouldn't be thinking games
like days post this game did i actually do the wrong thing like yes if you were playing in a
regular run with guys all the time and you just decide to sit on the block and turn on everybody
at 7 foot 250 i'd be like you're kind of a fucking loser like what are you doing this is but again
what are you never supposed to play yeah you're never supposed to play basketball again because
you're enormous and no one can ever defend you in pickup games so that's not really
necessarily your fault but i've seen that a few times like a super super physically imposing guy
who's like beating up on dudes that aren't that good so maybe that's where it comes from but in
this case specific to the email you said that they started talking and if they started talking which
was stupid knowing that you're a weapon on the other side and you actually played you're not
just seven feet you know what i mean like you're a weapon on the other side and you actually played, you're not just seven feet. You know what I mean?
Like you're actually good enough.
If you played overseas,
uh,
I have no issue with the more dominant species reminding the less dominant
species that they exist in this case.
Yeah.
You are the big guns and it was time for the big guns.
And sometimes the team doesn't have the big guns.
You are.
And it's great because this is a story, right? It's those guys on that court will be like,
remember that one time that those, you know, those assholes were talking and all of a sudden we just
played them off the court. If it's like, oh man, if people see you and start groaning because they
know what you do, that's not the case. This is just that one time. And I'm sure there'll be
another time when some other loudmouths come in the gym and you can do that. Then they'll all
look at you and be like, you want do this but I think because like don't
definitely don't feel bad about that one time I think it seems like you know how you know to play
well with others work well with others so that's cool and it's cool to be the big guns and sometimes
we need the big guns so as long as you're you know your meter reader is good for when it's time and
when it's not I think that's great isn't this just like the definition of fuck around and find out?
Yeah, exactly.
Um, I, I think one of the coolest things in life is when somebody's fucking awesome at
something, but they don't flex it.
But when they do, it's, it's very, very seldom.
But when they do, they just remind people like, Hey man, like this is, this is real.
Like some, like some guy who's like real tough and can beat the shit out of it, but he doesn't.
But if you get in his face, he's going to kick your ass.
Like that is the, that's the way that the shit out of everybody. But he doesn't. But if you get in his face, he's going to kick your ass.
That's, to me, the way to carry yourself in life.
So yeah, if you're going around dunking on dudes all in the post left and right at these games, that's a loser move.
But every once in a while, just to show them, like, hey, man, this is what I'm capable of.
I don't have any issue with that whatsoever.
I guess my only question would be, did your teammates think it was weird? Because maybe he was getting weird vibes from his own teammates, and that's why he's self-conscious about it.
But if they were cool with it, and you only did it for that one instance, I think you played it perfectly.
No issues with this whatsoever.
I mean, you've even admitted that you play the game differently just to get involved.
Because if you just went down on the block all the time in your regular games, for you, it's not even challenging.
That's what i would think like especially somebody who played somewhere you would go well this like what's the
point of what i'm even doing so you're playing like a guard you your head is in the right place
here it's totally right and this is a huge point like you just you just gave them a little bit of
a reminder like if you guys really you really want to do this okay fine like we'll do this and even
though it wasn't a challenge whatsoever it was probably fun for your teammates to shut those other guys up
if they were, in fact, talking shit.
So I think what you did is fine.
It's great.
And they're staying on the court.
Yeah.
Winners.
Okay, thanks to Vacation.
Thanks to Vacation Kyle.
Happy birthday to your dad.
Send him a big 6-0 happy birthday
from the Alliance and everyone
here, Brian Russillo podcast
thanks to Trudy, enjoy the games
this weekend, we'll be back Monday recapping all of it
Brian Russillo podcast, Ringer
Spotify We'll be right back. Must be 21 and older and present in select states.
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