Transcript of Hour 1: Twenty To Eleven

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Du und der Moment. Alles passt.

Dein Sound, dein Drive, dein T-Rock.

Rockt.

Der neue T-Rock.

So klingt Weihnachten bei Rewe. Jetzt festlich sparen bei deinem Weihnachtseinkauf.

Diese Woche bei Rewe, Ferrero Rocher je 200 Gramm-Packung, nur 2,99 Euro.

Außerdem, Mionetto Prosecco Spumante Doc, je 0,75 Liter-Flasche, nur 5,99 Euro. Festlich This is the Dan Levatore Show with the Stugatz podcast.

Welcome to another episode of Insights to Mediocrity.

I'm Jeremy Tasche here with our expert, our superstar, Tony Kaladeut.

Good to be here, Jeremy.

What do you think about the salaries of today's NBA, given the salary cap, the collective bargaining agreement? How do you feel about the way that salaries have exploded for the max player in the NBA? I love it.

Go get your money, right? When we were growing up, it felt like guys were making all these millions of dollars, but it didn't really feel like, Oh, wow, it's this level. But now you see the SGA's of the world, you see the Jason Tatums, the Jalen Browns of the world, where they're making 280 and some change, $300 million. Okay, perfect. Selfishly. It's like, Hey, could I have hung around somewhere and made a couple of scratch here and there? I felt like I should have and could have and possibly would have if we weren't for a couple of injuries and a couple of politics. I think it was the politics more than anything than the injuries. Of course. Because I was also in this weird transition of time between I was a little too small and slow to be a big, and then I wasn't fast enough to be a guard.

Derek Williams, if you will, a tweener, a Michael Beazley of your day. That's what they say. So he was a bucket, and 10 day Tony, he's a bucket. Thank you. Of course. Do you ever feel sorry for your opponent?

No, because it's a mutual respect. They know what we're going into. We're gladiators. We're getting onto the floor. The times where I come home and my ankle hurts and my daughter's crying at 3: 00 in the morning and I have to get up and change her diaper and my ankle's hurting. That's not something that I get money for.

It's a sacrifice people don't see behind the scenes. Thank you.

Thank you. So I'm going in with the appreciation and the gratitude of the man across from me knowing that he's got work in the tomorrow, too. He's got to go home with a bad ham string and then work an office job that he hates. So I put the respect on the game for my fellow man across me saying, I know what you pay to be here. You know what I pay to be here. Let's have some fun. So I don't feel bad for my opponents ever. I respect my opponents.

Too long. The Steelers have won eight plus games, 22 straight seasons. And I legitimately think that one of the amazing Most amazing stats in sports is that since the merger, the Steelers have had three coaches. Since 1969, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had three coaches. The Phoenix Suns have had that in the last 24 months. It's just nuts when you think of the consistency of that franchise. We were talking earlier, this is partly because the Browns and bangles are so cheap, that you've been able to play in a division where you're stable and nothing Everything around you is stable, so you get to win it all the time. But are you guys numb to the fact that the Steelers in 50 years have had three coaches?

I suppose. I mean, it's not like they're any threat. They're not going to do anything. They're probably going to win the division because they're one up with three to play, and they play the Ravens final game of the season, which will probably be for the division. Steelers already beat them earlier in the year. But no one's afraid of this Steeler team. I don't know. They feel like a nothing.

Wait a minute, though. Okay. If the standard is you win the championship or you're irrelevant, yes. If second place is just the first loser, yes. But man, you are hardened and cynical if I'm giving you 22 straight seasons of eight plus wins, and I just told you, three coaches since 1969. That's crazy stability.

Tomlin and Cauer have never lost a home Monday night game.

Yeah, no, that's the streak that's crazy. 23 in a row, I think it is now.

Mine wasn't. My three coaches since 1969 is not crazy.

Yours is It's less surprising because we knew that. I mean, come on.

When's the last time someone mentioned Chuck Noel?

Yeah, that's Tana Hill's a receiver.

Chuck Noel, that's back in the Shula era.

Stay in front of the microphone, Greg.

Please, dear God. But here's the point. The standard in Pittsburgh is so high that for the first time, a couple of weeks ago, Tomlin is all of a sudden getting... You're distracting me. Tomlin- I'm just trying to put the microphone closer to your mouth. Tomlin, all of a sudden, is getting hectared. He's like, People want his job. It's been a minute since he's won a playoff game. His Teflon is wearing off.

The Dolphins haven't won one since 2000.

Give me all the Dolphins coaches. That's the anomaly, though. That's the anomaly.

Give me all the coaches the Dolphins have had just since 2000, please. Give me the names and just give me the- Interims, too? The list of all the coaches that wants the Dolphins have had.

I was a big Jim Bates guy. The Dolphins have had since 2000. Who didn't start the fire?

Sperano, Dan Campbell, Ken Cameron, Saban, Adam Gase.

You guys are awfully hard, though, if you're not impressed by stability. The noise is so loud around all of the pressure in football for you to shrug your shoulders at they always have winning seasons as if it doesn't matter?

It matters, but look where they're at right now. And Zaz is right. They're not a threat. Threat to win a Super Bowl.

They haven't been a threat for at least 10 years.

And they're recycling a 42-year-old quarterback.

Everyone in the AFC wants to play Pittsburgh in the playoff.

Yeah, that's right. Yes, I agree.

Starting in 2000, Wadstead, Jim Bates, nick Saban, Cam Cameron, Tony Sperano, Todd Bowles, Joe Philbun, Dan Campbell, Adam Gase, Brian Flores, Mike McDaniel.

Philbun.

I do think that we're a bit unreasonable if you're not impressed by what Mike Tomlin has done in Pittsburgh with an assortment of different pieces. It's not just getting to have Tom braided the entire time. I mean, he had Rothlitz burger, but it's not what Mahomes... I understand that Mahomes and braided are the standard, but you're basically saying that Baltimore also hasn't done a lot of winning. Baltimore hasn't done a lot of winning of the Championship, but represent one of the most stable franchises that I've seen across sports over the last 25 years.

They won the Super Bowl at least 10 years ago, right? It's not that long ago.

I think both these franchises have new coaches next season.

I agree.

You think that John Harbaugh is going to be out in Baltimore?

I think there's a better chance Harbaugh is out than Tomlin.

I hear things.

It'll both be mutual, though. Neither of them will be fired. It'll be they've parted ways.

You guys think Tomlin I've heard Hot Seat about. I have not heard it about Harbaugh.

Do you remember before Lamar Jackson had started?

What do you mean if he goes to the pros?

If he goes to another team, I meant. In other words, I don't think he's going to college football.

I think he's- People forget the Ravens and John Harbaugh did part ways. It was announced that they were going to separate at the end of the season, and then Lamar Jackson started playing really well. I don't remember that. Look it up. It was understood. I believe you. Yeah, it was understood. It's a Greg Cody move. John Harbaugh and the Ravens were going to part ways, and then Lamar Jackson caught lightning in a bottle, and they decided, Hey, you know what? We'll run it back.

I believe that Mike Ryan was just fully ignoring you, that you said in the pros and nobody understood what you meant, and then you doubled down with, If he doesn't go to college, which I don't think anybody's talking about.

John Harbaugh takes a job in the pros.

And Mike just ignored you. He ignored you the way you would.

He was a good teammate. There's a lot of Michigan people suggesting, Hey, hire John Harbaugh.

The point is, if John Harbaugh leaves Baltimore, there's a million... Not a million. It'll be for the NFL. Yes. There's plenty of other jobs for him. Same as Tomlin. Same as Tomlin. Right.

Those guys, they're great. If they decide to take jobs in the NFL, could get them.

But I will say this about Tomlin. Let's not overestimate him. In almost 20 years in Pittsburgh, he's won one Super Bowl. You got to win more than one if you're going to rise to that level of elite all-time coach.

He's never had a losing season in Pittsburgh.

Yeah, I get that.

Cauer only got one, right? Yeah.

Okay. For my birthday, do you have a back in my day?

No, hell no.

Wow. That was blunt.

Was it blunt?

More blunt than usual.

He's become defiant with this. He's dug his flag into, I can't do them anymore, and he's just not going to change.

I'm trying to, in a nice way, give you the idea that maybe that bit has been retired, but yet every Tuesday, you it up again. So it's getting a little frustrating, a little nerve-wracking.

A lot of change around the show. It'd be really nice to have that nostalgia trip of back in my day. Nice little thread, legacy thread.

Legacy thread.

It is Tuesday. You didn't say it was retired. You just kept saying, Well, it's not Tuesday. It's not Tuesday. Now it's Tuesday.

Yeah, that's a joke. It isn't Tuesday thing. It may make a comeback. You don't know. That's the beauty of life. You don't know.

What time is 22: 11?

Take the guesswork out of buying NFL tickets with game time. Download the game time app.

That's not a military time. 20: 00 to 11: 00 is 20: 00 to 11: 00.

No, 22: 11.

Oh, 22: 11. I thought you were saying... I didn't think you were saying 10: 11 PM.

I didn't realize the military time could get complicated.

I thought you were saying that it was 20 minutes to 11. You were saying, Mike.

I was saying if you want to watch one of these final games with Mike Tomlin, Steelers, or John Harbaugh's Ravens, you might want to download the game time app because it takes a guesswork. Out of buying NFL tickets, download that app. Redeem Code, D-A-N, after you create an account and you get $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code D-A-N for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today.

So you don't know.

22: 11. It is 10: 11 PM. Okay. Are you going to keep doing that, though? Military time? I want to know if the audience is with me on having heard it. Everyone here had heard Having my back, having my six. That's an expression all of you had heard before I was alone. No, I hadn't heard it. Where is the Heisman Trophy now? Where does the ceremony, where does it take place now?

Lincoln Plaza or something like that. It's a very impressive-looking soundstage with that huge Heisman trophy there. It looks great on television.

It's not Radio City?

I know you guys haven't watched it in 20 years, but it looks really impressive lately.

Folks, listen up. You know my holiday pattern by now. Every single year, I I tell myself, Listen, Chris, you're going to be thoughtful this year. You're going to get good gifts. You're not going to be lazy. You're not just going to get gift cards. And this year, guys, I have news. I pulled it off. No panic, no sad little card. You know what I gave? I gave an aura frame. Why is it so hard to find a personal gift these days? It's for the people I'm closest to, my parents, my wife, my in-laws, my kid, the most important people in my world. I have no idea what I'm supposed to get them as a gift. But one thing I know, people light up when they get photos. People love photos. So I loaded up my aura frame with all the moments I know they'll love, my daughter being adorable, random selfies, group pictures where none of us are looking in the same direction. I kept adding them because Aura lets you send unlimited photos and videos right from your phone anytime. And the best part, you can preload the thing before it even ships. So when it's open on Christmas morning, all the memories are already there.

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Marty Supreme, Christmas Day. Marty Supreme, Christmas Day. Marty Supreme, Christmas Day. Marty Supreme, Christmas Day. You know what I'm going to be doing on Christmas Day, and it's going to be watching Marty Supreme because I didn't even need to know that critics were calling Marty Supreme a full-throttled masterpiece and the best movie of the year. I already knew that was going to be the case. From A24 and starring Timothée Chalamet, alongside powerhouse cast Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa Ozion, and Tyler O'Koma. Marty Supreme, Christmas Day, only in theaters.

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Don Levatard.

What do we got here? I got a Magnum condom. We won't get that out.

That's shocking. Stugatz.

Here's a picture of Christopher when he was three years old.

Right next to the condom? Yeah. He has a subtle reminder. Never forget.

This is the Dan Levatard Show with the Stugats.

Chris, can you get me the sound, please, from the Anthony Joshua, Jake Paul press conference. Has Jake Paul been more respectful this time than he usually is in the talking and the sales on the way to the fight? Because this is by leaps and bounds. I mean, there is a gulf of difference between everyone he's been fighting and the fight that he is now entering because Anthony Joshua is a legitimate heavyweight. He's at something close to his prime, and they are talking up the fight to sell it because it's across the street this weekend, correct? It's this weekend across the street here, and I'm surprised that this has gotten to the date where it is they are indeed going to do this fight. It doesn't appear like there's going to be a cancelation. I'm really stunned that Jake Paul is fighting this human being because this is a legitimate heavyweight contender, champion contender. Let me hear what the back and forth is here between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul.

I've just seen in fights when I can see someone's, let's call it energy, frequency leaving their body. And that's what my goal is, is to do the same to you. You have that instinct. You can see it. When you're fighting, you can just see a small glimmer of someone that's just about to start fading. And then you just keep exploiting that, keep exploiting that, keep exploiting that until some people give up, some people get knocked out, we'll figure out. But as I said, for me, it's not just going in there and being dominating physically. I want to break him down, spiritually and mentally.

That's some deep boxing shit you just broke down.

Yeah.

It's funny because the pressure's on you. And when I win the first round and the second round, and I think it's going to be you that starts to crumble because all the pressure's on you. I'm fighting I'm free. There's no weight on my shoulder. I don't have to prove anything. You have so much to prove. The whole boxing world is like, Oh, here's two rounds or AJ sucks. The pressure's on you, brother. You know what it is? I'm free. I already took over this whole game, did everything I want. I'm playing on house money, so I think it's going to be you that starts to be like, Oh, one round, two rounds, three rounds, and then-I live up to the expectation.

That's not exactly Jake Paul trash talking.

No, that's him respecting him. Jake Paul is right, but the part he's overlooking is how difficult it is to win those first and second rounds.

He sounded like Pat Narduzzi before Notre Dame. I'm going to go ahead and lay some more on Anthony.

I mean, how big a favorite is he? What are the betting odds on this fight? Because when I tell you that I'm legitimately stunned that all of this is happening, I just thought it was going to be circus sideshow and novelty and freak fights the rest of the This started with him fighting Nate Robinson, didn't it? Isn't that where it started with him fighting a 5'9 basketball player?

According to DraftKings, Joshua minus 1,200, Jake Paul plus 700.

If he were to beat Anthony Joshua, I'd put it with the biggest upsets all time in sports. All time. I don't think that the people who have been following Jake Paul's career really have paid attention or know the mechanics of boxing, how lame all of his opponents have been compared to this opponent. I believe those numbers are too small. I believe even while saying that a heavyweight of any kind always has a puncher's chance, I believe those odds should be three and four times as large as they are. I don't understand. It must be people thinking that the thing is rigged because anyone who knows anything about boxing would tell you that this is not a fight that Jake Paul has any chance of winning, that Jake Paul comparatively is an amateur and is an amateur with far less punching power.

I think this is what Ariel alluded to a couple of weeks ago. If Jake Paul competes, everyone's just going to think it's fixed. Can Jake Paul leave this fight and people legitimately think it's legit?

I really don't understand the fixing accusations of just not wrestling.

It's not wrestling.

People go to prison. But people said that with Mike Tyson, that Mike Tyson fight. He could have knocked him out, but he chose not to.

People would You go to prison. So everyone's- They get pardoned immediately. They're just making a pact where, We won't say anything. It'll be our secret.

I'm with you. They probably aren't doing that, but a lot of the internet thinks, if Jake Paul does anything but get knocked out here, the internet narrative is going to be the fix is in.

I don't think anyone's risking going to federal prison.

When you watch the Conor McGregor-Floy Mayweather fight, it's one of the biggest pay-per-views that there's been in boxing over the last 25 years. Could you tell that Mayweather was carrying McGregor around? You will know whether or not any of this is legitimate or whether there have been whispered agreements in the first couple of rounds. If Josh was afraid of him, if he's not charging, if he's not throwing punches because he's so much bigger, stronger, and has such an incredible reach advantage over Jake Paul.

There's a difference, though, between Floyd Mayweather deciding, Okay, I'm going to carry Conor McGregor, and people getting together before a fight and deciding the way shit's going to go down.

Okay, but we had one of the biggest pay-per-views ever was a Sham because Mayweather was indeed carrying McGregor around. He's a defensive fighter. This is different, right? Because Joshua is an attacker. Joshua can also have a reach advantage over everyone he's fighting against and keep them at bay. But there will be no absence of punches thrown by Joshua unless there's an agreement.

You're He's also acting like there's just two bets to make in a boxing match. Several different ways to rig it.

We have total rounds. Over two and a half is minus 135, under two and a half plus 100. I don't hate under.

You know plus juice. People will be tuning in to watch him be knocked out, right? Yes, I hope so. But that's... Floyd Mayweather made great money for a very long time and is one of the great marketers of all time because people would tune in to watch him get knocked out, and then nobody knocked him out. The way that he fought might have been esthetically boring to some of you, but it is the point of fighting. Don't get hit. Hit and don't get hit. And that is what Floyd Mayweather mastered. He mastered the not getting hit part.

Well, Jake Paul has mastered the idea of developing this unlikable persona. At least that's the way I interpret it. I would pay big pay-per-view money to watch Jake make Paul get his come-up. What's big money? What's a pay-per-view now?

You say that- Is it $90? Is it $100?

You say that while I guarantee you won't watch it.

I might. When is it?

Friday.

I'm there.

I have a hard- It's here.

No, I'm not there.

We'll get you a credential? Should we get him a credential?

No, it's literally there.

You get lost on the way to the studio. You know what I'm doing.

You can't be a chicken if Everyone else is a chicken.

That's not the way any of that works.

I love being a chicken. No, in my view, everybody hates Jake Paul and wants him to lose.

I'm rude for him. No, I'm rude for him. Are you? Yeah.

I wouldn't mind seeing the upset. I don't hate Jake Paul. I don't like him, but I wouldn't say I hate him.

Maybe I'm alone. I'm alone on a lot of things.

Name him.

You're lonely?

Tua and this.

Where is Tony setting up for his Tony's top five? Do we know the whereabouts of Tony? I want to get to some sound here that we have of Josh Hart before we go to Tony, of Josh Hart and a reporter teaming up on Jalen Brunson. The Knicks play for their first Championship here tonight against the Spurs. Amin got it right when he said that OKC would not win the in-season tournament. You've got San Antonio playing the Knicks, and I believe over the last 25 Five years or so, the Knicks have over-celebrated winning a single game in the playoffs, winning a single round in the playoffs. This will be a point of pride for the New York Knicks to be able to beat San Antonio.

This is a funny clip from a press conference a couple of days ago. This is a reporter asking Josh Hart about how unathletic and short Jalen Brunson is right in front of Jalen Brunson.

I ask you this because I think you would answer honestly. When you factor in his height and not the most athletic, Jesus.

You've You said it. You said it. He didn't have to say it, though.

How many guys in the NBA do you think score the basketball better than he does? Probably not many. He's barely 6-foot guard. This is your fault. Not physically impressive, not athletic, but he's able to manipulate defense. Obviously, he's a big head, so he has a big brain. He's able to figure out those angles and find himself in positions to be successful.

So inch for inch, I think is probably the best one.

Those are legitimate friends. You could see in the clip at the end that they're both holding their faces hidden behind their hands to keep from laughing because Jalen Brunson the entire time sat there. You could see on his face, I'm sitting right here. You're talking about me as if I'm not right here. I'm sitting right next to you.

The World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1994. 48 teams, these giant stadiums, the whole continent turning into one massive party. I cannot wait. But actually getting tickets to any of this? Yeah, that part, brutal. That's why the GameTime app has been a total lifesaver. It gives the advantage back to us, the fans. You can track price drops in real-time. Get alerts when seats opened up. Grab tickets the second they hit the app, all back by the game time guarantee. I'm on the app looking at World Cup matches in Miami because you know I am not missing that. I'm scrolling through every section in the building, behind the goal, midfield, lower bowl, upper bowl, and the deals are good. I had great seats locked in within minutes. The experience is so simple and intuitive. Two tabs and I'm done. And the price, no surprises. Fees are included. The seat views are my favorite feature, and you'll get a full panoramic look before you buy. Take the guesswork out of buying soccer tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Dan for $20 off your first purchase.

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Hey, everyone. It's Jeremy here. Happy holidays. And I know that during the holiday season, my personal favorite part is getting to spend time with family, spend time with friends, reminiscing over years past of the holidays that we spent together before. But in my case, there have been some years I haven't been able to be around, mostly because of work. I'm lucky to live near my family. But I know for some of you, that might not be the case. And if there's distance between you, or even if it is a work conflict, you don't have to feel disconnected from your family during the holidays. And a great way to stay connected is one800flowers. Com, because they make it easy to bridge miles, to bridge distance, to bridge time, with gifts that just say, I'm thinking of you. So that the people who have always made your Christmases magical still feel close, even when they're far away. As I recently ordered the Peppermint Rose Bouquet for my wife, it was gorgeous, super vibrant, looked freshly picked, and it instantly brought this burst of holiday cheer into our household. It was really wonderful. It made her really happy.

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Is there a back in my day?

There is, actually.

What? Were you not going to tell anyone?

Wait a minute. You guys. Wait a minute. Guys, it's a Tuesday.

Stugatz. Here's your guy, Greg Coty with Back in My Day.

Shit, I hope not.

Okay, here it is. Sorry. Adultry.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Wait a minute.

We are back.

We are waiting for this one.

This is the Dan Levatard show with the Stugats.

The Knicks have their most beloved team since when? Because they didn't love the Carmelo Anthony team. This is a The number of people I've heard say with Knicks' fandom that they don't want to trade for Giannis because they fall in love with this team. They shouldn't. And they want this team to win the Championship when this team can't win the championship.

Yeah, I think probably the last team that went to the finals in '99. Sprewell, Marcus Camby, Larry Johnson. They definitely love those teams.

But wait a minute. Okay, look. Look at what you said. Look at the names you just said. They may have loved that team. Nobody else loved that team. Latrell Sprewell and Larry Johnson. This team, a lot of people love because their best player is also the smallest player on the court every time he steps out there.

Yeah, they have a really lovable group. I mean, Zaz, you're talking about a time before the Dolphins won their last playoff game. That's how far back you have to go for a lovable Knicks team. But Dan, I think you're right. Those Knicks fans, management should follow them. They should not offer anything for Giannis. Definitely. Make it. That's Chris just cutting you off, Jamie.

He didn't want to listen anymore.

You could have played Stop Talking.

I thought he was wrapping up. I didn't mean that one mean, honestly. Usually, I do.

Not this time.

Where is Tony? Where can we find Tony? I need video of Tony. Somebody show me video, please, of Tony, so I'm not just listening to him. Look at that. Oh, my God. The country at large is so jealous. Look at that. It's winter in South Florida. Tony's on the water, and it's 74 degrees.

That is not a green screen.

That is a real green, lovely water. I'm assuming there's not a sewage alert like there usually is around this time.

No sewage alert, Dano. The water I would actually characterize as emerald. I wouldn't say green. I would say emerald, a beautiful emerald cold water. We've got, obviously, the Causeway going over here. We're actually on the bridge that goes to the port where you leave for the cruises. We've got Bayside and the pier over here with boats and stuff. So yeah, this is not a green screen. This is the real deal. And if you want me to be really honest, guys, and this is just between me and you, and maybe you guys feel it, too, it's cold here in Miami today. It may be like '69, '70, '71, but there is a breeze, so I am a little bit cold. Because I can feel it. So I don't know if you guys feel it from over there. But I feel a little cold here.

Yeah, it's just like in Chicago off of the lake there where it's negative 20 degrees. Off the lake, yeah. Yeah, just like that. Do you have any OLIs on your NFL weekend observation?

First, Dan, let me jump in and tell you, Tony's top five is presented by Smirnov, the official Vodka sponsor of the National Football League, Smirnoff. Please drink responsibly. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Vaca, 40% alcohol by volume.

Let's go, Tony. What do you got?

A couple of O-L-I's will start first. 49ers, Frisky? A question mark? 49ers? Anybody?

Can I sell you on the 49ers, please? Somebody? Aren't they always frisky? Nobody's talking about the 49ers. Nobody.

Nobody's talking about them. Just Keep an eye on him. All right, another Olai here. Have you seen Trey McBride stats this season without Kyler Murray? Yeah. On Sunday, he had 12 catches for 134 yards and 2 touch downs, giving him 105 catches for the season, 1,071 yards, and 10 touch downs. He's the first tight end in NFL history with 100 plus catches, 1,000 plus yards, and 10 plus touch downs through 14 games. How many games has Kyler Murray played this year? Not that many. I'm just going to keep it real. All right. And just going to leave this one here. Duval County, stand up 10 and 4. The Jags are alive. Cats, baby.

Was that number 5 or was that an O-L-I?

No, that's number 5. That's Number 5, Duval County, stand up 10 and 4. Keep an eye on them, baby. We are rolling. 904, stand up. Number 4. The Bill said, not so fast, my friend. The pats thought they had it in the bag. They thought it was over. Then the unicorn. What do you call him, Dan? A unicorn, a centaur of some sort. What is Josh Allen?

What do you call him? Yeah, he's a centaur. He's got the body of a horse and the upper body of Josh Allen.

Right, exactly. So he said, not so fast, my friends. We'll keep the division over on this side in Western New York. Number three. I want you guys to put a pin in this matchup for a potential Super Bowl, Rams, Broncos. Just put a little pin in that. We'll go to it later on this season. I like those two teams that come out of their respective conferences. Put a pin in that.

Is that a good Super Bowl? Do you guys want to see the Broncos in the Super Bowl? Does anybody want to see Bo Nicks in the Super Bowl?

You hate on Bo Nicks. I mean, he played really well against the packers. A lot of wins for that guy. They're beating good teams. I understand why, because he's looked really bad at times, but you are not high on them.

I asked you a question, though. Do you guys want to see Denver in the Super Bowl?

No, I want to see the Bills. It's the only team I want to see.

The Centaur, Josh Allen.

I'd rather see the Chargers.

Half horse, half man. That guy knows that a winnie, by the way.

If the Broncos went out, Bo Nicks will have the most wins for a quarterback through their first two seasons ever. Ever. He's presently tied with Big Ben, Andrew luck, and Dak Prescott for the second- I saw Sam Darnold win 14 games for Minnesota. He's going to win a lot of games for Seattle, too. And you like them to potentially go to the Super Bowl.

Go ahead, Tone.

Number two, Philip Rivers turning back the clock on his five-year NFL health care benefits. This turning back the clock would have been 300 yards and a couple of scores. This is turning back the clock on his five-year NFL health care benefits.

He's got a lot of kids. We're on to you, Phillip. Yeah. Number one. We're on to you.

Number one, Dan, in the biggest news of the NFL weekend and basically the NFL season, Patrick Mahomes tears his ACL. All right, Dylan Raiola. I'm Sorry, buddy. You know what you got to do. That's the break, buddy. What does he got to do? You want to be-He's got to tear his ACL. You want to cosplay as Patrick Mahomes? You got to tear your ACL. Nothing I can do about it. You got to do it. Sorry.

Tony, thank you. It looks lovely out there. I'm sure that everyone that's watching this outside of Florida is jealous of what it is that you have surrounding you there. Thank you, sir.

Got to put on a hoodie out here.

Yeah, little nippie. We didn't talk at all about the Micah Parsons' injury yesterday because it was the second of the most important injuries that happened over the weekend. Obviously, all things Mahomes engulf everything there. But the packers are super fraudy this year. They It seemed like they're close, but they don't have the skill position help that Jordan Love needs. And Michael Parsons was a piece that was brought in in in order to win them the Championship this year. It was a piece away, and they are not the same defense, same team, or same pass rush, obviously. I guess it's an obvious thing to say because I felt like you were laughing that Tony's top five has a lot of obvious stuff in it. That's the bit. But Micah Parsons, it goes without saying Micah Parsons is obviously important to their pass rush, but numerically and empirically, they become a very pedestrian pass rush when it's not him doing the pass rush.

Absolutely. And everyone is talking about New England Buffalo. But for me, Green Bay and Denver was the sneaky game of the week because those are two teams that a lot is expected from, but they both have question marks. And Denver winning that game was indicative of that. Without Micah Parsons, their defense is not ordinary, but much less good. I don't think Green Bay is a team you think about anymore for the Super Bowl.

I feel like Detroit is so much better than Green Bay. I think so, too. Yet they're two games behind them. They're a really long shot to catch them. I feel like they're so much better than the backers.

They've been really hurt, though. Detroit's secondary can be scored on because of how hurt they are in the secondary. I find some of the analysis around football a bit frustrating for a couple reasons. One, the schedule is not often taken into account when doing measurements on how good or how bad someone is. But also, whatever your assessments were in week 4 are rendered moot by week 13 just because there are so many people who are damaged. It's damn near impossible for anybody to go through a season and be healthy. And when you look at what happened to the Detroit Lions in some of their games this year where they played poorly, they're really beat up. Their offensive line and their secondaries are hurt in a way that they're playing random people out there, people who shouldn't be on a football field.

As someone that just likes watching the NFL, don't have a team, I was so looking forward to the NFC playoffs in particular. Micah Parsons is super fun to watch. I love the way that Green Bay uses him. He's moved all across the line. He was an all-in move, and it was an all-in move that was paying dividends. You looked at Green Bay, it was Toyotathon, and you had their guys coming Jaden Reid and Christian Watson, they were starting to look a certain way, and it feels like it nukes their championship odds and makes some of those games a little less interesting.

Okay, you saw the game last night. You saw what limited quarterback were doing in terms of accentuating tight ends. Aaron Rodgers was throwing to three of them. You just mentioned Trey McBride as well. The best help that Jordan Love had was Tucker Kraft. That was an And after that, it would have been Josh Jacobs.

When these people get- He had Dobbs ascending, but their two top targets were injured, Watson and Reid.

When these people end up getting hurt, and Watson wasn't... Watson's coming back, but Watson is like a third receiver.

Watson came back, looked great from that knee injury, avoided a major injury. I know he went down, but he seems to be good to go this week.

You can't keep having these kinds of people injured. When Greg Cody corrected himself and said, They're not an ordinary defense without without Micah Parsons. Yeah, they are. They're an ordinary defense that no one actually fears because they can't get the pass rush without Micah Parsons that they can with Micah Parsons. They traded for him as a last piece on, We're going to win the Super Bowl, and what can you do about Jacobs and Tucker Kraft being out? It's going to limit your offense in a way that makes you lose to Carolina and Cleveland because you've got a great quarterback. We know that that's a great quarterback, but you can't keep having guys hurt that are important and not see the quarterback play slip.

I would argue that even without Micah Parsons, Green Bay is a better defense than, for example, Detroit. That's all.

Healthy Detroit? Maybe. I just know that When we were early in the season and everyone was healthy, Detroit's the only team I've seen that could combat what Philadelphia was doing on the line of scrimmage, both offensive line and defensive line.

I know it looks like Kansas City is missing the Baltimore might miss the playoffs. To me, the one team that's going to be annoying that would miss the playoffs that I would have wanted to see is Detroit. That's the most interesting team to me each of these seeds. I like Detroit being in the playoffs.

I get the storyline.

Yeah, I like their story.

You didn't want to see Mahomes try to do it on the road?

No, I don't care.

It's an unfulfilling way for that whole thing to end. I'd like to have seen Josh Allen try to smite them. I'd like to see a team take them a division team, and this is not satisfying.

When I give you guys these numbers heading into week 15, 320 players have suffered injuries severe enough to cost them multiple games. That means that the average football team, you guys tell me as I put this in front of you, okay, what your assessments would be week 4 versus week 14. The average football team is losing 10 players, 10 players to severe injuries. That's just your average football team. If I had to guess, Detroit's got more of that because the drop off from Detroit, you could say, if you want to say it's Ben Johnson, I won't argue with you that much, but their secondary is ravaged. They've got a bunch of people out there playing when they're on their third or fourth guy in the secondary, and you're like, That's not a person who should be on an NFL field.

Not just that. The drop off with Laporta and Ross Dwelly is cavernous.

What do you guys do with the analysis is not mattering at all when you're making the analysis, assuming a team is healthy, and then it's unhealthy, and we're not factoring in the unhealthy on Dan Campbell. What we're doing is, Oh, look at Ben Johnson. Chicago's winning because they got 29 takeaways. They've got 29 takeaways, which I will continue to say is not recreatable. And the reason I say it's not recreatable, go look at what Denver did last year with turnovers, how good they were in turnovers, and bad they are this year, even though they've got pass rush. They've got the best pass rush in the league, and they're not good somehow at turnovers this year as they were last year.

But they're better. Their defense is better even without forcing those turnovers because they can stifle an offense in a way that they don't need those turnovers. They can win the turnover battle because Bo Nicks is not turning over the ball. In terms of yards per attempt, not near the top echelon in terms of starters. He's only at six and a and a half yards per attempt. But that's because Sean Payton has designed this offense to prevent turnovers because their defense can get after the quarterback in a way that's insane. Nextgen stats had it. Broncos pressure Jordan Love on 52. 2% of his dropbacks in week 15. The highest pressure rate he's ever faced in any game of his career. They have a 40. 5 pressure rate this season.

That's crazy. That's a historic level. I understand why people doubt Bo Nicks. I've seen it. There are games like the Rater game where you're like, Does this guy suck? But then you look at what he's done over the last two years, and that would be somebody that we'd literally be catching our breath in terms of what an incredible start to a career. If you look at his numbers outside of yards per attempt, which isn't that far off, by the way, he's got Mahomes' numbers, and yet everyone is doubting this guy.

I think part of that, though, is what Jeremy said, the defense is so good. If you told me it was going to be a Denver, Seattle Super Bowl, TV might hate that, America might hate that. It would be a great Super Bowl because those two defenses are elite. A lot of great defense in the NFL this season, which never gets enough attention because it's all about the quarterback. But can you imagine a Denver-Seattle?

I I don't want to imagine.

I do. I think it would be a great Super Bowl.

It's going to be a great challenge to those defensive backs in Seattle because even with that yards per attempt being low, most touch downs on 20 plus yard throws since 2024, it's Bo Nicks with 18 of them. I don't know why we're not complimenting this guy more. He's a winner. He could throw the ball. He could run. He's all the things Dan says, Drake may is.

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