Latest / The Ben Maller Show / Ben Maller Show Best of the Week
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the best of the Ben Maller
- 0:02Speaker 1: Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
- 0:06Speaker 1: from 2 to 6 Eastern, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.
- 0:09Speaker 1: Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. And to find your local
- 0:13Speaker 1: station for the Ben Maller Show at foxsportsradio.com. You can
- 0:17Speaker 1: find it there or stream us live every night on
- 0:20Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
- 0:23Speaker 2: This is the best of the Ben Maller Show on
- 0:26Speaker 2: Fox Sports Radio.
- 0:32Speaker 1: Catch scratch fever there in Charlotte. Carolina does not normally
- 0:37Speaker 1: get to play Sunday night games. That's reserved for the
- 0:39Speaker 1: good teams. Somebody clearly effed up at the NFL, putting
- 0:42Speaker 1: the Carolina Panthers on the big stage there, the big
- 0:46Speaker 1: primetime stage. And so we head off to the Hornets
- 0:49Speaker 1: nest there, the queen city. And that was where the
- 0:53Speaker 1: NFL wrapped up the Sunday portion of the card under
- 0:57Speaker 1: the bright lights. We made an editorial decision. that the
- 1:02Speaker 1: NFL is king over divisional round MLB playoff action. We
- 1:07Speaker 1: know what keeps the lights on, and there are many
- 1:09Speaker 1: lights in this building I'm in right now, in this studio.
- 1:12Speaker 1: That I mean, so we have to keep those lights
- 1:13Speaker 1: powered and fueled. So we'll start with the NFL. Jared
- 1:18Speaker 1: Goff's Lions in a catfight against Bryce Young and the
- 1:22Speaker 1: Panthers in North Carolina. You had Tirico and Collinsworth there
- 1:27Speaker 1: on NBC yapping about this game. Were you watching? Were
- 1:31Speaker 1: you distracted? by the Atlanta Braves getting the edge on
- 1:36Speaker 1: the Dodgers, even though the series is tied up. The
- 1:38Speaker 1: advantage goes to Atlanta. The series does not start until
- 1:42Speaker 1: the road team wins. Well, the Braves have won a
- 1:45Speaker 1: road game. But this is about football, where Bryce Young,
- 1:48Speaker 1: Bryce Young completing 29 of 41 passes for 329 yards,
- 1:53Speaker 1: a couple of touchdowns. The Tet McMillan, and he had
- 1:57Speaker 1: 14 catches for 192 yards. I'm told that's good.
- 1:59Speaker 2: Carolina.
- 2:03Speaker 1: You looked at the injury report. We handicapped the game.
- 2:05Speaker 1: You look at the offensive line, guys out. You look
- 2:07Speaker 1: at players all over the place injured. And yet it
- 2:10Speaker 1: didn't matter. That's why they play the games. It's not
- 2:14Speaker 1: always the healthier team that wins. It's obviously the team
- 2:17Speaker 1: that plays better. And the Lions, we'll get to them
- 2:19Speaker 1: in a sec. But Carolina, despite all the injuries, and
- 2:23Speaker 1: they were in comfortable control of this game as Chuba
- 2:29Speaker 1: Hubbard ran 20 times, 122 yards, a season-high It's week
- 2:33Speaker 1: four worth the quarter mark, roughly, of the NFL season.
- 2:37Speaker 1: A couple of touchdowns for Chuba Hubbard as Carolina gets
- 2:41Speaker 1: back to. 500. They're 2-2. They scored six straight possessions.
- 2:46Speaker 1: On six straight possessions, they scored. After punting on the
- 2:51Speaker 1: opening drive, it was, all right, score, score, score, score, score, score.
- 2:55Speaker 1: That's how that went. All right, so the question, it's
- 2:58Speaker 1: a rather obvious question, the better story in the losing
- 3:00Speaker 1: locker room, so we'll jump off at that point. So
- 3:02Speaker 1: here's the question. Where should Lions coach Dan Campbell's concern
- 3:08Speaker 1: level be using the Malheur Panic-O-Meter? One to ten on
- 3:14Speaker 1: the Malheur Panic-O-Meter. Where should Dan Campbell be? So I've
- 3:17Speaker 1: got the streets of Pamplona. We've got the University of
- 3:21Speaker 1: Phoenix and RoboCop. And we will combine all of these
- 3:26Speaker 1: things together, and we will remind you that we run
- 3:29Speaker 1: a tight ship, a very tight ship here. So, A,
- 3:34Speaker 1: the Malheur Panic-O-Meter, which is never wrong. The Malheur Panic-O-Meter
- 3:40Speaker 1: is never wrong about these things. On a scale of
- 3:42Speaker 1: 1 to 10, we are at a solid 8. A snowman.
- 3:45Speaker 1: A solid 8. for the Detroit Lions, and here's why.
- 3:50Speaker 1: Not only are they at an eight, somebody's actually smashed
- 3:53Speaker 1: the glass on top of the Maller Panic-O-Meter, which is
- 3:57Speaker 1: not a good sign. Not a good sign there at all.
- 3:59Speaker 1: So Dan Campbell's squad is essentially playing bad team bingo. Now,
- 4:04Speaker 1: what is bad team bingo in the NFL? You've never played?
- 4:08Speaker 1: They have it every weekend at the church.
- 4:09Speaker 2: No?
- 4:10Speaker 1: All right, so bad team bingo. Can't tackle. Check. Cannot
- 4:14Speaker 1: block very effectively. Check, check. Dumb penalties. Check, check, check.
- 4:19Speaker 1: Special teams disasters. I don't know. Missing an extra point
- 4:23Speaker 1: or two? Why not? What the hell? Bingo! There you go.
- 4:28Speaker 1: That's the Detroit Lions. And they are returning to the
- 4:32Speaker 1: Lions I remember back in my youth. The Detroit Lions,
- 4:37Speaker 1: a team we only saw on Thanksgiving. That is where
- 4:40Speaker 1: this Lions team is headed. Dan Campbell had a lot
- 4:43Speaker 1: of success early on. They were in the Final Four,
- 4:47Speaker 1: the Lions. And now you look at where this team
- 4:49Speaker 1: is and where they're headed. It's a hot mess. It
- 4:52Speaker 1: is a hot mess. They helped. The Detroit Lions helped
- 4:55Speaker 1: Bryce Young look like he was back in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, playing,
- 5:01Speaker 1: I don't know, Michigan directional institution for the homecoming game.
- 5:07Speaker 1: It was basically seven on seven. It was like summer
- 5:10Speaker 1: camp for Bryce Young against the Detroit Lions secondary. Now,
- 5:14Speaker 1: on a positive note, Because I'm not just all negative
- 5:17Speaker 1: talk show guy. I will be positive. On a positive note,
- 5:21Speaker 1: and I'll be Benny Brightside here, Detroit's tackling technique has
- 5:25Speaker 1: them now ready to run around the streets of Pamplona.
- 5:29Speaker 1: The running of the Bulls. Ole! Ole!
- 5:31Speaker 3: Ole!
- 5:32Speaker 1: Ole! Matadors! Matadors! Yes. And after you, sir. Come on, sir.
- 5:37Speaker 1: After you, please. Tackling. You're supposed to tackle? What are
- 5:42Speaker 1: you talking about, tackle? I don't know, tackling in football?
- 5:45Speaker 1: Why would you tackle? Now, the good news, if there
- 5:50Speaker 1: is any, and there's really not much, Dan Campbell's defense,
- 5:53Speaker 1: by the way, I'm pretty sure they would not be
- 5:56Speaker 1: able to tackle a breakfast burrito if you put handles
- 5:58Speaker 1: on the breakfast burrito. It's ridiculous. And we've seen plenty
- 6:02Speaker 1: of bad defenses. I'm not going to sit here and say, well,
- 6:04Speaker 1: the Lions are the worst defense we've ever seen. I'm
- 6:06Speaker 1: not going to say that. I'm not, but three games in,
- 6:09Speaker 1: three out of the four games, not all four, three
- 6:11Speaker 1: out of the four, the Lions have given up 440
- 6:14Speaker 1: or more yards of offense to the opposition. That is
- 6:18Speaker 1: not an anomaly. At this point, we're now four games
- 6:21Speaker 1: into the season. That's not an anomaly. That is your
- 6:24Speaker 1: identity is what that is at this particular point for
- 6:27Speaker 1: the Lions, giving up 32 points per game. Now, I
- 6:30Speaker 1: didn't play in the NFL. I think that blows. There
- 6:34Speaker 1: she blows. Now, that means that Jared Goff, who at
- 6:37Speaker 1: times looks like he's– completely clueless out there, but Jared
- 6:42Speaker 1: Goff has to play like vintage Dan Marino from like
- 6:46Speaker 1: 1987 or something like that just to keep the lights on. Now,
- 6:50Speaker 1: the good news is up next is Arizona. The bad
- 6:53Speaker 1: news is the way the Lions secondary is playing, they
- 6:56Speaker 1: will turn Jacoby Browning You know, the way they're playing
- 7:02Speaker 1: defense right now. My God. All right. Now to the
- 7:05Speaker 1: other side, to the Carolina side of things, the Panthers
- 7:07Speaker 1: into the wind column here. So they're back to 500,
- 7:10Speaker 1: two and two and the overreaction machine. We have cranked
- 7:15Speaker 1: up the lever on the overreaction machine. The question are
- 7:20Speaker 1: Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers for real. Is this legit?
- 7:25Speaker 4: Yeah.
- 7:26Speaker 2: Okay.
- 7:26Speaker 1: Calm down.
- 7:27Speaker 3: Calm.
- 7:27Speaker 1: Take a breath. Now, I will point out that the
- 7:30Speaker 1: reason people think this, and the only reason you should
- 7:33Speaker 1: consider the Carolina Panthers legit, is Remax Realtors. Location, location, location.
- 7:42Speaker 1: You know what I mean? You feel me on that? Yes.
- 7:44Speaker 1: NFC South. Carolina is a contender because of geography, not
- 7:50Speaker 1: because of the talent of the roster, the coaching, or
- 7:53Speaker 1: anything else. It's all because of the geography. And location, location, location, location.
- 8:00Speaker 1: So the NFC South, we're pretty sure, is why they
- 8:04Speaker 1: invented the phrase, somebody has to win it. Somebody, if
- 8:09Speaker 1: the Saints, they're no good. Atlanta's not really that good. Carolina,
- 8:14Speaker 1: you go down the whole division. It's all, Tampa, please,
- 8:17Speaker 1: come on. Not good. Not good. It's the NFL's participation
- 8:22Speaker 1: trophy district. It has a very liberal admission standard. It's
- 8:26Speaker 1: kind of like saying, hey, I'm going to college. Where
- 8:28Speaker 1: are you going? I'm going to the University of Phoenix. Oh,
- 8:30Speaker 1: that's great. Yeah, everyone gets in. Just cut a check.
- 8:34Speaker 1: You're in. There's a bunch of schools like that. I'm
- 8:36Speaker 1: just using them as an example. But Carolina is not
- 8:39Speaker 1: a heavyweight contender. They're certainly not that. And you know
- 8:43Speaker 1: what they are? They're like the guy that gets into
- 8:46Speaker 1: the nightclub because they know the bouncer. So they let
- 8:50Speaker 1: him in. But you really shouldn't be allowed in. You know,
- 8:51Speaker 1: you're just like a slob. You're bedraggled. You smell. You
- 8:54Speaker 1: shouldn't be allowed in there. But you knew a guy.
- 8:57Speaker 1: And it's not what you know. It's who you know.
- 8:59Speaker 1: You knew a guy. And Bryce Young, don't get me
- 9:01Speaker 1: started on Bryce Young. Listen, Bryce, is he as bad
- 9:03Speaker 1: as he was? Hell no. Of course not. But Bryce
- 9:07Speaker 1: Young went from somebody called the warranty department to, okay,
- 9:12Speaker 1: maybe we need to just keep the receipt. We'll put
- 9:15Speaker 1: it away in our files. But that's where we are.
- 9:18Speaker 1: So you don't want to get too intoxicated on a
- 9:23Speaker 1: dominating performance against the Detroit football team. You don't want
- 9:27Speaker 1: to do that. The Lions defense... At this point, it's
- 9:32Speaker 1: like going to Costco on a Saturday. They're the Costco
- 9:35Speaker 1: sample lady. You get a sample. You get a sample.
- 9:38Speaker 1: You get a sample. Everyone gets a sample, right? Everybody
- 9:41Speaker 1: gets a little something from the Costco, that babushka at
- 9:44Speaker 1: Costco that gives out the samples. Come on now. And
- 9:46Speaker 1: Carolina gave up. Here's why they're total. They gave up
- 9:50Speaker 1: 59 points to the Bears in week one. They also
- 9:53Speaker 1: lost to Cleveland. It's hard to take you seriously when
- 9:56Speaker 1: you've done those two things. Am I wrong? I don't
- 9:59Speaker 1: believe I. am. I don't believe I am there. The
- 10:01Speaker 1: resume has more mood swings than a daytime soap opera.
- 10:06Speaker 1: Not that there's many of those left either. But better
- 10:09Speaker 1: than awful does not automatically mean great. Now, the last one.
- 10:13Speaker 1: We're going to move away from the Sunday night game.
- 10:15Speaker 1: We have another major injury. As I was discussing the
- 10:18Speaker 1: bowels of Fox Sports Radio, down the hall, around the
- 10:21Speaker 1: corner where there's a loud thumping sound, as there's some
- 10:25Speaker 1: batteries that are being cooled down in the very back
- 10:28Speaker 1: of the building here. And that's where I go to
- 10:30Speaker 1: kind of hang out in the back. And DeSegar came in.
- 10:33Speaker 1: He's long gone. He's probably sleeping by now. Anyway, DeSegar came.
- 10:36Speaker 1: We were talking about how all these coaches, out of
- 10:38Speaker 1: an abundance of caution— protected their quarterbacks and their star
- 10:42Speaker 1: players during those exhibition games. They didn't want them to
- 10:45Speaker 1: get hurt. No, no, no, no, no. How's that working out? Snap, crackle, pop.
- 10:50Speaker 1: The official breakfast cereal. Rice Krispies of the NFL. It
- 10:55Speaker 1: has happened again. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson down for the count. O.M.J.
- 11:01Speaker 1: injured his ankle late in the first half. Baltimore had
- 11:05Speaker 1: a cupcake game with the Tennessee Titans and Lamar did
- 11:10Speaker 1: not return in the second half. Jackson was hurt when
- 11:13Speaker 1: someone named Jermaine Johnson apparently plays football for the Tennessee Titans.
- 11:17Speaker 1: Defensive end landed on the leg of Lamar Jackson. Oh,
- 11:22Speaker 1: my leg! Right there during a sack. Lamar finished with
- 11:29Speaker 1: 222 yards passing and two touchdowns. That was all in
- 11:31Speaker 1: the first half. As Baltimore had a 17-point lead, then
- 11:37Speaker 1: Tennessee Titans got a backdoor cover at the end, partially
- 11:42Speaker 1: because of the fact that the quarterback change took place there.
- 11:46Speaker 1: Backup Tyler Huntley came in, and while he completed eight
- 11:50Speaker 1: of nine passes, the object of the game is to score,
- 11:53Speaker 1: and the Baltimore football team scored as many points after
- 11:56Speaker 1: halftime as UNI scored. They got Bupkis, the squad douche,
- 12:02Speaker 1: in the second half of that game. Coach Jesse Minter
- 12:04Speaker 1: said the Ravens didn't know enough about the injury. His
- 12:09Speaker 1: nose was growing while he said that. Jackson later was
- 12:12Speaker 1: seen leaving the stadium in a booty. A walking boot
- 12:18Speaker 1: for Lamar Jackson. And he out. See you later there. Bye-bye.
- 12:24Speaker 1: The NFL media. This is my favorite part of the story.
- 12:26Speaker 1: So the NFL media labeled this a day-to-day injury. So
- 12:31Speaker 1: he missed the entire second half. Lamar Jackson was seen
- 12:34Speaker 1: leaving in a bootie. And it's just a day-to-day thing.
- 12:38Speaker 1: That's it. Okay. So the question, does anyone in the room,
- 12:41Speaker 1: even you in the back of the room, does anyone
- 12:44Speaker 1: in the room here actually believe that Ravens quarterback Lamar
- 12:48Speaker 1: Jackson is day-to-day?
- 12:50Speaker 2: No.
- 12:53Speaker 1: You'd have to be a special kind of dummy to
- 12:55Speaker 1: think that. We consulted with Dr. Maller to get to
- 12:59Speaker 1: the bottom of this. Now, not a real doctor, just
- 13:01Speaker 1: plays one on the radio. And Lamar Jackson has been
- 13:04Speaker 1: diagnosed with a grade number one case of NFL injury
- 13:09Speaker 1: report disease. baloney it's a bunch of baloney that's it
- 13:14Speaker 1: now the nfl media loves day-to-day because it sounds somewhat
- 13:20Speaker 1: informative while telling you absolutely nothing Day to day. It's
- 13:26Speaker 1: the league code for we have no idea, and even
- 13:29Speaker 1: if we do know, we're not telling you. So go
- 13:33Speaker 1: pound sand, loser. That's essentially what they're saying. So you
- 13:37Speaker 1: can call it day to day if you want, but
- 13:39Speaker 1: you can also call a root canal a vigorous teeth
- 13:45Speaker 1: cleaning technique. You can call it that as well. So
- 13:48Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson left the stadium dressed like RoboCop from the
- 13:53Speaker 1: ankle down anyway, at least from the ankle down. And
- 13:56Speaker 1: the Ravens, of course, are like, well, we don't really know.
- 13:59Speaker 1: It's all precautionary. But the boot, where's the boot? The
- 14:04Speaker 1: boot is not a fashion accessory for Lamar Jackson. So
- 14:08Speaker 1: if Lamar's ankle is fine. Why is he preparing for
- 14:12Speaker 1: combat duty? I don't believe the Ravens are a military operation,
- 14:16Speaker 1: so I don't know about that. Now, we believe, though, Dr. Chow.
- 14:20Speaker 1: When in doubt, go with Dr. Chow. The former Charger
- 14:24Speaker 1: doctor back in the day who's now a social media doctor.
- 14:27Speaker 1: Can you imagine going to medical school and becoming a
- 14:30Speaker 1: social media doctor? What a world. What a world. I
- 14:34Speaker 1: love all the doctors. There's a lot of doctors on there.
- 14:36Speaker 1: Nobody pays attention. They make a ton of money, these doctors.
- 14:40Speaker 1: They're loaded. And yet, they're not famous. There's very few
- 14:44Speaker 1: doctors that are famous. And these doctors, these online doctors,
- 14:48Speaker 1: they want to get a little cred, so they report
- 14:50Speaker 1: injury status. They actually practice medicine on X patients. What
- 14:56Speaker 1: used to be called Twitter there, doing their thing. It's crazy. Anyway,
- 14:58Speaker 1: so Dr. Chow is pretty good about this stuff. He
- 15:01Speaker 1: watched the video. He said, based on video review, Lamar
- 15:03Speaker 1: Jackson suffered a mild high ankle eversion sprain. Essentially a
- 15:10Speaker 1: grade one high ankle sprain. That means he'll likely be
- 15:13Speaker 1: out for three weeks. Two to three weeks, most likely there,
- 15:18Speaker 1: unless they give him the good stuff. He goes down
- 15:21Speaker 1: to the Candyman, gets the good stuff there. They inject
- 15:24Speaker 1: him with a giant needle out of a horror movie
- 15:27Speaker 1: from the 1960s, and then you're good.
- 15:30Speaker 2: Be sure to catch live editions of the Ben Maller
- 15:32Speaker 2: Show weekdays at 2 a.m. Eastern, 11 p.m. Pacific on
- 15:36Speaker 2: Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
- 15:39Speaker 1: Hey, it's Covino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio. Now,
- 15:42Speaker 1: in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5 to
- 15:44Speaker 1: 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,
- 15:48Speaker 1: we're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for
- 15:51Speaker 1: the show. Yup, that's right. You can now watch Covino &
- 15:54Speaker 1: Rich live on YouTube every day. All you gotta do,
- 15:57Speaker 1: search Covino & Rich FSR on YouTube. Again, go to YouTube,
- 16:01Speaker 1: search Covino & Rich FSR. Check us out on YouTube, subscribe,
- 16:06Speaker 1: hit that thumbs up icon, and comment away. We are
- 16:09Speaker 1: back at it here. All is going well. We had
- 16:12Speaker 1: baseball to begin the festivities. Now we move over to
- 16:17Speaker 1: our old friend, the National Football League. There was just
- 16:21Speaker 1: one game left. An Ivan game!
- 16:23Speaker 4: I like football.
- 16:24Speaker 1: We love it. What is that, Anthony? What's that? I
- 16:27Speaker 1: like football.
- 16:27Speaker 2: You do?
- 16:27Speaker 1: Okay, we're going to talk football. Calm down. See, that's
- 16:30Speaker 1: the kind of drop we need more of. I love that.
- 16:32Speaker 1: We can have so much fun with that. Anthony, what
- 16:35Speaker 1: should we talk about? I like football. Okay, we'll talk
- 16:37Speaker 1: about football, and why not? So our lead this hour
- 16:40Speaker 1: is from the bayou where somewhere Ben Jamin is jamming
- 16:45Speaker 1: down some jambalaya, and he went to that pig roast
- 16:48Speaker 1: in the morning, and then in the nighttime hours, the
- 16:51Speaker 1: hometown team, well, they were roasted like a pig. Yes,
- 16:56Speaker 1: NFC South, slobber knocker, slobber knocker on the shores of
- 17:00Speaker 1: the mighty Mississippi River. You had the Fox refugees, Joe
- 17:05Speaker 1: Buck and Troy Aikman. Lame duck Troy Aikman right there
- 17:08Speaker 1: on ABC. So I don't know if you watched the
- 17:11Speaker 1: game or not. Perhaps not. But John Robinson doing it again.
- 17:15Speaker 1: Getting her done. 145 yards and not one but two touchdowns.
- 17:22Speaker 1: And he started the festivities, the lid lifter, a 59-yard
- 17:27Speaker 1: touchdown run. Rumbling and stumbling. He was not tackled by
- 17:31Speaker 1: the turf monster. And that was on Atlanta's third play
- 17:35Speaker 1: from scrimmage. The Falcons get it done. They give the
- 17:39Speaker 1: Saints an absolute thumping in the dome. And it was
- 17:44Speaker 1: supposed to be a night of celebration. This is a
- 17:47Speaker 1: body blow, body blow to those of you that think
- 17:50Speaker 1: all of this is fixed. It's all scripted. If it
- 17:53Speaker 1: was scripted, the Saints would have won the game. This
- 17:55Speaker 1: was not part of the happy-go-lucky script. Nonetheless, that's what happened.
- 18:01Speaker 1: So this was supposed to be a night of celebration
- 18:04Speaker 1: to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Superdome reopening, which
- 18:10Speaker 1: is wild. It's been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina knocked
- 18:14Speaker 1: out the dome and put New Orleans underwater all those
- 18:17Speaker 1: years ago. And so they had a big celebration. The
- 18:21Speaker 1: honoring of Mr. Gleason was there and Drew Brees and
- 18:25Speaker 1: all these old Saints legends from years gone by were
- 18:28Speaker 1: in the house. The better story is in the losing
- 18:31Speaker 1: locker room. So that would be the home team, the
- 18:34Speaker 1: team from Louisiana. So good jumping off point. Let us
- 18:38Speaker 1: discuss the question. How does New Orleans come out that
- 18:44Speaker 1: flat on this particular night? It's one thing to... lose
- 18:50Speaker 1: late and don't play well down the stretch they got
- 18:52Speaker 1: their doors blown off the hometown team there with the
- 18:56Speaker 1: dome anniversary celebration how does that happen so i've got
- 19:00Speaker 1: airport carpeting puffy and cherry red and we will combine
- 19:07Speaker 1: all of these things together and we are going to
- 19:13Speaker 1: have a grand old hootenanny is what we're going to do.
- 19:16Speaker 1: So number one! One, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one!
- 19:20Speaker 1: I said number one! All right, so Coach Kellen Moore,
- 19:24Speaker 1: he had an extra day. Now normally, if you look
- 19:27Speaker 1: at the trends, when you have an extra day of preparation,
- 19:30Speaker 1: you're in good shape. You're in good shape. The team
- 19:33Speaker 1: that has a rest advantage typically does very well. So
- 19:36Speaker 1: Kellen Moore's team had an extra day to prepare, and
- 19:39Speaker 1: apparently they used it to update the Express Pros profile.
- 19:45Speaker 1: He was updating his resume there, an extra day, and
- 19:48Speaker 1: played on Monday, didn't play on on Sunday and all that.
- 19:51Speaker 1: So everybody in Louisiana, every man, woman, and child who
- 19:54Speaker 1: pays attention to football knew. that Atlanta was going to
- 19:57Speaker 1: come out and run the ball early and run the
- 19:59Speaker 1: ball often. Even if your only experience with football is
- 20:02Speaker 1: playing video games, you could easily have deciphered that that
- 20:06Speaker 1: is what the Falcons were going to do. Apparently, everyone
- 20:09Speaker 1: knew that except the defense for the Saints. So you
- 20:14Speaker 1: cannot blame the... Football gods. You can't blame the football
- 20:18Speaker 1: gods on this one. When the other team is gashing
- 20:21Speaker 1: you for over 200 yards rushing. I think the final
- 20:25Speaker 1: total was 205 yards of rushing offense. That is football
- 20:30Speaker 1: Darwinism for the New Orleans Saints there. They spent all week.
- 20:35Speaker 1: Hyping up the dome coming. Oh, what a cute little
- 20:40Speaker 1: marketing term. We don't marketing the dome coming. And then
- 20:45Speaker 1: they played with the emotional intensity of airport carpeting. And
- 20:49Speaker 1: they were flat. How flat were they? They were flatter
- 20:53Speaker 1: than a day-old Dr.
- 20:55Speaker 3: Pepper.
- 20:56Speaker 1: Actually, check that. They were not flatter than a day-old Dr. Pepper.
- 20:59Speaker 1: They were Dr. Pepper that was left open in the
- 21:02Speaker 1: garage since August. That would be August of 2023. That's
- 21:08Speaker 1: how flat they were. And we've long believed the mantra of,
- 21:14Speaker 1: that you don't want to play bad teams early in
- 21:17Speaker 1: the year because they don't realize they're bad.
- 21:18Speaker 4: Like the Raiders.
- 21:19Speaker 1: The Raiders are a bad team. They don't realize they're bad.
- 21:21Speaker 1: And they beat some other bad teams, and so they
- 21:24Speaker 1: feel good about themselves. And it's not legit. And people
- 21:27Speaker 1: get hornswoggled by teams like the Raiders. New Orleans is
- 21:30Speaker 1: a bad team. And they played the Raiders already, lost
- 21:34Speaker 1: to the Raiders. New Orleans is your classic bad team.
- 21:36Speaker 1: They did upset the Baltimore Ravens, which is another demerit
- 21:40Speaker 1: for Lamar Jackson's But good teams are able to disguise
- 21:45Speaker 1: their weaknesses. Bad teams, well, let's just say the team
- 21:52Speaker 1: from New Orleans, they put their weaknesses on display in 4K.
- 21:55Speaker 1: And they don't know early in the year they're bad.
- 21:58Speaker 1: They think, well, things could be different. We could be good.
- 22:01Speaker 1: At 1-3, and that is the record of the hometown
- 22:04Speaker 1: team there, In New Orleans, the Saints have reached essentially
- 22:08Speaker 1: the quarter pole mark, if you will, in the NFL,
- 22:11Speaker 1: about four games. That's where you see where you are,
- 22:13Speaker 1: do a check, and say, okay, where are we at?
- 22:16Speaker 1: So you're four games in, and this is about the
- 22:18Speaker 1: time on the calendar where the bad teams start looking
- 22:21Speaker 1: in the mirror, and they realize, wait a minute, that's me.
- 22:26Speaker 1: I'm bad. Bad to the bone. We suck. And it's like, oh, no,
- 22:31Speaker 1: that's actually us. We're that. Oh, no, we're screwed. They
- 22:36Speaker 1: don't have depth. Bad teams don't have a lot of depth.
- 22:40Speaker 1: The backups aren't very good. The coaching doesn't coach up
- 22:43Speaker 1: the backups. And that's essentially what the Saints are in
- 22:45Speaker 1: a nutshell. Kellen Moore doesn't really coach these guys up.
- 22:49Speaker 1: And so if you have your starters, you can compete.
- 22:52Speaker 1: And then when those guys start getting hurt, you're porked. Meanwhile,
- 22:56Speaker 1: to the Atlanta side of things, and watch out because everybody–
- 23:02Speaker 1: Jumping up and they're jumping up and down and say, oh,
- 23:05Speaker 1: my God, there's a new player at the table. A
- 23:09Speaker 1: big boy table player there are the Atlanta Falcons. Suddenly
- 23:14Speaker 1: a legitimate heavyweight contender in the National Football Conference. Hold
- 23:24Speaker 1: your horses on that. Congratulations. You beat the Saints. Congratulations.
- 23:32Speaker 1: Way to go. And I will give you a puffy sticker.
- 23:35Speaker 1: I will give you a puffy sticker for that, beating
- 23:37Speaker 1: a bad New Orleans team and slapping around a Green
- 23:41Speaker 1: Bay team that should not make the playoffs. Now, they
- 23:43Speaker 1: may make the playoffs. They shouldn't make the playoffs, the Packers.
- 23:48Speaker 1: And doing those games and doing that in prime time
- 23:51Speaker 1: is neat. That's great. So here's my position on the
- 23:56Speaker 1: Atlanta football team. They beat a couple of teams that
- 24:01Speaker 1: are not elite. So that's unfortunately something I can't give
- 24:05Speaker 1: you style points for. I can't. Atlanta brought the razzle
- 24:09Speaker 1: dazzle at times. They had some big plays. But these
- 24:12Speaker 1: were games where you were supposed to play well. You
- 24:14Speaker 1: had the more talented roster. And fine, you did it.
- 24:18Speaker 1: And you've got the star power. We can all agree
- 24:21Speaker 1: that Bajon Robinson and Drake London and friends and all
- 24:24Speaker 1: these guys, they have the name players or players that
- 24:27Speaker 1: are becoming names in the NFL. Certainly for you dorks
- 24:30Speaker 1: that play fantasy football, it's kind of big. And they've
- 24:32Speaker 1: got the building blocks not to be the Legion of Boom,
- 24:35Speaker 1: more likely Legion of Zoom as they zoom past you.
- 24:40Speaker 1: And the blueprint here is rather simple. Run, run, run, run, run.
- 24:44Speaker 1: Run the ball early. Run the ball often. And use
- 24:49Speaker 1: your quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., as a decoy. It's essentially
- 24:53Speaker 1: what they did. Threw the ball, I believe, 20 times
- 24:57Speaker 1: or something like that, which in modern NFL is not
- 25:01Speaker 1: very much. Just keep it around that number if you're Atlanta.
- 25:06Speaker 1: And everyone loves the Dirty Birds today because, let's face it,
- 25:10Speaker 1: people that follow sports... have chronic recency bias. And if
- 25:16Speaker 1: you won, you're great. And if you lost, you're the
- 25:19Speaker 1: worst thing in the world. And that's just the way
- 25:21Speaker 1: it is. It's just a classic recency bias situation. So
- 25:26Speaker 1: you look around, and it's like, oh, John Robinson's legit,
- 25:30Speaker 1: but he's just a running back. How far can that
- 25:32Speaker 1: take you? He's just having a good running back. And
- 25:35Speaker 1: so the Falcons' contender status, I have them still under investigation.
- 25:40Speaker 1: The schedule gods are smiling. I believe they play the
- 25:42Speaker 1: Ravens and the Bears upcoming, and those teams will likely
- 25:46Speaker 1: be without their starting quarterbacks. So that's good. I'm intrigued
- 25:53Speaker 1: by Atlanta. There is a difference between what you do
- 25:58Speaker 1: in October, being interesting in October and a team to
- 26:02Speaker 1: keep an eye on, and then being an intimidating team
- 26:06Speaker 1: come January. So we're not buying the Falcons. We're not
- 26:10Speaker 1: selling the Falcons. We're in a holding pattern on the Falcons.
- 26:15Speaker 1: The report card, I wrote down not an A or
- 26:17Speaker 1: a B or a C. I wrote down an I
- 26:20Speaker 1: for incomplete. It is an incomplete report card for the
- 26:24Speaker 1: Atlanta Falcons. All right, now, final point, follow-up, follow-up to
- 26:28Speaker 1: a story we talked about in a previous episode of
- 26:30Speaker 1: the show. We go to Arizona another day. And another
- 26:35Speaker 1: report that the Cardinals could trade wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
- 26:42Speaker 1: I love the engagement farming going on on social media,
- 26:45Speaker 1: saying multiple teams doing their due diligence. Their due diligence
- 26:51Speaker 1: on the former number four overall pick. Number four. That's live.
- 26:56Speaker 1: Marvin Harrison Jr. And the Colts were mentioned. Adam Schefter
- 27:01Speaker 1: making the rounds there. Somebody brought up the Colts. And
- 27:04Speaker 1: he said, wouldn't that make sense? Which, of course, all
- 27:08Speaker 1: he had to say, Adam Schefter, was wouldn't that make sense?
- 27:12Speaker 1: And the floodgates were open. So there's a lot of
- 27:14Speaker 1: trade speculation. I don't understand it because I've actually watched
- 27:18Speaker 1: him play and he can't play. But yet the always cockeyed,
- 27:24Speaker 1: optimistic executives around the NFL are like, well, he's bad there.
- 27:29Speaker 1: But if he comes to our team, he'll be better.
- 27:31Speaker 1: So a lot of chatter there. And the belief is
- 27:34Speaker 1: that Marvin Harrison Jr. is likely to be traded. The
- 27:37Speaker 1: trade deadline is November 10th. So we're about a month
- 27:41Speaker 1: out from the NFL trade deadline. Here's the question. Would
- 27:46Speaker 1: Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. going to Indianapolis, because
- 27:52Speaker 1: that was the rumor of the day, Marvin Harrison Jr.
- 27:54Speaker 1: going to Indianapolis be the NFL's best feel-good story? Or,
- 28:00Speaker 1: another example... of sports becoming obsessed with nostalgia. It's all
- 28:06Speaker 1: about the nostalgia. So the arrow on this one is
- 28:10Speaker 1: pointing firmly towards schmaltz. It's all about the schmaltzy bullcrap.
- 28:15Speaker 1: That's what you love, right? Romanticism. Oh, he was a
- 28:19Speaker 1: little boy on the sidelines with the Colts, Marvin Harrison Jr.,
- 28:23Speaker 1: and now he's all grown up dropping catches or not
- 28:25Speaker 1: even trying to get open. So his father, of course,
- 28:28Speaker 1: Marvin Harrison Jr., Seniors spent his entire career in Indianapolis.
- 28:35Speaker 1: Lived a very interesting life off the field. A life
- 28:39Speaker 1: that some say was of crime. But he played on Sunday.
- 28:42Speaker 1: Played well. Played well on Sunday. And all the family reunion.
- 28:47Speaker 1: Tug at the heartstrings. Tug at the heartstrings. Crank up
- 28:52Speaker 1: the Blackstone. We're going to be grilling some burgers and
- 28:55Speaker 1: all that. Why not? Checks all the boxes. Checks all
- 28:58Speaker 1: the boxes. Good bloodlines. He's 6'4, 220, chiseled out of
- 29:05Speaker 1: stone like a Greek god. He's Adonis. You look at
- 29:08Speaker 1: this guy, Marvin Harrison Jr., workout warrior. Now, the problem
- 29:13Speaker 1: is the actual results. That's the problem here. Four games
- 29:17Speaker 1: the Cardinals have played. How many catches do you think
- 29:20Speaker 1: Marvin Harrison Jr. has in four games? What do you
- 29:22Speaker 1: think he's got? We'll make it multiple choice. I'll make
- 29:24Speaker 1: it easier for you. Do you think he has 13 catches,
- 29:29Speaker 1: nine catches, or seven catches? What do you think? All right.
- 29:35Speaker 1: Reveal answers. And the correct answer is D. None of
- 29:41Speaker 1: the above. No, the correct answer is five. He's got
- 29:43Speaker 1: five catches in four games. Five catches in four games.
- 29:47Speaker 1: 85 yards. 85 yards for Marvin Harrison. Can I ask
- 29:55Speaker 1: you a question? Why are some of you treating Marvin
- 29:59Speaker 1: Harrison Jr., Like he is an elite receiver. The man
- 30:03Speaker 1: has five catches. Five catches. Does that not make him
- 30:10Speaker 1: the NFL's ultimate Nepo baby? Top five pick in the draft.
- 30:16Speaker 1: Can't play. Can't play. Now, one NFL executive, I brought
- 30:20Speaker 1: this up the other day in a previous episode of
- 30:21Speaker 1: the show, but I went back and got the quote.
- 30:23Speaker 1: So there was an NFL executive recently behind a paywall
- 30:25Speaker 1: on The Athletic who gave a scouting report about Marvin
- 30:29Speaker 1: Harrison Jr. Here's the scouting report. Said, forget where he
- 30:32Speaker 1: was drafted. Watch him play. The unnamed NFL executive said
- 30:38Speaker 1: of Marvin Harrison Jr. Watch him play. He's like a
- 30:41Speaker 1: third receiver with upside. Now, here's the money part of
- 30:45Speaker 1: the quote. about Marvin Harrison Jr., the unnamed NFL executive said,
- 30:49Speaker 1: he's not fast, he's not physical, and he doesn't do
- 30:54Speaker 1: anything after the catch. Close quote. Hey-oh! That's a mic
- 30:58Speaker 1: drop right there. That is a mic drop quote. Wow.
- 31:02Speaker 1: So not fast, not physical, doesn't do anything after the catch.
- 31:05Speaker 1: Other than that, he's a hell of a guy. And
- 31:07Speaker 1: he really makes some good scrambled eggs. With cheese. Really good.
- 31:10Speaker 1: Scrambled eggs with cheese. Outstanding. So, buying Marvin Harrison Jr.,
- 31:15Speaker 1: buying him from the Cardinals, would be like buying a
- 31:18Speaker 1: cherry red Porsche with no engine. Great paint job. Looks
- 31:25Speaker 1: wonderful on the outside. But you're not really getting anywhere.
- 31:29Speaker 1: You're not really getting anywhere there. So, good afternoon, good evening, and...
- 31:34Speaker 1: Good night. And let's play Mallard's Amount of Money. Let's
- 31:53Speaker 1: welcome in Mike from Salem, where the witches hang out
- 31:59Speaker 1: there in the Commonwealth. Hello, Mike.
- 32:01Speaker 4: Welcome.
- 32:02Speaker 1: Good morning.
- 32:03Speaker 4: What's up, guys?
- 32:03Speaker 1: What's going on, Mike? You're going to play Mallard's Amount
- 32:05Speaker 1: of Money. Who do you want to partner up with, Mike?
- 32:08Speaker 2: I'll go with you, Mallard.
- 32:12Speaker 1: You need more confidence. I need more confidence.
- 32:14Speaker 2: Let's go, man.
- 32:15Speaker 1: All right, there we go. All right. He knows how
- 32:17Speaker 1: often I win this game. No, you don't. He wants
- 32:19Speaker 1: to go with the star of the show. And we
- 32:21Speaker 1: have JC, who's right down the street from us here
- 32:26Speaker 1: in Sherman Oaks. Hello, JC. Welcome.
- 32:29Speaker 2: Hello, family.
- 32:30Speaker 1: Mr. Ben. Always a pleasure. Always a pleasure. Well, thank you.
- 32:33Speaker 1: You want to play with Lorena or Coop? JC will
- 32:37Speaker 1: choose JC.
- 32:39Speaker 4: That's right. JC squared.
- 32:41Speaker 1: Okay. All right. There you go. There you go. Don't
- 32:44Speaker 1: get too excited. Stop. All right. Stop. All right, gentlemen.
- 32:48Speaker 1: You're online. What are the categories here? Cool, please. All right, gentlemen.
- 32:52Speaker 1: This is the.
- 32:53Speaker 4: ACDC edition Brian Johnson turned 79 years old on Monday
- 32:58Speaker 4: the categories are Back in Black Hell's Bells Brain Shake
- 33:03Speaker 4: and Thunderstruck Mike you were on first which category would
- 33:06Speaker 4: you like?
- 33:08Speaker 1: Hell's bells.
- 33:08Speaker 4: Hell's bells.
- 33:09Speaker 1: Hell's bells.
- 33:10Speaker 4: All right, JC, how about you?
- 33:12Speaker 1: Back in black. All right. Back in black. All right,
- 33:15Speaker 1: very good. We will put 45 seconds on the clock.
- 33:18Speaker 1: We need the first and last name. These athletes struck
- 33:22Speaker 1: fear into their opponents for 45 seconds. Are you ready there, Mike,
- 33:27Speaker 1: in Salem? Let's go. All right, 40. We're on our way. Go!
- 33:31Speaker 1: He was Kobe's sidekick on the Lakers. Shaquille O'Neal. Yes,
- 33:36Speaker 1: the biggest steroid home run guy in baseball history for
- 33:39Speaker 1: the Giants. Barry Barnes. Yes, the big unit for the
- 33:44Speaker 1: Seattle Mariners and other teams. Randy Johnson. Yes, the greatest
- 33:47Speaker 1: linebacker for the New York Giants. Warren Taylor. Yes, he
- 33:52Speaker 1: was a Pittsburgh Steelers star. He's a very mean defensive
- 33:55Speaker 1: star for the Steelers. Very mean. uh so mean joe
- 33:59Speaker 1: green there you go uh the nigerian nightmare for the
- 34:02Speaker 1: kansas city chiefs back in the day running back uh
- 34:07Speaker 1: played at azusa pacific of all places that doesn't do
- 34:11Speaker 1: anything for.
- 34:12Speaker 4: You no herschel walker no.
- 34:14Speaker 1: No another stealer's.
- 34:15Speaker 3: Light all right christian okoye the nigerian nightmare was his
- 34:21Speaker 3: name before your time before your time i'm sure And
- 34:24Speaker 3: we didn't even get to the 100-point question.
- 34:25Speaker 1: So, all right. What is that, Lorena? 160. 160. All right. Coop,
- 34:29Speaker 1: you're up. All right, JC.
- 34:31Speaker 4: This is a much tougher category, but we're going to
- 34:32Speaker 4: kill it.
- 34:33Speaker 1: No, it is not.
- 34:33Speaker 4: It is.
- 34:34Speaker 1: All right.
- 34:34Speaker 4: So, back in black, these athletes all recently passed away
- 34:37Speaker 4: within the last year.
- 34:38Speaker 1: They're all dead.
- 34:39Speaker 2: Yes. All right.
- 34:41Speaker 1: 45 seconds o'clock, JC.
- 34:42Speaker 2: Are you ready?
- 34:43Speaker 4: Got it Alright, let's begin One of the best professional
- 34:46Speaker 4: wrestlers of all time, brother I'll call him Yes This
- 34:50Speaker 4: guy has a surgery, an elbow surgery named after him
- 34:53Speaker 4: in baseball I'm done Yes This guy has a grill
- 34:59Speaker 4: named after him, a boxer No, no He's Alright, we'll
- 35:07Speaker 4: skip that one No This guy was a long time
- 35:12Speaker 4: Coach in the NBA of the Warriors And the Mavericks Yes,
- 35:17Speaker 4: this guy was a Hall of Famer for the Pirates
- 35:20Speaker 4: His nickname was the.
- 35:21Speaker 2: Cobra His name, Dave Parker.
- 35:25Speaker 1: Yes.
- 35:25Speaker 4: It was a NASCAR driver just recently died. His brother's
- 35:28Speaker 4: name is Kurt.
- 35:30Speaker 1: Oh, I didn't get that.
- 35:31Speaker 4: 110.
- 35:31Speaker 1: Kyle Busch. Yeah.
- 35:36Speaker 4: George Foreman has a grill, not a... Damn.
- 35:39Speaker 1: Damn, you're right, you're right. I thought it was a
- 35:41Speaker 1: mob grill. Sorry.
- 35:42Speaker 4: Oh, you were thinking of the diamond grill.
- 35:44Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 35:45Speaker 4: That's my fault.
- 35:47Speaker 2: All right.
- 35:48Speaker 1: Well, here we go. What is the score here? 160
- 35:51Speaker 1: to 110. Oh, well, we're winning. Yeah.
- 35:54Speaker 4: So you and I are back up, JC. Do you
- 35:56Speaker 4: want do you want brain shake or thunderstruck? Thunderstruck.
- 36:01Speaker 2: All right.
- 36:02Speaker 4: These athletes were all on teams that suffered epic upsets.
- 36:06Speaker 1: All right.
- 36:07Speaker 4: Forty five seconds. Let's begin. Best quarterback of all time
- 36:09Speaker 4: for the Patriots. Tom Brady.
- 36:12Speaker 1: Yes.
- 36:12Speaker 4: One of the best Dallas Mavericks of all time from Germany.
- 36:17Speaker 1: Yes.
- 36:18Speaker 4: This guy was a quarterback for USC and the Jets.
- 36:20Speaker 4: The butt fumble.
- 36:24Speaker 1: Yes.
- 36:24Speaker 4: The best player on the New York Knicks before Jalen Brunson.
- 36:31Speaker 1: Yes.
- 36:32Speaker 4: This guy's nickname was the Golden Arm. He was the
- 36:34Speaker 4: quarterback for the Baltimore Colts. Yes. This guy was an outfielder,
- 36:41Speaker 4: Hall of Famer for the Orioles. His nickname was the Judge.
- 36:47Speaker 1: I don't know that one.
- 36:48Speaker 2: All right.
- 36:49Speaker 4: This guy was the number one overall pick from Michigan.
- 36:52Speaker 4: He was a left tackle.
- 36:53Speaker 1: All right. What's the score? 270. All right. Here we go.
- 36:56Speaker 1: Here we go. Are you ready? Are you ready, Mike? Yep.
- 36:59Speaker 1: Brain shake. Here we go. Celtics color commentator on TV
- 37:03Speaker 1: from USC, Redhead Guy. Brian Scalabri. Yeah!
- 37:09Speaker 4: You don't win.
- 37:09Speaker 1: You're 10 short. We win. No, we won, actually. No,
- 37:13Speaker 1: you didn't. Because I ran out of time, so I
- 37:15Speaker 1: won because we got the 100-point question.
- 37:17Speaker 4: Nope.
- 37:17Speaker 1: That's the rule.