Kevin Stefanski on Playcalling, Billy's Jets Thesis, and Lamar Jackson
The NFL offseason is officially in high gear as the Lamar Jackson saga took a massive turn with the Ravens applying the non-exclusive franchise tag. Big Cat and PFT broke down why Baltimore might be playing a dangerous game of chicken with their franchise cornerstone. PFT is already convinced he knows exactly where the former MVP is heading, regardless of what the reports say.
Lamar Jackson is the future quarterback of the Washington Commanders.
I can report exclusively via Leroy that the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills will not be pursuing Lamar Jackson... That basically just leaves the commanders and that's it. So future Commander Lamar Jackson, I refuse to let Schefter beat me on.
The guys also looked at the ripple effects of the tag, specifically how it reflects the Ravens' confidence in getting a long-term deal done. If they were truly certain about the future, the tag would likely look a lot different.
The Ravens would have used the exclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson if they truly believed a long-term deal was coming.
If you're the Ravens GM and you truly believe that you're going to re-sign Lamar Jackson to a long-term deal... wouldn't you make it an exclusive franchise tag? I certainly would. If you're confident that you can reach a place where you'll have an extension, then you would probably put that tag on him instead of the lesser amount and then leave the option for him to get signed by somebody else.
Speaking of veteran quarterbacks finding new homes, Derek Carr is officially a Saint, and Daniel Jones got his bag from the Giants. Big Cat isn't exactly sold on the ceiling of the new-look New Orleans offense.
The ceiling for Derek Carr and the Saints is a second-round playoff loss.
The Derek Carr deal... if you're a Saints fan, I guess you're like, 'Hey, it's better than what we've been going through.' But doesn't it feel like the ceiling for Derek Carr and the Saints is like maybe a second round loss?
The Billy Football Dissertation
After months of teasing, Billy finally delivered his senior project: a full-blown PowerPoint presentation titled "How the New York Media Ruins Jets Quarterbacks." It was exactly as chaotic as you’d expect, featuring theories on pre-automobile city layouts and the lack of interpersonal relationships between writers and athletes. Billy’s main point is that the constant negativity from local tabloids creates a destructive environment that no young QB can survive.
The New York media ruins Jets quarterbacks by sensationalizing negative news to gain clicks.
The New York media sensationalizes quarterbacks' performances to gain clicks and remain competitive in the big media market. Amplification of negative news and critiques elicits greater responses from the consumers, leading to a lack of confidence in the fan base, ultimately resulting in a destructive impact on the team and the quarterback's confidence.
When the discussion turned to which veteran could actually handle the Big Apple, Billy was quick to write off the newest Saint. He believes the personality fit would have been a disaster from day one.
Derek Carr would not work in New York because he is too sensitive to media criticism.
Derek Carr would not work [in New York]. He's too sensitive. He cries, he blocks everybody on Twitter. Like, his excuses wouldn't suffice for the New York [media].
Kevin Stefanski Joins the Show
Cleveland Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski joined the show for a great interview. He was an incredibly good sport, immediately leaning into the "hard question" when Big Cat read him a tweet calling his coaching decisions into question during the Saints game. Stefanski opened up about his time in Minnesota, the chaos of the Minneapolis Miracle, and how his upbringing in the Madden generation actually helps his game management today.
The Madden generation is better at NFL game management because they grew up simulating those situations.
Honestly, so I grew up playing Madden. I really believe our generation is maybe a little bit better at game management because we've done that. Because we know when you're down 10 and you got, Hey, we're gonna kick the field goal now, and then I'm gonna get the onside, I gotta get the seven later. I do think all those games, I know it's silly, but I do think that all helps when it comes to game management.
They got into the weeds on offensive philosophy, specifically the age-old debate of "establishing the run." Despite having Nick Chubb in his backfield, Stefanski isn't tied to the old-school thinking that you need to run to set up the pass.
The idea that you must 'establish the run' to make play-action effective is a fallacy.
That's a fallacy. You don't have to establish the run to throw. I think play action's been proven that you don't need to have a good run attack or be running the ball to get the linebackers to decide.
PFT also tried to pitch the coach on a few "innovations," including the idea that the NFL is missing a massive trick by not utilizing rugby-style laterals more frequently.
Designed downfield laterals are the future of NFL offensive football.
I think I know what the future of offensive football is gonna be. It's gonna be designed downfield, laterals. You see the chiefs do it occasionally. But when it's executed, right. When it's taught correctly, it can turn a, a seven yard gain into a 40 yard gain very, very easily.
Hot Seat/Cool Throne and Guys on Chicks
Hot Seat/Cool Throne featured Jake getting surprisingly political after a blog about "Barack-ology" went viral, and Big Cat shared his updated thoughts on the NBA MVP race. While the award is prestigious, the way we talk about it every single day might be reaching a breaking point.
I'm correcting my take: MVPs aren't overrated, but the discussion about them is overrated.
So here, all correct. Correcting my own take. Maybe MVPs aren't overrated, but the discussion about them is overrated because I feel like we spend a shit a lot of time talking about an MVP that most people like at the end of the day, then the playoff starts. It's like, yeah, this is what we're playing for.
We wrapped up the show with an all-time Guys on Chicks segment where Hank attempted to argue that shampoo simply doesn't "work" on armpit hair. It led to a heated debate about the mechanics of scent, sweat glands, and why your head smells better than your pits.
Using shampoo on your armpits doesn't work to make them smell good like it does for the hair on your head.
When you wash your hair, it smells nice. When you wash your armpit hair, the smell does not stick. It doesn't do anything... If you use shampoo in your hair, you'll be able to smell the shampoo in your hair later in the day. Use shampoo in your armpits. You will not be able to smell that.
No matter how much shampoo Hank uses, he still hasn't won the lottery ball.

