PMT DB
PMT DB
Ryan Whitney on NHL's Marketing Failures and NFL Draft Scout Matt Miller
It is officially Fri-yay, and Big Cat is coming out of the gates hot with a massive claim about the upcoming weekend of football. While Wild Card weekend has its charms, the Divisional Round provides that perfect four-game slate before the field gets too thin.
Big CatThe divisional round is the best weekend of football
I would like to contend that the divisional round is the best weekend of football. Saturday and Sunday. It is a full weekend of football, and you're going to miss this. Actually, just one week when there are just two games left.
The weekend kicks off with a bird fight in Philly. The Eagles are the rare one-seed that nobody seems to respect, while the Falcons are suddenly everyone's favorite pick. Big Cat is leaning into the narrative, officially jumping back on the bandwagon of the team that broke everyone's hearts last February.
Big CatThe Falcons will win the NFC
I've been on the Falcon bandwagon. I am on their bandwagon of thinking that they could win the NFC. I said it a couple months ago. I am going down with the ship, so I'm taking the Falcons. I'm taking them all the way to the Super Bowl.
Hank, ever the contrarian, is staying away from the Falcons hype and backing the home dog.
HankThe Eagles will cover +2.5 against the Falcons
I like the Falcons too. But I'm going to take the Eagles. Hank's on the Eagles plus two and a half.
The Patriot Way and Woke Theories
When it comes to the Titans heading to Foxboro, the conversation naturally shifts to the Dynasty. Despite the recent Seth Wickersham article suggesting internal turmoil, the guys aren't buying the demise of the Patriots. PFT has a particularly woke theory about where that "explosive" reporting actually came from.
PFT CommenterBill Belichick leaked the Seth Wickersham article himself to motivate the team
I'm very, very woke on this whole article thing because there's a reason it came out last week when they didn't have a game. I think Belichick might have been the source for some of the things just to try to get a little controversy going out there in the media, get people starting to doubt the Patriots because Belichick, he loves to play the 'we don't have any respect' card.
Hank is so confident in a New England blowout that he's suggesting listeners liquidate their assets to back Tom Brady.
HankThe Patriots will beat the Titans by 30 points
Bet every single dollar you have on the Patriots. They're going to win by 30.
Big Cat and PFT also get into a serious discussion about the Vikings and Saints. While the world is falling in love with New Orleans, Big Cat wants to remind everyone that Minnesota isn't just a feel-good story; they are a defensive juggernaut.
Big CatThe Vikings will beat the Saints in the Divisional Round
This to me is the game where everyone just forgets that the Vikings are really fucking good. I think the Vikings are really fucking good and people forget that. I'm taking the Vikings.
Ryan Whitney Explains the Olympic Mess
Friend of the program Ryan Whitney joins the show to talk puck, and he's not holding back on the state of international hockey. With the NHL staying home, the Olympic tournament feels like a shell of its former self. Whitney explains that between the owners' fears of injury and the NHL's marketing failures, the fans are the ones losing out.
Ryan WhitneyThe Olympic hockey committee ruining the games by banning NHL players is a joke
It's a joke. You can't. The NHL asked if they could at least show the videos from the Olympics, which you can't do. They wanted the NHL logos on the board. They wouldn't do that. So at some point it's both sides, but it does suck for the game.
Without the best players in the world, Whitney expects a very specific country to walk away with the gold, simply because they have the best "amateurs" left on the board.
Ryan WhitneyRussia is the heavy favorite to win Olympic Gold with no NHL players involved
Unfortunately, it's Russia. They're going to win and then they're going to take the flag out and they won't play an anthem. But it's going to be pretty crazy to see because they're loaded. They got all these guys over there that never, I mean, some of them couldn't play in the NHL because there's a chance of them could. They're playing in the KHL.
When he's not trashing the Olympic committee, Whitney is keeping a close eye on the NHL season. He’s already planted his flag for who is lifting the Cup at the end of the year, and it’s bad news for the rest of the league.
Ryan WhitneyThe Tampa Bay Lightning are the best team in the NHL and my Stanley Cup pick
Yeah, they were my Cup pick. I think I picked them when I came on your show, fellas. They're nasty. They have four legit superstars. Hedman, Stamkos, Kucherov, and their goalie, Vasilevskiy. They're the best team in the NHL, for sure.
Matt Miller Scans the 2018 QB Class
Bleacher Report's Matt Miller stops by to talk about the new coaching hires and the upcoming draft. As a Bears fan, Big Cat is desperate for some hope regarding Matt Nagy. Miller delivers, painting a picture of a creative, leader-of-men type coach who is going to unlock Mitch Trubisky.
Matt MillerBears fans should be excited about Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky
You should be so fucking excited just for what Mitch Trubisky's going to be able to do now. It is, like, it's really going to be, I think, a mixture of an old-school West Coast offense and a spread system. He's creative, he's smart. I think being a head coach, you have to be a really good leader. I think he's got that.
The guys also force Miller to rank the 2018 Quarterback class. While names like Sam Darnold and Josh Allen have the hype, Miller is staying steady with the most polished thrower in the group.
Matt MillerJosh Rosen is the best quarterback in the 2018 Draft
I would take Josh Rosen first. There are holes in his game, of course, and his personality is going to rub some people wrong, but I think he's the most naturally gifted of the bunch.
As for Josh Allen, Miller sees him as the ultimate boom-or-bust prospect. He has the size and the arm of a superstar, but the accuracy issues are a massive red flag that can't easily be coached away.
Matt MillerJosh Allen will either be great or awful in the NFL with no middle ground
He's either going to be great or he's going to be awful. I don't think there's any middle ground with him [Josh Allen].
Segments and Final Takes
In a special Dad to Dad segment, the guys address the rumors that LeVar Ball might be the reason LeBron James stays away from the Lakers. PFT thinks LeVar is actually playing 4D chess to keep "Small Ballers" out of Los Angeles.
PFT CommenterLeVar Ball is an deterrent for LeBron James going to the Lakers
This is a huge problem. Dad to dad, this is actually a great piece of news for LeVar Ball because I don't think LeVar Ball has time for a small baller like LeBron in L.A. LeVar wants to make sure that L.A. is a ball town. LeVar Ball actually might do the real outbreak thing and just hover in a helicopter above LAX and not let LeBron land in town.
The episode wraps with some classic Jimbos, including a listener who accidentally watched The Sopranos on a loop in front of his mother-in-law. Big Cat and PFT also reveal that they have been wearing electronic ab-stimulators throughout the entire recording, officially making this the first-ever workout podcast.
If you see Big Cat with an eight-pack by Monday, you’ll know the pulsating stickers actually worked.
