Joe Flacco on Being Elite, Divisional Round Preview, and Fyre Fest
The Divisional Round is here, and the coaching carousel is spinning at a dizzying pace. While some seats got colder than a January night in Orchard Park, others are being filled by private jet tracking. PFT is currently monitoring Arthur Blank’s flight patterns with the intensity of a CIA operative.
Bill Belichick and the Atlanta Falcons are on a collision course
I am again tracking Arthur Blank's private jet. It's landing in Boston, Massachusetts right now. Belichick Falcons collision course. I think it's happening.
Big Cat and PFT are stunned that the trio of Mike McCarthy, Mike Tomlin, and Nick Sirianni all seem to be staying put. For PFT, the news out of Dallas is a dream come true because it ensures the Cowboys' ceiling remains exactly where it's been for decades.
I am happy Mike McCarthy is staying in Dallas because he falters against good teams
As a Commanders fan, I, I said that it makes me very happy that Mike's coming back... I know that Mike McCarthy is a very good regular season coach, but when you play against really good teams in the Playoffs, you're gonna have to win three games... all I'm saying is much like you with Aaron Rodgers when the Cowboys lose, that's my Super Bowl.
Big Cat isn't buying the comparison between McCarthy’s tenure and Andy Reid’s pre-Super Bowl years in Kansas City. The math just doesn't add up when you look at who is under center.
Patrick Mahomes will not be the one to save Mike McCarthy's legacy in Dallas
People are also pointing out, like, look at Andy Reid before they started winning Super Bowls in Kansas City where it's like 12 and four, 10 and six, 11 and five. Everyone said he was a choke artist. The only issue with that is Patrick Mahomes showed up. I don't think Patrick Mahomes is showing up in Dallas.
Hank, however, has reached his breaking point. After watching Dak and McCarthy lay an egg against the Packers, he’s officially handing in his Cowboys fan card, citing a complete lack of faith in the leadership.
Divisional Round Preview
Moving to the actual games, the narrative surrounding Lamar Jackson is reaching a fever pitch. Big Cat believes this home game against a rookie quarterback is the ultimate legacy test for the soon-to-be two-time MVP.
Lamar Jackson must win this divisional round game against the Texans for his legacy
Lamar [Jackson] Yeah. This is the game. Big, big time narrative. Right. If he doesn't win this game, then that's gonna, that's gonna follow him around for the rest of his career... you're a 10 point favorite, nine and a half point favorite at home against the Houston Texans rookie head coach. Rookie QB. You have to win this game if you're the Baltimore Ravens.
PFT is leaning toward the Texans, mostly because he refuses to stop riding the CJ Stroud wave until it crashes. Big Cat, on the other hand, thinks the Ravens' defense is a different animal than what Houston has faced so far.
The Ravens defense is going to kick the shit out of the Houston Texans
I think the Ravens defense is gonna kick the shit outta them... what they can do to confuse people, you know, they have, they, they move safeties around, you know, they get pressure with four. They get pressure with blitzes. I just, I think the Ravens defense, this is a Ravens defense statement game.
When it comes to the Packers visiting the Niners, Big Cat is putting his chips in the middle of the table with a massive bet on the total points.
As for the Chiefs heading to Buffalo, Big Cat is worried about the M.A.S.H. unit that is the Bills' defense. Even though he’s rooting for Buffalo, the injuries at linebacker and corner feel like too much to overcome against Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs will beat the Bills because of Buffalo's defensive injuries
I'm rooting for the bills. I think the Chiefs are gonna win... Their defensive injuries have been insane. I've, they're so bad... That feels like a lot. They've had a lot of injuries. The cornerback and linebacker position. Josh's, Allen's gonna have to play a superhuman game.
PFT is less worried about the Bills' defense and more worried about Taylor Swift’s heart. He warns that the raw, table-breaking alpha energy of Bill's Mafia might be too much for her to resist.
Taylor Swift better be careful in Buffalo because she might fall in love with a Pinto Ron-type character in the Bill's Mafia
Taylor's going to the game. ... She better be careful in Buffalo. ... because I think that if she's not careful, she could fall in love with somebody in Bill's Mafia big time. ... Pinto Ron is gonna take her home. ... She's gonna see some real men in Buffalo.
The Elite Joe Flacco
Joe Flacco joined the show fresh off his 39th birthday, and he's not ready to head to the broadcast booth just yet. He made it clear that as long as he can throw a perfect spiral, he’s going to keep playing to avoid the makeup chair.
I'm going to play football as long as possible to avoid having to do sports media
Honestly, man, that's the last thing I want to do is be doing interviews to get myself behind a camera. So I'm gonna try to do this as long as possible and, and diminish those possibilities as much as I can.
Big Cat and PFT finally got to ask about the "Elite" debate that fueled sports talk radio for a decade. Joe Flacco handled it like a pro, admitting he enjoys the meme status of the word, whether people are wearing the sweatshirts sincerely or to troll him.
The 'elite' label came from winning games without gaudy stats — people wear the sweatshirt both sincerely and as a joke, and either way it's fun
I was winning a bunch of games in Baltimore, but my stats were never gonna fly off the stat sheet. We were winning games because we had a formula with how we won games. ... The funny thing is, is now people could like, listen, I have buddies wearing the sweatshirt because they're like, yeah, damn right he's elite. And I have detractors that are out there probably using it as a joke. ... Either way it's a story and I have a lot of fun with it.
Joe also shared some insight into his legendary arm strength, tracing it back to a moment in an elementary school yard with his dad when he realized he had a different gear than other kids.
I knew I could really throw a football for the first time when I was 8 years old
I was eight years old, I think I was in first grade, but I threw a couple passes to [my dad] and I just remember the look on his face kind of like, all right, that was pretty good bud. ... I just remember seeing a little bit of a look on his face and his reaction and being like, ah, maybe I can throw.
The guys also bonded over their shared hatred for the Wildcat offense. Joe Flacco’s strategy of standing five yards away from the play to avoid getting jammed by a defensive back is the kind of veteran savvy you can't teach.
The Wildcat is stupid; if you're going to run it, just take the quarterback off the field
If you're gonna do it, just take me off the field. You know, like, like let's, let's get an actual football player here so that we can actually accomplish something For real... that's why when I, when I go out there, I, I, I stay like five yards off the ball so there's no chance of me looking like an idiot.
Fyre Fest of the Week
Hank closed out the show with a somber Fyre Fest. After leaning into the bit with Tiffany Gomas for some Dallas content, the darker corners of the internet made things weird, leading Henry to announce he's going back into the shadows.
I am returning to a private lifestyle because the internet ruined the Tiffany Gomas content
I will definitely be going back to, to zero dark private life mode... because it's fun. I enjoy it and, and you know, 99% of the people are fun. They play along... But then there's the 1% of people, people that will DMM and, and, and, and just go way over the top.
It’s a tough blow for the fans who enjoyed the content, but as PFT noted, the memories will live on forever in the Spank Bank.
Good luck to everyone's bets this weekend, except for Max's.

