PMT DB
PMT DB
Julian Edelman and Greg Maddux on Philip Rivers' Retirement and Championship Sunday
Phillip Rivers has officially hung up the bolo tie, and Big Cat is genuinely mourning. It’s the end of an era for the guy who was the undisputed anchor of the 7:00 PM Sunday window, leading furious, hilarious comebacks that usually ended in a back-breaking interception. While Rivers never got his ring, Big Cat is ready to fight the Hall of Fame battle for him right now.
Big CatPhilip Rivers will eventually get into the Hall of Fame
I think [Philip Rivers] will eventually get in the Hall of Fame. He's not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I think he will eventually get in. But he obviously will get dinged for the lack of playoff wins and the lack of a signature win and the lack of a Super Bowl. But when you actually look at it... Phillip Rivers was the better quarterback in terms of numbers throughout his career [compared to Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger].
The conversation naturally drifted toward the 2004 QB class and the eternal "what if" of the Rivers-Eli trade. PFT and Big Cat both agree that the environment in San Diego might have been the only thing holding Rivers back from the hardware.
Big CatPhilip Rivers would have won more Super Bowls than Eli Manning if their roles were reversed
If the Chargers had drafted Eli Manning and he didn't hold out and demand a trade to the Giants? I think that Phillip Rivers would have won more Super Bowls than Eli Manning did.
The Legend of Dan Campbell
As one legendary character leaves the league, a new one emerges in Detroit. Dan Campbell’s introductory press conference was a masterclass in "Football Guy" energy. Between biting kneecaps and smiling while getting punched in the teeth, Campbell has already won over the PMT crew. PFT is ready to crown him the king of his specific coaching niche.
PFT CommenterI would put Dan Campbell above Jim Tomsula as my favorite interim coach ever
He is my favorite interim coach of all time. I'd even put him above Jim Tomsula in terms of Coach O. Coach O has kind of risen above that... But Dan Campbell, I think, is the ultimate essence of an interim head coach.
Big Cat thinks the Lions finally found a guy who isn't trying to be a Belichick clone. He’s just a dude who wants to hit people, and that resonates in an NFL locker room.
Big CatMost NFL players would love to play for Dan Campbell
Dan Campbell's just a dude... He is a guy, and I don't know if it will last forever, and he has to clearly hire some smart people around him, but he's a guy, if you polled the NFL, I guarantee you there would be a majority of NFL players being like, I'd love to play for a guy like that.
Despite the six-year contract, the guys are realistic about the shelf life of a coach who treats every practice like a scene from *Gladiator*. Big Cat set the over/under on the Campbell era at a solid three years.
Big CatDan Campbell will get at least three years as the Lions head coach
He gets three. I agree with that. Three feels like he will get at least three Dan Campbell.
Championship Weekend Preview
Moving to the actual games, Big Cat is doing his annual tradition of talking himself into a bet that will probably hurt him. He’s fully convinced that Tom Brady and the Bucs can go into a snowy Lambeau and take down the MVP.
Big CatThe Buccaneers can beat the Packers at Lambeau Field
I have talked myself into the Bucs being able to beat the Packers... I have fully talked myself into it. I don't know. I just have talked myself into it. I have talked myself into it.
On the AFC side, the focus is on the health of Patrick Mahomes and his "toe stroke" or whatever the NFL is calling his injury this week. PFT is cynical about the league's concussion protocol when a Super Bowl berth is on the line.
PFT CommenterThe NFL will let Patrick Mahomes play in the AFC Championship regardless of his concussion status
I forgot that Roger Goodell was in charge of the NFL. Yeah. You thought for a second that we actually cared about player safety. Roger Goodell probably would delay the game by week... just to make Patrick Mahomes play... their star player is going to play and they'll find any way to spin it that it wasn't a concussion.
Even with Mahomes likely playing, Big Cat is riding with the Bills. He thinks Josh Allen’s ascension is real and that the Buffalo defense is a different beast than what the Chiefs saw in the playoffs last year.
Big CatThe Bills will win the AFC Championship, possibly convincingly
I said it on Monday, and I'm sticking with it. I think the Bills are going to win, and I wouldn't be surprised if they win convincingly.
Big CatThe Bills defense is good enough to prevent the Chiefs from 'flipping the switch'
If they spot the Bills 17 points, that's going to be very, very difficult. It's not the same as playing against a Texans defense that can't stop anything or a Titans defense that was slightly fraudulent.
Julian Edelman and Greg Maddux
Julian Edelman joined the show to clarify that despite the rumors, he is not following Rivers into retirement. He’s just decompressing in LA, being a dad, and rehabbing a knee that Adam Schefter described in the most confusing terms possible.
Julian EdelmanJulian Edelman is not retiring from football yet
Right now, we're being a dad right now, and we're sitting back, and we're training, getting our body ready for the next year... We're not there yet [on retiring]. Right now it's the time, like I said, it's going to be, this whole year was so jacked up, man. I just need to decompress for a little bit.
Edelman gave some insight into the TB12 machine, noting that Brady’s drive hasn’t dipped even at 43. He also touched on the upcoming weather in Green Bay, noting that as a "mudder," he’d much rather deal with snow than a freezing rain.
Julian EdelmanPlaying in the cold or snow is much better than playing in the rain
I still pick to play in the cold, though, over rain any day... Like a 37-degree rain is the worst thing to play in when it's so cold, but it's still really cold, but it's wet. You'd rather go in the snow or have it cold.
Then, the guys sat down with the Professor himself, Greg Maddux. Maddux is an absolute legend who confirmed that he used to intentionally give up hits in spring training just to plant seeds in hitters' heads for the regular season. He also gave his honest take on the Astros' sign-stealing scandal, drawing a hard line between gamesmanship and technology.
Greg MadduxThe Houston Astros were flat-out cheating, not just looking for an edge
To have some guy on a computer and a button sitting in the video room and seeing what the catcher's putting down—I mean, that's, there's no place for that in the game. That's, you know, that's cheating. That's cheating. That's not looking for an edge. That's flat-out cheating. And, you know, I was pretty disgusted with it. I'm not going to lie to you.
Maddux was also incredibly candid about facing the GOATs of his era. While he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, he admitted that his strategy for Barry Bonds was essentially to just give up immediately.
Greg MadduxBarry Bonds was easy to pitch to because the best strategy was just walking him
Barry Bonds, he was the easiest guy in the league to pitch to. I mean, because you throw him fastballs away, and if it mattered at all, you just walked him. So he was like, no stress. That dude was so easy to pitch to. It's his fault for being as good as he was.
He also settled the debate on the best pitcher he ever saw, giving the nod to a guy who combined God-given gas with a Maddux-level brain for the game.
Greg MadduxRoger Clemens was the best and most complete pitcher of my era
For my money, I always thought the best pitcher was [Roger] Clemens coming up. The guy that I played with in my era. I thought he was a complete dominant pitcher. I think he had not only the great stuff, the great God-given ability... I thought he had really good game plans as well.
Whether it's biting kneecaps or throwing circle changes with your eyes closed, it's a great weekend to be a sports fan.
