PMT DB
PMT DB
Pete Prisco and Kyle Long on Week 12, the Bears' Future, and Diva Wide Receivers
The Week 12 preview is here, though Big Cat and PFT admit they are recording this in a "choose your own adventure" style because they are currently doing the Yak case race. While the guys are either drunk or violently hungover as you listen, they still managed to hammer through the NFL slate and some truly bizarre MLB free agency rumors. Big Cat is already suspicious of the reports linking Kyle Schwarber to Pittsburgh.
Big CatThe Pirates leaking interest in Kyle Schwarber is just 'red meat' to appease the fans with no intent to sign him
I feel like the Pirates' version of them actually signing a big free agent would be just leaking it that they're thinking about signing. Correct. That was... their red meat to the fan base. Be like, look, we tried.
Spite Games and Rookie Rewiring
The marquee matchup for Big Cat is Steelers at Bears, and the anxiety is palpable. While Aaron Rodgers has looked every bit his age this season, there is a lingering fear in Chicago that he has one more vintage performance saved up just to ruin the city's mood.
Big CatAaron Rodgers will play like an elite quarterback against the Bears because he wants to spite them one last time
That is my fear of this game is Aaron Rogers, who I don't think is like an elite quarterback anymore, will become an elite quarterback because he wants to stick it to the Bears one last time.
Meanwhile, the Vikings are dealing with J.J. McCarthy's admission that he is essentially "rewiring his neurological pathways" to play quarterback. It led to a genius strategy from the internet that Big Cat is fully on board with to save the rookie's reputation.
Big CatThe Vikings should cut and immediately re-sign J.J. McCarthy so he can be a reclamation project
What the Vikings really should do is cut JJ McCarthy. Yep. So he's a bust and then sign him back. So he is a reclamation project. Then it'll be good. Cut JJ McCarthy, officially declaring a bust, sign McCarthy former draft bust and have KOC fix him. Smart.
Over in New England, PFT is officially the Drake May whisperer. He’s calling for a massive breakout against a Bengals defense that has looked like a sieve all year.
PFT CommenterDrake May will throw for over 300 yards for the first time this weekend against the Bengals
This is my prop of a lifetime this weekend. It's Drake May to throw 300 yards for the first time plus 264. I put it in before the show started. I feel like this is the week... the Bengals defense, you can't help but throw 300 yards against them.
The Chiefs’ Clutch Problem
The most shocking stat of the week involves the Kansas City Chiefs and their inability to finish games. While they used to be inevitable, the numbers now suggest they are the least reliable team in football when the clock starts winding down.
PFT CommenterThe Chiefs' 18% success rate in clutch situations is the worst of any NFL team in the last decade
If you make the criteria that if it's within eight points in the final five minutes of regulation... the Chiefs success rate is, I believe [Mahomes] is two for 10 for 29 yards. That means they have an 18% success rate in those clutch situation plays. 18% would be the absolute lowest of any NFL team over the last decade.
PFT is so convinced the wheels are falling off in Kansas City that he’s making the Colts his "Nuke Town" pick of the week.
PFT CommenterThe Colts will beat the Chiefs this weekend
I think I like the Colts this weekend. Gimme the Indianapolis Colts plus three and a half... gimme the hook, gimme the Colts and nuke it. Nuke City.
Jock and Nerd: Prisco and Long
CBS Sports colleagues Pete Prisco and Kyle Long joined the show for a heavy-hitting ball talk segment. Kyle Long, a noted Bears homer, is finally seeing a culture shift in Chicago, credit to the "insane" energy of Ben Johnson.
Kyle LongBen Johnson's 'psychopath' leadership is exactly what the Bears needed to change their culture
Everything this guy [Ben Johnson] does is so insane that it's authentic... next door neighbors to insanity. But the good kind of neighbor to insanity... in order to get that stench out of the building... you need a psychopath dude. And they've got one.
Pete Prisco, ever the skeptic, isn't ready to buy the hype. He thinks the Bears are still a year away from actually mattering in the NFC playoff picture.
Pete PriscoThe Bears are still a year away from being real contenders
I'm a little more realistic because I look at the schedule and see, you know, that they really have what—they played one team with a winning record and lost to 'em. I'm a little apprehensive... I just don't think this is their year. I think they're a year away.
The conversation shifted to the Eagles, where the vibes are... complicated. Despite the winning record, the offense looks stagnant. Max is convinced a simple wardrobe change is the solution to all their problems.
MaxThe Kelly Green jerseys will fix the Eagles' struggling offense
The Kelly Greens could fix the offense. There's no reason to think that it won't... Always a good idea. Kelly Greens fix the offense. Wow, great idea.
However, Kyle Long noted that even high school teams might be running more sophisticated schemes than what we're seeing in Philly right now.
Kyle LongGreg Olsen's Pop Warner team has a more complex offense than the Philadelphia Eagles
Greg Olson's got more routes in his offense with Luke Kuechly [on their Pop Warner team] than in that Pop Warner League... than the Eagles offense. I can promise you that. The route tree is primitive. People say it looks like a high school offense at times.
Despite the primitive route trees, Kyle Long is still sticking by his preseason Super Bowl prediction, even if the Ravens' defense has him questioning the other side of the bracket.
Kyle LongThe Eagles will beat the Ravens in the Super Bowl
At the beginning of the season I picked the Eagles to beat the Ravens in the Super Bowl. And I thought myself a little bit insane at the beginning of the year... but then even more concerning the defense wasn't defensive in Baltimore... and Jalen Hurts will figure something out in the playoffs. If he does end up in the big game, he's gonna play his balls off.
Prisco’s Playoff Predictions
Pete Prisco lived up to his reputation as the "Jock" of the duo by hating on modern quarterback play and Dan Campbell's fourth-down tendencies. He also isn't buying the Sam Darnold resurgence, claiming the "old Sam" is always just one bad read away.
Pete PriscoSam Darnold will eventually revert to his old, mistake-prone self because 'you are what you are'
Usually this league you are what you are. You're gonna have moments where you're up here... and moments when you're down here... eventually you're in the middle and that's who you are... [Sam Darnold] looked frazzled [last week] and that can't happen. It just can't happen in the big games... there's a Sam Darnold problem at least in my mind.
Prisco also made some bold calls on the current 7-4 teams in the AFC. He’s officially out on the Chargers making the postseason, citing a horrific offensive line and a brutal schedule.
Pete PriscoThe 7-4 Chargers will miss the playoffs
They're not making the playoffs... and it's gonna come down to that Chiefs Chargers game and I think the Chiefs will beat 'em. They're seven and four, but if you look at their schedule, it's brutal. And that offensive line is horrible. Yanked [Penning] out of the game. It's a terrible offensive line.
Instead, Pete is looking toward the bottom of the standings for his sleeper pick. He believes the Jaguars are essentially a lock to sneak in because their remaining schedule is a total "joke."
Pete PriscoThe Jaguars will make the playoffs because their remaining schedule is extremely easy
Jacksonville [will make the playoffs]. Look at their, look at their schedule. It's a joke... if they beat the Cardinals this week, then they got the Titans and then the Colts at home and they never lose to him and the Jets at home, they should win three or four of those games.
Fyre Fest of the Week
Fyre Fest took a turn into the world of college football coaching rumors. PFT has been tracking private flight logs like a madman and believes he has uncovered a massive move in the coaching carousel.
PFT CommenterJames Franklin is leaving Penn State to become the head coach at Virginia Tech
James Franklin is using the Penn State private jet to move to Blacksburg... I am so pumped that of course. That's the other reason why a jet would go there... I do think that [James Franklin] is gonna be the next coach... somewhere else next year.
Hank, meanwhile, is actually enjoying his reading of Don Quixote, though he was deeply confused when the author just stopped writing in the middle of a chapter like he ran out of ink.
Hopefully, the Bears can rewire their pathways faster than J.J. McCarthy this Sunday.
