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Michael Irvin, The Bears Suck, And The Dodgers Win The World Series

Wednesday, October 28, 202014 takes

We clean up MNF and the Bears may just suck at scoring points, which is important ( - ). Mike Nolan gets hot sauce in his eye ( - ). We recap Game 6 of the World Series, Kevin Cash falling in love with his computer and the Dodgers finally winning a World Series ( - ). Hot Seat/Cool Throne ( - ). Hall of Famer Michael Irvin joins the show to talk about his career, the state of the Cowboys today, and his twitter game ( - 1). We finish the show with guys on Chicks.

Michael Irvin on the Cowboys, Dodgers Win the World Series, and the Bears Suck

The Chicago Bears are who we thought they were. After another prime-time disaster on Monday Night Football, Big Cat has officially reached the stage of grief where he’s no longer apologizing for being 5-2, but he is acknowledging that the offense is a crime against humanity. The guys breakdown how Matt Nagy and Nick Foles seem to be speaking two different languages, and neither of them involves moving the ball down the field.

Void
Oct 28, 2020
#3534
Big CatBig Cat

Patrick Mahomes would have been a bust if he were drafted by the Chicago Bears

This is why I've always said when everyone's like well, we could have Patrick Mahomes. Patrick Mahomes would have got hit by a bus if he had been a Chicago Bear. There is just it's never going to be in the cards for the Bears to be able to move the football.

While hypothetical, Mahomes' elite talent suggests he would have likely succeeded regardless, though the Bears' history of QB development supports Big Cat's point.

Despite the offensive line being a turnstile and the play-calling feeling like a waiter in Kansas City offering steak to a guy who wants salmon, Big Cat is still stubbornly clinging to the idea that the luck might not have run out just yet.

Loss
Oct 28, 2020
#3535
Big CatBig Cat

The Bears might get lucky and beat the Saints on Sunday

I'm still not gonna apologize for five and two... I'm running the luck train. The Bears are they have one very lucky games this year. They're not a very good team. But sometimes the NFL you'll just get the lucky bounce and just ride it. So I'm not going to apologize for five and two and I think they might even beat the Saints on Sunday.

The Saints beat the Bears 26-23 in overtime on November 1, 2020.

While the Bears are struggling to score, the NFC West is thriving with "Mickey Mouse" football. PFT and Big Cat took a look at the Rams' victory, noting that Sean McVay’s excessive pre-snap motion is basically just a game of three-card monte designed to confuse real football players.

Void
Oct 28, 2020
#3536
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Rams play 'Mickey Mouse' football with their excessive pre-snap motion

I agree with your take that they're playing too fast. That's gonna be Mickey Mouse football when Sean McVay gets in his huddle and then he has his players shift around like it's a game of three-card monte at a carnival just to confuse the defense.

This is a subjective stylistic critique of Sean McVay's coaching philosophy.

Kevin Cash vs. The Computer

In a move that will be debated as long as nerds have spreadsheets, Kevin Cash pulled Blake Snell from Game 6 of the World Series while he was absolutely shoving. The Dodgers won the title, Clayton Kershaw got his ring, and the Tampa Bay Rays died by the sword of sabermetrics. Big Cat was incensed that a manager would let a computer program override the human element of the game.

Win
Oct 28, 2020
#3538
Big CatBig Cat

Kevin Cash let his computer ruin the World Series by pulling Blake Snell in Game 6

The game was a Kevin Cash versus computer and he let his computer fuck him in the face and the Rays died by sabermetrics and congrats to the Dodgers... Blake Snell was 73 pitches, zero runs into the game and he pulled him after a single... The computer says we've got to go to the bullpen. I'm gonna freak out I'm a nerd I've never realized that the game is played with emotion and humans and not on a spreadsheet.

Pulling Snell is widely considered one of the worst managerial decisions in World Series history as the bullpen immediately blew the lead and the Rays lost.

To prevent future spreadsheet-induced tragedies, PFT proposed a new rule for every front office run by ivy-league analytics departments.

Void
Oct 28, 2020
#21410
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Every front office run by 'nerds' should have one 'asshole' in the dugout to veto computer-driven decisions

If you have a team that's comprised of nerds of the front office controlling decision-making, you should have one asshole in the dugout and during the playoffs that asshole gets to fight the nerd or the dork that's telling them to do something completely against the asshole's gut feeling. You get one fight. You knock them out and you get to take that decision making.

This is a satirical suggestion for a rule change in baseball management.

Big Cat also made sure to remind everyone that while the Dodgers have the trophy, the 2019 Washington Nationals still hold a certain distinction in the record books.

Win
Oct 28, 2020
#3539
Big CatBig Cat

The Washington Nationals are still the current regular full-season World Series champions

I'd also like to say that the Washington Nationals are still current regular full season World Series champions that is for the record that I've gone to game seven. What the fuck? What happened?

Factually correct in terms of 162-game seasons; the Nationals won in 2019 and 2020 was a 60-game season.

Michael Irvin Joins the Show

The Playmaker himself, Michael Irvin, joined the show for an incredible interview that covered everything from his legendary work ethic to the current dumpster fire in Dallas. Irvin didn't hold back on the state of the Cowboys, explaining that while the injuries are historic, the culture of winning has shifted.

Win
Oct 28, 2020
#21413
Michael IrvinMichael Irvin

The 2020 Dallas Cowboys offensive line injuries are unprecedented in NFL history

I don't think we've seen a team hit by injuries like the Dallas Cowboys. I don't know if ever in the history of the NFL. Your both offensive tackles—not just tackles, these two pro bowlers—gone. Your starting Pro Bowl Center retires on you. Then the second guy they look he goes and get hurt. Zack Martin was the only guy that was consistent and he's in and out of the lineup.

While many teams have suffered severe injuries, losing four out of five starters including three All-Pros is statistically among the worst O-line injury seasons in history.

Irvin provided a fascinating look into the mind of an injured star, noting that Dak Prescott's value is skyrocketing every time the Cowboys' offense looks lost without him.

Win
Oct 28, 2020
#3541
Michael IrvinMichael Irvin

Dak Prescott's leverage increases every time the Cowboys lose a game without him

Jerry every time you try somebody else out there, he's making me money. This is Dak sitting back at the table like let my leg get healed up, you give me my money... Watching the team go without him, his head has calmed down. He's saying right now, 'Yeah, my money. I'll be there.'

Dak Prescott eventually signed a massive 4-year, $160 million contract in March 2021, proving he had immense leverage.

He also gave a masterclass in identifying when a dynasty is officially dead. It isn't about the roster or the coaching; it's about the internal expectation of the players when they walk into the stadium.

Win
Oct 28, 2020
#21414
Michael IrvinMichael Irvin

A dynasty ends the moment a team stops expecting to win by 30 and starts wondering if they can win at all

I remember the moment the dynasty ended. Deion [Sanders] came to me and we were talking about something. I said to Deion, 'It's over.' We were not having that feeling where we walk in and say, 'How many points are we winning by?' Now we were going into these games saying, 'Okay, can we win these games?'

This is a psychological observation from a player who lived it; the Cowboys never returned to the Super Bowl after this period, validating his feeling.

As a guy who transitioned from three Super Bowls to a massive media career, Irvin made a bold claim about which job actually leaves him more wiped out at the end of the day.

Void
Oct 28, 2020
#3542
Michael IrvinMichael Irvin

Being an NFL media personality is more mentally exhausting than actually playing in the NFL

I get more tired at this than I did at playing... when the bodies are exhausted, the mind is still racing... But in this [media], when you're exhausted, you're exhausted here in the mind... the mind is shut down. I never was going to shut down after a long game on Sunday.

This is entirely subjective to Irvin's personal experience.

Hot Seat/Cool Throne

During a lively Hot Seat/Cool Throne, the guys touched on Mike Nolan getting Tabasco in his eye during a press conference—the ultimate symbol of the Cowboys' season. Big Cat thinks Jerry Jones needs to take a more punitive approach to his defensive coordinator’s culinary habits.

Win
Oct 28, 2020
#3537
Big CatBig Cat

Jerry Jones should treat Mike Nolan like he's in prison until the Cowboys' defense improves

If you're a good owner and you've got someone as shitty as Mike Nolan that's still employed, he shouldn't be allowed to season his food or have any flavor. You need to treat him like he's in prison... until he either quits on his own or decides that he's going to get better and be accountable and start to make improvements. You take away all salt, pepper. He should not be eating hot food or spicy food at all.

The Cowboys defense remained historically bad in 2020, and Mike Nolan was fired at the end of the season.

They also addressed the bizarre take from a PFF writer who claimed that wanting the Cowboys to defend Andy Dalton after a dirty hit was a sign of "toxic masculinity." PFT was quick to point out that sometimes, you just have to protect your guy.

Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

It is incorrect to claim that shaming the Cowboys for not defending Andy Dalton is 'toxic masculinity'

There was a guy from Pro Football Focus who said that in my humble opinion, attacking the Cowboys for not going after [Jon] Bostic, who by any means wasn't a threat to [Andy] Dalton anymore, is toxic masculinity at its peak. ... Forgive me for not wanting to trust what a German has to say about a bunch of people with stars on their shirts.

This is a social/cultural opinion on football conduct.

Before letting everyone go, Big Cat admitted he might have been wrong about the Big Ten's return as the Wisconsin Badgers deal with a COVID outbreak, threatening the very season he begged for only weeks ago.

Void
Big CatBig Cat

The Big Ten made a mistake by deciding to play the 2020 football season

I'm down to just shift and be like, you know, the Big Ten was a bad idea. I'm down to just shift and be like, 'The Big Ten was a bad idea.' I have no idea what's the right amount of days [to quarantine].

The Big Ten season did finish, but it was plagued by cancellations and schedule changes. Whether it was a 'bad idea' remains a matter of opinion.

At least we still have the murder hornets to keep us on our toes.

chicago-bearsdallas-cowboysworld-seriesmlbnflhot-seat-cool-throne

More Takes

Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Baseball Prospectus banning the word 'assets' to describe players is unnecessary word policing

This is Disney's a type of decisions that people make that you're just playing into the angry guy online. You make a decision about a fucking word that no one has ever thought twice about. They now can just argue about like 'they're trying to take away our words'. You can't even say 'asset' anymore?

This is an opinion on media language policies.

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