Warren Sharp and Paul Rabil on Divisional Round & Lacrosse Ownership
The Divisional Round is officially here, and the energy in the studio is peaking as Big Cat and PFT prepare for a trip to New Orleans for the National Championship. But before they hit Bourbon Street, there was some massive coaching news in the college ranks that they couldn't ignore. Mike Leach taking his air raid offense to Mississippi State is the kind of chaos the SEC was built for.
Mike Leach in the SEC is a match made in heaven for entertainment
Mike Leach in the SEC, a match made in heaven. Maybe not from a football standpoint, from an entertainment standpoint. Lane Kiffin versus Mike Leach in the Egg Bowl. I hope it happens for 50 years.
Big Cat thinks the Pirate is going to have a field day with the level of athletes he's about to inherit in Starkville.
Mike Leach will have the best quality of players he has ever had at Mississippi State
it's going to work because what Mike Leach does better than any coach is he goes to programs that are not traditional powerhouses... and he wins with not the best recruiting classes. He actually will have probably his best recruit. He'll have his best quality of players at Mississippi State than he's had anywhere else.
Sharp Analysis for the Divisional Round
Warren Sharp joined the show to provide some actual intelligent analysis to balance out the guys' vibes-based handicapping. While Big Cat is feeling invincible with his favorites-heavy parlay, Sharp dug into the specific personnel matchups that could define the weekend.
The 49ers, Ravens, and Chiefs money line parlay is a can't-lose bet
The 49ers, the Ravens, the Chiefs. Parlay them all, plus 105 on BetMGM, even money everywhere else... How does that lose? I don't see a way that it does.
One of the most lopsided matchups Sharp pointed out involves the 49ers' heavy personnel against a Minnesota defense that has struggled all year to stop the run when teams put two backs in the backfield.
The Minnesota Vikings defense is the worst in the NFL against 21 personnel runs
Minnesota is actually the worst defense in the NFL against 21 personnel runs. They allow 6.7 yards per carry and a 74% success rate... And guess who runs the most in the entire NFL? Kyle Shanahan in the 49ers.
Sharp also gave a ringing endorsement to the Matt Rhule hire in Carolina, citing the owner's willingness to spend on every possible advantage, including the analytics departments that certain other coaches pretend don't exist.
Matt Rule is the most intriguing coaching hire of the 2020 offseason
I'm most intrigued by the Matt Rule hire because I want to see if what he does transitions over. And we know that he's working with an owner who just like spend, spend, spend on everything.
Bill Belichick definitely uses analytics despite his public denials
He's going to deny most everything possible unless there is an advantage to him. And he could easily say, I don't look at analytics... but somebody else there is giving him the research. He's got a team of guys that are using things, including computer vision... and that's all, in a nutshell, analytics is.
Waterdogs Ownership Brainstorm
Paul Rabil stopped by to help Big Cat and PFT navigate their new reality as owners of the Waterdogs in the PLL. It turns out that being an owner involves more than just picking a cool logo and calling yourself a "Governor." The guys immediately started looking for ways to maximize their investment, ranging from "legally nebulous" betting schemes to taxpayer-funded stadium deals.
The Waterdogs will have a stadium built exclusively with taxpayer money
I'd like to do a census, some type of study to figure out where we could build a stadium exclusively with the taxpayer's money. I don't want to pay anything for my new stadium. Let's find out... figure out what location in America the voters are dumb enough that they'll just give us a lacrosse stadium.
I will bet on the Waterdogs and the over in every Waterdogs game
I want to be able to bet on the dogs and the over in dogs games. [Paul Rabil] says as long as we don't short our teams, we can wet our beak elsewhere.
They also discussed the upcoming expansion draft and the possibility of drafting people purely for the sake of the podcast, like Steve Belichick or even Chris Hogan.
Fyre Fest and Kicking Dreams
PFT’s Fyre Fest this week is a classic case of accidentally caring. What started as a joke about the XFL's DC Defenders needing a kicker has turned into a genuine athletic obsession. PFT has been hitting the field, visualizing the uprights, and is now convinced he’s one phone call away from a professional paycheck.
I actually think I am going to make the DC Defenders XFL team as a kicker
They suggested, as a joke, that the DC team they don't have a kicker right now... I started practicing, and now I actually think that I'm going to make the team... I want to be a professional football player. I want to make this team. And I believe that.
Meanwhile, the guys addressed the Royal Family drama, with PFT offering a "stay woke" theory that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's move to Canada is actually a strategic land grab for the British Monarchy.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving to Canada as part of a British monarchy plan to retake dominance over the country
I think that this is the British monarchy trying to retake over Canada... Canada is like four Greenlands put together... This is the United Kingdom trying to retake over and establish dominance over Canada.
We wrap up the week with a reminder that while the first day of March Madness is the most stressful day of the year for a gambler's wallet, at least you aren't wasting your finite heartbeats on a treadmill.
The first day of March Madness is the most stressful betting day of the year
First day of March Madness. Because there's just so much that can go wrong, and if it goes wrong, you're... you can be in a hole and look up out of the hole and be like, how am I going to get out of this hole? And then it's, oh, whoops, it's also a sinkhole.
Running is not good for you because human hearts have a finite number of beats
Running isn't good for you. No one should ever think running's good for you. As far as I'm concerned, your heart only has a finite amount of beats programmed into it at birth. It's like eggs in a woman. So I don't want to raise my heart rate too high because then it's not going to be around to beat when I'm past the age of 70.
Good luck to everyone this weekend, except for the people who bet against the can't-lose parlay.
