PMT DB
PMT DB
Sean Salisbury on Texans' Hopes, Baker’s Swagger, and the QB Hierarchy
We are officially back from Thanksgiving break, and our eyes are bleeding from the sheer volume of football consumed over the last five days. Between seven-overtime college marathons and a Week 12 slate that gave us some clarity in the NFC East, there’s a lot to clean up. The biggest news might be the official funeral for the Green Bay Packers, who looked absolutely disinterested in their loss to the Vikings.
Big Cat and PFT spent some time trying to diagnose what’s wrong in Lambeau. While Aaron Rodgers is busy ignoring his family on Twitter, Mike McCarthy seems to be fighting a personal war against the analytics community.
PFT CommenterMike McCarthy intentionally calls bad 4th down plays to spite statisticians
He fucking hates those people that tell him that [to go for it on 4th down]. So he's like fine, you know what, I'll do it. All right, we'll see how it works. And then he kind of intentionally calls the worst part possible so it gets blown up so he can be like, see, I told you. It doesn't work.
## The Huper Bowl and the "In The Hunt" Graphic The Cleveland Browns finally snapped their road losing streak against the Bengals, and the visual of the game wasn't just David Njoku being carried into the end zone like a groom at a Jewish wedding. It was the icy reunion between Baker Mayfield and Hue Jackson. Baker made it very clear he wasn't interested in a post-game hug with the coach who jumped ship to a division rival immediately after being fired.
Big Cat was mostly offended that Marvin Lewis let the "Dumb and Dumber" photo op happen on his own sideline.
Big CatMarvin Lewis should be fired solely for letting the photo of him and Hue Jackson exist
Easily the dumbest decision that Marvin Lewis has ever made as a head coach was letting Hugh Jackson stand on the sidelines against the Browns because that one single picture... Everyone took that picture and was like, dumb and dumber, look at these two fucking idiots. You have to be smarter to not allow that picture to happen.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks are suddenly the team no one wants to see on their schedule. Russell Wilson is playing like a man possessed, particularly when the clock starts ticking down in the final frame.
Big CatRussell Wilson is the most terrifying quarterback to face when down in the 4th quarter
Russell Wilson now, to me, is the number one guy in the NFL... right now, week 12, if you were down in the fourth quarter and you had to hand the ball to one quarterback, I'd hand it to Russell Wilson.
While Russ is making magic, Chase Daniel is out here proving that being a backup quarterback is 90% about looking like you know what you’re doing during a corporate meeting.
PFT CommenterChase Daniel is not a good quarterback and only remains in the NFL because he looks the part.
Chase Daniel is not good. No, he's really not good. But here's the thing, and this is exactly why Chase Daniel has been in the league for 20 years. He always looks like he knows exactly what he's doing... he's communicating very assertively towards his coaches, and he's probably just saying the dumbest shit possible. But he looks like—and listen, if you're in corporate America, that's 90% of your job. It's just to look like you have an understanding of what you're supposed to be doing.
## Sean Salisbury Joins the Show Friend of the program Sean Salisbury called in from Houston to help break down the quarterback landscape. The Texans are on a tear, but Salisbury isn't ready to book their flights to the Super Bowl just yet, mostly because the play-calling hasn't found its killer instinct.
Sean SalisburyThe Houston Texans are not Super Bowl ready because their offense is not explosive enough
I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think they're ready yet... I don't think they're Super Bowl ready because I just don't think they're explosive enough on offense. And I don't think play calling-wise, they know how to put their foot on your throat.
We also got into a heated debate about the future of USC and whether Clay Helton is just "too nice" for the job. Salisbury highlighted that while the Pac-12 is down, certain teams like Arizona State are exceeding expectations because of coaches like Herm Edwards. On the pro side, Salisbury is staying firm on his preseason prediction for the big game in February.
Sean SalisburyThe Patriots and Saints will meet in the Super Bowl
I picked the Patriots and the Saints in August. And I'm sticking with it. I think the Saints are the best team now... I'm going to stick with the Patriots, and I'm going to stick with the Saints in the Super Bowl.
## College Football Chaos and the Done Chain With the regular season winding down, the College Football Playoff debate is reaching a fever pitch. Ohio State's demolition of Michigan has everyone arguing over resumes. Big Cat thinks the committee will ultimately favor the Sooners if they take care of business in the Big 12 title game.
Big CatOklahoma will make the College Football Playoff over Ohio State
Oklahoma will go in over Ohio State. Especially because you have... if they beat Texas in the Big 12 championship game, their loss to Texas basically doesn't count anymore.
PFT has a slightly more nuanced view on the Oklahoma vs. Ohio State debate, focusing on the matchup rather than just the wins and losses.
PFT CommenterOhio State is a better football team than Oklahoma, but Oklahoma would win a head-to-head game.
Ohio State is a better football team than Oklahoma, but Oklahoma would beat Ohio State head-to-head... Ohio State actually plays defense. Oklahoma doesn't. But if Oklahoma played Ohio State, Oklahoma would absolutely shred them apart because Ohio State's one biggest weakness is the big plays.
We also had to update the Done Chain, which is becoming a tangled mess of regret and bad football. The Jaguars have officially been locked away after a humiliating loss to Josh Ray Allen and the Bills.
Big CatThe Jacksonville Jaguars are officially done-chained and their season is over.
Jaguars. Jaguars are a mess... So they're done chained officially. Apologies to them. But listen, we were talking about it before the show. The playoff picture is actually super fun this year because usually the fifth and sixth seed... you're like, that team sucks.
As we look ahead to championship weekend, just remember that if your coach is holding a press conference saying he definitely wants to stay at his current school, he’s probably already packing his bags for a better job.
If you've lost Kato Kaelin's support, you've probably lost the season.
