PMT DB
PMT DB
NFL Week 17, Fastest 2 Minutes, and We're Not Apologizing for the Playoffs
The regular season is officially in the books, all 256 games are accounted for, and most importantly, we are officially the Not Apologizing for Making the Playoffs Podcast. Big Cat and PFT are riding the high of having their respective eight-and-eight and seven-and-nine squads in the dance. It doesn't matter how you get to the party, it just matters that you're in the room tapping the keg while the serious teams like the Packers and Chiefs worry about actually winning the thing.
Sunday Night Sabotage
The weekend ended with a bizarre display of "coaching to win" from Doug Pederson that looked a lot more like coaching for a higher draft pick. PFT is welcoming all Giants fans to the Washington bandwagon after Nate Sudfeld effectively handed the NFC East crown to the Football Team. While Giants fans are rightfully livid, the guys pointed out that winning more than six games usually helps avoid these situations.
PFT CommenterTom Brady is 1-3 against the NFC East in the playoffs and we are the best division at beating him
Tom Brady [is] 1 and 3 against the NFC East in the playoffs. You might recall we're the best division against Tom Brady. So I said before the game, I was going to wait for the giants. If the football team lost, I want to open up the bandwagon.
Big Cat was particularly struck by how the Eagles players must feel watching their coach wave the white flag while they're out there playing for their next contracts.
Big CatThe Eagles players have to be pissed at Doug Pederson for throwing the game by benching Jalen Hurts
I would be pissed if I was an Eagles player. Oh. And because the Eagles player like, what does an Eagles player care? What if they're going to move up three spots in the draft, but the time of the player that you draft is going to be like, Oh, a really good player. You're probably be retired or on a different team.
AFC Power Shifts
Over in the AFC, the Ravens have officially regained their identity by simply deciding to stop being cute and start running the ball down everyone's throat again. Lamar Jackson looks like he has his swagger back, and nobody is lining up to face that rushing attack right now.
Big CatThe Baltimore Ravens are officially the team that no one wants to play in the playoffs
Starting with the Ravens Bengals the Baltimore Ravens. We said it last week. They are the team officially. No one wants to play. They got their swagger back. Five straight wins, 525 yards, 404 yards rushing.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins' season ended in a 56-26 disaster at the hands of the Bills. Buffalo looked like a complete wagon, but the real conversation in Miami has turned to Tua Tagovailoa. Despite a 10-win season, the guys are questioning if the Dolphins should use their inherited number three pick to look at a quarterback upgrade.
Big CatTua Tagovailoa has bust tendencies and the Dolphins should draft a quarterback at number three
To [Tua], I think it might be a bust. Well, he has, he has bust tendencies right now... You're not going to be back in the top three for a long time. Take the quarterback and Tua still has a ton of value. Like if you want to trade Tua, I bet you can get a second round pick for him at least.
Speaking of wagons, Big Cat is all-in on the Bills as the primary threat to the Chiefs' throne. They didn't just win; they buried the Dolphins with their backups playing half the game.
Big CatThe Buffalo Bills are a wagon and will play in the AFC Championship game
The Bills are a wagon... I like the Bills. One of the Bills we're going to go to the AFC championship game. They just are. I'm not getting to the bills are gonna play in the AFC championship game.
NFC Playoff Chaos
The Bears backed into the playoffs after getting their throats stepped on by Aaron Rodgers once again. It’s a familiar feeling for Big Cat, who has accepted that Rodgers' entire purpose in life is to ruin his Sundays.
Big CatAaron Rodgers is the MVP and lives to kick the shit out of me and the Bears
I hate [Rodgers], but I also will at least say he's the MVP and guess what? He's fucking good. And he lives to kick the shit out of the Bears in the city of Chicago and me. That's just the fact.
Despite the loss, the Bears get a date with the Saints on Nickelodeon. PFT has a very specific, slightly dark strategy for how Chicago can pull off the upset against Drew Brees without technically violating any major league rules.
PFT CommenterThe key to beating the Saints in the playoffs is to 'hurt' Drew Brees just enough to get Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill in the game, but not 'injure' him.
If you knock Drew Brees out of the game, you can win the game. If you hit Drew Brees, you can win the game, if you don't injure him badly. ... You need to hurt him, not injure him. Then you get like the 60% Drew Brees that is not as good as the 100% Taysom Hill.
Looking at the broader NFC picture, the Rams managed to grind out a win with John Wolford, while Kliff Kingsbury essentially retired from being an offensive genius in real-time. The guys were not impressed with the Cardinals' lack of urgency with their season on the line.
PFT CommenterKliff Kingsbury is a big-time fraud and I'm revoking his offensive guru card
Kliff Kingsbury. He waved the white flag on the entire season. Like they actually could of made the Playoffs. This was, it was delivered to them on gold platter. Like you were playing John Wolford... This was, this is the biggest indictment on, on Kliff Kingsbury that he's ever produced thus far. This game was his masterpiece explaining to everybody else. What we saw on him, which was big time fraud.
College Football and Beyond
In the College Football Playoff, Justin Fields put on a legendary performance against Clemson after Dabo Swinney ranked Ohio State 11th in the country. It was the ultimate "talk shit, get hit" scenario. However, the guys are realistic about Notre Dame's place in the hierarchy after their loss to Alabama.
Big CatNotre Dame has a ceiling because they can't recruit elite five-star quarterbacks like Alabama
The craziest part about Notre Dame is Notre Dame is like at its ceiling... they only, the only thing that Notre Dame can can do, I think to, to actually get over this Hill is they need a Trevor Lawrence or a Tua or Joe burrow. Like they need one of those crazy elite quarterbacks.
The show wrapped up with a very controversial Football Guy of the Week segment involving a reporter's insistence on calling Nick Saban "Coach," and a deep dive into the "Bean Dad" saga that gripped the internet.
If your team didn't make the playoffs, just remember: it's January, it's jumpsuit season, and we’re going to enjoy every single day this week because we're still playing.
