PMT DB
PMT DB
LSU/Bama Weekend Recap, NFL Week 9, and Merril Hoge on CTE
Big Cat and PFT Commenter are coming to you live from Louisiana after a weekend in Baton Rouge that featured massive amounts of "Bebe juice," a pig roasted to look like an elephant, and the realization that Alabama might actually be an unstoppable force of nature. Death Valley lived up to the hype as the loudest stadium the guys have ever experienced, even if the game itself turned into a slow-motion car crash for the Tigers.
Big CatAlabama will finish 2018 undefeated and blow everyone out
Everyone in their record books when Alabama finishes an undefeated season and shit kicks everyone. And we'll be like, wait, you could get Alabama at minus 14 in a game in 2018? And you'd be like, that was really stupid. Why didn't we put a billion dollars on it?
PFT Commenter tried to find a silver lining for the rest of the country, though he admits his logic might be a bit flawed when looking for someone who can actually stand up to Nick Saban's juggernaut.
PFT CommenterClemson is the only team with a chance to beat Alabama this year
The only team I can see maybe beating Alabama is possibly Clemson. But I only say that... because I'm an idiot, and I know Clemson and Alabama haven't played any common opponents, I don't think.
NFL Week 9: The Done Chain and Big Ben's Near-Death Experience
Moving to the NFL, the biggest story was Big Ben Roethlisberger nearly seeing the light. After a standard tackle, Ben laid on the turf in a way only he can, later claiming he thought he actually died for a second. It was the most "Big Ben" injury of all time: incredibly dramatic, followed by him staying in the game and winning. Meanwhile, John Harbaugh's Ravens are struggling, and PFT Commenter thinks he has identified the source of the problem in Baltimore.
PFT CommenterI am sick of John Harbaugh and his obsession with mock turtlenecks
I don't say this lightly, but I'm sick of John Harbaugh's mock turtlenecks. I think that's what the problem is. Find you somebody in this world that loves you as much as John Harbaugh likes wearing mock turtlenecks.
In the NFC marquee matchup, the Saints took down the Rams in a shootout that felt like a preview of the NFC Championship. While the Rams lost their undefeated status, Big Cat walked away more impressed with them than he was before kickoff.
Big CatThe loss to the Saints was a statement loss for the Rams that showed championship resolve
I think that was a statement loss for the Rams. Okay. Because they basically had everything go wrong in the first half... And the way they came out in the second half, even though they didn't win the game, that was championship resolve.
On the uglier side of the league, Nathan Peterman continued his historic run of making every spectator feel second-hand embarrassment. After another multi-interception performance, Big Cat has officially seen enough of the Peterman experiment in Buffalo.
Big CatLiterally anyone could play quarterback better than Nathan Peterman
I am starting to feel like this is actually cruel that they keep putting [Peterman] out there. Like, Sean McDermott, what are you doing? You can find anyone, basically anyone, and I mean anyone, that could play quarterback better than Nathan Peterman.
PFT CommenterSam Darnold is bad and investors should sell the stock
Sam Darnold. Trash. He's bad. Sell the stock.
Football Guy of the Week and Who's Back
Football Guy of the Week features our good friend Dana Holgorsen, who went for two and the win on the road in a move that defined big ball energy. We also saw Jeremy Pruitt essentially disavow his own childhood by claiming he never wore a Halloween costume because he didn't want to be something he wasn't. Truly psycho behavior that we can only respect.
In Who's Back, LeBron James is making moves in LA, both on the court and in the front office. He gave Luke Walton the dreaded "vote of confidence" this week, and the guys know exactly where that leads.
Big CatLeBron James' vote of confidence for Luke Walton is a kiss of death
LeBron getting coaches fired... So he gave Luke Walton a vote of confidence. So you know what that means... Suspect kiss of death. ... You know what that means when LeBron says, no, I like Luke Walton. Yeah, you're done.
Merril Hoge on CTE and "Brainwashed"
Former NFL player and analyst Merril Hoge joined the show for a much more serious discussion about his new book, *Brainwashed: The Bad Science Behind CTE and the Plot to Destroy Football*. Hoge shared his personal story of being the first player retired due to concussion testing and explained why he feels the current narrative around CTE has bypassed actual scientific rigor.
Merril HogeScience has not proven what causes CTE or what CTE causes
It probably sparked the book more than anything is when i kept hearing this from the experts... is a pattern we don't know what causes it and we don't know what it causes we have cases where people have played football people who've played sports and people have not played sports and not had concussions and not had history of head trauma.
Hoge didn't hold back on the terminology being used in the media today, specifically taking aim at terms that fans and analysts use every single Sunday.
Merril HogeSubconcussion is not a scientific term and its use is misleading
You just used it as if it's common knowledge... You used the word subconcussion. They haven't even gone through the proper science steps to qualify that as science. ... It's not scientific and so the point is when you don't do the steps of science... there's so many science papers that talk about the abuse of that word, how it's misleading.
While Big Cat and PFT Commenter pushed back on the idea of a literal "plot," Hoge remained steadfast that there is a coordinated effort to legislatively kill the game.
Merril HogeThere is a coordinated plot to destroy the game of football
I don't think there's any question there is [a plot]. When you think about... how many sports do you know where there's legislation to try to ban a particular sport, tackle football? Do you know of any other sport?
Stay Woke and Final Thoughts
The show wraps up with an all-time Stay Woke from PFT Commenter regarding LeBron James, the Lakers' salary cap, and a movie that has been in development for what feels like a century.
PFT CommenterSpace Jam 2 is a front for LeBron James to pay free agents extra money outside the salary cap
Couldnt you just offer [a superstar] a role in Space Jam 2 and through your production company pay him, I don't know, $30 million a year? Kevin Durant takes the veteran minimum on the books and... He's got a fake movie. Follow the checks. Follow the money.
If Kevin Durant ends up as a Monstar on the Lakers' roster next year, remember where you heard it first.
Hopefully Big Cat doesn't actually have to lose that pinky.
