PMT DB
PMT DB
Rick Reilly and Kirk Minihane on The Open, Running Back Drama, and Belichick's Seat
Running backs are officially the endangered species of the NFL. With Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard failing to reach long-term deals, the position is in a state of emergency. Big Cat and PFT spent the morning trying to solve the crisis, but the reality is that GMs have realized they can get 80% of the production for 20% of the cost.
Big CatRunning backs should not be eligible for the NFL Draft and should be free agents immediately
Running Backs should not be eligible to be drafted. Make them, let them be free agents. Because it is just a matter of fact that running Backs, they wear down faster. That's just the nature of the position. Why don't we let running Backs just be free agents right away?
PFT had a slightly more realistic legislative approach, suggesting the league needs to stop penalizing these guys for their shelf life before they even hit the open market.
PFT CommenterThe NFL should remove the franchise tag for the running back position
It would probably be a little bit easier if there was just no franchise tag for running back. You can use it on anybody else... but if there's a running back, you can't tag 'em. So they play their first contract, then there will be an actual bidding war for their services.
Hot Seat/Cool Throne
Hot Seat is Bill Belichick. Tom Curran is reporting that the greatest coach of all time is actually on the clock in New England, which feels insane given his resume. Big Cat pointed out that the leverage still remains with Bill because there isn't a team in the league that wouldn't clear the building for him.
Big CatAlmost every NFL team would immediately fire their coach to hire Bill Belichick if he became available
How many teams currently would fire their coach to hire Bill Belichick? Everyone would love him. It would be everyone but maybe the Chiefs and the 49ers. It can't be more than like five teams total that wouldn't fire their current coach... that's why you don't fire Bill Belichick. He would get a job instantly.
PFT came out with a shocking revelation during Hot Seat, admitting that the Netflix *Quarterback* series finally broke him. After years of performative hate, he is officially a member of the Kirk Cousins fan club.
PFT CommenterI am officially coming out of the closet as a Kirk Cousins fan
I'm coming out of the closet as a Kirk Cousins fan. I've buried it so deep that I overcompensated for loving Kirk Cousins by hating him so much these last few years. I love Kirk Cousins as a person. One of the greatest dudes, hard not to root for.
Hank used his Cool Throne to bury the city of Philadelphia. Between James Harden wanting out and Joel Embiid dropping cryptic quotes about winning elsewhere, the vibes in the City of Brotherly Love are at an all-time low.
HankThe city of Philadelphia will never win a championship in any sport ever again
My Cool Throne is the city of Philadelphia never winning anything ever. Joel Embiid, our prince... made comments the other day that he wants to win a Championship in Philadelphia or anywhere else... It seems like if he doesn't win this year in Philly, he's probably out.
Rick Reilly and The Open Preview
Legendary columnist Rick Reilly joined the show to talk about his new book, *So Help Me Golf*. He didn't hold back on the state of the game, specifically the LIV merger and the players who jumped ship. Reilly’s disdain for the Saudi-backed league is palpable, calling the move a pure "sports washing" play.
Rick ReillyThe Saudis do not care about golf and are only using it to sports wash their image
Do you know how many golf courses Saudi Arabia has? They got nine. They don't care about golf. They're trying to sports wash their image.
Moving to the NFL, Reilly shared some insight into Sean Payton’s arrival in Denver. While the vibes are better than the Nathaniel Hackett era, Reilly isn't convinced that a coaching change can fix what's wrong with Danger Russ.
Rick ReillyRussell Wilson is spent as an elite quarterback
I kind of think Russell [Wilson] is spent. And also could you not take yourself so seriously? ... Russell's not, I don't know what he thinks he's gonna be ambassador to Sweden or something. He's gonna be the governor of Colorado. I don't know what he thinks, but he's not being a regular guy.
Later, the guys were joined by Riggs and Kirk Minihane to preview the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. Kirk, being the world-class hater he is, ranked his majors and made sure to put a celebrity tournament ahead of some of golf's historic championships.
Kirk MinihaneThe Masters is the best major, but the American Century celebrity tournament is second
I'd go Masters still first. I'd go American Century second. I have Steph Curry this week to finish top 10... A good British Open is like tied second with a Ryder Cup for me. But I would say Masters first no matter what.
Riggs is looking at the board and seeing a massive disrespect to the guys who actually win majors. While Rory McIlroy is the favorite after a win last week, Riggs is looking further down the odds sheet for better value.
RiggsBrooks Koepka at 18-to-1 is the best value to win the Open Championship
I like Brooks [Koepka] a lot this week. Whenever we go into these majors, he's right there with the top three or four guys... except he's whatever, 18 to one. And you've got Rory... at plus six 50. I'm taking Brooks Koepka, I watched his presser, he seemed incredibly confident.
Kirk is also officially on the "Anti-Rory" train this week. He thinks the narrative around Rory has become too much of a martyr story, and he's betting against the back-to-back win.
Kirk MinihaneRory McIlroy will not win the 2023 Open Championship because he won't win two weeks in a row
I don't like that Rory [McIlroy] won last week. That gives me bad vibes back to back. I don't think he's gonna win two weeks in a row. I kind of wish he had lost.
We finished up with a Mount Rushmore of Running Backs that nearly tore the office apart. Billy and Jake somehow managed to get Bo Jackson and Barry Sanders confused during their picks, leading to a temporary ban for Billy and some very high-pitched yelling from Jake. It was a fitting end to a show where we also finally said goodbye to the original lottery ball machine as Hank correctly guessed 26.
Enjoy the 3:00 AM golf and pray for the running backs.
