Ryan Fitzpatrick on NFL QB Tiers, Jameis Winston, and Bills Mafia
Monday Night Football gave us the return of Russell Wilson to Seattle, and the reception was about as warm as a January night in Green Bay. Big Cat and PFT were genuinely shocked by the level of vitriol coming from the stands, but after sleeping on it, it’s clear that the 'Let’s Ride' lifestyle didn't exactly endear Russ to his former teammates or the city.
Russell Wilson's former Seahawks teammates are relieved he is gone because he was annoying to be around
I've gotta take about the Seahawks. It's about the players themselves. Not having Russ Wilson around anymore. I think they're kind of relieved. Oh dude. I think that it's like a weight off their shoulders. Not having to worry about like plugging Russ in, in the locker room, making sure that his software's up to date... He made the team competitive for 10 years. And to a certain extent, you have to pretend to like a guy like that when he's in the locker room... once a guy like that leaves the weight off your shoulders is just enormous. Now you're like, oh shit, Geno Smith is a normal person.
While the crowd was busy thundering boos, Nathaniel Hackett was busy having an all-time coaching meltdown on the sideline. Deciding to burn a minute of clock only to attempt a 64-yard field goal instead of letting your $250 million quarterback get five yards on 4th down is brain-broken behavior. PFT thinks there is a very simple explanation for why Hackett looked like a deer in the headlights during the game's biggest moment.
Nathaniel Hackett's end-of-game failure happened because he has never played Madden
This is just a rookie head coach doing rookie head coach, I think. And if he'd played enough Madden in the past, he would understand exactly how to handle that end of game situation. This is a problem with too many, too many teams are hiring offensive defensive coordinators that have spent their lives on the sidelines... but have never picked up a fucking controller in their lives and played Madden. Right. If they play Madden, they know exactly how to handle the end of game experience.
On the other side of the field, Geno Smith had himself a half and delivered one of the best post-game quotes in recent memory about not writing back. Big Cat is happy for Geno, but he isn't exactly rushing to delete his past tweets about the guy.
I have zero regrets about writing off Geno Smith before his breakout Week 1 performance
I was okay writing Geno Smith off. I have, I, I think that was, I, I don't have regrets of writing off the guy who was 13 and 21 as a starter going into this game. The guy who got punched in the face by a defensive player on his team, on the jets, because he refused to pay him $600... I was comfortable writing Geno Smith off. I was cover machine though. He is, he is... I am fully comfortable being right off Geno Smith territory.
Ryan Fitzpatrick in Studio
Our good friend Ryan Fitzpatrick joined the show in studio to discuss his transition to the media world with Amazon Prime. The man has a lot of stories, but none are better than his reasoning for why he can't simply go back to Buffalo to be Josh Allen's backup during a Super Bowl run.
I won't sign as a backup for the Buffalo Bills because every starter I back up gets hurt
Let's think about, and you know, the history, some of the history of my career everywhere, I've been where I've been a backup, the starter goes down everywhere. It doesn't matter where I go. It doesn't matter who it is. It doesn't matter. The circumstance. We've got a broken jaw. We've got dislocated hips. We've got Liz Frank injuries. I would not want to do that to my boy, Josh [Allen].
Fitz also gave us a look behind the curtain on how he stayed ready during his time in Miami. While most backups are grinding on the scout team, Fitz was playing a different game entirely to keep his edge.
I purposely stopped practicing while benched in Miami to prove I could come out of the stands and play at any moment.
When I got benched in Miami and Flores started doing the, Hey, let's put him in at the end of the game thing, I did not practice. I was there. I watched, I helped, I was active in meetings. I did not practice and throw a ball in practice from the time I got benched until the time you saw me play those games... cuz I wanted to prove to myself that I could come out of the stands at any point and play. And I did and I proved it to myself.
When it came to ranking the current crop of signal-callers, Fitz didn't hold back. He’s a massive believer in the talent currently taking over the league, even if some of the veterans haven't always shown him the respect he deserved on the field.
Tom Brady has zero respect for me and has refused to shake my hand after games
I've told this story before, but he just pisses me off because you're in Buffalo... and we finally in 2011 knocked him off... and he threw five interceptions in the game... run straight off. Like no handshake, no, you know, quarterback middle of the field... just ran straight off. So it just, it bothered me so much because there was no respect there. And so I was like, every time I played him, after that, I was like, all right, like I at least got like, let's make this dude respect me.
He specifically pointed to the Bills' superstar as the gold standard for what a franchise quarterback should look like, both in the huddle and at the facility.
Josh Allen is the best quarterback in the NFL
For me, and the reason that some of these guys really bug me and the reason that I love a guy like Josh Allen... this is the reason that I think Josh Allen is the best quarterback in the NFL... we've got the talent. He's also the dude that sits in the locker room and he's just a dude. He can just be the Carson Palmer for me when I was young... if the leader of your football team can do that and is that human being, then it just resonates with everybody and sets a tone in the building.
Hot Seat/Cool Throne
Hot Seat/Cool Throne featured a classic Hank vs. the world moment as he tried to declare Seattle a bad sports town. Meanwhile, Big Cat is keeping a close eye on Robert Saleh. The Jets head coach is apparently keeping a list of names for everyone mocking the team's slow start, and the PMT crew is firmly on page one.
Robert Saleh taking 'receipts' on his haters is a dangerous game that will only make the mocking worse if they lose
Robert Saleh went in front of the media on Monday and said... 'we're all taking receipts on all the people who continually mock... and I'm gonna be more than happy to share them with all of you when all is said and done.' ... I will put myself down as a receipt. He can, he can absolutely come back and dunk on me when the jets become a super bowl team. But yeah, that was he he's, he's taking receipts... if they're not good this year, he could get fired. And if they're not good next year, he definitely will get fired. So yeah, those receipts, it's tough to say that.
PFT also shared some thoughts on the culture down in College Station. After watching the videos of their yell practice this week, it’s hard to argue with his assessment of the Aggie lifestyle.
Texas A&M is a cult
Texas a and M is a cult. Yeah. I, I say this as somebody that knows a lot of Aggies. I lived in Texas for about 10 years. They're cult. A lot of 'em are nice people, but nice people who are in a cult. What was the thing the guy was doing where he, like, he would do that every time? That's that's the horse laugh. Oh my God. They've got entire, they have an entire like catalog and encyclopedia of different hand motions and body motions that these yell leaders have to make at certain points. They're just, they're just cults.
One Question with a QB
To wrap things up, we introduced a brand new segment where we call a quarterback and ask them exactly one question. We tried to get Blake Bortles, but since he was likely busy being a legend, we reached out to Detroit's own Jared Goff. Big Cat didn't waste the opportunity, asking the tough questions about the afterlife and the Royal Family.
I believe that Queen Elizabeth is in heaven and I definitely believe in hell
[Big Cat]: Do you think Queen Elizabeth is in heaven? [Goff]: I hope so. [Big Cat]: Follow up. I know this is part of the first question. Do you believe in hell? [Goff]: Oh yeah.
If the Lions start winning, we might have to make Randy—I mean Jared—a weekly staple of the program.

