PMT DB
PMT DB
Pat Fitzgerald and Mark Titus on Thanksgiving Football and College Hoops
We have made it to the best stretch of the year. Between the sweater weather, the seasonal food debates, and the constant hum of sports on every screen, it is officially the time of year where being socially buzzed at all times is actually encouraged. Big Cat and PFT Commenter opened things up by looking at the wreckage of Monday Night Football, where Tom Brady looked less like the GOAT and more like a guy who forgot his reading glasses after sunset.
Big CatTom Brady cannot play well in games that start after 8 p.m.
I'm starting to believe the theory that Tom Brady cannot play after 8 p.m. at night. [PFT: I really do think this is true.] And as the game goes on, he gets worse. That interception that he threw in the third quarter... looked like Jameis Winston interceptions.
Big Cat pointed out that while the Bucs have all the stars in the world, they don't exactly look like a team that knows each other's middle names yet. Between the primetime struggles and the looming presence of AB, the vibes in Tampa are getting a bit strange.
Big CatThe Buccaneers are a team full of names rather than a cohesive football team
It feels like they have a team full of names and not a football team. You know what I mean? They have some great players, but as a cohesive football team, sometimes it's looked bad against really good opponents.
The Respect of Coach Fitz
Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald joined the show following a massive win over Wisconsin. While Big Cat was busy trying to find a spin zone for why the Badgers lost, he couldn't help but acknowledge that Coach Fitz has turned the Wildcats into a legitimate, consistent force in the Big Ten.
Big CatPat Fitzgerald is the most disrespected coach in America
I actually had a spin zone that you are the most disrespected coach in America... Pat Fitzgerald is a great coach and has a very good program, and people should recognize that... They are a good program that is consistently good, and you are a great coach, and people need to recognize that.
They discussed the "Fighting Reese Davises" saga and how the team used the media's lack of belief as fuel. Coach Fitz also touched on the realities of coaching through a pandemic, the importance of medical providers, and why his team has to "Bring Your Own Juice" (BYOJ) in empty stadiums.
College Basketball is Back
Our good friend Mark Titus stopped by to provide some much-needed direction for the college basketball season. With the tournament being canceled last year, the guys are hungry for some feast week action. Titus is particularly high on the Zags this year, noting they have the kind of depth that reminds him of previous title teams.
Mark TitusGonzaga has the best potential to win the national title because of their multi-player talent
I think it might be [Gonzaga's year]. Gonzaga's going to be really good. I really do... They have like four guys who are the best player, and I love that because – Yeah, you get these situations that you only get with college sports where you pretend like the guy who's not that talented is actually the best player just because he dies on the floor for you.
Mark TitusVillanova's national championship teams are the blueprint for high-talent parity in college basketball
Gonzaga is more like the Villanova teams that won national [titles]... where it's like, yeah, is Jalen Brunson or Mikael Bridges the best player on the team? Omari Spellman, yeah. Or is it Dante DiVincenzo off the bench? That's like Gonzaga's feel this year.
Turning to the Big Ten, Titus warned that if you like high scores and zero interest in guarding anyone, Iowa is your team. However, when it comes to the highest potential in the conference, he's looking toward Champaign.
Mark TitusIllinois has the highest ceiling and is the most likely Big Ten team to win a national title
Illinois is the team that is the most likely to win a national title, I think. That, now having said that, they could flame out, but like the, the ceiling, if we're talking like ceilings and floors, Illinois has the highest ceiling to me... I think Illinois is the team I'm the highest on in the Big Ten going into the season.
They also covered the absolute chaos of Rick Pitino at Iona and the inevitability of him finding his way back to a power conference, with Titus calling a very specific shot for the legendary coach's future.
Mark TitusRick Pitino will eventually become the head coach at Boston College
I'm calling my shot, is going to be Boston College. Because Boston College is about to fire their coach... It's a Catholic school. Iona's a Catholic school. Rick Pitino's a Catholic man. It all lines up. Old Big East ties. Boston College has like some, you know, they had the 1979 point shaving scandal. They have a little checkered past themselves.
Hot Seat/Cool Throne and Turkey Talk
Hot Seat/Cool Throne featured a deep dive into the world of cranberry sauce and the proper construction of a mashed potato gravy volcano. Billy Football also managed to get himself on the hot seat for plagiarizing his own facts, while PFT went to war with Ryan Russillo over the legitimacy of the Washington Football Team’s defense.
PFT CommenterThe Washington Football Team's number one pass defense ranking is inflated because opponents stop passing in the second half
He [Russillo] was saying... there are some people out there in the media that don't actually know anything about football that keep saying that the Washington football team's pass defense is number one in the NFL... because it's teams that play us that are beating us that stop throwing the ball in the second half... Well, Ryan, you don't watch the game film... we're also No. 5 in yards per attempt.
As they looked ahead to the Thanksgiving slate and the Sunday games, the mood turned somber for Big Cat as he discussed the current state of his Chicago Bears. Between the quarterback carousel and the offensive stagnation, it’s reached a point of pure embarrassment.
Big CatThe Bears are a bad franchise and it is embarrassing to root for them
They're such a bad, bad team. Bad franchise. Fuck, man. It sucks... It's so painful. No one wants to see it... I wish their games were at fucking 3 in the morning. Honestly. On pay-per-view. So you have to choose to opt in to subject yourself to Bears games.
To wrap things up, Guys on Chicks led to a fascinating investigation into why society has collectively decided that turkey eggs are off-limits. PFT isn't buying the excuses from Big Poultry.
PFT CommenterThere is a conspiracy to prevent Americans from eating turkey eggs
I think that there's a conspiracy theory out there for us to not eat turkey eggs... It sounds to me like the most dangerous game. Like, it probably tastes better because it's so hard to get them. [Big Cat: They're rare.] Now I really want to eat turkey eggs because of everything this website has told me.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone except the bosses making their employees work on Friday.
