PMT DB
PMT DB
The first College Football Playoff rankings arrived precisely as the committee intended: with everyone furious. Alabama at No. 5, Tennessee at No. 13, Ohio State at No. 12, and UCLA at No. 8 gave Big Cat and PFT enough material to avoid discussing anything important for a full quarter hour. The committee's “pods” explanation was compared to a Love Is Blind experiment, which is not how anyone wants their playoff résumé evaluated.
The Committee Chooses Violence
Big Cat's defense of the rankings was less “they got it right” and more “they gave us content.” He appreciated the committee making a mess that would mostly be cleaned up on the field by Saturday. PFT, meanwhile, could not get past Alabama being ranked fifth after getting destroyed by Tennessee. The only thing they agreed on was that Notre Dame at No. 11 was a very deliberate message: win this weekend or prepare to watch the playoff from home.
Big CatThe committee intentionally made the rankings confusing
Do I actually think the committee did a good job? No, they fucked a lot of shit up. But I appreciate the committee fucking shit up that will most likely get decided on the field so that we have something to talk about on a Tuesday night.
The UCLA conversation turned into a genuine argument over whether an undefeated team should be rewarded even if the schedule is soft. Big Cat's answer was yes, and he went as far as swapping UCLA and Alabama. Indiana also received a surprisingly serious defense, mostly because Curt Cignetti and that defense keep finding ways to win games that look uglier than they should.
PFT CommenterAlabama at No. 5 is absolutely insane
At five, five is absolutely fucking insane that they put them at five. I think you're right. I think they did it just to get people pissed off. Get people talking.
Big Jeff, Bigger Bears Expectations
The Bears did not merely beat Seattle on Monday night. They walked into the Seahawks' house, made them look small, and left Big Cat ready to start pricing Super Bowl suites. Jeffrey Simmons immediately transformed Chicago's defensive front, freeing up Montez Sweat and allowing Dennis Allen to blitz less while still generating pressure. PFT compared Big Jeff's arrival to a Catholic guy bringing his heathen friend to church, complete with locker-room instructions on when to kneel and when to stand.
Caleb Williams was excellent, which was a tough development for Hank, who had apparently been hoping the Seahawks defense would expose him. Instead, Williams escaped sacks, made the hero throws, and became the only quarterback to top 200 passing yards against Seattle this season. Big Cat's quarterback evaluation was not subtle.
Big CatCaleb Williams is a top-five quarterback
He's a top five quarterback in the NFL and I don't, I know this is gonna sound crazy and it's obviously very biased, but I wouldn't trade him for any quarterback right now.
The NFC North suddenly looks like a knife fight, and PFT argued that Chicago has reached the stage where anything short of a Super Bowl should be viewed as a disappointment. Big Cat objected to “bust” because the Bears are young and have a long runway, but he absolutely did not object to the Super Bowl part.
PFT CommenterThe Bears should be Super Bowl or bust
I think that you should have the opinion Super Bowl or bust. The team is good enough. The coaching staff is good enough where you'll, you should be disappointed if this team doesn't win a Super Bowl.
The rest of the NFL got its own warning label. Big Cat thinks the Chiefs might be a little overrated, while Kevin O'Connell was stripped of his “offensive guru” title and placed on an Amber Alert. PFT also launched the Jacksonville Jaguars Respect Initiative after the show somehow spent Sunday arguing about whether Jacksonville's game was in Orlando. The Jaguars are apparently a Super Bowl contender now, and Trevor Lawrence is apparently an MVP candidate. Geography has consequences.
Big CatThe Chiefs may be overrated
I do not think the sky's falling, but I do think the Chiefs are maybe a little overrated.
PFT CommenterThe Jaguars are legitimate Super Bowl contenders
I do think that they are a legitimate Super Bowl contender. And I think that Trevor Lawrence should be getting more discussion as being the MVP.
Wine, Wizards, and the Urinal Industrial Complex
Hot Seat/Cool Throne had everything: LeBron stealing a stranger's wine mid-game, Jason Tatum attacking a hand-sanitizer station, and PFT quietly admitting the Wizards look halfway competent. Hank was monitoring Washington but refused to get emotionally involved before Christmas, which is a reasonable policy for anyone who has watched the Wizards over the last few years.
The real long-term battle, however, was happening in the PMT studio bathroom. Big Cat wants a fully operational urinal because it would be convenient, a conversation piece, and one more attraction on the Barstool office tour. Hank cast the lone vote against it and was immediately classified as a naysayer. The proposed merch already includes urinal cakes, pocket urinals, and a shirt reading, “I took a piss in the Pardon My Take podcast studio and all I got was this shirt.”
Sal Frelick, World Series Champion
Sal Frelick arrived five days removed from Milwaukee's World Series celebration and still operating somewhere between championship euphoria and a multi-day hangover. The Brewers went straight from Tampa to Thursday Night Football because Jake Bowers decided the team could probably make it, and that is exactly the kind of post-title logistics PMT needed to hear about.
Frelick described a Milwaukee clubhouse built on failure, persistence, and a lineup where someone different delivers the big at-bat every night. The Brewers' identity under Pat Murphy is not just “small ball,” though Murphy does apparently require players to be able to hit a backside ground ball on command. Bunting, baserunning, defense, and doing the little things come before chasing stats. It sounds like college baseball, except the players are facing 100-mile-per-hour fastballs for a World Series trophy.
The Brewers win with a college-style approach
He loves those kind of players. I would say just having been a college guy myself, we definitely play a more collegey type style than other teams. He loves his college guys, not even guys that went to college, but that play that way of getting bunts down, base running, defense all comes before stats and everything.
The Brewers' backside approach is the key to their offense
Murph literally says you can't play on our team unless you can hit a backside ground ball on command, especially with two strikes. And to do that, you have to see the ball so deep.
Frelick also told the story of Murphy pretending to be the team's video guy when Sal first arrived in spring training. Sal spent a week asking him to send over video of his at-bats before realizing the “video guy” was actually the bench coach. Murphy's commitment to the bit remains undefeated.
The interview eventually reached Christian Yelich and the Home Run Derby. Frelick thinks winning the World Series makes Yelich more likely to participate. Big Cat and PFT disagreed, mostly because they want Yelich to let them pitch to him and also because they believe one bad Derby round could erase every accomplishment in his career. Naturally, the proposed solution was to slip him some performance-enhancing substances and then immediately announce it on the podcast.
Christian Yelich has more reason to enter the Home Run Derby after winning the World Series
He almost, I think he's going to. He has more reason to do it now that he's won the World Series.
Listener Takes, Professional Tipping, and Steelers Delusion
The listener football takes produced a debate about going for two when up seven, with Big Cat and PFT agreeing that the answer depends on whether you have Josh Allen or a short-yardage offense that can reliably get two yards. The Steelers then received a serious endorsement, at least by PMT standards. Big Cat believes Pittsburgh can win a playoff game, while PFT demanded to revisit the subject after the next Bengals matchup.
Big CatThe Steelers can win a playoff game
I think the Steelers can win a playoff game.
The final argument was about tipping, where PFT proposed a national service-industry requirement for every adult. His theory: six months of waiting tables or bartending would make people less awful in restaurants. Memes countered that working with the public mostly teaches you to hate humanity, which may be the most convincing bipartisan platform anyone has offered this week.
Sal left as a World Series champion, the Bears left Seattle as a terrifying football team, and Hank left the urinal vote outnumbered nine to one. Somewhere, Chris the building manager is still pretending this is a normal job.
