Takes

Curt Cignetti has permanently changed the timeline for college football program rebuilds

To me, coach Cignetti has totally changed the sport of college football. He's put everybody on notice saying, don't give me 2, 3, 4 years that it takes you to figure it out with a program. There's a real national championship contender in Bloomington and that's really cool.

Dabo Swinney leaving Clemson for a new job would be exactly like John Calipari leaving Kentucky for Arkansas

I think that he is John Calipari going to Arkansas waiting to happen. Because I think things have run their course. You wanna end things in a place where like it wouldn't end pretty... Once you've tasted the top, it's so much harder to stay there. Especially in this climate. So for Dabo, your story's written at Clemson, I think it's probably best for both parties for him to be elsewhere.

The Cleveland Browns need a 'detonation crew' and total organizational reset

The whole thing's gotta come down and you gotta get new people in there. They can't have the people who have made the picks in the past make 'em again. They need to bring in like the stadium detonation crew.

The 'soft benching' of J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota has clearly worked

Do we think maybe it was still a soft benching and the soft— No, I think we should double down. Say the soft benching worked. It worked. Yeah. No, I'm a soft benching guy now. Listen, I'm gonna trust what [Kevin O'Connell] does. He's a quarterback whisperer. He's soft benched and he was right.

Bo Nix is a better version of Tim Tebow

Is Bo Nix just a better version of Tim Tebow? ... I'm saying Tim Tebow for the Broncos was awesome. Tebow time was incredible. I'm saying better version.

Rico Dowdle is the Panthers' best offensive player and needs a heavy workload

Rico Dowdle is by far their best offensive player and they need to give him the ball a lot. And they did. 25 carries, 130 yards, two touchdowns. ... Just, just let Rico loose because the passing attack for the Panthers is not— Bryce Young had a Josh Rosen stat line today.

Leaving Jayden Daniels in a 31-point blowout was coaching malpractice by Dan Quinn

There's just no point to have your franchise quarterback in the game down 31. ... That's fucking dumb. ... To get him injured in the fourth quarter of a blowout, that seems like it would be something that in prime time, that an owner would have a serious problem with. ... Is this the guy to be the coach? That's a bad mistake by Dan Quinn.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL right now

The Seahawks, they're a really good team. ... Jaxon Smith-Njigba is, like, we've already said it, one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. ... He was awesome again tonight.

Brock Purdy should have been put on long-term IR back in week 2 or 3

I think what it comes down to is that Brock Purdy should have been long-term IR, what was that week two, week three? ... Purdy was just like, no, I'm gonna try to play through this turf toe... He's a tough guy, but he probably shouldn't have done that.

The Bengals should trade Trey Hendrickson

I don't know who's— Trey Hendrickson is hurt, but not— and the Bengals aren't gonna trade him, but they should.

Drake London is a top 5 wide receiver in the NFL right now

Since week four, I would put Drake London in my top five. ... If you were to get a guy for a game today, those are my top five: Jefferson, Jamar Chase, JSN, Puka Nacua, Drake London.

The Dodgers/Blue Jays 2025 World Series was one of the greatest ever

That was one of the greatest World series, like start to finish. ... every game had its own like little unique personality to it and was crazy. It, it was nuts.

Mark Walter might be the best owner in all of sports

This guy might be the best owner in all of sports because afterwards... Yamamoto was a good bet because of his age... He trusts the evaluations... I just tell them, yes. That's what an owner should do. He has really smart baseball people and he just says yes.

ESPN and Disney are screwing over sports fans in their feud with YouTube TV

ESPN is fucking everyone because ESPN's got a new app... they're screwing over everyone who has cut the cord... and it's just fucked up. It's fucked up. They're just screwing over the consumer. The people who just wanna watch sports. ... stop with this bullshit where everyone is trying to squeeze each other out for an extra dollar.

Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa should both be fired after the Dolphins' horrific loss

And Mike McDaniel you fired... it looked bad... they're just the most bad vibes team out there. The Dolphins have to just fire everyone. Start fresh... McDaniel will probably be fired and Tua will probably be fired... paid and fired.

The 18-inning game took more out of the Dodgers than the Blue Jays due to their age

They were saying that the 18 inning game took more out of the Dodgers than the Blue Jays because the Dodgers are considerably older of a team.

The Blue Jays are playing free with nothing to lose compared to the pressured Dodgers

The Jays are in a great sweet spot right now. Very talented team. And they're playing free with nothing to lose.

The Bears vs. Bengals game is a 'must look good' game for the Chicago offense

This is a must look good on offense game. The Bears offense has not, has been up and down this year... If you can't light up the Bengals defense, then I'm gonna start having some doubts creep in.

The Colts have a precision offense that dictates games under Daniel Jones

I see precision, I see design, I see, I see an attack that I just haven't seen in a while... Daniel Jones, like he knows exactly what he is looking at.

Caleb Williams struggles with fundamental accuracy on simple 'layup' throws

But I just feel like he still missing balls where it's bouncing in the dirt or it's sailing over somebody's head... Caleb's just gonna react and he's gonna try to make something special happen... But he just misses layups sometimes.

The Steelers are in a spiral that they won't be able to fix

Pittsburgh has to win, right?... their secondary stinks, you know, but their pass rush isn't there either... if Pittsburgh loses the third in a row, it felt like it spiraled out of control like in the last six games of the season and they couldn't fix it. And it feels like it's starting earlier this year.

Jackson Smith-Njigba is unstoppable as a go-to receiver for the Seahawks

I haven't seen anybody cover Jackson Smith-Njigba... that guy looks unstoppable to me... If you got a go-to guy, go to 'em.

Shohei Ohtani might be the best athlete we will ever see in any sport

[Shohei Ohtani] is getting into the territory of one, he's somehow underpaid. Two, he might be the best athlete we ever watch, play any sport. It's getting into the Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, these territories where in 50 years you could see yourself saying, remember when we got to watch Shohei Ohtani.

Brad Paisley is the Scott Foster of Major League Baseball because he is an 'extender' who sings the anthem before extra-inning games

I'm not a big Brad Paisley fan, but maybe I should be. He's the extender. He's like Scott Foster for Major League Baseball. [Every game he sings the national anthem before] went to extra innings. Game two in 2017 went 11, game three in 2018 went 18, game one in 2024 went 10, and this game went 18. Brad Paisley [sang] the national anthem before all those games.

Dodger Stadium has a very cool vintage 1970s aura

I don't know, I was seeing some people say that there's a lack of aura in Los Angeles... at least just from personal experience, we went to that stadium. That stadium has Aura. Yeah. That stadium is cool as fuck. It's the worst place to get in and out of. But when you're in there, it has like a very cool vintage seventies type vibe.

Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline would be a home run hire for a Big 10 head coaching job

What about Brian Hartline, the offensive coordinator at Ohio State? Best receivers coach in the world. I will say that like the, I'm not being hyperbolic. He's, he's better than anybody else in college and probably better than anybody in the NFL. He's one of the best recruiters ever. Heartline because of who he can recruit to your program probably commands a little bit higher first step.

TV networks should force in-house umpires to wear full gear during broadcasts

I have a dumb sports rule for you guys... our friends of Fox were going to the in-house umpire Mark Carlson. He was wearing a suit and tie. I think the in-house umpire should have to wear a full chest protector and mask because baseball's the one sport where managers wear full uniforms. Why aren't we doing that?

I am officially endorsing Rob Kardashian

I'm officially endorsing Rob. I'm officially endorsing Rob. [He's a] good guy. People forget about Rob and the time that he had to fly back from France because his suit didn't fit.

Ohio State is currently a super team that is so good it's almost boring

Ohio State... they're so good. They're boring. Yeah. And their schedule's not helping. 'cause the teams that were supposed to be good on their schedule have kind of stunk... they're just loaded top to bottom.

Trix Yogurt is an elite-tier snack

TRX Yogurt is elite. The best. No free ads, but that's a good free ads. Do they exist? ... TRX Yogurt was discontinued in 2016... but it's since returned to the market.

LSU is the premier coaching job opening in college football

I had LSU number one and I had Florida number two. And the reason I had LSU number one, three of the last four coaches have won national titles... every kid who lives in the state grows up in the state, wants a, wants to grow up and be a Tiger. LSU has an advantage that only Ohio State really has anywhere else.

Arkansas is a top-4 coaching job because of corporate NIL funding

My number four is, is gonna piss off some people... Arkansas. I looked at the John Calipari hire in basketball. Tyson Foods obviously putting a lot of the money toward that. They have massive corporate support there. Walmart's all over their field and all over their stadium. If they get their corporate money excited, you can be funded very well at Arkansas.

Willie Fritz at Houston is the blueprint for the next 'Curt Cignetti' hire

If you're looking for the Curt Cignetti profile—guy in his sixties who's coached at all these different levels and won—it's actually Willie Fritz at Houston. He is 65 and has won at Sam Houston State and Georgia Southern and Tulane. That he's the model for that.

Schools should offer Nick Saban $30 million a year to return to coaching

For Saban, I would offer 30 million. When he was at Alabama, I tried to calculate what he's actually worth... and 30 million was still a bargain. Offer Nick Saban 30 million and see if he'll leave college game day. I don't think he will.

Arvell Reese and Caleb Downs are the two best defensive players in the country

Ohio State is the one that feels different from the others. I think I can confidently say Ohio State has the best two defensive players in the country in Arvell Reese and Caleb Downs.

The Bengals need to blow the whole team up and start over

The Bengals... their defense is so historically bad that they lose games like this. I don't know what else the answer is. They gotta blow the whole thing up.

Caleb Williams lacks the necessary 'feel' for the game and panics under pressure

My biggest thing with [Caleb Williams] right now is that the feel for the game feels to be lacking. And it feels like there's a panic that's like, he doesn't see or feel the game. And it comes out when you see there was two really bad, intentional grounding penalties... the command of a game, the great quarterbacks, you see it, it's almost like a intuition where they're in control at all times. He just hasn't gotten that command down.

The Bears are not a good team yet; they have only graduated from being a bad team

Have I at all said that the Bears were a good team? I have not. I said they were working towards being a good team. They have graduated from being a bad team, but I've never called them a good team. And today is why, because I don't think they're a good team yet.

I have complete faith in Ben Johnson to determine if Caleb Williams is the right quarterback for the Bears

The calmness that I have is all because of Ben Johnson. I believe in Ben Johnson. That's where the calmness comes from. I believe in whatever Ben Johnson's plan is... He will decide if [Caleb Williams] is his guy or not.

The Giants' season is now entirely about developing Jackson Dart

I think the Giants are in a position where this season is now fully about just developing Jackson Dart. I think that whatever magic they had... now it's just about making sure that [Jackson Dart] progresses, gets better, learns how to compete, and you can just put all your stock in that.

Mac Jones does not look like the long-term answer at quarterback for the 49ers

Mac Jones does not look like the long-term answer. I feel like the soft benching might have gotten a little harder. I think that bench got hard today.

Dylan Gabriel is not the answer at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns

[Dylan Gabriel] is terrible. [Dylan Gabriel] is so bad. I don't know. He can't be the answer. I don't think so.

I am done taking the Falcons seriously as a team

I'm done with the Falcons hashtag done. I can't take them as serious team after this game. I'm sorry. I wanted to believe in them this year... you can't lose by 34 10 to the Miami Dolphins who are reeling... and then they come into your house and just bully you.

The Cowboys should go for it on every fourth down because their defense is too bad to be on the field

The Cowboys defense is just so, so bad. I feel like [Brian Schottenheimer's] got to look in the mirror and say, 'Hey, our defense is so bad. Fuck it. We're gonna go for it on every fourth down.' Because... why would you ever put your defense back on the field? You have to just go for it on every fourth down and just become that team.

The Colts are currently the best team in the NFL

The Colts are just the best team in the NFL. I don't really know what else to say. They are the best team in the NFL... it finally was like, you know what, this is not, this is not just a hot start. They're just really fucking good.

The Colts' offense makes the most sense out of any offense in the NFL

The Colts' offense, I think it makes the most sense out of any offense. When I'm watching them, I'm like, this all makes sense. They use Jonathan Taylor correctly... it's the most sense-making offense in the NFL.

I would be fine with Brian Kelly coaching the Wisconsin Badgers

Have, have you thought about a world where Brian Kelly is the coach of the Wisconsin Badgers? I'd be fine with it. He'd, he'd make us better than what we are right now. He, he gets good results... I am so sick of watching my team suck every Saturday that I will, I will have the guy that I probably hate most of any coach, coach my alma mater.

I feel bad for Carson Wentz for the first time

PFT I did not think this was possible, but after watching Thursday night football, I can officially say I feel bad for Carson. It was a pretty depressing watch for Carson Wentz... I didn't think I could feel those feelings for Carson Wentz tonight watching him in pain, just getting sacked over and over.

Tua Tagovailoa has 'low eyes' which causes him to miss linebackers

I feel like this is why in the draft you measure quarterbacks up to the eyeballs. You don't measure 'em to the top of the head. Tua's got a lot of wasted space in the forehead. Makes him a little bit taller on paper than he really is. He's got low eyes.

The Jets are experiencing 'below rock bottom' dysfunction

This is just total dysfunction. This is the rock bottom we were talking about under the rock bottom. It's below the rock bottom. And now it's only up from here. Hopefully.