Takes

Notre Dame has a ceiling because they can't recruit elite five-star quarterbacks like Alabama

The craziest part about Notre Dame is Notre Dame is like at its ceiling... they only, the only thing that Notre Dame can can do, I think to, to actually get over this Hill is they need a Trevor Lawrence or a Tua or Joe burrow. Like they need one of those crazy elite quarterbacks.

Cam Newton has to retire after his performance against the Bills

The Buffalo bills, our fucking weapon, Josh Allen, when in Foxborough beat what was left with the Patriots Cam Newton I mean, I think he has to retire. I don't really know what at this point, it, it, it was sad.

The Padres will always finish second to the Dodgers, even with an all-star team

I know this makes no sense, but you could put an all-star team on the Padres and I would just assume that they would finish second.

Jeeps are superior to Teslas in every way

Jeeps are cooler, right. It just, you know, you can take the doors off. He can take the tops off... if there is like a zombie apocalypse or something like that, and there's like a Tesla that is like, let's say abandoned... you disconnect your sway bar. You're in a Jeep, bro. You just go right over it. But you know what I'm saying? That, so there's a lot of benefits, you know, but ultimately Jeeps are just superior in every way, shape and form.

A US handball team with me, LeBron, and Patrick Mahomes would win Olympic gold

I guarantee we can put a team together. We can win gold. Just, just from pure like arm speed. I don't think guys in other countries and just a really big guy as the goalie back. Right. If you watch it, I mean, I've studied this from time to time... I think if it was you, Patrick Mahomes, and LeBron just how many players play and handle like eight on a shirt all the time. So it was you three against eight players from any other country. I think we went, I think we, I guarantee we can put a team together. We can win gold.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame should not be for 'very good' players

What I would say is it, shouldn't be hard to make it into the hall of fame. Absolutely. It's not the whole of very, very good. And I love it. It's the hall of fame.

Scottie Pippen definitely had a migraine in the 1990 Game 7 and shouldn't be questioned

Listen, when you have migraines... you can blow worry. You can't see the Noah's is crazy. There is no waste guy that could be a function that there will be migraine. And he did have a migraine men. And for, for us, it's, I mean, for the people who sipping guests that, I mean, I don't know if you can say, you know, the, you know, it, you can kiss my ass. You know, that's, that's crazy, man.

My famous defensive stop on Steph Curry was actually a bad defensive possession

When you say it was actually, you know, I played great defense, but as far as the defensive scheme and play, it was actually a bad defensive possession because I wasn't supposed to let it was supposed to deny the ball back to Steph and I let him get the ball back. So Draymond had caught it kind of in the corner. It was like, okay, I need, I'm going to need Steph to, to make this play because he's done the time and time again.

I was incredibly sober during my peyote trip with a mountain lion

And I'd gone off on a sunrise walk with this gentleman and he was... slowly disseminating the payoti... when I got back down on the property, there was this, he had this mountain life in his cage... I get confident that me in this mountain lion are on the same frequency... The great thing about peyote had done the right way. No, I don't look back on that at all. I look back on that and go it. If anything, have you looked through the book there's times I've taken, what would be considered risk that absolutely paid off... I would say I was incredibly sober.

The Titans defense is not good enough to compete in the playoffs

The Titans are, I don't know what—I mean, they're kind of what we think. Like they're just—they can look explosive sometimes, but their defense is not good... I just don't think their defense can hang. They have no pass rush. There's zero pass rush and they just don't get off the field on third down.

Kliff Kingsbury is a failure who has succeeded solely because he is attractive

Kliff Kingsbury. Are we sure he's good? It's kind of amazing when you look back at Kliff Kingsbury's entire resume and you realize like, oh, attractive people do really run this world. If you are a good looking guy and you can walk into a meeting and wow someone, you can fail upwards all the way. Kliff Kingsbury was 35 and 40 as the head coach at Texas Tech. He had two winning seasons out of six... Kliff Kingsbury, not very good.

The Chiefs are playing too cute and it might cost them in the playoffs

I've got a take about the Chiefs. I think the Chiefs are getting too cute with it. They're playing too cute football out there. Are they too cute to win in the playoffs? I don't know. They used to be exactly the right amount of cute, but now it's like they've gone Anne Hathaway and all I need is an Emma Stone.

The 2020 Steelers are the worst 11-3 team in sports history

I tweeted out that they are—are they the worst 11 and 3 team in any sport in history? And I think they still might be. I don't see the Steelers being able to win in the playoffs.

You should always root for your team to make the playoffs, even if they'll get crushed

I know I've seen this like, 'Oh, why would you want to get in the playoffs and get the shit kicked out of you so that you get the worse draft picks?' What are you talking about? Being in the playoffs is all—that's what you root for... give me a seat at the table. A chip and a chair.

Eli Manning had the best retirement strategy by leaving early rather than hanging on like Big Ben

Who actually is coming out the biggest winner, Phillip Rivers, Eli Manning. Eli Manning retired first. He was the first to leave the party. Now he was obviously, when he got bad at the end, it was bad, but our lasting memories are now going to be a bad, bad Big Ben... Eli's just sitting, eating, whatever, like sloppy Joes... and he's going to end up being like, Oh, remember Eli. He was awesome. He never got bad. He's like, it is a great lesson. Like leave the party, be the first to leave.

Going to a strip club on Sunday is just bad decision making regardless of COVID protocols

Going to a strip club on Sunday is just in general, not a smart idea. Sunday's not a good strip club day... a smart quarterback in my book would either go Monday for $5 buckets or you go on Thursday for the lunch steak and shrimp combo.

Army football players and soldiers are the 'last of the hards'

The over 1 million men and women who serve in the United States army that we represent when we go and play in this bowl game and we play every week, they are the last of the hard... they are the people who are willing to do the hard jobs and other people don't want to do to stand in the gap between freedom and those wanting to take it from us. And it takes a hard person that's determined and has a spirit about them that's different.

The James Harden trade sweepstakes won't move until a team gets truly desperate

They have to wait for a team to be desperate. And how long is that going to take? ... The reason I say that is to get a Paul George type package to get an Anthony Davis type package for in trade, which is what you want if you're the Rockets... until someone gets desperate, I don't see James Harden moving.

The Brooklyn Nets season is a success if they reach the conference finals, it's not championship or bust

If they get to the conference finals and lose to Milwaukee or lose to a Boston, I think that's a great season. I don't think it's championship or bust, even if they have championship goals... when you have a new group together, it's not a one-year championship or bust.

Championship teams don't need to be friends, they just need to respect each other

There is no championship team that are just holding hands and skipping their way to the finals. There's going to be moments where you don't want to talk to each other... you have to respect each other. You don't have to get along. I think that's been proven time in and time out.

Kevin Stefanski should be the NFL Coach of the Year

Kevin Stefanski gets my vote that I don't have, but I'm going to say it anyway. He gets my vote. He gets this podcast vote for coach of the year. The Pardon My Take podcast is getting behind Kevin Stefanski as coach of the year.

The Buccaneers are frauds who rely too heavily on 'flipping the switch'

My question from this game: are the Bucs frauds? I think the Bucs are relying on flipping the switch. And I feel like if you are... the Chiefs can be a flip the switch team. Tom Brady and the Patriots can be a flip the switch team. The Bucs have not done it. So you can't be like, 'Hey, we're going to flip this switch.' I feel like the switch isn't there.

Ryan Tannehill is a top five quarterback in the NFL

Ryan Tannehill deserves the credit for being an awesome quarterback the last year and a half. One of the top five quarterbacks in the league. Whether you think he's ranked there or not, he's ranked there statistically.

Matt Stafford is the toughest player in the NFL

Matt Stafford is the toughest motherfucker in the league. He had hurt ribs... didn't practice all week... and still like kept the Lions in this game for three quarters. This dude is a fucking horse. He's always, there's always something going on with him, but not in a Ben Roethlisberger type way.

The Jets should not draft a quarterback and instead build around Sam Darnold and Penei Sewell

Is it crazy to say that the Jets might not want to take a quarterback with the second pick? Who's gonna be there in the two-hole is the kid from Oregon, Penei Sewell, who's going to be an awesome offensive lineman. The Jets just go back-to-back, they get Sewell from Oregon. See if Sam Darnold could maybe get them for cheap. You protect him now, which is their biggest issue.

Eagles fans want Carson Wentz to succeed because they feel guilty about Nick Foles

I feel responsible for sort of making [Wentz] bad because they were mean to him. Well, basically when Nick Foles won the Super Bowl... they want him to succeed because they want to believe that he could have won that Super Bowl. And he is the continuation of that story. They also don't want to admit that they were wrong to run Nick Foles out of town.

Indiana has every right to be upset about being snubbed from a New Year's Six bowl

The people who actually have a gripe, I'm going to get mad for Indiana fans. Indiana fans should be upset and they have a right to be upset because Iowa State has lost three games and they're going to a New Year's Six bowl. Indiana should have gone to the New Year's Six bowl. They should be ahead of a three-loss Iowa State team. It's stupid.

Jon Gruden is not a good head coach

Is Jon Gruden a good head coach? Jon Gruden, his last six seasons as a NFL head coach... Jon Gruden is 40 and 61. That's really bad. Everyone routes for the Raiders to be good because it's fun when the Raiders are good. I think we've willed it to happen a little early here.

The Buffalo Bills are in danger of being jinxed by media hype

I am slightly nervous about the hype for the bills. It feels like too many people... decided here's my hot take: the bills are really good. It's like, yeah, we've known they've been really good. As soon as everyone starts saying the bills are incredible, I feel like they're jinxing them.

I'm rooting against chaos this College Football Championship Saturday

I am rooting against chaos. I do not want any chaos. I think the best four teams are very clearly Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Ohio State. I do not want to talk about trash Texas A&M and their only good win being against Florida. I don't want to talk about Iowa State losing by 17 to Louisiana.

Hugh Freeze would jump at the Tennessee head coaching job

I think he'd like to be the next coach at the University of Tennessee. I think that's the job he's wanted for quite some time, probably since before he became a college coach... if that opportunity came available, he would jump at it.

Saved By The Bell wouldn't stand up as a new show today

I have to be honest, it didn't pique [my daughter's] interest. I mean, she laughed because she saw me at her kind of like a little bit older than her, but I don't think it's the TV that they would want to watch right now. That show would not stand up today.

Losing a bet on a safety or scoregami play is a better story than a standard loss

If you had like a unit on it, it's not even that bad because that's a story that you can tell. I'd rather lose on that play and be like, 'Oh man, I can't believe I had the under in Raiders Colts.' This is a great story you can tell. I took the Browns to cover on that Monday night football game where Lamar Jackson spent half the time getting rid of the Chipotle that was in his anus.

Giannis staying in Milwaukee is a major victory for NBA parity

I think this is actually great for the league. It's a win for the league because you have a little bit more parity. You have the small market teams like teams drafting a superstar and be able to hold on to them is important for the league.

Outside beer season is the best beer season

Outdoor beers. It's outdoor beer season. When it's snowing outside, when it's cold, you don't have to take up space in your refrigerator, you leave the beers outside. It's God's refrigerator. You crack open a beer directly from your porch and it tastes colder than it does on the fridge. It's the best season of all.

Twitter's decision to discontinue Periscope is a mistake

Hot Seat Periscope. It's been discontinued in March. The Twitter made the decision to, it's going to be Twitter live. So the memories that the Cat caves there. Twitter does that. They choose the wrong thing to do and do it more than any company that's ever existed.

The White Out at Penn State is the best atmosphere in sports

I still think that, and from everyone I've talked to, they said that the white out's the best atmosphere that they've ever been in. Like it's one of the things that you have to go to it, to like actually experience it. Like it looks awesome on TV, but it's like better in person.

A period is the only acceptable punctuation for a social media blowout tweet

I've definitely noticed the Final period, period is the, the piece of punctuation you'd have to use. Like if it's a blowout, you can't do a comma. You certainly can't do a semi-colon because then that opens you up for more. Final period conveys like the right amount of sobriety and conveys, like we're not going to discuss this anymore.

Thin sugar cookies with sprinkles are the superior Christmas cookie

I just like the sugar cookies with the, the like the straight up like the thin sugar cookies with the sprinkles on it that you can eat like a thousand of them.

An Xbox is the best breakup gift to give during the holidays

What's the best gift to get someone that you want to break up with after the holiday season? An Xbox, I'm just going to say it. Like something that will keep them entertained. Because if you break up with him after giving him an Xbox, he's not going to be talking to you anyways. At that point it will just be obsessed with his new video game system.

The Steelers are a fraudulent 11-2 team

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the worst 11 and 2 team of all time... Frauds was the word I was going to use. That's a team that you do not feel good about when it comes to December football going into January.

Taysom Hill is a 'buffet' player but you can't build a Super Bowl team with him

Taysom Hill is like a buffet... but are you really loving a buffet? Don't you just want to go out and get a nice steak... you can't build a house with a Swiss Army knife. Big Cat, Dan, you can't build a house with a Swiss Army knife.

Kyrie Irving is the 'basketball Steve Jobs'

I think I've decided to just become a Kyrie guy... what's the harm in going with everything that Kyrie Irving says and believes? I'd rather believe him and have him be wrong than not believe him and have him be right... He thinks he's the basketball Steve Jobs.

The Patriots are officially dead

Today is Friday, December 11th and the Patriots Hank. Are dead.

The Rams are very much for real

The Rams, I think, are very much for real.

The Dolphins are not for real

Are the Dolphins for real? No. No, they're not.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the most talented team in the NFL

I'm going to go to my deathbed saying this. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the most talented team in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers is the 2020 NFL MVP over Patrick Mahomes

Rodgers right now is putting up career numbers. ... If we're going to judge the MVP based off what you've done and how great you've been, don't we have to judge Mahomes off what he did his MVP year... I think Mahomes has entered the LeBron category whereas he's clearly the best player in the league... but it's not a career year for him.

Losing the SEC on CBS theme song is a tragedy for college football

On behalf of all college football fans, we are losing the SEC on CBS theme song in 2024.

The Washington Football Team and New York Giants are legitimate good teams that could win a playoff game

In all honesty, I think that the NFC East jokes are gone in the fact that whether it be the Washington football team or the New York Giants, both of those teams are good teams that if they get in the playoffs, they could win a game... I'll probably bet on them.