The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Postgame Show: MJ Acosta-Ruiz + Bucket of Death

Episode Date: September 22, 2023

MJ Acosta-Ruiz joins the show to discuss covering the NFL in a unique way, Mike McDaniel and Tua's credit tree, Kyle Shanahan's genius, and more. Then, it's time for the crew to go to the Bucket of Death! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your listening to Giraffe King's Network. After review, the call on the ice is a whole new season of NHL action with Skip. Every order earns you a shot at winning one of over 200,000 prizes, including NHL Shop.ca and Skip Gift Cards, Skip Game Time Tires, and the Grand Prize, a trip for two to the 2024 Rogers NHL All-Star Game in Toronto. Order, shoot, win, with skip, no purchase necessary, and no Femme 30th for rules, visit winwithskip.com. Why is Hispanic Heritage Month in the middle of two months?

I don't understand that. It's very awkward. And concreement. I don't love it. Right. This is MJ Acosta Ruiz. She's with the NFL Network, the NFL Networks, to God's. It is trying things that I wouldn't have assumed once upon the time from the conservative

NFL Network. I'm with you. What they're doing with the programming, it's there's some places where it's being creative. And it's just, I think of the NFL as fairly rigid, rigid, creatively, rigid in every way. And she's one, I mean, she's in her sixth season. So I will ask you and thank you for joining us.

You're made in voyage here. I will just ask you, have you seen a change in the way? The a little more lightess in the coverage. Football takes itself so seriously. In your six years there, have you seen a difference just in what the creative community is there? Oh, I think for sure. And I think that's a reflection of those of us who are on camera now.

I think the more diverse you get, right, when you have black and brown people, when you have Latina with her big curly hair there, you can't be as rigid as you want to be regardless, right? Because then you're gathering in a new audience who wants to see themselves reflected on the camera. So I think all of that ties in to just being a little looser, having a little bit more fun with things and remembering that what we're covering is a game, right? Like at the end of the day, that's what it is. It's for entertainment value.

It's a game that we all love to watch and lean into. And so that's how it should be. Without, you know, previously inditing or damning whatever it was trying to be six years ago. But when you got there, did you feel a little paint inside the lines here? This is network television. We don't, you can be yourself,

but we're going to do this the NFL's way. I think it was different for me because I started off as a correspondent, right? I was a reporter out in the field. So I was almost in my own bubble, right? I was somewhat removed from the lines, if you will. I was out there was making my own relationships. I was in a locker room every day talking to the players directly, talking to the coaches. And so I was able to paint my own little mural of what the NFL was for me and

how I wanted to report on it. Let's get to some of the football stuff over the first couple weeks of the of the season here. Yeah. I thought that was to God's making that. So proud of her. It is. It resides in the same place. I didn't like the first two questions either. I mean, that is football. Well, go ahead, Mr. God. Tim at it. Ask your football question. So we were debating right before you came on. If two of deserves all the credit for his success or we weren't we weren't discussing it. We were discussing it the other day. We were discussing it the other day. We were discussing it. One day last week, maybe it was

this week, but it was in the past. But regardless, who deserves all the credit for his success? Is it to or Mike McDaniel? I think it's a mix of both, right? You can't discredit the player who's the one out there taking hits and making the plays and slinging the ball around. But I think there's something to be said for the Mike McDaniel effect. Look, I know Mike because I covered him when I was again that reporter six years ago in the Bay area covering this San Francisco 49ers and he's always been an offbeat dude, right? Like his mannerisms the way that he presents it's all very different than what you

expect and what you've normally seen from an NFL coach. But I think that resonates with a lot of players. And I think he is one of the most creative and one of the smartest NFL minds that there are in the games coming from that Kyle Shanahan tree. So I think it's a mix of both. I think to have the talent there, we just have to see it all come together. And I still think we're discratching the surface now with what we saw last year

and what we've seen through two weeks now in this season as well. If you've made a pie chart, how big of a piece would you give to two of versus my two? Be careful. Two pieces of pie into a five to McDaniel. Is it from the same humble pie that Dan Campbell was using from, what about Brian Flores, who was his coach before,

where's he on the pie? Exactly. No pie for Brian. No pie for Brian. No pie for Flores. I think if we're just taking the sample size of what we're seeing now and how excited dolphin fans myself included are about it, I would say in like 60, 40 to a mic. Can you explain to us in a way that I have not seen or heard or read well explained what

it is that Shanahan and McDaniel know that all of these old buffoons do not know. I please explain to me how it is that one can be smarter in the margins than everyone else. I think that when it comes to Shanahan specifically and you see it just out on the field, right? He didn't flinch the moment that his starting quarter backs, right, more than one went down and he put in a six round draft pick.

One because their personal department and the scouting that they do is probably tops among the league, right? So they know the depth of talent that they have, but two, schematically, they know that, and I don't want to call it plug and play because I don't want to give, I don't want to do a disservice to the players and to what they do out there. Uh, but I think when you have a scheme, the way that they run that West Coast offense, the way that they know whatever we do, we're going to be successful, it takes a lot of intricacies, let's say, a lot of intricacies, a lot of trickiness, I think, and a playbook that's probably a mile long to make that happen.

So I think he's built that throughout his career, throughout the different places that he's landed, and certainly in San Francisco. And now Mike was a big part of that, especially with the 49ers. And now he's bringing that to the Miami Dolphins. We're starting to see it. I love that the run game is getting involved more, especially over the last couple of games.

I think that evolution will continue to grow in Miami and just become more of the mic that we see. Because I think there's still that tethering to Kyle Shanahan. I think Mike McDaniel is making his own way. Let's do this another way though. If by consensus, the people listening to this would say, okay, San Francisco schematically and organizationally, they seem to have the best advantages,

the best of however it is that this is done, then who's the most talented team in the league? And who has the most players at value, which is how you win the financial part of this game? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I think it has to be the 49ers, for sure. Not just because I have quite a few of their players on my fantasy team and they got me the win last week,

but also what they've done in just building these pieces throughout the years. I think defensively, I think they're the top defense in the lead. I think they were last year as well. And offensively, what they've grown and the pieces that they put it with brands and I, you know, with Dibo Samuel, with Christian McCaffrey and the lift goes on and on with the Rugby, it is probably one of the toughest teams to beat right now in the league if not the best. It's funny. We do this thing with the 49ers and don't criticize them for trading three

first round picks for trade lists. That's not true. Who criticizes that? Who gots? You tend to overlook that when you're going out there and you're winning, right? That was a bust. That's an enormous mistake. One of the biggest in the history of the draft.

How much more could this is a colossal mistake for the first round picks for order back. They traded to the cow. He agrees with that. It's also a little convenient because keep in mind the person that Kyle Shane and Han was caping up for was Mac Jones, who I think is one for 11 when targeting downfield for 20 years. But the question then becomes, would Mac Jones be Brock party right now if he was in that off? I have no doubt. The trade launch was in. Well, that's, see there, it's complicated and talking about it because you always want to just give credit when you see the shenanigans often,

it's worked in the NFL for 40 years. People have been able to replicate it. No, Gary Kubiac was. That Ryan was an MVP one year and it's when he had that guy as his offensive coordinator. Why, why, why'd you make that face? You made a face at me. I'm not one year, not one year.

I'm just poor, I'm saying. But I'm saying nobody. He was MVP for one year, but she's saying that he was way better than that for many. But he wasn't that. Yeah, for as long as Kyle Shanley, I was here. There is something, man, I don't know what to tell you guys about.

Bella, check you. Everyone explained to me that organizationally, he's had all the advantages. I'm sure he had much to do with whatever it is the Tom Brady became and we'll make it all or nothing But the idea that living among us is a coach who could get it that wrong on trade-lances and organization But get it so right and value everywhere else that it doesn't matter that they get it wrong That's far and ahead away from everyone else who's coaching in that sport And I'm seared to tell you that usually doesn't happen for the coach who hasn't won a

super bowl. That's not something I see very often or ever. Fair enough. I think so. But I think with, with, especially with first round draft picks, I think what people and what we're sort of stuck on is how aggressive they were about going to get tree lands, the amount that they gave up for him. And that's a valid point. I think all of us were sitting there like, all right, let's see this Trayland's era, but everything in the draft is a wager. You never know until the guy gets out there.

And unfortunately, Trayland barely got out there for the seat. The bless is hard. And now he's wearing a star in his helmet, so. Do you think the Browns wish they had Baker may feel back? Oh my God. Oh, the Browns. Oh, the Browns. Oh, the Browns, oh, the Browns. I wish, I think the Browns wish they had Baker Mayfield back. Oh my God. Oh, the browns. Oh, the browns.

Oh, the browns, oh, the browns. I wish, I think the browns wish they had a lot of things back. You do like, I do. I'm a recovering browns fan, no longer a browns fan because of the dissaunwats and stuff. And I am really enjoying Baker Mayfield season, like devilishly enjoying Baker Mayfield season. And I keep every week that passes,

I wanna see the side by side comparison because I find it so friggin' pretty. You'll see it, yeah, it'll be there. It'll be there forever, don't worry. That side by side is not going away. Fully guaranteed though. But for three more years, $46 million. Can they actually bench, can they have their backup quarterback

get $46 million guaranteed? No, it's gonna be insane. Because he's not any good anymore, correct? DeShawn Watson at $230 million guaranteed against the Steelers. Steelers are good. Wad is extraordinary and unblockable, but 16 of what was it? 29, one touch, not one interception. And all passes, all passes that are five yards.

And you have Cooper, you had Chobb and then Joku is a legitimate skill position player that has been used well there and they can't do anything offensively. He's bad. He's bad now. Yeah. I mean, look, one can call it karma, but objectively and just statistically, it's not good. It's not good. It's it's looking like if we're going to criticize Shanahan for a bus in the first round pick, we absolutely have to criticize the brown for giving a fully guaranteed contract. One of the biggest NFL history or the biggest at that point, you have to look at this and say, now what? What's the ROI on here for you guys? Not good. Uh, this is, uh, this is how long were you in Miami? How long did you work in Miami? To collectively about seven years, but I grew up in Miami high school and college as well. So don't if we to sunset. Oh my god. I have to give that just a candle stand up. Thank you.

I'm a killian guy. So we're always going to be our travels, it's okay. But your favorite Krogerda, go. Oh, Krogerda Hamong from Sergio's No-Quest. Really? Sergio. Sergio. We had E-Las show over there. Yeah, we had E-Las show. I do like E-Las, but I was never, it wasn't close to me.

Corel Ways, so I have two from Sons of F. There was a lot of 60 blocks. It was basically off of Chrome. Have it in your home. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's really with Way too long. It was another refunded deal. We never got a Chrome to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that.

I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that.

I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that.

I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. I'm not going to say that. Huddled instead of Right, right, right, right, precisely. Where is an assent on something presumably, too? And you have felt consume without question. That's how we leave with the assent though, for sure. I think for us, and my co-host, little Selva, the whole point of the podcast is to talk about football through the lens of the Latino fan base, right?

I think for us, and I'll just take the example of my dad, right? He came to the US in the 80s. He was, he's a Bill's fan to this day. I know, it pains me. But because when he got here, Jim Kelly was the biggest thing, the only thing that he saw, and that was his way of assimilating to the American culture. And for him, if there's nothing more American, then American football. And so for us, the journey's a little bit different, I think, from the Latino perspective. And I think we're spoiled, right? Those of us for Miami, because we never lose that.

We never lose that Latina that. We never lose that piece of a culture. But it's tough elsewhere in the United States when you're a Latino fan. And I've been blessed to be able to travel the entire US covering this game and meeting the Latino fans in the different pockets that are not Spanish-speaking that are very American, very Caucasian and for them to have that little footprint, to carve out that just little sliver of croquete for themselves throughout a game instead of eating hot dogs and hamburgers.

It's special. Oh, yeah, so it's called El Huro, no? El Huro. Dala, what paya. Just let me know if you guys El Huddle, no? El Huddle. D'all, what's up, yeah? Just let me know, can we zoom in? Valley, can we zoom in? All right, your guest Tony. Tony has just invited himself, you've got your own El Huddle,

it's the one that Jets are in. Thank you. At least I'm in. Thank you, we appreciate it. Bambino. Thank you guys. That was a sick burn, Dan. Thank you guys. That was a sick burn, Dan.

Presented by Draft King Sportsbook, one of America's top rated sports book apps. Draft King's has all kinds of ways to get in on the action, including same-game parlayes, props, live bedding, and so much more. Use code Dan when you sign up on the Draft King Sports Book app to check it out. This God for Sagan thing, there are a lot of people here more than there have ever been. Too many voices, the critics claim the grim reaper is here to take all of our lives, the bucket, the KFC. So we're dead atorial at the front end of this wonderful segment that we love so much, Dan. As you know, you're about to say KFC. He smells like KFC and it's delightful. Yes, so that's that's part of the agreement with our wonderful partnership with KFC is

Dan rolls around in the brand new finger licking good hot and spicy wings available for $4.99 at participating KFC today. Mallory will tell you it is indeed my cologne. Jeremy go ahead and select from the bucket of death the first selection being made. The Reaper was on time today was not reprimanded by anybody for being late for work today. Good job, Reaper. Has writing on it. Yeah, it has a dollar sign in the school. Oh, that's the money that's ultimately. But then it's, you get the fine bucket, fine bucket, but you get instant death. So I'll take that. Yeah, go in bucks. Go ahead and open it. Well, open the,

the piggyback there and count the money. There should be, it's all mine. I also also Gregg Stan Cody took $12 $20 out of that earlier this week to tip the barber. No way. Putting an IOU. I just wanted to rat him out on that. He owes you $20.

Good to know. He is very cheap. You tell us at the end of the segment how much money you got there, but it's instant death. You're in luck though. No one's ever had difficulty getting something that is required of Greg Cody on a regular basis so have fun with that. That is theft. He stole that money. Should he have just not given if he didn't have any cash on him. Should he have not taken

out the worst part is that he wouldn't tell anybody. He's not gonna he didn't tell anybody he was doing that. He just stole it. Also, I'm assuming it's the same barber? Yeah, I'll just get to next time. Well, it's not his barber. It's not his barber, Tony's barber. He could have given it to Tony to give to him. So, yes, they're... Not the same barber.

He did it live on air with Tony's barber. He will never see that human being again. Chris Cuddy. It looked like Colonel Jessup, though. Go ahead, it was a great haircut. Go ahead and select from the bucket, Chris Cuddy. All right, I'm doing that right now. I am going to I have the bills Don't we all you have the commanders. It's about six and a half cool

I'll keep this Roy is going to select for himself everyone here is selecting for themselves There will be no one who will be picked for in absentia We are making a real effort to make this less annoying on the listener. Or absentia. I have the underdog helmet. So you pick any underdog to win? Yes, I'm not doing that.

I mean, there's some live dogs on this board, Roy. It's bad. Oh, Jesus, I get the lines. That's not bad anymore. That's not bad. It's sort of a reflex to be like that. Yeah, the two and O falcons are headed to Detroit, three and a half points, bread, glass,

I saw a courtesy of our good friends over our trafficking sports. Grasju Robinson. Be shot. You should all be very concerned how I know these off the top of my head. Yeah. Can I say when I came in to do this,

the grim reaper was hiding behind the door and I walked in scared the living day my head. Yeah. Can I say when I came in to do this, the grim reaper was hiding behind the door, and I walked in, scared the living day lights out of me. That's what it does, what it does. Put it on the pole, Chris Cody. If you walk into a room and the grim reaper is behind the door, would any human being in the history of Earth be scared? What is this? It's a brown-tailed brown.

It's a brown-tailed. She's like, what is this? Mm. That is a three and a half point favorite at home against the Tennessee Titans, Mike Vrable, a famous underdog. That's when I meant by like dog. How does this work?

Can I pick one? Do I get one more day? You get to put that back if you're not satisfied with it, and but you are stuck with whatever you pull here. What is this? Another helmet. Going to helmet a life. The golden helmet a blind.

What is that? That is three three weeks without The best thing you can do. Oh my god. I put the grounds back and I got the golden helmet of life That's a metaphor that's a metaphor Congratulations, but now you got to just hope that no one gets the swap helmet I'm gonna steal it from you. They will steal the golden helmet of life. Jeremy simply forgot last week for Lucy to use the swap helmet I did do that. I see one hundo over there. I'm a cardinals. All right $100. There's $100 bill I see but he's counting a lot of money over here. I have I have pulled my first helmet It is the bolts

Los Angeles Chargers I hate them one and a half points for it. I really hate Brandon Saley. So personally, I'm gonna be rooting for them to, all right, classic emotional hedge. I'm gonna keep this because actively, I will be rooting for Brandon Saley to start Owen 3 and then subsequently get fired. Who are they playing? Equally Owen 2 and Desperate,

just straighted for KM Acres, Minnesota Vikings. Wow, a desperation game. At Minnesota. You can basically count out whoever loses this game. Must win. What if they tie? That tie actually works out for both teams. I think.

I hadn't considered that. Great job, well done. You must not lose. Thank you. That's possible outcome. The undefeated Falcons have been selected by Amin. They are on the road, as we mentioned before, at Detroit. I am now looking at the spread has gone down to three.

I can't look my brother Roy in the eye and say I want him to lose. I'm going to throw this back. Thank you. I'm going to rebel you are. Also, I want that swap helmet, but I'm trying to decide whether I would rather have the gold helmet of life or money. Money. It's $131.

It's a whole... It's a whole... I got my boy, Gino again! The Seattle Seahawk. I don't know why you would be that excited about that, just because it's your boy Gino. Gino Smith, man. The man who made me.

You're in luck. It's Bryce Young, who didn't line up under the right person at quarterback. As recently mispractice, he's up under the right person at quarterback. As recently mispractice, he's a four point dog at Seattle. Actually, it opened at four and it has ballooned six and a half cents. I got the Ravens here when I selected who they playing. They are playing the Colts and you have no idea who's going to be playing quarterback for the Colts.

They are an eight and a half point favorite. I imagine you'll be keeping that. I will keep that. No one is happy when someone selects something that is good from this bucket. Congratulations, Charlotte, on your maiden voyage. That's as well as you can do. Thank you so much. I did it all myself. You