The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Postgame Show: QB Talk

Episode Date: October 1, 2024

To wrap up the show today, the crew discusses the emergence of the former back-up quarterback, and what it says about the teams they left that they are finding so much success in their new homes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. But with Zyn Nicotine Pouches, you can find many. Zyn is America's number one nicotine pouch. It's made with only six simple ingredients. There are lots of options when it comes to nicotine satisfaction, but there's only one Zyn. Learn more about Zyn and find your reason to make a change by registering online at zyn.com. One of the things, Greg, that I always find funny about this obsession that we have with America's most popular sport, while most of us watching, have a very remedial understanding

of how things happen. So Mike McDaniel, four games ago, knows how to do something that no one else knows how to do, and now Kevin O'Connell knows how to do something that no one else knows how to do. For now. Yeah, for now. It changes from day to day, but there was a guy who ran this division, the AFC East, for a long time who has universal genius who's now unemployed in football, football genius, and the reason he had it is because he figured out once upon a time what mcdaniel figured out with two one he figured out with tom brady and then tom brady never got hurt except for that

one season and that one season bill bella check who had expertise on both sides of the ball went ten and six eleven five with matt castle but the nature of that genius that we don't understand i want to play for you a story from bill o'brien who's now at boston college and bill o'brien is talking about their quarterback room and i want you to hear what a caveman genius bill bella check was when he tells this story uh... with julius edelman about uh... matt castle and julian excuse me, Julian Edelman about Bill

Belichick. There's a lot of good coach stories. I can remember like the quarterback meetings when I first got there. So that was Tom, Matt Castle, who you know is one of the funniest human beings of all time. Up there with Matt Light, Rich Ormberg, like those three guys. Outrageous. These are very funny guys. As you know, Bill would come in later in the week, meet with the quarterbacks and Bill would take his shoes off and build it. As you know, Bill would come in later in the week, meet with the quarterbacks, and Bill would take his shoes off. And as you know, Bill didn't wear socks. Yeah. So at that time, the quarterback meeting room was pretty small. And so I remember this one meeting and Matt Castle was like, what is

that smell? Like, what is that smell? And like, nobody says anything and we're all like, Matt Castle, he was the very funny guy who didn't care about making anyone uncomfortable. He loved making you, and so he was like, no, no, seriously, like, what is that? Bill, is that your feet? And Bill, I'll never forget this, Bill looked at him and goes, Castle, just shut the fuck up.

Pfft. Pfft. Pfft. Pfft. Pfft. I was like, it was like my first year there. And I'm like, I cannot believe I'm witnessing this right now. But as time went on, you could believe it.

Julius Edelman would be like Randy Moss. He would look like, yes, he would look like Randy Moss. Put it on the poll please, Juju at Levitard show. Would Julius Edelman look exactly like Randy Moss? Different guy. Again though, the top of the AFC East for 20 years, stinky feet genius who communicates by telling somebody shut the bleep up because his feet stink.

And when I ask you guys the measurement of genius in that sport, is it just whoever's winning at that moment who surprised you because you didn't think they were gonna be any good? Pretty much, yeah. Because Brian Flores is now that guy. So they're four and no all of a sudden and that big interview we did with toa before the season where brian flores has to come out with his

soldiers at his side to defend himself those four games ago yeah and now brian flores everybody's saying because they're for no and no one expected the Vikings to be any good as soon as they're up 28 nothing and we can't explain sam darnold it's oh it's got to be any good. As soon as they're up 28-nothing and we can't explain Sam Darnold, it's oh, it's gotta be the coaches. Must be the coaches. How'd they get to 4-0? But explain this part to me.

Shanahan had Darnold. Why didn't that become a thing? Shanahan's- He was backing up Rock Purdy. But Shanahan's the genius. Right, but he had Purdy in front of Darnold. He wasn't really playing, though. He wasn't getting the opportunity.

And he looked fine when he did come in Sam Darnold was beaten out by the guy who was the last pick in the draft right? Yes Well, I don't think that there was ever a competition I think the timeline is like he came in to back up like the understanding was you're backing up Rock Purdy because we made This run with Purdy, but I understand where you're getting at But the same Darnold is getting an opportunity and quite honestly I don't even know if he's getting this opportunity if J.J. McCarthy doesn't get hurt in the preseason.

No, J.J. McCarthy was supposed to start. They had the kind of like a succession plan, you know, like we'll start with the veterans, see if this high ceiling veteran. Keep in mind, same Darnold's still very young. He's younger than Joe Burrow. Give him the four games and then everybody would get frustrated and want the young guy in there.

I think the question you're asking is why didn't Darnold work with the Jets, but we know the answer to that Oh, no I'm I'm know what I'm asking is how you guys measure any of this stuff that makes it an indicator that somebody who's a coach Isn't a fool like you were telling me McDaniel sounded like at the end of the press conference after two scoreboards come out And you're like wait a minute. I thought this guy could produce point totals with anybody i thought that was the trick that yet he can make any offensive line run the ball he can make these receivers look like they're the fastest team in the league because of

all their timing and scheming well donnell has justin jefferson which sort of helps but i think one of the stories in the league is that sam darnell and baker mayfield are reinventing themselves and reinventing their reputations. These are the guys who were busts. These are the guys we all wrote off. They're going to be career backups from here on in. And they're both like really, really good right now. Really good. If you watch them, it's not, it's not just gimmicky things. Like they're

making individual plays that make you believe like, okay okay maybe these guys figured it out. What I am astonished by is Tepper in Carolina they had a plan. Let's take these guys that still have talent. We remember our evaluation process when they got into the draft and things went a little sideways for them at their previous spots but we think that we can win with these guys Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield and that's how bad things are at Carolina because we wrote them off for dead. Their careers are over after what we saw in Carolina and they both have reshaped themselves after multiple spots thereafter. But so much of this with the coaching has to do with the timing. Dan Quinn has been a head coach before. He wasn't very good. Now he's gonna be the

coach for the commanders for the next 15 years because he has Jaden Daniels. That helps and when Mike Ryan mentions Carolina it doesn't help that Sam be the coach for the commanders for the next 15 years because he has Jaden Daniels. That helps and when Mike Ryan mentions Carolina, it doesn't help that Sam Darnold went. What Greg Cody's analysis just was of Justin Jefferson helps, I think Robbie Anderson was Sam Darnold's best receiver in Carolina or close to it. Close to it. And the Jets. Yes, and the Jets. They had Baker Mayfield running

DN drills on scout team in Carolina. The idea that we know that we have enough information to know how Stinky Feet Genius runs a division for two decades and then the entire league tells us yeah he's not that much of a genius anymore he doesn't actually know more than anybody. Don't want him running our team right now. Well, how smart was he when Brady left the team and went to Tampa Bay and then bowls became the guy. Yeah, by the way, the two guys that are kicking ass with Minnesota, Flores

and their head coach, O'Connell, like those are Belichick guys. Belichick brought Kevin into the league. Brian Flores was a tremendous defensive coordinator for Bill Belichick. So maybe we can revisit that take too.