The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Big Suey: Good Soup

Episode Date: October 16, 2024

How early is too early for holiday shopping? Billy wants to examine the sweet spot for holiday shopping and the difficulty in being someone who isn't easy to shop for. Also, what's the best soup? And do you want to have bologna with you if you're breaking into a home? Plus, Stugotz and the Shipping Container break down Mike Tomlin's legacy and his move to go from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson. Then, Baker Mayfield might be a sneaky MVP picks, Stu and Billy chatted with Steve Spagnuolo on GBF, and Jerry Jones rips apart his radio partner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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go to carvana.com and sell your car right now or just whenever feels right, go to Carvana.com and sell your car the convenient way. Terms and conditions apply. Welcome to the Big Sui, presented by DraftKings. Why are you listening to this show? The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBattard podcast. I'm sorry, I'm not going to apologize for that. In fact, the only difference seems to be this imaging.

I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys? I've done it. And now, here's the marching man to nowhere, fat face, and the habitual liar. This episode of The Dan LeBotard Show with Stu Gotz is presented by SmearNoF. We do game days. Please drink responsibly. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. How early is too early for holiday shopping?

I would say, I mean, I get my done late. That should not be a shock to anyone. You get them done late or somebody that you pay gets them done late? Somebody gets them done late because I don't tell them until later. He does pay his wife in a roundabout fashion. I would say September's too early. Once you get into October, fair game. Really? Fair game in October.

Just to get going, you know? Little shopping here or there. Why do you, do you have yours done? Because that would surprise no one here. No, but I got like two weeks ago in the mail Amazon's like toy book for the holidays. And I thought that it was weird to be getting it at the start of October.

But like, you know how Toys R Us, Toys R Us RIP doesn't exist, it exists in like Macy's or whatever. But like they used to send like their big toy book and you like go through like as a kid and you like circle like what you wanted and like, I don't know about you guys. The catalog, yeah.

Yeah, like I would go and I'd cut it out and I'd paste it to a piece of paper and then I'd send my letter off to Santa Claus with a picture of it so he knew exactly how to instruct his elves to build the toys so that it looked like the ones that they sold in the store. So Amazon now has like a similar thing where they send you like a big like toy book

and it came in October and for me that felt a little bit early. Feels about right I guess, I mean. I think the earliest that I've bought a gift for like Christmas, holiday season, whatever, is June or July. And it's like, I saw something that I felt like this is good for someone,

but I have no reason to give them a gift. It'd be weird. Just a little stash away. Yeah, like exactly right. Like you said, like your friend, your cousin, whoever like offered you this ticket, right? But like you don't talk to them often enough, it's like, hey, I just got you a little,

I'm thinking of you gift, you know what I mean? Like, but there's been like a couple instances where I saw something that I'm like, oh, this is like a really good gift for like X person. I'm just gonna, I'm gonna get this. So then I don't have to worry about it at the end of the year. And like that happened like June or July,

that's the earliest and I just put it in the closet and I came back and I got it. But I don't do actual regular shopping until December. I even miss Black Friday a lot of times. So I thought October was really early. You know what, Billy, Black Friday's not what it used to be. It's really not. Really?

Every day is kind of Black Friday. You're getting deals all over the place, Best Buy, these places all have TVs for $17, and then you go to Black Friday and it's like, oh, the TVs, and I was like, how many TVs can I buy? I have 14 TVs in my house, what else do you want? So you're saying they're running a scam by calling it Black Friday still, right?

Back in the day, it used to mean something, but now with Amazon, but now with the internet, what are you gonna go to the store for, to do what? To get a headache with all the other people that don't know that you can just order stuff on Amazon? No, I think you're right, it feels like every day is Black Friday. Well, no, Amazon started having a prime day in July,

and now there's just a prime weekend in October. So there's constant, like, just, hey, Black Friday. Just deals everywhere. Yeah, before it was Black Friday, and that was it. And really, if you look into Black Friday, their deals aren't really that special. It's just kind of like new signage. When I used to work in retail,

we'd put out new signs for Black Friday. I'm like, eh, it's cheaper two weeks ago. Like it had just come two weeks ago and the sign was just a different color. They just put the numbers in red now. Exactly right, yeah. I can tell you that when my kids were growing up, it was a very dangerous game getting toys

or anything too early, because if you got them too early, by the time you got to the holiday season, that toy was out and something else was in. Yeah. I mean. Well, back in the day when you're buying toys for children to give from you, not from Santa,

because he didn't have the else build that we've done with that. Sure, yes. But if you wanted to get the one gift from mommy and daddy to your child, you had to want it. You had to earn it. You had to get up at the crack of dawn.

You had to go rush the crowds. You had to be in Jingle All the Way. It's too easy now. You had to go get Turbo Man. Yeah, exactly right. You had to fight to get it. Like you wanted a Furby, like you're gonna come out bloody, but you're gonna get that Furby maybe.

Especially if it was the one that was kinda tie-dye or had the spots on it that was kind of rare. You had to take that out of somebody else's hands. Now there's just, you know, a ton of everything. I have four clicks and it gets sent to your house and then it's like, ah, okay. Okay, now follow up question in terms of holiday shopping because I don't like a lot.

I don't like a lot of things so I'm hard to shop for. Not that I don't like a lot of things, but I don't desire a lot of things. I don't say, oh, I really need X, Y, Z thing or whatever. And if it's something that I want, I just go and I get it. Right, so by the time holiday season comes, I already have the things that I want because I've just gone and purchased them. What's something that you went out and got, you were like, this is for daddy time like holiday season comes, I already have the things that I want because I've just gone and like purchased them.

What's something that you went out and got, you were like, this is for daddy, he's getting it, and it doesn't matter. No one's gonna buy it for me, I'm gonna buy it for myself. Exactly, exactly right. What was the last thing you did with that? Well, I have a thing coming out this week that I said to my wife like,

hey, I think I wanna get this. And she told me holiday season's coming around the corner, why don't you like wait so people then have something to get for you, and I'm like, because I have to wait two months. I want it now. I don't want to wait two months for that.

That's someone else's problem to figure out. But Tony, I do that all the time. I purchase debtting company tickets to the sphere, and my wife's like, again? And I'm like, holiday gift. Yeah, well, okay, here's the thing. I understand if she's making this request in like December, like hey, why don't you just wait? But like October is it's

okay. I, I have unhinged right now because I had this conversation with my wife yesterday and I was kind of like frustrated with the situation. So like I don't get myself a lot of things. I don't crave a lot of things. So then I was told like- Mike had better conversations with his wife yesterday. He was talking about goalie goals. I mean, anyway, sorry, back to you Billy. Well, no, so like, so there's a Nintendo Switch game that's coming out. It's a new edition of Mario Party.

I love a Mario Party. We got a Nintendo Switch and I said, we're gonna be the fun couple that has like game nights that we have other couples- How many game nights have you had? Zero. COVID happened like as soon as we got the Nintendo Switch and we're like, we're not gonna have people over,

we're gonna get COVID. And then we just like started having kids and it's like, well, you're not gonna come over after six and the kids are asleep, you're not gonna wake them up. It's gonna be hell getting them back to sleep. So like we've had, I think maybe like two game nights that just get interrupted. So like our game nights are like game mid-afternoons

and then get the hell out of my house so I can put my kids to sleep. So anyways, I wanted to get like a new Mario party. Suppose this one's great, it comes out and you can play against people online, whatever. And I was like, you know what, maybe we'll be this, we'll be the game night family again. You know, we'll invite people over

and it'll be a whole thing. Tony can come over with his wife. They can bring their crying kid over when the kid's born. It'll be a whole thing, right? But like I have annoying kids too. So like. And you have dogs. They'll be, no, dogs get put away when we have company.

They're too big. Yeah, they run amok. They jump around, they get too excited. When they see strangers, they don't attack. These aren't attack dogs that protect the house. They see strangers, they get excited and they wanna start licking you and like jumping on top of you.

And it's like. That's probably better than attacking people that walk in your house. Yes. A loving dog, yes. No, I prefer the attacks, honestly. Do you? Yeah, no, I do.

Really? I want a dog That's guarding my house not welcoming in criminals. That's the issue my dogs aren't discerning They don't know who's a criminal and who's like a good person, but eventually they know don't they I mean yeah But if people over need to instantly know when a criminal comes into the house not eventually like what is the criminal? What if the criminals no feeling out process who's my dogs comes in has a couple dog treats I understand. Then they help the criminal start packing things into the sacks.

Sure. They go out and they walk the criminal to the car, close the door, make sure the alarm's on again. That's not what I need from the dog. I need the dog to, I need instant attack mode from the dogs. Got it. And then we slowly get into loving you.

Okay. So in that spirit, we put the dogs away so that they don't attack people. With love. I don't like that. What? It's a dog's house, I mean. It's Bill's house.

I'm with you, no, well. Dogs do not need bills. It's become the dog's house. I have a dog, I mean, my dog owns my bed, my dog owns me. If you're breaking into houses, you just have to have baloney on you. Just throw it the other way. The dog's like, baloney?

Oh, my dog. Put that on the bowl. If you break into a house, do you have to have baloney on you? That used to be the trick to get my dog. Before Riley, we had a dog named Sandy, and it was untrained and would just sprint out of the house. And we'd have to go catch it. Like Charlie?

No, Charlie and Riley, they stay in the house. But we would, yeah, baloney. If you just wave a little baloney at Sandy, she'd come running right over to you. Sure. A trick. Dogs are easy to win over. You can very easily win the dog over. The problem is, when you run out of baloney. What do you do?

Get more baloney. I mean luck going in fridge. You could bring anything though, right? I mean dogs will eat anything that some things though that they get excited about like not everything will get them So I don't like baloney me neither. I'm not a damn below I mean, I am a dog, but it seems like a good use of baloney. Evil cat. I mean salami's better. Yeah What what like baloney? This is a dumb question. What animal does baloney come from? That's a pig from your lips man. You said that with a lot of confidence. I want to say it's a mix of a lot of things. It's like a hot dog Yeah, it's like a little bit of pig a little bit of cow a little bit of this a little bit of that like an unpackaged hot dog. Huh? Yeah, it's exactly what it is. It's like a hot dog just like beating down with a hammer. It's like the inside of a hot dog. Yeah, it's like a little bit of pig a little bit of cow a little bit of this little bit of that Like an onion hot dog, huh? Yeah, it's exactly like a hot dog. Just like it's like the inside of a hot dog

Just sliced up. What's the last time you had a bologna sandwich? It's gross little mustard years ago pieces of white bread When I was a kid pork sausage I'm looking this up, but I bologna is always grossed me out even as a kid like when baloney sandwiches were made for lunch Like I think my mom used to make my sister baloney sandwich I was like no, it's like too wet and like thick it's like a baloney You know we've done this before so you got especially on mystery great things are for other people baloney for other people really Not that's not for me every kid had that traumatic experience where they bite into a baloney sandwich And then all of a sudden a mysterious hard part of the baloney would end up in your teeth and

you're wondering what is that yeah yeah so baloney like Colby Jack meat yes I love Colby Jack cheese oh I love it a little white little yellow exactly right there's really not any cheese I don't like really yeah not a book like a like a strong what what were you looking I don't know really yeah not a boat like a like a strong what what were you looking I don't know what you just said dude what happened like blue cheese talking about cheese like strong that strong blue fan of cheese yeah super strong blue cheese and anything for me I get why people like it's for other people there yeah if it's on the charcuterie board I'll find some of the

other cheeses. Should I just wait now two months for getting the thing that I want? Or should I just buy it? Get it when you wanna get it, man. That's what I'm thinking too, but then realistically, how often am I actually gonna use it between now and then?

Is it worth, basically is it worth the fight and worth the headache? That's really what all- It's never worth the fight. Okay, that's honestly, if you're out there and you're listening to this, marriage is all about is this worth the fight. Okay, that's honestly, if you're out there and you're listening to this, marriage is all about is this worth the fight, right? Every decision that you make in marriages,

is this worth the fight? Sometimes it's talking about Ron Hexall and empty netters. Oh, I am so jealous of you and your wife's relationship. That's a healthy relationship. That's a good relationship. That's a good relationship. You talked Hexall. Yes, that is what marriage is all about.

Is it worth it? Do I go in this time? Do I make a big deal about something? I know I'm right about, but eventually I'm not gonna be right because she's always right. It's not just that, but I start thinking, I wanna get this game, I think it'll be fun.

I think everyone will enjoy, my kids, my wife. We have Tony comes over, his family. We have a family game now. We play a little Mario party. Maybe we get online, we talk to other people with Switches we play. Like it's a whole thing, it can be fun, right? But like, if I'm only gonna play it four times

before December, was it worth the fight? And I'm starting to think it's not worth the fight if I'm only gonna have time to play it four times before December. It's never worth the fight. Yeah, sometimes. I don't know if it's ever worth the fight. No, no, no.

You're never gonna win the fight. I mean, it's why I don't bring up half the stuff to Dan that I want to bring up to him So you gots you're a big blue cheese guy, right? I love blue cheese But yeah, I know you like the dipping sauce blue cheese. Yes. Do you like actual blue cheese? I'm talking about like crumbled a big crumbled veiny piece of blue cheese. It's always so veiny. Why is it veiny?

It looks like Maggie Smith's skin. There's one place I like it. Steakhouse, Iceberg, Lettuce. That's where I like it. Crumbled blue cheese with bacon, yeah. I think the appeal of that kind of blue cheese is indeed the contrast. So if you pair it with something cold and crunchy

and blander and taste, it pairs well. That is funny because it's the only time I will order blue cheese with anything. And that's at like a nice steakhouse with a wedge. Right. Everything else. I'll go out of my way to say I don't want the blue cheese for other stuff.

But for that, it works perfectly. I'm not going salad. You know me, steakhouse. I'm going French onion soup. Overrated. No, it's not. You're overrated. I am so with you. I am so with you on this. It's more of a cheese soup than it is a French onion soup. Overrated. No, it's not. You're overrated. I am so with you.

I am so with you on this. It's more of a cheese soup than it is a French onion soup. No, it isn't, Joey. It's cheese on the top. It's a bowl of cheese. Everything in the center is like watery bread. You want a cheese soup? Go to Epcot in the Canadian sake house there.

Delicious? It's not a cheese soup. It's a French onion soup. I will take it one step further. There's not enough cheese, Tony. Wow. Once I get through that layer, that's what makes it overrated to me because I get down to the broth and

it's just broth and onions. I want that piece of bread in there like right. I can't stand it. You've never been more right about anything. Put that bread in like right before you bring it out. OK, I want it. I still want to be able to taste that thing we can all agree lobster bisque

is the best of the soups right now. No way. No. Great soup. I would say matzo ball soups right? No way. No. It's a great soup. I would say matzo ball soup with noodles is up there for me. Classic chicken noodle. New England clam chowder is strong. You like New England clam chowder more than lobster bisque? Uh yes. The red or the white? No there was a bit of a weight there. Nobody likes manhandling. You can never remember that. Little split pea? No. With bacon? Always with bacon.

It's just, I think, exorcist. Do you really? Yeah. Yeah. It is solid with bacon in it, but I have other soups. Compared to French onion soup, French onion soup is essentially the Boba Shuzun of soups. Yes.

B team. Really? No. Not the B team tomato soup I mean tomatoes overrated got a little cup of tomatoes a little little so yeah I'll dip anything in there anything I'll dip anything in there. I don't think anything. Hey, I Met what I meant I will I don't know how to transition out of this into the Pittsburgh Steelers What do you make of that decision Mike Tomlin yes overrated Forever under let me tell you I am tired of Mike Mike Tomlin skating by because he goes nine and eight every year.

What are you even talking about? You regularly say he's the best coach in the NFL. On your left! Your whole take has been he's the best coach in the NFL. That was then, this is now. I have grown tired of Mike Tomlin. I mean the guy goes eight and eight, nine and eight, and he's skating by and... On your left! He's won one Super Bowl, he should have won more, he hasn't done much in the playoffs in the last 10 years. He's taking these mediocre, terrible,

Pittsburgh Steeler teams to the playoffs. That's his trick. He has tricked us into thinking he is a great communicator. He is a great communicator. I would take him, a great leader of men, I would take him as my head coach, but again, I'm a Jets fan. But he should have won more is your take. High floor, low ceiling. I don't think there's ever been a playoff in which he's entered where he's the favorite and hasn't won.

I don't think he's ever the favorite. You're never going to be that bad with him, but he's not going to get anywhere. He did it once. He made it to a second one. He won a Super Bowl with Ben. He made it to a second with Ben, didn't win it. No, he lost Aaron Rodgers who was a demigod that playoff run. He was incredible. It was the best playoff run I've ever seen. It was all on the road, right? Yes. He beat the Atlanta Falcons in the dome in the, in the dome. And then he had an injury to Donald driver.

Like he was doing this stuff with James Starks and, and Jordy Nelson. Like he was just unbelievable. To the Pittsburgh Steelers point. Um, I think that Tomlin has been aided by never having the weight of expectations to be the best team because he's always had Peyton. He's always had Tom Brady. He's always had somebody else to be the scapegoat of. He still does.

Oh, they didn't get, exactly. Stroud. Oh, they didn't get, you know, Pittsburgh's the number one seed, they have Big Ben, they have AB, they have all these guys, and they couldn't get it done. It's always like, they're always the scrappy underdog, Peyton didn't get it done, Tom Brady lost,

Joe Flacco and Baltimore Ravens. Like, he's always lived in a very perfect existence of, we're gonna sit in like the three to four to five seed, we're gonna make some noise in the playoffs, but we're not going to be ever as good to beat the better teams to make it to the super bowl. He's an all-timer. The two best things that you could say about a coach is he maximizes talent and

he gets his players to play hard for him. And you could always say that. There was one time where the narrative around him was like, maybe it's time for him to go. And it was when Antonio Brown was having a meltdown on his team and that was before everyone kind of knew sure what was going on with Antonio Brown and he came out of that so I Mike Tomlin I can't say enough good things about him he's a great coach the most impressive thing Mike Tomlin has done was having a winning record in 22 and 23 with Kenny Pickett starting 12 games I know but

that's the trick are you suggesting that he's intentionally- Do it with Mahomes. Hold on a sec. Wait, what? Kenny Pickett might be one of the worst quarterbacks we've seen in the last six years. Are you suggesting that he intentionally has bad teams so he could just finish 500 and people

wouldn't say he's great at his job? Well, I've made that accusation of Kyle Shanahan doing that in San Francisco with Garoppolo and Brock Purdy. He doesn't really have personnel power the way that Belichick did the way that other coaches of his time did. He had some influence. Clearly he has some influence over the quarterbacks on his roster right now. I think you can criticize them for this decision. It's a little bit weird. I mean, Justin Fields is advanced stats stack up quite well.

If you look at his PFF grade, this was a guy that he was getting the most out of. And I understand having Russell Wilson on your roster as a backup has got to be kind of a weird situation. Well, he named him the starter before the season. He just wasn't healthy. Right. It's a weird situation in navigate.

It's also very tempting to put him in, Mike, when he's healthy. It is, just to see if there's something left. Certainly, if Fields is playing poorly, now I know Fields isn't on the best stretch right now, but I don't think Fields has done enough to lose that job. It's a curious decision, but you gotta kinda trust. I think Mike Tomlin's earned a certain level of trust here.

Mina was saying that Justin Fields' stats this year are better than what Russell's were the last time we saw him. Right. That's factual. He has to be better than he was the last time we saw him for this to be a good move, basically. But Fields, I mean, we've seen the ceiling. This is it.

This is what Justin Fields is. You think he's going to get better than where he is right now? Potentially, yeah. I still think he's growing. But we've been waiting for that forever with him. But I do think that there has been some improvement year over year. And I do think that he's shown some good stuff in a Steelers uniform.

So I, I don't know what he's done to lose the job, but I also don't know what Mike Tomlin has seen throughout camp and in practice right now to make them believe that this is the right move. It's, it's a, it's a big time move, certainly. It's also an interesting point in their season, right? They're playing the Jets, Giants, Commies in the next three games. Yeah.

But then they go a stretch run of Ravens, Browns, Bengals, Browns. So you have four divisional games back to back to back to back. And it's like, are you sure that throwing in Russell, who hasn't seen action in six weeks, to be able to gear up for those divisional games with the Ravens the Browns twice in the Bengals is kind of a weird spot. I think the last time we saw Russell Wilson was an improvement over

like the first time we saw him in a Broncos uniform. I think Sean Payton kind of figured out what to do with this kind of player which is lean on your defense play complimentary football and if we're looking at it that way Russell Wilson can do just fine as a Seeler starting quarterback and they can do what they've been doing the last few years, which is navigate a deficiency of the quarterback position, play complimentary football, and find a way to come out of the stadium alive and not blink. Right, losing the first round. But I think with Justin Fields,

what he sees is there's, I can't get past Lamar Jackson, and I can't get past Josh Allen, and I can't get past Josh Allen and I can't get past Patrick Mahomes or CJ Stroud and maybe just maybe if there's something left in the tank with Russell Wilson that guy has enough upside where just maybe I can win a playoff game. See that's where you lose me I think the upside argument is with Justin Fields. Really? I really do and I think Justin Fields has probably got the skill set that is more likely to upset one of those quarterbacks that he rattled off in the first round by doing things with his feet, getting the ball downfield.

Ultimately, it's a game of real estate acquisition, playing complimentary football. I think his arm can be live at times. Look, they're not going to be stretching the field. That's not Pittsburgh Steelers football. But I do like the dynamic of the quarterback also being able to be a legitimate running threat, certainly more profound ways and Russell Wilson can be at this stage in his career.

But if you guys think that Mike Tomlin is such a great coach, and I understand, like I'm being, you know, it's a little bit tongue in cheek. He is a great coach, slightly overrated. Um, on the grounds that he just has one, uh, just has one title. We assign, we call Mike Tomlin, one of the great coaches in NFL history, and he's got one Super Bowl. I mean, we don't do that with anyone else. I mean, we don't.

Zero losing seasons? Mike McCarthy has won Super Bowl. Yeah, he beat Mike Tomlin. If you want to tell me. And Mike McCarthy's a joke. If you want to have an indictment of Mike Tomlin's careers, that he lost Super Bowl against Mike McCarthy. Well, but this is all I'm saying. If you guys think he is such a great coach, he sees Justin

Fields and Russell Wilson every day in practice. He's making this decision. Yeah, we're just talking it out. Ultimately, I love talking it out, by the way. Ultimately, Mike Tomlin has more information on the players than anybody else. And he's had a great enough career for me to just say, okay, his coach is entitled to make this decision. I'm a little confused by it because I don't think Justin Fields has lost the job. And I think we all kind of have a feeling we know what Russell Wilson is at this point in his career,

but I think I'm gonna win that game either way against the Jets. I think the argument would be it was never his job to lose, right? Like he was just filling in. So he didn't lose the job, he just didn't win the job. Like he was never his job to lose, right? Like he was just filling in so he didn't lose the job He just didn't win the job Like he didn't do enough to keep the job that wasn't given to him at the beginning of the season

I guess could be how Tomlin sees it fair enough point because like if we're arguing Justin Fields hasn't done anything to lose a job Well, neither did Russell Wilson. Yeah, he had an awkward interaction with the sled Fields Tomlin kept Fields number two on the depth chart even while he was starting. He's got a good interaction with the sled. Fields, Tomlin kept Fields number two on the depth chart even while he was starting. There you go. It's a master class and not upsetting either quarterback the way he's gone

the way he's gone about it because what he's doing by doing that is essentially telling Justin without telling Justin or the media that when Russell comes back, it's Russell's job. Now, whether or not you think he's, Justin's done enough to keep his job is. I just, I like the added dynamic of Fields's athleticism,

but you know, coach can do what coach wants to do here. And I think, I don't really think, maybe it affects what their ceiling is, but I think that that's a playoff team that's gonna do the thing where by hook or by crook, get into the playoffs and be a really difficult out. Yeah, maybe they get eliminated in the first round It's a pretty safe bet, but they're gonna cover

Welcome to the offensive line you guys on this podcast We're gonna make some pics talk some and hopefully make you some money in the process. I'm your host Annie Hagar So here's how this show is gonna work Okay We're gonna run through the weekly slate of NFL and college football matchups, breaking them down into very serious categories like no offense. No offense Travis Kelsey, but you gotta step up your game if Pat Mahomes is saying the Chiefs need to have more fun this year. We're also handing out a series of awards and making picks for the top storylines surrounding the world of football. Awards like the He May Have a Point award for the wide receiver that's

most justifiably bitter. Is it Brandon Iyuk, T Higgins, or Devonte Adams? Plus on Thursdays we're doing an exclusive bonus episode on Wondery Plus, where I share my fantasy football picks ahead of Thursday Night Football and the weekend's matchups. Your fantasy league is as good as locked in. Follow the offensive line on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can access bonus episodes and listen ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus. The Dan Lebatard Show with Stu Gotts is sponsored by BetterHelp.

What's something that scares you? Halloween is all about having fun with what scares us. But what about those fears that don't show up in costume? Like fear of failure, rejection, or change? Therapy can be a powerful tool for facing fears that we just can't laugh off. It helps us build positive coping skills, set boundaries, and become the best versions of ourselves. It's not just for those who've experienced trauma. Sometimes the scariest thing is holding ourselves back by avoiding what we're really afraid of.

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Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code DAN for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code DAN for $20 off. Download Game Time today. What time is it? Game Time. Dan LeBattard. I want to talk about a team that I actually want to see come

playoff time. I want to see the Chiefs. Oh Stu Gatz. I want Patrick Mahomes strolling into my stadium with max confidence. I want Travis Kelsey. I want Taylor Swift. I want the team that lost to Jordan Love. I want the team that lost to Aiden O'Connell. I want the team that trailed 17 to nothing to Jake Browning. That is the team that I would like to face in the playoffs. That's the team indeed that I would want to face in the playoffs because that team is not very good. This is the Don LeBathardt Show with the StuGuy.

Maybe Tomlin is putting Justin Fields on ice for maybe a potential trade, right? There's teams that could be interested. There's teams that could be interested in Justin Fields. You're right. You give the teams that are interested in the quarterback a little bit of a taste. All right. You went four and two. There's, he put out some good tape there. They're playing well. All of a taste. All right, you went four and two, there's, he put out some good tape there.

They're playing well. All of a sudden we put Russell Wilson in, people start calling, Hey, is Justin Fields available? Is fields available? Fields available. If not, you do the old switcheroo and you send Russell out of town and you keep Justin Fields. Yeah, yeah. The old switcheroo is like, maybe you're trying to highlight what, what Russell Wilson can do still. And maybe a team that had an injury at the position that still thinks that they either need depth there or has a shot at the playoffs like maybe they take a fire on Russell Wilson he has a pretty good contract to move now you guys got me looking at teams that are a fields away who's a Russell Wilson away oh maybe Pittsburgh which is why he's going to him I would believe

Which is why he's going to him, I would believe. Maybe the Dolphins? Hey. Hey, I mean, who is a Fields away or a Wilson away? Not the Bucks. Dolphins need something. Bucks are pretty set on the quarterback position. They're doing all right. The Steelers are a Fields and a Russells in the way.

Mike, you have a bet on Baker to win the MVP. What are the odds for Baker to win the MVP right now? It's plus three thousand on DraftKings Sportsbook. Who's the favorite? Patrick Mahomes at plus 350. How? That's lazy voting. I mean if you stack up the head-to-head stats if I if we did a blind stat check right I showed you Baker's stats compared to Patrick Mahomes' stats I think you'd be genuinely confused as to who is who. Who's Patrick and who's Baker? I know who Patrick's is is the lesser because he hasn't been good this year from a statistical standpoint at all.

Baker's been really good. And I'm not quite there. I understand the skepticism when it comes to Baker Mayfield because we've seen him be bad. We've seen him be bad with talented teams. We've seen him be totally lost running scout scout team defensive end for Carolina I get why people are nervous to go ahead and say this is fully evolved Baker Mayfield but the second half of last season and

The first quarter of this season. I'm looking at his numbers right now. He's good, dude. Yes. He's good Yeah, and I get I also think there's this part of it too. The NFL this season defenses have adjusted. The games haven't been what they once were. There's peaks and valleys when it comes to the NFL. I'm sure they'll make rules to adjust it and the freewheeling days of exciting NFL will be back in no time. But bucks games are really fun. Baker, even though they had a lot of success in the screen game,

that was matchup dependent, Baker pushes a ball downfield. He does. Plays a fun brand of football. Even when he's handing the ball off, guy finds a way 45 yards downfield, the lead block. And he's doing it with a team that... Can't stop anyone. Yes.

That's what makes it exciting though. Yeah, they need him to do this. And I think that game in the Superdome was kind of like Brett Farvesque. He made a lot of mistakes, but Guts, Guile, airing it out, found a way to get a pretty convincing win despite getting off to a bad start. I would say that you could do a hell of a lot worse than Baker

Mayfield for MVP. It's just, can voters and can the general public get over their apprehension when it comes to trusting this player. I think he's kind of fully formed and he's shown that he can improve. And I think Baker is like a legitimate pro bowler. And if you're looking at big value when it comes to the MVP discussion, we always look at guys that are leading surprising teams. Even though they were a playoff team last year, maybe they caught lightning in a bottle, people were skeptical.

This is a surprising Tampa Bay Bucs team. They're legitimately good. He is legitimately good. 31, that's a great price. Sold. Wow. Seriously, that was a great pitch. I mean... We just need to normalize the discussion that Baker Mayfield is this,

and I understand why people are or hesitant to But I would say this guy his main His main sin as a quarterback Genuinely was playing through injury, but a lot of people formed there made up their minds about Baker Mayfield And I understand it got to a toxic place with Baker and if you wanted to tell me Cleveland had to get rid of them because where things were at with Baker and I understand it got to a toxic place with Baker and if you wanted to tell me Cleveland had to get rid of him because where things were at with Baker I understand. I still think that they picked the wrong guys. I still think that they ultimately made the wrong choice but there is a very sound argument to be made why the Browns needed to separate themselves from

Baker Mayfield but he's figured it out and he's healthy and he's improved and he plays a fun brand of football. Well I mean he is healthy but I think in the back of your mind, like you do wonder, cause he plays a little recklessly, right? Like he gets out there and he runs and he'll get hit. You wonder, can he stay healthy? He was healthy all last season. He got smoked on Sunday. He got knocked up pretty, pretty good. And I've caught in a lot of flack in that I've had this take about Baker

Mayfield, that if you dropped them into the mid nineties, people would put them in the top tier of athleticism. His mobility is a very underrated aspect. I think his rushing stats are also better than Patrick Mahomes this season. And Patrick Mahomes reputed, yes, we know great arm, maybe the greatest we've ever seen, but also when his team needs it can be super mobile. And I would say if you drop Baker Mayfield in the 90s, he is not Steve Young, but he's in like that tier of like upper echelon, he's like a Mark Brunel type. He's a very good quarterback.

Of athleticism. He's a quarterback that can win you a Super Bowl. There's no question about it. He's doing more of that this year, and I can understand why Billy would be a little concerned about his injuries, because he is a smaller guy. Of course. Like you can't change how he has him. It's not that he's like a smaller guy, like in the way that you get worried about like two of is a smaller guy. Of course. Like you can't change how he has him.

It's not that he's like a smaller guy like in the way that you get worried about like two of being a smaller guy, right? He's got a bigger frame. He's an aggressive guy. He's aggressive. He goes after it. He's built though.

Like he's like a brick house, but he'll take hits. I love him. Like him winning the MVP would not be a shock to me. Him eventually winning a Super Bowl would not be a shock to me. But I will say this, Mike is doing a trick here because you're putting him side by side with the greatest quarterback we have in the game who is not statistically having a great season in Patrick Mahomes. My guess is if you put Kirk Cousins next to Patrick Mahomes, Cousins

numbers would look a lot better than Patrick's. It's a 500 yard game too. Yeah. I know, but Patrick's not having a great season. I would say I would be shocked if he won the MVP this year. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but I'd be shocked if they gave Baker Mayfield the MVP. I'd be shocked too.

I'm just saying like in terms of value on the board on DraftKings Sportsbook, Baker is a solid play. Baker to my eyes, my eyes are lying to me because I look at the stats like QBR. QBR rating, kind of like a flawed metric. QBR, most professionals that cover the sport swear by that over quarterback rating. And Baker's QBR isn't as impressive as you would think.

There are guys there that don't necessarily belong that puzzle you, but Mahomes is lower on it. Aaron Rodgers is like a lower tier quarterback according to QBR. Billy, you walked in this morning, you were glowing, and I think it's because my NFL MVP Spags was in studio last week and we are airing that today. He is the NFL MVP.

I mean, they're not doing that because of Patrick Bahomes. They're doing it because of Spags and Chris Jones. Yeah, you made sure to tell him that a lot. Yes, yeah. You were glowing though. You were very happy. I mean. Well, I mean, to be completely transparent,

he came in last week on Friday, Friday afternoon, downtown, Chiefs were on a buy, Spags was around, Stu got to talk to Spags. I've kind of always not really believed his relationship with Spags, and then Spags strolled in the door. So much so that the day before, he's like, Spags is gonna come tomorrow,

and I'm like, no, he's not. And then he's like, what time should I tell Spags? I'm like, 10.30. And then 10.30 comes and I'm getting ready to go, and he's like, Spags coming at come tomorrow." And I'm like, no, he's not. And then he's like, what time should I tell Spags? I'm like, 1030. And then, you know, 1030 comes and I'm getting ready to go. And he's like, Spags coming at 1115. I'm like, when he talks about 1030, no, I don't know how he's gonna pick up my children. I don't believe it was real. Well, Spags is not on your schedule.

He's on Spags's schedule. Yeah, I know, but like with you, there's like, it's my word association. It flew right to a hurricane. When I think of Miami, I think of Spags. So it makes sense. It's the bye week. He likes to spend time down hereags, so it makes sense. It's the bye week. He likes to spend time down here. He likes it

down here. So, we stop by the studio. It's a special Wednesday edition of God Bless Football, a third episode this week. Uh here's a little clip of me, Billy and the NFL MVP. Spags. Uh the last two years, I've questioned whether or not

your team is going to win the Super Bowl and you have won the Super Bowl both those years Would you like me to start doing that again? I mean if I give whatever you did in the last two years do this I said something's off in Kansas City. They're not right. They're the team. I would want to face in the playoffs I said that before the playoffs last year and then you guys went on a historic run because Patrick woke up one day and told His wife. Hey, I feel like winning the Super Bowl Ridiculous that he can do that. Yeah, let's keep. I want you to stay consistent, Stu.

Guys, don't change. OK. All right. The chief. There's something off. There you go. Do I like spags? He was fun. I like that drip, too. I like spags. Yeah. Yeah. You like spags, Mike. You do. I was just very...

Is that Polo silk? Very surprising. Yes. Yeah. Just he's relaxed, bi-week, that's cool, Stu gots in the Smirnoff bottles around you, that's a very relaxing atmosphere. But he came in with like a silk button down, short sleeve, slick back hair, fun, relaxed. Yes. I'm falling for this guy.

He was very chill, yeah. Mike, the first time we had Spax on, it was out in person, he was sitting in an office in Kansas City, and he had his draft board behind him, and didn't realize that we were taping the whole thing on video. And so everyone could see his defensive rankings. It was like three days before the draft,

he joined us on Zoom right in front of our draft. What are we doing, buddy? He starts waving his hands so no one can see it. But that was a delight. It was nice to have Spagney. That's a great get for God Bless Football. It's hard to get during the season to get a defensive coordinator, especially of this repute,

the top tier guy on his bi-weekend season to be that relaxed. Only God Bless Football, man. It's easy to be that relaxed when Mahomes is your quarterback and when you have that kind of defense. I know Spags is gonna wanna be a head coach again one day and perhaps next season he'll he'll get an opportunity if some jobs open up but why would you leave that job? I

tell him that all the time. You're a defensive coordinator. You get that feeling from Spags? I haven't heard the interview. I don't know if you've asked him. No, the first time we had him on, I did ask him and he said he does have a desire to be a head coach again and to which I said, well, why would you do that? Because you are the defensive coordinator on the best team in the NFL and if

Andy Reid walks away, perhaps you'll replace him and you have Patrick Mahomes like sometimes you're just better at being a coordinator than a head coach. He was a head coach. He wasn't great at it. He is the greatest defensive coordinator in the

history of the NFL is the only coordinator to have four Super Bowl rings. It's a good point. Would you rather be Picker, middling NFL head coach that maybe has a couple playoff wins has been through the job cycle a couple of times or would you rather be Dick LeBow, considered the greatest coordinator at his position? Would you rather be Mike Martz, the offensive coordinator or Mike Martz, the head coach? That is Mike Martz, the offensive coordinator. When people talk about all time, greatest coordinators on the offensive side of

the ball, they'll be saying names like Mike Martz. They won't be saying Mike Martz his name when it comes to head coaches. So that's what I'm saying with spags. Spags I think is certainly over these last few years has entered his name and people forget he was a great defensive coordinator years ago that's how he got to be a head coach in the first place. Spags in my lifetime is top tier. A guy that was trending towards one of the great offensive coordinators of all time someone tell me where he is. Eric B. Enneemy. He's in college now. What? Yeah,

he's in college. Someone needs to do a deep get uh Seth Wickersham. Someone needs to do a deep dive on what happened to him. Pablo. Yeah. Yeah. Offensive coordinator. Find out. He's uh OC at UCLA. Wow. DeSean Foster's staff. He's supposed to be a head coach in the NFL. Guys, I've been in the lab doing some Baker research. Baker is number one in touchdowns on the season with 15. He's number four in the NFL with completion percentage at 71% and he's top 10 with

1,489 passing yards. The lab, huh? Yeah. And rushing yards too. Rushing yards got 136 rushing yards and two touchdowns. That's better than Mahomes, CJ Str Stroud a litany of guys obviously behind He's better than CJ Stroud Surprising I thought what happened yesterday with Jerry Jones in Dallas was Was fascinating Mike we we had Nick Saban a weekly coaches show with Nick Saban at one point During 790 the tickets run. And I remember that we would often get, Nick would be cranky sometimes. Nick would be Nick, he was coaching.

I wish we had the Nick Saban that we're seeing now as opposed to Nick Saban who was coaching at the time. The lobbyist? Yeah, but we would sometimes, you know, when you do weekly shows with a GM or with a coach or with an owner or someone who has power, they tend to think they don't want, and your partners, you're the flagship radio station, they don't want pressing questions. No, they don't. And I'm glad you're taking this Jerry Jones discussion to that place because I think this ultimately comes down to a discussion about flagship rights and the what the,

the unique position that being a flagship for team, especially that team puts you in. Yes. And I don't think the general public is all that informed on how awkward that can be. You know, from your terrible deal that we cover in the oral history of the day and LeBattard show with us, with the Miami dolphins, the awkward positions that that can put you in because the power dynamic

is so skewed to the team that you are paying money for. It's an inverted power dynamic in that they are actually your client, you are paying them money. And you just kowtow to them the entire time. You are on bended knee, you do whatever they want. It's tricky because as a radio station, you wanna have the head coach on bended knee. You do whatever they want. It's tricky because as a radio station you want to have the head coach on every single week. Of course you do. It's sellable. It's good programming. But as a partner, the team will put some pressure on

you to not press on the coach or on the GM or whoever that person is. So Jerry Jones is the only NFL owner to do a weekly show. He does it in Dallas. Does it every single Monday, or Tuesday, excuse me, and yesterday had a little contentious back and forth with the host. Jerry, 1970 a little different from this past off season in building the team we're talking about today, which there was a lot of criticism that you guys didn't add, didn't spend,

and don't add, and don't spend, and are not aggressive enough with some of the problems that are still haunting the Cowboys today that we see play out on the field. That's the point of talking about the off season. Oh, I remember those criticisms very well. Okay, so what? Are they playing out to be accurate? What's your point?

My point is, it seems like my point- Listen, let me tell you what I'll do. Let me tell you what I'll do about it I will Let us sit down and look at the decisions we've made over the last several years I'll look at it now if you think I'm interested in them of don't know them phone call with you over a radio and Sitting here and throwing all the good out with the dish water you have got to be smoking something over there this morning. I'm not and I really don't and I don't even want our listeners to listen to me talk about this is not

your job. Your job isn't to let me go over all the reasons that I did something and I'm sorry that I did it. That's not your job. Well my job is to ask what? So you don't get a job or I'll get another, I'll get somebody else to ask these questions, man. Oh, Jerry, we're just, we're trying to figure out why the team is. No, no, I'm not kidding you, I'm not kidding you. What are you laughing at, Chris?

The chummy laughter from the hosts because they're afraid they're gonna lose their jobs? Uh, uh, uh, uh. I mean, saying that Cowboys didn't spend is kinda crazy. They signed CD and DAC this offseason. They just spent all their money on two guys. Yeah, but saying to the host, it's not your job. It's exactly what their job is.

I mean. It was, I understand why he would take exception to the question, but it was framed very politely with deference and- Because they have no choice. No, very clearly they have no choice no very clearly they they have no choice because I understand the tone and why they asked it the way they asked it I'm fine with it it's his response it was a respectful question and his response to it lacks such mutual respect like there is no mutual respect

there he does not respect those people very clearly and then he doubles down says I'm serious like I can can have you fired because your station pays my organization for this flagship response. I can have you fired if I don't want that. You need me more than I need you is essentially what he's saying. But Billy, I think Billy is tending to agree with Jerry here, it seems like. Not agree with Jerry. I'm just saying like, you give a guy $60 million a year and you give another guy $136 million., Jerry, we're not spending money. It's like, we only spent all the money

on the two guys you wanted him to keep. Like, at a certain point. Here's the thing. The whole problem is Derrick Henry and the season he's having, right? If Derrick Henry was not having the season Derrick Henry is having, I don't feel like, and there shouldn't be a connection here

and it shouldn't be impacting the Cowboys the way that it is, but if Derrick Henry was not having his season, I don't think that the And it shouldn't be impacting the Cowboys the way that it is. But if Derek Henry was not having his season, I don't think that the heat would be as much on the Cowboys. You're absolutely right. They have zero identity. They do not run the ball. They had the stop the run. They opted to get Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowd instead of giving nine million dollars to Derek Henry and having that season.

And whose job is it to give them the best roster? Jerry's right. So the host pressed him on it. My question is... And he said, I'll get new hosts. My question is, what does he mean by this? And sitting here and throwing all the good at with the dishwater. Yeah. Is that the baby with the bath water type of analogy?

What's the dishwater? You can't get fooled again. You can't get fooled again. Howdy, listener. It's Mike Ryan. You probably like football, don't you? You're listening to a sports podcast? How can you not love football?

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