NFL Week 8 - Warren Sapp Interview and We Spot the White Whale of PI Review

stick around for that interview. We talked about everything, we talk about the you, we talked about NFL rules, and we talk about Warren's advice when dealing with wild animals. Okay, so stick around for that. It's a wild card. You never know what you're gonna get. Yeah, good one, Travis. All right. So let's but what I want to do before we go into week eight? Can we take a step back and and just a little step back in time? And I made a prediction at the end of last

week's show, Joe, can you can you play that for us? Please? As much as I hate too, I will please thank you I think we're gonna get a past inference reversal next week. So that was me predicting that we were going to get a past inference reversal. Now we had, Thank you, Thank you. We haven't had a pass in aferance reversal since week four. Forty eight total reviews going into week eight, only seven reverse So so not not

very likely that that prediction would come true. If you're handicapping that, Joe, what are you putting the odds at. I'm probably putting that at about plus thirty six. Boom, I throw a hundred down and and I walk away with a clean thirty six hundred dollars right there. So that's four testa payments. Baby, Okay, we're not talking about

Tesla's alright. So, because we did have a reversal. Denver, Indianapolis, big play, t Y Hilton third down incomplete pass, gets his arm grab, Cody sents about the dB for the Broncos, grabs his left arm. T Y can't get to the football Colts challenge and they and they add the foul, they create the foul and replay and and I think we all let's applause. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, it was not for me because I made the prediction that they actually created a foul and replay. Look,

this is pasting infairance. This this is a call that that should have been made on the field, and they did a nice job adding it. But again, we've seen some going into this in the last couple of weeks that we're also pasting infairance that we're not that we're

not overturned overturned. And I think the one thing probably if we're looking for a common denominator, I think in some of these calls that have been overturned and and we had to go back to early in the season, it's if the receiver's arm is compromised in some way where it's only one arm getting up to be able to get to the get to the football, I think they're more likely to put the flag down and replay.

And I think that's what we saw in UH in Indianapolis on Sunday and UH and so we saw our reversals. Now we're up to eight for the season so far, and and and let's see, let's see where we end up at the end of the year. Just a quick summary on penalties going into Week eight, where we were up eighteen point zero three per game that's accepted declined offset. So that's all all fouls that are called UM eighteen point oh three compared to fifteen point seven six at

this time last year. So up, pretty good clip, you know, to a little bit over to a game. And when you look at the penalties that are up significantly, offensive holding rough in the past, our offensive past interference, illegal hands to the face, and defensive holding are all up this year. One one interesting fact we were we did a little did a little day aging and uh this year. One interesting stat that if you commit, if you commit fewer penalties, then your opponent what what percentage of time

do you think you're winning the game? Travis, You commit fewer penalties. And I tweeted this out, by the way, and when I tweeted it, I said, commit less penalties, and I had the grammar police tweeted me that, oh it's fewer, and just just accept the stats. Stop being grammatically. Um a jerk off, But anyway, UM, fewer penalties. I don't think it's gotta be like sixty forty Joe, what do you think I'd go? Set? Okay, So when you commit fewer penalties, just this season, but it's not that

far off from where your historical numbers are. If you commit fewer penalties than your opponent, you're winning the game forty so actually less than fifty right at fifty when you commit fewer penalties. Now, let's take another stat when you commit fewer turnovers than your opponent. Where do you think that is percentage wise? Win winning percentage? Can I would say, I'm gonna go so seventy seven one percent.

So next time you complain about your team having more fouls more penalties than than your opponent, it's not that big a deal when you look at it statistically, it's uh, it's actually turnovers that are going to be the key um when you talk about wins and losses. So commit those penalties at end of games and crucial situations. But sometimes those penalties overturn a turnover. So well, there's no

question penalties impact, penalties impact games, no question. I'm just saying that there's always this this talk, and usually on social media. There were thirteen calls against our team and only eight against the other team or six three or whatever. Statistically speaking, that's not a big driver in terms of your team winning or lose saying, obviously, the more disciplined teams over time are going to be more successful. But our goal here is to get people to stop tweeting

the refs are killing us. Thank you very much, Thank you very much, Travis, and and stop turning the ball over. You throw five picks, you deserve to lose another. We've been tracking this and Travis is really he's he's super into this. So I'll let Travis talk a little bit about this, the on side kicks, and he's really he's taken kind of this is his baby this year, and he's very, very concerned about the success rates of on side kicks. So so we had we had two so

far and week eight and and neither was successful. So that that gets us to what for the year, Travis, in terms of percentage, in terms of percentages success rates, well, it's three percent. So we got one out of six. That's that's not good. So not good. And when we talk about last year, so two thou eighteen, significant changes of the kickoff um made it made it a little bit harder, that much harder to to make that onside kick.

To get that on side kick where you didn't have a run up, you had to be on at least one yard or or on the thirty four basically with both feet down and you couldn't lift a foot before that ball was kicked. And so it dropped from historical percentage of eight percent last year and now'ur at three point eight and so something to continue to watch. Four as we as we move forward with um on side kicks, and we've talked about this before. All the side kicks

are are really important. They promote you know, comebacks without the onside kick, without the ability to get the ball back, you know, especially when you're out of time outs, then then we don't have these close games and teams are basically done if they're down you know, two or more scores late in the games. As much as I see these these on side kicks going down like this, I I just wonder in Europinian Dean, what do you think

the league has to see, like what percentage was? Do you see a change Like we've talked about, we don't want to see the gimmicky you know, fourth and twelve play, but it's got they may go to that because you're seeing these other leagues do something like that. What do you think, Well, I I think if if there's only one successful onside kick for the whole season. I think that's a problem. The problem, that's a major problem. Now again,

you you don't one season. Is it's not a it's not a my favorite word, a huge sample size, but it's it would be enough to say, if we're if we're let's say one for forty, you know, we're talking about you know, one percent, you know, something like that, that would be something the league would have to look at.

We'll see, we'll see what happens. We're we're at the midway point, and uh, and hopefully we get a couple of onside kicks successful on side kicks and and we bring that percentage up because you know, i'd hate to see something gimmicky, you know, on the the kickoff is is a big part of the game. And uh and you know, and I think the on side kick obviously, players safety is is your primary is your primary focus. But I'd love to see the some more successful kicks

going forward. It used to be such an exciting play to kickoff and the punt return, and now you you rarely get kickoff returns and punt returns to start penalties on every play and now taking with the on sides. It's like the kicking games almost becoming obsolete. You sound like somebody. You sound like one of these fans that, oh, there's a penalty on every kick return and da da.

You don't sound like somebody that spends a lot of time with one of the premier experts and officiating in the I don't know the world Mike prayers for that one. Like Joe, I wish you guys could have seen. Joe. Joe was like, oh my God, salivating over here too. Copportunity joke, Joe joke. Alright, we're talking about on a word count on a lot of a lot of talking about kickers, kickers or football players too. So what did we see in the in the in the forty niner game?

Is what seven? And oh yeah, seven? And oh look at that. Mitch Wishnowski, the forty Niners kicker got called for use of the helmet making a tackle on a kickoff return. Anybody named Mitch Wishnowski should not be getting personal fouls and professional football games. But um, you know this was the new rule that was adopted last year or two years ago. Actually lower in the head and uh and initiating contact with the with the crown or or any part of the helmet really to any part

of the body. This was a tough call. It didn't look like um, Mitch or or Wishnowski as his friends call him, um, really look like he took the brunt of the hit that the returner actually was the one that dipped his head. But again, typically, and when those types of calls they're there, the officials are going to focus more on the player, the defensive player, and then the offensive player. That's just the way, that's just the

way it's been. But Mitch was called for um use of helmet and uh, but you know, my I don't like, I don't want, I don't like to revel in people's misfortune. But it was just interesting that, you know, the Bears are our buddy Eddie Panero, who we talked about after the Broncos game, who was like, how excited was he when he made that kick? You actually called that too, you did write you didn't he didn't go grammatica style where he blow out his knee, but he was. He

was super excited, and look, I get it. It was so early in the season though it was the bears first win. He wins the game with a kick against the Broncos, and it was like he was he had the key to the city, right they were they were interview him and I said at the time, I was like, listen, that's a tough, tough job an NFL kicker, and you're only as good as your last kick. And I said this, You're gonna have an opportunity to win a game again or tie a game late in the game, and you

better make that kick. And because you can become you know, you could become persona on graded pretty quick. And I think we saw that today and uh at home in Soldier Field missing that kick against the uh the charge he said after the game he was trying to play the win. He just he didn't strike it well and he didn't make it. So yeah, and and look, and it's a hard job. And kickers they're like kickers are

like officials. Really, they're like officials. They only get noticed when they make a mistake, and you don't really you know, but even that, I would say, officials don't get Yeah, but officials don't get carried off the field when they make it good, when they throw a flag. That's correct. I think the lesson here is don't get too high, don't get too low. That's kind of how Travis is

in life. Travis keeps us very you know on like I'll get a little excited in the studio and I'll start talking about something that has nothing to do with football, and Travis will bring bring me back to square one and say, I mean, all the people from Fox that are listening, we're talking football all the time, exactly exactly. But you know, life of a kicker. You know a guy that is the greatest kicker. I don't care what anybody says. This is the greatest kicker of all time.

And he's been getting he's been getting a lot of flak lately because he missed some extra points and he's he look, he's on the back end of his career, no question. But Adam Vinitary today again showed us why he's the best kicker of all time. Nailed the fifty one yard or to win the game against against the Broncos. The Broncos have been on the uh, you know, the wrong end of these game winning kicks this year, but um here makes an extra point. Earlier in the game.

He missed an extra point, but when it counted as he made it. That guy has made so many pressure kicks, whether it's in the snow against the Raiders in two thousand and one, these one super bowls, multiple Super Bowls with kicks at the end of the game, and the guy's stud and uh and we will, you know. Talking about our interview a little later, Warrant Sapp does mention the need for a kicker at the University of Miami

and how they're in a downturn with kickers. So QB killer talking kickers, I still have four years of eligibility that yeah, Joe thinks, yeah, Joe thinks he can make a thirty three yard or with no kicking experience, So we will. We will bring him out onto a high school field, the local high school field, and we're gonna we're gonna give him three shots to make one thirty three yarder. I don't think he's gonna make one. Neither one of us think he's gonna make one. Will record it,

will post it. But we're gonna do that in the next couple of weeks. And uh, and we'll share that. But Joe, you and I should kick as well. Yeah, I'll kick absolutely. I can't wait for this day. I'll kick for that. UM, let's go to our head scratcher call of the week. We're still waiting for Murray's to to reach out to us so they can be the sponsor for the head scratcher DM. Just you know they're on. Does Murray's on? Do they have a Twitter accounts? Check that?

I just need to follow them. But yeah, let's follow them. But let's get to the head scratcher. Tampa Bay, Tennessee. This is a big, big call in this game. It's late in the game. UM, fourth and two and Tennessee lines up for a field goal attempt and they fake it. So the holder who's actually the punter, Brett Kern, he takes the snap and he and he tries to run

for a first down, gets crushed by Devin White. Ball comes out, it's picked up by the Bucks and they return it for what could be a touchdown, but unfortunately the down judge covering the play ruled current down by contact. Now, look, it's a tough play because you've got the line of game involved. You're it's a fake field goal, so you have to transition quickly as an official. You know where your where your focus is on a field goal especially

the down judge who's on the line of scrimmage. That down judge has to be looking down the line, making sure that the offense is lined up properly, looking in at the football, making sure the defense doesn't jump offside. And now it completely shifts. We get a snap, Now you have a run toward the down judge. The line of game is right there. He has to rule on it. He makes the ruling. Unfortunately, replay showed it was a fumble.

Nothing replay can do there and and and ends up taking away at what would have been a touchdown against the Bucks and they lose the game by by four points. And we've been down this road before this year. Um, we had a game the rate the Rams and the Saints where it was a past fumble situation and uh and the official, the referee blew it dead and ruled in complete past took away a touchdown from the Saints,

and again, nothing you can do and replay. And it's one of those deals where again you teach the officials you've got to be sure if you're gonna put that player down and uh, and look the official you don't. It's it's a tough, tough deal because you don't want officials being indecisive based on the replay. You don't want an official to not make a decision because replay they're thinking replay can bowl them out. So that official made a decision he thought he saw the runner down. Um,

it happens quickly and obviously he wasn't down. So again, I think we saw after that Rams Saints play. Um, we saw a lot of plays get let go, officials really not being somewhat hesitant. And I think we may see that again, we may see plays being let go. And and again, if you're not sure, you should always let it go. But you want officials to make decisions and you don't want them to to rely on replay

and for that to be a crutch. Ye, the league did a report on that didn't add much to it, just saying that's what was called on the field and it's not reviewable. Yeah, and and for those of you that that haven't you know, don't know what a pool report is, that's an opportunity. Look, they don't. They don't let the officials speak to the media after a game.

No sport does that. And uh, but there is an opportunity for um, a pool reporter who can go to the officials locker room, asked the referee um some specific questions about a situation and then relay that information to the rest of the media. And so again they don't put the officials up on a podium or a press conference or anything like that. But there is a mechanism

in place, not a lot in that pool report. Referee Adrian Hill just talked about what the ruling was, what what happened and uh and what could have happened in replay. But again, tough, it's tough play. Tough way to uh, you know, have a you know, really what should have been a touchdown taken away. Let's uh, let's go take a break. When we come back, we're gonna talk a

little college football. Number five Oklahoma goes down college football playoff chances maybe fading away, and we'll come back with Brandon Blandino inside the Cube in our Warren Sap interview. Next on Good Calls. All right, we're back on Good Calls with Dean Blandino. That's me. Let's talk a little college football play the weekend. Really, um, number five Oklahoma, this is a team that that from the Big twelve perspective, this is their best chance to get into the college

football Playoff. And uh, they go into Case State, not a game that you would think UM was even gonna be close. I mean, Case Stay really in a in a stur pretty good. They're playing pretty good ball. I mean they've got a they've got a great I mean that's a good head coach that they got there after having Bill Schneider there forever. And uh, but when you talk about Chris climbing, but UM goes down to the had a big lead in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma climbs

their way back. They have an onside kick opportunity, and uh, it's the ruling on the field is that Oklahoma recovered it legally. It goes to review and gets overturned. It I'm literally I'm looking at it again for the six d time. All right, I'm watching it again and the here's the deal. The ball hits the Oklahoma player before it goes ten yards. So that's a foul for illegal touching. But what everybody wanted to talk about, and this made

its way around social media. Somebody gets in the rule book and they find this rule, which is a rule and this is in rule six, which deals with UM kicks and we're talking about free kicks here. Kickoffs, it's forced touch disregarded. So the rule states a player blocked by an opponent into a free kick is not while in bounds deemed to have touched the kicks. So the question was did the k State player blocked the Oklahoma

player into the football. Therefore, if he was forced and blocked in, then that he would be deemed not to have touched it. And I've looked at this thing a million times. This is a collision that happens at full speed. The Oklahoma player is moving toward the football, the Case State players moving towards the football. They both lower their shoulders. There's a second Oklahoma player that contacts the Case State player. It's a collision. It's impossible to say that the Case

State player forced the Oklahoma player into the football. Replay can look at the aspect of the touching. They can't look at forced touching. They made the right call. Unfortuly for Oklahoma fans, that was the right call. And when you're talking about force touching, what you're really talking about is a player that is passive. And what I mean by that as a player that is not is not engaging an opponent is not trying to block, is just

trying to stand there. And you typically see this on punts with a returner will just stand there and then the kicking team will try to push that player into the football. Well, if you push that player into the football, then he's deemed not to have touched it. And look, it's a tough call, but again it was the right call and uh, and the player did touch it before it went in and uh, you know, the ball was given back to KSE State and KSE State ended up

running out the clock and winning the game. And it's again tough, tough way to lose the game, but you give up forty eight points, You're gonna lose a lot of football games. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. So so, even with that Oklahoma player that comes in second, he makes that big contact pushing everybody, and if he pushes the KSE State guy into the ball, the same the same rules to apply there. Well, again, you you can't push the the ideas either team. You can't force an opponent

into into the kick. But it would have to be something where that player is just passive, and none of those players you watched that play, nobody's passive. On this play, they're all moving toward the football, they're all engaging with each other. It's a collision that happens at full speed, and it's impossible to say that that any of those players forced the other player into the football. Um but again, the Oklahoma player touched it and and and you can't

touch it. The kicking team is not eligible to touch it until either the receiving team touches it first or it goes ten yards. Then that ball becomes you know, they they can touch it legally, and uh yeah, ball went over to Case State, and I thought it was the right call. So in that process, though, how long did it take during the actual time, how long did

that review take? It took a while, And I think we saw we saw some reviews, and I think you see this in college where the NFL process takes longer because the referee is involved and you have to get the headset on and all of that. So, so per review, the NFL process does take longer. College doesn't take is long. But what you're seeing in in in some of these major conferences, these Power five conferences, is the referee. Now they're bringing a little a little device over for the

referee to look at the place. So that's going to extend the review. And then the other part of it is that there's no time limit in college. Should there be a time you know, and you think on average last year Division one FBS right about one one per review, which is not a bad number. But we've seen some reviews in college where where it's been five, six, seven, even eight minute stoppages. That's that's insane. And and so I do think that the n c A needs to

think about a time limit. And and maybe it's not maybe it's from the time the game has stopped, maybe it's an overall. Maybe it's two minutes would be max, right, because that's typically in line with what what a what a TV break would be. So we're not we're not delaying the game unnecessarily, but but I do think college needs to think about that. We did get a great

suggestion from from Scott who works with us. If you don't, If you don't if you want a really good Twitter follow, go to go to Scott Tamill t A M. M. E. L Um. He's on Twitter. Follow him. He works with us in the studio, and he came up with a great idea. He said listen, if we want to keep these reviews short, what we do is we take the replay official and we put we put the replay official in a tank, and as soon as the replay official the review is initiated, that tank starts to fill with water.

And so basically, yes, you've got to make a decision before you drown. In essence, that's what that That was Scott's suggestion. He even added that like there were points where we could we could let like, you know, some kind of maybe an alligator into the tank or or an electric eel, which I think is an urban myth. By the way, I've never seen anybody shocked by an electric something. You and I both agree only, but this was Scott's idea, and I certainly think that would speed

up the process. It might make the process more exciting. Um, I think people would be watching. There'd be a whole new group of fans watching college football that have no interest in football, but they want to see like this. They want to see if this replay official is going to die before you get it in, before they can make a decision and can host exactly exactly. So it's a combination of college football and fear factor and but that was Scott's idea speaking. And I don't think it's

going to happen. I don't think it's gonna happen either. Let's speaking of inside the cube. You know, we worked together in the Fox Sports and the Rules Cube, and we work, you know, we just we do college football on Saturdays sometimes Friday and uh, and we do NFL on on Sunday and uh, Saturday night. We worked late, and I was really excited because we we have we have all right, and I want you guys to back me up on this. We have we have completely boycotted

Taco Bell. Right have you been to Taco Bell since they talk about thank you? So since they got rid of the double decker taco Um, no one is going to Taco Bell. So we were there late. We had to pack twelve after dark games. So we're there. We're gonna be there till eleven and uh. And so we typically get like a you know, a bad right, a cheap meal and and so we went with Wendy's So Good so spicy nuggets. They're really good. I had the spicy Nuggets the day's double legit. But that's not my point.

My point is I wanted to just finish the night strong. So after the Wendy's, I went and I stopped at seven eleven and I got a pint of Ben and Jerry's half Baked Okay, which is the greatest ice cream of all time. I gotta try it. Okay. So if you talk about it a lot, if you don't know what half baked this, and Joe knows what half baked this, okay, Joe half baked is is a combination of chocolate chip

cookie dough and chocolate fudge brownie, all it together. And I don't know how it started, like how they how they invented it, but it to me in my mind, like I've fantasized that this is how it's happened. Like Ben and Jerry are hanging out and they're they're sitting

in Vermont. They're hanging out and they live next to each other, and they they're like watching a movie and Ben is eating chocolate chip cookie dough and Jerry is eating chocolate fudge brownie and they're hanging out and then all of a sudden, they like look at each other as they're about to take a bite, and there's like light bulbs go off and it's like like remember like peanut butter and chocolate running into each other. That's how

I envisioned half baked. Maybe they were maybe they were imbibing in a little you know, a little medicinal, and it was like, oh, I'm half baked, And that's how they came up with the name, and that that's how half baked came out. But anyway, I get a pint of half baked. I'm so excited. Okay, And Joe knows that I have a system with half baked, and and there's a system where you don't you you don't eat it directly out of the freezer. This is a system I cannot get behind because I pull it out and

now I immediately have to eat. You can let it sit. You cannot eat it right out of the freezer because it's you get freezer burn burned, and it's not as creamy. So you let it sit. Okay, set a timer. I don't care, Go do something else, go, I don't care what you do. You let it sit at room temperature, little shit, about seven minutes, seven to ten minutes, depending on the temperature in the room. So you have to take ahead of when you want to eat your ice.

So you take it out, you let it sit because then it's like and you'll know when you take the cover off. If you take the cover off and it's just like very smooth. Oh my god, the feeling it's like this smooth. It's so amazing, and you just see the it has just a slight little melt to it, and you go that first ridiculous. Okay, So I'm this is what I'm I have Wendy's. This is what I'm looking forward to. So I go to seven eleven, I put in the freezer. I come, I'm doing whatever. I

take it out. I go to let's sit for seven minutes. I go to take it out, and the I didn't realize the plastic was off, so you know, there's a safety safety seal was off. So now I've got to make a business decision because I've seen on the social media idiots running around taking the thing off, licking it, putting it back. That seven eleven I get it from

was pretty shady, So I don't know. So I gotta make a business Do I eat the half baked knowing that some degenerate may have licked my half baked, or just get rid of the top layer. What going? Yeah, that's it? What do you think I did? I think you ate it? I ate that ship. You're no kidding me? And then and then I felt great today. So there was nothing, nothing wrong, unless it's like a two day thing. But so so that was that was my half big story.

People out there probably think that you have said, Oh, this guy's on TV's got this glamorous life in here, and I'm eating it despite the safety steal not being it's so legit. Let's go, Brandon Blandino. What do you got first? Thank you for that. So this is the rules. This is a rules, Brandon Blandino convertible. It's a rules. It's a real convertible rules. What are the rules to drive in a convertible? Okay? So I think if you're a man, you can't drive a convertible if you're under fifty.

I agree with that. Okay, period, Like you can't own a convertible if you're under fifty, all right, I think a woman can and I'm not. Look, this is just I think you should be able to drive a car. However, whatever you want, keep going. Here we go. It's got to be a two door, I think too, So two door. I just I just think it's I just think it's a it's a it's an age thing where you get to a certain age where you can now now you look,

now you look the part in the convertible. And I just think it's like, okay, I think it's like guys, guys under fifty. Once you hit fifty right your phone, you take it off, vibrate, it goes on sound. Okay, you can get the convertible, all these things. Okay, that that's a standard. So I think I think convertible. I think one and even then two dudes in a convertible down the road, just ron happen, I really do. What about a jeep wrangler, that's pretty much that's got big

jeep wrangler is not a convertible. I mean you're still on the top off. No, I think two guys, two dudes, no guy and a girl. Absolutely. I remember growing up. I used to always there was always like a cute girl and like the Rabbit cabriolet that was such a oh Man white interior like Ashley, and she's so cute. But I agree, I agree, I agree. Two dudes, no over fifty, single dude, fine, one guy in the car

under fifty, stay away from the convertible. You know, you could buy a Tesla like Joe, like Joe does never shuts up about it. But when are they're gonna have a Tesla convertible? That's the rule. That's not that's not even inside the Brandon Blandino though, though I think you made that one. That was that was one that I made that. I've got a few in there. You've made that one up, so you know what you ran with it? Well, I appreciate that. So that was not something I came

up with. Let's go, let's go d M of the week. This was actually this was actually a d M that I got um from Steve Howden. And so what Steve Hoden is complaining about, he dems me, how does Tom Brady get to reset the play clock? And we've heard this before that Tom Brady and and so there's a there's the signal for play clock. It's you take your hand one hand and you like pump it up in the air like you're not you no, no, but you're

raising the roof with one hand. You're not, you're not you're not totally raising the roof like it's it's the party drink your hand exactly. The party is starting to get a little crazy, but you don't want it to get too crazy. So it's a one hand raised the roof. And so there was there's there's a play in the

game on Sunday against the Browns. It's fourth and four and the Patriots decided to go for it, and play clock gets inside of twenty seconds and Brady turns to the referee and pumps raises the roof with one hand, and the referee does reset the play clock. To the question is why is Tom Brady get to decide? No, tom Brady doesn't get to decide. It is a great question. Tom Brady doesn't get to decide. But the quarterback. And it's not just Tom Brady, it's any quarterback. You'll see

kickers do that, holders do that. And the bottom line is is the mechanic. It's a fourth and fourth situation, so they're inside the thirty yard line, which is typically gonna be a field goal. So you have a kicking ball that comes into the game. The Patriots then decide to go for it. Now we got to get the kicking ball out of the game and bring a regular

ball in. If all of that happens. And now the regular ball is down and the play clock is inside of twenty seconds, then the mechanic is to reset the play clock to seconds. So that's what happened. Brady knows that he's going to ask the referee, but the referee is going to reset that because mechanically the football was not made ready for play before seconds um on the play clock. And that's that's how that's so it's a good d M of the week. I can't do a lot of my d m s because a lot of

them are are really bad. And can you make sure to get me a kicking ball there's mean for the competition. Yeah, yeah, you'll get it. We'll get an official k ball for the competition. Um. Let's uh, let's go to another break and when we come back, I'm so excited. Hall of Famer Warren Sap joins us on good Calls. Alright, really excited about our guests this week. This guy was a national champion, super Bowl champion, All American, All Pro Hall

of Famer Warren Sap, Warren, what's up man? Good? H nothing? Nothing? Uh. Let's before I want to talk officiating in rules and get your take on some things when you played, and what's happening today. But before that, I want to talk a little bit about out the you and what's going on. Listen. I I went to Hofstra. They don't have football anymore, but but back in the day, we had Marcus Colston, Wayne Cribet, Willie Cologne. So what's up? But I was always a youth fan. I was always a Miami fan

going back to the eighties. What's going on? Uh? You know, just recently, Manny Diaz just took the he said, you know, three and four, it's on me. Where do you see the program right now? What needs to happen to get back to the glory years. I think the one thing we're missing is a dominant defensive tackle because we always talked about the University of Miami being quarterback university with you know, Jim Kelly and Gino Walsh, Ckson and that

whole list of characters that played quarterback there. But there was always Jim Burke, Ruben Carter, you know, Russell Cortez, myself, Jerome. I mean, we had a dominant front that could go after somebody's quarterback. And being quarterback, you we had a quarterback then, you know, could go out and win the football game for us, and right now we don't have either one of those, and then we don't have a kick. Oh my god, Jesus, that's crazy right now for me

because Miami has always been in the world. We don't have a kick, cup man, are you kidding me? You've always Miami has always had a good kicker, good kick, punter, place kicker. And it feels like they can't make a kick this year. Oh my god, not one, not even the chip shots. I mean, it's unbelievable. And we can't stop a nosebleeding? Do you as a supposed to be because I've got so it's hurting right now. It's really hurty.

Do you see you talked about quarterback, you and like Perry's gonna start this week and it's his third straight start. You had Jared Williams. You know, Tate Martell hasn't taken a snap at quarterback. Do they have the guy currently on the roster or do they got to go recruit the guy? I I don't know. And we look like transferred you because the only guy on offense, we got his number two and he transferred there. Thank god. Yeah,

I mean it is unbelievable. Yeah, it's crazy. It's crazy. Now, is there is there like a group chat where you guys, you know, on game day you and and and ray Lewis and Gino and Luther Campbell? Can I get on? That is the after game counseling session. We have no doubt about that. That definitely goes though I can only I can only talk us off the list and to

hide all shop objects. So so let's talk. Let's talk a little bit about your your transition, you know, from college to the to the NFL to the pro game. What was what was the toughest thing for you going from the college game to the program? If there was one, what was the what was the biggest jump for you? Some money game in the National Football League? I would have number one game. I looked at the umpire you know, used to be behind us. So so I looked like

and said, man, you won't watch this holding. Oh I got you. So I go up and shake the office alignment. I look at him and said, that's how hold it? He said, grow up, how's a rookie. That's okay. This is how it's gonna this sound's gonna be. Oh yeah, I mean this is grown man's lead. I mean, you have to you have to say it for yourself. Don't don't look for any help out there on the football field. So that was my first lesson. I got to grow up. I said, Okay, I'm a grown man. I pay my

mom a beers. What you mean, grow up? That's funny, and that's that's that's how I said in my mind, I would, I would. I wasn't bad enough to shadeything to the ref D. I thought they'd throw you out of the game. Oh well, we're gonna get into you. You definitely grew into your We're gonna get into a little bit of your of your you know, as a veteran talking to the refs. We'll get there. But let's rookie. You were you were, you were good. You were a

good soldier at that point. But we're gonna get into a little bit later. Um. But but you came, you came into the league around the time, you know, mid nineties, where they were expanding a lot of the rough and the pastor rules and defenseless player protection. Did you did you ever feel like you know, you talked about holding, but did you ever feel like those those protections to the quarterback made it harder for you to play defense. No, okay, no, it just it just gave me a strike zone, that's

all it was. I mean I couldn't hit him in the head and you couldn't hit him below the knees. But I mean, trust me, I'd never stopped to be assaulted on the quarterback. He was always target And like the great out David said in the first ten played, the opposing quarterback must go down and he must go down hard. So what do you say should be played to the to the end of time? What do you say to what do you say to these guys today? They say, well, I can't play defense. You know I can't.

You know, you know because you watched both. At the end of that game, when he sacked the quarterback on the slide and field, I mean, he's not landing, he's landing on him. But I mean, why is that? Okay? And the and the guy in Miami blows his knee out and week one week too? Was it week one? Last ship? And I think it was week one blew his knee out. I sat trying to trying to not land on the quarterback. I mean, I found that to

be crazy. Because the last time I checked, he's got an office alignment that's in front of them, that's paid the protective I get to him and I shocked him. Where I land it should be on the quarterback. He's the cushion. Well, you were allowed to do that back when you played. And I think that I have to go to my owner and asking you do you want the quarterback and salted or do you want to you know, lay down softly. Well, I'm not giving I'm not giving up my money. I got kids to feel I'm not

giving up my money. So you make a decision. Boss, you're playing for the fine and me landing on the quarterback because I used him as a pillow. Well, it's funny because that then we used to be language in the rulebo that used to say you have to cradle the quarterback on the way to the ground. Cradle the actual word. Now, now I can't see you in a in a defensive line in your position meeting and the

defensive line coach saying, hey, we gotta cradle this guy. Yeah, I know the cradle if I'm gonna wrap him up and take him all the way to the crowd. Because listen, they used to fight out of everything. Back in the day, I mean you you had to take the quarterback down. He wasn't going down, he wasn't sliding and none of that. Oh, none of that. You have to take him down. So it was it was a game. It was a different game. So we're playing a lot more wide open right now.

I know that. Well that's exactly right. What do you what do you think of You know, there have been rules changes, and you talked about offense in the beginning, and yes, this is an offensive league and the rules changes are you know, kind of focused in that area. Do you do you think that's good for the game overall? Why do you think we need to have more balance? No, it's it's good. It's good because it's a skill game now.

It used to be a brutal you know, I sold, I sold lead full back, uh mic linebacker, you know all those things. Now it's a wide open game. Who can run, who can cover? Who's stop a two week ago? And who can rest the passes? Because they throw it fifty times? Holy smokes? Yeah, no question, no question. What that quarterback hold? You still baking that pretty girl out and you're driving around? I get can dig it up? Yeah, first play, let's play. What what do you think about?

You know, there's been so much discussion about replaying pass interference, and I know you're you're watching games. You know, as a former player, what are we doing? What are we doing replay? Should we be reviewing this stuff? I'll tell you what, We've gone too far because when we brought it back, the Vinny tester already played with Seattle with the sticks and his job. That was a big one. That was a big I would say the coaches in twelve twelve coaches around the National Football League when I

have to move. That's why we brought it back, to make sure we ensure to get the plays right there. You know. But the other day, other day you saw that you just see the cleat plant of the guy at the bounds, and they still called it a touchdown in the um the Green Bay game. You see the cleat clearly right there on the way, clearly on the white the caravan standing, you see it. That was rituus

someone more ridiculous. And then they want to put the passing of passing affairs is tough enough to call as he is. Now we're gonna go to replay, come home, stop it. That's that's the exact point. It is such a past call and you know, now you're bringing in a whole another Well, he might have grabbed him a little early there, and come on, man, come on, let him hand fight, let him play with their players. They just call. Let's see when I tell you what we

really need to do. Put two more referees on the field that are at the sticks because that's where the game is. On third down, we haven't been standing that the lasts primage and when the boss snapped, they don't move, and then now they got to run up the field to mark that ball. We're playing game of inches and we're giving away yours. Yeah, well, the game of inches and we're giving away yours. The one thing we needed two more referees standing at the sticks because that's where

the action is. The action is that the first down marker? Well, yeah, I mean it's a good point. And we you know, when I was at the league, we talked about adding an eighth official and it was always, okay, where are you gonna put that guy you took the sick because that's where the action is. Well there you go, all right, we'll go to the competition committee. We'll call it the sticks.

We played the sticks on third question. The quarterback is throwing for the sticks on third down because he wants, so what first down? And the first down as well at the sticks? And I think we get in the way. And I'm glad you said that, because I think sometimes,

especially on the rule side, we over complicate things. This is not a doesn't have to be a complicated game, right, You'll just trying to cover everything, and you can't cover everything, but cover most of it from that referee being sticks, because that's where the action is going to be. I like it. I like it. All right, let's let's go to Okay, you were a rookie. You didn't want to talk to the officials, all right. He told you to grow up, and you said, okay about anything, all right.

So now so now you're you know, you win a Super Bowl with the Bucks. In two thousand two, you go to the Raiders, and now in two thousand seven you you get not one, not two, but three unsportsmanli conduct calls from mallin off and you get disqualified from the game. You were, I mean, I was at the League office in the officiat department. You were the officiating you know most wanted at that point and what what happened?

What happened during that during that sequence? Okay, no it was it happened in the earlier in the year number. I think he lives in Manhattan Beach because my friend lives a man And Beach and I was at the nine Hunter Club and there was like, ah, he lives up here, and I was like, yeah, let him come by the bar. So he's in the Houston Houston Texan game and he was standing in the huddle with the office.

So I and he came out, you know after you know, they were about to get ready to you know, going the huddle, and one of those times I was and he was giggling. So I looked at him and said, so, what's so funny? So he looks at me and says, Oh, they're afraid of you. So you know me, tell me if both face lie in my face. I looked at him and I called him a you know what in my flyer? In my flyer? And he looked at me and said what. I said, Yeah, you're m fly What

what you're gonna do by it? And he looks at me like I had just slapped his mother or something, and I looked at him like, you're gonna tell me if both face like you could have said none of your business, and that would have been better than telling me they're afraid of me, because I know that ain't the case. So we get to play in the game and something else happening. I left the real good again.

So he's in the Jacksonville game. He wanted to throw the flag on me back then, but like the officials that he had number ninety nine told and say grow up, man, I said, come on, we're playing the game, you know, because you know I customer like yo, when you tell a lot, you get cut stick. You'll tell a grown man a line and facing and look at it. If I'm supposed to trust you not behind me to call the game fan and you can't even tell me what y'all were laughing about. Come on, man, we grown men

dog don't play like that. So this was, you know, like some some personal things with me him on this this Sunday, the one did Jacksonville just turned out to be just a bad day of officiating. And you can go all the way back to this. When they throw the flag, they called it off sides on Burgess Burgens go to yelling at the ref, he changes it to Chris Clemens. Chris Clemen looked at me, was like it was me? So I was like, or he was outside. He's like yeah, I'm like, are you trying to look

around me. He's like yeah, I'm like, I told you to go off of me. So now I know it was Chris outside, but they didn't. But they didn't correct it on the on the law speaker. So the next play we line up. Now I'm the awesom a wash call outside, so that the next place I'm like, are you kidding me? So I walked out there to the head lines when I said, yo, do you couldn't get my d D want to tell him back up a

little bit. You're standing two feet from him. So he looked at me like he's never done this before in his life. You know, like back up a little bit the line. You know what happens all the time, what happens all the time on you don't call out sides over a covered corner that covering to man, man and man. You just tell him that, hey, watch your line, and then normally would have looked to the last scrimmage and line the stuff up, so they don't do that from

the flag. Jerome was his first time being a referee. This was his first year, so he wants to decline the penalty and they would have been close enough to kick a field goal to make it thirty wasn't nothing. I'm like, wait, wait, wait, wait wait, I'm like, who declined the family? He's like what, I'm like, who declined the privilty? He's like, what are you talking about. I'm like, I'm the captain of the team Burgess and the other captain and number these way out there playing man the

man Burgess, don't talk who declined the pivilty? And then I got Lane kiffing on the fist sideline yelling like a little five year old kid. Yeah yeah yeah. I'm like, what that clining the familty? I said, relax nobody he did, and they're like what. I'm like, the rest get no one, Come on, I'm taking the pilloty. You got to move them back. They're gonna throw a spreen or drawing and then kick the pill I'm not gonna give him a chance to get the first down and driving on my

hands to make it thirty five and nothing. Come on, I'm smaller than that, you know. So now I'm being questioned by Lane kiffing that kind of decline the pillow there not everybody. I'm like, are you kidding me? And I'm at the point where I just want to just shoot myself right now, because we lined up to start a game with twelve men on the field and they're still game nine yards on a run play. So trust me, build it sounds like this game is really it's going

very well. It's going very well. It means nothing to nobody or any scale or any level. And it's two days past my birthday and four days of Christmas, and I'm and I'm a half an hour away from my house in Orlando. Yes, you're ready to go. You're ready to go. You're ready, You're ready to get into smegnag, You're ready to go. I got it for me to get out of here. I got it. It was Christmas time and I was very go home. Then I had enough. Well you did, you got out early, now I know.

Now I went about it the run way. I went about the roll way. I just went overboard. I really did. And that and that that happens. It's it's emotional. But now I know now, I know why because it was Christmas time. You were close to home. My brothers and sisters were all in the Stags home, and they're gonna tell me he saw mama walk out to stand. That's why he did. That's what they tell me. I saw my mother walk out of the stair, and that's why

I did that. Just go home to yeah, because you can see that because out on the field you could see exactly somebody even know. I was so over my head, I'm like, are you don't really kidding me? Now? I gotta go always to the sideline. Well you over turning to explain this, and then I gotta walk back out here and play. I said, do you really wasting my time right now? And it's toy eight and nothing. Then fifty three said something to me, and I was I was so sick of him. I just we were back

in the Houston game, way back and over wood. So that's why I went off. I just I wanted him to do something, just say something to me and spit on me. I'm a slap in the mouth. Well, we were glad that didn't happen. We don't, we didn't, we don't. We don't need that afternoon. I apologize all that was involved on that sun the afternoon one was not himself. Sorry, No,

that's that's fine. And you know what, it's funny because that's the thing, you know, we as when you're doing the officiating schedule, you don't want to put the same officials with the same teams too much during the season because it builds up and that kind of stuff. You know, you have something happened when the way we used to play with little copies of each other. Yeah, another obstacle in the middle of the field that we used a hundred percent, that umpire in that position. That's why they

moved them. Absolutely. Oh, I know you you the defensive line gets away with a lot more, a lot more of that grabbing and prevent Yeah. Yeah, all right, Well, last question, here's the question, all right, what what hurt worse? Okay, losing Alabama in the ninety two Sugar Bowl and not getting that second national championship or being bitten by a shark, which which hurt worse? Nine Sugar Bowl. I was twenty three,

and oh I was going for back to back. That's all we talked was perfection at the University of Miami and it hurts so bad because I saw it coming. During the week. We weren't we weren't as a team, we weren't together in a bunch of a lot of individual agendas on their plate. We had four senior receivers, had three senior linebackers, two cornerbacks that felt like they were getting squeezed out, the best safety and of the

whole America and Daryl Williams. So trust me, Yeah, we had a bunch of issues here, the butt of stuff going on that nobody do about. So so the shark came in second. Tell me the shark story. You know what. I was just being a butthole and just got tought a bit lesson that sharp sharks. Sharks gonna win if you don't let him go or her go, that they'll bite you. I was lobstering, and you know when you dig your hand in the hole. I messed around to touch shark on the cold and then we had the

looka holes, which is the you know, like snow. He was blowing air, so I got plenty of out of state there. So he turnched, well, she turned sideways, and I could see the fan in the nose and in the tail, and I can still see all the antennas of the lobsters. I wanted like, uh, how do I do that? So I looked. I'm like, I could just snatch her out of the hole and she should just swim off. So I snacked her out of the hole and she went to swim off, and something said grab

about the tail. I don't know what foody thing in my mind at this, but when I grabbed about to tail, she was a full extension, just I mean, just moving. I wish I had my goalper on the top of my hell and I could. That's what got me. I'm like, oh, I don't have Then I look up to see if anybody's watching, and Jay see my little buddies right over above me, going oh. Because he didn't have the air in his mouth, he just got to take a breath.

So when I looked back from laughing with him, the shark is bending his tors fool and everything back at me to bite me. And I luckily had shirt on and it caught the top of his mouth and I got my skin out before he totally got me. Because he totally got me, it would rip my wrist off the bottom and we had a serious dissu did. That's crazy. That's crazy. I learn my lesson. Leave the animals alone. That's a good water unless unless I'm in the boat. There you go. That's a good lesson. Leave, leave the

animals alone. I like it in the water. All right, man, Hey, I appreciate it. Good luck with everything that you're doing. And uh and come back and join us sometime anytime. Brother, and you keep doing what you're doing, and make sure we get that guy at the at the stick the first time. And that's all we need. One guy right there. Then they ain't gotta move and they ain't gotta run

up there. We gotta got marking that already. And it's it's a lot more accuracy when he's marking it when you're looking at it sideways then running up from the other side. All right, we'll make it happen. We're gonna make it happen, all right, man, Take care. Good Calls with Dean Blandino is a production of Our Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart rate, you visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.