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dot com today. That's Geico dot com. This is straight Fire with Jason McIntire. What's up, everybody. It's Thursday, October one, the calendar has moved to October, usually the month for baseball, right, the boys of October, as they say, But uh, we're gonna start with a little n b A. I don't know how much we're gonna do. On Game one of the NBA Finals, it was something of a blood bath. I'm assuming many of you watched. Hopefully you followed me on the best bet to it? Oh, babe, b how
you like me? Now? Lakers role one six team to It was not close for a moment in the second half. I don't think it was ever single digits. And you know it's an ugly game when Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen, like midway through the third quarter Lakers are up like thirty, start talking about Lebron versus Jordan's first bar for the greatest player in NBA history. Folks, it's game one, Game one, now, I thought about, you know, there was a couple of ways out. We just go
blow through this. There's not much left to say here, um, But I have an analogy. And I was listening to a podcast about a guy talking about startups in Silicon Valley and how the best ones historically have been built, and he this guy had been a part of several And just to be clear, yes I did start a website. No I did not take any seed money. Yes I sold it. It was written about in the New York Times. But I did not get Silicon Valley money. Let's be
clear on that um. But there were two keys to getting these startups off the ground, and the strategy is pretty pretty simple. Number one, you start with a players and then scale up with B plus players around them. And this is obvious, right, you want to start out with the best players. Sometimes you've gotta overpay for them when you're starting to start up, right, maybe you give them some equity in the company. And I mean it's
tough to start without the best. You start with the best players, and then you add a great supporting cast. Now look at how the Lakers were built, Right, They get Lebron in free agency, and the first thing they did they made a run at Paul George. Paul George was in Okay. See. Everybody thinks he's gonna leave Okay, see go to Lakers. He made the decision to stay in Okay. See. And I know I've beat up Paul George a lot on this podcast lately. Obviously, in hindsight,
that was an awful decision by him. Okay, fine, we can't really add any B plus players. We've got our cast. Let's try it out and you know how that worked out. Okay, they had a good run up to Christmas and Lebron gets hurt. YadA, YadA, YadA. We need to add an A player. They make a run at Anthony Davis at the trade deadline. Okay, this is what you gotta do in Silicon Valley. You need a players. They can't get the A player. Pelicans won't deal, so they have to
wait until the off sea said. Then they trade for Anthony Davis. The funny thing about Anthony Davis is they couldn't make a run at him as soon as Lebron got signed because the Pelicans had just swept Portlands in the first round and then they played the Warriors, won a game. That was the loaded Warrior team that ended up winning the title. But early on the next season, Anthony Davis dumps his agent, goes with Rich Paul. You knew he was gonna end up with the Lakers. They
add Anthony Davis. Be a trade, you unload everybody. We'll give away everything we've got our foundation are to A players. And you saw that last night Game one, Anthony Davis thirty four nine, five assists, three blocks. I saw somebody saying he made Bam out of Bio look like a junior varsity player. Now Rob g kind of called that. Will check in on that later. Bam out of Bio, by the way, got injured. You do not want to see that. That sucks, But you're a player. Anthony Davis
thirty four and nine. Your other a player on his way to being the greatest player in NBA history, lebron a home thirteen boards, nine assists. I mean, just an amazing performance from the eight players. But you, as I said, when you're starting the startup in Silicon Valley, you scale up with B plus players. So what did the Lakers scale up with. Well, they go out and who do they add? They add a guy like Danny Green. And
I know people just how Danny Green stinks. He's washed, dude, He's got the veteran pedigree, been on championship teams with Toronto San Antonio. You add Danny Green, How Danny Green do in game one? Oh, look at that plus twenty one? Watch Danny Green? They say eleven points, four rebounds. Folks, Danny Green had three blocks. The entire Heat team had five. Danny Green was moving on defense coming around those greens.
He's not letting Duncan Robinson get anything off. By the way, Duncan Robinson zero points over three shooting, he might be unplayable in this series. Kendrick Nunn most like he's to get more minutes than doug Get Robinson. So you so the Lakers scaled up. Who did they get besides that B plus player in Danny Green? Will you go out and what do we do? We add a guy like Morris, Mark Keith Morris who can add some pop off the bench. Who can we get we can add? Oh, Dwight Howard.
Look at that. Dwight Howard. Now he wasn't super effective in Game one, but he's been great in the playoffs. And honestly, he did a lot of neutralizing of bam Adebayo when he was in there. And Dwight Howard is one of these guys who had had a great career and he went kind of sideways. He had a lot of side stuff going on. Um Towight Howard has been a model citizen. You know who else has been a
model citizen or Gen Rondo. Okay, they had him the first year Lebron was there, and Rondo has been prickly in other spots. He's feuded with teammates, he's feuded with coaches. Go look up his incident with the MAVs where the coach called tried to tell him to call a play and he basically was like, bleep you in the middle of the court. And then that was it. Like it
was ugly. He We know if you do with Dr Rivers, who's been a model citizen around Lebron and Anthony Davis, Gen Rondo, I mean, everything the Lakers have done, they've treated this team like a startup and essentially, folks, I know, Rob Polink is gonna get a lot of credit. Lebron James deserves a lot of credit for putting this team together. And you know, when you look at the history that Lebron entered here, I know the Lakers are the greatest
franchise in NBA history. Sorry, Celtics fans, the Lakers have had the worst six year run in the history of the franchise prior to what Lebron has accomplished with Anthony Davis this year, Okay, it was ugly. The final Kobe years were very bad. It was bad. Lebron has pulled the greatest franchise in the league out of the depths and here they are up one nothing on the heat and listen, you never want to overreact, but this does not look super competitive. And I will end with this.
There were two aspects to the startups that you really bring to the table. Number one, obviously, you start with eight players, scale up with the B plus guys. The second one is, and just remember this quote, you want to add guys who guys and girls to the startup who love this more than the kids they don't have yet. They really want everything in their power to get this title. They want to be the model citizen in the locker room. They want to diffuse situations on the court. Lebron needs
a protector. My guy, Jared Dudley's gonna be out there, you know. I mean. Dwight Howard has been a model citizen. Kyle Kuzman has gone through some ugly funks. He's not pouting. Kyle Kuzman's his first year with the Lakers, he looked like a star in this league. I think he was like eighteen points a game. Kyle Kuzma has realized, Hey, man, if I don't have it, I don't have it. Kyle Kuzla did not have it in Game one, one for
seven shooting. Guess what made a couple of nice passes, got eight rebounds, played some good defense, get in where you fit in, and I'm just so impressed with everything from the Lakers. Alex Caruso, this guy, listen to. Alex Cruiso is a marginal NBA player, but with Lebron he's gotta be on the court. Caruso coming off the bench, ten points, four rebounds. I'm telling you, guys, Alex Caruso wants this title. We've seen weaker teams mentally crumble in
the bubble, the weak crumble, the Clippers mentally weak. Did they want it? They got the A players. I don't know if they necessarily scaled up with B plus the players around them, and how bad did they want it? Lou Williams left for Magic City and the Strippers montres Herrel. I know he had had to leave due to a passing in the family. He never got back into it. How much does Paul George want a title versus want to be a star and date the I G models.
We saw the Bucks get punched in the mouth by the Miami Heat and they never respond never did I just, folks, I don't listen. I know I made a case here on the podcast Wednesday for the for of mym Heat to make a run and make this interesting. Maybe that was me being hopeful that we got a series here. But it's tough watching Game one to think that the Heat have much of a chance here, especially if there's no Goran Dragic with the foot injury, Bam out of
Bio with the shoulder. It looks bleak. I mean, listen, you do I want them to play, Okay, I don't want to hear this asterix junk. And that's the last thing before I brigg rob G and let's see if he revises his Lakers in five hashtag um. Last year, the Raptors took down the Warriors. I said the Warriors were the greatest dynasty in modern history, better than Jordan's Bulls. And then k D goes down and Clay goes down and they lose and it stinks. Um, listen, we want
to play the cowas an all time great school. Why win the title? Last year of Kevin Durant Claire plan.
Come on, So if you want to talk asterix for the Lakers for this, which I think is total boulder dash, you keep that same energy for the Raptors last year, all right, Rob, before you praised me for the two and oh in Best Bets as the Lakers roll, I'm just curious, do you want to revise to Lakers in four h Tyler Hero, your boy minus thirty five in Game one of the Finals, UM six for eighteen shooting. It don't look good? You mean Tyler Hero. I would not include in any trade for Yannis. I did the
coopo Tyler Hero. That guy, that Tyler minus thirty five tied for the lowest plus minus by a player in any Finals games in two thousand. That Tyler Hero. Oh God, let's say it's not it's not his fault. Okay. He came in when they were up thirteen in the first quarter, and I don't want to say he fell apart, but listen, maybe the moment was too big. Initially did have ten
points I think in the second quarter. Uh, for a minute, it was interesting and then you know, um, I will not be re uh reneging on my Lakers in five prediction because that's not on brand for me. You know, I've already trade Mark Lakers in five. I mean, it's I can't really go back on it now. But as we found out late last night after the game, Gore and drags torn left planter Fascia and his foot. But this is what surprised me, because I know that we
saw the injury. We knew was bad. So far, at least in the early hours of this morning, both mark Stein and Wos have reported that he has not been ruled out for the series yet. I don't know how he's gonna play on a torn left foot. Well, well, let's see, we'll find out. That's disappointing, man. I gotta say that's extremely disappointing. Bam out of Bio, he's got the shoulder injury. Listen, if Bam can't play, it's a wrap. I mean there's just zero chance, like absolutely zero chance
that the heat can hang. Um, they have nobody to begin with now. They open with crowder on Anthony Davis, and it's not much of a matchup. I don't know what the answer is. I think you've got to trot out Myers Leonard and try that Kelly Olnick showed, well, if I'm the Lakers, I'm worried about him because of his history with injuring players, specifically Kevin Love Old Nick, who we joke as you know the cafeteria lady. Um, he's just kind of out of control and his limbs
are always flailing. I don't want somebody else going down. Um. If I had to recommend one tweak, I would say you, I would try to start Kendrick Nunn because you need offense. I don't know if None can get stops on the defensive end, but I would start None and bring Robin
Duncan Robinson off the bench. I think he's got a better chance of hanging with the Lakers second unit guys like Alex Caruso and those guys, Um, rob G. Did you notice how many times Lebron got matched up with Hero and Robinson as you predicted, whether it was matchup, hunting or cross match whatever, It's like embarrassed. They didn't give any help to those guys. Lebron instantly attacked and it was like, I mean, it was lay up after
lay up. Yeah, I mean we talked about this, you know, in the last week or so that there was just not of good matchups for the heat and this one, what they were going to have to do was to get really hot from three and hope that that zone defense kind of held up. Well, they started out really hot from three, and then once that kind of cooled off, I think there was a was a seventy five to thirty run ors thirty five. I get the exact numbers.
I mean, listen, the Lakers had made eleven three pointers by like halftime, right, I mean remember first game of the playoffs. I think they were like, dude, we should go back and listen to that. Rob. I think they were like six for twenty two or five for twenty four ago, whatever it was against Portland's and like that. We had some panic back then. I think there was not total panic, but there was like, oh boy, do
they have the shooting? You know? Right? And but you know what, even though they started out super hot in the first half, it's not like they continued in the second half. What the Lakers lent leaned on in the in Game one, which they've led on through the entire of the postseason. Their defense was outstanding. I mean, Jimmy Butler the only reason he had the numbers that he has. He was just making incredible shots. It wasn't like he
was getting the looks that he wanted. He was thrown crashing into Danny Green's uh jaw with his elbow and then crashing into Dwight Howard and flipping shots up and making him so for the Lakers, I think that it was exactly what I thought it was gonna be. I know you're a little bit concerned. You started feeling like they might be the oh four Pistons, But hopefully you have seen the lights. Yeah. No, I mean, and if you guys can go back and listen to it, I wasn't.
I mean, I tried to build a case for the heat, and I think there I thought there was one. Let's see what happens to game too. I'm not gonna draw any sweeping conclusions, but I don't know where they make the twenty points that drug would leave if he's hurt and can't play like you can't. They don't have twenty points sitting on the bench there. But quickly before I wrap up, and we get to a great interview which Sean lights out Merriman, you guys are really going to
enjoy this. Um, I just want to chime in on the best bet, So I had bet the Lakers in the first quarter or by one and a half. They were down thirteen at one point and down ten with two minutes left. If if you can watch the end of the first quarter on YouTube, folks, it was an incredible rally. The heat couldn't miss and then they couldn't make anything and with four seconds left, Crucio cash is
the three. You should have heard the excitement in the McEntire household because I introduced my kids to gambling and showed them, you know, the cruiser shot, and my daughter's like yeah, and it was just an awesome feeling. So the Lakers roll best bet wins and onto Game two. I guess this clip is brought to you by State Farm. At State Farm, they know it's important to ensure the things you love. They also get that everyone has a budget. That's why they have options like ensuring your car and
your home, getting you great rates on both. It's a good idea to consider State Farm for surprisingly great rates. Like a good neighbor, state Farm is there, call or go to state farm dot com for a quote. Today, I can post a picture that a girl that is way skinnier than I am, A size two, a size four, the same exact picture, and I look vulgar because I'm thicker. But if a thinner girl does it, it's not that
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I always want to look better, I want to work out, I want to lose weight, but in reality, this is the body God gave me, and I've never really been skinny. Listen to the Michael do A podcast network available on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Where do you find the perfect developer? Well, we found her at her home office in Prague, but you can find her and thousands like her right now
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good idea. It's to consider State Farm for surprisingly great rates, like a good neighbor. State Farm is there call or go to state farm dot com for a quote today if you could talk to me a little bit about the process you went through. And I think it's good to not pat yourself on the back, but to put it out there so other people can kind of hear what it takes. Like I don't know. I always look at like this, like what do I want? I wanted to be a w w WE superstar, all right, what
does it take to be a w W superstar? What are the tools I will need to give me every possible opportunity I can get? And so I took the tools of acting classes, improv classes, wrestling school, everything I possibly can to knock on the door of w W The people of the everyone on that Real World show would wear my T shirts, would always ask me, Somemith, like they were so supportive. Like you don't give it
that very often. Really don't listen to the Michael Doua podcast network available on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Jason likes to think he knows everything when it comes to sports. I know what sports stands want, But for everything he doesn't. He knows a guy who does. Let's just say I know a guy who who knows a guy who knows another guy.
All right, let's welcome into straight fire. Seawan Merriman. You remember him from this Chargers days, a dominant edge rusher. He's now got a podcast, Lights Out with Shawn Merriman, look kind of a long form football podcast. Sean, how are you, man? I'm doing pretty well man about myself. Yeah, considering the circumstances, I'm I'm doing alright hanging in there. I haven't seen you in the studio in a while. I just went back for the first time in six
months last week. Man. It it's definitely weird. How how's COVID treating you? You know what? The first couple of months was was rough. It took a lot of getting used to but then you just got used to it, right, so now that things will open it back up, and like you said, getting back into the studio, it's like you're walking in like what the hell am I doing here? You know, I suppose to be at home in my
living room or or you know, working from home. So uh, you know, I guess people want to go through a time where you're gonna have to un COVID all most of the way. Yeah, yeah, let's start with the COVID stuff obviously. Uh, they announced that Tennessee Pittsburgh was scheduled to be played Sunday. It's now been postponed to either Monday or Tuesday. And it's unco here were the Tennessee players contracted COVID. I guess they're doing the contact tracing
at this point. Um, but I'm gonna ask you. You were a wealthy, famous, you know, big jacked guy, one of the more famous players on the Chargers during your prime, Sean. You're you're in your twenties, you're wealthy, you're famous. You know, women are throwing themselves at you. How tough would it have been for you in this COVID environment to kind of behave during during the downtime and just stay at home and do nothing extremely as you know, uh, And
that's the first thing I started to think about. And if those rules was implemented on me. Now you know, now you're in your thirties, you're more mature, you understand the things that on the line, and you're not willing
to risk it. I can do it now. But if you if you're talking to a three yeohean, right, I mean hell, Like I got drafted at twenty, I was one of the youngest drafted players ever and then being able to have all that all those things that access, I don't think that I would be able to to do it. I'll be quite honest. You know you're looking at uh being able to be in that position for the first time in your life, right, I mean I
grew up in prince Ordish County, Maryland. We didn't have much at all growing up, and then you go to college and the first things you think about and all the things you want to do with uh, you know, everything you earned, all your all your success and as being being able to travel, being able to have your friends and family coming to town and stay in and go to your games and be around people and then you're telling the twenty one, twenty two year old, Hey,
by the way, you can't do this stuff, and so I don't. I honestly don't think I would have been able to do it. Then. Um, so I'm not surprised that this is happening, because we knew this is gonna happen. Uh. The whole object of it was to start this season up. Let's see we can get accomplished. Let's get as much as done as we possibly can. But it's almost next thing possible for this not to happen at all. I
want to talk a little bit about your former team. Well, we'll get to your second team, the Buffalo Bills, but let's start with the Chargers. I enjoyed your podcast with Dr Chow about the Tyrod Taylor situation. Just you know, you feel really bad for Tyrod. But I want to spend it and talk about Justin Herbert, who I thought was impressive in the opener against the Chiefs. Now there was no tape on him and he was able to
move the football. I don't know about it Will, but very easily then comes out against Carolina and bit of a turnover machine. They nearly pulled the game off. But I'm curious what you've seen from Herbert the first two weeks and how do you handicap him going down to Tampa. Tampa apparently is gonna have fans this week. Um, what do you think about his chances against a really, really good Tampa defense? You know, I like it. And with
surprising about Herbert is people are surprised. I mean, you know, look at him and look the reason why they drapped him, and nothing against Tyrod. I mean, ty Rod has been a proven player in NFL. He's proved that he can win football games. But you don't draft the quarterback that early in the draft and you don't have plans to
play him. My only thing was is that outside of his injury, Tyrod tell his injury, and outside of everything that happened with the doctor and outside of all of at you don't want to rush the rookie and that having to play. That was the whole goal of having Tyrod there. If that wasn't the case, you don't keep him there on that team. You draft a guy and you get him ready during the off season and you put him on the philis fast you can. You know, Andrew Luck and some of these guys who came in
and they were ready to play football. And that's how I look at Justin Herbert. You know, he has that type of ability that Andrew Luck did, being able to come into the NFL and throw for three hundred plus yards. You expect him to throw the ball, throw some turnovers, and and and try to force a little bit. One of the past is that he had when he kind of threw across his body and the double coverage, didn't see the dB and just took his eyes off of
the target. Those things are gonna happen, but those things you can fix. What I just don't want to see happen is is that everybody's saying, oh, well, he threw for three hundred plush yards back to back games, let's let's start them for what what do you what do you rushing for? He's he's going to be the guy for the next five six plus years. Why rush him
right now? When you have it qualified quarterback and Tyrod And if ty Rock goes out there and starts thinking of joining up, then go ahead and make the decision. But you know, just because he don't play as well as Justin Herbert right now, off of these last couple
of games, there's no need to rush them. Yeah. Well that that's a good point because when you think about the Chargers window, remember I think it was two years ago they went to the playoffs, uh, and they beat Lamar Jackson and then they lost to the Patriots badly. But it looked like this was a team that had arrived and they were legit contenders. Obviously, they backslided badly last year with Rivers, but it feels like the window
is maybe now. I mean, I know, Derwin James is hurt and Ingram's hurt, and they lost Chris Harris, which is bad. But otherwise you look at that roster, sean, that's a that should be a playoff team, right. No, the only problem that they're gonna run it too is you got that guy down in Kansas City that is slinging the ball left and right, so you know that's what you're gonna be batting. But look at it. They played well against Kanser. They probably should have won that
game against Kansas City. In Kansas City, what they did to you know, to the Ravens, it looked like two different teams. Um. So you know, with that all being said, they're built to have long term success, and all the guys you just named there are gonna be there for for some time. Melvin Ingram, I think just re restructure this Bill, Joey Boss, this Bill, Kenneth Mary, that rookie number fifty six. That dude is a straight baller. He's explosive,
he's all around the field. Obviously you lost Chris and a couple of guys that dropped and went down early. But look at the team. They just resigned Austin a clerk to a longer term deal. That team is built to be good for the next two or three years. Now. Obviously, you want to win now, you you know, want to go out and put yourself in the best position. But I wouldn't start panicking because a couple of guys go down, and you know Tyrod's out right now you got a
rookie uh that needs to catch up to everything. I wouldn't panic because they're built to be a really good team for the next couple of years. You know, you go to your second team that you played for, the Buffalo Bills. They've got a quarterback. I guess kind of similar to Herbert Josh Allen. Uh. He took a lot of heat. The first couple of years I knew Jalen Ramsey Uh talked a lot of trash, said he was
a garbage quarterback. And you know, Josh Allen just three yard games to start the season kind of looks like an m VP candidate. I'm gonna as an edge rusher. How did you handle the scrambling, more mobile quarterbacks that we're seeing a lot of now with Pat Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Herbert, Josh Allen as opposed to the pocket guys who I don't want to say they were dying breach on, but like the Brady and Peyton Manning guys kind of are fading. Yeah,
but you know he's another one. I don't understand how people are surprised when you know. When the Chargers played them back in Buffalo a couple of years ago, I wanted that game because both of my former teams out they're playing. So I came out there and show love and and and wanted to see my out the old organization, and I wanted to see the both of the teams
get after it. And I'm looking at Josh Allen before the game throw the ball, and I'm looking at his just his mechanics, his presidence in the way he commands it, a tension and authority of that of that team. This This was a guy that I knew looking at automatically that he was gonna be a leader for a long time. And now you throw a Stefon Diggs in, They're like, crap, what you're gonna do this guy? You know, if you keep those guys together for the next couple of years.
Um and the way they're playing, yeah, you don't get me wrong. Cam Newton is playing well. The patients are playing well. They don't They're doing things, but they're not the same team with Tom Brady being there. They're not They're not that dominant, so they actually have a chance to win in that division, to come out on top. I gotta talk about my favorite team seawan, the New York Jets. Uh, listen, it's bad. It's ugly. They're oh and three. They play the Denver Broncos also and three. Listen.
As a longtime Jets fan, I had season tickets for a minute. Uh. I gotta say, everything I've heard coming out of that locker room is bad. I don't know what you know, if anything about Adam Gaye, but I'm just curious how if you were on any really bad teams when the team started slow and maybe there was chatter about the coach getting fired, how do you think or A, how did you handle that if you were in one of those, and B how do you think the players are dealing with it? Well? You know, I
call it the trickle down effects. So you got Adam Gates there that uh, that is losing a lot of respect. Uh, not just in the locker room, but in the organization outside of the organization, and how he's carrying on and some of the things he's saying. And one of the things that I always look at the coach in that leadership is when things go wrong or things are bad, and the key is on you, and who do you
start to point to blame on. If you don't point to blame on yourself, it shows me that you're not a great coach, You're not a great leader, You're not what that team is looking for. I just feel bad for Sam Donald because this is the guy that you put him around a great coach. You give give him some some ore weapons and he can go win a lot of games for you. And if they're they're gonna be looking like this for some time now. Sam Donald
needs to get the hell out of there. And I would whatever team is, uh, you know, quarterback away from being great, you know, go there. I would. If I was another team, I would be throwing the house to get him out of there. Whatever you guys, you want to first round draft picks and the third take it, give me Sam Donald. I would give that up for him because obviously he can play, and he's a bright spot for that organization. But you know, he's about the
only thing. And I can't even blame the players because the coaches. You know, it's stocks at the top, and so the coach is not willing to take responsibuilding and command that team, then you're gonna lose the locker room. And that's happening right now. Yeah, let me ask you about the whole Donald situation. So we saw Marcus Mariotta and Jamis Winston go one to in the draft, okay, and they each had their chance three or four or five years with the organization. Mariota won one playoff game,
beat beat Casey on the road. But you know they're their deals up and they move on now their backups, Like I like Donald a lot and we think he's got potential. Uh, we really don't know because this is his second coach and this guy stinks. But isn't there a scenario where three years down the road, Sam Donald's back up along the lines of Mariotta or Jamis Winston. The only way he's a backup if he stays in that organization long enough where he's tainted, where he has
that uh, that dark cloud is carrying over him. And you hate to see that because you know, when you got a quarterback, do you know they can play? It's only a matter of time before they get beat up and beat up and beat up. But I'm not just talking about physically. I'm talking about the media hounding them and and and people around the ly thinking that it's him and he can't play. He's stuck in a very
bad situation. I've seen that that Juju Smith came out and saying what he said, that he would love him in Pittsburgh. I thought that was a hell of a thing to say. And there's really no shot at Ben. But look Ben got another year two years max, right, So you you bring Sam Donald, then you started making that transition because the Steelers can pick up right when they left off that where Ben Roethlisberg was playing exceptionally well. And whether it's the stealers or somebody else, you could
be you know, Miami. And don't get me wrong, Fitzpatrick. I love, I love fitz I played in the Buffalo, but you know he's a journeyman. He's bouncing around a several chains. But Sam Donald is a franchise quarterback and I hate to see him stuck in that situation. Let me ask you about another quarterback, Sean um Dak Prescott and listen, I came out after his performance another another good, big, big stats game, but it didn't come up with the victory.
I know he's down offensive lineman, I know the defense stinks, but I compared him to Matt Stafford. I said, listen, man, this guy puts up monster stats. He's always got his team in the game, but at the end, when they have a chance, he comes up empty. He's now six and eighteen in the last three years against teams with winning records. And Jerry Jones came out the next day and was like, you know, Pat Mahomes wins these close games, and Tony Romo won those close games, and it felt
like a shot at Dac. I'm curious where you come in on dec is the Matthew Stafford thing accurate or is he not at that level above that? And and your thoughts on maybe Dallas whether or not they should pay Dak. Yeah, Dak Prescott is not. Not a better quarterback than Matthew Stafford. He's not. And one thing I'll say about Dac, He's a great lead. Uh. He plays, he lays it on the line, He'll do all the things that you need him to do. But at the
end of the day, he's an above average quarterback. Uh. He needs offensive line, he needs a running back, and needs a wide receiver, and he needs a defensive go off there and played well in order from them to win the championship. Matthew Stafford, in my opinion, was stuck in a bad organization. It's a it's a Sam Donald situation. Were just finished talking about, Um, Matthew Stafford. I've seen him throw the ball in the off season around and
then I can tell you he could slang it. He's a He was a damn good quarterback that was stuck into a bad situation where the work in the organization just lost over and over again. Um. He didn't have the best running back in football. He didn't have the best when healthy, the best offensive line in football, and you know defense. But I think Alvin Smith right now is leading NFL and and sacks, and you know you got de Marcus Longs. They just gave a big contract too.
And and those two inside linebackers that when they're healthy that you know the best too, tandem inside linebackers and football. This this he's they built a great team around Doc. So they should be good for nine and ten games minimum winning every year, just by the just by the team that they built. Sometimes it's the coaches. So listen a lot of the former NFL players, they come out and all they do is say positive stuff. I said,
you know Sean Merriman, he will keep it real. So I want you to give me the most underrated quarterback in the league right now and the most overrated Well that's you can you can you can mention your boy Rivers. I know you like Rivers. He's got a big game this weekend again against the Bears. Well, you know, Rivers, I think just just hit that four touchdown record, right,
I mean, in order to do that, that's that's just incredible. Um, but you know, he had one one bad game so far this year, so I can't really paneling him too much in it. It's really hard to say. I think that, Um, then that maybe Matt Ryan has been overrated, you know, m because they've just blown so many late game leads and given up and know that you can hop on the coach all you want to, but those are games that they should have won. Um, you know it's underrated.
It's it's I don't know, man, it's a bunch of guys that, um you Joe look at I look at Joe Barrow. I mean, this is another this is another guy that's this Uh. I know he's a rookie or whatnot, but I think he's he might be also stuck in the organization where you know, they're not putting the tools and and the things around him and not to guard and went football games and he's gonna be there taking a beating a little bit. So I don't know, man,
It's I don't I never really call guys underrated. I mean, I'm sorry overrated as much because you know, you got these people on the street that just say, oh, you know, uh, that guy sucks right. Well, let me tell you that second of third string quarterback is the best quarterback that
you'll ever meet in your life. That third string. So you know, I don't I don't really say overrated guys, but you know when I look at the Falcons and and some of the games they've blown this year, Um, you know, obviously you can put some of that on the coach and the decision making, uh there. But you know, Matt Ryan got to step it up, man, he really does. And it's and it's different than basketball, where there's only five guys and the star is reliant upon everything. I mean,
football special teams. You know, defense matters, coaching, and I want you you hit on something interesting, um, sean, these bad organizations, you know, if you get drafted into a bad one and the owner stinks, doesn't care, the coaches are constantly being rotated. Are you surprised we don't see more NFL players kind of demand their way out of town the way we see in the National Basketball Association.
I think it's gonna start happening. I think it's gonna start happening something, especially with the bigger contracts and the guaranteed contracts and those things happening. Um, you know, typically in the past new football, it's out of sight, out of mind and come and go. It's you know, you don't have a lot of say so and what happens
with your career, and those things are changing. You know, guys like Patrick Mahomes is changing the game, you know, signing those big else like that, and you know he's gonna have more say so in that organization of what happens to the future that organization than anybody has before in the past. You know, you signed a seven or eight year deal. How a long that deal was for clost a half a billion dollars. Yeah, you can. You can be a little bit more vocal about what's going on.
So I think that that's gonna happen. Um, and guys are gonna get vocal. And then two, because fans and the people watching the game are understanding the business aspect, it would happened. These guys aren't gonna be called cry babies anymore or you're ungrateful. No, it's like no, yes, if Sam Donald complains about getting out of the Jet organization, he might have a valid point. Hell, you can play. Let let him go play for us. We can win.
So before we tape Sean. I was reading up about your background and you know, I met you in the studio. You are a large human being, you know what six five to fifty. I mean, you're jacked. And I was reading about your nickname lights out, um, and that you got it from like high school football game where you were just terrorizing the other team. I mean, do you actually remember that you said PG County, right, yeah, Prince
George's County. Yeah, I do. Um. And you know, the funny thing is is that YouTube and all the Internet and social media wasn't big back then. And uh and and I'm glad it wasn't because I was I wouldn't probably be allowed in the field today, uh, you know in the day's game because uh yeah, I knocked out four guys to my sophomore in high school. And I
never yeah, I never forget. I had about twenties students come running up to me after the game said, oh, you knocked those guys lights out, And I just simply blurt it out and said, hey, just you call me lights out. And that stuck with me through high school, the rest of high school and the rest of college and then to the pros. Four guys and you were playing what defensive end or tackle or No. I was a hundred and seventy eight pound middle linebacker. Hundred seven
and that's still pretty big. And in sophomore in high school, was it the speed or were you as tall as six four back then? Yeah? I was six ft one seventy eight and I was flying around like a safety. And you know this is where I said the separate guys all the time, right, it's the separate guys. It's not the athleticism, it's not the speed and power and those things. It's your mentality. It's it's the way you play the game. And I played the game the way
it was supposed to be played. Play sidline the sideline. And if you go back and watch anyone in my films, I'm going over the top of every pile and I'm finishing every play and diving the scratching this ground. And that was that was my attitude. Man. I wanted people to when you turn on the film and you watch on the I was moving at a different speed and I was willing to go through another man no matter what.
And where do you think you got that mentality? Sorry? Well, for one, you know, I grew up in PG County man we um. You know, we was left homeless a few different times. We had lost our house to fires. And you know, I've grown up and I lived in shelters and back to cars and and for me, it was it was a mentality that I didn't I never wanted to go back to that place again. I never wanted had to fight and home and not know if
your lights was gonna be on. You didn't have food on the table, if you know, you had to go and borrow money from somebody to eat. And so when you grow up with that, uh, that that that mentality, it lingers and it stays with you to uh to just kind of let it all out. And the feel like that was my escategot those two hours. I hadn't practiced in my high school coaches if you reached out to them now, and they would tell you the same thing.
It was certain days they would not let me hit with my teammates because I had one speed and they didn't want me to injury anybody. And those all the true stories I wouldn't, you know. And I still talked to all my high school teammates and coaches, and that was just my mentality and my approach to the game. So, so were your Was your dad a football player of any kinder? You know my dad? So I didn't know my dad much growing up, but my dad ran track
in high school. My mom played basketball, so I kind of got the mix of those two. And out of the blue, I was playing basketball first. I was fillowing out of every damn game. And the basketball coach said, you know what, we got a sport for you, Well, you won't file out. So I tried out football, and uh, I just knew I was home. What was your position? And when you were playing basketball? I was a small sport and power for it. Um. Actually I played all
way through high school. I was all defensive team. And we actually I played in the same through the same au as a lot of Michael Beasley and Kevin Durant. We all came from the same area, we all played, came through played for DC assault UM, which a lot of people know back home in in PG County, so we all we I played basketball first, man, I was, Uh, I don't like comparing myself. If I was anybody, I was like Ben Wallace, right, I was, I was gonna
get you get tendor twelve points. You know, tendor twelve boards and some blocks and stills and or whatnot. So I made the All Defensive team and and um, you know, PG County in the d m V area's flooded with basketball toiland, So to be up there with those guys and be able to play on the teams and compete, man, was was funny. Yeah, I'm I'm from the Northern Virginia area, so I'm very familiar with that. Obviously, I wasn't an
a AU basketball player. But so so when did you make the transition from basketball to let let me just go football? Is a coach saying, dude, you foul too much? Oh yeah, it was. I didn't have a choice. It was like, you might be a little too angry for this sport over here. Let's let me try you over some somewhere where you can let out some maica. So I think I was around eleven years old, tenor eleven years old when I kind of I became like a
dual sport type of deal. Um, you know, I thought about wrestling in high school because it was, you know, another thing I wanted to really get good at. My wrestling coach still we still talk to this day about, man, you should have wrestled, because obviously I meant to m May. Now I got my immitting league with Lightside Extreme Fighting also over there on Fox Sports that Fox Sports picked up last May. So you know, I just finished barring. Right now I go and I, you know, get me um. Well.
Actually the day I had some grappling and rolling around, so I got about an hour and twenty minutes on the mat, which is which is hell. So it is that one of the outlets for you to get rid of some of that anger or has the anger subsided now that you're you know, into your thirties. No, So this is what I tell a lot of guys. And we have in my league, Lights Out of Extreme Fighting. We have guys transitioning over from football, uh and other sports to m m A. And I've always wanted to
bridge that gap. And that that's why the Lights Out podcast now because me being able to talk about this stuff because I was training. Actually I started training m m A with Jay Glazer between two thousand five and
two thousand and six. I walked in there. He wanted to show me some things, and I'll never forget me walking in there in the first day of me trying to learn some m and ay I walked in Randy coaturwards there and so I said, hold on, I hope you don't think and I'm getting here and spam Randy
tore today that's just not gonna happen. Uh So anyway, I just you know, it was so many similarities and so many things that you can translate from the m M A from the sport of m and made to football, using your hands, being violent with your hands and using me a leverage as a past rusher. Um, really why I came out in that two thousand six years because I just got really really good with my hands and
nothing like that stamming in there. You're not hot ruining, you're grappling and you're rolling around and you're punching and you're you know all this stuff. It Trent, It was easy for me to make that transition. So now with with lights out extreme fighting with Miami may League, we have right now like Chris McCain who played for the Chargers, played defensive and he played for Miami and I think he think had a short stent with the coach there. Uh he's a three and o amateur, you know, in
in my league. And I think that if he if he stays on on the course of doing what he's doing, you know you're looking at the next Jon Jones. I mean, he has that type of ability. But there's gonna be more. Guys. I've talked to you. I talked to one or two guys a week about, you know, getting into combat sports. And then most importantly, the big thing I talked to about guys, we've been in the atmosphere, in the locker
room atmosphere for fifteen plus years. You're around this team and if you talk to any former athlete, the first thing they'll tell you one thing they missed about the game, being in the locker room with the teams, being in practice after game, being on the team bus, and being on the team plane. They'll tell you that that's what they missed the most. And when you're done, that part of it is gone. It is not there anymore. You
don't have that camaraderie. So getting into a combat sport, not only one of you're competing, but you're around guys again. You know, I'm in there and I'm sparring different guys. I'm rolling around with different guys. You fifteen twenty different people. Um in one room and you get that uh best filling again and it just you know, gives you something to compete to keep everything else going. Wow. Congrats Sewn, that's awesome man, and congrats on the league in the
new podcast obviously your great career. And now thanks for taking the time today to jump on straight Fire. Thanks a lot, ma I appreciate support for this podcast. In the following message comes from American Express. With m X platinum, once in a lifetime perks happen all the time. The high end airport lounges that make layovers enjoyable, the dining perks that open doors to new restaurants, the twelve and to ad fine hotels and resorts, properties with elevated benefits
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we have. The biggest question now, what's next? What will COVID bring in six months a year? If you're feeling anxious about the future, You're not alone. Cal Hope offers free COVID nineteen emotional support. Call eight three three four six seven three or live chat at cal hope dot org. Today. The only thing better than sitting on your couch watching
the game. He's making money while you do it. Yet, Alright, it's time for the best bet here Thursday night football, And when it involves my team, I'm gonna go a little bit longer than normal. My New York Jets. Uh, Folks Like, I don't know how to put this politely, but just talking about the Jets makes me really freaking angry. You know. It's one thing when you go into the season with optimism that happens every year. It's another when three weeks in you know the season's over and there's
gonna be changes and there needs to be changes. But the problem is you're basically pressing the damn reset button. So I think I've told this story before. I don't know about on the podcast, but certainly on my Saturday radio show. So back when I had the big lead and I was like on the come up or whatever, I started a podcast. That was when that Steph Curry was my first ever guest. This was before Steph Curry had won a title and m v P any of
that stuff. He was in his earl, maybe his third or fourth year, right around the time he signed that eighty four million dollar extension that turned out to be like the greatest um on the cheap extension ever and it helped the Warriors load up. I started to bring on Jets beat writers onto my podcast, and I was
beating up the Jets because I was upset. And the New York Jets must have noticed, because one day I go to the mailbox and I get something from the New York Jets and it is season tickets, four of them, and two parking passes for the entire season. Now there's still some discussion internally, meaning in my head, um, whether or not this was a mistake. Um. And it's funny because I had to find someone who had season tickets for the Jets, take a picture of my tickets, send
it to and be like, Yo, is this legit? And they're like, yeah, that's real. Um. What may have happened and this is just speculation I've never followed up is um the big lead was under the purview of USA Today.
They were at the time renting the website with the option to buy, and USA Today had some kind of deal marketing deal with either the Jets or the Giants or both, and I suppose they were sending tickets to USA Today and somehow they got rerouted to me, or someone who maybe at USA Today knew and said, hey, Jason's the Jets fan, let's send him to him, or the Jets made the executive call. I don't know. It's water under the bridge. Bottom line, I love this team.
This is my favorite sports team to root for. I like the Lakers a lot, I like the Knicks a lot. Jets on my team. I was born in New York, grew up in d C, and everybody in the d C area loved the Washington Redskins. I said, no, I'm not gonna I'm not. I've never been to follow the crowd guy ever in my life in anything, and so I wrote the Jets at the time was Kenny O'Brien, Al Tuon, Wesley Walker, Mark Gastino, the New York Sack Exchange.
I love those Jets teams. A lot of losses, a lot of failure and what I've developed some contacts in and around the team. I'll just leave it at that. Not a lot of Jets fans and sports media, So maybe I got lucky. What I've heard, if the Jets lose this game, Adam Gays will be fired within forty eight hours after the defeat forty eight hours. If the Jets lose to Brett Ripping, that's the starter for dinner.
If the Jets lose this game, Gaze is toast. He not only has lost the locker room, but he's most concerning Lee lost the front office because if you remember, Adam Gaye said, yeah, let's bring in Joe Douglas. I I know him, I like him. Let's go. Joe Douglas comes over from Philly where he helped build the Eagles into a pretty nice title contender. Not only do they win a Super Bowl, they kept going to the playoffs.
They had an awesome roster. And it's funny you look at the Eagles this year, oh two and one, and it's like, oh, their front office keeps getting poached, and they're coaching staff keeps getting poached, and now it's just Doug Peterson and Carson Wentz and they don't look as good at any rate. I don't have a name yet
for the Jets job. I'm told Eric B. Enemy is not going to be the guy, apparently, and Eric B Enemy is I don't know about ticketed, but locked into the Atlanta Falcons and I don't know if they go down um to the Packers this weekend if dan Quinn gets gets fired. But I'm told Eric b Enemy is the clubhouse leader by a mile there and hopefully I'll have some names for you later, uh after Gays has fired, if the Jets loses, and and I'll be able to come up with some names. But I actually am betting
on the Jets in this game. So it's it's a weird conflicted thing. I kind of want Gays to be gone because he hasn't done any of the right things. He never says the right thing. He blames others, as Sean Merriman said earlier, instead of blaming himself. Um, this offensive genius label is a joke. Uh. The offense is pedestrian. I know they don't have skilled position players. I got it. Um, there are the g M. Douglas is un doing what the previous guy did and you know their their second
round pick, Denzel Mims. They were expecting a lot from him this year hasn't played a freaking snap because of an injury. Um. And again, if you look at my tweets in like the middle of August, I said, Denzel Mims is the serious injury to worry about. People were like, hey, he's practicing. You don't know what you're talking about. Okay, fine, I'm just I told you back in the middle of August, Denzel Mims is hurt. That's the thing that is not good. And here we are October one. Mims hasn't played a
snap anyways. I am taking the Jets because, frankly, folks, I don't think they can lose this game. There's just no way. The players have too much pride to lose to Brett Rippon. And I had to do my homework on Brett Rippon. Of course, he's not the son of Mark Rippen, the former Washington Redskins quarterback who won the Super Bowl. He's the nephew of Mark Rippon. Uh. Rippon was of course the Super Bowl m v P when they beat the Broncos. Like ten no, no, that was
Doug Williams. I'm sorry, my bad ripping. I forget who they beat, but um, I think it was one maybe um Brett Rippon. His father was a minor league pitcher with the Blue Jays. Um and Brett Rippon went to Boise State and was a good quarterback. He won a lot of games. This guy's a four year starter. Is funny story. He goes in as a true freshman, the starter goes down. You guys are familiar with his name, Ryan Finley, and Brett Rippon refuses to give up the job.
He played so well, So Finley ends up transferring, transferring to NC State. He then gets into the NFL and Brett Rippon lo and behold, here we are. He's in the league, and uh, there's very little tape on him. Um, he played I don't know what at twenty snaps or something like that against the Broncos. So there is a chance that with no tape he comes in and stunts the New York Jets. But with Courtland Sutton out, your
number one receiver, Philip Lindsay is practicing. I don't know if he's going to play tonight at the time we're recording this, it's unknown. Um, you know, mel Melvin Gordon is a good running back. I'm on my fantasy team. But you're down your number one receiver, your number two running back, and your offensive line is real shaky. They
couldn't protect Driscoll at all. Uh last week. It reminds me of a great line from The Last Boy Scout Super Underrated Damon Wayne's Bruce Willis movie, You Couldn't protect a couple of warm piss really classic line in the strip club where Hellie Barry was dancing. Yes, I've seen The Last Boy Scout seventy five times. Awesome movie. At any rate. I've gone off on a tangent here. The Jets should be able to get to Brett Rippon, and I got them at plus three. It was juiced on Monday.
I was like, come on, really, Jeff driscoll favorite on the Road now was a juiced plus three. Um, so that's already in the camp. But for the purpose is the best that I can't give out plus three because it's not available as I see it now, the Jets are plus one. I'm taking them. You might as well take him on the money line. Don't let me down, Jets, That's all I gotta say. Just I mean, and they actually let me down if you listen to this whole rand about the Jets. They let me down if they win,
because then Gaye gets a stay of execution. So should I be rooting for them to lose? It's really difficult. My pick is the Jets cover plus one, maybe three loss would be awesome. So that's the best bed for tonight. Everybody, enjoy the game. We'll talk to you tomorrow. The more we learn about COVID nineteen, the more questions we have. The biggest question now, what's next? What will COVID bring in six months a year? If you're feeling anxious about
the future, you're not alone. Cal Hope offers free COVID nineteen emotional support. Call eight three three seven four six seven three or live chat at cal hope dot org today. If you work an I SEE you'll want to check out change Makers, a podcast profiling I T industry leaders. We dive deep into I T profiles and learn what it takes to drive large scale I T transformations for successful businesses. Visit change Makers dot fresh works dot com.
The more we learn about COVID nineteen, the more questions and worries we have. Cal Hope can help with free COVID nineteen emotional support. Call eight three three seven four six seven three or live chat at cal Hope dot org today