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Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine days Now, here's Nick Coffee.
Speaker 2: All right, our number two here on a Tuesday afternoon
Speaker 2: Coffee and company fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety.
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Speaker 2: ninety Louisville dot com. And let's get it started here
Speaker 2: with the very special guest that joins us each week. Here,
Speaker 2: it's mister Kendrick Haskins from Wave three Sports. Kendrick, how
Speaker 2: are we doing today? Brother?
Speaker 3: I'm doing great. I was just at a gas station.
Speaker 3: It's not your major sponsor, shone, no give the name,
Speaker 3: but they play opera music and they blar it really yeah.
Speaker 3: It's on Lower Brownsboro Road and they just blair opera
Speaker 3: music all day long.
Speaker 2: I'm curious. I'm curious if that is a if that's
Speaker 2: just the person working that's their preference, or if maybe
Speaker 2: that's just the kind of vibe they're trying to give
Speaker 2: off there. That's it that it certainly stands out and
Speaker 2: everybody's trying to stand out in some way, so maybe
Speaker 2: that is maybe that is their uh maybe that's what
Speaker 2: they're going for. But uh yeah, opera music's pretty chill, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it definitely is soothing and calms you down.
Speaker 3: You know, this area can be a little shady sometimes.
Speaker 2: Maybe it's well, I want to ask you before we
Speaker 2: get to Louisville and their first test that's coming up,
Speaker 2: We'll get to Kentucky first, just because that was an
Speaker 2: impressive and very unexpected performance from them where they were.
Speaker 2: I mean, again, I've said it all week. The if
Speaker 2: you took everything away that you already knew about each
Speaker 2: of these two programs and these two teams, and you
Speaker 2: just watched what you what you watched on Saturday night,
Speaker 2: you'd say these two teams were pretty comparable.
Speaker 3: No. Yeah, And I wasn't surprised that Kentucky played. I
Speaker 3: knew they were gonna play much better than they did
Speaker 3: the week before. I was surprised that they were right
Speaker 3: there where they should have won the game. I wish
Speaker 3: they would have been a little bit more aggressive and
Speaker 3: fourth down, but I wasn't surprised they made it a game.
Speaker 3: I was surprised they made it that much of a game.
Speaker 2: Stoops's decision not to go forward on fourth has been
Speaker 2: the biggest talking point from this game, and he's continued
Speaker 2: to double down. I didn't hear any of his coaches
Speaker 2: show last night, but I know his press conference and
Speaker 2: he kind of emphasized that, you know, the way they played,
Speaker 2: I mean, really, his conservative approach really was why they
Speaker 2: were in the game, and that's really a big part
Speaker 2: of why they've been successful. But to me, it just
Speaker 2: as an outsider and somebody who's not a UK fan
Speaker 2: and I'm happy Georgia one. Just to be honest with
Speaker 2: everybody here, I just think it was a very It's
Speaker 2: almost like you weren't really trying to win. And that
Speaker 2: sounds crazy because everybody's trying to win. But if you really,
Speaker 2: just if you really weigh the most likely outcome from
Speaker 2: each of those two decisions to either go for it
Speaker 2: or it away, I mean, I feel like there's way
Speaker 2: more up. There's way more opportunity for you to see
Speaker 2: yourself on the winning end of that game if you
Speaker 2: get the first down there rather than just punting it
Speaker 2: away to them, right.
Speaker 3: And I feel like he's because by his answer yesterday.
Speaker 3: They asked him because you know, his hand, him and
Speaker 3: his offensive coordinator has had plenty of success on fourth
Speaker 3: down when he was at Boise State, and Stoops's answer
Speaker 3: was like, well, we're not playing uh, the Mountain West,
Speaker 3: We're playing Georgia. And I'm like, okay, right, right, I mean,
Speaker 3: you're playing Georgia, which means you should be going for it.
Speaker 3: Because you're playing Georgia, what do you have to lose.
Speaker 3: You're expected to lose the game anyway, at least go
Speaker 3: out fighting. I get it that, you know, his conservative
Speaker 3: ways kept him in the game, but sometimes you do
Speaker 3: have to stick your chest out and you know, go
Speaker 3: for it and show them you know what and do it.
Speaker 2: And and look, yeah, he trusts his defense and and
Speaker 2: they were doing really really well in that game, and
Speaker 2: they were, I mean, they were great. But you know,
Speaker 2: at that point, when you've got a fourth and long,
Speaker 2: even though it's unlikely that you get a first down,
Speaker 2: it's improbable, you still have some control there. If you'd
Speaker 2: have punted it back to Georgia, which he did, and
Speaker 2: they just instead of them, you know, running clock and
Speaker 2: it playing out the way it did. Let's say Georgia's
Speaker 2: offense decided to wake up, and you played great defense,
Speaker 2: but you know what, Georgia kind of realized who they
Speaker 2: were and put one of the end zone pretty quickly.
Speaker 2: That would not have been a surprising outcome. In fact,
Speaker 2: nobody should be surprised because it's Georgia. I just feel
Speaker 2: like you gave up control and really just you know,
Speaker 2: it just it was a I think it was a
Speaker 2: weak thing to do, and I get why fans are
Speaker 2: super critical, and I I know that Kentucky fence probably
Speaker 2: feel much better about their team now than they did,
Speaker 2: even though they did lose that game. But I think
Speaker 2: his decision there and his continuing to you know, double
Speaker 2: down on it, it's kind of maybe taking a little
Speaker 2: bit of the attention away from how well they played
Speaker 2: and how that's could maybe spring you know, put their
Speaker 2: get their season heading in the right direction. Not to
Speaker 2: say that won't be the case, because there's a lot
Speaker 2: of positives to take from it, but like, it was
Speaker 2: such a Mark Stoops thing for him to let his
Speaker 2: conservative play calling and stubbornness kind of become a bigger
Speaker 2: part of that story rather than just being like, Hey,
Speaker 2: this Kentucky team, they just took Georgia to the wire.
Speaker 3: Right, I mean, I get it. I mean he you know,
Speaker 3: he asked to answer the question, but I mean I'm
Speaker 3: just like, he's got to go for it right there.
Speaker 3: I mean, that's Lane Kivin is, Lane kenvin Is. He
Speaker 3: totally goes for it right there. You know, Nick Saban
Speaker 3: goes for it right there. That's the difference between those
Speaker 3: guys and you know, the smaller programs, because those guys
Speaker 3: know that there's sometimes you got to be a conservative,
Speaker 3: but sometimes you just have to throw cafts into the
Speaker 3: wind and go for it.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I was, you know, I was. I was not
Speaker 2: surprised to see that he did, in fact hunted away
Speaker 2: just because that's his style. Yeah, yeah, no, but nobody
Speaker 2: really was. And uh, it just I don't know. I
Speaker 2: guess what Before we move on to Louisville, I think
Speaker 2: the answer to this question I'm about to ask is obvious. Right,
Speaker 2: They're not probably gonna be able to play as well
Speaker 2: as they did against Georgia every night out, but they're
Speaker 2: clearly a lot better than what they showed in that
Speaker 2: South Carolina embarrassment. What do you think is reasonable to
Speaker 2: expect from this team moving forward, because they're now one
Speaker 2: and two and they still have a lot of really
Speaker 2: good teams on their schedule, nobody as good as the
Speaker 2: team they just nearly beat. But I guess, you know,
Speaker 2: do you think this could still be a team that
Speaker 2: finds themselves around seven maybe eight wins?
Speaker 3: I think eight might be a little bit optimistic. I
Speaker 3: think they can get up to seven. It's gonna be tough, though,
Speaker 3: because and it's not even a knock on them, it's
Speaker 3: just their schedule is insane. I mean, They've got they
Speaker 3: have Texas, they have Missouri, you know.
Speaker 2: Ole miss and let's say Louisville ends up having a
Speaker 2: great year. I mean, yeah, their schedule is really tough,
Speaker 2: no doubt.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean because they and even Florida, even though
Speaker 3: they've kind of owned that series of late, it's in Gainesville,
Speaker 3: and it's it's further down the schedule, and you never know,
Speaker 3: if Florida's got the athletes and the talent, they could
Speaker 3: wake up and you know, play a decent game. So yeah,
Speaker 3: They're schedule is so hard. They was going to be
Speaker 3: tough to get the seven wins anyway, So I think
Speaker 3: they can, but it's gonna be hard all right.
Speaker 2: Let's switch gears here. Louisville. They've not been tested at all.
Speaker 2: I mean, they had two nobody's on the schedule, took
Speaker 2: care of business, looked solid in both those games, then
Speaker 2: had the rare win weird bye week in September, which
Speaker 2: you know, I guess it's now gonna be the norm
Speaker 2: because they're gonna have two bye weeks every season with
Speaker 2: the expanded playoff. But this match up with Georgia Tech, like,
Speaker 2: I mean, their double digit favorites. Obviously, Georgia Tech has
Speaker 2: played Florida State, won that game. It doesn't look as
Speaker 2: good now as it did when they pulled it off.
Speaker 2: They did have that loss to Syracuse. I mean, what
Speaker 2: are you what's your expectations for this one? I mean,
Speaker 2: I I kind of feel like we know a little
Speaker 2: more about Georgia Tech than we do Louisville, and I
Speaker 2: think fans around here are justified and feeling good about
Speaker 2: their team. But the reality is this, they haven't been
Speaker 2: tested in any way.
Speaker 3: Yet, right, And I think that ten point spread is
Speaker 3: a little big. I might have to get in on
Speaker 3: that one, but they I think they'll play well. I
Speaker 3: love when they played Georgia Tech because it gives me
Speaker 3: an excuse to show their shot Lebron with their goosey
Speaker 3: helmet on after they beat them last year. Yes, I
Speaker 3: telled it last night. I show it every time I
Speaker 3: get a chance. But uh, I think they'll be good.
Speaker 3: Hans King is a problem though, because I mean, because
Speaker 3: he can get out and run, he can throw the bay.
Speaker 3: He's a really good quarterback. He's the best by far
Speaker 3: quarterback they've played so far, and so you got to
Speaker 3: kind of uh contain him. Which the way they defense,
Speaker 3: way we think, way we think this defense should be
Speaker 3: this year. I think they should be able to which
Speaker 3: they say we haven't really been able to tell it
Speaker 3: as much so far, but we know that those guys
Speaker 3: are good, and so if they play up to their
Speaker 3: expectations and coming into the season, I think they'll be fine.
Speaker 3: But guess it's by far the toughest game they've had
Speaker 3: so far.
Speaker 2: What do you think the crowd's going to look like?
Speaker 2: I mean, I think this is not like a huge game, right,
Speaker 2: It's not Notre Dame level or Kentucky level from a
Speaker 2: year ago. It is the opener. Weather's going to be
Speaker 2: looking like it's on our side. You're coming off at
Speaker 2: ten win season. There's clearly a lot of good mojo
Speaker 2: with the Louisville football program right now in the fan base.
Speaker 2: But we also have a humongous music festival going on,
Speaker 2: and I have no clue what to expect as far
Speaker 2: as the turnout.
Speaker 3: And I can tell you what's gonna be terrible. The
Speaker 3: traffic traffic right around there is gonna be awful.
Speaker 2: But you think it'll be more so bad when people
Speaker 2: are leaving the game or going to the game.
Speaker 3: Both, probably both, but most that game.
Speaker 2: Is gonna the festival is gonna be I guess really
Speaker 2: just getting going with the headliners, it's probably gonna be
Speaker 2: on the way there where it's just a mess.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think if that would be a mess regardless.
Speaker 3: You know, that's the good part of covering the games
Speaker 3: because we have to get posts and all that so
Speaker 3: we don't leave right right when everybody else is leaving.
Speaker 3: But I don't think it's gonna make a difference on Saturdays.
Speaker 3: But I hope the crowd is good. You just never know.
Speaker 3: If you a U of L crowd, you just don't
Speaker 3: you'd expect, you'd expect, you could expect a huge crowd
Speaker 3: and it may not be that great turnout, and really
Speaker 3: that even matter what their own team is doing, they
Speaker 3: just won't worry about who they're because like even the
Speaker 3: awesome p game, I was surprised to see as many
Speaker 3: open seats as I did because it's the season opener.
Speaker 3: But you know, but then they might show up and
Speaker 3: it may be a pack half. You just never know.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think now and I'm happy this has
Speaker 2: kind of become the talk. You know, not everywhere, I guess,
Speaker 2: but why there's always been such an emphasis on people
Speaker 2: that not that don't go to a game rather than
Speaker 2: those that do go to a game, And something I've
Speaker 2: never really been able to understand, especially if you're a
Speaker 2: fan and you're there and you paid, you paid money
Speaker 2: for a ticket and you show up and then you
Speaker 2: look around and see empty seats and like that, that
Speaker 2: becomes something that impacts your experience. I just I can't relate,
Speaker 2: but you I now watch college football these last few weeks,
Speaker 2: and I can see that there are there are stadiums
Speaker 2: that don't have a full house. Wouldn't even be able
Speaker 2: to guess the amount of fans there, but they can
Speaker 2: it can still look like a really good atmosphere, like
Speaker 2: you can have a seventy five percent full stadium and
Speaker 2: it's still be a very big time home environment for you.
Speaker 2: That should that'll have an impact on the game. And
Speaker 2: I don't know, I just I the tendance to talk
Speaker 2: has always been silly to me. But I'm with you.
Speaker 2: I think Louisville football maybe it's just because we're here
Speaker 2: and this is where we are and we've lived here
Speaker 2: our whole lives. But I'm telling you, you never know
Speaker 2: what Louisvill fans are gonna do as far as turnout. Now,
Speaker 2: I know, I do think we do big events, big
Speaker 2: games well, like if you you know, like Notre Dame
Speaker 2: last year, Kentucky and Clemson when they came to anytime. Yeah, Miami,
Speaker 2: no doubt. But when it comes to the you know,
Speaker 2: middle of the pack conference team, it depends on a
Speaker 2: lot of things. Weather, traffic, mood, that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3: Right which way the wind is blowing, and they just
Speaker 3: never know. Plus it is always acceptive because of that
Speaker 3: party deck and you look up and it may not
Speaker 3: be that many but at the top of the stadium,
Speaker 3: but the party deck is full. So that part is
Speaker 3: the season. But I mean, you work at stadiums around
Speaker 3: the country. Not every stadium was fulling when I was
Speaker 3: watching Florida State for a bit. Of course they're struggling,
Speaker 3: but and then I know they're doing construction on their stadium,
Speaker 3: But there were a ton of efty seats at that game.
Speaker 3: And that's a traditional power that won the national championship
Speaker 3: not that long ago. So it's not just U of L.
Speaker 3: But yeah, we do seem to focus on it a
Speaker 3: lot around here.
Speaker 2: Kendrick Haskins is our guest joining us here on Sports
Speaker 2: Talk seven ninety. All right, I'll I'll just get right
Speaker 2: to it. The Cowboys, man, Like what I mean, I
Speaker 2: don't even feel like you're probably not even surprised as
Speaker 2: to what happened, because I feel like last time we
Speaker 2: talked to you, you laid it out that like they
Speaker 2: really anytime they let you down, it's really not that
Speaker 2: big of a surprise, just because you've become kind of
Speaker 2: numb to it. But I feel like the way they
Speaker 2: looked phenomenal in Cleveland to open up the season, they
Speaker 2: just paid Dak he looked great, and then to just
Speaker 2: come out at home and get embarrassed by a team
Speaker 2: that I'm not really sure is very good. Derek Carr.
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know if he's great, but I mean,
Speaker 2: it's just it seems like this Brinson repeat.
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, that's Dallas. Soon when they get some positive
Speaker 3: pub and you know, people start saying, oh they're great,
Speaker 3: they start believing it, and then they do that. They
Speaker 3: Dallas is Dallas doesn't surprise me at all, and doesn't.
Speaker 3: And when they win big and they play well, that
Speaker 3: doesn't surprise me either. It's fair because they have the talent.
Speaker 3: I mean, they definitely have the talent. I understand why
Speaker 3: every game when they do doubt talk about Dallas and defense,
Speaker 3: they talk about Michael Parsons and how fast he is
Speaker 3: and how talent it is, and he could play safety
Speaker 3: if they wanted him to. I'm like, well, how about
Speaker 3: we drop him back and covered sometimes just rushing the
Speaker 3: quarterback every play? How about that? But it's just Dallas
Speaker 3: they play. They play Lamar this week. That game could
Speaker 3: go either way. Lamar desperately needs a win, so I
Speaker 3: counterfay Baltimore is going to win that game, but you
Speaker 3: never know, Dallas might come out win by four touchdowns.
Speaker 3: You never know.
Speaker 2: What do you make of the Ravens tough start here.
Speaker 2: I mean, they did lose in a close game and
Speaker 2: a good showing it looked like in the opener against
Speaker 2: the Chiefs, and then of course not a great showing
Speaker 2: at home as they took on the Raiders. I get
Speaker 2: a little worried. You know, I'm not a Ravens fan
Speaker 2: by any means, but I want to see Lamar do well. Therefore,
Speaker 2: I guess by proxy I am kind of a Ravens fan.
Speaker 2: But second he left. If he was to ever leave,
Speaker 2: i'd be I'd support whatever team he's on. But I
Speaker 2: worry they might have missed their win. Maybe that's an overreaction.
Speaker 2: It's just two games. They did just take the Chiefs
Speaker 2: to the wire, but you know, teams only have a
Speaker 2: certain amount of time where they can really cash in
Speaker 2: and make a Super Bowl and potentially win it. And
Speaker 2: I think their personnel's pretty good, right. I think Zay
Speaker 2: Flowers is a really good draft pick for him. Obviously,
Speaker 2: they've got Derrick Henry, who obviously isn't a young guy
Speaker 2: anymore but still a serviceable running back. And we know
Speaker 2: what Lamar can do. I don't know, I feel like
Speaker 2: I'm overreacting a little bit, but they haven't. I mean,
Speaker 2: even when they did make that comeback against the Chiefs, like,
Speaker 2: I don't know if I'd say they played, they just
Speaker 2: haven't looked. They haven't looked the part yet.
Speaker 3: They are so weird. I was a diehard Ravens fan
Speaker 3: that they would draft me pray because they blow leads. Yeah,
Speaker 3: every year. I mean, that was their problem last year.
Speaker 3: That's what happened on Sunday. If they get up and they.
Speaker 2: Don't do well at coming from behind very often either well.
Speaker 3: They're not built to come from behind. They're built to
Speaker 3: they're built to hold the leads because they're a defensive
Speaker 3: team and a rusting team. But they don't. And it's
Speaker 3: very odd. I don't understand it. You talk about Zay Flowers.
Speaker 3: I love that dude. I love that dude. When he
Speaker 3: was at Boston College and he'd beat you.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, and so I love it was a wild
Speaker 2: postgame show after that one, Kendrick, I can tell you
Speaker 2: that the one guy that you can't have beat you
Speaker 2: at Boston College did exactly.
Speaker 3: That, right. It was like k Y Hilton all over again.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, So I love that kid, and he's he's
Speaker 3: played great. I think there's they're still trying to figure
Speaker 3: out their tight end the limma, which is not a
Speaker 3: bad limit. I have that they have two great tight ends,
Speaker 3: so I think they're still kind of trying to find
Speaker 3: their identity on office. But the defense is supposed to
Speaker 3: mean it's the Ravens. That defense supposed to be good
Speaker 3: every year. But they blow leads if they're up, if
Speaker 3: they're up going into the fourth quarter, it's time to tune.
Speaker 2: In because they may blow it all right, real quick,
Speaker 2: a couple of questions for you, both on the NFL
Speaker 2: and in college football. We'll start with college here. As
Speaker 2: of right now, who do you think are the four
Speaker 2: best teams? I know the playoff is expanded, but who
Speaker 2: do you think of the four best teams in college
Speaker 2: football right now? That you've seen.
Speaker 3: Texas. I'm still gonna keep Georgia up there despite Saturday
Speaker 3: then laying an egg. Tennessee looks really good, even though
Speaker 3: I never trust Tennessee whenever they could as soon as
Speaker 3: they play a big game, they usually they used to
Speaker 3: drop a ball. I had to edit myself, and then
Speaker 3: the forest kind of up in the air. Fourth team
Speaker 3: maybe Miami, but I'm leary about Miami because they haven't
Speaker 3: played anybody.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Miami and Tennessee look insane right now, but I'm
Speaker 2: with you. We've been here before, maybe not to this level,
Speaker 2: but you feel like, okay, wow, they look like they've
Speaker 2: got something special. Maybe they're back, and then you know,
Speaker 2: they show that they're not. I think Ohio State has
Speaker 2: been a team that, you know, preseason top two by
Speaker 2: just about everybody, and I just I feel like they've
Speaker 2: not got a whole lot of love. But maybe it's
Speaker 2: just because they haven't played a really good team just yet.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's weird to say Ohio State fly hang under
Speaker 3: the radar, but they kind of are.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, i'd agree with that. Right on the NFL,
Speaker 2: who who would who have you seen that that you
Speaker 2: feel like, you know, like right now, if you had
Speaker 2: to give me four teams that you think are most
Speaker 2: likely to be in the Super Bowl, who would it be?
Speaker 3: Chiefs? Of course? I know a lot of Bengals fans
Speaker 3: were mad about their past and experience, but it was as.
Speaker 2: I'm with you, I'm with you, I mean, and here's
Speaker 2: what's crazy about that, Kendrick. The Chiefs. They probably get
Speaker 2: some calls that go their way that maybe other franchises don't.
Speaker 2: But the reason everybody think and I hate the Chiefs,
Speaker 2: by the way, but the reason everybody thinks that they're
Speaker 2: just the refs are in their in their favor, it's
Speaker 2: because what they do is when you do give them
Speaker 2: a chance, they make you pay for it. If you
Speaker 2: screw up, they're gonna make you pay for it. That
Speaker 2: that's they're not getting every good break, but if they
Speaker 2: get a break, they'll bury you with it. And that's
Speaker 2: why it seems as if man, these gunners get everything.
Speaker 3: It's human nature with fans, yep, this thing and every
Speaker 3: time there's a good team all the league won't stand
Speaker 3: to win, no matter it's the Chiefs. Now, it was
Speaker 3: the Patriots on Sunday, all right, Well, you know it's
Speaker 3: whoever's and and.
Speaker 2: The reps and the Chiefs didn't make didn't make Jamar
Speaker 2: Chase completely lose his mind there for a minute.
Speaker 3: Right, Well in his mind, the ref did because they
Speaker 3: didn't call them. Yeah, but it's really it's the Chiefs.
Speaker 3: And then everybody else has been so inconsistent. I guess
Speaker 3: the Bills, yeah, because they I mean, I mean they
Speaker 3: were blowing out Miami before too got hurt the forty
Speaker 3: nine ers, even though they lost to the Vikings. Still
Speaker 3: I still like the forty nine ers going forward and
Speaker 3: shout out to Sam Arnold. I mean that dude just
Speaker 3: came out of nowhere.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 3: And and then the fourth Yeah, maybe the Lions, but
Speaker 3: they let me down on Sunday yep.
Speaker 2: Same here the Lions. There was a lot of the
Speaker 2: Lions were the team that I could understand. I think
Speaker 2: it was justified. They were getting a lot of love
Speaker 2: heading into this year because of the great season they
Speaker 2: had last year, you know, comparatively speaking to what they've
Speaker 2: done for so long. But they've they've they've not lived
Speaker 2: up to it just yet. Although it's early, a team
Speaker 2: that I just can't say that I think they're one
Speaker 2: of the best teams. But the Buccaneers have looked good.
Speaker 3: Man have looked good. I felt like going to the season,
Speaker 3: either Detroit or Green Bay, one of them was going
Speaker 3: to take a step back from last year because they
Speaker 3: got so much hype, and I think I was like,
Speaker 3: one of them is gonna take a step back. But yeah,
Speaker 3: your Buccaneers, they have looked great. They're always good on defense.
Speaker 3: Baker Mayfield, he is so he is really good when
Speaker 3: he's healthy. He doesn't get the credit that he deserves,
Speaker 3: but probably and probably kind of he did that to himself. Yeah,
Speaker 3: he has played really good since getting to Tampa Bay,
Speaker 3: and he actually played really good at Cleveland before he
Speaker 3: got hurt. So he's been super underrated. Yeah, I give you.
Speaker 3: Matter of fact, give me the Bucks over Retroy, especially
Speaker 3: since they went up there on Sunday.
Speaker 2: There you go, Kendrick, you are the man. I appreciate
Speaker 2: you making time for it. I'm sure you're ready to
Speaker 2: turn on some more opera music and continue your Tuesday.
Speaker 3: I just got to hang out at the gas station.
Speaker 2: See if rather take care? All right, that's Kendrick Caskins
Speaker 2: from Way three Sports. Always appreciate him making time for us.
Speaker 2: Good stuff, quick break. We'll come back on the other side.
Speaker 2: Stick with the NFL because I mean it's quite clear
Speaker 2: who looks to be the worst team in the league
Speaker 2: right now, and that is the Panthers, as they've benched
Speaker 2: their quarterback this early in his career and he has
Speaker 2: not played well. There's nothing statistically or even like visually
Speaker 2: that can make Bryce Young look any better, but the
Speaker 2: franchise that he is employed by I mean, I think
Speaker 2: we're in the midst of a franchise putting together a
Speaker 2: run to where and who knows. I don't know how
Speaker 2: they I don't see light at the end of the
Speaker 2: tunnel for them, but they are. They are very poorly run.
Speaker 2: And just to see some of the decisions they've made
Speaker 2: and how they've backfired in recent years is I mean,
Speaker 2: I think it's an all timer when it comes to
Speaker 2: NFL teams just doing stupid stuff. So we'll get to
Speaker 2: that in a lot more. It's Coffee and company. Feel
Speaker 2: about Thorton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. All Right,
Speaker 2: so I remember this coming up on the show when
Speaker 2: it happened around the time of the NFL Draft. It
Speaker 2: was the Panthers owner David Tepper, who if you remember
Speaker 2: last year, like last season, he went to the Jacksonville
Speaker 2: Jaguars game when his team played, and he threw a
Speaker 2: drink on a fan. Like it's crazy for anybody to
Speaker 2: do that, but like, this guy owns an NFL franchise
Speaker 2: and he threw a drink on a fan in attendance.
Speaker 2: I mean, I mean that alone is like wild behavior
Speaker 2: for anybody. But again, this is somebody who you would assume,
Speaker 2: especially while on the job. I mean, if you're at
Speaker 2: an NFL game and you own one of the teams
Speaker 2: that is playing, I think it's fair to say you're
Speaker 2: on the job. But there was a sign that basically,
Speaker 2: I don't have the sign in front of me. I'm
Speaker 2: trying to google it real quick to see if it'll
Speaker 2: come up. But there was a restaurant in Charlotte, if
Speaker 2: you remember, and this story, I mean I remember, I
Speaker 2: know we talked about it, but I don't feel like
Speaker 2: it got the attention that deserved because it's just insane
Speaker 2: behavior from an NFL owner. But there was a sign
Speaker 2: that was trying to just have some lighthearted fun because
Speaker 2: the Panthers, you know, they suck and they blame a
Speaker 2: lot of that on their owner, who's more involved than
Speaker 2: he needs to be. And it said something along the
Speaker 2: lines outside like come watch the draft here. Let's just
Speaker 2: hope Tepper's not making the pick. So this guy stopped
Speaker 2: at the restaurant the owner of the Panthers, David Tepper,
Speaker 2: and walked in and asked who put the sign up,
Speaker 2: And when the manager came out to like let the no,
Speaker 2: like you know, to let to let you know, to
Speaker 2: let him know it was me, And then I think
Speaker 2: they're kind of laughing, thinking he's joking. He knocked the
Speaker 2: guy's hat off his head. You remember this John I story, Like,
Speaker 2: who does that? Like, you're lucky you didn't get your
Speaker 2: ass beat. I mean not to say that anybody who
Speaker 2: gets the hat knocked off their head should respond by
Speaker 2: doing that, but like if you do, in fact, do
Speaker 2: that too a stranger and get dealt with, like you
Speaker 2: you can't blame anybody but yourself. I don't think so.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's he's the worst. He's the worst, and
Speaker 2: he's been in charge of this franchise for a long
Speaker 2: time now. I don't know when it was that he
Speaker 2: bought it, but you know he's he's not the GM. Yeah,
Speaker 2: here's what it was. The sign said, please let the
Speaker 2: coach and GM pick this year, insinuating. He didn't even
Speaker 2: say Tepper's name. But he's that sensitive as an NFL owner,
Speaker 2: which is just crazy. So right now, the Panthers are
Speaker 2: the laughing stock of the NFL, and Bryce Young cannot
Speaker 2: really defend himself with his play because he's been that bad.
Speaker 2: But if you really, I mean, if you really consider
Speaker 2: the overall dysfunction of this franchise as far as how
Speaker 2: they've handled trades and whatnot. Like, I don't know if
Speaker 2: anybody's set up to succeed there now they're not doing
Speaker 2: anything close to succeeding. But anyways, that restaurant, the Dilworth
Speaker 2: Neighborhood Grill, they're back with another sign. John got this.
Speaker 2: This one says Mayfield two and oh Donald two and
Speaker 2: O Rule three and oh Matt Rule who was their coach?
Speaker 2: Young oh and two? Because obviously Mayfield and Darnald have
Speaker 2: moved on not by their choice, I mean they were cut,
Speaker 2: they were let go. They weren't I mean they weren't wanted,
Speaker 2: they were traded or they were waived. And Matt Rule,
Speaker 2: I don't know if he would ever been good as
Speaker 2: an NFL coach. Like again, here's what's crazy about all this,
Speaker 2: Like these guys are defending me, this this this neighborhood girls,
Speaker 2: defending the other guys that have moved on and had success,
Speaker 2: not with a franchise owned by David Tepper. But like
Speaker 2: even if Tepper wanted to blame Matt Rule and blame
Speaker 2: Mayfield and Darnold, which those two guys never really got
Speaker 2: a chance to be the guy there. But my point
Speaker 2: is this, he's the one that employed them. So like
Speaker 2: by blaming and throwing people under the bus, when you're
Speaker 2: the one that brings them in and you make that decision,
Speaker 2: you're also blaming yourself. In fact, it's more on you
Speaker 2: than them because you trusted them and you got it wrong.
Speaker 2: So it's just it's just it's crazy. I mean, this
Speaker 2: is one of the craziest things that you'll ever see.
Speaker 2: And this sounds like an exaggeration, but I believe what
Speaker 2: I said. I believe I believe what I believe. It
Speaker 2: is this crazy. So they they have traded players like
Speaker 2: Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore, Brian Burns, those guys like in
Speaker 2: the prime of their career. That's not we're not even
Speaker 2: talking about like Darnold who's having great success in Minnesota
Speaker 2: and Baker who looks phenomenal with the Buccaneers. But those
Speaker 2: other guys were in the prime of their career when
Speaker 2: they got traded from the Panthers, and in those deals,
Speaker 2: the Panthers actually gave up more first round picks than
Speaker 2: they received in return. All three of those players were
Speaker 2: twenty six years old or younger when they got traded away,
Speaker 2: like he's blowing up and starting over, but getting rid
Speaker 2: of guys who like that. The franchise is so in
Speaker 2: upt they don't even really realize what they have until
Speaker 2: it's gone. And they gave up, like they they gave
Speaker 2: up more first round picks than they received in return
Speaker 2: with the acquisition and the you know, the transaction essentially
Speaker 2: of McCaffrey, Moore, and Burns. It's crazy. I mean, they've
Speaker 2: led for all of ten seconds in the last ten games,
Speaker 2: and he purchased the franchise, by the way, in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 2: I didn't realize that that's what I wanted to look
Speaker 2: up because if remember they were in the Super Bowl
Speaker 2: with Cam Newton, and I thought with Ron Rivera, they
Speaker 2: had a pretty decent situation, right, they were never going
Speaker 2: to be an elite team. They're a smaller market and
Speaker 2: they're just not you know, they're the Panthers. But they
Speaker 2: really are at a bad way now. They are officially
Speaker 2: the worst team in the NFL since he took over,
Speaker 2: which was in twenty eighteen. They're thirty one and seventy.
Speaker 2: So that loss coupled with the Jets win over the
Speaker 2: weekend makes that the worst record in the NFL in
Speaker 2: that span, And I mean, who would like if you've
Speaker 2: got options as a free agent and money's relatively similar,
Speaker 2: why would you go there? And that's what's crazy is
Speaker 2: that Arch Manning. You know, he's believed to be the
Speaker 2: top quarterback that's going to be taken when he's eligible
Speaker 2: for the draft, which won't be until not this up,
Speaker 2: it'll be twenty twenty six, which, by the way, they
Speaker 2: already have a there's all kinds of twenty twenty six
Speaker 2: mock drafts out there, which is crazy. But again I
Speaker 2: guess it's not crazy. It's the NFL. The content is
Speaker 2: endless year round. But if you think the Manning crew,
Speaker 2: the Manning clan, they weren't gonna let Eli play in
Speaker 2: San Diego for the Chargers. You think they're gonna let
Speaker 2: Arch Manning play with David tep Road and that team
Speaker 2: in Carolina. Not a chance. And this guy has shown
Speaker 2: with his behavior to be defensive and you know, want
Speaker 2: to do things on his own rather than letting the guys.
Speaker 2: He pays a lot of money and he employees make decisions,
Speaker 2: So like, I don't see him caving, Like, I bet,
Speaker 2: I don't think this guy thinks any of this is
Speaker 2: his fault. And what's crazy when you are the owner,
Speaker 2: it all starts with you, like you are literally in
Speaker 2: control of the whole thing. But you could at least
Speaker 2: have a little bit of, you know, of a pass
Speaker 2: if you hired these me it's still be on you
Speaker 2: because you're You're the one making this these decisions. You're
Speaker 2: the one that has influencing your GM and your coach.
Speaker 2: But if you stayed out of it and it was
Speaker 2: all them making the mistakes, you'd get a little bit
Speaker 2: of the ben of the doubt. Not to be not
Speaker 2: that you're a good owner, but they're like, hey, he
Speaker 2: just keeps picking the wrong guys. This guy's picking the
Speaker 2: wrong guys. Actually that I think that actually makes it worse.
Speaker 2: Wouldn't agree, John, Players and personnel, like gms and coaches
Speaker 2: have moved on and been and been okay. Whereas you know,
Speaker 2: when they were with him, they probably weren't even allowed
Speaker 2: to do anything because he was he was the one
Speaker 2: in control. They were leased up. Yeah exactly, So yeah
Speaker 2: they are. They're in a bad way, and makes me
Speaker 2: not it makes me not as mad at my coltso
Speaker 2: I think also are a bad team that's going to
Speaker 2: have you know, I mean we lost him Alik Willis
Speaker 2: the other day.
Speaker 4: Now by the way they made draft Quinn you Weres
Speaker 4: from Texas this year, if they get the first round pick.
Speaker 2: If they end I mean again, like it's rare that
Speaker 2: a that a player will truly refuse to go to
Speaker 2: a team that wants to draft him. I mean, it's happened,
Speaker 2: but it's really really rare, and you've got to have
Speaker 2: a lot of You've got to have a lot of
Speaker 2: like proven value in order to be able to pull
Speaker 2: that off. I think, and there was talk that maybe
Speaker 2: Caleb Williams would do that because of just the way
Speaker 2: he handles himself and like you know, he's kind of
Speaker 2: a diva. But he didn't do it with the Bears.
Speaker 2: But I feel like any like any quarterback that is
Speaker 2: petitionally is potentially going to be taken by the Panthers
Speaker 2: and David Tepper like you don't. I mean, again, you
Speaker 2: have no control because if you want to work within
Speaker 2: the league, you have you know that. I mean, it's
Speaker 2: not easy to do. But I wouldn't blame any of
Speaker 2: them if they're like again, this is what it could be.
Speaker 2: If you've got eligibility left, why not come back to
Speaker 2: college so you don't end up going to play for
Speaker 2: that franchise. Because this has always been the case. No
Speaker 2: matter how good you are, you can't do it all
Speaker 2: by yourself. And even if you you know, can make
Speaker 2: a team better, because if you're God given a ability
Speaker 2: and talent like you got to have for things to
Speaker 2: really have a high ceiling in the overall success to
Speaker 2: be there, not just individually, but to where as a
Speaker 2: franchise things are running well, you're winning when it matters,
Speaker 2: You're making deep runs into the postseason, maybe winning championships.
Speaker 2: Like you got to have a good organization. Bad organizations
Speaker 2: don't win Super Bowls or NBA titles, they just don't.
Speaker 2: They got to be well run. Personnel matters more than anything, right,
Speaker 2: If you don't have good players, good luck, you need
Speaker 2: good coaching. But the best scenario to find a squad
Speaker 2: that looks like, man, they're really put together. They got
Speaker 2: a good coach, they got a good GM they've really
Speaker 2: drafted well. It all starts with the owner at the
Speaker 2: top who finds the right people and lets them do
Speaker 2: their job, and a lot of owners just get in
Speaker 2: the way, Like, for example, Dak Prescott just got a
Speaker 2: ton of money from the Cowboys, and he's better than
Speaker 2: a lot of quarterbacks. But is he worth the money
Speaker 2: that he got. I mean, by definition, he is because
Speaker 2: the Cowboys gave it to him. However, if it was
Speaker 2: just a GM that had full control and not Jerry Jones,
Speaker 2: they probably wouldn't have given him that and nobody would
Speaker 2: have blamed them. So if you like, if I owned
Speaker 2: a pro team in sports, which I never will, but
Speaker 2: if I did, I would want to have what's the
Speaker 2: fun in having a pro team if you don't have
Speaker 2: any involvement Right now, with that said, a lot of
Speaker 2: the people that are insanely rich for other reasons they're
Speaker 2: good in business, or they wouldn't be in the position
Speaker 2: to buy NFL franchises or buy into ownership groups that
Speaker 2: own these professional teams. But like that's not your experience,
Speaker 2: like your background is not running an NFL team as
Speaker 2: far as personnel or an NBA team. Owners never really
Speaker 2: get talked about unless they're visible, like Robert Kraft with
Speaker 2: the Patriots obviously, Jerry Jones with the Cowboys, or you
Speaker 2: could be like David Tepper, who's not really known for
Speaker 2: anything other than being a terrible owner and a guy
Speaker 2: who doesn't really behave like you'd expect an NFL owner
Speaker 2: to behave, but they are. I mean again, some of
Speaker 2: the best owners are probably the ones that just have
Speaker 2: the money and they stay out of the way. Right.
Speaker 2: This thing makes a lot of money. That's the reason
Speaker 2: it was evaluated as a multiple billion dollar business when
Speaker 2: I bought it. So I'm gonna stay out. I'm gonna
Speaker 2: make a big investment, and I'm going to cash in
Speaker 2: because this thing's gonna make a lot of money. David
Speaker 2: Tepper had the money, got involved in. I'm sure there's
Speaker 2: still a lot of money to be made in owning
Speaker 2: the worst team of all time, even if that ends
Speaker 2: up being the Panthers. But still just to not something
Speaker 2: you typically see in professional sports really at any level,
Speaker 2: an owner that is just this inempt. And if I'm
Speaker 2: a Carolina Panthers fan, I don't know how you find
Speaker 2: or can see light at the end of the tunnel here.
Speaker 2: All right, quick break, we'll come back on the other side.
Speaker 2: Wrap up the four o'clock hour, keep this thing rolling
Speaker 2: along again. It's coffee and company, we are feeled about
Speaker 2: Thornton's right here on Sports Talk seven ninety so, the
Speaker 2: Chiefs Bengals game on Sunday drew an average of twenty
Speaker 2: seven point eight million viewers, making it the most watched
Speaker 2: September game since nineteen ninety eight. So twenty six years
Speaker 2: ago is the last time in the NFL had a
Speaker 2: Sunday game with more viewers than that matchup between the
Speaker 2: Bengals and the Chiefs, which of course is a I mean,
Speaker 2: if you like, the Bengals are starting to revert to
Speaker 2: the Bungles again, to where, yeah, they've got a quarterback
Speaker 2: who has really given him some swagger, helped him go
Speaker 2: to the super Bowl, and he's got a great receiver
Speaker 2: that he's paired with that he was teammates with in college.
Speaker 2: I mean, Chase and Burrow. That's a hell of a duo.
Speaker 2: And I still think the world of Borough. I think
Speaker 2: he's a great quarterback and you know he'll be fine.
Speaker 2: But the way in which they let that game get
Speaker 2: away is a very Bungles thing to do, Meaning when
Speaker 2: the Bengals just aren't even I mean, I'm sure they
Speaker 2: were pissed, as any fan would be if that's how
Speaker 2: you lose. But I feel like there's a lot of
Speaker 2: Bengals losses over the years pre Borrough era that like
Speaker 2: they know it's their own fault and they just can't
Speaker 2: get out of their own way. The one that comes
Speaker 2: to mind for me was the playoff game against the
Speaker 2: Steelers back in I guess would have been in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen. And they've had many of other situations like
Speaker 2: that too, it seems like. And the Bengals, again, I've
Speaker 2: always talked with this, They've always been good at making
Speaker 2: fun of themselves because they, you know, would just I
Speaker 2: guess laugh to keep from crying. And then they got Burrow.
Speaker 2: He gave him a nice shot in the arm, and
Speaker 2: then within a couple of years they're in the super
Speaker 2: Bowl and they've been a good team really since then,
Speaker 2: although last year things kind of fell apart with injuries
Speaker 2: and whatnot. But to see the penalty on Chase just
Speaker 2: losing his cool because you know, he thought he got
Speaker 2: held and they didn't call it. And I have no
Speaker 2: clue if he's worried about the contract situation. He's still
Speaker 2: out there playing. I mean, I wouldn't, I just I
Speaker 2: don't think you can just all right, I'm gonna go
Speaker 2: out here and play, but I'm gonna let my emotions
Speaker 2: get the best to me because I'm upset up. I mean,
Speaker 2: you never know, But like those trying to connect those
Speaker 2: dots as if he's he's not himself and he lost
Speaker 2: his cool because he's worried about being paid. I mean,
Speaker 2: maybe there's some truth to that, but overall, I mean,
Speaker 2: it was just him losing his mind in the worst time.
Speaker 2: I mean, because I mean that was terrible. And then
Speaker 2: the pass interference call that gave the Chiefs new life
Speaker 2: and gave him a chance to hold on and win.
Speaker 2: I don't know how anybody can look at that and
Speaker 2: say that that's not pass interference.
Speaker 3: It is.
Speaker 2: And I was talking about this earlier with the Kendrick
Speaker 2: Haskins for those of you that missed it. The Chiefs, Yeah,
Speaker 2: maybe they get more breaks here and there than others.
Speaker 2: But you know what, find me any player that has
Speaker 2: had a run like Patrick Mahomes in any sport that's
Speaker 2: not gonna get some calls go their way that others wouldn't.
Speaker 2: Michael Jordan, you think he didn't get calls? Lebron you
Speaker 2: think he didn't get calls like it's just how it works.
Speaker 2: It's not it's not fair, but like it's just part
Speaker 2: of it. And again, there are humans that make these calls,
Speaker 2: and the human element is is oftentimes minimalized by people
Speaker 2: in sports, and I don't understand why. So it was
Speaker 2: the right call. And what makes it seem like, oh,
Speaker 2: these guys they're so lucky, is because when you shoot
Speaker 2: your in the foot and you mess up, they're gonna
Speaker 2: make you pay for it, seemingly at a higher rate
Speaker 2: than anybody else is going to. And that's exactly what
Speaker 2: they did. It is rich, though for Mahomes to, you know,
Speaker 2: complain about the refs like he did last year when
Speaker 2: they lost to the Bills and then you know, get up.
Speaker 2: I didn't see if there was any like real heat.
Speaker 2: But you know, Mahomes is one of those guys that
Speaker 2: I respect him. I think he's a hell of a player.
Speaker 2: I don't dislike him when I see him in a
Speaker 2: postgame interview and his weird Kermit the Frog voice, Like,
Speaker 2: I think he's what you'd want in a guy that
Speaker 2: is really not the face of your franchise, but really
Speaker 2: the face of the NFL right now. But man, I
Speaker 2: was on the edge of my seat wanting to see
Speaker 2: the Bengals loose or the Bengals beat him because I
Speaker 2: hate the Chiefs. I guess I'm just becoming more comfortable
Speaker 2: and acknowledging I'm a hater. Patrick Mahomes hasn't done anything
Speaker 2: for me to not like him other than just be
Speaker 2: really good and I can't stay.
Speaker 4: It's a different kind of hate than the Dion Sanders.
Speaker 4: And yes, yeah, like Draymond Green, that dude's a great villain.
Speaker 4: I love cheering against the Warriors. But you know, whenever
Speaker 4: it's just Steph and Draymond's you know, irrelevant, like same thing,
Speaker 4: Like Steph's not a STEP's an easy guy to like,
Speaker 4: I feel like, yeah, you're right.
Speaker 2: It's a good example with the with with Dion, because
Speaker 2: Dion is an easy guy to root against when it
Speaker 2: comes to just his lack of humility, his arrogance, with
Speaker 2: really no results to back any of that up. All right,
Speaker 2: let's talk real quick about the Jefferson Animal Hospital. They've
Speaker 2: got a big event coming up that you guys are
Speaker 2: going to continue to hear me talk about because it's
Speaker 2: something that we need more awareness about, and that is
Speaker 2: that your pets, they can also donate blood. That's a
Speaker 2: really important thing when it comes to you know, humans,
Speaker 2: but it's also very important when it comes to animals
Speaker 2: as well. So if your dog is over fifty pounds
Speaker 2: or your cat is at least ten pounds, they may
Speaker 2: qualify to be a pet blood donor, where every donation
Speaker 2: can save up to four to six lives. Plus there's
Speaker 2: all kinds of benefits so your pet's becoming a blood donor,
Speaker 2: including regular examinations, regular blood work, vaccines, and it can
Speaker 2: all take place at the same place, Jefferson Animal Hospital
Speaker 2: on outer Loop. So if you want more information on
Speaker 2: how your dog or cat can become a pet blood
Speaker 2: donor called five oh two nine hundred pets are visit
Speaker 2: pet bloodbank dot com and they've got their big event
Speaker 2: coming up next month. It's actually just a little under
Speaker 2: a month away, I'm sorry, a little over a month away,
Speaker 2: and they'll have it on October nineteenth. They're partnering with
Speaker 2: the American Red Cross for the very first pints for
Speaker 2: paws and people at Jefferson Animal Hospital on outer Loop.
Speaker 2: You bring your pets your family to enjoy food, live
Speaker 2: demonstrations on pet blood donations and the opportunity for you
Speaker 2: to donate blood yourself to the American Red Cross. So
Speaker 2: pints for pausing people. October nineteenth, ten to two. All
Speaker 2: pets are welcome, All people are welcome. For more info again,
Speaker 2: five o two nine hundred pets is the number, or
Speaker 2: you can actually visit pet bloodbank dot com to get
Speaker 2: more info on this event specifically, so again shout out
Speaker 2: to our friends over you Everson Animal Hospital. All right,
Speaker 2: quick break, we've got the five o'clock hour coming your way,
Speaker 2: so stick around right here on Sports Talk seven to
Speaker 2: ninety