Speaker 1: Let's I'll start to you to present Off the Bench
with Jacob Hester and T Bob Abert. Yeah yeah, yeah,
yeah yeah, Off the Bench with Jacob Hester and T
Bob aber.
Speaker 2: I got to come off the pitch.
Speaker 1: Now here's Jacob Hester and T Bob Abert.
Speaker 2: What's going on?
Speaker 3: Everyone? Welcome in to another edition about GB the first
one of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2: As we are into a new year, and I hope
you're having a good new year. Now.
Speaker 3: Obviously twenty twenty five was rung in in a completely
tragic and awful way. We will talk about the Sugar
Bowl taking place later this afternoon instead of having taken
place last night because of again a senseless terrorist attack.
And it's heartbreaking, it's awful. It made it really weird
to want to talk about college football or kind of
enjoy It just made everything bad, tinged everything with bad
yesterday and certainly been praying for everybody who's been mentally
or physically affected. And I know it's it's its scope
and reaches is very large, and so there's no you know,
I again, I want this show to be what it
always is.
Speaker 2: I wanted to be a.
Speaker 3: Distraction from the real world for everybody to sit here,
maybe have some fun over the next three hours. We
got a lot of fun stuff to talk about. But
just know that our our hearts are definitely with everybody
who we know or don't know. Just again, anybody who's
been mentally or physically affected by this awful attack. Will
continue to pray for them, pray for safety tonight during
the game. And you know, the impossible pivot here is
we are going to the show and we will talk
about football and preview the game and talk about yesterday's games,
and talk about the bowl game and and everything else.
And hopefully, because that's one of the great parts about
sports is they become that escape, They become that distraction
from the real world and all of its complex problems.
Hopefully this show can give you a little bit of
a respite or a bit of an escape over the
next few hours. For sure, anything Jake, before we kind
of begin the show here.
Speaker 4: No, I mean, incredibly tragic for all those involved. But
the best family is somebody that we know, certainly here
in this building, in this city, in this state.
Speaker 2: It is one of the best families that you can know.
Speaker 4: I mean from top to bottom, very close knit family
as well I mean, they do every everything together, like
if you.
Speaker 2: Know one best, you know them all.
Speaker 4: And so obviously I'm we're talking about everybody that was effective.
But you know somebody that we know on an individual
on a personal level, Tiger Besh losing his life, Uh,
you know, just even he hits even more to you know,
to your heartstrings and closer to home when you know
somebody affected, when you know the family, when you know
what they're all about. And so you're right, I mean,
senseless just there's no words, there's no words when.
Speaker 2: Just even something like this happens. Just evil, just pure evil,
and it's heartbreaking. And again there's no I don't know,
there's no there's no right way. I don't know.
Speaker 3: I don't know exactly how to handle this right It's
just it's just awful. It's just completely awful. And all
I know to do is to uh pray for all
those who are suffering right now.
Speaker 2: So it's all we'll continue to do and I hope
that you do as well. For now impossible pivot, Let's
do the show.
Speaker 3: We'll we'll, we'll do the show over the next three
hours and again hopefully provide some sort of distraction if
that's what you're seeking. If not, I understand, turn off, goat,
do whatever you need to do for you today for sure.
So we are back for the first time in a while. Taylor,
how did Monday go? You hosted Monday?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 3: With the the ragtag Motley crew? Who all do we
have in here? Cassie filled in? I owe her filled
in last minute big time?
Speaker 2: Well who else is here?
Speaker 6: So you'll love this.
Speaker 7: I'm hosting, Cassie's doing video, Musso's doing audio for a
fr Musso hosted, Cassie did video, I did audios. It
was it was all three of us. We kind of
kind of handled the entire day. Yeah it was.
Speaker 6: It was nice, It was fun. We made it happen.
Speaker 2: Heck yeah, good job, man, very good job. Thank you.
Speaker 3: That day off was excellent. Extending the vacation a little
bit there, uh Aladra, welcome two weeks gone back home
in Texas and we'll get to it. But your longhorns
barely escaping the wrath of cam Skataboo yesterday?
Speaker 2: How was how was going home?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 2: It was good.
Speaker 8: Favorite part I've told you when I was at Whiskey
and while I was telling Tata this morning kill Tony
was ten out of ten. I would recommend if you
ever thought about going to Kill Tony Show to go
to it because it's really good.
Speaker 2: So who all was on the Who all was on
the panel?
Speaker 8: It was Joe Rogan, Wow, Adam Ray impersonating Joe Biden,
and Harlan Williamstic was really good. It was awesome. But yeah,
glad to be back. I feel like I was gone forever.
Jake walked in this morning, was like, do you know
how to work everything back there? And I was like,
I don't know.
Speaker 2: We'll see nice long reset heading in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3: Jake, what about you? I'm sure your day was insane?
Is that You've been in New Orleans covering the Sugar Bowl?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 4: So, I guess that would have been Monday. I mean, gosh,
who even knows what day it is when you get
to this point of the year. Covered Media Day down
there on Monday, and then turned my attention to the
Texas Bowl, So went over to Houston and then was
going to go back to the Sugar Bowl on I
guess it would have been Tuesday night. Decided to stop
in Baton Rouge and just sleep at home and then
drive that next morning, and so I woke up to
obviously the terrible news there, so a little bit of
back and forth between the Sugar Bowl and the Texas Bowl.
Going to go back here probably very quickly after the
show today.
Speaker 3: And yeah, solay games at three pm this afternoon. Let's
go ahead. Speaking of the texta bawl, let's go ahead
and get this thing started.
Speaker 1: It's time to get to work courtesy of Tiger Labor
and Staffing where they can help take care of screening, training,
pay roll and more.
Speaker 3: Now for starters, Tray guys, Tiger Labor and Staffing, your
local reliable staffing solution experts for warehouse, construction or manufactured positions,
whether it's temporary or long term hires. We have you
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person every single morning at five am. Shout out to
Tiger Labor and Staffing. So LSU takes on Baylor in
the Texas Fall and there are a lot of question
marks for of five new starters on the offensive line
or at least three new starters, four guys in new positions,
a tight end room that had been depleted, and yet
that LSU offense comes out, immediately sets the tone, kicks
ass and ends up carrying the day. And in a
day and age where people wonder about the value of
Bowl games, I think they still matter. I think they
still matter quite a bit. I think they set the
tone for the offseason. It's not that a loss is
the end all be all, but you know what's not
fun having to explain away a loss, having to do
the logical or mental gymnastics of well, yes this was bad,
but here's why, and here's why it may be better
next year. Like instead, now you get to get incredibly
excited for trade as Green, you gained confidence in a
new look offensive line that will have a couple more
bodies added to it, but certainly will mainly be made
up of who you saw on Saturday.
Speaker 2: Chris Hilton. What a moment for him.
Speaker 3: Like the positives of this game I think kind of
rocket you into the offseason on a platform of success.
Speaker 2: Here's what you have to do with a game like this.
Speaker 4: If you think Bowl games don't matter, okay, you have
to understand that there is going to be a purpose
because you're out there and you're actually playing the game,
so you can get excited about players in their future,
but also so you can understand. Treyde As Green got
a chance to play real tight end. He got a
chance to run block for a full entire game against
a big twelve opponent. Cayden Durham got a chance to
pass protect against a big twelve opponents, something where he's
kind of come out of the game and Josh Williams
has had to go in because Josh is better at
pass protection. Look, Kayden's a freshman. He's going to continue
to get better and grow there. So he gets an
opportunity to go out there and do that. You get
a chance on defense for Devine Keys to get reps
for different players, for Jardon Gilbert.
Speaker 2: Who was as healthy as he's been in a long time.
Speaker 4: He looked like he had a different gear right, and
I've talked a lot about how he needed to improve
throughout the year. Now there's still room for improvement, but
that was a guy had a break, had fourteen practices
to get healthy.
Speaker 2: He looked like he was playing at a different speed.
Speaker 4: So like there's little nuances in between every single play
that we could talk about, and that's going to benefit
you as you head into spring practice.
Speaker 3: I think it's also a common team on culture in
some ways. Right you saw a Texas A and M
team up twenty four to seven against a USC team
that in no way even resembled the USC team of
the regular season, and yet the Trojans found a way
to come back and win that game. In fact, funny
little quirk here USC ends up two owing the SEC
in Las Vegas. If only they could play every game
in Vegas, USC would have been very good this season.
But how do you think Texas A and M fans
feel today about their program under Mike Lco? A year
that feels all too familiar, hot start, fizzle out, eight
and five record at the end of the day, I
mean absolutely defeating What about Alabama? A Michigan team with
multiple All American optouts in Alabama and in a similar
position to Georgia last year, feeling snubbed we should have
been in the playoffs, pissing on everybody's good time throughout
round one, just yelling at us.
Speaker 2: All we shut up been in there.
Speaker 3: And then what did you do against a seven and
five Michigan team, you got your ass whooped. Even though
again I bring up the Georgia comparison there because Georgia
was in a similar position last year, feeling Stubb point.
Speaker 2: What did they do?
Speaker 3: They dismantled FSU Alabama looked unprepared, got their ass kicked,
and they finished without ten wins, nine to four in
year one of caleboard. You don't think that matters, You
don't think that effects their vibes going in the off season.
Speaker 2: It absolutely does.
Speaker 3: And so I come away from this Texas Bowl, despite
all the bad, the month of bad, after the six
and one start, the three game winning streak going into
the offseason has given me more hope, much more hope
than I would have had four next season from a
culture standpoint, And now thanks to the ball game, just
some of the players that you can start to get
excited about. Maybe you had lesser roles during the majority
of this season.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and look, Taylor had more of the regular team
in this game, certainly had more, right, they had most
of their Jimmies and Joe's. They didn't have a lot
of opt outs, they didn't have a lot in the
transfer portal, they didn't have early and you know.
Speaker 2: Entry guys into the NFL.
Speaker 4: So this was a team that won six games in
a row in the Big twelve that you were playing against,
and you know, for the most part, in a couple
of key spots, you were held together with duck tape
and super glue.
Speaker 2: Yeah. And so you're right.
Speaker 4: About the culture and going out there and just playing football.
And we saw some guys that we hadn't seen since August.
I mean, Toviano's out there playing eighty six plays, all right,
that's a guy that we haven't really seen. I mean
we've seen him on special teams. We see him a
little bit here, a little bit there. Gabrielford forty four
plays a mod Bro forty three. PJ Woodland forty one plays.
Speaker 2: In this game. And that's I mean, that's on the
DEFENSESID Michael Turner Junior.
Speaker 4: There's probably some people that had to go pull out
the media guy to find out who that was. Probably
forgot about him. Right, he's playing out there, He's playing
twenty plays at corner. And then of course we could
go to the offensive line talk about the plays that
the I mean.
Speaker 2: Bo borderline played tight end this year.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and he's starting and playing right guard and bow
plays thirty two plays at right guard, So it was impressive.
Speaker 2: You can, you know, get mad at what the season was.
Speaker 4: We all can, and we can be disappointed the LSU's
not in the twelve team playoff, But for what you
could control after the situation was set, you did a
really nice job of going to Houston, making the plays
that you had to make, creating some guys that are
going to have some momentum going into the offseason. I think,
you know, your leaders did a really nice job that
are coming back and we'll get to Wit Weeks here
in a little bit. We'll get to Garrett nes Meyer.
But for what the situation was after it was said,
you did as well as you possibly could to go
to Houston, take care of business, come back to Baton
Rouge winning three games in a row, and now you
got to.
Speaker 2: Get to work.
Speaker 3: So you can, again, I agree with everything Jake just said,
and it's kind of reinforce that you can believe that
overall you're a bit disappointed in the nine to four
record and some of the missed opportunities.
Speaker 2: I mean, again, you were one game way from Atlanta.
Who knows what happens then, like.
Speaker 3: You were closer than your final record would make it
appear to doing some really big things.
Speaker 2: So that is disappointing, but.
Speaker 3: You can also engage in nuance and understand that despite
that disappointment, the three wins that you finished here with
were damn strong. You beat a good Vanderbilt team who
beat a good Georgia Tech team in their bowl game
to finish the season strong. You beat a very or not.
You didn't beat a good Okloma team. You beat an
Oklahoma team coming off of a twenty four to three
beat down of Alabama, and you beat their ass.
Speaker 2: Wasn't even close.
Speaker 3: And then you catch a red hot Baylor team with
one of the better quarterbacks in the country.
Speaker 2: And so I robbed a guy who will be I believe, Well,
does he return next year? Yeah, he'll come back.
Speaker 3: He'll be one of the if not the best quarterback
potentially in the Big Twelve. They had won six in
a row, and you really handled them from the jump.
So let's get we'll get into like the game and
what we like most. We got to talk about Gartnasmeyer
and wit Weeks and everything else, but overall, I was
just tickled, very pleased. Eight plus marks for preparing for
a Bowl game and showing that every time you step
on that field, you're not going to accept excuses and
you're gonna play your ass off because you are given
the privilege and the honor of putting on that uniform
and that helmet and going to fight for sixty minutes.
Speaker 2: It would have been real easy for this team.
Speaker 3: To not care like you you or lay an egg
like you saw other teams who specifically in this conference
throughout Bowl season. Yeah, and yet you did not. You
held the rope and that is commendable and it was
a lot of fun to watch. Frankly, you know, it
was a very fun game. So more when we get back.
If you want to get involved, YouTube dot com, Slash one,
four or five, ESPN more Off the Bench coming up.
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Speaker 2: I used to think that time was it fun enough?
And I used to think that tie was weld enough.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the best morning sports show around sorta
it's off the Bench with Hester and t Bop.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to off the Bench.
Speaker 3: Uh so we're just talking about Arizona State and Texas.
In the commercial break, we will get there as Cam
Scadby was the story of college football over the weekend,
and that Arizona State team maybe saving college football. But first,
let's continue to talk la and the Texas Bowl. As
LSU defeats Baylor's the final score forty four to thirty two.
Speaker 2: Forty four to thirty one, forty four thirty one.
Speaker 3: Let's talk about Garrettusmier, because NUSS has a big day,
three more tuds, another three hundred yards, one pick. He
ends up though, four to so like when it's all
said and done, over four thousand yards in his first year,
starting twenty nine touchdowns, twelve interceptions, And it's impossible for me.
And it's not just me, Like I know, when I
talk about LSU, I have so much bias that I
would never argue that anything I ever say is a
fully objective opinion, because I think that's probably impossible per
the definition of objective.
Speaker 2: I try to be. But it's not just me.
Speaker 3: I mean, if you look at the way too early
Heisman odds even before this game, remember Garrett Usmeier was
second in the country, second on that list, I think,
only to Arch Manning. And then he comes out he
and with a new offensive line and new weapons, he
doesn't take a sack, He dices up Baylor and he finishes.
He's a four thousand yards nine done twelve picks, And
most importantly, you saw how he responds to adversity. We
mentioned it during the year when he went through that
slump where he throws a couple picks when guys are
there that he's not expecting them to and then he
gets rattled a little bit, loses some confidence. When he
went through that slump, it would have been real easy
to completely crater, but he managed to get out of it.
Speaker 2: He managed to finish strong.
Speaker 3: Even in this game, he threw a similar pick to
those that kind of broke him during the season. Guy
not there, or you know, guy was there that he
wasn't expecting to be there. All of a sudden, it's
that pick, and he comes back and he finishes.
Speaker 2: Extremely strong and closes out the game.
Speaker 3: So what I've seen in Garrettnsmeyer, especially when you combined
with the context of Jaden Daniels here, wanted to you,
Jojoe Burrow, like all these other guys you'd come through recently,
how could you not be over the moon excited about
this guy coming back with the weapons that you just
saw and with adding guys like Nick Anderson, Barry and Brown,
adding a couple o linemen to that old line that
didn't give up a sack, like the scramble when Mabinga
got beat one of the only time Joe really got beat,
but the fadeaway scramble throw to Aaron Anderson and the
next play is the touchdown to Chris. It's just really
elite level stuff from your quarterback.
Speaker 4: Garrett Nesmier, I thought he played fantastic in this game.
You're right, he had the mistake and he knows that
he's got to, you know, fix situations like that. It
was a coverage that he's going to be able to
read almost every single time. He didn't in that situation,
but he finds his way back, and you're right. You
look at his top targets in this game, and you
know they weren't the top three guys that he had. Well,
I wouldn't say top three, but certainly three of the
top five with CJ. Daniels in the transfer portal. Now
moving on, you don't have a Kyrien Lacy. You don't
have your biggest, you know, kind of security blanket in
Mason Taylor as well, and I can't imagine as a
quarterback what that's like to lose that guy going into
a game like this, because that's who you typically look
for on third downs. But shout out to Chris Hilton Junior.
We talked about him so much in August because if
you went to training camp, and I mean Taya talked
about it. He went out there all the time. He
was dominating. Yeah, and you were so excited. We all
were so excited about what he could do. He gets hurt.
I was actually at the practice that he got hurt,
and you could tell, like the air just went out
of the building because everybody kind of knew what he
was going to do early in this season.
Speaker 2: Then he comes back in he was rusty. We all
know that.
Speaker 4: I mean, you know, jumping for balls and not timing
to jump. And then when he gets on the sideline
with BK there. I believe that was the Florida game,
and so you know there was some charals and tribulations
to him coming back. But then he gets a chance
to get healthy. We saw it against Oklahoma what he
can do and then he continues that. I mean, he
being there in the stadium, you almost felt bad for
Baylor's corner because he knew what was about to happen.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and he still couldn't stop it.
Speaker 3: No, I mean, Chris Hilton is such an unrepresented element
on this team in terms of just being a true.
Speaker 2: Very tall, long deep threat.
Speaker 3: There is no other person on the team that represents
the same skill set that Chris Hilton brings the table.
Speaker 2: And it's so impactful.
Speaker 3: If you look at Oklahoma, you look at this game,
it's hard to feel. I got to give a shout
out to my friend, Professor Scott Burns. He says to you,
whiskey wand that he's like, I think else who's one
and a half wins better with Hilton. And look, I
don't know you can argue about the number, but he
is so impactful that when you look at a guy
like that, I believe his absence or his attendance can
represent an actual result change turning a loss into wind
Like who knows what you happens if you have him
here all year long, But.
Speaker 4: It does so much tea to your like so it
does so much for your offense, and not just with
the plays that you actually hit to Chris Hilton Junior,
like those certainly are part of the equation. But if
you don't, and we saw it early in this game,
everybody's a little bit closer to the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 2: The running lanes aren't.
Speaker 4: Exactly there like they're going to be there. If a
safety group, if a corner group is terrified that they're
going to get run by, If they think they're going
to get run by, what do they do, Well, they
back up, They back up two full yards and so
those running lanes and a guy like Hayden Durham and
Josh Williams, you know, in this game, that's all they need.
They just need a little bit of room there and
they get going. And so it just just even the
thread of it changes the dynamics of your offense. And
it was fun to kind of watch it play out
in real time calling the game because you could see it.
Speaker 2: You could see when Baylor's like, Okay, we got to change.
Speaker 4: We can't do what we thought we could come again
to this game, and it just opens up so many
things for you. Hard heavy play action is going to
be there because when you have a deep threat like that,
if the corner or if this safety is a half
second late. Chris Hilton Junior is gonna run by them,
I mean even one of those. And Blair was joking
on the broadcast Hilton beat the dB so bad and
nust do it as far as he could. But Hilton
still had to wait on the ball. I mean he
and he had time because he beat the dB. That
that you know, oh yeah, one that.
Speaker 2: He came back on, I mean he again. Yeah, it
was that.
Speaker 3: I kind of liked it though, because it showed it's
easy to catch a perfect throw in stride when you've
smoked the guy by five yards, When you smoke the
guy by five guards and the balls severely underthrown and
you have to slide as you're being interfered with and tackled,
and you still come up with a catch in the end.
That actually makes me more excited than the than the
cleaner first touchdown. Yeah, because it speaks to just how
high the skills ceiling could be on Chris Hilton.
Speaker 2: Yeah. And you saw Chris Hilton junior.
Speaker 4: You saw Aaron Anderson, who continues, I mean you want
to talk about most improved players on this football team,
he is certainly up for that conversation. From what he
was year one to year two, trade as Green was
on awesome and you know, being the full time.
Speaker 2: Talking about Trade's tighten here.
Speaker 4: You know, we get this Avion Thomas as well, but
Trade as Green deserves, you know, certainly to be talked
about because I give him a lot of credit for
doing what he did through the air, but also being
a willing blocker in the run game, which is something
he's going to have to do with where this tight
end room currently sits.
Speaker 2: Yeah, setting the.
Speaker 3: Tone to at the beginning of the game, fourth and
five opening drive. We know how the game played out,
but at that point there's a lot hanging in the balance.
Speaker 2: You're right at midfield.
Speaker 3: Look at how good Baylor's offenses against a defense at
in some parts you're missing personnel. If you don't get
that fourth and five, there's a very good chance you
go down seven to zero with them getting the ball
after half, like the entire dynamic of the game changes.
And yet you get it because of Trade As Green.
And then he finishes that drive the touchdown. He comes
up aother touchdown later, he comes up with the uber
athletic catch off of the bat and ball that almost
turns into first down, And as Jake said, valuable tight
end blocking as well, they did not treat him as
wide receive. They treat him as everything this game but
another guy, this is a true freshman. How could you
not be over the moon about the potential that he
has next season, especially now that he has this sort
of game he already had I think a year in
which it was easy for him to gain confidence.
Speaker 2: But what a cherry on top where.
Speaker 3: Everybody leaves and so he is thrust into the Okay,
you are now the guy role, You're no longer a freshman.
It's a last game this season, and he validated that faith,
and he validated that kind of promotion by the coaching staff.
So yeah, trade as green really just I mean, because again,
the the body is something you can't teach, kind of
like Chris Silton physically, he represents something that you almost
never see. So to see him actually have the mental
ability to be willing, like the mental toughness to be
willing to try to block, and then the mint ability
to understand the playbook to handle so many varied roles,
Like his potential is first round pick NFL type potential.
Speaker 4: I think it was maybe at South Carolina, it was
early in the season on the road. I don't remember
exactly what game, but I'm sitting there talking with Joe
Sloan and Trads Green walks by. He's like, you want
to know what first rounders look like? They look like
that guy?
Speaker 2: Well?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I played against it and with some
and he looks like he's ready for that already. And
so like the staff's excited about him. They've been excited
all year. And I remember talking with Joe and he's like, look,
the guy is going to continue to get better. He's
already gotten better each and every week, each and every
practice that we've had. You know, each and every game
we'll see something we're like, Okay, you didn't have that,
you know, the prior game before. So the staff understands
exactly where he's at. Now you've got to go get
a new tight end coach, and I do think that's
going to be important to you. Not oftentimes do we
talk a lot of tight end coach. Even when Mike Denbrock,
who was your offensive coordinator, was your tight end coach,
we didn't talk about it a lot. But with that room,
you're bringing in a transfer shark from Oklahoma. You're going
to try to pair him with trade as Green, I
do think it is going to be pivotal to bring
in somebody with a lot of experience at that position
to be able to teach trade as Green how to
be a true three down.
Speaker 2: You gotta be a y.
Speaker 4: Sometimes you're going to live, you know, being an F
as well, but you've got to know how to be
a y if they ask you to be a Y.
Speaker 2: I do think that hire is going to be important.
Speaker 3: Uh well, and certainly Ellis you think is hired very
well in the assistant ranks as of late. So hopefully
you can keep that momentum going when we get back here.
Oh my god, dude, it will y'all shut the hell
up about the staff picks.
Speaker 2: You're a hoe game every single game. They don't mean it.
I believe you.
Speaker 5: I believe that we would win. I believe that we
would I believe that we would win. Then you highlight on,
Oh my god, for such a hoe. I told you
to be fair when I was fourteen.
Speaker 2: Nothing I said, don't let it happen. You think I
wanted to don't let it happen? Does that? Picks don't
mean it? That mean something to me? Jake?
Speaker 3: We picked L s U every single game? Yeah, how
can your pick you Christian balled on them? Oh my god,
I did. No, I did a pick up arts technique.
I negged them.
Speaker 2: I tried that state them. That only counts when it's
not your team. No, that's not true.
Speaker 4: Won.
Speaker 2: I think there's so line on a lot of new weapons.
Speaker 3: I don't know they can do it. And look, no
lot of new weapons get him in the chest.
Speaker 2: Oh my god.
Speaker 3: No, Jake picked l s U every single game. Yeah,
I picked LU twelve Gate eleven games, Like, what are you?
You're only as good as your last picks? So stupid.
This is so unbelievably stupid. And I know it's but
to the point that it shouldn't get to me, but
it has been pissing me off. So shut up, Like,
there's nothing objective in these picks.
Speaker 2: We picked them every game. You're you're honestly mad at that.
Speaker 3: Yes, it's been annoying the hell out of me because
it's just filling all my mentions and everything, and I'm like,
what are you?
Speaker 2: Everybodys like, he picked them every game? Guy, that doesn't
mean anything. He went, not, what what are we talking about?
Speaker 3: Mine?
Speaker 2: Don't either? I picked him on twelve regular season game
but not in the postseason. It's so stupid. The best
teams show up in the postseason. Baby, my god, hould
your als up? You can't. You don't get through this week.
Speaker 3: It's just so dumb. Its is so freaking You shouldn't
even be picking the game. That's a conflict of interest.
I'm gonna get you in some sort of legal trouble.
You're calling the game.
Speaker 4: You can't pick me like you got mega tigers like
Moscone and sitting in that chair picking the Baylor Bears.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, not me.
Speaker 3: Just doing a classic negging technique, you know, just just
just tell them they, you know, treat him like dirt.
They stick to you like mud. So I was trying
to do okay anyway, I said my piece. Y'all can
y'all can keep it up. Just know I think you're
all dumb as hell.
Speaker 4: Just think I think you're a very smart, intelligent chat.
I appreciate your interaction every single day. You're really I mean,
you're the backbone of the show, so we appreciate it.
I mean, you got Hunt Palmers, Sicken Bears in the chat.
Speaker 2: I'm eight and five by lsu picks. Jake is nine
and four yeah, great, one better.
Speaker 4: If you can add if you can add an inch,
everybody do it. That's true, Bradleydale. Pivotto always told us
that that's true. What I do not put tomatoes in
my gumbo. Guys, shut up, damn it.
Speaker 2: So let's just come back.
Speaker 4: Look, let's just go to break. Let's go to break.
When we come back, let's make fun of Hunt some more.
I'm sure he did something. I mean also like including
the take that he had that Arizona State didn't belong
and he was talking about Alabama, South Carolina they certainly belong.
They also Belama. Bad day for the SEC boys. All Right,
I said my piece, you can young keep it coming.
Whatever more Off the bench coming up.
Speaker 1: Next Off the Bench, Welcome back to more sports talk.
What's some other stuff mixed in off the bench with
hester at Bob all right?
Speaker 3: Uh, welcome back to OTB final thoughts and elgi here
because obviously, I mean, we during every commercial break, we're
just talking about Arizona State and Texas, so we we
we have to get there eventually, but we haven't emptied
the bag on the Tigers yet. And this we had
last time talking about a l s U team before
he entered the long dark of the off season, and
we're talking about the portal and projections and springball and whatnot.
Speaker 2: So I don't mind leaning into the game a bit here. Also,
some some other dues. Shut up. Yeah, it's okay, it's okay.
Look shut up.
Speaker 4: I'll get him back on our side. He went to
the dark side. No, that's not just a little bit.
Handy picked two. I don't mean that to throw Hanny.
He picked Baylor too. I'm almost positive I don't.
Speaker 2: Mean it was Yeah, I don't want to. I'm just
saying it's supposed to be the expert. Jimmy. Okay, here
we go. You thought that Bayley and beat You can't
do this again. We can't do this again.
Speaker 4: They don't have a single person that looks like Traded
is Green. They don't have a single person that runs
like Chris Hilton Junior. You think they got anybody with
the ball skills of an Aaron Anderson.
Speaker 7: I'm not gonna sit back and hide from this. On
Hunt Staff Picks and when I hosted for you guys
on Monday, I also picked the Baylor Bears. Are you no,
I'm I'm serious.
Speaker 8: I did I didn't answer the email because I was
on VAC.
Speaker 2: But am I the only son of a gun? Yeah?
Speaker 6: Building that you were, you were one hundred the same.
Speaker 7: And look, it's it's one of those things like you
can say I took the.
Speaker 6: Cowards way out.
Speaker 7: I absolutely did, because in my head, I'm like, oh,
Lsu is gonna win this game. But I was like,
it makes more sense on air to pick the Baylor Bears.
Speaker 6: So that's what I did.
Speaker 2: We were just doing a classicnique. Sure, guys, So I
mean that, Yeah, I did.
Speaker 6: I took the coward's way out and it backfired on me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we can't.
Speaker 3: I'm not i' I ain't go down this Uh, I
can't go down this road. Why anymore? Uh?
Speaker 2: The tea does not stand for Trader, Trader, Bob and Tvalve. Guys,
that's that's that's not true. Yeah, I was.
Speaker 4: I was very upset when I saw that my brethren,
my partner in crime, my co host.
Speaker 2: Well, then I didn't pick els you for a thirteenth time. Yeah.
Speaker 4: Now in the games that you picked Lsu, I mean,
which one was crazy?
Speaker 2: None?
Speaker 3: But my point is I can I can lay out
my logic for why I thought they were gonna win
all twelve games, and they.
Speaker 2: Lost four of them. It's not great pitch just not
even gets the spread.
Speaker 4: I mean, I mean, you still though you bet money one,
you're probably making money, you.
Speaker 2: Think, Yeah, maybe, I don't know. I don't think so.
So I'm definitely not gonna finish eight and five.
Speaker 4: All jokes aside, because I'm still I just feel betrayed.
I'll tell you this, being on the side sideline like pregame,
I think you've you've heard me talk about this before.
So in twenty nineteen, you know, different game obviously what
it meant, but still so twenty nineteen, l Shit's about
to play Oklahoma. Yeah, And I remember sitting on the
sideline talking with some coaches for LSU and they said,
oh man, they looked smaller on tape, but they're tiny.
We're about to roll them. That That was a quote
from an actual position coach. Go on the sideline for
this Texas Bowl teams are both out there, they're warming up.
There was an LSU coach that said, basically paraphrasing, they're tiny,
We're about to have some success.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 4: So that gave me really like a lot of confidence
being there, being on the you know, the field level
because it's interesting the right because the size difference is
not unlike what you saw in Texas Arizona State.
Speaker 3: Not yet the small guy in that matchup managed to
damn near knockout Goliath.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 4: And when I say size, I don't necessarily mean you know,
just big tall. I'm just talking about you know, arm
size and arm length and and just body type and
just some some different things.
Speaker 2: In the lines.
Speaker 4: Yeah, just look at the lines. Yeah, and you could
tell that LSU was going to have. Now, it doesn't
always win you the game, but yeah it was. It
was definitely a different looking pregame warm up.
Speaker 2: So well.
Speaker 3: Even jv SR, who I had the pleasure of meeting
at Whiskey and Wine, says, uh, it's time to watch Murphy,
Sam and Jody because the tea bups pick.
Speaker 2: You're happy. You probably like that. I do, because they're awesome.
Speaker 3: Even though now that it's on Christmas season, I probably
won't be listening to as much, uh as as much
for sure?
Speaker 2: Okay, real quick on wit weeks.
Speaker 3: The injury sucks, but it's not like imperiently next seasons
already better than it could have been.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I could like it's it's it's something got
when he went down to there's a lot of ls there.
I mean it went quiet.
Speaker 3: Yeah, But the real story there is the team all
coming out and so clearly showing what he means to
the team, the entire team getting off of the sideline
to go wish kind of the heartbeat of the defense
and their brother well uh And I loved.
Speaker 2: A Rivershery quote where or tweet where.
Speaker 3: She was like, how does wit Weeks manage to look
so charismatic even after getting carted off with a with
a like in an air cast, like he still just
looked so good looking, like oh man, oh damn, oh man,
this sucks.
Speaker 4: He kind of honestly, he actually kind of had a
quote like that apparently like when he was on the
cart some guys I'm trying to exactly I'm trying to
it was something like that. It was like, man, I
never been through some pain like that. That didn't feel good.
It was like one of his quiet but he was
smiling as he said it. Yeah, yes, I mean that's
a guy. And you could tell like it it affected
his brother West Weeks because I'm I'm yeah, I'm sure
he thought like we all did, oh, man, this is
an a cl and then he saw him grabbing his
ankle like that.
Speaker 3: Man, this made me feel Okay. See I never thought
Achilles for some reason.
Speaker 4: Well, I mean, I'm a thousand feet away from it
in the booth and they weren't getting in, but I
just saw him. I had the binoculars out and I
saw him grabbing the ankle. I'm like, oh, man, I
don't I don't like where he's grabbing it. First, but
then I saw a smile in his face.
Speaker 2: I'm like, yeah, not that all right.
Speaker 3: I don't think when people do the Achilles, you see
that ghost white terror.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you see the blood drained from their face.
Speaker 4: And not even necessarily from the pain, but just knowing
what it's going to take for you to come back.
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh it's the worse. But so it looks like,
whit's gonna be fine. But it's located ankle.
Speaker 4: He'll, you know, require I think I think a minor
little surgery. And look, if i'm lsu with you ain't
coming out here for spring practice?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Probably all right? When we get back grills in
an hour one of O TV Off the Bench go
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Speaker 1: Back to sports talk maybe off the bench.
Speaker 6: Me praises sheldy apt I need to see you and
feel you next to me.
Speaker 2: What hadding?
Speaker 3: Y'all welcome back to O t B. Closing out hour
number one of the show. We'll kick it off of
the playoffs. I guess we can get into the Saints
maybe a bit at some point today, although there's there's.
Speaker 2: One Saint silver lining. Uh.
Speaker 3: Now, we didn't do a show, well, we weren't here
on Monday. Taylor, what did you? What did you did
you actually did y'all talk about? I mean, I guess
you had to. Did y'all talk to Saint Traders?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah yeah, I U led with the recap.
Speaker 7: Dev came on, we chatted the rest of the season,
and uh, that's what you put in the dock and
like me and Dev talked about that exact thing, like
you're playing spoiler.
Speaker 6: To one of your two biggest rivals.
Speaker 7: Yeah, so one of them, like the power of their
season is entirely in your hands.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So if you beat Tampa, Atlanta goes or does Atlanta
have to.
Speaker 6: Win Atlanta because they have that tie breaker? Why he's
over at Tampa.
Speaker 3: So if you beat Tampa on Sunday, the Falcons go
to the playoffs. If you lose Tampa on Sunday, uh.
Speaker 2: The Buds go to the playoffs.
Speaker 3: So either way, you get to end one of your
rival season and most probably you will.
Speaker 2: Lose and then the Falcons don't go.
Speaker 3: So it's even better, right, like, because you would ideally
probably want to pick Atlanta season being ruined over that
of Tampa Bay and you will probably lose to Tampa Bay.
But yeah, if you're looking for silver linings as a
Saints fan in a completely lost year, well, uh, maybe that's.
Speaker 2: What it is.
Speaker 4: And I can I invite everybody to join the the
Bush League Bolts during the playoffs.
Speaker 2: Uh, yeah, absolutely. I always cheer for them from AFAR
thanks to our relationship. Yeah, just you know, just come
all over.
Speaker 4: I mean, the Cowboys aren't there, obviously, the Saints aren't there.
We'll see if the being up to ten and six,
huh yeah, yeah, there's I mean, there's a way that
they can play Houston in the first round. A couple
of different scenarios play out. I think that would benefit them.
That would behoove them. If you will, I'm gonna miswork
that day if they if that does happen, I'm gonna
go over there and watch that one. But uh yeah,
the Bengals, maybe they get in. That would be an
exciting team certainly to watch with the way Joe and
Jamar and that crew are playing. Uh you know, with
the Commanders being in, certainly gonna be rooting for them.
Speaker 2: Over in the NFC, Taylor.
Speaker 3: Why don't you give me a give me a rundown
of the kind of playoff the spots that are still
up for grabs and.
Speaker 2: Seeding too, like, maybe what has to happen good.
Speaker 6: But I can tell you right now they're on the
outside looking in.
Speaker 2: They they don't control their unders. No, they gotta have
the Jets beat the Dolphins.
Speaker 7: They gotta have the Jets beat the Dolphins. Somebody else
has to lose and they have to win.
Speaker 4: So they're no, no, no, the Colts already lost, okay, Culture nine,
so they're done. The Dolphins have to lose to the Jets,
and then of course the Bronz have to lose to
the Chiefs.
Speaker 7: Yes, so okay, if the season ended today, the Broncos
would have the seven seed in the playoffs.
Speaker 6: They would be in and the Bucks would be in
if the playoffs ended today.
Speaker 7: Right now, it's Chiefs one, Bills two Ravens, three Texans,
four Steelers, five Chargers six, with that seven spot still
up for grabs. And then in the NFC it's Lions one,
but that could change because they play the Viking, so
the winner if that game is going to get the
one seed. Eagles two Rams, three Commanders, six Packers, seven
Bucks right now at eight, but that could change for
the loss.
Speaker 2: Of the Saints.
Speaker 3: Please Lord, let the Bengals make it and let Sean
Payton and the Broncos blow it. That would make me
so happy losing three in a row the Broncos at
the end of the year, scream.
Speaker 4: Sean Oh my gosh, I loved just watching him.
Speaker 2: Have to watch the Bengals win.
Speaker 1: M off the bench,