CFB With Andy Staples, Lions TE Sam LaPorta, Rays In The WS, Commanders Lose To The Niners + FAQ’s

Episode Overview

• Barstool Sports co-hosts Dan "Big Cat" Katz and PFT Commenter (co-authors of a book, with PFT also hosting One Question with a Wizard), alongside producers Hank Lockwood, Max Dolente, Zach, and Memes, break down the Tampa Bay Rays advancing to the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday Night Football's 49ers-Commanders clash, and Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts' season-ending blood clot diagnosis.
• The crew analyzes the fallout of NFL Week 7—including coaching hot seats in Washington and Indianapolis, questionable sports media medical reporting, and NBA Opening Night predictions—while disclosing partnerships with presenting sponsor DraftKings (official partner of the NBA; promo code TAKE: spend $5, get $200 in bonuses plus 3 months of NBA League Pass), Chevy (Next-Generation 2026 Chevy Silverado), TickPick (provided NBA Banner Night tickets; code PMT20 for $20 off $200+), BodyArmor Flash I.V. (at 7-Eleven), Rhoback (code TAKE for 20% off), Aura Frames (code PMT for $20 off plus free shipping), BlueChew (BlueChew Gold; code PMT), The Farmer's Dog (official pet food of the NFL; 50% off first box at walmart.com), and Twisted Tea.
• College football expert Andy Staples (host of On3 with Ari Wasserman and the College Football Enquirer podcast on Yahoo) joins to dissect a chaotic Week 7 filled with major upsets and explains how next year's 24-team College Football Playoff expansion will reshape conference championships and regular-season stakes.
• Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (represented by agent Jack Bechta) discusses Iowa's "Tight End U" developmental pipeline, playing under Dan Campbell's aggressive fourth-down philosophy, recovering from back surgery, and his candid frustrations regarding his upcoming contract extension.

Key Concepts

• MLB Pitching Optimization vs. Postseason Fatigue: The Tampa Bay Rays advanced to the World Series (facing the Milwaukee Brewers, who last made it in 1982; neither franchise has ever won a title) by maximizing pitching adjustments. After acquiring Freddy Peralta from the Mets, Tampa instructed him to throw more changeups, moved him closer to third base on the rubber, and had him pitch out of the stretch. Conversely, the Cleveland Guardians ran out of gas after a grueling 2-0 series comeback against the White Sox left ace Gavin Williams (who pitched Game 5 against Chicago and only once in the ALCS with diminished velocity) and pitcher Messick exhausted. Meanwhile, Junior Caminero's Game 6 home run—which took him 38 seconds to round the bases with two stops, including a Randy Arozarena pose—was a stat-tracked home run in only 3 of 30 MLB ballparks (Houston, Yankees, and Tampa). Additionally, the Yankees extended manager Aaron Boone, and Big Cat and Max hedged that the Brewers skated by on their "Forever Ticket" brass ticket promotion by giving holders 400-level seats whose resale value—rather than face value—technically reached $1,000.
• Coaching Infrastructure vs. Quarterback Talent: Across both the NFL and college football, coaching communication and scheme dictate whether talented quarterbacks thrive or spiral. In the 49ers' Monday Night Football win over Washington, Brock Purdy played like an MVP on the league's best team (sitting 3-0 in the NFC West with a 3-game lead, aided by safety Malik Mustapha's two late-game plays and Fred Warner's flag-free physical dominance, though Mike Evans exited after stretching his Achilles between every play—an injury PFT hedged might be Achilles tendinitis). Meanwhile, Washington's Jayden Daniels (who has only won 2 games since his rookie year, going 0-7 or 1-7 in his last 8 starts since October 5, 2025, though "league circles" tell PFT he would still command at least two first-round picks in a trade) suffered from dysfunctional coaching. On a 4th-and-2 play after a pre-snap penalty, Daniels threw the ball out of bounds into the hands of 49ers mascot Sourdough Sam and smiled before Warner told him it was 4th down; cameras caught Head Coach Dan Quinn signaling for a field goal before realizing the down, though Quinn later claimed he "definitely knew it was 4th down." Despite a second-half comeback bid where a go-ahead touchdown was nullified by holding, Quinn's minor adjustments (wearing his hat forwards and having David Blough stand closer to him) have left him likely to be fired during the bye week, with PFT's coaching "Big Board" tying Ravens OC Declan Doyle ("Double D") and Sean McVay at #1 alongside Mike Tomlin. Conversely, Daniels' intentional grounding on the final play was the correct decision (and an OC failure for lacking an underneath route) to avoid a clock-running sack with no timeouts, and Jason McCourty's postgame wire-angle breakdown proved Stefon Diggs was not open when Daniels threw to Treylon Burks on the penultimate play. Washington's loss contributed to the NFC East becoming the first division since the merger to go back-to-back weeks without a single win, while Denver's Bo Nix has won 18 of his last 21 starts after beating the Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
• Sports Media Messaging and Unverified Medical Speculation: Jalen Hurts being ruled out for the season with blood clots in his lungs (following Eagles OL Lane Johnson's mid-season retirement earlier this year) exposed the flaws of insider spin and social media medical diagnoses. Tom Pelissero initially tweeted a report framing Hurts as tough for not sleeping all night in London due to leg blood clots before playing Sunday (where the Eagles were 7.5-point underdogs against an AFC team, lost after leading with 8 seconds left and no timeouts, and flew back and practiced), before altering the report right before Nick Sirianni's press conference to state Hurts slept a little. Eagles beat writer Jeff McLane reported on Wake Up Barstool that doctors said they would never advise a patient not to sleep in that scenario, though Big Cat, PFT, and Max all hedged that the reporting is contradictory and they are not qualified doctors. Similarly, online medical speculation backfired on Twitter doctor Dr. Jesse Morse (@DrJesseMorse), who posted and deleted a retirement announcement to focus on "Peptabo" and peptide education after being bullied for guessing four different injuries for Davante Adams, blaming Hurts' blood clots on the COVID vaccine, and arguing with Christian Watson's father over Watson's ankle injury. PFT also hedged on unconfirmed Twitter doctor consensus that Commanders WR Terry McLaurin suffered a patellar tendon injury (while a referee carted off in London was officially diagnosed with a season-ending torn quadriceps).
• NFL Front Office Accountability, Broadcast Egos, and Cultural Storylines: Accountability and ego management remain central across sports and entertainment. The Indianapolis Colts fired GM Chris Ballard after 10 years without an AFC South title, with Carlie Irsay-Gordon releasing a note demanding wins that puts coach Shane Steichen on the hot seat. In broadcasting, Troy Aikman and Joe Buck landed on the "Hot Seat" after an awkward Monday Night Football broadcast following news of Buck's contract extension (reportedly $100 million vs. Aikman's $60 million, or $10 million more per year), though PFT hedged on what behind-the-scenes expectations existed between them at ESPN. In entertainment and league events, Jay-Z's company Roc Nation struggled to book a Super Bowl halftime act and booked Jay-Z himself; U2 was announced as the halftime performer for the first-ever Thanksgiving Eve NFL game (Packers vs. Rams); and roughly $960,000 worth of graded trading cards (about 50 of 100 packages) were stolen from a FedEx truck with a broken lock when the driver stepped away for 30 to 90 minutes at PSA headquarters in California. Ahead of the NBA season—where Bronny James made the Lakers' 15-man roster, Dalton Knecht was waived, and Wizards rookie AJ Dybantsa was ruled out of the opener against the Bucks with an ankle injury—the crew locked in title picks: Memes picked Knicks over Thunder, Big Cat picked 76ers over Timberwolves (later saying Thunder over Raptors), PFT picked Spurs over Wizards, and Hank picked Celtics over Thunder.
• College Football Parity and the 24-Team Playoff Shift: Week 7 demonstrated how parity and quarterback injuries can upend top programs, while upcoming structural changes will redefine the postseason. In a chaotic Saturday, Florida (coached by Jon Sumrall and DC Brad White, with QB Tramell Jones Jr. taking over in the first half) upset Texas and QB Arch Manning; Michigan benched QB Bryce Underwood; Ohio State barely survived Indiana (whose QB is Josh Hoover, replacing Fernando Mendoza) when Nick Marsh stepped out of bounds by six inches on a walk-off touchdown and OSU QB Julian Sayin was injured (leaving backup Luke Fahey); Tennessee beat Alabama in Knoxville (marking yet another road loss where fans rushed the field, which has happened in every Alabama road loss since 2010); Auburn upset Georgia in Athens (ahead of the Florida-Georgia game being played in Atlanta this year during Jacksonville stadium renovations); BYU (led by Bear and Tiger Bachmeier without injured RB LJ Martin) upset Notre Dame as fans rushed the field with 1 second left; Northwestern walked off Michigan State; and #1 Miami survived Florida State in double overtime aided by a controversial holding call on Xavier Chaplin and a disputed final catch/interception involving FSU's Duce Robinson. Andy Staples noted that Ohio State faces its hardest schedule in decades (upcoming games against USC, Oregon, Northwestern, Nebraska, and Michigan) with a weaker defense despite Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, and Caleb Downs, while Texas will likely pressure Steve Sarkisian to hand over play-calling to an OC (mirroring Billy Napier, who refused at Florida in October 2024, got fired, hired an OC at JMU, and is now 7-0). BYU's win gave the Big 12 a signature non-conference victory to potentially secure two playoff bids (alongside undefeated Texas Tech or Utah), forcing Notre Dame to beat Miami on November 7 to make the top 12. While Staples projected Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky as the SEC's four playoff teams right now, he heavily hedged on the Big Ten—naming UCLA, maybe Ohio State, and Iowa (who beat Washington and Michigan with QB Jeremy Hecklinski) while noting Oregon is struggling without injured QB Dante Moore (relying on Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas). For the non-power conference bid, undefeated 13-0 JMU (after Virginia Tech canceled their game) would likely get the nod over 1-loss New Mexico (coached by Jason Eck, playing North Dakota State this weekend) or 2-loss Oregon State (coached by JaMarcus Shephard, featuring freshman WR Jesiah Lighgrie—whose numbers top Jeremiah Smith's—and QB Braden Atkinson, playing Boise State). Next year's expansion to a 24-team playoff will eliminate conference championship games entirely, replacing that week with play-in games between seeds 9 through 24 to protect coaching jobs, justify AD spending, and boost September TV inventory.
• Positional Craft, Organizational Culture, and the Business of the NFL: Sam LaPorta's development illustrates the balance between innate skill, taught toughness, and the business realities of professional football. Iowa remains "Tight End U" (producing Dallas Clark, Tony Moeaki, Brandon Myers, and George Kittle) because Kirk Ferentz recruits high school wide receivers who possess natural route-running craftiness and teaches them blocking and toughness. In Detroit (where players reported Tuesday before getting 5 days off for the bye week), Dan Campbell instills complete fourth-down aggression—telling players in Wednesday meetings they have four downs everywhere, even on 4th-and-8 from their own minus-20 yard line (after LaPorta mistakenly started jogging off on 4th-and-7 at the 50-yard line at Baltimore in Week 6 of 2023). Creative scheme also relies on observation: Ben Johnson's 2023 "Stumble Bumble" fake-fumble touchdown pass to LaPorta against Chicago was copied from watching Green Bay's Jordan Love accidentally fumble a snap against the Bears earlier that season, which left TE Luke Musgrave wide open (LaPorta also recalled hosting former Lions/Bears long snapper Scott Daly for Thanksgiving 2024 dinner and correctly asking him if Bears coach Matt Eberflus would be fired the next day after failing to call a timeout). Inside the locker room, Jared Goff acts like a "diva" on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays by complaining about minor bumps from a single pressure to bond as "one of the guys" before playing fearlessly on Sundays, while RB Jahmyr Gibbs hits nearly 23 mph in pads within 5 yards compared to LaPorta's ~19 mph top speed (LaPorta has just 1 career rushing attempt, a 4-yard fullback dive). Despite returning 11 months post-op from a November (Week 9 or 10) microdiscectomy on a herniated disc to play ~90% of Week 1 snaps (while hedging on whether he has any diagnosed concussions due to medical staff statutes of limitations), LaPorta expressed frustration that Detroit hasn't rewarded him with a contract extension yet, leaving negotiations to agent Jack Bechta. Off the field, LaPorta keeps an outdoor cat named Lulu who hunts mice on his 1-acre property despite coyotes, eats scrambled eggs and a freshly requested hotel continental breakfast waffle every Sunday morning, and (as one-quarter Italian) submitted his name for Italy's 2028 LA Olympics flag football team. Finally, in podcast production history, the crew noted that in 10 years of Pardon My Take, fewer than 5 recorded interviews were ever shelved (Dan Bilzerian, Chris Paul, David Ortiz, and Pudge Rodriguez in 2017 due to a phone language barrier, while Million Dollaz Worth of Game was forgotten for 3 months, Snooki was held for 9 months, and Jon Sumrall was mutually postponed after Florida lost to Mizzou), before Big Cat lamented getting under 6 hours of sleep due to his 3-year-old son waking up at 3:00 AM and the Lottery Ball machine rolled 94 and 2 with no winners.

Quotes

• At 0:02:55 - "Remember we had Anthony Rizzo on the show a couple weeks ago, the things that he said to us, he said, 'If you're a hitter, go to Los Angeles; if you're a pitcher, go to Tampa.' Freddy Peralta is a shining example of that." - Big Cat explaining how the Rays unlocked Freddy Peralta's dominance in the ALCS after acquiring him from the Mets.
• At 0:06:58 - "My issue is, and this goes for Contreras too, it's double—and Acuña did this as well—it's you can only stop once. You can't stop twice. He stopped going to first base, and then he stopped and did the Randy Arozarena to Randy Arozarena right before home plate. You get one stop." - Big Cat critiquing Junior Caminero's 38-second home run trot in Game 6 of the ALCS.
• At 0:17:23 - "Dan Quinn was very clear after the game, he said, 'I definitely knew it was fourth down.' So it's like my 'I definitely knew it was fourth down' shirt is raising a lot of questions from people that are already answered by my shirt." - PFT Commenter mocking Commanders head coach Dan Quinn's postgame defense of a 4th-and-2 mental lapse.
• At 0:19:37 - "And then it goes to Dan Quinn, and Dan Quinn goes, 'Field goal, let's kick a field goal. What? What? That was fourth down?' as Jayden's walking past him, and then Dan Quinn starts to freak out afterwards because he understands how bad this whole situation looks." - PFT Commenter breaking down the broadcast footage showing neither Jayden Daniels nor Dan Quinn realized it was fourth down.
• At 0:23:46 - "It's like you buy a beach-front property, but it's on the Bikini Islands and there's radiation everywhere. Like, I'm living in tropical paradise and it's perfect except for the fact that there's an atomic bomb buried underneath my dick." - PFT Commenter describing the experience of having a franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels paired with a dysfunctional coaching staff.
• At 0:37:44 - "There was a moment on Monday morning where, essentially, the Eagles ruled, as we were being told, the Eagles ruled Jalen Hurts out for sleep, but ruled him in for an NFL game, was what we—was essentially what it was." - Big Cat highlighting the absurdity of initial insider reports regarding Jalen Hurts' blood clot management in London.
• At 0:44:40 - "I'm not smart enough to understand blood clots, so I'm not going to also tell Nick Sirianni, who's probably not smart enough to understand blood clots, how to answer the question." - Big Cat hedging on the medical complexities of Jalen Hurts' diagnosis while critiquing the Eagles' communication.
• At 0:51:02 - "The guy next to you might be making $10 million more than you are every year. Who gives a fuck, Troy? This is—you've got the best job in the entire world. Are you going to let the ego get in the way of you having a dream job?" - PFT Commenter addressing the awkward Monday Night Football broadcast tension between Troy Aikman and Joe Buck following Buck's contract extension.
• At 0:54:37 - "When George W. Bush was looking for a vice president, he hired Dick Cheney to run the search firm to try to find him one, and then came back, he's like, 'I gotta tell you something, George, I think it's probably going to be me.' So that's what Jay-Z did right here." - PFT Commenter comparing Jay-Z booking himself for the Super Bowl halftime show through Roc Nation to Dick Cheney's vice-presidential selection.
• At 0:59:38 - "'Effective immediately, I've decided that it's not worth the energy, stress, headaches, negative publicity to spend most of my free time discussing injuries anymore. My reputation is not worth it.'" - Big Cat reading Twitter doctor Dr. Jesse Morse's deleted retirement statement before Morse pivoted to promoting a peptide education platform.
• At 1:12:07 - "And can you imagine if that ball is six inches further to the right, or Nick Marsh's foot is six inches further to the right? Like, that is—that would be Indiana beating Ohio State on a walk-off touchdown." - Andy Staples illustrating how close Ohio State came to losing to Indiana in Week 7.
• At 1:13:51 - "This is the hardest Ohio State schedule in decades. So we already knew going in that even if everybody was healthy and everything went right, there was an outside chance they could wind up a three-loss team." - Andy Staples explaining the gauntlet awaiting Ohio State following QB Julian Sayin's injury.
• At 1:21:39 - "Sark got hired for his play-calling acumen. It was the thing that made him special when he got the job. So to give it up, to say that the thing that makes me special I'm going to let somebody else do, I think that's going to be hard for him, but I think it's also potentially a necessary step." - Andy Staples analyzing why Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian faces pressure to hire a dedicated offensive coordinator.
• At 1:26:42 - "BYU did a massive solid to the Big 12. Massive. The Big 12 needed that for its reputation, for how the playoff committee will view those teams once they start meeting, because the Big 12 didn't have a signature non-conference win from anybody before BYU beat Notre Dame." - Andy Staples explaining how BYU's upset over Notre Dame boosts the entire Big 12's playoff standing.
• At 1:30:06 - "Nobody wants this except coaches who don't want to get fired, ADs who want to justify the money they're spending, and TV networks who think they're going to get better September inventory because you can lose more games." - Andy Staples detailing the true financial and job-security motives behind expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams.
• At 1:47:34 - "2010 is the last time Alabama lost a game on the road and the fans didn't rush the field. That is—that's something." - Big Cat sharing a statistical milestone following Tennessee's victory over Alabama in Knoxville.
• At 1:59:38 - "I think they recruit high school receivers, they teach them how to be tough at Iowa, and I think the toughness part you can learn. You know, you learn to block, but the ability to be crafty in your routes and such, I think that, you know, that's a little more God-given." - Sam LaPorta explaining Kirk Ferentz's recruiting formula for developing elite NFL tight ends at Iowa.
• At 2:03:09 - "He's told us, 'We got four downs up and down the field. I don't care if we're on the minus-20, we're going—if it's fourth and eight on the minus-20, we're going for it.'" - Sam LaPorta describing Dan Campbell's Wednesday team meeting instructions regarding fourth-down aggression.
• At 2:15:52 - "You know, like last year, whatever it was, Week 9, Week 10, you know, I break my fucking back for the team. And then I'm going out there this year and I'm balling, and maybe they're just not showing the love." - Sam LaPorta expressing his disappointment over not yet receiving a contract extension from the Detroit Lions after playing through a herniated disc.
• At 2:16:20 - "I'm going to continue to go do my thing and ball out, and in three months, if I don't get to wear the Honolulu Blue and play for the Lions anymore, it's going to be all good. I'll go get it somewhere else." - Sam LaPorta stating his mindset on his upcoming free agency and willingness to play elsewhere if Detroit does not extend him.

Takeaways

• Evaluate struggling quarterbacks by auditing their coaching staff's situational communication and scheme design (such as whether underneath routes are provided against blitzes or down-and-distance is clearly communicated) rather than blaming isolated player talent.
• Recruit and evaluate tight ends by prioritizing natural route-running craftiness and spatial awareness first, as physical blocking and toughness can be coached later in a player's development.
• Delegate specialized responsibilities like offensive play-calling when managing an entire program or organization demands broader oversight, even if that technical skill was the original reason you were hired.
• Establish clear operational rules with your team early in the week—such as Dan Campbell explicitly telling the Lions on Wednesdays to expect four-down territory anywhere on the field—so personnel never hesitate in high-leverage moments.
• Study opponents' accidental plays and broken-play successes on film, as demonstrated by Ben Johnson turning Jordan Love's accidental fumble against the Bears into the Lions' "Stumble Bumble" touchdown play.
• Separate emotional investment in an organization from contract negotiations by delegating financial discussions to representation while maintaining peak on-field output to preserve leverage across the broader market.
• Disregard unverified social media "Twitter doctors" who speculate on live broadcast footage without access to medical charts, and treat insider injury reports that frame medical anomalies as "toughness" with skepticism.
• Build relatability within a team environment as a leader by sharing in day-to-day practice complaints during the workweek while maintaining complete composure and accountability during actual competition.
• Monitor non-conference signature wins in college football (such as BYU defeating Notre Dame), as a single marquee victory shifts how selection committees value the strength of an entire conference.
• Account for cumulative workload and prior series fatigue when projecting postseason baseball performance, as pitching staffs forced into maximum-effort elimination games often lose velocity in subsequent rounds.
• Recognize that structural expansions in sports postseasons—like the 24-team College Football Playoff—are driven by administrative job security and broadcast inventory demands rather than fan preference, requiring teams to manage roster depth over a longer season.
• Maintain simple, repeatable personal routines before high-pressure performances—like requesting a fresh waffle and scrambled eggs on game day—to create psychological consistency regardless of travel or venue changes.