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Some people follow the rules, but where's the fun in that? I'm Saraya, and this is Rule Breakers, the podcast where we celebrate the rebels, the misfits, and the ones who make their own way. Every week I sit down with the biggest role breakers in sports, entertainment and beyond to talk about the wildest moments, toughest lessons, and why breaking the rules might just be the key to success. Follow and listen to Rule Breakers with Saraya, an Odyssey podcast available now for free on the Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcasts.
So, we got some World Series to get down on tonight. We've got college football around the corner. Uh my goodness. We have coaching searches going on in the uh in the world of college football, but We have us a three-game World Series left for us. One game left in Chavez Ravine, then all the way back to Toronto.
Joining us now, MLB writer for Fox Sports, Rowan Cavner, joins me here on the Infinity Sports Network. Rowan, Andy Gresh here, how are you? I'm good. I hope you can hear me.
Okay, I'm somewhere in the bowels of Dodger Stadium where there's not enough black and music that I think I can do this thing. You're very good. No, we can hear you. We can hear you perfectly. How would you describe the four games that we have seen so far?
Yeah, it's been kind of two different stories, right? You saw the Toronto offense that really got this group here in game one where they could string together this huge inning. And you're talking about a team that just doesn't chase, doesn't whiff, high batting average, high on base percentage. And you saw that team sort of with Milwaukee, and that didn't work against the Juggernaut Dodgers rotation. The difference with this Blue Jays group.
It can plug too. And so you've seen kind of both versions of that in games one and four.
Now you've also seen the Dodgers starting pitching. That's just been elite through most of October in games two and three. And obviously, when Otani's doing what Otani can do, that just sort of changes things, and you're helpless unless you want to walk him five straight times.
So, you kind of see both ways that these teams can go great, and both ways that these teams can go south. And so as you said, now it's a three game series and we'll see which one wins out. Yeah, how do you kind of handicap this three-game series with everything we know? 18 innings, so we know that the bullpens are all chacquad and starting pitching is kind of all over the place. But, you know, I'm sort of, I'm curious, Rowan, where you're at.
on the remaining three games, given the way everything now sets up. Yeah, I mean, I think obviously neither team. The fact that, you know, you get that 18-inning game, I think the last time you want it is when you're playing three straight days of games and it's on that first game.
So that kind of. Change of things. I guess the nice thing for both teams, you know, Toronto didn't have to use Bieber and the Dodgers didn't have to use Yamamoto on a day of rest after a complete game.
So at least their starting pitching is all still kind of lined up. I think, you know, for Toronto to win that game yesterday, I think showed a whole lot. I mean, an 18-inning game, yes, it's one win, but that was a gut punch. And you heard Blue Jays players afterward even talking about that could have been a really backbreaking loss. And they can say all this stuff about how it wasn't deflating, but how could it not be?
I mean, it was just such a marathon that could go either way. You're in LA to lose that game and then be able to bounce back. I think shows a lot about what this team is kind of made of, to resolve why this Blue Jays team is here. And obviously, losing George Springer, we'll see his status for today. He's not in a starting lineup.
It sounds like he's doing better than thought. And he's such a huge part of this offense, an established postseason player. But you also saw what Vlad can do. I mean, that's a guy that can carry an offense, has carried it. Through October, but there's other pieces here.
Ernie Clement's been a huge part of it. This is a deeper lineup than I think. People realize, and again, I think people kind of try to compare this offense to the Brewers one. This one's clearly more dangerous and the Dodgers are having trouble with it. And if they can get a Dodger starter out of the game in the fifth, they have to like their chance.
Rowan Kapner of Fox Sports talking some baseball with me. Gresh in for JR here on the Infinity Sports Network.
Well, Rowan, Dave Roberts has shuffled his order for tonight's game. Will Smith moves up to the two-hole in front of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and Alex Call is going to draw the start in left field. After game four, Dave Roberts said in the lineup could look a little bit different, and I guess we should take him seriously. Yeah, and he's been really adamant about keeping Mookie Betts in one of the top two spots in the lineup really all year. But now again, you're down to your last two or three games of the season.
And you just gotta kind of go off. You even mentioned it, you gotta be a little bit more reactive in this kind of spot. And you've seen Terrano's willingness. to walk Otani, you need to be able to make them pay afterward. Right now, Mookie's hitting 147 since the start of the championship series.
Now, we know with him that can change at any point, but he's kind of just going off what we're seeing right now. This Dodgers' offense generally just has not performed to the level that we know it can. And at times, it can kind of be. Otani or Bust, and I know Freeman and Teo have had some big moments, but the length of that lineup isn't there. They're averaging.
fewer than four runs per game since the start of the DS. Toronto has 31 more runs than them this October, and they played one more game. You look at these two rosters lineups and you say, oh, it's got to go the Dodgers way, but it hasn't really played out that way. You just haven't seen the length of it yet.
So it's got to be more than just those on your bus. And we'll see if switching it up can kind of change anything. Hey, Rowan, what kind of buzz are you hearing around Mookie Betts and why he's struggling? Whether it's in the press box, around the ballpark, whatever. Is there any rumblings?
Is there something wrong? Is he hurt? What's the deal? Mookie has not looked like Mookie at all, really, this postseason. Yeah, and I mean, we've seen it for most of the year, really, until kind of mid-August.
There was a point where he was basically just like. My season's done. And of course, he didn't mean actually done, but there was a point late in the year where his numbers were.
So bad offensively that there wasn't really any saving it. This was going to be his worst offensive season. And really from that point on, he looks like himself again for really a month and a half, two months. He looked back to the version we'd seen.
Now it's kind of looking a little bit more like we had seen before. And I think there's the, I guess, most obvious reasoning would kind of be something mechanical. You know, all these guys are kind of messing with that and some tweaks with that every once in a while. And I think for a guy his size, especially, when everything is not synced up perfectly, it's really hard to create power. And so he has to kind of be right mechanically to be the mookie that he can be.
And we just haven't seen the power show up yet.
So we'll see if something clicks in. I think that's, I guess, the most obvious thing we can point to. But with a guy of that talent, it can kind of just click at any point. Uh the uh uh what do you make of uh the Blue Jays and how they're kind of handling their uh starting rotation, not only tonight, but uh here on out? Yeah, I mean, look, if you're the Dodgers right now and you have a multiple-time Cy Young winner going up against a guy.
Who made three regular season starts before the postseason, and you lose both of those games, then you don't really deserve to win a World Series.
So I think that the Dodgers have to feel pretty good about their chances about. Bouncing back. I mean, he'd been so elite up until that first game of the World Series. He wasn't terrible. It's just.
didn't go the way that it could have gone. And he was just so dominant against the Brewers. And I think for him, this is what he came here for. This is what he wanted. This is obviously a veteran Dodgers group overall, a group that.
been battle tested from last year, but they brought in these guys who were hungry for a championship. He's You know, gotten the highest award, an individual award that a player can have. He came here for these opportunities.
Now he has it in front of him.
So we'll see if he can kind of bounce back and give more of kind of that Milwaukee look that he gave. I know he's taken a lot of pride in. you know, not just being a guy who's labeled as You know, a little bit wild, or a guy who walks people or talented, but you know, and this is an opportunity. It's the biggest stage now. Can he kind of bounce back and and deliver what he did against the losses?
Started to cramp up in game three, gave up four runs yesterday, even struck out a couple of times yesterday.
Now, what for Shoe Otani? Yeah. I think if you're the Dodgers, you're okay with him just sort of being a really good hitter. He'll take three for three with three homers again. I think that's the version you're looking for.
But really, no, I think the dangerous spot for LA is you've seen sometimes where he's trying to take on too much. He's taught a little bit. uh last postseason where he can be kind of uh Vulnerable to maybe chasing a little bit again, trying to do a little bit too much. You don't want him to have to feel that way. And I think that's incumbent upon the rest of the lineup.
Uh you know, taking care of of What it can and not making him feel like he has to be Superman every night.
So it'll be interesting to see what they want to do with him from a pitching perspective. You're not going to see him obviously in release tonight, but I could totally see a world where he's out there in the ninth inning of a game six or a game seven, and you're seeing sort of a repeat of the WBC. Like he will be available. If this gets down to an elimination situation, I'd be shocked that he wasn't available in the bullpen. Rowan Kabner of Fox Sports with Gresh here on the Infinity Sports Network.
Rowan, if this thing goes to extra innings tonight, is it pure? But from the pitching standpoint, would it be pure chaos? Yeah, it's going to be. It's going to be. And again, you go back to that 18-inning game.
I think that really sort of changes everything. The interesting thing is, you know, we've seen the Dodgers sometimes and Dave Roberts, and he kind of had to do this last postseason where if the game script gets kind of negative, he'll punt on a game. If he's down by three or four runs, He won't use these leverage guys, and he'll say, Let's live another day. It's a different situation now where you're 2-2. It's not a must-win.
You saw the Blue Jays last series go, you know, have two elimination games and they won it, but you certainly do not want to be going down 3-2, heading back to Toronto.
So, the other part of this, too, is who's even a leverage guy for the Dodgers. That bullpen group right now is a pecking order. It's sort of Roki Sasaki and everybody. And I think losing Alex Vesia is a huge, huge loss for this group. And they're still sort of figuring out who they can kind of rely on.
It's been Blake Treman for so long, he hasn't looked right for months. You know, you're putting a guy like Anitihan, a young guy who's a starter in relief, and it's not worked out great sometimes. It's worked out okay other times.
So yeah, I would say it's pretty much, you know, sort of all hands on deck. But guessing kind of the pecking order right now, if you're Dave Roberts and what you're doing in the seventh and eighth innings to get to Roki, it's complicated. You need these starters to give you at least six and maybe seven. I know we can't script this stuff, and I understand it, but Rowan, if MLB. could pick the way this ends.
What do you think they what do you what do you think they choose? Like, what would be the beautiful ending of this World Series in the mind of MLB if they could have their drothers? Yeah, well I'm sure they'd love it to go seven. That would be nice. And then look, I mean, you're going to get to the hole.
If the Dodgers win this back to back, you're going to get.
So much more of this is ruining baseball. What's going on? These teams can't compete, yada, yada, yada. I mean, I don't know exactly what Elvie wants. I'm sure again, they want seven games of this.
But that's going to be the chatter. The other point of this, though, is like Toronto is not a small market team either. This is a top five payroll team. They have huge money guys. They just gave Vlad $500 million.
So this isn't the same thing as, you know, a Dodgers Brewers type series.
So I don't know. I mean, look, certainly we're going to be talking about, you know, is there going to be a salary cap? What are the owners going to be pushing for a year from now? That's going to be all the chatter if the Dodgers win. Probably going to be all the chatters, even if they don't win, but certainly that's going to be heating up if they do.
Hey, so we have one more year left on the CBA, correct? We do. We do. So, if the owners are going to lock out the players, it would happen this year so they had maximum leverage. I would think.
Might these be the final couple baseball games that we see for a while? Does the labor stoppage kind of heat up in the offseason? No, I mean, it'll be a it'll be a topic of conversation. They'll be playing next year. The big question is the, you know, the What happens the next season after?
So we're going to be talking about it all year, but no, I don't see that happening. I think we get a Season next year, who kind of knows after that? I mean, look, the players are not going to want a salary cap. I think they're going to stay in. You know, packed with that.
It's just a question of how hard does that become a push and how far does it get? And I'm hoping we get to see two straight 162-game seasons, but we'll see. Yeah, hoping for the best on that. Rowan, thanks a bunch. Appreciate the breakdown.
Thank you. You got it. You got it. There goes Rowan Kabner of Fox Sports. Good breakdown right there of everything.
And yeah, it's really interesting because I've asked everyone: okay, there's one year left on the CBA.
Now, maybe there's just too much pressure from television partners and things like that, but. If you're gonna lock the players out. Don't you do it when they're expecting to work? Because if the CBA is expired. And you don't have a CBA, then are you really locking them out in 2027?
So, maybe that's the part of this where I'm just kind of missing the boat, but. If you're going to do something to try to be punitive to the players while negotiating then you're gonna lock them out In February, Not wait a year until the CBA is up because Then you're just negotiating a regular collective bargaining agreement.
So I don't know, maybe the owners are going to go about it a little differently this time. Maybe this is because things are going well and let's not overturn the apple cart and ruin the momentum of baseball. But I know that money gets in the way, and if the If the players are really going to stand tough. And they're not going to accept a salary cap. And you get to that point after the CBA has expired, then where is the leverage from the management standpoint?
So maybe I'm maybe I'm just looking at it all wrong. But To me. I think that if we're going to have a labor impasse It's going to be sooner than later because If the CBA expires, then all you're doing is negotiating that. And then if you don't have a CBA, are you really locked out? Like, I you know It it really depends on how hard the owners want to push here.
Here is one thing I will always admire about the Major League Baseball Players Association. Even though they have the same economic sort of disparities. in other unions like the NHL and the NBA. You don't get the kind of player buy-in like you do in big league baseball. I don't know if we would ever hear of A meeting.
where Adam Silver went in to talk with the Lakers, And LeBron James jumped up and told him we're not accepting no effing salary cap and got in his face. Um This is where baseball has it over every other union. You want to know why the football union is impotent basically? When do you ever hear from the top stars? Right, the last time there was a CBA.
The Players Association dragged Tom Brady into it. dragged him into it. Not hey. I'm willing to put my voice up there. Nope, it was dragged into it.
And whenever you see. The suppo you know, like when the when the NFL Got their last CBA done, and you had Robert Kraft and Jeff Saturday. We're the ones that were kind of having like a hug and an embrace and stuff like that after they got that deal done. You know who wasn't there at that press conference? There was no Tyreek Hill.
There was no Patrick Mahomes. There was no Josh Allen. There was none of those guys. And when it came to Brady, you know, I think Brady ended up. Jumping in, he had to be dragged into it because he had just dealt with the NFL and the whole DeFlake bull-ish.
So maybe there was a little bit of spite and malice with Brady to get him in there, but they dragged him into it. You know, when you have Bryce Harper who's willingly jumping up in a meeting and telling the commissioner whiz off, That's a different level of engagement. That's the top guy on your roster. That's the highest paid dude. Like, I've said this all the time.
My old man, he's a coal miner. He was a coal miner. And the UMWA is one of the United Mine Workers Association, one of the strongest unions for the longest period of time. And I remember my dad worked in Nemicolin, Pennsylvania, Nemicolan mine. One of the guys that was there who worked there was Richie Trumpka.
God rest his soul. Rich Trump went on to go to law school and he ended up becoming a labor lawyer and ended up being the head of the AFL-CIO. And, you know, I remember in the 80s when I was a kid and my dad would go on strike, or the mine workers would have an issue, or whatever. You know, they're trying to get money for people across the board, right? There weren't, there wasn't someone who was making $50 million in a coal mine and someone making $500,000, right?
So everybody was represented, everybody used their voice because everyone gained. And in theory, that's what it should be when it comes to these unions. But the people who are the biggest stars and make the most money and arguably where one would say have the most to lose, Those are the ones who should be the most vocal. Those are the ones who should be organizing guys to make sure that they, you know, set aside their money and things like that and make sure that if there is going to be a labor impasse, that everybody is taken care of. Because that was, you know, the owners in the NFL for a period of time.
All they did was wait the players out for a month, and when they stopped getting checks, the players didn't know what to do because the overwhelming majority of them are terrible with their money.
So they just smoked them out. They waited them out. And then four weeks in, there you go, and people cross picket lines. And the next thing you know, a deal's done because the players just had to kind of roll over. But that's the one thing about baseball that There's not going to be any talk about that.
Whenever the time comes, if there's a lockout, if there's a labor impasse, whatever it is, the big name players will be there. And that to me is the biggest difference: the players who make the most amount of money are engaged with the union in big league baseball, and you don't have that. And that's where, and that's where, you know, uh. Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, the stars of the NFL are not helping the future stars of the NFL by not being more involved and engaged when it comes to the union and their activities. 888-710-4ISN, 888-710-4.
44, 76. I know I got some NFL to get through as well. Um, the NBA has stayed. Have you seen? Inside the NBA on ESPN yet.
I I I can't find it. I don't know when it's on. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough. Maybe you're with me. I'll get to that and uh a few other things next.
Gresh, in for JR here on the Infinity Sports Network. That 365 is paying out before the final whistle. Check out Bet365's unrivaled early payout offer. When you bet on the team to win and they take a 17-point lead, you get paid no matter the final score. Forget the final whistle and start counting that cash.
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Must be physically located in North Carolina. TNC's applied. I'm Dr. Mary Claire Haver, and my new podcast, Unpaused, is the place for bold, unfiltered conversations about what it takes for women to thrive in the second half of life. Listen to and follow Unpaused, available now wherever you get your podcasts.
Some people follow the rules, but where's the fun in that? I'm Saraya, and this is Rule Breakers, the podcast where we celebrate the rebels, the misfits, and the ones who make their own way. Every week, I sit down with the biggest rule breakers in sports, entertainment, and beyond to talk about the wildest moments, toughest lessons, and why breaking the rules might just be the key to success. Follow and listen to Rule Breakers with Saraya, an Odyssey podcast available now for free on the Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcasts.
You're listening to the JR Sport Brief, Keirs Fresh. In for JR tonight, think O'Reilly Auto Parts for all your car care needs, get guaranteed little prices. Excellent customer service from the professional parts people. At O'Reilly Auto Parts.
So. Uh what is it? Uh Friday night is uh all Hallows Eve. Yeah. Yeah, as an adult, I don't turn my light on.
I admit my road, we don't get anybody who comes down. We're gonna get anybody that comes down our road anyway. In terms of uh Halloween and looking for uh candy and stuff like that, uh, I'll tell you what I get excited about is the day after Halloween. You go to the grocery store and they're just liquidating the chocolate assets at that point, and that's where That's where I have learned to swarm the supermarkets. It's the the day after Halloween.
Um And don't give me nothing with peanut butter in it. I'm not anti-pean butter. I'm anti-pean butter and jelly. I think it's mad overrated. I don't mind peanut butter and chocolate.
I just, you know. you're rooting for uh something better in uh in my opinion. But So we are near the end of October, obviously getting ready to head into November. I'm sure some of you are kind of pinching yourself a little bit and being like, Oh my god, the holidays are right around the corner. But we asked the question here tonight.
What does the best record mean at the end of October?
So, you know, after this week, we're about halfway through the regular season.
So week eight. was the last week in the NFL. Week A was the last Sunday in October, and the Colts are currently alone with the best record in the NFL at seven and one. Recent history Has been pretty kind to the team with the best record. Through the first two months of the season.
So, in eight of the previous ten years, The team with at least a share of the best win percentage in the NFL at the end of October. ended up reaching the Super Bowl. It was the Chiefs last season who were an NFL best 7-0. as the calendar turned to November. The only times it didn't happen in the previous ten seasons, in terms of best record end of October.
was the two thousand twenty Steelers and the two thousand twenty three Philadelphia Eagles, who both faltered down the stretch of the regular season and lost in the wild card round.
Now There may be some of you Now, if you're a die-hard NFL fan, you probably know this, but I'm sure that if you're just a casual or football's not your number one sport. You might look around and say, Wait, what? The The Colts have the best record in the NFL. Yeah. It is the latest Indianapolis has owned the league's best record outright in week eight or later since the end of the two thousand and nine season.
So we're going back over fifteen years now. They finished that campaign 14-2 in the regular season and went to the Super Bowl before losing to the Saints.
So the Colts are averaging 3.5. Four, six points per drive.
so far this season, It is the second most by any team through their first eight weeks Since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978.
Now, for comparison. The 2007 Patriots, who are the only team that, in terms of this metric, the Colts are trailing. The O seven Patriots averaged three point five seven points per drive in their record setting season where Randy Moss came in and had twenty more touchdowns and Tom Brady threw fifty touchdowns. That was the year that Tom Brady won the MVP.
So the Colts Had an over-under win total going into the season. of just seven and a half.
So if you went in on Indianapolis and the over This is your week. They're one win away. from clinching the over are the Indianapolis Colts. I also have one other little NFL nugget to bring you. Not only was it.
What does it mean to have the best record at the end of October? But have you noticed that field goal kickers have now, dare I say, become a weapon? Because more and more we're seeing 60-yard field goals.
So during the offseason, the NFL made a rule. on how the kicking balls would be handled. For those who don't know, there were twelve specific balls that were to be sort of, you know, doctored up, cleaned up, however you want to look at it. in terms of the kicking game. If you've ever taken a football fresh out of the box or the bag, there's like a slickness on it, right?
So you have to You have to kind of scrub it. You got to rub it down a little bit. You got to get that. you gotta get that like sheen off that football. And to be quite honest with you, a lot of kickers, they try to press down on the tip of the ball to sort of flatten that thing out and try to turn it into like as much of a soccer ball as you possibly can.
Let me give you a quick detour here in terms of the preparation of the footballs. one of my uh very good friends in life. Was a is a or was a quarterback in the NFL in the late 80s and the early 90s, right? Into the 90s, played to 2000. And back in the day when they got those kicking footballs, they used to throw them in a dryer.
Nowhere to lie. They would throw those things in the dryer and try to get the sheen and the shine and the slickness off of it. But also, if you got those footballs nice and hot, and then you press down on the top of them. Especially back in the day, you could really kinda, you know, you could you could make the the middle part of that football even fatter and bigger.
So there have been I mean, there have been time honored traditions in history in the NFL when it comes to taking care of these footballs and stuff like that, right?
Well, in the offseason, the NFL gave the kickers and the team. Much more time and control. Over how the balls may be prepared for game day.
So that's one of the theories as to. Why we're seeing these bomb field goals from 60 yards. There have been six field goals of at least 60 yards this season, already the most in a single season in NFL history. The previous record was five, which was done twice in 2022 and 2023. There have been twenty-four 60-yard field goals the last five seasons.
That's more than there were in NFL history. Entering the 2021 season where there had only been 23 even tried.
So it goes to show you how kicking is very, very different. And what we've done now is, you know, by messing around with the rules and the hash marks and the width of the goalposts and stuff like that. We've now put kickers in a position to get paid. We've now put kickers in a position that if you can bomb them from deep and you're really good as a kickoff guy and you're not missing extra points. You can make yourself a hell of a case to break the glass ceiling for kickers when it comes to.
You know, when it comes to certain guys getting signed long-term, man, it's going to happen. We're going to end up with a. You know, within the next five years, we're going to end up with a $10 million kicker. Because there's going to be somebody that's going to come along and You know, whether it's the kid from the Cowboys or something like that, there's going to be a kicker that's going to come along and make the case. Of, hey, this is what it should be paid.
And there'll be a team that I really do believe will end up caving in and paying a kicker. Ack, were you a kicker? There's like, I can't, no, okay. I play D soccer. And if you're wondering what D soccer is, when I was in summer camp, we had something called the college games, which was basically color work.
And you know, you you played whatever sports you wanted to is you know, you got to choose. But I I never grew up with soccer. I was never really interested in soccer.
So like D soccer was everybody who didn't play soccer. Got an And we all knew what the game was. And we had the best time because it was the most hilarious game you've ever seen. Drinking involved. No, I mean, we're like, you know, 12, 13 years old.
Oh, oh, oh, I thought we were talking the formative years. No, no, no, no, no. No, but this was, this was absolutely hysterical. Even the opponents, we all knew that we all stunk. And it was hilarious.
Yeah, it was, you know, anybody who just did not care for soccer was in that game, and it was, we had the best time. I was the rare lineman kicker in high school.
So I was, so I was like first team all-state and all New England is a lineman and stuff like that. But I was third team all-league kicker. And I was actually more proud of that.
Well, because back in the day, it was like 1991. Uh, you could kick and then run down the field and be the wedge buster.
So that was always my because I'm, you know, I'm large. Yes.
So I would have like the square-toed shoe, like the old missile, like the old missile. Remember the old mistletoe toy where you press on the head and it would kick it? Super sweet. That was me. It was crazy.
And. one team. I had an outrageous Pregame meal routine where I was eating fast food. It was terrible. And we played Narragansett and they were worried about me being the wedge buster.
So they had like one of the guys on the outside after I kicked and I started to run down the field. He blindsided me and it was this little kid who hit me in the guts. Oh. And it let go. And no word of a lie on the tape.
Because I played basically the first half with a dump. And you could see the huddle moving away from me as the game went along. It was hilarious. But it all came from somebody foobarring me on a kickoff. There you go.
Yeah, there was definitely, maybe not alignment, but there is definitely a bigger. You know, because back in the 70s, the kickers weren't always just solely kickers. We see Andy Reid doing the punt passing kick as a kid. There's definitely, I can't think of it, but I've definitely seen some bigger kickers. Obviously, I think Tony Franklin was Tony Franklin.
No, Tony Frisch. I'm sorry. Tony, Tony Franklin was the barefoot, last I think, barefoot kicker. Yes, and Tony Frisch was a heavier guy, as I remember. But there's definitely a heavier kicker somewhere in NFL history to be found.
There is. And we need a heavy barefoot kicker. That would then really be something. I guess the barefoot kicker has just gone away. There's no one out there roaming around kicking footballs barefoot anymore.
I think it wore off when Rich Carlos had that bad game in Super Bowl 21 for the Broncos. Oh, and then maybe general managers started to sour on it. Yeah. The Jets had a punter, Chuck Ramsey, who I believe just kicked with a sock. It's like you're stuck in between.
Either you go barefoot or you have the shoe. Which one? That would hurt more than I think kicking it like a kicker. Like you can kind of turn your foot to the side, but dropping that. Dropping that on the top of your foot with no.
Oh man, I feel my feet hurting on that. I think he just had to suck. But I have to go back and check, but I think that's the case. He double-socked it on the rough days. There we go.
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Some people follow the rules, but where's the fun in that? I'm Saraya, and this is Rule Breakers, the podcast where we celebrate the rebels, the misfits, and the ones who make their own way. Every week I sit down with the biggest rule breakers in sports, entertainment and beyond to talk about the wildest moments, toughest lessons, and why breaking the rules might just be the key to success. Follow and listen to Rule Breakers with Saraya, an Odyssey podcast available now for free on the Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcasts.
You're listening to the JR Sport Brief, Keirs Fresh. For JR tonight. Coming up at the top of the hour, Brian DeArdo. of uh CBS Sports, CBS Sports dot com. We'll be by to uh talk some NFL.
We'll do some college football in the final hour with uh Bill Bender of the uh of the Sporting News. We got a big one in terms of maybe the number one seed in the AFC. This weekend, when Buffalo plays Kansas City. This will be the tenth meeting. Between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, including the playoffs.
Allen is four and one in the regular season, but Mahomes is four and oh in the playoffs.
Now, Allens Bills have won four straight regular season battles against the Chiefs, including last year in week 11 in Buffalo. where the Bills won thirty to twenty one. The Chiefs won last season's AFC Championship game against the Bills. thirty two to twenty nine in Kansas City.
Now Mahomes and Allen Are the only quarterbacks to account for at least. three hundred combined passing and rushing touchdowns since twenty eighteen, including the playoffs. No one else has even 225. Passing and rushing touchdowns.
So it just goes to show. How dominant Mahomes and Allen have really been this year. And here is the raw data. Since twenty eighteen, including the playoffs. Most passing and rushing touchdowns combine.
Pat Mahomes 330, Josh Allen 309, Aaron Rodgers 224 Lamar Jackson 223.
Now look but I mean Allen and Mahomes are somewhere between what, 85 and 100 plus touchdowns ahead? of Lamar Jackson both passing and rushing. Since 2018. For those of you that are allowed to bet on it in your state, in my state in Massachusetts, and in the neighboring state, Rhode Island, I cannot bet on the individual player awards. But uh as of Sunday night at ESPN BET Uh Pat Mahomes was plus one fifty.
as the uh favorite to win the MVP. I gotta tell you, when it comes to NFL MVP. Right now, I think the best case that you can make for. any player in pro football Truthfully, I think the best case can be made for Uh I I personally think the best case can be made for Jonathan Taylor. He has been fantastic so far this season and pretty consistent, too.
I'm looking at my local so I'm looking at DraftKings. Uh Pat Mahomes is plus one twenty five for MVP. Allen is plus three fifty. May j right now Drake May is plus 500, which is ludicrous, and I'll explain. Matt Stafford a plus 1200, Baker Mayfield a plus 1400, and then you get into the plus 1800 guys, which are Daniel Jones, Jordan Love, and there's where Jonathan Taylor is at.
Here's the thing with Drake May and the MVP. And I'm speaking directly to my, you know, New England fan base when I say this, right? If you look at the guys who have won the MVP. in their second year in the league.
So Pat Mahomes played one game his rookie year. And then the next year burst on the scene and threw 50 touchdown passes and became the MVP. In year two of Dan Marino back in 1984. He jumped from twenty touchdowns as a rookie to forty eight touchdowns in his second year. Miami went 14-2.
Marino was the MVP. If you look in Baltimore. Lamar Jackson won the MVP his second year. Why? Because Lamar proved you can be a running quarterback and be successful in the NFL, quote unquote, or at least at that time.
So it was one guy who jumped by 28 touchdowns, and in 1984, throwing 48 touchdowns was, you know. But unheard of. When Mahomes did it, he threw fifty to break that record of Marino. And then with Lamar, It was as much about his legs as it was his arm. And my whole point is.
is that Drake May is playing really good football for the New England Patriots. But what we're not, what we're seeing is somebody who is laying the baseline. for future MVP cases to be made, right? This year, year two for Drake May is the let me get on the radar and in the discussion for that award. Let's remember.
The greatest quarterback that ever lived, Tom Brady. It took him until two thousand seven in his NFL career to win an MVP. And it was when Randy Moss came in and Tom Brady threw fifty touchdowns and set all kinds of records that we're even referencing here in terms of points per drive that season. My whole point is Is that all of those quarterbacks and all of those guys who won those MVPs in their second year? Their football team was either far and away the best in football, like Marino was, but also.
It was guys that were setting records or they were debunking narratives. And I don't think Drake May is doing either. I think Drake May is putting together a really good, well managed season. But to think that Drake May Is putting together a better year than, say, Patrick Mahomes or Jonathan Taylor. No, that's not happening.
There's a lot of buzz around the guy because, you know, it feels like New England's back. They're 6-2. They're playing good football. They have an adult as a head coach now.
So there's a lot to like about what they're doing, but These guys who jumped up and won it in the second year historically have done something pretty amazing. And while Drake May is playing pretty well, he's not doing anything at a league record level. We'll do some football with Brian DeArdo of CBS Sports.com. He'll join me next. I'm Gresh, InforJR on the Infinity Sports Network.
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Some people follow the rules, but where's the fun in that? I'm Saraya, and this is Rule Breakers, the podcast where we celebrate the rebels, the misfits, and the ones who make their own way. Every week I sit down with the biggest rule breakers in sports, entertainment, and beyond to talk about the wildest moments, toughest lessons, and why breaking the rules might just be the key to success. Follow and listen to Rule Breakers with Saraya, an Odyssey podcast available now for free on the Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcasts.
