Episode 96

The Scottish Open: What happened to Scheffler? NASCAR: What happened at EchoPark Speedway? The MLB: What happened to the Yankees? The NFL: What happened to the Dolphins, Bengals, Colts, Chiefs, Commanders, Vikings, Falcons, Steelers and 49'rs? BONUS: What happened at Travis Swift's wedding?

To get in touch with King Nut, Fabio and Rodney, send an email to dontdropthesoapsports@gmail.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

There's a guy in Richmond, Virginia named King Nutt. You could pull off several firsts and a second and maybe a fifth and a seventh because you've got that much invested in. He ended up on the radio now and then talking sports. What happened on Saturday is not gonna happen on Sunday, just like what happened on Friday night doesn't happen on Saturday. He's even got good life advice.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

If you slap your wife, you're going to jail. With this kind of talent, he needs a sidekick. We'll call him Fabio. And I like the way you're talking. With cell phone in hand, he's a sports talk freak show.

SPEAKER_06 0:33

How are they gonna be able to bond as a team? And that defense hasn't proven anything. They're gonna be able to put up a ton of points, possibly, but how many are they gonna give up?

SPEAKER_01 0:41

But then along comes another sports talk know it all.

SPEAKER_03 0:44

They had every opportunity to win that game.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

His name is Rodney.

SPEAKER_03 0:47

Especially if they get home field advantage. Only got to win two games.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

He uh also sponsors the show. World-class talent like this shouldn't go to waste. So the next step, come up with a podcast with a stupid name. Don't drop the soap sports.

SPEAKER_04 1:02

Don't drop the soap sports.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Wow. From the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, this is the Don't Drop the Soap Sports Podcast. Here's the host, King Nutt, and the other host, Fabio.

SPEAKER_05 1:15

Ladies and gentlemen, fans across the world, this is Don't Drop the Soap Sports Podcast. I am one of the hosts, clearly the one with the most fing intelligence, King Nutt, joined in the uh boroughs of western North Carolina by Fabio. And the fing guy that sponsors the show is the only reason he can make any noise at all, Rodney Cole sitting across from me doing some kind of damn 1980s, 1970s. That that that stuff that that alone should make you want to kick him in the ball sack underneath this table, but I regress. Rodney, welcome back from vacation. Can't say that I'm glad you're back, evidently, because I've got all that stuff. Good to hear from you, Fabio, anyway. Hey, you can find Rodney, the great sponsor of the show, at RodneyColeInsurance Agency.com or Rodney Coinsurance, couldn't call in 804-569-6208 and ask his team to help you. Don't ask for Rodney, ask for his team. You can speak to any one of them over there. They're knowledgeable, they got everything that you want. They can insure you on anything, I I assure you of insuring you.

SPEAKER_03 2:27

We have every possible insurance in the world on public need. That's correct.

SPEAKER_05 2:31

Except for that family golf cart that I sold, that I did that begrudgingly. That was under protest. But sometimes you just gotta learn to pick your battles, Fabio. Is that correct? Oh, that's definitely correct. Fabio has no battles. No, but I've heard that you pick them. Yeah. You heard from Bubba. I'm trying to tell you. I'm giving advice and counseling all at the same time. Hey, what Rodney's back from his whirlwind vacation where he took in four different bodies of water. That is alone should tell you what's going on. Uh from lake water to river water to creek water back to the ocean. So that's four bodies of water he was close to. Uh stopped every minute. Hey, stopped to ABC store in every one of them, too. From Little River to Swift Creek to Myrtle Beach in the ocean, he was there.

SPEAKER_03 3:18

I'll have you know that Buffalo Trace is not to be found in North Carolina either. Buffalo Trace?

SPEAKER_05 3:25

Did you go to the Food Line ABC store beside the Little River Food Line? Got it. I'm sure you looked up on inventory it was there? Did not. That's close to the North Myrtle place where you're at. Little River South Carolina. Uh a lot happened over the weekend. Uh Iro, tell us what happened. Scotty Scheffler misses the cut at the Scottish Open.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Ain't that wild, guys? Man shoots under par, misses the cut. Tom Kim goes on to win the tournament. Good tournament for him. Solid, solid player, but it's the first time Scotty's missed a tournament in almost four years. His entire career he's missed uh 19 cuts, and most of those cuts were early on in his career. So think about how dominant he's been. And once again, his putter let him down. That seems to be what's uh getting him lately. It's either stopping him for winning tournaments. Now it's led to that first cut in a mighty long time. Decade. Yeah, which could be a good thing for him, right? I mean, he's over there, he's getting acclimated to the time and everything for the open championship coming up, but um just uh very untypical Scotty like uh event this weekend. But I seem a pretty good bounce back for him coming.

SPEAKER_03 4:31

So it used to be here and may still be, I I'm not sure. If you were within 10 shots of the lead, you made the cut. Is that not the case over there in Scotland or Ireland or wherever they are?

SPEAKER_02 4:44

Most PGA events are 65, top 65 in ties. So he he was outside of that by one shot. So they've done they've gone to these signature events on the PGA tour. You think like the Genesis imitational, those type of things. They do top 50 in ties there, plus anybody that's 10 shots back. So it's a little bit different, and it and it varies from tournament to tournament. Like the uh the U.S. Open is top 60 in ties. Uh the Masters top 50 in ties. So each tournament can basically say what they want to do. But signature events, if you are within 10 and that wasn't classified as a signature event, they do make the cut as well. So it just depends on the event.

SPEAKER_05 5:22

I gotta tell you, the way the weather looked, I wouldn't give a sh to miss that cut or not. It's cold and rainy. And here's what I'd tell you all the time. All the time. Can you imagine what I'd look like on a flight out of zombich?

SPEAKER_03 5:34

I don't like whiskey, but I guarantee you he'd have had 17 doubles before he ever got on the club. No doubt, no doubt.

SPEAKER_05 5:43

But I tell you another thing I appreciate about appreciate about Scheffler. He has an interview, and what does he say to an interview? Hey, not my day, good game. Other people are playing extremely well. He never i it's hard. I don't know how you get mad that guy ever, but there are people who don't like him just because he is a winner. A Tom Brady-ish type thing. I don't I didn't I didn't like Tom Brady either, so maybe it's I still don't hear exactly what I'm saying. I still don't. He's with the Raiders and I can't stand it. Tuck roll, tuck rule, that got us the whole thing. All right, well then he didn't make that call. He was part of it. He was part of that. He could have said my bad guys. He did, he walked off the field. He had to come back kind of touching his nose to send it to replay. I mean, they knew what was up. Shifting that, we go to Sunday, and I'll just tell the crowd I normally give you a little bit of betting prowess. When I went to bed last night under the three-hour and three-minute rain delay in NASCAR event, I was in first place, $30,000 to the good. Uh $25,000 in one, $5,000 the other. I woke up in $1,316, which means I had zero dollars in there. It was all driven by uh Kyle Larson. But a three-hour and three-minute delay where Fabio, yours, who the only one that's actually in retirement, stayed up to watch the end of that race. So, Fabio, what did you see early in the race? First off, talk about those forwards on the front row. We ain't seen that in a while. And Logano went backwards as normal, but Blaney clearly is the best car. And what why did the Toyotas qualify poorly and then get to the front?

SPEAKER_02 7:20

We didn't see that in a long time, right? Anything other than a Toyota starting up front. So you got to remember this is very much like Daytona now, very much like Talladegets a drafting track where they can trim the car out and make it extremely fast, uh, versus what the Toyotas did in qualifying is they set their cars up to handle better on a long run, uh, which makes them easier to drive, less volatile when it gets into turns and traffic. So you saw a lot of those guys coming from 1520. You saw um Reddick come from the very back up in there and fight, had probably one of the best Toyotas of the night. But long as the those Pinsky cars stayed up front, they were they were strong. Uh Logano ended up finishing ninth, which is a good, good run for him. Uh the two-car ran good as well, his other teammate. But man, by far the best was Ryan Blaney. He had a uh car that I don't know if he had more horsepower than what he had, but man, anytime he got past, it wasn't a lap, lap and a quarter till he uh till he was back around them. They had a mustache, Ira. Well maybe it is it's aerodynamic. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 8:22

If that thing rides and win, good.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

I hate to see what everybody else will look like next week, then, if that's the case, because everybody's gonna be growing one of those.

SPEAKER_03 8:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:30

But uh but Toyotas were still strong like they have been every week. Christopher Bell, I think, gets his fifth, second place finish of the year, becoming one of the strongest, I think, championship contenders that we have out there right now as consistent as he's running. Good race. I think um Larson was similar to you. At the rain delay, he was gonna cash in a lot of money too, and uh at the end of it finished uh 34th by sliding through the infield there towards the end. But uh uh strong race for the Fords. I'll have to give them that. They work great as a teammate. Uh as a as an organization, they work well together. So uh congratulations to Ryan Blaine, he's like he's been all year, strong as Ford, and once again pulls it off.

SPEAKER_05 9:10

So when you mention the Fords, there's so few of them now compared to what we used to see, right? It was Chevy and Ford dominated, and then you had some Toyota sprinkled. Now I think, I mean, look at the legacy motorsports, the petty guys, they were up in there. Eric Jones, I think, had a top ten or top five, and then Nimachek was in there quite a while all night, who has been very impressive. What and and so I I kind of move, we'll move from NASCAR to this with one question, Rodney. I'll ask you first is of these teams, we see it in free agency in every sport. Who's gonna or trade deadline every sport, who's gonna move, and then silly season's getting ready to start NASCAR. Uh we believe silly season could also involve a manufacturer in there, although Dodge has not admitted that you know that they have the motors ready to come. They're coming in and they're kicking Toyota out. Uh Toyotes. The Toyota's gotta go. But i uh Rodney, I ask you first, is there a team on there? Petty's an obvious because that he's been with Chrysler often since there was long as they were in the race in the sport. Is there a team in there anywhere that looks mediocre right now, strong at times, mediocre that you'd think somebody as a manufacturer would jump on and kind of make them a flagship?

SPEAKER_03 10:27

Off the top of my head, I can't think of anyone. The obvious one to me is is Petty. How about Hosovar?

SPEAKER_05 10:34

Yeah, that Curry needs another teammate, they're the one that's got the Dodges and the or Rams and the his team is the Ram team in truck series. So that that's obvious, but uh does I or I'll flip it to you. Does some bigger team come scoop him up before Dodge has a chance to make him their guy?

SPEAKER_02 10:57

So Kylie Grayson, that that's 99%. That's who's gonna be the Dodge cars. That's A.J. Amendinger, Shane Van Gisbergen, and then Connor Zilich as of right now. So Spire Motorsports has Coastin Hosefar. So uh that's just a two two-man team with him and uh Michael McDowell. But Kylie, I think will they'll start the Dodge thing, get those two or three, get those three cars into it next year. But I don't see anybody else big jumping on it. If it would be anybody else, it'd be RCR. And I I just can't see Richard Childress run uh leaving Chevrolet as long as he's been with Chevrolet since the early 80s. So I just I just don't see him.

SPEAKER_05 11:33

Well remember, he told me to my face that they uh Hope for the Warriors event, by the way, five-star charity, four-star charity. Amazing 93 cent every dollar goes to the charity. If you're gonna support something, go to HopeFortheWarriors.org to make that support. Childress told me to my face when I asked him, I said, how close in that 2013 when Dodge pulled out after 2012, how close were we? And he said the signature. It was that close. And he said that the problem was they could not, same thing we're telling you, we could not get the motor program because Penske was building all the Dodge motors and he was going to Ford. They could have bought the motors that Pinsky still had, but he had no technology and he thought he would put them way behind the curve, and he was right about that.

SPEAKER_03 12:18

So you think there's any possibility of Hosovar going to the 48 car? Is he under contract and camp moves?

SPEAKER_02 12:26

Yeah, he's under contract. He just signed an extension this year. I mean, I wouldn't never say never, right? But um, Hendrix would be yeah, Spyro Motorsports would be an idiot to get rid of him.

SPEAKER_05 12:37

I don't think they could come in and puts him in an organization that makes him up to the media money can walk in and say, this has happened to McMurray back in the roush state. It happens with comments, hey man, I know you got three years left on it. Let me give you five million and I'm gonna take your driver. And they said, fine, we'll let him out of his contract for X amount of million. And I don't think five million or ten million or any million for that matter, something Hendrick could bat his eye at. I'm gonna switch this to baseball quickly before I say anything about your opinion. The pirates did just sweep the Brewers, mauled them, what did I tell you? Toe drug them, killed them over the weekend. Uh and now they are three or four games above 500. Things are looking good up in P Town for them. Uh, and they could be winning the NL West for that matter. We say that quite frequently. But Rodney, what do you see in baseball outside of the Red Sox now being back in it?

SPEAKER_03 13:35

It's funny that they toe drug them. They beat them 7-6 and 3-2. Last night was higher. 11-5 or something. 14-5. There you go. Softball score. The Yankees are in trouble. As close to being done as they can be. It makes no sense. They play the bottom teams, the Red Sox who were in last place. They played the Reds. And last place. Yeah, and all bottom of the barrel teams, and they go one and nine. They lose eight in a row against teams that are under 500. And I don't mean just a game or two under 500, way under 500. And then they go play Tampa Bay and they split. You know, they had a good weekend. They played the Nationals, and if they were softball games, seven inning games, Washington would have won every one. But the Yankees came back and won all of them in the eighth and ninth inning. But I still think the Brewers are the best team in the National League. I know you're a Dodgers guy, and it's hard not to be. They have the most finances. What's the Braves and Phillies gap now? Three. Two games. Two games. I'm sorry, three in the lost column. I usually look at the lost column, but yeah, it's two games. How far are we in the all-star break? Two weeks? No, that it's this weekend, right? I'm sorry, I thought it was next weekend. How about the I heard this morning Wheeler for Philadelphia? Ten and one, ERA around two, and didn't make the all-star game because you have to have as many innings pitched as your team has played, and he is like three or four innings short.

SPEAKER_05 15:22

As games your team has played.

SPEAKER_03 15:24

Right. So you he's pitched ninety-three innings and a team. Something along those lines. So he was a little upset about that last night, so he went out and dominated. And he's out. Now they came back. He can't be a starter. They came back and offered him a spot. He gave him the double bird and said F you.

SPEAKER_05 15:46

I would too. I do that all the time in my leagues. When they want me to come out, hey by the way, you're we need somebody on All-Star team. I'm sorry. I got changed a fishbowl that night. The one damn time a year that the fishbowl has to be changed. Danfin ain't the all-star game. Ira, what are you seeing in the league now that you like or dislike? He likes the pirates. What about the pirates?

SPEAKER_03 16:06

I said you like the pirates because they mauled the Brewers. They did maul.

SPEAKER_05 16:11

Say what you want.

SPEAKER_03 16:13

Say what you want.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

No matter perspective. That's what I say, damn it. The things that shock me, you always think, man, when I'm at home, when the ball team's at home, how great they're going to play. If you think look at the Yankees, they're better on the road. Red Sox are better on the road. A lot of these teams are getting are not as good at home, which is shocking to me. Staying with their wife. I guess that's what it is. They got like we get on the road and they're enjoying life. But I'm going to stick with the teams that I I think the Phillies are going to pull out. I think we talked about that. They continue to close the gap on them. Brewers, I think, will be fine. I know they got drugged, but they're 500 the last uh last couple of games, and Dodgers just continue to just to walk away. They're going to have such a big league here at the break that nobody will be able to catch them. The AL Central is going to be a good one to watch. It's going to come down right to the end. And so I know the West sucks, but uh the AL West sucks, but then there's a lot of teams right there in it as well, which keeps it interesting. And I think your wild card will still come out of the American League East. Probably Yankees will get that. I think Rays will end up pulling away. But not sure yet exactly what's going to happen in the West. I still think, I mean, the AL, I still think the best team in the NL is the Dodgers. So I think until they prove indifferent, I think that's the team to beat.

SPEAKER_03 17:26

When it comes to the playoffs, though, you have to be able to win on the road.

unknown 17:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

You look at Tampa, they're dominant at home, 35-15, losing record on the road. Yep. The teams that are going to win in the playoffs, you're going to have to win some road games.

SPEAKER_05 17:40

Yeah. And let me ask you a quick question before we move to football, which is what I really care about. Ira, will there be a trade deadline trade that involves a contender not picking up but giving out a player that will shock us?

SPEAKER_02 17:57

I don't think it'll shock us. I mean, it happens every year, right? That the big name gets moved to a team that's like, ah crap. We're in the fire sale business, and we're going to see it again. And it's going to be teams that's got the money. Is it going to be is it going to be the Yankees needing a they obviously need some arms on in that's on that staff? Is it going to be the Dodgers? I mean, those type those are the teams that you're going to see make some moves. The Braves aren't typically known for doing that. The Phillies have uh quite a bit of money. I could see them going out and trying to get some uh get some help, but you're going to see the rich get richer typically and the poor get poorer.

SPEAKER_05 18:29

I get it. Everybody unloads, but I'm asking, is there a team that's in it that gets rid of people?

SPEAKER_02 18:35

I don't think so. I think you're going to see the Rays, the Yankees, those type of teams just hang it hang on with what they've got. I don't win now versus later is way more important.

SPEAKER_03 18:45

You got people like Miami, who's absolutely still in it. They could be looking to get rid of money. I don't know how much they have.

SPEAKER_05 18:55

Speaking of, if you want to get rid of money, go to Shock Top during the day, a draft at Game Day Grill over here on 301 Mechanicsfield, 804-789-8005. Great food, great staff, great atmosphere. Cold Shock Top with a big slice of Valencia orange on top of it. Tastes good. And that's where you can find my insurance guy, Rodney Cole, at 804 6208. Rodney Cole InsuranceAgen.com to help you with all your needs. Now let's move to where America's passion is. America's pastime is baseball. America's passion is the NFL. As we went through last week without our friend here who was experiencing bodies of water from coast to coast and uh land, sea to sign and see, uh, we're gonna go by division by place. So last week we covered the basement and who we thought we're gonna be in. Now we're gonna cover what is the um uh third place team from a year ago, and we're gonna start with the Miami Football Dolphins, who ranked 26th in offense, 22nd in defense. Their points, you know, they were upside down in points scored, 25th in offense, 24th in defense. Uh they scored, they were a win ahead of where they thought they were. Ira said it best before we got on air. Nobody expected them to win seven games, including themselves. Uh they cleaned the house. Ira, are they seven wins better or seven wins worse this year?

SPEAKER_02 20:36

They're probably going to be a two to four team win, I believe. I don't think they're definitely not gotten any better. They as they got rid of everybody that had any talent except for HN, their running back. Um, they have nobody to throw the ball to. They did draft three wide receivers in the draft, but Malik Willis, unproven, you know, long-term starter. You got Quinn Ewers as their backup. I just it's almost like a rudder, a rudderless ship out in the ocean just trying to figure out what's going on. That's a team that's definitely in probably one of the biggest rebuilds along with the Cardinals that we've seen right now. They have no, they just don't have the star power other than that running back, and I feel bad for him because he's a good running back that's just uh in a place where he's not gonna be able to show his show his talents. This is gonna be your fourth place team this year, I believe. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 21:23

Worse than the Jets, even. Yeah, worse than the Jets. Okay. So I or Rodney, my question about them is Malik Willis goes there, gets a pretty decent contract. Does he show out or is do we prove why he was a third round pick and I don't think he's gonna have a whole lot of opportunity.

SPEAKER_03 21:40

I think he's gonna get beat up. He's coming in almost like a rookie on the worst team in the league. They have to be, if not the worst, one of the two or three worst.

SPEAKER_05 21:49

Yeah, I'm with you. I think Miami, my brother Brent loves the fact that he goes, We suck to this point. We never finish one and fifteen or fifteen and one. We're always Well, he he may have enough. I never seen a guy he appreciates the suckery that they have. So I I appreciate that. The suckery.

SPEAKER_03 22:13

I'm moving on. Let me ask you one quick question. What you said earlier about baseball and football. Baseball is America's pastime. America's passion is football. And who famously said that? Big Al Coleman.

SPEAKER_05 22:26

Oh. Thought it was Joe Stock. Joe Stock could have been. We just had a birthday. That's why I was trying to throw out a birthday wish to Joe Stock. Joe Stock. Joey Camaro had a birthday of 77 still painting houses in Florida. Like he brags on that. I painted this myself. I said, Well, you're the dumbass. You got millions of dollars. Send somebody else out there to do it. Damn. I had to change clothes three times. Well, no. How about this? So Jacksonville, Florida, or Jacksonville, North Carolina is the second hottest place on the earth. He goes, Who's first? I said, wherever you were just painting in Florida. That was a hottest place. So uh now we're going to move on to somebody, everybody's darling every year, the Cincinnati Bungles. 6 and 11. Here's what shocked me. They were 12th in points four. That didn't shock me, but they were only 30th in points against. So I want to know who was worse than them if they were 30 out of 32 on points against because they couldn't stop a soul. And they were 17th in offensive yards, 31st, so one worse in offensive or defensive yards. They go and trade their first round pick and get the guy from the Giants, Rodney. Does that part make their defense better than it was a year ago?

SPEAKER_03 23:39

They might be better, but they're going to finish in the same spot this year they did last year. Only one's going to be behind them is the Browns. I think the Steelers and Ravens will finish ahead of them. I think they'll stay exactly where they are. Why does he're the Bengals?

SPEAKER_05 23:55

And does Burrow, everything in that offense, now keep in mind they've got 60, what is it, 57% hour, 56, 57 in those three players? They let Hendricks Hendrickson go. He's a Raven now. They trade to get a guy that the last two years with the Giants has been pedestrian at best, but they trade their 10th round or 10 number 10 pick or number 11 pick to get this guy. It doesn't matter who the coordinator was, the guy's fired half everybody's in coach, and they're still the 30th ranked defense every year.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

It's a team that's never ever invested on the defensive side of the ball. Even the year they went to the Super Bowl, they had a horrible defense. It seems like what they don't invest in is what they really need. They have to fix that offensive line, and they haven't done that yet. Burrow gets hurt every other year. This may be the good year. He got hurt last year, so he may be fine this year. Get rid of their signature player, Trey Henderson, off the off the defense. They've drafted three people in the draft, defensive players trying to replace that position. But until they get more balance and how they want to how they want to go after football, they're going to be a team that's either going to hit or bust every single year. And it all depends on if can they stay healthy or can Joe Burrow really stay healthy? Jamar Chase is by far a top two or three wide receiver in the game. Higgins is a good receiver as well. But it seems like they can put up 42 and get beat 42 to 45. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:19

So how many teams put that much money in so few players?

SPEAKER_05 25:23

But there's a Bengals rule. But here's the thing: there's a Bengal rule. They never spent to the cap. The NFL installed a rule based on the Bengals because you got to be 90, at least 90% of the cap. There were years that the Bengals were spending in the 70s. I mean, that that's not even fair. I think it does Ray on Joe Burrow. I ask you quickly, you got two seconds to answer this question. Top five quarterback in the league, Rodney Joe Burrow. Allen, yes. Ira? Yes, when healthy. Okay. I didn't ask for any asterisks from you, bastards. We did give me two seconds. I gave you two seconds. Indianapolis.

SPEAKER_03 25:56

There was lists out this morning about the top quarterbacks. They had Allen one, Mahomes two, Stafford three, Burrow four. Jackson five, because Jackson was very enamored with Jackson. Jackson was five. Williams from the Bears was ten. Goff was nine. Trying to think who six, seven, and eight were. Not JJ McCarthy. No.

SPEAKER_05 26:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 26:18

Not Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers was not on there, but that was one of the arguments. They were talking more of his career, not what he did last year.

SPEAKER_05 26:24

I mean, can't it is a what have you done for me lately, League? We move on to the Colts uh quickly through this. The Colts were eighth in points four, so they got uh Steichen has got uh you know that mind to get it. 21st in defense, they did that in defense, so very banged up. They did offensive yards, they were ninth. Offense or defensive yards, they were twenty-third. They keep one quarterback around because they realize the guy they took a flyer on the first round was a flop. Ira, I ask you, did the Colts do anything this offseason that made them better?

SPEAKER_02 27:02

No, I think they've gotten worse. Daniel Jones coming off that ruptured Achilles isn't- I mean, he was good in the first half of last year. He's mobile, but he's not mobile enough. With this Achilles, he's not gonna be any better. Their defense is struggling. Linebacker secondary give up a ton of points on the back end, and really no true one true number one wide receiver on that team. I mean, you've got you got some guys that could be, but I think it's the quarterback talent that's slowing them down. They do have a stud running back, but other than that, um I think it's a team that you're looking at seven wins, I think, on the top end uh this year. I don't see anything they've done to inspire confidence. And my boy Scotty, that lives out in Indiana, sorry, buddy, uh, but your team doesn't have Peyton Manning any longer. You're gonna y'all gonna struggle.

SPEAKER_05 27:48

Well, they got a great tight end. They let Pittman walk to go to the to the Steelers, but they had to go back and make a big signing uh at the receiver position to keep their number one. They had to let go of Pittman to get that accomplished. Really odd-looking team. I thought they were, you know, they came out last year like gangbusters. What were they seven or five or six and oh when they lost to the Steelers? They were eight and two. Eight and two. Lost seven in a row. Yeah, and then they they fell off, and that included Phillip Rivers, who looked like he had just left Captain George's. That some bitch looked like a buffet master. His pad sat on his flap, not not the other way around. It was weird, but kudos to old Phillip for getting back into it. I would just tell you that I think uh we're not gonna see much out of the Indianapolis Colts.

SPEAKER_03 28:37

Not this year. I think they could be a year from now when Jones is hopefully 100% healed, they're gonna struggle this year.

SPEAKER_05 28:46

All right. I don't like this team. I I I didn't like this team. I I like Andy Reed. I've d you know, Mrs. or Mr. What's her name? Private wedding. Taylor Swift. Yeah, Taylor Swift. Here's something ironic, by the way. We are not upholding to any politics. There's a reason we call Don't Drop the Soap. We're in prison guarding ourselves, but g them, don't tell me I need an ID for nothing to vote. That's irrelevant, but I need ID to get your wedding. I got nothing to say to you. How about that? Oh, by the way, I just want to throw another thing not beholden in there. My girl's 11th in NWNBA guard voting. I mean, that makes sense too. So on to football, let's go back to football here before I get off sideways.

SPEAKER_03 29:34

There's a gentleman, call him gentleman, who picked up trash inside Madison Square Garden and outside of Madison Square Garden, boxed it up, and people bought the trash from that wedding for $25 a box.

SPEAKER_05 29:49

They should have bought the retirement of the groom, is what I'm saying. So here we go. They were 21st in points four, sixth in points against. So Spagnola still had some kind of impact. They were twent in defense, yet I'm hearing all the time that the defense let them down last year, Ira. Did the Chiefs' defense let them down? And did they get better? They gave up their best player, went to the Rams.

SPEAKER_02 30:15

Their defense did give up a lot, but I think it was more on that offensive line is where they struggled the most. Pat Mahomes ran for his life last year. Ended up getting dinged up a lot. They got better at running back, Kenneth Walker, I think, is a huge upgrade for them. They're still lacking on being able to get pressure on the quarterback. So edge rushers is going to be extremely important for them. I see this team does bounce back. I think they're around of an 11-ish team win this year. Mahomes is still a top five quarterback, I believe, in the league. He just needs that offensive line, which they haven't done. I mean, since they got pommeled in the Super Bowl by the they haven't been they haven't been the same going forward. So when's Mahomes play, right?

SPEAKER_03 30:55

I mean, when does he play? They need him every game. But I'm not playing until October, right? I heard October, but you just never know.

SPEAKER_05 31:02

In your division, I I appreciate you being very kind to the Chiefs there, Ira. I hate him. Yeah, I love that. I wanted to hear a little passion about it. I don't like and look, uh, Pat Mahomes is a great generational talent. I see what I see every week is him getting Tom Brady treatment. He flops like a soccer player, falls down, the flags come from nowhere. It's like one of those, oh, it's incomplete on third and eighth. Somebody was held somewhere. Flag. There it is. It comes from now to nowhere. And then uh, you know, he got Fat Bastard, as he's known by my my Eagle friends, is what they used to call him in uh Philly. He he is uh offensive genius, but they did bring back what's his name, right? Uh B- Enemy. Eric Eric. Eric sleeping with B enemy, as Berman used to say. That's right. Uh he's back as a coordinator. What damn difference does that make, Ira? He was not calling the plays anyway. Fat Bastard calls it plays, right?

SPEAKER_02 32:01

Yeah, makes no difference other than a namesake or having him on that team. Maybe behind the scenes he's maybe he's great uh every day but Sunday. But uh if you're not calling the plays on Sunday, you're not as uh important as to that team as you'd think you are.

SPEAKER_03 32:14

Well they thought he was gonna get a head coaching job, and then he was offensive coordinator with Washington or something like that.

SPEAKER_05 32:20

Yeah, they they tied him to a lot of places and uh interview well. Well, it's not that either. The players are not huge fans of him. He has some knack and knack of being a a bit of a hole of the ass. And uh the the the players don't like the holes of ass, much like I'm accused of being from time to time. Which I'm okay with that. I I do think the Chiefs bounce back just because they're you know their talent, the roster, but I I do think that run is done. And I'll get to this too. I think the Raven run is done. People are like, are you always in the Super Bowl? I don't give a sh how many times the Ravens are in the Super Bowl contention or conversation. They've never been there, so what the hell do we care with with this guy? Last time was Sleepy Joe Flacco, who took him there. Uh then we'll move to the east of the NFC. The Commanders uh fell off significantly from a championship game to uh insignificance, 22nd on points for offense and 27th on points against, and that's where they say I understand their quarterback being hurt and them having Mariota and different things, but defense really took it backwards. They were the 32nd ranked, last in the league yards given up. Rodney, what do the commanders need to do to get back to 2024 for them that they didn't have a year ago?

SPEAKER_03 33:44

They're years from that. They're gonna fall to fourth place in that division. The Giants are gonna overtake them, and the Eagles and the Cowboys will be the best two in that division. Washington's got too many holes to talk about on this 30-minute show.

SPEAKER_02 33:57

That team all broke balls around. Can Jalen Daniels stay healthy? And uh their offensive line is part of the reason he can't. He's not even been able to develop as a quarterback because he's he looks at his first read, and by that time he he doesn't have time to get to his second read. Uh wide receivers, uh his number one's getting getting older, Terry McLaurin's getting older. He's not what he was. Hopefully, they do not get Iuk. I know there was rumors that that's maybe where he ended up for him. Please don't let him go anywhere but there. Please. Yes. The secondary, you just talked about how many points they give up, is atrocious. It's just a team that was the flash in the pan, I believe, for a year there, and this is the true team who they are. They can't stay healthy. They have a quarterback that's uh RG3, the second. He's just uh too little for the game, I believe.

SPEAKER_05 34:46

Well, keep in mind, you say is injured. He was off injured in in college, and that's what his knock was when he came to the league. Hakey's got to stay healthy, learn to slide. He's a little slight man, he's not a big fella at all. He did do well his first year. One of the things that was impressive to me is his third and fourth and even fifth progressions he was getting to, which made him a top quarterback, in my opinion. Last year I didn't see the same thing, and that could have been the fact that he was running for his life. That's right. And you have a defensive mind and head coach that's last in yards, defense has got to hurt. They did do some good things drafting-wise on defense, and they did bring in a couple free agents. We'll see if that changes, but Rodney brought it up better. I don't like Philly. I'll tell you why I don't like Philly later, but uh the Giants are gonna get a lot better and challenge for that last spot. Now we move to a passionate purple team that finished third by tiebreaker at a nine and eight level. The points for the Vikings 26, a significant fall off from the year before. The points against were seventh, which was a little bit of an improvement under Flores on that side. They were third in the league in yards allowed, which was insane, uh, particularly because I thought they did that relatively quiet. And when I mean by quiet, I mean they didn't do that with huge names, they did that with scheme. Now, when the Vikings got beat, though, that zero coverage blitz that he calls a wit, that's when they were getting beat, is when he did a lot of zeros. But they had twenty-eighth on the the ranking of offense. Do not say the word we, but in your humble but accurate opinion, Mr. Insurance Man, did the Vikings get better in the offseason, and what does it take to get them back to where they were closer to that 14 and three than it was that nine and eight?

SPEAKER_03 36:40

Definitely got better in the quarterback room. Last year we had one option and nothing. For us to be 26th, there's 32 teams. With what we had a quarterback most of last year, we should have been thirty, or they should have been thirty-fifth.

SPEAKER_05 36:53

I I appreciate he's now following instructions. I heard a we and us out of there.

SPEAKER_03 36:57

Even when I said don't do that, we had a we and we had an us. But it just kind of flowed. The first pick, we talked about that before, it's gonna be wow, that was a great pick, or that was a stupid thing. It's Indianapolis with Richardson at quarterback. It was a flyer, I think were your words. He's got all the talent in the world, so he's got a great defensive guy to help him. I believe they will get better. And if you if you look at where they were last year, when's the last time a team won their division with a losing record in the division? The Bears won eleven and six in the overall, eleven and six and went two and four in the division.

SPEAKER_05 37:40

It was the only division where everybody had a winning record, so it wasn't like they were. Yeah. And the Vikings were playing a first place schedule. It happens. Absolutely. But beyond that, Ira, let me flip it to you. He mentioned the quarterback room got better. I think the quarterback room created some controversy. I do think Kyler Murray's better than. Here's what my question is for you, Ira. If we get ten games into the season and the Vikings are five and five, four and six, six and four, do they make a quarterback change if one of those other teams in that division is two or three games ahead of them? Do they give JJ McCarthy a shot then?

SPEAKER_02 38:20

JJ McCarthy's going to get a shot because Kyler Murray won't be able to stay healthy. He hasn't proven that he can. I don't think they upgraded their quarterback room from what they had last year. I just think that they're kind of the same. I mean, Kyler Murray hasn't proven over time that he's a winning quarterback in this league. You don't think Murray is better than Mosner or whatever that guy's name is? He hasn't proven it. So uh until he does, maybe he comes out and does a Sam Darnold. Uh he may, but until he does, I I can't say they've proved it. I mean, JJ McCarthy's he's a bust pick. I I said it when they drafted him uh two years ago that he was not he wasn't gonna make it as a starting quarterback in this league, and I'd still continue to put stand beside that. But if they can't fix that quarterback situation, I mean, even when they tried to go to Wentz last year, the first game he played, he played great. Second game they oh, we know what Carson Wentz is gonna do, and he ended up getting hurt uh as well. But I don't think they got any better in the quarterback room.

SPEAKER_05 39:16

Close it for me. I think it's the top five, it's not the I got ready to say the best. It's a top five coaching staff in the league. And I have a confidence that if anyone can turn that organization back, and I don't know what the hell you gotta say to turn around a nine and eight team. It's not like they were five and twelve. Uh I think that coaching staff can do it. I look for them to get a tick better. Moving down to the South, the only division in the league with a losing record for every team. The Falcons uh now get uh some Cleveland blood in at head coach. They were eight and nine. The Steelers open with them this year at home. They were twenty-fourth in points for and nineteenth in points against. That changed a little bit because they were fifteenth in defensive yards, so they was a little different in points, you know, you 19th to 15th, but in offense you go from 24th in points, but they were 14th in yards. They got a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball. They now have Tua to go along with the other off to injured quarterback, the kid from Washington. So there's a competition there. Kevin comes in as coach there, Ira. The Falcons, do they get better in this division?

SPEAKER_02 40:35

I don't know if they get any better. I think they have to figure out, and that's this thing probably had the last couple years, who's gonna be the quarterback. I mean, you sign Kirk Cousins to a huge contract, and then you then you go get Michael Penix, uh, which I'm sure Kurt's not gonna say it, but put a bad taste in his mouth with the organization. And now you got Penix that that started quite a few games, got hurt, and now you got Tua coming in. I'm sure both of those quarterbacks are gonna end up playing this year. The good thing is both of them are left-handed, so it does help out as far as continuity of that offense. You got a couple of lefties coming out of the bullpen there. Offensive line is gonna be extremely important for this team, and I haven't seen them do enough to uh address that. Uh, you got two injury-prone quarterbacks that that are gonna need that protection. You talked about it, they have great offensive weapons, but their defense is still struggling. They have to find them an edge rusher that's gonna be able to put pressure on that other team's quarterback. That way the back end can hold up a little bit better. I just I don't see them getting any better. I see them maybe regressing a little bit. I have them around a six, six, seven win team.

SPEAKER_03 41:35

I think they're gonna win the division. Uh I think the division is poor.

SPEAKER_05 41:39

I don't think the Bucs are we'll get the Bucs in the in a minute. But here's something too, Rodney. Uh plays four, they had fifty plays less on offense than they gave up on defense. So they the other teams had 50 more plays year. Usually that's pretty even. That's 50. But what's weird is their yards per play were higher on offense versus what the yards they gave up on defense, which is really odd about how they ended up even. I would tell you that I know they have offensive prowess. People are not going to lie, I make this reference to Steelers all the time. Michael Vick was the only guy to start a quarterback with a Steeler jersey. Never threw a touchdown pass to Antonio Brown when he was in a game. And he was there several. And Brown always said his ball spun different than Rothersburgers or any of the right-handers that threw it because left-hander. But Ira said it best both these guys are in the competition or throw with that same spin on the ball.

SPEAKER_00 42:39

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SPEAKER_01 43:17

You're listening to the Don't Drop the Soap Sports Podcast with King Nutt, Fabio, and Rodney.

SPEAKER_05 43:23

And so here's what we'll close in. We'll do this in a hurry because we are going to cover each of these divisions right before the starts. The 49ers finish in third at a 12-5 record. Now, their division may be better than the North. You just got the Cardinals that don't count. I'm going to start with this and I'm going to throw this out there. And they are seventh in offensive yards, 20th in defensive points. They make another change at coordinator. I mean, those are yards. I'm sorry. They were 10th in points for, 13th in points against, which is much better than their 20th ranking on yards. That's a bend, don't break. Mentality, I'm going to start to tell you this. This is the one team in that division I think goes backwards. I think they've aged a little bit. I think McCaffrey doesn't stay healthy. I think they, you know, they've traded and have done some work in free agency, but I don't see where they've gotten a lot better. And I think this Brock Purdy, who is very good with Shanahan calling the plays, if something happens where he is has a couple of those off games, I just think they go backwards. Rodney, what do you see when it comes to the 49ers?

SPEAKER_03 44:34

I agree with you. I'm not sold on Purdy. I think they also will miss Sala, your favorite guy. Salah could have been great in Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_05 44:44

Should have been there. Rodney, I'm telling you, if one thing the guy does are two things. He always refers to the Vikings as we, like he's got some purple. I don't say we, I say them. And he also gives me kudos when I know Robert Salah is a coach. So there's two things he does well for me. You can find him at Game Day Grill, though, in 301-804-789-8005. Cold shock top as I move on to the Fabio to close us out and to close the 49ers.

SPEAKER_02 45:17

What do you see there? I see them being a 11-12 team win again. I think they've done some good offseason moves. Their offensive line they struggled with last year. They went out and signed them a couple of tackles. I think we'll help them back in. They signed uh, I think it was Nate Hobbs to uh to help them out there. Uh Mike Evans, I know he's getting up in years, but he's he's almost a guaranteed a thousand yards a year. Uh that will be a good safety blanket for uh Brock to have. McCaffrey's still running, I mean, running well, catching well. They did get the running back out of out of Indiana in the draft. I think he'll be a good person to come in to take the place of McCaffrey, give him that rest that he needs. But I see the 49ers still being a very strong contender in that conference even, not just their division, but the conference as far as being a Super Bowl contender. So I'm high on the Niners again. Well, I was last year, and I look what happened. So Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 46:08

Amen and amen. So we have now gone through the last place and the third place from a year ago. We'll finish second place next week, and uh we'll dedicate more time. Football, the all-star game will have happened, baseball take their natural little break there, golf should be calm, NASCAR will be there. Uh I'd ask you both quickly, again, three-second answer here. If I said we have talked about eight teams, fourth place, third place teams in there, is there a team that you can immediately pull your holster out and say, play off right away? Ira, who is it? Bengals. Rodney. Vikings. All right. We came back into play there.

SPEAKER_03 46:57

My prediction is three of the teams that have already been talked about will win the division.

SPEAKER_05 47:02

Nice. Now we got some balls to talk about, Weigel. Put the balls in the scene. Let me have two clanky balls. You know how the things that hang off people's bumper or hit trailer hitches with the two balls that clank back and forth. Give me an email at don't drop soapsports at gmail.com or Facebook message. Facebook, I had one comment this week. It wasn't a uh question. I'm sure it has to be a friend of Ira's because it only said was Fabio's right and you're wrong. Which I appreciate. That wasn't from me, was it? No, you say that just to be. From your wife. Yeah. This is a guy named Steve. When I clicked his profile picture, everything, it doesn't tell you where he's from, what anything. So uh at least we got a fish. We got some anonymous listener out of that. Steve, thanks for your opinion. I don't agree, but your opinions like my asshole. We both got one. So uh keep them coming when it comes to that. Uh, if you got anything you need, Rodney, call insurance agent 804-569-6208. He can help you with any insurance needs you may have, licensed in many, many states, so it's worth giving him a call. Game Day Grow also appreciate them. They're Chicken Wing Wednesday and uh Shock Top when you go over there to get that. Uh, they got a lot going on over there. Thanks to HVAC Mechanical.

SPEAKER_02 48:23

What one quick we have the open championship this weekend, one of the best majors in sports. Uh, just curious who y'all had in this.

SPEAKER_05 48:31

Shoutler.

SPEAKER_02 48:32

Yeah. Wow, y'all really go on the limb every damn time.

SPEAKER_03 48:34

Yeah, you keep hanging with your guy. I I called Scotty, and we got a chance to win this thing. My guy is in the running every week. His guy, Rom, occasionally. Not me. You had Rom and then.

SPEAKER_05 48:47

Just because I like it, some bitches are big and he eats.

SPEAKER_03 48:50

And then your boy, DeChambeau, hadn't made a cut in six years. I think you're talking about how Scotty Bronx.

SPEAKER_05 48:57

I think Bryson's got some stuff going on. That's what I think. I just think Bryson's.

SPEAKER_02 49:01

Bob? Let's go out on a limb, boys.

SPEAKER_05 49:03

Everybody can pick the damn number one player in the world. You did go out on a limb. I'm taking one of the Asians in. You pick it, I'll take it. Damn.

SPEAKER_03 49:11

He's taking a whole country.

SPEAKER_05 49:13

I got a whole continent.

SPEAKER_02 49:15

I got Asians. I will take Chris Goddard up as my long shot. Chris Gitter up.

SPEAKER_05 49:24

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 49:24

He already got her up. I'm taking an Asian.

SPEAKER_05 49:27

I'm taking somebody named Kim. All right, I'll give you that. He's taking all the female Asians. They're gonna win. I mean, hell, it's the only thing on tour on the LPGA side, Corna. Oh, goodness gracious.

SPEAKER_01 49:40

If you want to reach out to King Knut or Fabio, do it by email. Don't drop the soap sports at gmail.com.