Eli Manning, Ryen Russillo Talking CFB, Falcons Dominant MNF Win, Playoff Baseball And Listener Takes

Episode of Pardon My Take · October 7, 2026 · 3 h 23 min

The Pardon My Take hosts cover MLB playoffs, Lane Johnson's retirement and the Falcons' win, then talk ball with Eli Manning and college football with Ryen Russillo.

Summary

The Pardon My Take hosts opened with the MLB postseason, discussing the Padres forcing a Game 4 against the Brewers, the Braves' decision to start Chris Sale on short rest against Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers, the surging White Sox, and the Yankees' offensive collapse at Tropicana Field. They then celebrated Lane Johnson's midseason retirement, citing the Eagles' record and quarterback efficiency with and without him, before breaking down the Falcons' 45-24 Monday Night Football win over the Saints, which Dan Katz and PFT Commenter credited to Michael Penix Jr.'s return and Kevin Stefanski's coaching.

The Hot Seat/Cool Throne segment covered Bub Carrington's apparent tanking admission, LeBron James's Fanatics arrangement with Michael Rubin, Alex Ovechkin's announced final season, a Colorado State coordinator walking off mid-game, debates over a Group of Six playoff, lab-grown skin on robots, and Joey Chestnut's baked-bean feat.

Eli Manning discussed proper quarterback sliding technique, rooting for nephew Arch Manning even against Ole Miss, Tom Coughlin's team rules, his Hall of Fame candidacy, advice to injured Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, and his view that coaches would be the best Hall of Fame voters. Ryen Russillo then argued that college football felt wide open after five weeks, debated with Katz how NIL and the transfer portal had made programs volatile, ranked the teams he trusted, critiqued Lincoln Riley's USC, and answered Max Delente's question about Joel Embiid and the 76ers. The show closed with listener-submitted takes.

Chapters

  1. 2:19

    Playoff baseball roundup

    The hosts discuss Padres-Brewers, the Braves' Chris Sale decision against the Dodgers, the White Sox's hot run, and the Yankees' struggles.

  2. 23:50

    Lane Johnson retires

    The hosts celebrate Lane Johnson's career, his openness about mental health, and his statistical impact on the Eagles.

  3. 31:18

    Falcons rout Saints on Monday Night Football

    Analysis of Atlanta's offensive surge under Michael Penix Jr., the Saints' struggles, and the NFC picture.

  4. 42:32

    Week four flags and Steelers turmoil

    Discussion of excessive penalties, a proposed mic'd-up swear ref, and Mike McCarthy's locker-room issues in Pittsburgh.

  5. 48:59

    Hot Seat/Cool Throne

    Segments on NBA rule-bending, Ovechkin's farewell season, Colorado State's coordinator walkout, a Group of Six playoff, robot skin, and Joey Chestnut.

  6. 1:25:03

    Eli Manning interview

    Eli Manning talks sliding, rooting for Arch, Coughlin, the Hall of Fame, Mahomes and Allen, Jaxson Dart, and the Manningcast.

  7. 2:08:20

    Ryen Russillo on college football

    Russillo and the hosts discuss parity, NIL and transfer-portal volatility, trusted contenders, USC, and P.J. Fleck.

  8. 2:58:18

    Sixers and Eastern Conference outlook

    Russillo answers Max's question on Joel Embiid and lists Eastern Conference contenders.

  9. 3:05:46

    Listener Pardon Your Takes

    The hosts react to listener takes on flat Earth, Chargers and Browns schedules, coach firings, and records after four weeks.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

  • Dan Katz

    Katz calls Kiké Hernández the best postseason player ever.

    “He is the best postseason player ever. He has 17 home runs in the postseason”

    Listen from 9:33 · 2026 Major League Baseball postseason

  • Dan KatzPrediction · being checked

    Katz predicts the White Sox will finish off the Guardians in their division series because of their momentum.

    “I do think that this series is over. Cause I think the white socks are just playing”

    Listen from 12:15 · 2026 Major League Baseball postseason

  • Linked moment · 23:50Skip to 23:50 using a listen link in the info box.

    Max Delente

    Max Delente says Lane Johnson owes nobody an explanation for retiring midseason after all he gave the Eagles.

    “Like he's given everything to the Eagles organization and that's it. Like he's the best”

    Listen from 25:10 · Lane Johnson retirement

  • Dan Katz

    Katz cites the Eagles' record with and without Lane Johnson as evidence of his Hall of Fame impact.

    “The Eagles are 122 and 63 when Lane Johnson started and 18 and 30 when he did not”

    Listen from 26:36 · Lane Johnson retirement

  • PFT Commenter

    PFT Commenter declares the Falcons a genuinely good team after their win over the Saints.

    “I'm telling you, the Falcons are, I'm putting them in my actually good category”

    Listen from 42:20 · Atlanta Falcons

  • Max Delente

    Max Delente argues the top FCS programs may be better than the Group of Six, so a separate Group of Six playoff could become irrelevant.

    “So maybe that means the FCS may actually be better than the group of six”

    Listen from 1:11:04 · College Football Playoff

  • Eli Manning

    Eli Manning argues quarterbacks should slide and turn their backs to defenders rather than slide head and chest up.

    “But if you're sliding head up, chest up, the point of sliding is not to take a hit”

    Listen from 1:27:34 · Quarterback slide

  • Eli Manning

    Manning says he will root for his nephew Arch in every game, even against his alma mater Ole Miss.

    “I'm going to root for my nephew to win every single game that he plays in. And that's just the way it is”

    Listen from 1:29:09

  • Eli Manning

    Manning praises Mike McDaniel for encouraging aggressive quarterback play, arguing that harping on mistakes ruins a quarterback's mindset.

    “You can't play just trying not to screw up. It throws off your whole psyche”

    Listen from 1:40:34

  • Dan Katz

    Katz predicts Eli Manning will eventually make the Hall of Fame given his two Super Bowl wins.

    “Two Super Bowls, for the amount of years you played, it's going to happen”

    Listen from 1:44:48 · Pro Football Hall of Fame

  • Eli Manning

    Manning suggests coaches, who game-plan against players, would be the best Hall of Fame voters.

    “obviously you get a GM, you get coaches. I mean, coaches would probably be the best people to vote”

    Listen from 1:46:24 · Pro Football Hall of Fame

  • Eli Manning

    Manning calls Josh Allen the best quarterback in the NFL but says the Bills' reliance on him makes a title difficult.

    “Obviously, I think Josh is the best quarterback in the NFL right now”

    Listen from 1:49:35

  • Eli Manning

    Manning says he advised injured Jaxson Dart to stay engaged in meetings and take mental reps while recovering.

    “You're still a leader. They want to see you, but you've got to keep learning”

    Listen from 1:57:09

  • Eli Manning

    Manning says that for selfish reasons he would like Arch to end up with the New York Jets so family could be nearby.

    “From a purely selfish reasons, I wouldn't mind if he went to the Jets”

    Listen from 2:01:58

  • Eli Manning

    Manning says Peyton's rookie interception record will never be broken because teams no longer show patience with struggling young quarterbacks.

    “That record will not be broken again because now if any quarterback threw 28 interceptions”

    Listen from 2:03:07

  • Dan Katz

    Dan Katz argues the transfer portal and NIL have made college programs so volatile year to year that many fan bases are unhappy.

    “I think aren't used to the fact that the volatility is going to be so severe year to year”

    Listen from 2:13:34 · Name, image, and likeness in college sports

  • PFT Commenter

    PFT Commenter argues that college football's charm is that it has always been broken and chaotic.

    “I think that the beauty of college football is that it's always been broken”

    Listen from 2:18:47 · College Football Playoff

  • Ryen Russillo

    Ryen Russillo doubts that NIL has ended SEC dominance, noting the SEC still led transfer portal rankings.

    “it was still hard for me to believe like they're just not going to win national championships now because of NIL”

    Listen from 2:23:28 · Name, image, and likeness in college sports

  • Ryen Russillo

    Russillo names Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami and Ohio State among the teams he trusts most after five weeks.

    “Let me go Georgia. Let me go Notre Dame. Let me go Miami. And I'm actually going to say Ohio State”

    Listen from 2:31:56 · College Football Playoff

  • Ryen Russillo

    Russillo says Joel Embiid must lose more weight for the 76ers to contend.

    “There's no other way to go into this season other than he has to lose a little bit of weight”

    Listen from 2:59:47 · Philadelphia 76ers

People

In the conversation

  • Dan KatzBarstool Sports personality known as Big Cat, co-host of Pardon My Take
  • PFT CommenterBarstool Sports writer and co-host of Pardon My Take
  • Hank LockwoodPardon My Take contributor and Boston Celtics fan
  • Max DelentePardon My Take producer and Philadelphia 76ers fan whose bachelor party is referenced
  • ZachNewest Pardon My Take staff member, Knicks fan
  • MemesPardon My Take staffer and New York Knicks fan
  • Eli ManningFormer New York Giants quarterback and two-time Super Bowl MVP
  • Ryen RussilloSports broadcaster and host of The Ryen Russillo Podcast

Discussed

Topics

More from Pardon My Take

From the publisher

Playoff Baseball is rocking and the Padres find a way to force Game 4 and the White Sox continue to be the funnest team in the playoffs. We talk Braves dropping Game 3, the Dodgers continually being clutch and the Yankees being a joke when the lights get bright (00:00:00-00:23:22). Lane Johnson retires from football and we talk about his incredible career (00:23:22-00:28:56). We then talk some MNF and the Falcons look really good while the Saints look broken (00:28:56-00:46:16). Hot Seat/Cool Throne including some NBA stories and coaches walking off at halftime (00:46:16-01:22:49). Eli Manning joins us in studio to talk ball, helping Arch navigate college, Jaxson Dart's injury, Hall of Fame and more (01:22:49-02:05:19). Ryen Russillo joins us in studio to talk CFB, which teams we trust through 5 weeks, the volatility of the NIL/Transfer portal era and a Sixers question from Max (02:05:19-03:02:31). We then finish with listener submitted Pardon Your Takes. You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Netflix. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/pardon-my-take

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 8, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Football·Baseball·Basketball