Tag: Mina Kimes

Mina Kimes tricked Dan Orlovsky with a perfect Simpsons-themed prank

D’oh!

Ahead of Monday night’s Simpsons Funday Football broadcast, ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes pranked fellow analyst Dan Orlovsky with a Bart Simpson-inspired pun for the ages.

Paying homage to Bart’s prank calls to Moe’s Tavern, Kimes asked Orlovsky about a player on the upcoming game roster named “Hugh Jass.”

Hugh Jass? Get it? Orlovsky didn’t at first, as he fell hook, line and sinker for Kimes’ Simpsons-ready prank.

We like to think Bart was somewhere laughing in the background as Kimes executed this prank to absolute perfection.

As for Orlovsky, cowabunga, dude. You might want to brush up on your Simpsons episodes!

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Former Ravens QB to join Netflix’ studio coverage of NFL Christmas Day doubleheader

Former Ravens QB Robert Griffin III to join Netflix’ studio coverage of the NFL Christmas Day doubleheader the Chiefs-Steelers and Ravens-Texans games

After signing a three-year deal with the league to host two Christmas Day games in 2024 and one game per holiday over the next three years, Netflix is now officially an NFL streaming giant.

According to Front Office Sports, Robert Griffin III will join NFL Network analyst and former Notre Dame star Manti Te’o, ESPN analyst Mina Kimes, and former Saints quarterback Drew Brees as analysts for pre-and post-game shows during the Christmas Day doubleheader. They will handle the pre-game and post-game analysis and downtime between the two games.

Kay Adams, host of FanDuel’s Up & Adams, is expected to lead studio coverage from a set in Los Angeles.

Griffin, who ESPN laid off in a cost-cutting move in August, spent three years with the Ravens, playing in 14 games, logging 288 yards passing, one touchdown, and four interceptions.

Netflix announced the Ravens and Texans will play in a rematch of last season’s AFC divisional round matchup following the Kansas City Chiefs’ massive matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Baltimore defeated Houston twice last season.

The first meeting was a 25-9 Ravens win in the season opener, and the second was a dominant 34-10 win in the AFC Divisional Round game that catapulted Baltimore to the AFC Championship game.

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PFF analyst highlights the difference between Spencer Rattler and Derek Carr

Spencer Rattler has one trait that Derek Carr lacked which could benefit the Saints offense. PFF’s Trevor Sikkema broke it down:

It wasn’t intentional, but in Pro Football Focus analyst Trevor Sikkema’s analysis of Spencer Rattler, he landed on one trait Rattler possesses that Derek Carr lacks. Rattler remains calm in the face of pressure and that should benefit the New Orleans Saints.

Sikkema joined ESPN’s Mina Kimes on her podcast, “The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny.” Both analysts looked at how poor South Carolina’s offensive line was during Rattler’s last two seasons. As PFF’s lead draft analyst, Sikkema discussed Rattler through the lens of a prospect. This is still fair as Rattler hasn’t taken a snap yet.

“That’s something I don’t think he got enough credit for. He stayed calm under a ton of pressure,” Sikkema said. The Saints offensive line is dealing with a lot of injuries, and that will naturally lead to some breakdowns during the game.

When those breakdowns occur, there’s trust Rattler won’t panic. That is a weakness of Carr’s. The interception on the first drive against the Chiefs is just one example of this.

To be crystal clear, Rattler possessing the trait doesn’t mean he’s a better quarterback than Carr. It’s a straightforward statement. Based on his experiences in college, Rattler may handle poor blocking better than Derek Carr has.

That could be by either still stepping into throws when possible, or escaping the pocket with his legs. Regardless of the method, poise under pressure will benefit Rattler and the Saints offense.

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Pablo Torre’s stellar Celebrity Family Feud comeback was an all-time great performance

Family Feud fans will always remember the name Pablo Torre.

When we think about the great performances in sports history, we don’t often enough think about the accomplishments of sportswriters.

Perhaps, however, that is because sports media personalities rarely achieve greatness quite at the level that Pablo Torre did. Torre, a former ESPN host and Sports Illustrated writer who now hosts the podcast Pablo Finds Out on Meadowlark Media, appeared on ABC’s Celebrity Family Feud.

He played alongside ESPN’s Mina Kimes, golfer Michelle Wie West, restaurateur David Chang, and author Chris Ying. Torre and his team faced off against a team led by John Legend and Chrissy Teigen.

Torre was tasked with anchoring the Fast Money segment and he did not disappoint.

After an uninspiring 54-point performance from Chang, it was up to Torre to climb out of the hole (per Awful Announcing):

“In fact, host Steve Harvey said it would take a Celebrity Family Feud record for a second contestant to reach the 200 points needed to win.”

So with a historic performance needed to earn $25,000 for their charity, the Southern Smoke Foundation, the sports media star simply did exactly what he needed to do — and he made it look easy.

He made history, or something like it, by notching 174 points and securing a victory. Torre also sarcastically thanked John Legend in the middle of Harvey totaling the score from the round, which was also very fun.

There are even t-shirts sold to celebrate this remarkable TV moment. Kudos to Torre on a job well done.

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NFL analyst confused by Falcons’ play-calling in Week 1 loss

NFL analyst Mina Kimes was confused by the Falcons’ play-calling: “Why did they think this would work?”

After two years of spinning their wheels in the dirt, the Atlanta Falcons invested heavily in the quarterback position during the 2024 NFL offseason. The team signed Kirk Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract in free agency before drafting Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick.

With players like Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson playing on their rookie contracts, it made sense for the Falcons to get aggressive at the game’s most important position. However, the offense struggled in Week 1 as Atlanta scored just 10 points.

Cousins passed for 155 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while playing primarily out of the pistol formation. The Falcons did not run a single play-action pass, which makes little sense considering Cousins’ skill set and playing style.

NFL analysts Mina Kimes and Domonique Foxworth were puzzled by the Falcons’ offensive play-calling and use of Cousins in Week 1.

“I mean the entire premise of him going to Atlanta was, he’s this great under-center, play-action quarterback,” said Kimes. “He can’t run under center play action right now. So the whole thing falls apart, It’s super siloed. The run game suffers for it.”

Kimes did raise some valid points, and it’s hard to envision a game plan centered around Kirk Cousins and Bijan Robinson where play action isn’t utilized. “Why did they think this would work?” Kimes asked Foxworth.

Cousins is coming off a season-ending Achilles injury, which is one possible explanation for Sunday’s play-calling decisions, but Atlanta is maintaining it was more rust than anything else.

While head coach Raheem Morris was critical of Cousins after the team’s Week 1 loss, he expressed confidence that his quarterback will get back on track at Thursday’s practice.

“I just know what he’s going to go do today — he’s gonna bring the urgency,” said Morris. “He’s gonna bring everything he has to do in order to play better to find a way to get that thing to the results that we want.”

The Falcons are 5.5-point underdogs entering their prime-time matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.

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Saints DE Cameron Jordan defends Panthers QB Bryce Young

Saints DE Cameron Jordan thinks it’s far too early to judge Panthers QB Bryce Young, especially after a ridiculously rough rookie season.

NFC South rival Cameron Jordan actually had something kinda nice to say about the Carolina Panthers for a change.

The New Orleans Saints defensive lineman hopped on the latest episode of The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny. With the Panthers set to visit the Saints to kick off the 2024 regular season, host Mina Kimes asked Jordan about quarterback Bryce Young’s rough rookie season.

“I mean . . . what did they protect him with?” he replied. “You were going into the season knowing they had one tackle returning that they could rely on [Taylor Moton] and the rest of ’em were like . . . hmmm.”

Well, Moton and the rest of ’em combined to allow 62 sacks of Young—the second-highest mark amongst all quarterbacks in 2023. Young’s other numbers weren’t pretty either, as he threw for just 179.8 passing yards per game and 11 touchdowns over 16 starts.

Two of those starts came against Jordan and the Saints, who held the lowly Panthers offense down in Week 2 and in Week 14. Young completed just 35 of his 69 attempts against New Orleans for 290 yards and one score between the pair of outings.

But with those hefty investments into his revamped offensive line, perhaps Young puts some bigger numbers up on Jordan’s Saints in just a few weeks’ time.

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Mina Kimes: Justin Fields deserves Steelers’ QB job over Badgers legend

Mina Kimes: Justin Fields deserves Steelers’ QB job over Badgers legend

ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes believes Justin Fields is a better fit at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers than former Wisconsin Badger Russell Wilson.

While Wilson landed at the No. 1 spot on the Steelers’ first official preseason depth chart two weeks ago, the regular season is an different animal.

On Monday’s edition of ESPN’s “NFL Live,” panelist Laura Rutledge asked Kimes which potential QB gives Pittsburgh the best chance to win early in the season.

“I would go with Fields,” Kimes said in the clip. “Both these quarterbacks struggled. Both of them have similar weaknesses in terms of holding onto the football, taking sacks, not always seeing the middle of the field well … if your passing attack is going to be boom or bust, you gotta go with a player that’s actually going to give you some of that boom. I’m not really seeing that with Wilson.”

Through two games this preseason, Fields has logged 159 passing yards on 16 of 23 through the air. Wilson, on the other hand, made his Steelers debut in the team’s Aug. 17 contest vs. Buffalo. He notched 47 yards on eight completed passes.

 

Pittsburgh will face the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts in its first four contests this season. If the team plays well enough, it can emerge victorious in each test to start its season.

Still, given Wilson’s experience, he will likely suit up as the starting quarterback entering Week 1. The title, however, does not guarantee him the job throughout the remainder of the season.

Neither head coach Mike Tomlin nor offensive coordinator Arthur Smith have yet to name a starting quarterback before the Sept. 8 match in Atlanta. Pittsburgh will play one more preseason game against the Detroit Lions on Aug. 24.

Mina Kimes on how Seahawks OC Ryan Grubb could help Geno Smith

Here’s Seahawks superfan and NFL analyst Mina Kimes on how Grubb can help get the best out of Geno Smith.

The Seahawks have turned over their roster a great deal this offseason, effectively starting over at linebacker, safety and their interior offensive line. However, the most important changes the team made were on the sidelines. This will be their first year playing under new head coach Mike Macdonald, who should get Seattle’s defense back to a respectable level.

On the other side of the ball Macdonald will rely on offensive coordiantor Ryan Grubb, who was arguably the best playcaller in college football over the last two seasons. Here’s Seahawks superfan and NFL analyst Mina Kimes on how Grubb can help get the best out of Geno Smith.

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Richard Sherman blasts the Falcons for drafting Michael Penix Jr.

If you’ve ever been the main character on Twitter for a day you probably know how Falcons GM Terry Fontenot is feeling right now.

If you’ve ever been the main character on Twitter for a day you probably know how Falcons GM Terry Fontenot is feeling right now. While there are a few rare exceptions to the rule, the vast majority of analysts are absolutely lambasting Atlanta for the decision to pick Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Even mild-mannered Mina Kimes dragged the Falcons for their decision.

Here’s Richard Sherman getting his licks in on Undisputed.

Consider us in that small minority of people who actually liked the pick. Yes, Kirk Cousins is slated to start for the next few years but we always advocate for drafting your next potential franchise QB before you need to find him. To name just a few, Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers were all drafted when their teams already had established starters at quarterback.

You can make an even stronger case for Atlanta to do so, considering their QB1 will be 36 years old when next season begins and is coming off an ACL tear. Even if Cousins returns to form and the Falcons finally get back to the playoffs (2017 was their last appearance), we’re confident that the aggressive Penix has a higher ceiling than the conservative Cousins. In any case, it wouldn’t surpise us at all if Penix turns out to be the best QB in this class. Let’s revisit this in a few years.

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Mina Kimes on how Ryan Grubb can improve Seahawks offense

Mina Kimes on how Ryan Grubb can improve Seahawks offense

The Seattle Seahawks are engaging in a fresh new start for their franchise. Fresh is the operative word here, as the coaching staff is filled with men taking their first steps in the NFL at their current positions. Mike Macdonald has never been a head coach before, Aden Durde has never been a defensive coordinator, and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will enjoy his first season in the NFL at any level.

Despite the youth and collective inexperience, there is still reason for optimism, especially from Grubb. Last year, the University of Washington had arguably the best offense in the country under Grubb’s tutelage. ESPN analysist and Seattle sports fan Mina Kimes shared her opinions on what Grubb could bring to the table to help the Seahawks’ inconsistent offense.

It is an exciting new chapter for the Seahawks in 2024. There are a lot of unknowns, yet there is a welcome level of optimism surrounding the team. Part of it comes from coaching hires in Macdonald and Grubb, who offer a sense of newness we have not felt from this franchise in quite some time.

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