Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Kickoff with Boomer Esiason and Mike Valenti for Super Bowl week in the NFL. | 'Kickoff With Boomer & Valenti' Seahawks, Patriots.
06 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What are the main storylines leading up to Super Bowl 60?
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It's time for... Here we go, here we go, here we go. Kickoff. With Boomer Esiason and Mike Valenti.
Super Bowl 60 and the grand finale, year four of this program. Boomer, let's kick off. What's going on, buddy? How you doing?
You know, Mike, always a sad day for me because it is our final program of the year. It's been a great year for all of us, Scones, Eddie Scazzeri, you, me. We love doing this show because we love the game of football. Now, interestingly enough, this game in particular, Super Bowl 60, I don't know about you guys out in Detroit, but us guys here back in New York just don't feel the love.
We don't feel the juice. We don't feel the excitement. Nope. But what we have found out is that the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks will become the next head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. They will draft Fernando Mendoza, which I think is a great start for them. And it just goes to show you that timing is everything in the NFL these days.
Yeah, look, we could spend a minute on that. I do have a Tom Brady thing for you. I love Clint Kubiak as a hire. I think it's a perfect guy. Let him pick his quarterback. Look, I know in years past, you were high on certain quarterbacks. You start kind of turning your eye towards college a little bit now where you start looking at the draft. Have you had a chance to look at Mendoza?
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Chapter 2: How do the Seahawks and Patriots compare in terms of team dynamics?
I have no idea why.
It's an annoyance is what it is. All right, let's get to the game. So it's Seattle. Hey, the time we sit down to do this show, the line has been four and a half all week. It's four and a half right now. You're over under 46 and a half. You highlighted one thing I do want to hit on to start. And I'm not trying to bleep in the punch bowl here. But this does feel weird.
I don't know if it's because we're both, you know, Northeast, Midwest guys. It's cold. It's winter. We're all miserable. But this game does not feel super bullish. There's something missing here, and I can't figure it out. I just generally thought it's because I'm a curmudgeon.
Well, I would tell you it's missing something called Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes or Matthew Stafford. It's really about the quarterbacks. Quarterbacks, in this case, one is young, two years in, and Drake Mayne.
The other one is kind of a rebound guy who everybody, I think, in America would be rooting for simply because of his story and the way that he's handled himself this week out there in Santa Clara. So there's really no buzz. There's no major buzz there. Because I don't necessarily know that these are the teams that anybody expected to be in the Super Bowl.
So without Tom Brady being the quarterback, it loses a lot of juice from the Patriots side. And because it's the Seahawks and Sam Darnold, I don't think there's a lot of excitement around that. Unless, of course, you're a fan of one of these two teams. But it just shows that the ticket prices are where they are. The secondary market has not exploded by any stretch of the imagination.
So, yeah, there's a little less juice associated with this Super Bowl, but nonetheless, we'll all be watching on Sunday, that's for sure.
You know, it's crazy you mention it. We were talking yesterday on my show on 97.1 in Detroit. You know, it's 20 years since the Super Bowl was in Detroit. And you mentioned the ticket prices. It's crazy. It's 10x in 20 years. Super Bowl tickets when it was Pittsburgh and Seattle here in the Motor City. And it was a hot ticket. Remember, Pittsburgh, they travel. About $600 a ticket.
Now, you're north of $6,000. Yeah, it's crazy. That's jarring in 20 years.
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Chapter 3: What impact does Tom Brady's absence have on Super Bowl 60?
I think it's a great storyline, and I think it's a storyline that Tom Brady, his former teammate, should be rooting for. Okay. Oh, boy, you're not letting that one go.
Number two, the QB journey. You got Drake May trying to be the youngest QB ever to win a Super Bowl, and then Sam Darnold and the redemption arc. I know it lacks pedigree, but both of these guys have a really interesting story.
All right. So does Drake May become Boomer Esiason and Dan Marino going to the Super Bowl young in their careers and never going back again? So never take it for granted. I don't think he will. He's not that kind of kid. But for me, in this particular story arc, the Sam Donald story arc is amazing. I, you know, as a guy who covered him here when he was the Jets quarterback at the age of 20.
I have to say that I am rooting for him to have a huge game. I would love to see him kind of recreate the game that he had against the Rams in the NFC Championship game. I don't know if he could do that against this defense.
That's a game of his life, Boomer.
I just don't want him to lose the game at the end with an interception or a sack fumble. Please, I just don't want that to happen to this young man. It shouldn't happen to this young man.
Storyline three. Defense is back. McDonald, Vrabel, defensive minds, defensive guys, two defensive units, including Seattle, who no one pressured QBs more. Nobody's hit QBs more. A reminder, defense can still win in this league.
I think it's great. I think it's great for the game. I know the game is always about offense. Most of the penalties are called against the defense, ruins the game, gives the quarterbacks and the offensive players even more opportunities to put up a lot of points.
I like the fact that this is a defensive-oriented game and that both of these teams do have, like I said, the top two scoring defenses in football. That's why I tend to think it's going to be a slugfest maybe until we get to the fourth quarter. And then once we get into the fourth quarter, maybe we'll start seeing some things loosen up a little bit.
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Chapter 4: What are the key matchups to watch in the Super Bowl?
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It's kickoff with Boomer and Valenti.
We are back. So we're going to have some fun. Boomer and I talked about history. We love the history in the Super Bowl. It is. It's nostalgia. For me, certain games mean more than others. But we all sit and we're ready to watch these games. And there are games that are like, wow. I can't believe that was real.
Then there's other games where you're like, wait, I waited all year to watch that garbage. So I wanted to give you some of my best and worst Super Bowls. And Boomer, Scones, you guys feel free. I'm sure yours might be different. But I'll give you an example. The worst Super Bowl for me.
would be Super Bowl 35, not just because the Giants got dusted, but I surprised my dad by driving home from college. So I got out of class, boomer, I got out of class at like 4.30 on a Friday. I drove straight through to New York. All the way from Michigan. And I surprised my dad. I damn near gave him a heart attack. And we were going to watch the game together.
And Kerry Collins decided, yeah, we're just not doing this today. Giants get bombed 35-7. Absolute depression. The other one that was just beyond dreadful to me was Broncos-Seahawks at MetLife. Yep. 43-8. And this was pre-bolts in the neck. Peyton Manning. Remember, this was the year he set all the records. He won the Super Bowl when he was Frankenstein. That game was done.
Over, finito, four minutes in.
The one thing I will say about that game, too bad it wasn't played the next day when we had the huge snowfall here in New York. If you remember, I think we had like a foot of snow that hit on the day after that Super Bowl. That snow, if it would have been the day of the Super Bowl, I think it would have made the game a little bit closer. That Seahawks defense was amazing.
All right, Brian, so it's your turn. What are your two worst?
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Chapter 5: How do the offensive strategies of both teams differ?
Yes, 43. The interception by James Harrison was incredible. The return of 100 yards of a Kurt Warner interception. And the time was running down. And I remember I was doing the game with Marv Albert. And I was thinking to myself, you know, if he doesn't score, it's not like this doesn't mean anything because he kept Arizona off the board.
But if he doesn't score, he ran a long way for no other reason other than to just run a long way. But when he did score that touchdown, I thought that was amazing. Then the San Antonio Holmes at the end of the game, that catch in the back of the end zone, the throw by Ben Roethlisberger was amazing. And then the other one for me, I got to say ā
It would be the Giants beating the undefeated Patriots. And the helmet catch by David Tyree was nothing short of remarkable. And then the Plexico-Burris game-winning catch, you know, it just goes to show you that you just never know who's going to win these games. And that's why the underdog over the last three years has actually won these games in the Super Bowl.
I give you two because you covered one of them. I love 43. I love the Eagles-Pats Super Bowl, the Nick Foles mania game. I mean, it justāwhat was it? 52, I believe. But I justāI loved seeingā the Patriots get taken apart. There was 1,000 yards in the game, 41-33, the Philly special, the whole thing. No puns. No. This was a Big 12 football game between Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.
And then number one for me, I just have really fond memories of being a kid, was Super Bowl XXV, Whitney Houston's national anthem, Norwood wide right, the Giants with a 13-minute drive, Parcells in the sweater, 20-19 over the Bills. And fun fact, I got kicked out of the living room by my father in the second quarter of that game for being overly critical of the Giants' play calling at age 10.
I was invited back for the fourth quarter. And I still to this day tell my dad, my presence back in the room for the fourth quarter powered that Giants game.
How old were you when this was going on?
I was 10. Oh, Jesus.
That explains a lot, doesn't it, guys?
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Chapter 6: What are the best prop bets for Super Bowl 60?
The defense can make a mistake and still make a big play. The offense, one blown assignment, and next thing you know, the ball's on the ground and the ball's turned over. So I don't think the offense for the Patriots has been that good in the postseason. However, I will say that the Seahawks offense, their last time out against the Rams really showed me something.
So for me, that's the thing I look at. All right.
We got props. We got parlays. We got picks. Scones, add pinwheels to the list. Save me a few, will you please? We'll give you the picks coming up next. This is Kickoff with Boomer and Valenti.
It's Kickoff with Boomer and Valenti.
All right, this is going to be a good time now. No pinwheels, but we're getting props, parlays, and picks. Also, shout out our noted fashionista, Eddie Scazzeri, telling us this will be the first Super Bowl where both teams are monochromatic. Same color, head to toe. Nice job by Eddie. Scones, you have got props galore.
Let's run through these, have some fun, see if Boomer Eye can find any we like.
It's prop heaven when it comes to Super Bowl. So, guys, I'm going to start with the most obvious one, your Super Bowl MVP. I only put the two quarterbacks up because it's normally a quarterback 95% of the time. Feel free if you don't think it is. Sam Darnold, plus 120. Drake May, plus 240. Who do you got?
Wow. You know, I would go with Sam Darnold because I think that their offense is a little bit more explosive than the Patriots have been through the playoffs. The other one I would put on here, I would put on Kenneth Walker. I mean, if he has a great game and he is the impetus as to why Sam Darnold is able to put up some good numbers, I think Kenneth Walker should probably be on here as well.
Well, this season has taught me that sports really is just pain. So Sam Darnold, a ginger, is going to win the MVP. It's Sam Darnold's world, and we all just live in it.
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Chapter 7: How do the defenses of Seattle and New England stack up?
Darnold's only got five. And Barner has really blossomed into a good tight end. We talk about Christian Gonzalez. We talk about Carlton Davis. This guy has an opportunity to have a really nice game. Plus 250. A.J. Barner, anytime TD.
All right, passing TDs. Sam Darnold over 2, minus 122. Drake May over 2, plus 122.
Wow, Darnold. It's Darnold's world. We're just living in it.
Yeah, you know, he has minus 122, though. It's not something that's crazy. I mean, I could see that happening, but I wouldn't waste my time with it.
Fair. Now, just of those two, it would be Darnold. But I'm with you. I mean, 22 cents on the dollar.
Come on.
Now, if people are building parlays out, no stress.
Now, I got a parlay for you if you want that. Yes. Well, I got Drake May, one or more TD pass. Sam Darnold, one or more TD pass. Kenneth Walker, 80 yards alternate rushing and receiving yards. Ramondre Stevenson, anytime TD scorer. JSN, at least eight receptions or anytime TD scorer. And Drake May, over 200 alternate passing yards. That's a large one. That's my big one right there, baby.
What's that pay? I don't know. It's got to pay a lot.
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Chapter 8: What are the predictions for the final score of the Super Bowl?
The over under 119.5 seconds, so just under two minutes. What do you think?
I don't even know who the hell Charlie Puth is. Me neither. Eddie, you rocking some Charlie Puth on the way to the secret parking space in there? What do you got?
Never heard of him.
Okay. Listen, years past, it's like if they would throw a wreath up there, you knew she was going to go for four and a half minutes. You had a shot. Who the hell's Charlie Puth? Give me the under.
You know, all I can tell you is that Charlie Puth is still very active in music, and his latest album, Whatever's Clever, dropped earlier this month, March 6th, for you guys that didn't know that. So I'm all over this. Boomer's a disc jockey now.
We got a regular Seacrest over here.
I can see Home of the Brave being dragged out, so I'm going to say over.
All right, Gatorade dump color. Now, I got a little additional information here. You got orange at plus 220, yellow, lime, or green at plus 260, blue at plus 260, purple at plus 800, red or pink at plus 1,100, and water at plus 12. Now, the last time the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, it was orange Gatorade.
The last two times the Eagles won the Super Bowl, including last year, they stuck with lime Gatorade. So, do you think the trend continues at plus 220, guys, for orange?
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