Friend And Foe Of 'Boston Rob'

Survivor Roundtable: The Rob Mariano Factor

(CBS)  On last week’s "Survivor: All-Stars," "Boston Rob" Mariano tightened his grip on power by sending Kathy packing, despite her attempt to break up his alliance.

So is it Rob’s kingdom from now on out? The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith asks Sean Rector and John Carroll, who both played with Boston Rob on "Survivor: Marquesas."

“My boy is doing his thing,” Rector says with a big smile. Having been very close to Mariano while playing in Marquesas, he notes, “You got to give him a lot of credit. If this is supposed to be the ‘All-Stars,’ people seem like they’re just happy to be selected as 'All-Stars,' because they’re not really playing. Rob is either a hell of a manipulator or they picked the dumbest people to play with.”

That does not mean it is too late to knock him off his throne. Carroll says, “If you watched how he played last time, he plays the same. He gets the girl. Last time was Sarah, this time, Amber. Trying to get in that power position. Rupert is in a position to knock him out. It depends whether or not they go up against him.”

If you recall, Carroll had more than a few clashes with the Boston Rob native in Marquesas.

Rector disagrees and points out, “This is the only chance Boston has at winning because they are never going to beat the Yankees. This is his only chance to go all the way, I’m rooting for Boston Rob.”

Asked if they think Shii Ann’s time is up, Carroll says, “I think if she wins immunity, she’s good for three days. You never know if she can pry people off. But at this point, numbers are against her, so she’s cooked.”

Down to the final four, Rector says he likes, “Boston Rob, Amber, Big Tom and Jenna.” While Carroll says, “Same group except flip Big Tom and put Rupert in there. I think Jenna and Rupert are their twosome. They are together and that leaves Big Tom and Alicia out in the cold.”

Given the circumstances, Rector notes, “It seems like people are kind of waiting for other people to come to them. ‘Survivor’ is a game about being proactive and you have to take chances. Be aggressive, especially when it comes down to the wire, because a million dollars is at stake. People see the power players and they’re like, hey, the money is not bad at seven. People are settling in for their positions.”

Carroll agrees to an extent, “You don’t see them hungry like they were the first time they played. Rob has shown himself to be very aggressive and hungry. At the same time, it should be an Achilles’ heel because there are so many things he’ll expose himself to,” he says.

But Rector points out, “You look at ‘All-Stars,’ I think people came on with images before. I think Rob had nowhere to go but up, seriously. He’s my boy. And he and I shared a lot of the same sentiments about this show. But a lot of people don’t want to mess up their image. People are not scaring. They’re, like, scared to lie.”

The result? “They all have 'stupid' written on their forehead,” Carroll says.

You can get the inside scoop from the latest “All-Star" voted off on Friday’s The Early Show.