First Things First - A.J. Brown & Patriots, Shedeur Not Browns Starter, Christian Lundgaard Joins

Episode Date: August 20, 2026

(00:00) Will Patriots or Eagles have a better season?(26:29) Can Broncos have the best offense in the NFL?(40:20) Optimism for Steelers & Aaron Rodgers(49:58) No chance Shedeur starts Week 1 for the Browns(1:09:25) Christian Lundgaard joins the show ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix(1:16:28) Eagles need a monster season from Saquon?(1:29:11) Winners & Losers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First Things First is sponsored by Ram Trucks. Live from New York, it's the show that's so ready for football to start. It is First Things First. I'm Rachel Nichols. I am alongside Mr. Greg Jennings, Coach Eric Manjini. This is a great day for me because I covered both of these men extensively when they were doing their runs in the NFL. So it's a very, very nice for Union. And Greg, three weeks from today, we got 49ers Rams in Australia.

they're already on upset alert. Of course. Coach knows this. Week one, anything can happen. Foreign soil. You don't know how the operation is going to look. Anything can happen. Man, I live in L.A. Don't worry the people like that. We're also going to talk on today's show about Shudor Sanders.

He's getting the start tomorrow. Is there anything he can do to win the starting job? We will discuss that. And Indy car driver, Christian Lungard, is joining us ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. That is in my hometown, Washington, D.C., this Sunday on. Fox. And finally we got Jack Prescott getting praised for his leadership. Coach, is this possibly the year? The Dak Prescott can win his first MVP. Well, I don't know if he's setting an alarm for that or manifesting that or what he's

doing for that, but he's talking a lot, so hopefully he can back it all up. Yeah, there's been a lot of conversation and merch. We'll discuss some of the Cowboys merch that's been coming out too, which, you know, we've got to love the merch. Let's start New England, though, gentlemen. Eagles and Pats holding joint practices ahead of their preseason game on Saturday. We all thought this was going to be a little juicy. AJ Brown, J. Brown, Jalen Hurts, playing on opposite sides of the same field. Now, Jalen and both A.J. actually, we're talking about how they still have brotherly love for one another. Take a listen. I think it was a great day out here. I mean, I know he's going out there and competing.

Got a lot of love for him. I always have. Saw AJ catch him out of a couple of his support offensive teammates on the sideline. No, I didn't get you yet. Yeah. Do you talk at Jones since the trade? No. How did you leave things with him? Philly, man. Y'all are tough, man. Man, it's love.

Listen, listen, I'm... Honestly, guys, none of that stuff even matters. Yeah, I think you all should want to report something positive. You know, you know asking the question is going to turn negative. So let's not get into that. I mean, let's keep everything positive. It's love my way. And just move forward.

That's all. It's all love, but we also haven't spoken, so we'll just leave that there. Look, my take on this was that it was less of a personality conflict and more of a football conflict between the two of them. So now that we are talking about football on the field and they are with their separate teams, Greg, who do you think is going to end up having the better season, the Pats or the Eagles? So before I answer that question, I just, I got to address the fact that they didn't talk to one another.

Yeah. Because coaches do this same thing. It's not just players. If you have a good relationship with your counterpart, a colleague, former colleague, you go speak. Yeah. Period. Didn't that Mupp, say hi. And again, I'm not trying to make more of it than needs to be.

But there's definitely something still there in lingering. With that being said... Wait, Ray, you're absolutely right. Exactly. Come on and say, oh, yeah, it's all love. Have you had a chance to talk to them? No, no. Yeah.

No, no. Oh, he's across the field from you, have not a chance to talk to them? Exactly. Before practice, not even after practice? Yeah, and then AJ says, you guys are trying to turn this negative. No, no, they're not. Trying to point out a very obvious problem. Correct.

I mean, do you guys realize the gulf that we've crossed here, by the way? Jalen Hertz is the godfather to A.J. Brown's daughter. That's how close they used to be. And so the fact that they did, as AJ, AJ put it earlier this year. He said, we grew apart. Again, my take just from listening to the two of them was it was more about football, that there were reports, of course, that Jalen has been very sort of rigid in his offense.

We know Greg during that wildcard game. AJ Brown did not get targeted as he wanted, especially toward the end of the game. So I think you're right. I think there's more there now. I feel like you've been on teams where, like, they're static, and then, like, 10 years later, it's like, oh, we were the best of brothers.

I feel like they're going to go back to that. I mean, he's a godfather of his daughter. But I think it's going to be a little bit whose team is better this year, and there's a little pride on the line. What do you think is going to happen there? Yeah, and so when we're looking at the teams, you've got to start within the division.

And when I look at the Patriots and what they were able to do within their division, they were five and one last year in their division. They're a team, young team that's bringing back a lot of guys, added a lot of guys around their young quarterback to improve who they want to be, not only schematically, but just overall offensively as a unit. And then when you look at the Eagles,

they got the departure of obviously, the big name, A.J. Brown. Obviously, he's not with the Patriots. But they have a chip on their shoulder. They want to prove that you know what last year was an anomaly. That's not who we are. They want their offensive line. They want to show that they can run the ball better. Be back physical

and Sequan is not the guy that we saw last year, but the guy that we saw in year one there. And so but they struggled within their division even last year. And their division is getting better. The only other team that really is going to contend with

the Patriots is the Bills and so they have that one team to worry about whereas the division for the Eagles is going to be a tough one altogether and let alone they're in the NFC conference which is the tougher to conference I think the Patriots are going to have the better

record, the better season. Now does that mean they're going to get back to the Super Bowl? We'll see how that plays out. I just feel like from a coaching standpoint, a continuity piece, they just are on the right track. right now and they're trending in a different direction.

Whereas we don't, there's a lot of things that we don't know about the Eagles because of the new, the new offensive coordinator, Jalen Hurts, no AJ Brown. Is Sequin going to be what he was last year or the 2000 yard rusher? There's a lot of question marks surrounding them and then the teams within that division also improving. See, I think one of the things that that we learned after we won our first Super Bowl is that the next year things were dramatically different. And we talk to guys all the time about dealing with failure, but you don't necessarily teach them how to deal with success. And we thought we could go out and kind of roll the ball out there and do the things that we did last year and beat all the teams we were playing. But we had to do all those things better than we did the year before. And it's true for whether you're the

Super Bowl winner or the team that loses Super Bowl, if you go there, everybody plays you differently. And it's something that you have to learn to deal with so that they're facing that. And so Philly this year doesn't have the same expectations that they had going into last year. Now New England has the higher expectations. Jalen Hertz, when we talked about him going in the last year, Jalen Hertz was looked at as he was not respected enough. And to some degree, now Drake May, people are saying, well, we're not respecting him enough. So he's got more pressure on him. You look at the offensive lines. You talked about that.

Both those offensive lines are going through transition. But I'd say the biggest thing for me is the AJ Brown edition in New England. Is that more positive than the addition by subtraction in Philadelphia? And if we can just look at Stefan Diggs last year, and Stefan Diggs to me is like A.J. Brown a little bit more advanced. So production-wise, 85 to 78, about the same. same year, receiving yards, AJ had a little bit, a few more touchdowns and about a yard more in receiving yards. And when I say he's a little bit more advanced than AJ Brown, I don't mean skill-wise.

I mean, here's a guy that was on multiple teams. And now he comes in New England, and he's a different guy in the sense that he wants to be part of the team. It's not just about his numbers. They talked about his leadership. They talked about what a great teammate he was. And I don't think they're saying the same things in Philly. It's pretty obvious that.

AJ's wants to be successful, and he wants to be successful regardless of whatever else happens. And that puts a lot of pressure on a young quarterback. So I don't know how Drake May is going to deal with that pressure that AJ is going to put on him. And I don't know if his production is going to be so dramatically different than what Stefan gave him last year to offset maybe some of the other challenges he brings their team. So you make a good point as it pertains to AJ Brown and his outlook on. offense and what that productivity needs to look like and feel like for him as a receiver. However, when you watch how the New England Patriots play and you, you are open about wanting to be a part of something, you have to then become a little more flexible.

You have to be the one that kind of compromises when you do get there. And I just believe that that's going to happen. He understands, okay, they went out and got Romeo Dobbs as well. So it's not just me. They were a good offense. They were a productive offense last year. You put up the numbers with Stefan Diggs. Stefan Diggs was fantastic for them last year.

Led their receiver in court. If he comes in and he starts to disrupt what they had, all the focus and all the attention in a negative way is going to be on AJ Brown. I don't think he wants that. I think he wants to leave what happened in Philly, in Philly. And he wants to let that, like he spoke before, close that chapter, start anew, and understand,

I want to be a part of something great. I want to be a part of something great. And I want to help them when not be the reason and the sole reason why. I know you're smiling at me, Coach, so go ahead. That is the most optimistic group. It is. Well, that's a receiver answer. Well, we thought that way, Bob Stephon Diggs.

But you know, this is a person who, what, a few days after the series. Super Bowl said, I thought I would feel better about winning a Super Bowl, but I don't. I want to dominate teams. I want to get the number. It came back to him after he'd won a Super Bowl. So now the idea that he's going to go to New England, I know it's his childhood team and all, and suddenly have this renaissance where it's not going to be about his numbers, that would be an amazing transformation in a very short amount of time.

But don't you think the relationships also play here, right? you've been in receivers rooms, that it's really competitive unless everyone kind of knows where they slot in, and then they're more cooperative. If you don't feel threatened, you obviously are willing to give a little bit more. And that's true of the quarterback receiver relationship as well. Hertz and A.J. Brown came in sort of on the same schedule, sort of, oh, is it his offense? Is it my offense? Why aren't you targeting more? Why aren't you doing this for me? That sort of thing. He's taken a real paternal sort of, you know, arm around Drake May as an older brother and been like, oh, this is a very different. different relationships. So I'm going to help bring the young kid along. I just think that you are demanding in a different way.

So if you are like that. So if you are both of you. This must be the optimistic. This is the optimistic corner. Because I'm looking at it as. I know you are. And the same thing happened with Stefan Diggs. When he went to Houston, we were like, man, if he comes in there and disrupts what they're trying to do with C.J. Stroud, is this going to be the end for Stefan Diggs? He ends up getting hurt. He was productive until he got hurt. Then he goes to New England. Did they keep him? Said again? They like him so much. He tore his ACL.

He got hurt, coach. Wasn't he under contract though the next year? He got hurt. He absolutely got hurt. But if you have a good dude that you think is going to be super productive and he gets injured, it's like, oh yeah, he got hurt. We're so excited about having the next year. That's not what happened.

He moved. He changed the dresses. And when he changed the address, he went to England and he fit right in. Like he was a leader. They talk glowingly about Stefan Diggs. So when you talk about can he change, yes. And to your point, Rachel, I love that you made this point. Receivers respect quarterbacks that absolutely get it done.

And they've proven to get it done. Like, in a part of- Quarterbacks that pulling the ball a lot. That too, that too. However, once you start to see there's, I don't know if I really trust this guy. I don't know if he can really get it done the way that I thought that he can get it done. Then you start to lose a little bit of that respect.

You start to question more. Drake May is one of those guys. He's coming in there. He's looking at what he's done. He has no reason to come in and demanding everything. Like, this is going to be about me. No, you come in low. Has Drake won a Super Bowl?

No, he has not. Jalen Hertz has. But so did A.J. Brown. And A.J. Brown feels like he was a huge part of why they got it. Yes, exactly. And that good feeling lasted two days. A.J. Fool coach wrong, man. Let's go. By the way, this whole idea that Drake May is somehow underrated or disrespected that you mentioned earlier in this segment, the man was a finalist in MVP voting, so I'm not here in that.

But Kevin Wilde sits here and every day he talks about how he can't understand. Sorry, Patriots, super Patriots fan, Kevin Wilde? Yes. Is who sits here and says that? Maybe that's tainted me because I hear so much about how he's not getting the love he deserves. I believe he came in second in MVP voting. He did. So other than being the answer. MVP, he's being respected. Let's move on to Dallas. Dak Prescott spent this offseason going all in on the Super Bowl or bus mantra,

as well as the Gotti Motto. You guys know that Gotti, greatest offense there is. And his teammate, Kenny Clark, all aboard. Take a listen here. He's on a mission. He's the best leader I've been around. He really pushes everybody. And he's the hardest worker.

You know, he's the hardest worker in the building. When you're going to work with him, you just feel like, You're going to war. Guys, I want you to feel special. I made us a t-shirt. It's a little, it's, okay, fine, I didn't go to the printer. But still, we are the greatest show there is. I like it.

Gistie. I like it. Are you manifesting that? Gistie? Gistie. By the end of the, the end of today, the whole crew we're going to be wearing these. It's going to be really, really, really awesome. Are you saying my handwriting is not up to par, right, Jenny?

and the cloud is just like a touch. Dude, I am not appreciated in my own time. You are. I am really not. Just in your lane. In my lane. That is maybe not your lane. No, no.

I need merch design is not my lane. All right, I need some of the cowboys merch though. We do what we can. Look, I like the DAC is talking all this talk. I think that, you know, you want your quarterback to believe in you and the rest of the team. And by the way, they've been very good. They were the number two offense in the league last year. What do you think DAC is going to actually deliver, though, this season, coach, once the talking is done?

Yeah, I don't love this. One thing that I thought Jerry's done so well this offseason, he's not put pressure on the team. And he's talked about improving the team in the past and done nothing. This offseason, they've done everything they possibly can to make the defense better. They addressed it in the draft. They addressed them free agency. They addressed it through trades. They're still looking for opportunities to do that.

But he's not throwing out these Super Bowl or bus type comments. We're not getting the typical script that we get from him. So now fast forward to Dak, and he decides he's now going to add pressure onto the team. And I don't know what he's gaining from that. And I'm not sure if this is something where you have to talk yourself into it. You have to try to convince the guys around you that that's the case. You know, there's a little bit of that saying, the May West saying, if you have to tell people you're a lady, then you're not. And it's one of those things where don't talk about the things that you're going to do.

Just show that you can do those things. Now, in fairness to Dak, he has been incredibly successful. And if we just pull up the MVP last year versus Dak's numbers, they're not far off in a lot of categories. And he had an impressive season. Now, the one category that he is far off on is that touchdown number. of 16. And I think his highest amount of touchdown in any season was 37. So you're still nine short of what Matthew Stafford did last year.

But the numbers have been very good. And I think that the offense with Brian Schottenheimer in the second year can take a step forward. I just don't feel that there's value in him pushing through the alarm clock and the manifesting and the what's the other thing that got it? Godi, which is not as good, is justy, which is ours. Like, why? Gistee is. I would say just, yeah, that would be better.

Justy, greatest show there is. See, we talked about this yesterday. Coach is strictly coach mentality, whereas, like, guys, focus on the next play, the next rep, the next moment that's right in front of you. Don't look down the road. And the reality of it is, is we do want to look down the road a little bit. We want to feel like we do. deserve to look down the road because of what is in this room. And so when we feel good about

what's in this locker room, what's on that side of the ball and what is happening on the other side of the ball defensively, you start to get excited and you share things that you're having conversation about within the locker room and you feel strongly about that. The one thing that Kenny Clark said was he's the hardest worker here. He leads by example. And so with that Prescott saying it, it would be different if it was everyone but Dak. But with Dak saying it too, there's some merit to that. There's some weight that goes behind that because he's not going to let. We've never seen Dak just go out there on his laurels and just try to put up gaudy numbers and not care about the team.

No, he wants to win. He believes that he has one of the best rosters and one of the best opportunities right now. I don't mind him talking about it because he's put up those numbers. You put up his stats next to Matthew Stafford. This is something that is feasible for Dad. Prescott. Like he is an MVP caliber quarterback always when we're talking preseason and then in the season if he's healthy, he's kind of in the conversation. With these two receivers, with this running game, with this defense that is promising, we'll say. More promising. More promising. The bar was very low. Like where else to go but up? And so you mentioned it. Year two with Shottie in this offense.

like they're stable. He has the coaching. He understands what's being expected. The only thing that they need to do is win. And Matthew Stafford, his team won 12 games last year. That's the lowest amount of wins for an MVP in a while. In terms of a placement, not being first seed overall in the conference or second, they weren't either of those because of what happened within their division.

but as long as the Dallas Cowboys are competitive and they win double-digit amount of games and we are viewing them as one of the best offenses, if not the best offense in the game, Dak Pratt-Brestcott will definitely be in the conversation of MVP. Talk about the Super Bowl in August like texting and driving. Nothing good is going to come from him.

I feel like just as someone who, you know, a journalist or someone who certainly knows perception and media perception, this feels like a little advanced PR to me. It feels a little bit like Dak, Prescott is sick of people saying, oh, who are the best quarterbacks in football? Let's see. Patrick More Holmes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. His name is not in that automatic top three that a lot of people will just rattle off. And I think that by saying all of this stuff, he is forced every sports talk show to have the conversation. Well, how good is Dak Prescott really? How good is this offense really?

Oh, you know, he was the runner up for MVP a few years ago. Oh, you know, they were the number two offense in the league last year. I think it is definitely going to come down to do they win? Because nobody wins MVP with nine wins on their record. However, to me, this feels a little bit like, and it is exactly what coaches don't like, which is, hey, remember who I am, remember who we are, and evaluate me on that basis as opposed to your preconceptions, which is really the last thing. A coach wants to see. Don't tell me, show me. Let's move on to the Raiders and another quarterback. Raiders in Houston for some preseason week two action. First overall round, first overall pick, of Fernanda Mendoza, shining in week one, should get plenty of run in tonight's game.

So Greg, what do you expect from the rookie? When do you see him kind of, you know, pushing on the depth chart to get up past cousins? What are you looking at here? So I just expect him to execute the game plan that he's going to be provided tonight. And that's what if you're Clint Kubiak, you want to see him do. You're not in contention or I shouldn't even say in contention. You're not worried about can he start for us. Because that's the plan moving down the road.

That's the plan down the road. They have a guy in Kirk Cousins who is very competent. They don't expect to be a contender. Everybody feels like we're going to be a contender. But the reality of it is they're not going to be a contender this year. Can he protect himself? Absolutely. We saw it in the first preseason game.

But you want to see him build on those things. So we saw him under center, things that he didn't do in college. We saw him in the play action game. A lot of these things he didn't. and do in college and you like to see the footwork. You like to see his eyes go to go through his progression one, two and three. We saw that on multiple occasions. Now can you do it again? Can you build on that? Can we put a little bit more on your plate the keep package, the moving of the pocket? Can you throw on the run? All those things and still command our offense and put

us in good situations offensively, whether it be a run or a pass. If he's able to do that, they're trending in the right direction because he looks good. He had some moments where he definitely, he's a rookie. He's going to look like a rookie at times, but he had some very promising moments. And if you're him, even though Kirk Cousins is there, you want to start. And for him, what's really good tonight is the Texans aren't playing their starters, but the Raiders are going to play their starters. So as last game he was playing against the second group with his second group,

This tonight he's going to get to play against the second group with the first guy. So you would expect there to be a jump in production. And if he can, if he can show a substantial jump in production. And last game was a really good start for him. But if he shows a jump in production with the starters, now that conversation between the coaching staff. And I'd say not just the coaching staff, but maybe ownership is he's closer than we thought he is. Maybe this, this decision is tighter than it should be. Maybe he can push forward and play in the.

early in the even even potentially start if he goes out and has a really impressive game. So I'm glad you're here because you've coached a long time in this league. I like what he leads in. What was your philosophy on starting rookie quarterbacks? Ideally, you don't want to. And it depends, too, on what type of team you have. And if you feel like you have a fairly competitive team, you know, with the rest of the group and the veteran's going to give you the best chance to succeed

because you've been there where workies get pushed into the lineup because of where they were drafted and everybody in the locker room is going, what are we doing? We have no chance to win with this guy, but ownership wants, somebody wants them because they drafted them,

where from a coaching perspective, you want to put the best guy out there that's going to give you a chance to win because you owe it to everybody in that locker room and the coaching staff to do that. Now, you don't always get the final saying that where the owner walks down says, you know, why isn't he playing? So is it because because as a as a receiver, I definitely want the best option under center.

Clearly we all do. But when you're watching these guys and when I see Mendoza, when I understand I have Kirk Cousins, somebody proven, I start to think of, okay, if I go from Cousins to Mendoza, everybody's still, there's still some energy there. But if I go from Mendoza, but if I go from Mendoza and it starts to look funky and it doesn't look the way we hope it looks. And then I go to Cousins. There's, it's, that's, you just don't want to do that. There's no need to rush this. I just don't understand all of the pressure of, when's he going to start?

When's he going to start? You know who didn't start the first year in the NFL? Aaron Rogers didn't start. Joe Montana didn't start. We obviously know Tom Brady didn't start. Patrick Mahomes didn't start except for the last throwaway game, week 17 game of the season. It's okay not to start.

your rookie year, you can still be a Hall of Fame quarterback. And behind that offensive line that the Raiders have right, I would be very careful because you're right. If they have to pull him, that hurts his confidence and they have to go back to cousins. Or if he gets injured, that is going to set him way back. There is nothing wrong with taking some time and having a guy like Kirk Cousins run the ship, in my opinion. Which you're absolutely right. But then ownership will look at it and say, we need to sell tickets. We need to get people excited about our team and they're not excited about Kirk Cousins. They're excited about Mendoza. Why not? Have you seen his closet? I'm not saying I watched that documentary. I saw his closet coming up.

We're going to talk a little bit about Bo Nix. He's ready for the Broncos to become the best offense in football. We'll also see if we get another May West reference first time in the history of first things first. Who knows what's happening next? Stay tuned. Coach, no Knicks, best office and football. Mm-hmm. A race like this. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix. Seven turns, 1.7 miles.

Look at the crowd. Fans have turned out in a huge way. He has momentum now, past the capital. This is history in the making. That's right. We are officially counting down to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. I like the announcement was like Grand Prix. Grand Prix, Grand Prix in his accent.

to take place in our nation's capital on Sunday. Coverage starting at 11.30 a.m. Eastern, only on Fox. And guys, I want to get back to football. The Broncos putting up nearly 24 points per game last season. Not terrible, but not great. 14th in the NFL. Third year quarterback Bo Nix, however, he's got bigger aspirations for this season. Take a listen.

We've been challenging first for the offense. I think we want to be just the highest scoring, running, passing offense. in the league. And so we want to score points, no matter if it's running, passing, trick plays. We're going to be balanced. We're going to do a good job of running plays off plays, and we're going to be attacking people from different ways. And we just have really good players, and we're going to be able to use those guys. But success for me this year, just continue to push myself, get back to winning playoff games, and put ourselves in a position to win a championship. We want the highest scoring offense in the league.

Coach, I want a pony, but I don't know if I'm getting it. What do you think of Bo Nix's chances to get this? I don't love his chances to get this. But in fairness to them, they were 10th in total yards offensively. And you mentioned the number of points. They're 14th in total points. So those are good numbers. I would imagine, though, with Sean Peyton and a young quarterback,

he's done a really good job of developing Bo Nix. And a lot of people are surprised by how successfully he is. I've been surprised by how successful he's been and some of the things he's done, especially late in games. But I do think Sean understands the importance of complementary football and of making sure that he's maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses. So this isn't, Bo Nix isn't Drew Breeze yet. That's not where we're at. So you can't push the offense like he did with Drew Breeze. And even as creative as Sean is and as successful as he's been over time,

I would imagine that they're going to take another step forward offensively, but I don't think it's going to be the step forward that that gets them to the number one offense in the league. Yeah, based off what we've seen, this is this is a hard one for me to side with Bo Nix. Look, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say we want to be the highest scoring offense, passing, rushing, and then add in trick plays. I don't think I've ever heard any. I don't think I'm going to anybody ever mentioned trick plays as a part of their all now we know that they're I feel like Ben Johnson might have said that I know I know that we did he I mean he said that they're going to be the highest scoring ever and I mean he took it to a whole other level well yeah but like I you don't really throw in trick plays they're a part of it but when you look at this offense and you look at why they struggled it was partly because of Bo Nix like let's be honest like his we talk about accuracy he's he He struggled with being accurate with the layups. He struggled with some of the layups. You know, when he has play action, he's better down the field.

Now you look at Sean Payton and what he was able to do this offseason and what they afforded him. On the outside, you go get J. Jalen Waddle. You go get Evan Ingraham, another weapon. So you have some additional pieces that I think will make this offense better. But it's all going to boil down to his growth. And what is the next? step that he takes, not only just with those strict plays because we know that they're going to be a part of it,

but just in his straight drop back, one, two, three, on schedule, read, throw with accuracy, on time. If he takes that next step, and he has progressed over the course of his career, but it's hard for me to look at this offense. There are a lot of offenses that I would put well in front of this offense in terms of having the chance to be the best offense in all of football. I didn't feel like his tone was one where he was bragging or predicting. It felt more aspirational than anything else, which I took it as a little bit more like, hey, this is probably our goal board as opposed to putting it out there. We are going to be this. No, I didn't take it as we're going to be this, but just even that statement, when you talk

about Dak Prescott and talking about Super Bowls and all that stuff and how their offense is going to look and C.D. Lamb and all that. He and George Pick is being the best duel. Like, I buy that quicker than I buy this. I would say the Cowboys are closer to being a Super Bowl team than the Broncos are to being the best offense in the league in all four or five categories that he said. Everybody's closer than me getting a pony. But still, like, I just, here's the number that makes me think this team might regress a little bit is just that they had 12 win-comebacks last season. That's set an NFL record. They were 11 and 2 in one score games.

When you see that, the next season, you almost never see a team able to pull that off again. It is the challenge facing the Chicago Bears for this coming season. When you have this many, oh my God, oh my God, our hair's on fire. We made a comeback. It's just not going to fall the same way we saw it with the Washington commanders two years ago, right? I mean, it just, the pattern holds. So when the Broncos had this many last minute comebacks, it tells me it will not fall their way again this year. I am curious to see what happens with Davis Webb calling the plays now instead of Sean Payton how long that lasts

How that meshes with Bow Nix we'll see so now I have to be the glass half full Oh, look how optimistic you Yeah, because as as much as you look at that and say all those late comebacks and you can't maintain that The positive that I always take away from that is you have a quarterback that was able to perform under pressure Sure and and to me that oftentimes it's distinguishes guys that have sort of short quarter careers versus guys that have longer or more successful careers is in those big moments, can they come through? And that's probably the most encouraging thing to me about Bo Nix is he had a lot of those moments

where he had to come through and he did. Now does that mean it's going to be prolific? Yeah, there's a little ways to go before we get there. But in checking that really important box, he did that a bunch of times last year. We'll see. See? Look, the numbers, can we show their numbers the last two years really quick? Because this is an offense.

They were his rookie year. I think they shocked a lot of people. I think that's fair to say. Being 10th in points per game, we didn't expect that from that offense. 19th in total yards. So they did take a step in the right direction. Nine spots. They did take a step in the, but go up nine more spots.

You watch out. Oh, my God. Watch out. In total. Y'all's your game. Yes. No math major, but I could do 10 minus 9. They did.

They did jump. They did take that. So we definitely saw improvement. But in this game, and maybe that's the improvement. Because they don't have to score. The honest truth is they probably don't have to score as much as other teams because their defense is going to be good. They're one of the best defense in all of football. But with that being said, if you're going, if you're playing offense, the goal is

to put up points. And it's not just to rack up a bunch of yards and be an amazing yard gaining offense. It's to put up points so that you can win games. Now I understand nine spots is huge. It's impressive. Can they do that again? We shall see because it didn't happen with the scoring, but it did happen with the total yards. I know the number that wasn't up there that worries me a little bit more.

I'm sorry, Mr. Ray of Sunshine, is that they were 18th in the league and touchdown. per drive. And Peyton has talked about too many of our drives ended up in field goals, that sort of thing. So that number went the other direction. But who knows? Maybe that will also jump up nine spots. Rachel's going to get her pony. And we'll see. We'll see. Maybe I'll get my pony. You never know. Let's move on to Pittsburgh where Aaron Rogers is gearing up for year 22, baby. And according to pro football focus, the quarterback is more than set up to succeed. Here's an excerpt from the article, quote, If you are looking to create the best conditions for a 42-year-old Aaron Rogers to make a final run as an NFL quarterback, this would be it. Metcalf, Pittman can both win down field, especially on those back shoulder throws.

Rogers has trademarked throughout his career. So, Greg, you know this subject matter better than anybody else. Tell us, do you buy that Aaron is almost as set up to succeed this season as he was with you? Whoa, as he was with us? Never. Never. Never. That is not the case.

However, is he set up to succeed as best as they possibly could? Yeah, they went out and they got Michael Pittman, Junior. Like they got pieces that make sense to them in this offense. I think some of the key pieces of this offense is what's going to happen in the slot with Roman Wilson, Caden Weegean, and then their tight-in play with Friarmooth and Darnell Washington. They were used heavily in my least, especially Washington. as it pertains to their passing game.

And then those running backs, Rico Dottle, you go acquire him, Jalen Warren, you know what he can provide. Aaron heavily relied on that. Why did he heavily rely on that? Because he wanted to get that ball out of his hand, coach. You can have as much protection as you want, but when you're dealing with older quarterbacks, and we kind of talked about this yesterday with Danny, when Danny was talking about Matthew Stafford and getting rid of the ball versus having protection. When you get older, you don't want to take those hits.

And the numbers show Aaron Rogers, we know he gets the ball out of his hands quick, but quicker than anybody by a long shot. Like this is, and we understand kind of why Tua gets the ball out of his hands. Because he doesn't want to take those hits. He has that injury of concussion injury, history looming around him. Rattler and Shuck, obviously that's what it is. And then Jared Gough, not a mobile quarterback. He plays from the pocket.

He's going to get the ball out of his hands quick. But when you have Aaron Rogers, he was athletic. He still has some athletic ability. But can he and will he be willing to trust the protection and allow them guys, those guys, to get down the field because they can make plays down the field. When I watched him a lot last year, a lot of his checks, is he going to get the offensive line in great protection? of course, but he's also going to look out to his receivers and give them a sign and a signal too because he wants to get that ball out of his hands. That tells me I really don't trust if this is going to get picked up.

I would rather trust me and knowing I'm going to get, I have an outlet already built in and he goes to that outlet immediately. Yeah, I think this could be, this is the best situation he could be in this year because he's got two gigantic receivers outside. So even if he has to throw up jump balls, both those guys can go. do that. And the size of those two guys is a substantial. Then inside, you talked about darnel Washington. He's like, what, six, seven, two, 70? Massive. Massive, but the really good news about him is he had 31 catches last year. So he became productive in the past game. Fryehmuth missed a bunch of games. He's really productive in the past game. So you do have those answers inside with the two tight ends. Both running backs have average over, I think it was

4.6 and 4.8. That's fantastic. They drafted a right tackle in the first round. They actually spent the first five draft picks on offensive players. So you go out, you invest massive amounts of draft capital. Then you go get another big wide receiver. Your core titan is coming back. You bring in a free agent running back that has 4.8 yards of carry and six touchdowns. And then the coach situation, it can't get any better.

The other two teams that have new head coaches, there's no relationship. These guys have a longstanding relationship, whether it's good or bad, they know each other. Aaron knows how Mike's going to call the game. Mike knows what Aaron likes. They can reference plays from the Green Bay days and that the learning curve just isn't there. Everybody else in the division except for Cincinnati is dealing with the learning curve. Aaron and the head coach aren't dealing with that, and that's an edge. And we had questions about that, right? Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Aaron has come out and said, I was a little bit on the fence about whether to come back

and what made mine a decision was they brought him Mike McCarthy. So he thinks it's good. It's a little bit what we talked about earlier. After a decade, all all sins are forgotten. Oh, wasn't it the good old days when we were together, that sort of thing? So, you know, as you said, it's as best a situation as he could have. We'll see what he does with it. Coming up, how much pressure is on C.J. Stroud this season?

A lot. A lot. Next on first things first. We are officially counting down to the first. Freedom 250 Grand Prix, which will take place in our nation's capital, my hometown on Sunday. Coverage starts at 1130 Eastern only on Fox. And back here, we're doing some weird and wonderful people. Let's talk.

First up, always wonderful. We start with wonderful. Check out Philly's left field or Brandon Marsh. The wall to turn the foul ball into an out. Catch of the year candidate, Greg, maybe. No, no, I can't do much. After seeing Tatease yesterday, there's nowhere close to catch a year. I'm glad the fan kind of got out the way, baby.

Yeah, I love that he had to work through the fans and get the ball. Near, near, near. He used the fence, though, to go on up. So I feel like he got to give it to that. Weird, Jags two-way player, Travis Hunter. Now a three-way player. He's a kicker, too. He nailed a 28-yarder at practice.

Coach, you making him an emergency kicker as well? I'd like to see him be a one-way player to be successful. I knew it was coming. I knew he was going to say it. I mean, we're worried about a three-way. How about a full season of one really productive position where you contribute a little work? I could have, I literally could have guaranteed what he could have written the script for him.

What is the dancing, though? I mean, that's, is that part of his pre-kick routine? That's another thing that he's able to do really well, I guess. Is that weird or wonderful, though? Greg, what do you think? I'm assuming it's pretty wonderful. What was the clogging? What was it called the clogging Irish clogged dancers?

Just that's what that's. Watch, Greg, watch this. Right, there you go. Let's talk a little wonderful Justin Jefferson Cook and the defender at joint practice. Ravens. Greg, what do you expect from the JJ Kyler-Murray connection?

I expected to be exciting. JJ is probably the happiest wide receiver in the game right now that Kyler is playing and he is under center starting QB1 because he's going to get a lot of this. Yep. See how the TV looks back? He can't look back at the break point. Separation gets created.

Right there. Watch ready. Don't look back. Don't look back. Close. Yep. There you go. I mean, look, Kyler's got to stay healthy.

Kyler's got to stay healthy. Weird. LeBron James launching a new golf YouTube channel. Coming very close to a hole in one here. I mean, coach, I don't know if golfers, is it fair? He's already this good. He just started last year.

It really isn't fair. For him to be able to play as long as he played as well as he played and then jump into another sport and hit hole in ones. I'm not. I'm not, look, I'm, when you hit the hole in one then. Oh, you call me. I'm, because I've done that, like I've done that, like I've done that my entire golfing career.

I've come close. I've never had one. You should start a golf YouTube channel. I'm watching. Here's my trivia for you on this front. Alex Ovechkin, of course, legendary hockey player. First time ever playing golf. He had a camera crew with him.

Man, stop it. He didn't even know the right word. It hasn't hit one since. He said, he's like, I saw, I scored it. I scored the hole in one. He's completely thinking about it like hockey. So there you go. Hasn't hit one since.

I don't know. I wouldn't care. I don't know. Wonderful. Our final wonderful Texans mascot pulling the high five away from Max Crosby. Max squares up. Greg, have you gotten in a fight with a mascot ever? Oh, look at that.

I've not gotten to a fight with the mascot, but you can't win. You can't win this. Like, mascots are the best. Or how you feel about him they're the best. I thought it was good. Like fake fight. He did like a fake fight thing. That didn't go real.

This dude was about to fight his own quarterback. You're gonna clown him. You better think twice before you do that mascot, you're dealing with a different cat. That head off. There's been some NBA players who've had long running feuds with various mascots, so I don't know. I've been a little tougher in the NFL,

not in the court in the same way. All right. Time now for our afternoon headlines sponsored by Kraft Mac and Cheese, the best thing ever. Texans defense only gave up 17 and a half points per game last season. second best behind only the Super Bowl champs. They're good in case you didn't know. And

Connor Oersports Illustrated knows how good they are. This is what he wrote, quote, way more cowboy than the guys in Dallas wearing a star on their helmets. This is a group of people built to destroy the NFL as it is right now by behaving as it was in the old days led by Edge Rusher, who, depending on the time of day, could be mistaken for a polished glad handling politician or docking from the Marvel Universe. I would have used Thanos as my reference coach, but you know, potato, potato. Defense, obviously, not the issue there. I mean, they are just exceptional. So the question is, once again, what are we going to get from C.J. Stroud? How much pressure is there on him? First of all, I want that guy writing anything about me. That was, that was, really well put together.

Yeah, Sports Illustrated Connor Orp. Very impressive, right? More cowboy than the guys in Dallas Sports stars on their helmets. This is good. Yeah, for CJ, the postseason was just so disappointing. And what was it? He had two TDs, five interceptions, a 51.1 quarterback rating, five fumbles with two loss. And there was a point where I thought he realistically could get pulled at halftime because it was just so bad.

And I understand organizationally not making that move and believing that that your guy was going to come through in the second half, believing that CJ would be able to do better, but it just didn't get better. And everybody was excited about the things he was able to achieve, his rookie season, and we talk about this a lot with young quarterbacks, you think they're automatically going to build.

And some guys, some guys do take a step back, and some guys do have to really reevaluate what their strengths and weaknesses are and figure out how to get a second. second pitch and CJ now just seems like he just he he doesn't know where he wants to land as a quarterback but this team is so ready to compete he doesn't have to be in the MVP conversation he just can't be two TDs five interceptions and a 51 quarterback rating with you know five potential turnovers he can't give everybody else a chance to win

and we know that he has that in him yeah and it was unfortunate because the was on the wall the entire season. It was going to come down to his performance. That defense was not going to allow them to lose games. It was going to be predicated on whether or not C.J. Stroud could just simply be average. And that just didn't happen all season long. When Davis Mills got in, he kept them afloat.

It was like, okay, we can win with either one of these guys. Is there any true separation? But what he can't do, when you look at the way, at the numbers of C.J. Stroud, they were just so bad last year. It's, he just can't be this. He just simply can't be this. They're not asking him to be a top 10 quarterback. They're not asking him to be one of the best quarterbacks in all of the league. They just need him to be average. You can't be 21st in TD's 20th in completion percentage, 18th and something. Like, even if you get closer to the 15, 16, and we, we can deal with.

that if you're that defense and you're that good. But to your point, coach, when it got when, when the play ratcheted up in the postseason, which it always does, he looks startled. He looked like a deer in headlights. And that was what was strange because you go up against this defense at least once or twice every day in practice in team drills. In training camp, you're going to go up against them a lot. But at least once or twice, you see this.

defense, one of the best defense in all of game, and you're getting rattled by looks that you know you see and the pressures. That's what was baffling to me. And if you're CJ Stroud, you just want him to get his confidence. You've got to get your confidence back. You got to look at some of that tape and some of that film from your first year and find that guy. And even the numbers you put up, as marginal as those were, when you add the

turnovers, so it's, you could probably. compete if you were turnover free with that defense. But when you add the turnovers into it, and especially the amount, they only recovered two of the fumbles, but he fumbled five times, which is a remarkable number. So just don't lose the game for the team. Let's use that as a starting point. And then we can work on winning the game because the defense is going to have you in it no matter what. Well, look, they used to say defense wins championships, right? Defense was championships. That was before they changed that you cannot blow on the quarterback rules. right and now we have seen much more that the offense is what's winning Super Bowls.

If you go back though, no you don't think the Mr. Defense, I'm sorry. It's harder for the, you forgot who you were sitting next to Rachel. I know, I'm so sorry. It's harder for the defense because of the rules coach. It's a team game coach. See, I didn't even count. My point was only going to be. I didn't even agree.

I did not agree. You're right, Rachel. No, no, no. If you go old school, the big, the quote we talked about, the beautiful writing was this is an old school defense. Look, I think of the old school Ravens defense. Trent Delford didn't turn the ball over. First is sponsored by Ram trucks. Live from New York, it's the show that's pre-season. It's first things first. And coming up, we're going to talk Shador Sanders getting the start on Saturday. But can he steal the starting job permanently?

We'll discuss. An Indy car driver Christian Lungard is going to be joining us ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix from Washington, D.C. is this Sunday on Fox. Let's start though, guys, in Detroit. The Lions coming off, eight, no other way to put it. This was a disappointing season. They went nine and eight, last in the division, missed the playoffs, but head coach Dan Campbell, he is, like many people at this desk today,

staying positive. His quote is this, our window is not closed. It is not closed. That was the whole reason why we did this. We fell short last year, but needed to get into the playoffs, and now it is about the matchups, where you're playing, and who you're playing. playing. Coach, they are tied with the 11th best wins to win at all. So is Dan Campbell right?

Their window is not as closed as 11th would imply and people are sleeping on them. Or do you think that's kind of where they should be? I don't think their windows closed at all. Remember last season they had the problems with the offense and he felt the need to change the offense coordinator mid-season and that was disruptive. But isn't as disruptive as that was, Jared Gough ended up second and passing yards and touchdowns. They were fifth top five in scoring and total yards. Jamir Gibbs had a great season. They had two wide receivers that had outstanding seasons. So they've got a ton of talent coming back. They ended up dropping a tackle in the first round. So they addressed a little bit of the offensive line. I'd say the biggest difference between last year and the year before

was the amount of rushing attempts per game. And so it was it was fourth two years ago and it was 21st last year. And when you have that dramatic change, it affects play action, it affects the offensive line and their ability to kind of control the game. And when I think about the lions during that dominant season, they were controlling people and then being explosive off of that. Where last year, I don't think that was the same, even though the numbers were good, it wasn't the same look. And I understand there were some transition offensively. that didn't go as smoothly as they hoped. Yeah, I don't think people are sleeping on the Lions as contenders.

But to coach's point, like, when you don't run the ball in the fashion of which we saw this team run the ball a couple years ago and even the year before that, like they led with punching you in the mouth. Yep. They were, they put defenses on their heels. And last year, I'm not going to say that they were predictable, but they were more predictable than they had been in the year previous. because you knew that they were going to throw the ball because they just had kind of gotten away from doing what they what they kind of built their their offense on, which is running the ball, establishing and run first.

But no, this team, this is a really good football team. Defensively, obviously, you lose a coordinator last year. Offensively, you lose a coordinator, you lose players. There's a lot that you have to cover in terms of those voids being lost and no longer a part of you. moving forward. They did their best. They don't like it. We understand they don't like it. And coach, I don't think there's ever been a coach and or a player that would ever say our windows closed. It doesn't matter how you feel about the team. You feel like you have a

chance. But this is a team that realistically, like they were last in their division, but they could have easily been first in their division. Like this is one of those teams. Okay, but where do you think they're going to finish this year? in their division because you just were praising the Kyler Murray JJ connection. I was praising the connection. Right? The Packers. They still have to.

The Bears think that they're the big deal. Absolutely. We have to see what that offense in Minnesota is going to look like with Kyler. We don't know. We know what this offense looks like. Even with what they were last year, they're a really good offense. Defensively, they made some additions. They should be a little bit better.

The NFC North is tough. Like it's just, it's a thing. tough division. It's going to be a grind. They have to, you definitely don't want to be second or third. You got to try to win that division to guarantee clearly to make the postseason. Anything after that, any one of those teams can either, there can be

three teams that make it or there can only be one team that make it pending on how they beat up on each other. And the Eagles skewed things when they transitioned through two different coordinators and then won the Super Bowl next year. When they change both, typically when you lose one coordinator, it's problematic. And when you lose two, it's really difficult.

And everybody thinks it's easy after the Eagles did it. It's like, oh, of course it can be done. It can be done, but it's much more rare than not. I believe that he's gone back this offseason. Dan Campbell's gone back this off season, really looked at what their identity is. And I would imagine we're going to get that identity and we're going to get that identity to the extreme

to make sure everybody understands. who the lions are, what the brand is. The players know it. The coaches know it. The opponents know it. And the approach will be, can you stop it? I think that's a great point. I mean, his force of nature of personality is really going to be a huge factor here.

And you're right about the coaches, too, man. They had eight coaches leave the last off season. Eight, eight. It's like unheard of. I mean, that's ridiculous, right? So, so much more continuity this year as well. I just wonder, it's a tough division. How much better?

You know, you can get better, but is it for another getting better? Where are you going to fall on there? We'll see. I want to move over, though, to one of our preseason games coming up, Shadur Sanders, making the start on Saturday. Seems like Deshaun Watson has a firm hold on the week one starting job, but Shadur does not seem to worry. Take a listen here.

I'll say every day my life's important. Every day is important. I want to say it's a day that's not important. So that's just another day going out there doing what I got to do, honestly. I don't really feel anxiety or any pressure, you know, going into things like that anymore because it's like that's how I approach everything. So, you know, it's just another day of going to work, you know. That's all it is for me. When he's done in the NFL, I would like Shadur to publish like a life philosophy book, right?

Every day is wonderful. I just feel like he's got maybe a calendar, one of those rip-off pages every day with the, no, you're not feeling it. I mean, he has the most confidence in Zinnu's a player. in the National Football League. And he should. His dad was confident. Absolutely. He backed it up with his play too.

I mean, do you think, I mean, he's confident that one day he could win the starting job. Maybe on Saturday he could win out the starting job. Are you confident this could happen? I am not confident. Look, there's one thing to feel like you are the guy. There's another thing to just simply be the guy because everyone else knows that you're the guy.

Right. And I liken this to like, I have kids. You all have kids and they all have probably been babysat. The babysitter that can, you know, engage with the kids with crafts, make the bakery, go outside, engage and have fun with the kids. They're the ones that's like, man, I like, I like how they engage with my kids. But the one that kind of maintains the schedule, maintains the order, keeps everything on schedule and tidy. And you walk back into your home and you're like, oh, the house is quiet. everything is to organize, and that's the one you really need.

That's the Sean Watson right now for this team. They know it. Everyone loves Chador. Every one of those players in that locker room loves Chador. He's a fan favorite. He's a player favorite. But when you get out on the field, do you trust him? And then if you're a coach and you are on the script and you're looking down and you have a

quarterback out there, do you trust him to run that script to perfection to the standard that you have set for your starting day one quarterback. And the answer right now is no. Like will he get there? That's on him and his progression. But right now, no, he is not the starting quarterback and he will not be the starting quarterback. And I don't believe that there's anything that he can show in one preseason game that will then tell a coaching staff, oh, because he did it, he's our day one guy. He's our week one starter. Now, if he goes out, it might afford him another opportunity in the third preseason game to go out and double down on that. But no.

In this world that we're living in of second act with Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield and Gino Smith, different guys that haven't worked out at their first place, but then, you know, was able to do something totally different and change the narrative in their career. I would imagine that that ownership is looking at this and saying maybe Deshaun can have a second act and maybe it's not going to be what it was. when we trade it for them, what we hoped it would be, but maybe it can be somewhere in the neighborhood.

It doesn't even have to be next door, just maybe in the same town. Maybe just relatively close so that the worst trade in NFL history isn't just... You are sunshine and optimism today. No, no, I'm not being sunshine. I'm being realistic is when you make a trade that bad, and he performs as badly as he is, and now you have a chance for him to actually come out and maybe help you win.

You're hoping that that works out, and then they owe him so much money next year that if they could keep him on the team and not eat that dead money, that actually has an advantage as well. So for Sador, he is well-liked and he is extremely confident and he's going to have to go out and do something compelling this game in order to get over the hump

because it can't be fumbled snaps. It can't be one great play and then one head scratching turnover where you just throw the ball up, you know, a jump ball where anybody can get it. So if he can come out and play some compelling, in this game and make it a harder decision, I think that gives him his best chance. And it's not like he's trying to unseat Patrick Mahomes.

So he can make this close, but it's got to be compelling. So do you think, I mean, when you look at him, do you think you're talking about cleaning up mental mistakes, right? You were talking about, oh, is he going to do things as neatly and orderly as Dishon Watson? How much of is it physical, though? physical though, because I feel like watching him, and you are both better experts at this than me, that when he has to throw deep into a tight space at the last minute, he's just not as physically up to it. He needs more time. He needs to set up the play. Does that change as he gets older?

It does change once you get older because things start to slow down. The picture starts to clear because you anticipate, you know what you're going to get and your eyes don't fail you. You trust them. Right now he's young. He's young. young and it his he just doesn't trust it that's why he's late that's why he holds on to the ball a little bit he did this in college and it again in college is a completely different game i thought he was really good in college but he you could get away with all of that in college you can't get away with holding the ball and waiting for a receiver to come open you are now dependent upon to throw that receiver open and trust that that receiver is going to break and your ball placement

needs to be there. And he's missing on these opportunities. And so the reason why I say, I don't think there's anything that he can do in this game that guarantees he's going to be the starting quarterback after this game. Because when you haven't done it consistently up until now, doing it one time doesn't tell me, oh, you're ready.

Just doing it once. He can go out and I believe he's capable. He has the talent. A lot of players, coach, You've been around a lot of, you've coached a lot of players. A lot of players can do it one time. A lot of players can do it for a game. But it's the players that you want on your team long term that you can trust.

Oh, I see it in practice. I see it in the film room. I see it on the field on Sundays, on Monday nights, on Thursday. I see it consistently over and over and over again more than I see the inconsistencies of, I don't know if he can get that done. Maybe we should tweak this for him. That's the problem right now. He's young.

And he has to have time. Phil Parcells who started meeting, the first meeting of the year and tell the guys how they're being evaluated. And it was, do you know what to do? Are you doing the things you're being coached to do? And are you the same player every day? That's what we're looking for. And it's three very simple statements. But it encompasses what you're looking for to have a successful player.

Here's what I do know about the NFL is that it is likely he will get to start games this year because quarterbacks get hurt. Yeah. And even if it might not be weak one, but. I would imagine, Rachel, even if he doesn't, even if neither one gets hurt, they're both going to play this season. They're both going to play. See, the sunshine and positivity just left. Just let me know like that.

But guys. Pence who you're cheering for. I want, this is who I cheer for, okay? I am a commander's fan. I grew up a big time. This is what got me into wanting to be a sports reporter, was following Washington's football team as a kid. I loved, loved these players.

We had a dark period. I don't like to talk about the Dan Snyder years. But now, sunshine, lightness, positivity. I want to hear what you guys think about Jaden Daniels, now that he's healthy, he's got some weapons. Listen to this from S.I's Albert Breer. This was great. Terry McLaren without last year's contract drama.

He's back to being Terry McLaurin. And interestingly, the difference maker here has been Stefan Diggs. We touched on this a little bit earlier. Diggs has immediately stepped into a leadership role when he definitely handled last year in New England and set a high bar for the room as McLaren always has. So coach, tell me good things. Come on. I want to hear, I want to hear Jaden Daniels is going to, I don't know. First of all, I love Dan Quinn and I think he's outstanding.

coach and so that's that's the first set of good news that I'll give you I'm a huge Jaden Daniels fan I've been a huge Jaden Daniels fan since he came out you know Nick kills him because he's too skinny and six four he doesn't think he can hold up and and we talk about Caleb Williams and we talk about Drake May and and the success they had last year and so that means they're definitely going to spring forward the following season and for jaden Daniels a little bit different he he did it his first year and had a little bit of a down year last year, but take a look at these numbers because I think it's really important as you're looking at this group of young quarterbacks. He set an NFL rookie quarterback record in all of

these categories. Completion percentage rush yards, fourth quarter note he pastedies, playoff pass yards, playoff rush yards. They staffed an 18 year playoff drought. Those are all the things that he did as a rookie. So he's shown that he's capable of doing this. He's shown that he's capable of doing this at a higher level than either of those two guys did. And as much as we want to grade those guys up because they had a bad first year, we're unfairly grading Jaden down because he had a little bit of a struggling second year. Now the team in general did as well and he got hurt, so it's an incomplete grade. But to me, forget about LSU, Jaden.

Like, let's just forget about LSU. And your number and all that other stuff that has no relevance to what you're trying to get done. But if he focuses on just being the Washington Commanders Corps, his quarterback. He's got a great chance to be extremely successful again this year. Yeah, I'm with coach on this one. And, you know, we talk about Stefan Diggs in that addition there. We know his impact that, the impact that he had last year with a young Drake May. Yep. And it was tremendous. They spoke volumes of it. He came in and he was a leader and he was a consummate pro. What you expect him to be. There's no doubt in my mind he's going to be that

again for Jaden. Now you have a bona fide number one guy and Terry McLaurin so you know there's a rapport there with those two. If Jaden can stay healthy he's going to be motivated. As players we listen and we hear

everything that's going on. We can act, we can say I'm not worried about that. Yeah, I say I'm not worried about it, but that doesn't mean I didn't hear it. That doesn't mean I didn't listen to it a little bit. But not only does players do it, coaches do too. Dan Quinn's defense struggled.

You think that he's not motivated? That's his focus. That's his side of the ball. And so they are drastically going to try to improve and that's the mentality you have to have. So if you have a coach that's motivated, a young quarterback that you put up those numbers, those aren't fluky numbers.

He came in on a mission as a rookie. And we all believe that this kid has something. They're all motivated to get. get better. Stefan Diggs is coming in. Terry McClorn. They're all talking about they're just feeling different. If they all come together and it makes sense, he's the reason why they are going to have a

successful season. I don't see them slipping as far as they did last year. Again, big key to it is his health. The thing that worries me about Washington in general is they're either the oldest team or one of the bottom five oldest teams in the NFL. And the problem with that is old teams, as you get to mid-season, those injuries start to pile up. And even when you've got a talented group, young teams tend to emerge about mid-season. Old teams tend to take a step back because it's just the law of averages and the way it works.

So that's a big concern for me is how healthy can all the guys around him stay as well. I mean, it's already starting to pile up. The offensive line, you actually did better than expected last year. And yet this year, they're already, like, what, two guys hurt, and they're still not sure what to do with one of the spots. They haven't even decided which way they're going to go. And to me, that's the thing with Jaden is he played, you know, what, seven games last year? So the reports out of Camp Arr that his accuracy has been phenomenal, his touch has been phenomenal,

all the things that make you say, man, this guy is a talent. You can't teach this kind of stuff. But if he's not in the game, he can't do any of those things. Got to protect him. That is going to be a huge factor. Coming up, who's got your NAL rights. All right, IndyCar driver Christian Lungard is going to be joining the show. We are going to count down to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, which will take place in our nation's capital on Sunday,

coverage starting at 1130 Eastern only on Fox. Freedom 250 Grand Prix. It ends 1.7 miles. Look at the crowd. Fans have turned out in a huge way. He has moment. now past the capital. This is history in the making. History indeed coming to the nation's capital. Indycar races through the heart of Washington, D.C., in a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, celebrating America's

250th, the Freedom 250 Live Sunday, August 23rd, only on Fox. And we are so lucky now. Joining us is Indycar driver Christian Lungard. Thank you so much, my friend. You said that this is only going to be your second time in D.C. What do you expect the fans and the environment to be like because it is going to be free general admission nearly 80,000 people requested for over 270,000 general admission tickets. What do you expect? I think the obvious answer is it's going to be loud, one from the fans, but also from the race cars, obviously racing around. But I think it's just a big opportunity for us. I'm just excited to be there. You know, be a part of the events.

We know it's going to be a one-time thing. And all of us wants to win it. And obviously, just the history behind it, the Freedom 250. I watched the UFC event there earlier this year. And, you know, I just saw how that turned out. And now having to have the opportunity to be a part of it from the IndyCar race side is pretty awesome. Christian, I'm pretty much a quick study. I would like to say how quick study.

So I'm not going to ask you about your strategy and how you're going to approach this race, because from what I understand and what I've learned, you're going to navigate the chaos. The chaos is a part of the strategy, just being able to navigate that. But have you been in a simulator to kind of put you in a position to where it can assist you with navigating some of the chaos that may be on the horizon? I wish that existed, right? I feel like a lot of it is, it comes and goes. A lot of it is experience. I think the street courses in general is always chaotic.

We saw it in Markham last weekend. It was a new venue, a new track. They had repaved the track for us, and it was super slippery offline. So just trying to understand who you're racing, where the grip is really going to be on a race weekend like this, that the race is going to be just shy of 250 miles. We're going to be in the race car for three hours.

The race is not going to be won on the first stint before the first pit stop. So it's about being smart and really picking your battles. And I think a lot of that comes from the experience of having been part of IndyCar races like this. But I think all of us will be doing something to try to be in the front. I think we all want to lead the freedom to 250 at some point. And look, you're currently fourth in the standings, right? So how pivotal a Sunday with only four races left in the season for you, personally? Absolutely.

It's crucial for us to score the most points possible. Alex Palo is obviously in the lead by 100 points plus by now to even P2. I think I'm six points out of P2. I think there's 15 or so. points between the rest of us all. We have it right here. Obviously, I'm fighting Kyle and David, really. Obviously, we got the two Americans there that I know want to have a good weekend this weekend. But at the end of the day, we have three races after as well, where we can score some points. But to be the first and only Freedom 250 winner would be pretty cool to me.

Hey, Christian, how does a street course like the one in Washington play to your strengths? I love street circuits. I love new races, new venues. When you think of a typical race track, it can be an oval, it can be a typical road course. One, we know the track. We know where the bumps are, but also it gets driven on frequently. Where street course races, it's public streets, they're never really clean to the perfection of what our race tracks really are. So you always have to explore. You always have to find the grip. And throughout a weekend from the first session, the first lap you drive to the last lap in the race, the track is completely different. And I love that exercise of having to try to figure out how to set up the car right for the right time of the race. Because at the end of the day, you're only going to win the race on the last lap and you need to be fast at the end of the weekend.

Christian, Alex Palo can all but wrap up win on Sunday. Is he the racer with the most or the biggest target on his back? Absolutely. But I also think he has proven well enough by now that he's not going to crack under pressure. I think we can try as hard as we want. We need some luck on everyone's side, but behind him in the standings to catch him. It is mathematically possible. but he's very good under pressure.

He's probably the best IndyCar driver the series has seen. And he's proven that. So I thought we had something to fight with throughout this year to fight for with him in the championship, but he just keep proving us all wrong. And he makes very few mistakes. Kristen, I know you did something that you've never done before last week

and you throw out the first pitch for the Blue Jays. How nerve-wracking was that for you? It was, I definitely got my heart going. But once I got down on the pitch, I didn't really realize this, but the lights are in your face. So you don't really see the crowd. And I think that helped me a lot. Obviously, I've had a lot of comments afterwards that that can't have been your first throw ever. I'm like, I've thrown a ball before, of course, but I've never really thrown a baseball.

So it's a pretty cool experience for me. Look at that humble brag, guys, by the way. People said it couldn't have been my first one, but it really was because I'm an awesome athlete. Christian, of course you are. You are one of the best pro drivers, and we are very, very grateful to you for joining us. Good luck this weekend. Enjoy. I appreciate it, guys. I'll try to get the wind done for us.

I like it. I like it. Look at that. I love seeing D.C. set up like this. It's going to be so much fun. This is going to be a great race. Are they cool? Are you going to be there?

I would like to be there. See if I can. I don't know. I might be tracked in this studio the whole time. You don't know. America and this week, oh man, it's showtime. Catch Shoaheotani and the Dodgers versus the Pirates or another regional action.

You could get Cubb Mariners or Giants Red Sox. Check your local listing for what the game is in your area. That's Saturday, 7 p.m. Eastern only on Fox. And guys, I want to get back to football, of course. Last year, Seekwan Barclays saw his yards per game diminish, almost 55 yards a game for. from the year before his touchdowns were cut in half, but his teammate, Lane Johnson, thinks that big things are right around the corner.

Take a listen here. I think all in all, the more productive we are in the run game and stuff feeds off of that, that we'll see the Sequin of two years ago, we'll see the big plays, we'll see him out, flexing out wide at receiver, seeing him in the screen game. I mean, Greg, this isn't just a Sequan, Berkeley story, it's an Eagle story, because as go he, to what degree to go to the Eagles? How important is it that he rebounds? It's their key to success.

Yeah. Clearly. It's kind of similar to how we view the lions. Like when we see the Eagles establishing a running game and they are able to run the ball effectively and efficiently and we see him hitting those home runs, this team is a completely different beast to deal with offensively. Because now it allows all those receivers to be one-on-one. Jalen hurts to see the clear field because you're going to have single high. You cannot have too high safety in a small box with Sequin running the way that they want to run. And so it just opens everything up.

And if they're able to establish the run, this can be a very good. They're already a good team. This is the key to their success. Reestablishing who they want to be up front. And they had injuries along that offensive line last year. Johnson understands it. He was a part of those injuries, but they know the importance of establishing who we want to be, is our identity as offensive linemen, is running the football. It's a little unrealistic, though, to think that Sequin's going to be able to have the production

that he had two years ago. He averaged almost six yards of carry, so he's at 5.8 yards of carry. He had 125 yards per game brushing, and it's unrealistic. Every other year, in his career, his highest number had been 81. And even though he had over a four, I think it was 4.4 yards of carry, which is still very good last year. But when you set the bar the year before at 5.8, everybody thinks, oh, this isn't

the guy that we know. It's hard to do what he did. And his rookie year, he had 5 yards of carry, but then it took him six years to get over 5 yards again. So the idea that this year is going to be close to what it was two years ago, I just can't imagine it is.

He's also had close to 600 carries in those two years. That's a lot of wear and tear for a guy who's getting older. Does it need to be better? Do they want it to be better? Yeah, of course you'd want what he gave you. I just, it's hard to imagine he's going to be able to get back to that level. So when you have a new offensive coordinator coming in, kind of they want to put their spin on things. They want to put their stamp on your offense. And what better way, obviously the passing game has to be better. We all saw that.

It has to be better and it has to be more consistent and particularly in the second half when they need it to be clicking. But the way to get to that, the easiest way to get to that is to be able to be under center,

turn around, hand the ball off, and get four to five yards a clip because you know you can. And I think that just has to be a point of emphasis. When you have the back, when you have the offensive line, And when you've done it before, it doesn't seem far-fetched.

When you've been something before, you believe I can be that again. And the Eagles have been that before. Sequin has done the 5.8 yards of carry before. They've been a great offensive line. He's run for 2,000. So it's not as far-fetched for someone who's done something as it is for someone who hasn't done it. And so with that being said, this team believes that, yeah, we can roll out and do it all over again. Well, I wanted to ask you about the coaching aspect, though, because as he mentioned, new OC,

guy with not a ton of experience, although obviously played in the league, but how much change do you see this offense undergoing because of this new offensive coordinator, especially with all the reporting in the offseason of like, oh, Jalen was really running the show the last couple years. He got too rigid. That's why they brought in this new guy. Well, it's going to be interesting because they made a transition on the offensive line. Their longtime offensive line coach has moved on.

So there's change there as well. Jalen's going to have a ton of influence on the offense. And the quarterback should have a ton of influence on the offense because you want him to feel comfortable with the plan. And just like we talk about a young quarterback with an older receiver, a young coordinator with an established, successful Super Bowl winning quarterback is going to defer. And it's the head coach's job to make sure that he's moderating that relationship.

so that it doesn't get too lopsided where it's not a partnership, it's more Jalen running things. This group has gone through a lot of transition with offensive coordinators. The head coaches stayed the same. That's his side of the ball. He should have so much control over what that final product looks, looks like even with a younger guy. I think that backroom stuff is so fascinating.

It's great insight into how the, relationships go. You're, you're grinning like a man who has run Robshot over an offensive coordinator. Well, I mean, look, you just want to be a part of, you want, when, when the offensive coordinator starts to go through the game plan and go through the scheme, you just want it to feel like I'm excited about this. And when you listen to Sean Mannion, talk about Jalen Hertz and his ability to get in here early, get in the building early, stay late, be committed to what we're asking him. to do and the things that we're actually into change, that gives you a little bit of excitement,

as well as, you know, there's going to be some things that you have success with that we're going to maintain. We're going to carry that over. But there's also going to be some new learning that's going to need to take place, which I always feel like that locks in guys a lot quicker and a lot more. Even with the offensive line, when you start asking guys to do some things a little different and they're older, you have to reset. You have to either show that you're committed

and you're locked into moving in this direction with your offensive coordinator or you don't. Now what I love is Jalen didn't promise that they were going to have the greatest offense ever or they were going to go to the Super Bowl. He just promised 100% alignment and zero entitlement. He did. Zero entitlement, baby.

You talk about winning the press conference? 100% winning the press conference. Okay, you're sick of the Super Bowl talk and we're going to be the greatest offense ever. Can we get, can we be done with he's the first one in the building and the last one to leave? First of all, you're the quarterback. You're supposed to be. That's why you're paid what you're paid.

Second of all, you can be in, you can live in that building. If you don't get the other stuff done, it's not going to matter. I am so, this falls under the, he came into camp in the best shape of his life, and he's the first one in and he's the last one out. He's a great leader. You sound like you're not an Eagles fan. No, no, no. I.

Unlike some of the, well, I, yes, obviously. unlike some of the people on this set at different times in the year, I actually think Jalen Hertz is criticized too much. However, I also want to be done with all the platitudes with him. It's time. He's got it. Look, he's a Super Bowl MVP. We have seen what he can do.

It is time to return to that form. So we will see and we'll see you. He's a copyrighted that same because it's money. There we go. More preseason action tonight. Chargers hosting the Niners. Both themes have high aspirations, but plenty of question marks. headed into the season.

Coach, I don't think anyone could have more faith in Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert than Jim Harbaugh does. I believe you can look back through his quotes. They're so glowing, I'm a little worried about Justin's new fiance having a run for her money with Coach Harbaugh, but what do you think? Do you think that the Chargers have more promise?

Do you have more faith in San Francisco? Oh, there's a lot of love for Justin Herbert because Jim loves them and the new offense coordinator might love him as much. And Danny, who sits at this desk, loves him probably close to as much. I mean, it's his cup runneth over. You've heard Jim Harbaugh's quotes about him, right? I mean, they're hilarious.

But the thing is... I think he called him Jesus the other day. But the thing that I love about Jim is what he's saying, it's not an act. Like, he feels that way. And he's who he is and he's sincere. So he doesn't, he doesn't, Justin Herbert shouldn't have to worry about, do my coaches believe to me. They might believe in them too much. But with these two teams, there are two coaches that have overcome adversity really well. And when you look at the Chargers, they've had

back-to-back 11-win seasons. Last season, Justin Herbert was dealing with an injury. O'Mary Hampton was dealing with injuries that lost both their starting tackles, but they were still able to get to 11 wins, which is impressive. And it's the same thing with the 49ers. Think about the litany of injuries that they had, and they still figured out a way to win. I'd say going into this season kind of goes back to what I said about Washington. The 49ers are one of the older teams in the league. I think that they're in that same neighborhood as Washington. They're either second to last or around there. And the chargers are the seventh youngest. So that, to me, gives the chargers the edge because as the season goes on, as we talked about,

those younger teams tend to grow and get stronger. And the older teams and San Francisco has had injury history for multiple years now. They talent, plenty of talent, but if they're not in the field, it doesn't matter. For me, it's simple. I have more faith in the Chargers. Like, when you go into a season and you're already hampered, that just doesn't feel great, knowing what we or what they had to endure last season already with the injuries, both sides, but particularly the 49ers, I thought Kyle Shanahan did.

the fantastic job of overcoming that in out in coaching above what he was able to have on the field. However, to ask that again, potentially knowing that you're probably going to be without a couple of your guys to start the season. That's just a tall task to ask in a division that is as strong as the NFC West and the AFC West is just as strong over there. And you're a little healthier. You obviously got the news about Biotish, but you have a veteran quarterback with a young center now. So you feel better about that situation. And you got a lot of your returning pillars back on that side of the ball

to support your quarterback. So I just have more faith in the chargers. And by the way, Kyle Shanahan himself, because of that car accident, has not been able to coach. I mean, he's been out also injured. I forget about that. Yeah. Right? So he hasn't been able to coach the way that he normally does.

I mean, the concussion issues, wasn't able to be in the light and the movement and the sound and everything. So they are dealing with the live. It's a lot to ask of him again. I'm sorry, my favorite, I had to look it up. My favorite Harbaugh on Justin Herbert quote was, there is not one gene in his body that I wouldn't trade for. If you don't love Justin Herbert, something is wrong with me. I just, I want to have someone have that much confidence in me.

That's all I want in my life. Maybe it'll be one of these guys soon. Coming up, can Fernando Mendoza steal the QB? one job tonight that is next here on first things first. All the time. All the time. Not one gene in his body he wouldn't trade. He's like, we are officially counting down to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, which will take place

in our nation's capital on Sunday, Best City in the country, in my opinion, unbiased, of course. Coverage starts at 11.30 a.m. Eastern, only on bucks. And gentlemen, time now for our winners and losers. Look at that thumbs up, thumbs down. First up though, it's a thumbs up. Winner Bucks fans. Tampa reportedly agreed to a one year extension with their Super Bowl champion defensive tackle Vita Vaya.

Greg, glad to see this get done. Yeah, when you have somebody that has that type of presence, and especially in the run game, can be stout up front. You gotta get something like that on the field as much as you possibly can. They got it done. Good for them. I think Vivaire won too.

He picked up, what, another 24 or 30 something? Yeah. Pretty good? Yeah. Well, everybody wins. Yeah. He wanted a longer term deal. Obviously, they were like, take more money for less time.

And he's like, well, I like the money. So we're all good. Loser. Deets. Woof. Cowboys offensive coordinator, Clayton Adams, wants to get the team to get him a hot dog fridge. How can you really have a break room, he said, or a snack room without a hot dog fridge? Coach, I don't even know what a hot dog fridge.

know what a hot dog fridge is because hot dogs are hot. Have you ever encountered a hot dog fridge in a team break room? No, and I wouldn't want that idea brought up in a staff. Look at that face. Look at, look at coach's face right now. He looked disgusted. So disgusted. The entire time you were making reading that. So disgusting. Who is this coach? Why is he on the staff? I'm just, I just wondering, what is it? What's it for? How does it make it better? And why are we talking about it? And are we going to put it on a shirt and are we going to set an alarm by it? But Rachel, you name is that's all I want to know. It's a hot... A hot dog in a fridge. Fridge.

Yeah, I'm with you. Do you think it might be actually like a weird way of saying where they keep them hot? Like, but it's some sort of regional colloquialism? I think you are grasping his straws, my friend. Well, you can't have a hot dog fridge with a cold hot dog. That's an impossibility. I just, some things are unexplainable. There are now.

natural phenomenon in life. They're unexplainable. This might be one of them. Yeah, why we're talking about it is unexplained. All right. Winner, debuts. Check out Najjarra's looking good in his first giant practice. Greg, do you like this signing? This was one hurrah to another. Yeah, look, man, when you get your quarterback hit in that first preseason game and it was one of your running backs, yeah, you're going to get a bigger body in there that can pass pro. Yep. It's always a good idea to bring in some more competition to, especially at this point in camp. It sends a reminder to everybody that this is a very temporary time.

And if you're not doing what you're supposed to do, we're going to find someone who can. This whole team feels like a wild card to me. Do you have a sense of where they're going to end up? I mean, I'm in L.A. Collins pushing them to finish ahead of my team. I mean, I don't, I just, I got to see it. They should be excited. I don't know.

They added defensive talent, but they didn't add defensive talent in the area where they really needed it, which is stopping the run. And that's probably my biggest concern from that side of the ball. Again, I'm just a little bit biased, so I'm going to say the commanders over the Giants, but we'll see. Cowhardt thinks differently. All right, loser preseason. Aaron Rogers won't play tomorrow against his former Jets team. Coach, are you okay with this?

And do you expect another big game from Drew Aller? Yeah, I'm okay with this. Aaron at this point, if he wants to play in the preseason game because he feels like it'll help him with his preparation, I would be fine with that. If he doesn't want to play in the game, I would be fine with that too. And he's 42 years old. He's older than probably a lot of the coaches on the staff. So I would think he'd give you a good feel of what's going to help him get ready. Yeah.

If there is one guy that is going to be prepared, at least mentally, we'll see physically. But he doesn't need these preseason reps. Let's not pretend this is the first time he's decided on the preseason. He's done this before. All right, winner, Brides, as in Trey McBride, name number 13 on the NFL top 100 players list. Greg, is he the best tight end in football? He sure plays like it. Look, he balls out.

He's one of those players that you've got to have on the field if you're the Cardinals. And if they're going to have any type of success offensively, not talking about wins, it's going to go through that guy. And he probably doesn't get as much pub as he does. Because he's on the Cardinals right now until they start winning. It's not going to be recognized like that. All right, I had to get up my thing. We are the greatest show there is. Thank you, Dasperosh God.

Thank you, you guys for joining us. We will be back tomorrow.