First Things First - Top QB-WR Duos, Fernando Mendoza Ready To Start?, Rams Hype

Episode Date: August 21, 2026

(00:00) Fernando Mendoza ready to start?(24:48) INDYCAR Driver Graham Rahal joins the show(34:17) No true No. 1 receiver in Buffalo?(49:49) Too much hype around the Rams?(1:08:22) Expectations for Patrick Mahomes(1:22:07) Greg's Top 3 Dangerous QB-WR duos(1:29:15) Winners & Losers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Toronto, every arrival is a statement, and nothing says it better than this. Cadillac Optic was the number one selling luxury EV in Canada for 2025. Find your rhythm across a seamless 33-inch display and an immersive 19-speaker AKG surround audio system. This city demands agility, and Optic delivers with precision to make every drive extraordinary. Let's take the Cadillac. Find out more at Cadillac Canada.ca. Luxury sales claim based on S&P Global Mobility Canadian New Vehicle Total Registrations for calendar year 2025 for the Cadillac definition of luxury.

When West Jet first took flight in 1996, the vibes were a bit different. People thought denim on denim was peak fashion, inline skates were everywhere, and two out of three women rocked, the Rachel. While those things stayed in the 90s, one thing that hasn't is that fuzzy feeling you get when WestJet welcomes you on board.

Here's to WestJetting since 96. Travel back in time with us and actually travel with us at westjet.com slash 30 years. First Things First is sponsored by Ram Trucks. Live from New York, it's Friday. It's the show that's thinking about racing and the Freedom 250. It's first things first.

All right, gentlemen, I'm Rachel Nichols, alongside, of course, Greg Jennings, Coach Mangini. Greg, I was looking up top speeds for the Freedom 250. It goes about 190 miles an hour. And I'm not saying that athletes like to drive their cars fast, but also how fast do you ever driven? Definitely not 190. I probably got to about one.

15, 120, down when I was in Miami, open road. Yeah, situation. You and I have not done 120. I'm gonna hazard again. I pulled over one time going 90. Damn, all right, coach. That's the fastest you've gone. It's high school.

90. That's the fast I've been pulled over for. Oh. No. How fast have you gone? I don't know. Oh, see, at least I know. I think I'm around like 80, maybe.

I know, I know. I shouldn't be allowed to sit at this table. And yet here I am. On today's show, we're going to talk a little bit about Lamar Jackson. He's feeling urgency, guys, headed into year nine. Are the Ravens set up for a bounce-back season? An Indycar driver, Graham Rahal is going to join us ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix from Washington, D.C. That is this Sunday on Fox.

I bet his number of how fast he's driven is a lot higher than anyone's here. Just a little bit. Finally, we're going to talk about Joe Burrow. He is tired of saying next year, Coach, Brew is out today, but you are in his chair. So I have to ask, are the Bengals S-Bob, as he likes to say. Drew likes to say a lot of people are S-Bob, so I'm sure he'd put the Bengals as S-Bob as well. Since I'm in that seat, I'll throw him. No, so.

All right. They're S-Bob. They don't have any catchy phrases, though. Yeah, well, we'll get there. The show is young. We start in Houston, guys, the Raiders taking on the Texans last night. Number one overall pick Fernando Mendoza in action. He played the entire first half, but wasn't great.

Finished just 8 of 15 for 86 yards, through a coffee. POSLY PICS, and here's head coach Clint Kubiak on naming a week one starter. Take a listen. Plenty to clean up. Plenty plenty to get better at. You know, plenty that we can do better for him as coaches, plenty that he can learn from. Kirk Cousin is not playing along like Max, I'm the guy's not safe to say, Kirk will be your starting quarterback at week one.

You know, it's we got another week. We're playing. You know, I don't want anyone to be comfortable in their job. That's how it should always be that way from all positions. So, you know, we just keep going forward. for it. Coach, aren't you proud of that coach speak? That was like real good coach speak.

Yeah, he didn't really sell it there with Kirk sitting out. Yeah, he looked pretty comfortable when I was. Pretty comfortable. Pretty comfortable. I mean, he's going to be the start. But no, we've got another week left. Yes, yes. I mean, I've been saying for a while, I don't see the need to Rush Mendoza.

Last night, did it prove to you he just wasn't ready? When we talked about it yesterday going into the game, what I felt would have given him a chance to at least get in a serious conversation about him starting is. is if you saw a jump from the first game, the second game, and the main reason is that Houston was playing the twos. He was playing with the ones. Last week, he was with the twos against the twos,

did a good job. So you would assume with the better talent around him against the second level defense, you'd get some type of progress. And Mendoza talked about it, about the jump from college to pro, the fact that things, the windows close a lot quicker, the mistakes,

are, the margins are small. Yeah, the margins are small. He had a lot of things, he was right on with that, and that was a really good lesson for him and part of his progression. Yeah, for me, like, this is what you want it to look like. Obviously, everybody would hope that it looks clean every single time

for a young player, especially a top overall drive pick. But the reality of it is, is you're going to have some abs and flows. It's going to be some good football. that he puts on tape and it's gonna be some bad football. These are things that you can build on though if you're Clint Kubiak because you go, when you have a guy who has success and just continues to have success,

you don't want them to feel like, well, there's no room for improvement. After last night, it was clear and obvious there's a room for improvement. He recognized that, to coach's point, he even alluded to it in the press conference saying, you know, a small mistake can turn catastrophic very quickly,

in this game and it did for him. The pick six. And the thing that I think was great was not just, when you make a mistake as a player, specifically a young player, it's better to make a mistake and it be a big mistake because that's branded on your mind

from here moving forward. So knowing he made the mistake, he was a little late. He and the checkdown back was not on the same page as he put it. He will never forget that moment. He's like, okay, I can't do that. I know where I need to go with the ball. You can tell that he has some great instincts about himself, but then you can also see in real

time on the field that he is a rookie. It's going to be a slow grind, and that's why they have a plan in place. Kurt Cousin was, in my opinion, pretty comfortable on that sideline, knowing he's going to be the week one day one starter. And you saw two on the interception. he's initially looking to his left. He thinks he's going to go to the back. The corner ends up coming down, squeezing that. And in college, a lot of times, you can go back side. And that player is probably going to be open,

and there's probably going to be a mismatch physically between him and the defender. And he started to drift to his left, too, so the back assumed that he wanted him to keep going. So as much as there's a miscommunication between him and the back, he was a lot of the reason for that miscommunication by the way that he drifted in the pocket. But those are things, to Greg's point, that you're able to coach off.

And when you do give up a pick six, it is, it's different than, remember the first week, he was saying, I let my team down. And now he realizes, there's a whole other level of letting your team down. Yeah, you know, giving up six and scoring three. There's a whole other level of letting your team down. Not so good. And look, he got pressured a lot. I think it was six pressures in just a half, which tells me, too, this offensive line is

not ready to have this kid because what do you see it due to a young quarterback's confidence if he gets hurt early or he learns the bad habit of instead of staying in the pocket and actually making his progressions and doing his thing. He's just got to get rid of the ball because he doesn't know about the guys in front of it. It definitely can disrupt their progress. I don't really worry about that being a major thing for Fernando Mendoza. He seems to be very solid and confident and where he needs to go with the ball and what he needs it to look like in front of him. And so when you have a guy like that, he kind of knows, okay, about protection, who's coming, who the free guy is. And so he's going to be able to protect himself in that regard.

It's just a matter of consistently being able to go through those progressions and make those reads quickly. One of the things that I did like, though, is after the interception, after the pick six, he did come back, go six for six for a while. And it did look better in the passing game. And so you saw the resilience, the compartmental. of that one mistake, not taking a toll and then lingering on to the next play coach. As a coach, you guys look for that. Like how will you bounce back after a mistake is made? After a drop, like are you going to then babble the next pass or something like that?

So he didn't do that. He was able to bounce back. But you can tell there's a process for a reason and they're going to stick to the script. What I don't love about the volume that he was hit. So he was hit a couple times in the first game too. And one of those was his decision where he decided to run with the ball. And then he got form tackled. There's no need for that in the preseason.

And even in this game, on the pick six, he ends up getting hit. You can put yourself at risk two different ways. There's running with the ball and doing kind of what the Giants are experiencing where you're going to go get an extra yard and bang heads with people. And then there's a second level where you're holding the ball too long in the pocket and you're getting hit in order to get a three-yard completion. There's a reason that Tom Brady played as long as he did and Peyton Manning played as long as he did and Aaron Rogers played as long as he has because they're not going to take an

unnecessary hit for a three or four-yard completion. They're going to live to fight another day, throw the ball out of bounds. And that's another really, really important lesson that he has to learn. Otherwise, he's not going to be available for very long if he takes to any of those. Yeah, watching him throw that pick six and then chase down the defender. It's that's just instincts. Like instinctively, as a competitor, you don't want to give up on the play. You're coming from college.

It's like, man, I'm the reason why they're about to possibly score. Let me try to do something. So I don't mind this. He's showing effort and that's what you always want to see. But to coach's point, those are things in terms of when to run, when to take on the extra couple yards. Those are things that are learned over time. And he will be able to sit back, watch Kirk Cousins, because Kirk isn't going to do that.

Kirk is going to not those extra two yards or that possible hit. He's not going to take that unnecessary hit if he doesn't have to. And so those are the types of things that sitting back, not playing right away, you learn and you are able to observe. And then you're like, oh, okay, got that. Mental note, mental check. You can write that down in your little note. book and take it to the unit meeting the next time and ask her questions about it. But if that doesn't, if that's not the case, then he's learning all those things on the fly and

we would see more of that. It's not a little notebook, by the way. Have you guys heard about Fernando Mendoza's notebook? I have not. That he walks around with this big, thick notebook, and after every play in practice, not just in games, he will go write out the play, write down his progression, write if he was right or wrong, write out the result, and write what he learned. And the coaches have been looking at him doing this and sort of been like,

okay, man, slowly roll except for one of the coaches who told them, maybe you should just type that. That would be easier. This is a guy who in over a thousand possessions in the NFL in the thousand times, he only was under center five times. So everything here is going to end up in the notebook. Everything is going to be a learning experience. I think it's a huge luxury that this team has Kirk Cousins.

And in the preseason, I like the fact that you don't want to coach the guy out of chasing down the intersection. Right. But it's a preseason game. It's okay. Yeah. Like, if the score. Coach is still stuck on that.

He's still stuck on the side. Well, they're going to say that on the side. Yeah, it's one of those things where I get it and it's the right idea and in the regular season it's different. But right now, it's not that important. It's not that important. That's going to go on the notebook. Put it in the notebook.

Right? Goes in the notebook. The previous number one overall quarterbacks picked all had to play their rookie year. I think it's a huge luxury. This team has Kirk Cousins. Let's move on to CINC, where the Bengals haven't made the playoffs since 2022. And Joe Burrow, he's tired of it. He's kicking the can down the road.

He doesn't want to do that anymore. Here's the QB on the Super Bowl hopes for this year. There's no can. Take a listen. Trying to put it out into the world. I'm trying to manifest it. I'm trying to show our guys the urgency that I have and that I want us to have as an organization to go and make it happen. And you can keep pushing it down the road or you can talk about it now and say this is the

year. And I'm tired of saying next year, next year, next year, this is it. You know, your life is too short to keep pushing things down the road and trying to instill some urgency and some intensity in everybody to go and get, be great every day and try to go make it happen. He's manifesting, Greg. He's installing urgency. Do you like him saying all of this stuff?

And do you agree with him that it's this year robust? Yeah, look, I understand it. And I agree with Joe Burrow. And having been there, having been to the Super Bowl early in his career, AFC championship game to follow that up, you kind of expect. We heard him say when he was asked about the window of opportunity, as long as I'm here, it's open. The window's always open, right?

And so when you have years where, you're not even making the postseason consecutively. It starts to get a little, you start to get a little far removed, and now you start to wonder, okay, are we headed in the right direction? And I'm sure he, even more so than us, because we're on the outside, he's in it and he's living it. Like, we got to do something different. And for the first time, we're hearing him talk about the good that he's feeling,

the vibes of the defense looking better, And it just seeming like we feel like there's an urgency not only because of him, but because of some of the guys in the locker room that may share that same sentiment. So I wouldn't say that it's Super Bowl or bust for this Bengals team, but you do get the sense of what he's expressing that they better do something sooner rather than later because those pieces, specifically on that offensive side, those skill guys, how much longer will you be able to sustain that with those contracts? and them in their prime.

So defensively, again, they have improvement to make. And I believe that they have already done that and they will continue to do that. But Joe Burrow has to be great and has to be available. He was last year. Jamar Chase, same with T. Higgins. All of those guys have to be on the same page and on the field to allow this team an opportunity. I really wish I knew about manifesting when I was a head coach. I didn't realize that that was such a powerful thing.

I didn't have a vision board. I didn't have Pinterest. I didn't have any of that stuff. I guess it would have helped. You didn't know about manifesting coach? But would you have manifested wins or would you manifested a Lamborghini? I mean, what did your choices have been there?

Best offense in the history of the NFL. I mean, shutouts and blowouts and Goddies. I would have manifested the whole thing. An island somewhere? I mean, if we're talking about things we want. Oh, my goodness. I'm just straight matter. I'm going to get that T-shirt manifesting.

That seems to be the thing. Now, less manifesting, more working. Maybe that's what we need to do. They're in what should be a great position, right? Because they're the only team in that division that has the same head coach. So you've got continuity. That should give you a substantial advantage. It should.

And then the second thing is they're over the hump of starting slow. So last year they were able to start 2 and 0. Now, unfortunately, they went 0 and 4 the next 4 games, but they at least got over that hump that had been there for quite a few years. And the reality is there's three players. Their top three players, offensive players, eat up a third of the salary cap. So to whom much is given, much is expected.

And those three guys need to carry the day. And they've done some things to try to balance the defense. It's not going to be balanced, but at least it hopefully won't be as in balance as we've seen it historically. They realistically should be in the driver's seat in that division based off of kind of. continuity and some of the hurdles they've gotten over. Greg, I just thought it was interesting that you were talking about the players about the guys on the offense, Teahiggins, you're talking about Burrow.

I want to hear from the coach's perspective, though. You might say it's not Super Bowl or bust for those players, and I think you're completely right. The coaches, though, the head coach, the front office has been pretty much explicitly put on notice that this year, if things don't go much, much better and they don't get much, much closer, everybody is going to be out. what is it like for a coaching staff having to coach under that pressure? The reality is you coach under that pressure pretty much every year because if you can go from coach of the year to out pretty quickly, look at Philadelphia, there's guys there that win Super Bowls and are out in a couple of years.

And that's the reality of it. In Cincinnati, it's unique because it's sometimes tied to their contract. And I believe he's going to the final year his contract, although there was some reporting that he might have signed like an additional year. just hadn't been announced. That'll matter in that organization because they typically don't like dead money.

I would imagine the front office and that organization particularly, which isn't used to spending the type of money that they've spent. They see this as we've extended ourselves in ways that we have in the past, so we expect results that we haven't gotten in the past. And it makes sense.

I mean, from a player's standpoint, like you, even if you know your coach is kind of on a hot seat, we hear all the noise. We hear it. Joe and Zach Taylor have a good relationship, a great rapport. You want to win for your coach. You do want to go out there and you want to compete for your coach. You don't want your coach.

You don't want to be the reason why. I will say that you do not want to be the reason why your coach gets the boot. You don't want to be the reason why. And so I'm sure those guys who are making the Jamarrow. Chasers of the world, the T. Higgins, obviously, the Joe Burroughs. Like, they want to do it for not only themselves, but their coaching staff as well. Yeah, yeah. I remember Greg is an extremely nice human being. He is. A lot of players. Don't feel. But there's some other guys that's been like, all right. Oh, maybe I can't get. Don't let the door hit you.

It's funny. You should bring that up, coach, because we want to talk about Baltimore next. Okay. Hmm. A guy who might not have been upset that his coach got fired. Who knows. Lamar Jackson also saying now that it is his time calling out father time as he enters year nine and with the Ravens coming off an eight and nine season where they also miss the playoffs well Lamar says he sees the big picture take a listen each and every year I have an urgency you know it's just not because it's year nine but obviously you know I'm getting older so of course this year I want to be better than we were all the past years you know past eight years if anything you know I can't really take nothing from all my teammates from the past you know because we did a lot of great things but I want to have the best offense this season that's what I'm

Coach, we're talking about his age 30 season, and you can take a look here. Here's the quarterbacks who won their first Super Bowl, age 30 or older. Five guys is not a long list, and you look at some of these. You know, John Elway, obviously notorious for when he won his Super Bowl, Matt Stafford, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Johnson, of course, we've got there. So what do you see for Lamar? Do you think that it is really a ticking clock situation with him? Look, every year that he's healthy, they've got a chance to win the Super Bowl, just because of the way that he can change the game.

But he's coming off a really interesting season in the sense that he was sacked at the highest rate he's ever been sacked at. So you could say, hey, that's the offensive line. But Lamar is so good at eluding pressure that some could be the offensive line. Some could be the fact that he's gotten older and maybe he's not moving the same way

or it could be a combination of both of those things. Last year it was the first time he's had a losing season as a starter, which was very unique as well. And what concerns me the most about going into the seasons, they talk about the new offensive coordinator and how he's changing things and it's going to be so different for Lamar.

And what I'd say is this guy won two MVPs. He could have won a third MVP. You better do a whole lot of what he does well as opposed to taking your system and saying, you need to do this. And there's going to be a learning curve between Lamar and the offensive coordinator. but the starting point has to be what does he do well?

Let's do a lot of that. And then what can we incorporate from the system that I'm bringing in that can hopefully allow him to do some things he hasn't done as well better? Yeah, look, I totally expect Lamar Jackson to have a bounce back year. If we go back to his career and just the history of him being injured and playing games and then coming back the next year fully healthy and playing the full season, he's spectacular. Like the numbers don't lie, the stats don't lie for Lamar Jackson. And when you look at it, in 2022,

he played 12 games in 2020. He ended up playing 16. You can noticeably see the jump. Obviously, in every category that's listed there in total yards and then total TDs. He's just special when he's available and he's healthy. Last year, obviously, he missed those games. We saw him labored on the field.

It just didn't look normal. It looked like something was just constantly hindering him. And obviously there's going to be a question mark for this year if he can remain healthy. If he is healthy, he's one of the best, if not the best quarterback in the game. He's proven that with the two MVP's and to coach's point, could have had a third. Last year, I felt like he just didn't, for whatever reason, whether it was injury, whether it was age. I don't believe it was necessarily age. He held onto the ball and he didn't use his.

number one weapon, which is his legs. Right. And it was frustrating for all of us watching because we know how electric he can be outside of the pocket and how dynamic he is when he uses his legs. And he just did not do that. And so a lot of those sacks were not on the offensive line. It was because he wanted to hold onto the ball and still push the ball down the field. He kept his eyes down the field.

We love to see that as receivers. Right. But as a spectator, as a fan. and a receiver. I know how special you are. Unleash that, please. And so that's what I expect to be on full display this year, is his legs getting outside the pocket.

And Declan Doyle, offensive coordinator, I'm certain he's aware of we got to keep some of what Lamar does best. Not some. A lot of Marry. There you go. The one thing that is interesting is there is contract talk. And when you are a running quarterback and you do put yourself at that way. You have the opportunity to get injured at a higher rate than guys that do stay in the pocket and get rid of the ball quickly. So I'm sure in the back of his mind there's a little bit of I want to see the next contract. And he deserves the next contract. So you're asking a guy to do something that's going to put him in harm's way and he does better than anybody else. But on his side of the table, it's okay, if I'm going to do this, then I need to make sure that I have some protection organizationally.

as well. And I just wonder how much that came into play last season, too. So it's hard as a player. We think about contract. When it's contract time, we are fully aware. But when you're on the field playing the game, you are not thinking about, ah, man, I don't want to do this because I might get injured or I might put myself in jeopardy of getting that bag or getting more money. You don't think that. that way. Well, you can't because that will get you hurt more often than not. You're playing. And we just didn't see him like reacting and responding in the way that we had become accustomed to. And that was what was so alarming last season watching Lamar Jackson play. But there are also

a lot of times where it looked like he was going to be on the field and then suddenly he wasn't on the field. Very true. And you wonder, okay, is this, is this injury? Is this what is it? And look, we'll never know exactly. how it played out, but I'm sure that comes into play with a guy who's putting himself at risk. Yeah, and of course it's not like there haven't been contract issues between the Ravens and Jackson and him feeling underappreciated there. So you can certainly see some of that maybe coming into it. But you're right, Greg, you can't think about it on the field. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's not good. Coming up, we're going to talk to Indy card driver Graham

Ray Hall. He's countdown to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix from Washington, D.C. That's my hometown. It's going to be so much fun. Coverage starts this Sunday, 1130 Eastern. only on Fox. Freedom 250 Grand Prix. Point seven miles. One cat to sprout. Fans have turned out in a huge way. After capital.

Oh, history is 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 here on Fox. And joining us now, IndyCar driver Graham Ray Hall. Thank you, sir, for joining us.

We started our show here before you even hopped on with us talking about the fastest we've all ever driven. And our numbers are not as good as what I think your number is going to be. I know it's like the drunk guy in a bar question, but what's the fastest you've ever done? Oh, at Indianapolis, you know, we'll go 240 and qualifying, you know, something like that. So we're not going to be hitting those speeds this weekend, you know, but we'll definitely, I mean, the front straight is quite here to be honest. So going down Pennsylvania Avenue, which is words I never thought that I would say in IndyCarbon. But going down there, I mean, I think we could see speeds of 180 plus miles an hour, which is I'll bet you the fastest anybody's ever gone down there. So we're looking

forward to it. I don't know. I'm from the Washington, D.C. area. We've had some mayors who've tried to get away quickly from situations. You never know. I did want to ask you about the track, though. You have practiced tomorrow morning. It's the first time on this track. Is there anything you can do to help you get a feel for a brand new course like this. No one's ever raced it before. Well, you know, we all do a little simulator work. That's a big part of IndyCar racing nowadays. You know, I often talk to folks that are sticking ball sports. The difference there is, you know, if you're in golf, for instance, you can go out and play around to golf and do training or if you're playing football, you can go, you know, run routes in a field,

you know, on a, on, you know, turf or whatever it may be. And in any car racing, every time we turn these things on is about $100,000 per test day. And so what the series does is they limit the days that we're allowed to test per year. So we only get a couple of days a year. So simulations have become very popular. But the unique thing about the simulations here is the track was completely smooth. When they scan the track, they could not get all of the different bumps and things that we'll experience. So really tomorrow is going to be our first day. It's going to be brand new. We may see a little weather in the morning. I think it's going to dry up, you know, in the afternoon.

So qualifying should be dry. And the race is looking dry, but hot. So, and you know, it feels like this Washington, D.C. Heat is a little different than most places. There's a lot of you, my friend. So we'll see. I'm looking forward to it. So Graham, with the potential weather, with a lot of the unknowns,

tell us, like, how long will it take? How many laps will it take to ask? actually know exactly how you can take on this course? Well, one of the, you know, most unique attributes, I think, of professional drivers, a lot like other professional athletes, is how quick you can adjust, right? You know, we will pretty much have the line nailed down, you know, where we want to drive on the track within a couple of laps.

Even though it's brand new, you know, the visuals, things like that, the apex is that we'll try to hit while I've nailed down now, things that can really change are the bumps. And one of the things that we noticed today, lots of manhole covers here. There's over 240 manhole covers on this track alone. And that is something you really don't feel on your road car, but our cars are only about 30 millimeters off the ground.

So we feel everything. And so those are things we may have to adjust. You may have to adjust the line, you know, a little bit. Obviously, if it was an all-dry weekend, it would be much easier. If we do get some rain, it's going to be. going to throw, you know, quite the curveball at us, but it's the same for everybody for sure. Graham, you've had three top three finishes this year. Have you your team done anything differently

from a strategy standpoint or made any changes that you think will help you secure the top spot? Yeah, I mean, we're, you know, as a team, I think that's been our big success point this year and having the podiums that we've had. We should have four. We're two corners away from our fourth podium, which is tremendous. Yeah, I mean, I feel, you know, like on the strategy side of things, We've done a really good job. I think on the pit stops this year, our pit crews done a great job. And those guys and gals, it's very impressive to watch. They can change four tires and add 18 plus gallons of fuel in about six seconds.

So as you guys can imagine, you know, at the speeds that we go covering a football field in about a second, you know, when if we have a seven and a half second pit stop versus six and a half, that's a lot of positions and time loss. So, you know, we've worked very hard. to get ourselves back into, you know, into contention in that regard. We've done a great job this year and hopefully we can, you know, we can find ourselves up towards the top this weekend. You mentioned Graham, the first time this race has been held in the nation's capital,

as I said, it's my hometown. So A, I'm very sorry about the swamp conditions. It was actually built on a swamp, so what can I tell you? I can also assure you that they have soldered all the manhole covers I was reading, so at least nothing's going to spring up on you. But the crowds that you mentioned too, they are supposed to be huge. I am so excited to see the turnout. What do you think this event could do for the growth of the sport? Oh, it's huge for us.

Like, I mean, even right now getting the opportunity to talk to you guys, you know, it's big for our sport. I mean, we, you know, we've, we've been seeing a good increase in success and the viewership. Our, our tendencies, to be honest, have always been good. I think that's what's kind of, you know, often something that's overlooked. But, you know, the reality is the visibility, the interviews, the people that we're getting in front of this week. It's massive for our support and the opportunities that we have. And so, you know, I obviously, we've done one race here or we will do one race here.

Love to see us come back. I know the mayor here is very supportive of the event and really wants to see us continue to race. of Washington, D.C. maybe it's not in this setting specifically, but somewhere close by. You know, but overall, we've seen, you know, a great increase. Fox has been a massive part of that and our partnership with them. Look, we have, you know, Gaylor Electric's on my car this weekend. It's first time they've ever been in the sport. We've got companies like Starlink, Gulfstream Arrow, Boeing, Delta Airlines.

I mean, all these other companies that have never looked at IndyCar racing as an avenue, you know, for sponsorship or partnerships that are here. So this is a massive, massive opportunity for IndyCar to take a big step forward and hopefully put on a great show and we can do just that. You know what's a massive opportunity? It's a massive opportunity for me to ask you a football question. Being that you are from Ohio and you are and I'm from Michigan, just so you know. Me, you're a Buckeye fan. Preseason number one, I got to ask you, are you willing to guarantee they win it all?

Another naughty. I got to tell you, I've been, you know, I got some good buddies that work over there. And, and I text Mark Pantone, who you probably, I don't know if you know. Now he named drop. Now he name dropping. Oh, my God. You know, Mark, I'll tell you this, though. Mark's a conservative guy.

He's not really telling me a whole lot. But what I hear from other buddies that are media members and stuff, they're feeling good. They're feeling good. And they're loving, you know, having Arthur Smith. And obviously, everything that, you know, that Patricia bought last year was amazing. We just missed on the offensive side of the ball. And hopefully they can, they can get that sorted.

I've got our team president sitting right here, and he played for Missou. So he's a tight end for Missou. And his numbers retired in Missouri, not because he was any good, but because Winslow wore it too. So we don't have to, we can leave the second part of that out.

We'll just say it's because of Jay. But we talk plenty of football, and we love it. And I can't wait for, a couple of weeks from now. I'll actually, one of a, I have a motorcycle racing team that I own, and we race in Austin, Texas the same day that Ohio State plays Texas. You better bet that I'll be there. That's a few weekends away this weekend. We're excited to see you race. Thank you so much for joining us. Good luck. We will all be watching the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, live from D.C.

Thanks, God. Thank you, guys. All right, only on Fox. That's. That'll be 11.30 Eastern this Sunday. Check it out. Look at those guys. They're getting ready. Real Canadian Superstore has everything you need this back-to-school season. Save on lunchbox savers like Ziggy's sliced deli-meat products for always 375. And get life brand pure Vita shampoo or conditioner for $8 each. At Real Canadian Superstore, when you're ready, we're ready, with a whole world and more. We are officially counting down to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, which will take place in our nation's capital on Sunday.

Coverage starts at 11.30 a.m. Eastern only here on Fox. And back here in the studio, we're doing some weird and wonderful people. So let's get weird and wonderful. We do wonderful first because we're positive folks. 49ers Chargers preseason action. Check out San Frans, punt returner, Jacob Cowing with the 83-yard house call. Oh yeah. Look, I wasn't sure he's going to make it. Did you see that business decision? I'm okay with it. You what? It's a pre-season. And I know I know Jim, hardball was not okay with this. Oh my goodness. Coach, you are, you would not.

You sound like, you sound like a parent turned grandparent. No, only just getting so soft. Only in the preseason. We used to tell our kickers all the time, like if it, if it's going back, just get out of the way. In the preseason. This is a little too drastic. Like, oh my God.

I mean, why start, why start running? I mean, if you're just going to turn around and then push them, do anything. Or just stand there. Like you've made it clear I am not participating in this. If that is the case, watch, why? So why start running with the rest of your team? Just stand there and wave at them.

I can not. I will not accept that you would have been okay. If that, if he had gone and tackled him and gotten hurt, you'd be like, why would you ever do that? I know and I've heard about on the sideline would have had a major problem with that. I think this is good. Oh boy. Let's get to the weird Texans pregame, CJ Stroud,

with an interesting eye warm up. Greg, have you seen anything like this before? No, I mean, we did see Dack, you know. With the hips? With the hips, baby. I mean, and Dax balls with his hip warmup. So hopefully, you know, he's giving himself a thumbs up for the way he's gonna play,

two thumbs up for the way he's gonna play or something. I don't know. Yeah, I think this might be, this might be the like physical part of manifesting. Oh boy, here we go. So this is the next step that you manifest, and then you come out and you throw the two thumbs up, which means they're going to be good. He is on one America this week.

You look around to see whether or not your vision board is anywhere. And then you're like, okay, it's all good. I'm not sure. I don't know. By the way, the next time we see Eric Manjini on the show is going to be in a yoga outfit because he'll be so manifesty. I want to say I have seen this before. You know who I've seen do stuff like this before? Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald.

His grandfather was an optometrist. He was in the first black optometrist in Chicago, and he taught him all these eye exercises, and that's why he saw the ball coming in so well. So this does work. We'll see if it works for C.J. Strauss, I'm down. Let's talk a little wonderful Bears, Bengals joint practice.

Check out nuisance defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence with the tip drill and interception on Caleb Williams. That's a big man. Coach, what did you think of Sexy Dexy here? This is impressive. I love the fact. they had the awareness in the passing lane, then they will execute, then look,

it just takes the knee. Caleb's like, I'm glad it's not a game. It's not even preseason. This is practice. I'm not going anywhere. Caleb should get out of the way, too. Nothing good will come from that. No.

That's a business decision we're okay with. Weird Fernando Mendoza trying to prove he's QV1. This doesn't help. He's throwing the pick six right over the middle. Greg. You said you wanted him throwing to this part of the field, but what happened here? He's just late with his read. I mean, you can't come back late over the middle.

Coach talked about it earlier. And he'll learn from this. This is something that he's drifting. But I mean, it's weird for him, maybe, but it's something that he can grow from. But it was wonderful for the Texans. I mean, yeah. Shoot, pick six, preseason game. Give me those.

He really hits the trifecta here. He comes back late. He drifts in the pocket. He throws it behind him. And takes ahead. Well, you know, he's a completest. Yes. When he wants to do something, he gets it done right.

Good job. He's wonderful. Check out Peyton Manning's son, Marshall, making his high school debut last night. Congrats to him. No surprise. He's playing QB. Greg, how old exactly does this make you feel? Very.

But DGG number zero? The running back in this game? I watched a lot of this game last night. Wow. He's going to the University of Tennessee, the running back. He is a man child. So respect to the Mannings. Okay.

But the one you want to be watching is the running back at the Baylor school. He is a problem. University of Tennessee getting him a good one. And if Peyton's son plays well, he'll have a lot of seven-man boxes. And they're more impressive. More impressive there, yeah. He got to get another Manning hitting the QP funnel code. He's not even the starting TV.

No, he just got in. He's a freshman. He just got in really quick. He's a freshman. It's time now for our top performance presented by Capital One. What is in your wallet? And let's talk a little bills, guys. They went out this offseason.

They got DJ Moore. Although according to Pro Football Focus, that wasn't enough. Here's what the article says. Josh Allen is lacking a true number one wide receiver. Hmm. Says Khalil Shakir led the bill wide receivers in yards per route run, but that ranked just 30th among NFL wide receivers. They do have Dalton Kincaid at tight end.

But it is unlikely Buffalo's wide receiver. will strike much fear into opposing defenses in 2026. Now, that particular comment doesn't address the more part. So I guess my question for you is, do you agree with that assessment? Does adding it more make a difference to you? Or what does it mean for Josh Allen if you do agree? So adding in DJ Moore definitely makes a difference. This was kind of my sentiment when it first happened.

Like, because we haven't seen DJ Moore be a number one guy. And again, I really like DJ Moore. I think he's a fantastic wire receiver. He gets it done down the field, intermediate, contested catches. He does all the things. We just haven't seen it since Carolina, his last year, Carolina, first year in, in Chicago. And so when you look at the numbers, this is this is what McGinnis is talking about. Like, 2021, 2023.

That was in Carolina, 2021, 2023 is his first year. with the Bears, like it was, it was fantastic. And he was definitely a number one. But these numbers were far removed from seeing this version of DJ Moore. Now, again, he didn't have Josh Allen at quarterback. And so that is what we're hopeful. And they are hopeful of seeing the connection. And because, you know, when we saw Josh Allen before he got Stefan Diggs, we knew he was good. We knew he had talent once he got Stefan Diggs, a. true number one who were in that moment Stefan Diggs was coming from Minnesota and he hadn't really been a true number one and so because what's the kid was there oh my gosh I'm drawing a blank

story of my life I'm drawing the blank but but Stefan Diggs got to step on that island Stefan Diggs got there and then we saw the blossom of Josh Allen as well as Stefan Diggs can Josh Allen do that for D.J. Moore I believe he can but it's it's one of those things that I'm interested in waiting on seeing I'm a big fan of DJ Moore too and the good news is he did have the really good season the first year at the Bears so hopefully that pattern continues in the first year here he has a number similar to what he had at the Bears I don't I don't feel sorry for Josh Allen at all he got what he wanted right didn't the head coach

you know that was a problem so they got rid of him and then they bump up the offensive coordinator, so he's got continuity there. He's got a lot more influence in the organization. He got to take part in the decision making. And we talk about him all the time as MVP and how talented he is and he's more talented than Patrick Mahomes and all the things that are being said, well, you've got to elevate the people around you. You've got to be a force multiplier. And we had a lot of years in New England where people didn't feel that our receiving core was the best in the league. But they all became better because the quarterback did good job and they all did a good job and they elevated each other and the other thing is are we

forgetting about James Cook and you won the rushing championship last year so so you have arguably you know put them wherever you want in terms of top running back but you've got an elite running back so that causes problems people have to stop him that opens up things in the passing game there's a lot of good quarterbacks that don't have a running back anywhere close to this so yeah may make it work was the receiver that I was thinking of. Yeah, look, it's definitely going to be something that I believe works because Josh Allen is that good.

Right. But I don't know, you've been in these receiving rooms, right? You do need some of it. Yeah, it's great to have a great quarterback, but an exceptional receiver makes a great quarterback better the same way a great quarterback can make the receiver better. Is there an exceptional enough receiver in there? Yes.

Like, if I'm DJ Moore, DJ Moore is listening to all of this, and he's like, not a number one receiver. Like if I'm DJ more, I'm feeling some type of way because he's been that before. He probably is of the mindset that look, man, look at my quarterback situation. I was with a young Caleb. He was going through growing pains. It was, I wasn't the primary focus of that offense last season.

And my numbers took a hit. And so I'm in a better situation now. I can be who I once was. And every player feels like I can be who I once was. until you're not anymore. I was one of those guys. Fell off the cliff. I couldn't do it no more, coach.

Not like I once did it. Mine says one thing. Your body says another. Moving on to the Browns. They spent all week and joined practices with the aforementioned Phil's and Buffalo's Pro Bowl left tackle was more than impressed. Watching across the field, Mr. Deshaun Watson.

Take a listen here. Deshawn is still him. You know, if you have, a line that can and protect the quarterback and the quarterback is going to thrive. And he's been that guy, he is that guy. He's a baller and he's here and he shows it. Like he's a baller. But the battles are there and they kept going and they're going to keep going.

You know, and now we're in practice and what? If he's playing on Saturday, then they'll be balling again. I like that I get to ask coach the questions with the slang in them. So there's the manifesting, right? And then there's like, do you think that Coach Deshaun Watson is him? I would suggest that he doesn't be him. He should be somebody else. Be Sam Darnold.

Be Baker Mayfield. Oh, my goodness. We don't want him. Him has been 13 and 22 in the last six years and missed two years. And he missed two full seasons during that time. Now, he was five and one during one of those seasons. The reason I think he's getting the opportunity that he's getting now is because they're hoping with, we talked about this yesterday, with so many guys having. the second acts in their career that he can get somewhere close to where he was.

And he doesn't even have to be close to where he was. Just get in the same neighborhood, the same town as he used to be. And I think they'd be happy. They might even be happy if he's in the same state as he used to be. You know, but we just can't have what we've had to this point. I'm loving. I'm loving you right now. And Dion Dawkins.

It took you this long to feel that way? Hey, look. No, it didn't actually. I've been feeling this way, but we don't get this opportunity to walk in here. So nice. Dionne Dawkins, he might be nicer than me. Oh. He may be nicer to me.

Look, Deshawn Watson, like, we just, I'm so, no. No, like. And I say this, and I say this, I say this sincerely, like, in practice, a lot of guys look really, really, really. good. And we've heard this about Deshawn in previous years since leaving Houston and being with the Browns. Like Deshawn looks great, man. It looks like he's getting back to himself. And then we see him play seven, eight games, miss 11, miss 10. I mean, he's missed more

games than he's played since, like literally being in Houston. It's too, he's too far removed from being that guy for me to listen to Deon Dock and say he's still him. I'm with coach. He's not him anymore. He just has to be something other than what we have seen as of late. And if he is, this job is his clearly. And he will hold on to it.

Now, if he can get back glimpses of what we saw, like 24 zip. So the capital eight ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs. Not the lower case type Deshawn. And then you lost it, but if we can get glimpses of that, then great. Then capital H. But not lower case. Not lower case. Be some other him.

Yeah. Be a different him. I mean, I don't think he can be any other person than him, but. Do you think he's tried the eye exercises? The back. You guys laugh. It got Larry Fitzgerald into the Hall of Fame. Come on.

Look, I actually think that anything that helps you with your process is a positive thing. The one redeeming quality is the fact that in it was 2023, he was 5 and 1 as a starter. So that there was a flash during this time that he's been there of success. And again, you can't lose the games. Just give everybody else a chance to go and compete in the games. And they should have a really competitive defense again. And they've got a lot of young talent. A lot of young talent.

So just put the team in a position to be competitive week in a week. out as opposed to, you know, being the reason you're losing those games. I don't know, man. If you're the Browns, I think the most dangerous thing to happen is he's just good enough to make you kind of competitive for at least part of the season. I don't, then you end up still needing a quarterback because you're not going to want to pay him a bunch more money and you're not, he wouldn't have done a good enough job for you. And yet, you won't have a top three or four pick to be able to get one of these

quarterbacks that's coming up in the next draft. I think. I'm pretty sure that you'd want. to keep him around just because again the dead money if he's gone so you'd actually want him on the roster next year so the 90 million dollars position of needing a young quarterback which wouldn't change your money scenario right yeah you'd want to be able to make an argument that he could hang around just so you don't have to eat that dead money it's going to be an interesting thing to see which version of him who he is with punctuation and grammar coming up

did the cowboys have the scariest offense in the NFL that's next on first things First. Live from New York, it's the show that's working on a summer Friday. Oh yeah, we're here. We're having quite a good time. It's first things first. Coming up, it's looking like Mahomes won't play at all this preseason. So do we expect a slower start in week one? We'll discuss that. And Drake May has a new weapon. We respond to friend of the show, Rob Grankowski, saying A.J. Brown can take him to a whole new level, which is apparently above the Super Bowl. That's pretty cool. We start, though, in Dallas. George Pickens coming off a career high in yards and touchdowns in his first season with the Cowboys.

And he's seeing it a difference in how he's being defended. Remember, they've had those joint practices. Take a listen here. For other teams, I think what it was when we played the Saints, the other day, I kind of noticed that myself just knowing that I'm getting more way more double. Like last year I was getting a lot of double team, but now it's like first playing doubling. You see what I mean because they don't want to really truly take a chance. but like you said definitely competing and putting the league on notice. Now Greg, I do want to break down the Cowboys receiving Corps,

but before we do, I got to go back to yesterday because I was attacked on this show by the two of you. We know that the Cowboys and Dak Prescott like to say that he has the greatest offense there is. Gotti, he calls it. So I made us this incredible piece of clothing. You did. Gistie, Gistie?

And I was made fun of. I'm not going to lie. Coach basically just was like I would never wear something like that. And I believe you criticized my artwork. I don't feel like I did. So I think you should have this. This is my gift parting gift to you as we leave. Because in New York City, you can get anything printed in an hour.

This just feels better. This feels better. These are our shirts. Like the Cowboys, they're Gotti. We are the greatest show there is. I like that. I got an extra small. No, we can switch around.

I think I got you. Sorry. I think I got you. I think I got you. Yeah. No, I think that's that. I got like a 17 XL over there. She got me a moo-moo.

They're the greatest offense. There is Greg. So does that make them the greatest receiving core in the league? Look, they definitely are the best receiving duo that we've seen since last year. Like, I mean, last year, they were that. Okay. So if you're going into this year, based off of what they did last year, yes. Do they have the scariest offense in the league?

They can definitely have the scariest offense in the league. When you look at what they were able to do in the productivity that they had as a total offense, you check boxes. Can you run the ball? Check. They can run the ball. Can you protect your quarterback? Check.

They can protect their quarterback. Can your quarterback make every single throw? We know that can do that. And do you have guys that can do things that are special when they get the ball in their hands? They have two of the best in the game. So, yes, they are a very scary offense and they have the potential to be one of the best offenses in the game if everybody stays healthy. We know that. We know on the defense side of the ball, the talk and the improvements that they have to make there.

But if we're surely talking about this offense, yeah, without doubt. You've got the two receivers which create a problem. The running game was really effective last year, and that as a whole other level, because you've got to pick your poison each down in terms of what kind of box you want to play. And with Brian Schottenheimer, he's willing to run the ball. He's not the type of guy that feels like he has to throw the ball every down

or his offense has to look a certain way. He's willing to do whatever he needs to do to win the game. So that's really positive. And when you've got a guy like Jake Ferguson, the tight end with 82 receptions, so now you have answers inside as well. And when you look at last year where they ranked, and so not perfect in terms of points per game, it's seventh, but top 10 and the second, second, fifth, and ninth.

But the key thing is what it says there at the bottom. They return all 11 offensive starters this season. So to be able to bring everybody back in a defense that was top 10 in every category, and hopefully there's some sort of jump because the scheme isn't new. Now they're creating some nuances. Guys know each other better. There should be better chemistry.

I think all those things lend itself to the fact that maybe they can get to the Gadi category. And if they don't, you know, it'll be a long list of jokes for DAC later in the team. So like George was talking about how teams are playing them now

and rightfully so. But I want to give him credit because we've seen a maturation and a growth in his development as a receiver. Because in Pittsburgh, he was a straight down, he was a straight line guy, more of a just down the field, nine guy, jump ball, kind of acrobatic catch maker, right? And last year, we saw him running the end cuts. We saw him running the full route tree for this cowboy's team, especially when CD went out.

He was able to carry the load and he was asked to do and be more. And so he's grown and developed as a receiver. I'm curious, coach, because I've been on, I've been on the, on the offensive side where there was a plethora of guys. If you see two guys, C.D. obviously, George Pickens, and you're D coordinator and you have your play sheet. How are you guarding him? You, you have Reggie, you have Marvin, you had to contest with. Yeah, well, it depends on what you have defensively. So with Ty Law and Otis Smith, they were very different players.

So typically what we do is we'd put tie on one guy, lock him up, maybe even the number two wide receiver, whichever guy we thought was less of a threat, figuring that he would handle that. And then we'd put Otis on the other guy, have Otis go beat him up and roll someone over the top. But you could also change it up. So if you wanted to go beat up a different receiver, you'll switch Otis to the other side, protect him, let him go beat that guy up and swing tie to the solo spot. If you don't have a guy like Ty, how are you defending this? Well, at that point, then a lot of it has to be disguised, too.

So you could show split, you're probably going to play split safety because you want to have enough protection back. The issue there is if they're willing to consistently run the ball, which a lot of coordinators aren't. A lot of coordinators won't have the patience to run the ball consistently enough to get you out of a split safety defense. But if they are willing to, then it's a disguise. and you're trying to show one thing

and trick the quarterback into hopefully a bad decision because he throws into double coverage and make him figure it out post-knap. The only thing I know is after all this talk, the offense cannot be the reason they lose a single football game. It better not be. Right? Because we've heard a lot.

Yeah. A lot from a lot of them. And even had shirts made. And even had shirts made. Exactly. You're welcome. You're welcome. You're welcome.

Moving on to Los Angeles. So I'm not allowed to put that on eBay. 30. I mean, you could because you'd make a lot of money. Everybody wants one. They do. 38-year-old Matthew Stafford, 33-year-old Devonte Adams. They are not letting age, slow them down, gentlemen.

They're teeming up for 14 touchdowns last season, and they want more this year. The athletics, Nate Atkins agrees. This is the connection, and it's still clicking. He wrote, Adams and Stafford have shown off a smooth and adjustable connection all training camp. Smooth and adjustable. That's what everybody wants. The precision has shown two vital pieces to this Rams offense this season. Stafford and Adams still have it a year ago.

None of this was possible. I think that none of this was possible is partly just to reference to the fact that Stafford, you guys remember, could barely go through training camp. He had those significant-it-back issues. We weren't even sure how much he was going to play going into the season. Of course, he played quite well. But those two guys, because Stafford wasn't able to do that during training camp, that they didn't have really the reps. And they didn't really click until, I don't know, the fifth or six. week of the season, I would say.

So where do you think the Rams are? Do you think the hype around them is too high, too low, just right, given the fact that we've now got them having this connection in training camp? Well, I think the hype is a little too high. Oh. And although I love this team, I love what they have, the skill guys, obviously the running back tandem and Kyron Williams and Blake Quorum, we know who Matthew Stafford is. and then the big names on defense,

the big acquisitions on defense we all know and love. Like they're exciting. I just feel like this offense was the number one scoring offense in all the football last year. I don't know if they're going to be that this year. Devante Adams a year older. Obviously, Matthew Stafford, a year older. Can they still get it done mentally?

Of course. Physically, sometimes it doesn't really show up all the time. In practice, it's just not the same as the game. games. We did see last year Devante B absolutely lights out five yards in and he has one of the best release packages to ever play the game. We know that. But can they sustain that? Can they do more in the middle of the field backed up with Devante Adams if Pook and Nicole isn't available at times? I don't know if that will be enough, but this offense, they should be really good. They are going to be a good team. I do that.

believe that the hype is slightly too high. The hype seems fair in the sense that they played the Super Bowl champions three times, and the difference between those three games was three points. So that was the difference between the marginal difference between those two. So there's that from last year, and now you add the defensive player of the year to the MVP, and I don't think any teams ever had both those players from the previous season on the roster going into the next year. And the Aaron Donald thing, if he comes back, even if it's a watered down version, it's still

an amazing addition to this team that was such a small separation. In terms of their chemistry, I think their chemistry is going to be fine. I think it's going to be very productive. There are two older players, and then the big risk is, can they both go through the season uninjured? And with Stafford, we were talking about whether or not he'd be able to be the, the week one starter and he had a, you know, a really not only productive season, but fairly injury-free season, can that happen again?

And, you know, each year that you add on that the probability increases that, you know, something is going to fall apart. Yeah. Well, you know, he's late 30s. That's so old. So, found to fall apart for sure. No, I mean, look, we've had a major coaching change in Seattle, too, that I don't think gets talked about enough about the.

way that Kubiak made that offense do a lot of the things that it did. And I think that the idea that they are going to be the same team as they were last year is also flawed. So I like the idea that these guys at least have the consistency. Yeah. If you're the Rams, the last thing you want is all of this hype. And it's unavoidable just because of the nature of the way things are. And when you make a trade like they made, and then you have Aaron Donald, who's now what,

on his third or fourth workout and might come out, you can't avoid. the hype being what it is. And you've got the MVP and you add the two quality corners from Kansas City. You know, past defense was one of the areas of weakness. So they have done a lot of really positive things in the offseason to completely, to be completely understandable why there's so much excitement about this team moving forward. Yeah, there's got to be hype around this team when you have a guy like Miles Garrett joining an already fantastic team. And defensively, you talk about McDuffie and Watson, issues that they had, glaring issues

that they had last season was in the secondary, and you sure that up. So we- With two quality guys- Quality, absolutely. And mind, that have already played with one another, so they know how to communicate, they know how one another- And played in a scheme that has a lot of adjustments, so it's not like they were in some simple scheme and they're gonna have to really struggle, learn, they've been in a complicated

defensive scheme. Yeah. So, I mean, you have high expectations, but, you know, the Aaron Donald looming, it's like, it just seems like if it all comes together, there is, you talk about. I don't feel like he's looming. You feel like he's looming? Well, he's looming until he's there, like, until he's absolutely, actually under contract. Do you think he's going to happen? Is that where you're feeling?

That's basically what you're saying. I mean, I do believe it's going to happen. I think that they know what's going to happen. I do believe it's going to happen. Yeah, I think that it's either going to happen or it's not. I don't think that that's going to cause them a lot of like, oh, my God, we don't know what we're doing. No, I'm not saying that it's going to cause them that. What I'm saying is the expectations of them winning it all just continues to elevate.

Absolutely. You know what I mean? The pressure of it all, it then starts to mount. I get it. I don't see him playing a ton if he does come back. Don't you see him being largely? situational? I don't, man,

Aaron Donald, the fact that he is coming back and he is training the way that he's training, I don't know what to expect. I hear around Los Angeles that they're talking about a largely situational role for him. That's really the only reason why he'd want to come back, but that also you're talking about his training, I mean, he's always been a guy in such exceptional shape.

And that apparently, as they've seen him even when he wasn't playing, when this wasn't even an idea yet, it was, oh my God, he could play right. now. That's what people said when they were around him. So I guess he can play right now, but not looming. He's going to play or he's not. Like, it's there. Let's move on to Baltimore where the Ravens moved on themselves from head coach John Harbaugh this offseason. 18 seasons he was there. Just still kind of incredible guys. Why receiver Rashad Bateman already seeing the positive change with Jesse Minter now in charge. Take a listen here. I would just say very detailed or as a team.

I mean, from head coach to, you know, O.C. to receiver's coach, you know, everybody really, you know, hearts on the details and the small things. And that's just not what we were in our past, you know. I think right now we just learn how to play, you know, fast, smart football and trust, you know, our training and trust the call and trust our teammates and whatnot. We're hearing a lot of talk coming out of Ravens of saying, oh, this is great, this is great. There was some video that came around yesterday of Minter firing up the guys. guys and everyone's like, this is how you do it, that I couldn't tell if that was a reference to the John Harbaugh video we saw from when he was at the Giants.

How different do you think this Ravens team is going to be, Greg, because of the coaching change? Look, I think they're going to be very different. But what we're hearing from Bateman in that little clip, like it's not only an indictment on Harbaugh, if you want to take it that way, but it's also on the players. Like because that lets me know that you grew comfortable.

You grew too familiar and you didn't push yourself to be about the details, which then it shows, it showed up on tape, on game day, which is why you allow those things to happen. And so, like, every time you get a new head coach or a new offensive coordinator or there's something that's implemented that's new, there's going to be a level of attention to detail that increases. That's just you're going to come in completely different. I don't know how this man views me. I don't know how he's going to use me in this offense. Let me make sure I dot my eyes and cross all my T's. I'm on my P's and Q's. Like that's just the nature of the beast.

When he came into the league, I'm sure and certain he was doing that as a as a rookie. And so sometimes you can grow a little too comfortable, entitled to where you're not doing those things on your own to. sure that you are a better version of yourself tomorrow than you were today or yesterday. And that's on the player as individuals because we are all professionals. We used to do media training with the players and we tell them one of the big traps that media people would try to do is get you to compare people. I tell them never, don't ever compare anybody and anybody else because it's just going to make

someone angry and it worked. It made me angry that you're telling me that Todd Monkin, who now in Cleveland, Everybody talks about how detailed he is, how demanding is, all those things. But he wasn't detailed last year. John Harwall, who was head coach for 18 years, who's now the savior of the Giants, who's unemployed for about 15 seconds, he wasn't detailed. And I get it. Declan Doyle, like he ran the Bears offense, and I'm sure he's a good dude.

But you don't really hear him talked about with the Bears offense. They talk about the head coach. So you're telling me that the two guys who got head coaching, jobs who everybody talks about their traits and their character and the way that they demand things from players. They weren't doing it in Baltimore. They just stopped doing it there, but somehow they got these other jobs. I'm not buying it.

They're writing a lot of checks here. I just feel like there is a lot of talk coming out of Ravens' camp and the Ravens players that is very targeted at John Harbaugh, if you ask me. And I'm very curious to see how they do without it. You better see them a very detailed and fundamentally sound unit. They better be getting hundreds on every test. Coming up, we're going to talk Caleb Williams to see ahead of schedule, and we are counting down to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix from Washington, D.C. Coverage starts this Sunday,

1130 a.m. Eastern, only on Fox. Nice. History is coming to the nation's capital. Indycar races through the heart of Washington, D.C. It is a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle celebrating America's two 150th birthday, the Freedom 250. That's live Sunday, August 23rd. That's this Sunday, only on Fox. And let's get back to football guys. Last season, Caleb Williams, as we know, led the Bears to their first playoff win in 15 years in just his first year under coach Ben Johnson.

And their defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, thinks Caleb is way ahead of schedule this off season. Take a listen. Offensively, we're night and day above where we were at this point in time and training camp last year. And I think we're probably ahead of where we were at the end of the season last year from an offensive standpoint. I think Caleb's understanding of the offense command of the huddle is communication. You've seen all of that improve. I think Ben said this last year, but, you know, growth is not a linear process. It's kind of like the stock market a little bit.

There's going to be some ups and downs. But, you know, hopefully it continues to grow, you know, as you go along. I mean, look, we, I want to reset. It's a low bar when they say this is going better than training camp last year. Do we all remember training camp last year, right? Ben Johnson came in. He said, I'm purposely overloading him. I want to see sort of where that breaking point is so we can build from there.

And then there was all this video going around the internet of Williams struggling to the point the front office had to come out and say, I didn't know this was a national emergency video of Caleb struggling. They held him out of a preseason game. We all expected him to play in. And so there were a lot of problems or triggers during training camp last year, and obviously he got it together. So to say he's ahead of where he was last year at this point, I'm kind of sitting back and being like, yeah, of course. But do you think the fact that he is so much further ahead this year means, Greg, that he is going to be ahead of schedule this season coming up too? Do you think we'll see that growth continue?

Yeah, absolutely. And I'll speak to even last year. It is very difficult when you have a new head coach come in the way Ben Johnson came in. and just say, we're putting everything on you. Where the year previous with Eber Fluse, I don't know if that was the case. It was like, you know, we're not going to put as much on you because you are a rookie.

You are young. Ben Johnson had the opposite approach of, we're going to overload you because I want to see what you can handle. I want to see what you can't handle, what you know how to kind of navigate without. And I don't think that there's going to be a different approach. and there has probably not been a different approach this year. When you look at the areas of where he struggled,

in the pocket, on time, on schedule, the boring things, just being better at that in executing his accuracy, he's going to make a point of emphasis for him to correct that. But when you come in and you have all of those pre-snap things already dealt with in under your grips and in grasp, you now can truly invest your time if you're Caleb Williams on better executing in those other areas. Before, you're so overloaded and so overly inundated with all this other minutiae of the offense. Sometimes you can't even function.

You mess up the easy things. And so that's what we saw specifically early in the season. But as the season progressed, we saw him just take more control, command of that office. pre-snap issues were eliminated. I expect him to take another step in those areas. If he's the guy that Ben Johnson believed him to be, and I know Ben Johnson, he's going to definitely take a step. And we often take for granted how easy it is to learn a new system.

And it's way harder than I think people realize because the volume of a system is gigantic, and you're asking guys learn it very quickly, and the quarterback position, especially, not only does he have to know what he's doing, but you want him to know what everybody's doing on the offense. And then he's got to be able to get everybody lined up. The demands are extremely high.

So there is going to be that learning curve in camp. And as you go through the course of the season and you progress and you learn about each other and you learn the system, going into that next year, there should be a significant jump. And that's what Dennis Allen is talking about. It's not what are we running.

It's like, okay, this is what we're running. Now we're going to make a little bit of an adjustment off that. You're building onto the levels. And they spent that time where they went through, and I think they watched every one of his incompletions. And that's really valuable too, because you're talking about it in a language that you both speak, as opposed to trying to introduce something to someone.

Now, with all that in mind, I think whether he can hit those layups is going to be the defining factor. for him because we know he can make the threes, he can make some great plays, he can do all those things. And even though the sack numbers came down, he still held the ball longer than any other quarterback in the NFL. He had the longest release time, ending in the NFL, and that's got to get better too. I don't love adding the pressure that Ben Johnson has added to Caleb this offseason by making the proclamations that he's made about shutouts and blowouts and the greatest

scoring often. I don't think that's a necessary thing at this point, but it's happened and they've got to deal with it. I'm not convinced, though, that we're going to see this gigantic jump. Remember Trevor Lawrence, first year wasn't very good. Change head coaches next year. It's really good. The following year, it's just kind of average. So we'll have to see where that lands for him. I think more about the Chicago Bears is not just solely and exclusive on Caleb Williams. It's about the unknowns of some of the other guys. Yeah. Like we saw Colston Loveland. We know who he has, who he is and what he has a potential to be in a full season of in this offense and being actually a valuable part of this

offense. But Roma Dunzei, Luther Bird and the third, like these are young receivers that were beneficiaries of DJ Moore, whether DJ Moore was highly productive or not. he was in the room. Now he's no longer in the room and you're asking them to not only be the voices in that room, but be the production that in part of the engine that allows this passing game to take off. And we don't know if they're capable of doing that in a lot on a large scale. So Caleb, I think he has the burden now of, okay, or the expectation, I need you to elevate these guys because we know that they're talented, but we,

We don't have a true assessment of a year of, man, they have carried the low. They've been the number one. They've been in number two. They have not done that. I do think one of the biggest mistakes we make when we have all these discussion is we talk about each player in a vacuum and nobody plays football in a vacuum and it is so much more of a team sport. And by the way, it's not just the other guys that you're talking about.

It's the strength of schedule has really changed for the bears. We have this here. I mean, that's not an insignificant jump. And all of a sudden, when you have those last minute comebacks and you're coming from behind and you're able to thread that one pass, you might not get there. You might not get to that last pass. You might not get that opportunity because your opponent's just a little bit tougher and they're not giving you that last wisp of a chance.

So that is why we have seen Ben Johnson coach really emphasized to Caleb, you have got to get it done in quarters one through three because look at that strength of schedule. We might have a fourth quarter comeback possibility in us if we fall behind too much. And the other reality is after his first year, a lot of people thought potential bust. And I'm sure, as Greg says, the players hear everything and the players have opinions about everything. And you're playing this guy who wasn't very good. And now suddenly this year, you're treating that player radically different than you treat him the year before. So the expectations change, the way that he's being studied changes.

And seeing him for defensive coordinators being able to see him in this system, that has value too. and they're going to make sure they give him a lot of what he didn't do well last season, and whether or not he has a second pitch is going to be part of this as well. Yeah, absolutely. I'm very curious what happens there. I think the expectations are being set so high, and they almost feel impossible to live up to the way people are talking about the bears. They're going to win the Super Bowl by 60.

You could send him a shirt, and that will help. You know what we've learned through this show? Coach doesn't like trash talk. Think about that. He clearly does not. We're shocked. We're shocked, Coach. We're shocked.

I like reality. Let's talk about the Chiefs there in Tampa taking on the bucks tomorrow for some preseason action. But guess he won't be there? Patrick Mahomes will he'll be there, but he won't be on the field. So, Coach, it looks like the first time

we will see Mahomes is actually week one against that Broncos defense on Monday night football. He's not going to have played in the preseason knowledge. You expected him take a little bit to get into it? Is it going to be a slower start for Patrick Mahomes? Yeah, it's going to be challenging.

I look back at when Tom got hurt and he had the incredible year the year before, gets hurt, comes back. He still has a good year, but it's nowhere near what it had been. And then when you look at Patrick's year last year, that was a down year. It was a down year. It was a down year. In quarterback rating, it was a down year.

And the level of sacks that he took, all those categories, he's not coming off of this great season and then had an injury and then going into the next year. He's coming off of one of his worst seasons or arguably his worst season and going into this year. And the difference, too, between a. guy like Tom and Patrick is Tom didn't have to rely on moving around in the pocket. That wasn't who he was, but Patrick is. And as much as you're trying to simulate game action in practice with your movements, your change the direction, all those things, Patrick knows what he's going to do in practice.

In a game, you've got to move based off of whatever happens, and that's a lot more reactionary. So how does his body respond? How does the injury respond in those moments? It's a pretty big unknown right now. So I would anticipate it's not the light show early on, and it's going to have to build to that. Yes, why you acquired Kenneth Walker. Right.

Period. You want it to be, you kind of anticipate, we're going to slow play you into this, Patrick. We know who you are, but we know we also want to give you time to get back to being that guy. It would be highly unfair. for them to say week one against one of the best defenses on all of football that can pressure the quarterback that can not just hit you, but just pressure you and flush you out of the pocket and put that pressure on your extremities that you're trying to strengthen and trust all over again and just say we're going to throw the ball 30, 40 times. No, that's why you got the running game and the running back. You got to implement that running game early and often. and rely on that more so than Patrick Mahomes

because we know we talk about Caleb being outside the pocket and flushed and being spectacular. That's Patrick Mahomes game as well. Like can he play within the pocket? Yes, but he does a lot of his damage outside of the pocket. I do think you're going to see some of that change, though, because it's super interesting if you break down his numbers from last season. You're right, coach.

It clearly wasn't his best season. In all of the categories that involved his feet, though, that involved his legs, he had career highs in his numbers. And that doesn't tell him he's talked about this. Oh, gee, I did such a great job rushing outside the pocket. He said, that means I'm rushing too much. That means I was forced into that more than I should be. And it is a real move to cut that down in Kansas City this year because of the injury, because he doesn't want to become re-injured. And also to make sure that he is not forced into positions that probably aren't going to result in the best gains for the audience.

There's been a lot of talk, and I'm curious about your perspective on this coach. You know, one story gets out there and then it kind of becomes the narrative, right? The narrative was, oh, Andy Reid stopped being as creative as he used to be, but Kenneth Walker and these new sort of restrictions on Mahomes are going to make him change. It's probably overblown. It's too simple, but do you expect to see a different sort of approach, given all of this for Andy Reid? Well, I would imagine that they would lean into the running game as heavily as possible.

The problem with a situation like Patrick is he's done something so often that it's muscle memory. Yes. So as much as you're saying, hey, don't do this. When your body's under pressure, when your mind's under pressure, you default to what you know and what you've trained. And that's what he's been so good at. So he's really going to have to make a concerted effort to fight against his ingrained natural instinct to vacate the pocket and hopefully he will. He looks great in training camp and I, you know, I just hope he can, especially early on

until he's really comfortable with where he is, but he fights that tendency to vacate. It's going to be one of the biggest stories in the league this year. All right, coming up, another big story, A.J. Brown, is he taking Drake May to a new level? That's next on first things first. In Toronto, every arrival is a statement and nothing. has it better than this. Cadillac Optic was the number one selling luxury EV in Canada for 2025. Find your rhythm across a seamless 33-inch display and an immersive 19 speaker AKG surround audio system. This city demands agility and optic delivers with precision to make every drive

extraordinary. Let's take the Cadillac. Find out more at Cadillac canada.ca. Luxury sales claim based on S&P Global Mobility Canadian New Vehicle Total Registrations for calendar year 2025 for the Cadillac definition of luxury. 50 Grand Prix. Oh, man, history is coming in the nation's capital as Indycar races through the heart of Washington, D.C., in a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, celebrating America's 250 at the Freedom 250.

That is live this Sunday, August 23rd, only on Fox. That little red line they show in the promo is to take that route to work, and it was never as traffic-free as these guys are going to get. Getting back to football, Drake May, coming off an MVP-calibre season, where he just came up just a little bit short of winning the Super Bowl, or a lot short, depending on if you watch the game. A friend of the show, Rob Grankowski,

thinks the addition of A.J. Brown can take him to a new level, though. Take a listen. Just a level of play that he's going to bring to the offense is going to step it up a notch. Josh McDaniels knows how to utilize a player like A.J. Brown. He's been around a lot of talent throughout his whole career. I think Drake May is going to develop more as a player because he's never really had a guy the size of A.J. Brown and with the skill set. So let's see where Drake May can completely.

place the ball this year when AJ Brown is covered to where only AJ Brown can go up and make the play and use his body and skill set to make that play. So this could take Drake May to a whole other level and that's what I'm excited about. It's so much fun to hear Rob talk about football. I love it. I'm so happy he's on our air. What do you think of this QBWIP receiver duo? I think they're going to be fantastic. Look, there's a reason why they wanted to go out and acquire AJ Brown and they waited for him to be available and they made the trade for him because they knew that he would improve who they want to be offensively and they have a plan. I think we overlook a little bit the acquisition of Romeo Dobbs as well, which will also compliment who they want to be. But Rob made, Grunkowski made a great point of A.J. Brown's contested catches where even when

he's not created the separation that most receivers or some receivers will create, where does that ball, does he get that ball thrown to him? I say yes and where that placement is to give him an opportunity. He's going to have more of those opportunities of 50, 50 balls than he did even in Philly with Jalen Hertz. So I'm excited to see what it looks like. I think anytime you add a good player with another good player or a great player with a great player, you get really great production. Yeah, we looked at the production yesterday of Diggs versus as AJ Brown. It was very similar last year. So maybe it's going to be different with Drake May. That remains to be seen. But it's not just stability, it's compatibility. And that to me is

going to be the biggest question mark because AJ Brown has as much ability as any wide receiver. But how is this going to work? How is it going to work when he doesn't get enough targets? How is it going to work? If he doesn't like where the ball is being placed, how is it going to, How are those syncing on pole and then how is a young quarterback going to deal with that adversity if it shows up? And maybe it won't. Like maybe, maybe it won't, but it probably won't. Skepticism. This man has A.J. Brown's skepticism.

No, there is books being read on the sideline. I had a problem with that, too. That's combed by what I saw. I'm not being skeptical. You are less skeptical because you think A.J., now that he's in a different environment, will change things. I want to know where this duo, though, ranks for you, if what you say happens, as opposed to what coach is concerned about, happens, where do they rank in the NFL as wide receiver QB duos?

So if I were doing the top three, I definitely wouldn't have them in my top three. This is kind of what my top three quarterback receiver duel would look like. You have at, you want me to go three to one or one to three? You decide. You leave us, you want suspense, you want to come out. Three to one. Three to one. We go D. Prescott and C.D. Lamb.

Look, or D. Prescott and George Pickens. You choose, but I go D. Prescott and C.D. Lamb. C.L.L.L. has been the number one receiver for quite some time in this league. We know who D. Prescott is. We've seen C.D. Lamb put up 1,700 yards in the season, alongside George Pickens. They're just on the same page often. He's going to get opportunities. They're going to put the ball in the air.

They're going to have a lot of opportunities to make play. for one another and they have done it at a high clip over the last few years. At number two, this is hard. Matthew Stafford and Pugin the Cooke. I like this pick. I venture to put this number one sometimes if I add in wins, but I'm just going off sure. Quarterback receiver. The productivity is always going to be there.

Pugan the Cool can run any route. He can make any catch. Matthew Stafford can make any catch. can make any throw. He's going to be smart with the football. These two just flat out produce when they are on the field together and they, it turns into wins. That's what makes it even more so impressive. But at the number one spot, I mean, it's no question. Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase, what they're able to do, winning or losing, it doesn't matter you're going to have to guard those two and they're going to put up big numbers. Like the honorable mentions

of Jared Goss, Amman Rasset Brown. I, I respect. you guys. You guys are always putting up great numbers. And Justin Jefferson with Kyler. We'll see what that looks like. A.J. Brown, obviously, with Drake May. That's where the list starts to go. But those are my top three. Can I add my honorable mention? Yes. Jackson Smith and the Jew, go ahead. That's another honorable mention. 17003 yards. Again, okay, so would you be skeptical of your friend here's list here? Would you Would you knock one of these guys out? Because I heard that Dax, Prescott and C.D. Lamb were part of the greatest offense there is.

And he's third on Greg's life. No, it's the duo. And I think that those quarterbacks make a pretty strong argument to the duos. Yes. So you're good. Oh, yeah. All right. See, money.

It's like you know what you're talking about. I'm him. There we go. You are here. Which him are you? But you're the capital here, right? Come on. We know.

We've got to get coach on there. All right. Coming up, the Cowboys find. $500,000. I mean, that is really high for their practice fight, and Jerry Jones is not happy. Next on first things first. Half a million dollars. Fair. Fair? Ooh, we'll talk about that. Half a million.

Oh, yeah, we are officially, sit down in the corner of that lower quarter. We are officially counting down to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, which will take place in our nation's capital, my hometown on Sunday. Coverage starts 11.30 a.m. Eastern only on Fox. And time now for our winners and losers. First up winner, fines? Is this a winner? Cowboys and Saints each find $500,000 for their joint practice fight. This seems high to me, but coach, are you okay with this? Jerry Jones? That says he's going to appeal. Yeah, he can appeal. It makes sense. You've got so many guys there that could get hurt for no reason. Look, I mean, what does this accomplish? So let's say this player gets hurt. And, and misses time or, you know, God forbid, you can't play at all this season or loses his whole career over a fight? This isn't the UFC. And you're playing football.

You literally, not golf, you get to hit him the next play. You literally get to hit him the next play. Like, this isn't, there's no trick here. Half a million dollars seems like a lot of money. It is a lot of money. It is a lot of money. It don't seem like a lot of money. It is a lot of money.

I wouldn't be one of these guys in this scram, this gruffle. No, no. You're like, I'm good. I'm in the back. You're going to be like the kicker who just let them all go by. I'm in the business decision. No, I'm not that guy. I'm not that guy.

It's a fight. That's all I'm saying. Loser. The preseason is the loser here, people, because Aaron Rogers won't take the feel tonight against his former Jets team. I don't know, Howard, Will Howard's going to start. Drew Aller was going to take over, Greg.

What's the winning backup? Who's winning this backup job? It'll be interesting from, from reports, You get the sense that Aller kind of is a little more exciting and obviously he's making more plays. But look, it really doesn't matter. It's about this year and as long as number eight is healthy. But it matters because there's a chance. He might not.

As long as number eight is healthy. He old. And there is a chance. But why I'm saying it doesn't matter because after number eight, they got problems regardless. No matter what. It doesn't matter. And it's a winning situation for both those guys because they get a chance to show that they belong. And even if it's not for the Steelers, they get a chance to put some good tape on for someone else. I'd like to remind everyone at this time of year, very few quarterbacks play every game of an NFL season.

NFL season in playoffs. Usually there's something somewhere who misses something. Winner, fresh starts. Check out Caleb Williams. Decided to shave the beard guys. Coach, how do you feel about the new look? Indifferent I don't What do you call that That version of the facial hair

I don't know I don't know is like chin scruff Yeah like you have But he doesn't connect it the way you do I know I like the connections I'm the wrong guy to ask You've never done this?

I couldn't grow a lot to save my life Good look I'm not mad at it I mean Clean it up sometimes Yeah I like I like the beard They probably have a sweet barbershop In the facility too You know it's the cleanest facial

hair in training camp is Jalen Hurts. Have you seen that? He is cleaned up here. He saved it all off, right? Right. He has some, it's like this. He's got some left. Oh, he had that stash. Yeah. At least he, the last time I saw him, he had the, like, super tight, like. He needs to go back to the goatee.

He's a good-looking, and that stash makes him look suspicious. Any of that stuff. Really? It's so strange, coach. I'm shocked to hear that. I haven't been on my radar. Shocking. Losers decisions. The Rams are still waiting to see if Aaron Donald is coming out of retirement. He's looming people. Sean McVey expecting some more workouts before Donald makes a final call. Greg, are you surprised that this isn't just done yet?

I'm not surprised. They got time. I mean, look, if he comes back, he's only coming back to them. So no reason to rush it. I mean, there's some talk coach in L.A. that maybe he wouldn't even have to come back the first month into the season. Would he be okay with him coming midway and seeing, like, if they need him or if they're on a role? 100%.

I would use them as a closer. Let him sit at the couch and work out until about week 10 to see where we are. All right. Bring him in and unleash him at that point. All right. Well, then his loomis. There we go. Winner list.

The remaining 10 players on the top 100 list have been officially announced. Now, it's an alphabetical order. We're going to have to wait until next season, next week, sorry, not next season, next week, to see who lands where? But coach, who are you guessing is number one? Because alphabetical order, Josh Allen, is number one. So do you think he's just going to stay at number one? I think they'll probably go with the league MVP and put Matt Saffert is number one. Okay.

All right. Well, we'll see. Final winner, I test C.J. Stroud going viral for his pregame eye routine. I don't see him on that list. So maybe it didn't work well enough. I don't know. It's going to be going to list next year.

Exactly. He's manifesting the list. Manifesting the list. All right. We're manifesting OT. Stick around. First and perverse OT is next. And this is the greatest show there is.

Thank you.