Green Light with Chris Long - Baker Mayfield Is Still Being Disrespected + Bijan Robinson's Big Payday

Episode Date: August 4, 2026

We are receiving daily NFL training camp videos and are days away from the first NFL preseason game so you know that means FOOTBALL IS BACK! Chris kicks the show off with a recap of his recent trips to Montana and Oklahoma City for the PBR Wildcatter Days presented by Zone. Chris also runs through his take on the World Cup, recent Baseball bets and LeBron James signing with the Philadelphia 76ers. We then get to talk ball! Chris dissects the Atlanta Falcons signing Bijan Robinson for the next three seasons and the drama in Tampa Bay with Baker Mayfield. Chris ends the show today sending support to Chris Johnson and Ahman Green following their recent health status updates. (00:00:00) - Football is BACK! (00:08:49) - Summer Vacation (00:11:04) - Oklahoma Wildcatter Days Presented By Zone (00:24:00) - Summer Sports: World Cup, Betting Baseball & LeBron James! (00:33:55) - San Francisco 49ers Updates (00:37:45) - Bijan Robinson (00:48:37) - Baker Mayfield (01:05:26) - Buffalo Bills Jerseys (01:08:30) - Chris Johnson & Ahman Green Have some interesting takes, some codebreaks or just want to talk to the Green Light Crew? We want to hear from you. Call into the Green Light Hotline presented by Zone Nicotine and give us your hottest takes, your biggest gripes and general thoughts. Day and night, this hotline is open: ‪[phone]‬ With the return of the Layup Line, make sure to check out the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1olmCMKGMEyWwOKaT1Aah3?si=YP1-ffQ3T_yUDRnJRhDtOw Check out Green Light's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where you can catch all the latest GL action: Green Light with Chris Long: Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more including hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You have to understand that Baker Mayfield is a chip on the shoulder guy. He wakes up in the morning and looks in the mirror. He takes it as a fuck you. Like the guy in the mirror, he's like, what did you say? Like, that's Baker Mayfield. I think Bajon Robinson is a special individual. He's an outlier. I do think Bajon Robinson can help you.

He can differentiate your football team. Because look what he's done for them already without stable quarterback play. He gives them an identity. And that bleeds into the passing game. I think this year is going to be like the Redway. The ASC is going to be like the Red Wedding. Welcome back to the locals and others. Guys, how we doing?

Fibbe. You? It's almost time. It is almost time. I'm working hard on my previews for people at home. We got a game in two days. Basically. Or one day, whatever this comes out?

Yeah, yeah, basically. It's crazy. No, I know. It's around the corner and I can't wait. I'm really excited. getting ready for these previews now the first one's going to come out Thursday we're going to do the the aFC and nFC west the first day and then we're going to go east the next pod nFC and aFC and then we'll do the south and north the reason we're starting with the west is because

i think the west is where the best football is going to be played this year in the nfl i think the a fc west is going to be ridiculous there are three teams that probably think they're super bowl contenders in that division. I'll let you guess which one is not a contender. And then the NFC West, obviously, you've got two of the top dogs in the NFL, one that represented the NFC and won the Super Bowl last year, and the Rams that everybody's already fitted them for their rings.

So pretty good football being played out West. And I don't mean to leave the 49ers out. We'll talk about them, but I think they've got some issues. If you're a Niners fan, you can just wait until the preview, and I'll tell you all about those. So I can't wait. I think this year is going to be like the Red Wedding. The AFC is going to be like the Red Wedding.

For Game of Thrones Watchers, if you remember, just a bunch of people dying. Dude, it's just going to be a bunch of quarterbacks that you love. Coming up short, there's going to be, you know, it's going to be a first take fest. There's going to be, why couldn't this guy win the big game? couldn't this guy win the big game. This quarterback didn't win a Super Bowl again.

Well, it's because you can legitimately count, I believe, nine contenders. We went through this whole thing in the AFC. Teams that probably think in training camp right now, like, we can win a Super Bowl. I think you've got two in the south. I think you've got two in the east. I think you got two in the north. And I think you have three in the West. So you've got nine teams in the AFC.

that think, hey, we can win the Super Bowl. And I think not to steal thunder from teams that, you know, have popped onto the scene and, you know, we're really good last year or anything. But I think this year some of the traditional powers that left this power vacuum last year where we saw teams like Denver, New England, with their soft schedule, you know, Jacksonville,

who was great last year, busts on the scene, 13 and 4. I think those opportunities are going to be harder to come by. because I think some of the premier quarterbacks that struggle through injury or, you know, they down years or the rosters weren't where they customarily are, I think those teams are going to make a little bit of a comeback this year, and it's going to make for a really interesting year. Teams that want to stick around are going to have to work extra hard to stick around, and those teams that are, you know, that were down on their luck last year, say the Chiefs, 6 and 11, I'm not saying I know where they're going to end up, but I know they're going to play their best football this year.

They're going to give you their best shot. You know, I'm doing the Kansas City preview right now. You know, there's a couple big swing players in that situation that will make or break their year. And sure, last year, kind of swung the other way with Simmons being out for a long time or Rishie Rice. And, you know, he spends the summer in jail rehabbing an injury, not ideal at all. I think the chiefs, for instance, are a team that, you know, Travis Kelsey coming back kind of has that last dance feel. You had that last year had that feel. They came up short, but they'll give you their best shot.

You're going to get the best shot. They're bringing the band back together. Eric B. Enemy's coming back. They threw the kitchen sink at the defense. It's going to be really interesting to see what the AFC shapes up like. And we'll start with the AFC West and the NFC West on Thursday. The funny thing I talked about those nine contenders, and we've already talked about. The Seahawks are fantastic, right?

They just won the Super Bowl. They've got as good a rise. If you remove the quarterback from the situation, and this isn't Sam Darnold Shade, I'm just saying if every NFL roster was measured side by side without the quarterback, the Seahawks are damn near at the top, right? And you could say the same thing about the Rams, and the Rams have probably a guy that people would put in the top two or three quarterbacks in the league unanimously, even at his age and Matthew Stafford. So, you know, you've got nine contending teams in the AFC, and you've got, at the end of that, that arduous journey, there'll be one dominant NFC team waiting for them. And I'm not saying it's a foregone conclusion that's the Rams of the Seahawks, but those two teams are dominant. You obviously have the Eagles, the Cowboys out west. You've got a bunch of good teams in the north.

And, you know, the NFC South is going to be a shit show again. So that's the lay of the land as I see it. I'm going to go through these previews. Again, they start Thursday. and I can't wait. This season is going to, I think this season is going to be a lot of fun. Of course,

anybody like me who's been sitting around all fucking summer watching the World Cup, betting baseball, watching World's Strongest Man late at night, like I cannot wait for football. I'm just like you. You know,

the time away helps, but it's time. It's time to get back in the bunker, guys. Back in the bunker. And we've already got clips from training, Camp Hot takes.

Like Drew Waller is going to be the next quarterback. Is that what they're saying? Off of like one or two clips of him throwing the ball into the thing. Well, thing with, with Ty Simpson, but the opposite way. Worst quarterback pick of all time because there was one.

There's some confirmation bias there, right? And then you say, well, I saw Marvin Harrison Jr. drop a ball. It continues. There's one video I've seen of him dropping a slant. Yeah.

And, you know, so he's terrible. Right. You know, the Kansas City, interestingly i keep bringing up the chiefs because it's top of mind but like they've had an undrafted free agents starting at right tackle okay that's a huge position for them in that they just got in the pads yesterday on monday so there are no conclusions to be drawn these teams are in underwear they're just putting on the pads i see the video is just like look at our new linebacker he's a dog look at the sweat flying off of him.

He has blood on his jersey and then someone commented it was like it was pouring rain. Yeah, dude. Or look at this rookie edge. He looks much better than Nick Voson's bags. What do you make of that?

The bag work. Oh my God. So I, this is we are so star for football. Just beware of the headlines and the narratives that are born in absolute boredom. And the sloppy-ass play coming on Thursday of these first preseason games. It's Carolina and who.

I looked at Arizona. Arizona. Because it was the first line available this summer. You're looking at like betting lines. If you're a real sicko, it starts Thursday in Canton. So anyways, I'm excited about football. Suffice to say, and we do have a couple headlines, but we're going to do a little catching up here.

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And if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use BonusCo Greenlight, and you'll get up to a $1,500 new player offer on your first wage. Major, that MGM, make it legendary. I was in Montana for a while. I was, uh, welcome back. Yeah, dude, it was, it was, it was great being out there. Um, highlighted the trip was probably, and you see the hat.

I got to go see Chris Stapled in, um, seeing Chris stapled in a few times before, but got to go with my parents. Um, and, uh, you know, when you go to a concert with Howie Long, there are certain perks. You know, we were sitting side stage, bro. We were, you know, we were sitting, we were sitting, we were sitting. sitting side stage like morgan who i've met before this his wife like just came over and was talking to us like between songs like um he was right there dude it was it the under the big sky festival if you google that is uh it's in outside of white fish monta near white fish montana um for people that are familiar with the area and it is a beautiful backdrop great festival country festival and uh chris was

awesome but I got to meet Charles Wesley Godwin I got to see Charles Wesley Godwin big shout out to the goat who's cool as shit I bet just as cool as you'd imagine wild and wonderful fella wonderful beautiful family got to meet his family um and one of his boys was like yo you're really here like charles said you're going to be here he said of all the people that you think would be a fan of charles Wesley Godwin he didn't think it would be me but um but I am and I love Charles Wesley Godwin's music and also Zach Topp was there and we love Zach Top. We want to get Zach Top on the show, but I had never met Zach Top. He was side stage as well.

Got to rip a couple darts with Zach Top. Nice. Who rips a few darts from time to time. Says it might help his voice. Yeah, probably. You know, so that was a highlight for me getting to go to that show. And my dad was tripping because he had never met Chris Stapled in. Oh, hell yeah.

I guess Stapled in, like, when he walked off, he shook Dad's hand and was like, nice to meet you, Mr. Long. Nice. And my dad was like, he fucking called me Mr. Long. Am I old? Like, you know, a little bit, which he looked good. He looks good. So from Montana to the last couple days, we were out at the PBR event for Zone Nicotine, one of our partners. Okay, wildcattered days.

Okay, Wildcatter Day is in Oklahoma City. I never been to Oklahoma City. And I said this to y'all, and I don't know what you think about this, but I think Oklahoma City is the closest thing in the United States that I've ever experienced to another country inside our country. Like, it's the most different place that I've been. Like, everybody is a cowboy. There's no trees.

Everybody's got to be inside to get away from, like, the heat. I mean, it was 100 degrees for five days straight there. It's basically like redneck Dubai, dude. We were, supposedly there's an underground tunnel like Winnipeg. You know how in Winnipeg? Yeah. There's an underground tunnel because there's a cold up there. Underground city.

There are underground tunnels in OKC, supposedly. Mm. To keep people from, you know, being in the heat and that sort of thing. Interesting. That was, it's a totally different place. Like, that is, like America is crazy because it's one country, but it could be, like 15 different countries and Oklahoma City is like one one area that whole area of the country I hadn't spent enough time there but we actually loved it everybody was super nice and and we got to

meet the wildcats the the okayC bull riding team you don't say rodeo supposedly you say rodeo that like slap your hand yeah it's it's more events it's more events but we got to go and we get to sit right next to the ring and at time at one point um myself Nate Cowboy Reed got to go down in the cage we got to go in the cage which is in the middle of the the arena um and it's kind of like you get a step down to get into it so when you're standing in the cage the the dirt is at like torso level and you sit down there and in the cage you know it's got the it's it's not like a chain link fence there are openings that are large enough that I just suppose if the bull wanted to stick his horn in there, it could probably do some damage.

Like we got some dirt clumped onto us from a couple of those bulls. Nate was yelling at me to touch the bulls as they ran by. It was a bad idea. It's like, yeah, man, I'll totally stick my arm out of that thing. We were down there in the stalls before me and Nate trying to stare down the bulls to see if, like, you know, like it was an eye contact thing. Yeah. It's definitely, the bull rider said it's kind of an eye contact thing.

Like, you don't want to look them in the eye. Yeah. Of course, we were really brave because there was a stall between us in the bull. But these bulls are fucking impressive, man. And these riders are even more impressive because they're a lot smaller than the bulls. And we get to meet them in the locker room. These dudes are tough, man. And it's crazy, too, to find out, like, just like the riders are competing,

all those bulls we've seen, they competing too. And it was funny we were talking about it, just wondering, like, the mindset of like an animal like in this type of competition if you possibly if some of those animals possibly kind of like know like hey like I'm the freaking star of this show like I know what's going on they don't like I know what's going on it's my time because they say like at the end of the year at the big show like in Vegas the top bull wins eight million dollars for their for their handlers so that's yeah like that's crazy How much of that does the bull see?

I mean, I think probably in the type of food and your travel and the way you're probably being treated, it's probably daily like you're seeing that. I don't think these bulls have any idea whether winning or losing, bro. It's so funny, like when they buck the guy off and the guys that round them up, they call them Border Patrol, right? Yep. So they round them up. And when they're trying to lasso them and, like, get them back into the stall, like, these bulls are, like, bad little kids, dude. They, you know, they do not want to go back in the stall. That's it for them.

I think that's the extent of their understanding. Someone that said a crazy stat, too, about the border patrol. So here's the, so I got a couple Nate quotes. I want to read them to you. This is from the PBR event. These are two things that Nintendo, I don't think you heard these things, but it's interesting factoid from Nate. The one, the one is from, it's from, it's from our guy. Archie.

Yeah. He, he, he, he, he told me that. So, so, so this is one, one fact I learned from Nate. One out of every three of the Border Patrol guys, which are the cattle wranglers, have a new asshole. Because of interactions with the bull. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, which is, my guy Archie told me that. I don't know why he'd want to be. become a border patrol guy yeah i don't know either like i feel like right odds dude i feel like that's the craziest of all this and it's like are those guys like next up is that like

practice squad for the group is it is it like you have to do that first before you can probably like get on a team and ride i think it's probably opposite you think it's opposite you think after you're done if you're done riding you go down hell no like that doesn't no time for a new asshole All these. If you're border patrol, if it's like a P-squad comp, you wouldn't have the incentive to protect the bull rider. No. No, no, no.

Exactly. That's true. I guess. Yeah. It's the next man up thing. And, you know, like Tom Brady said, some guys just want to be P-squad. Maybe it's just like. It's a good gig.

Once you get your hassle swapped out, it couldn't be any worse, you know? Yeah, I don't know what the incentives of doing that is. I guess if you just really, maybe you really love the animals or, I don't know. So the second, the second quote from Nate, this is my favorite one. There's a lot of Brazilian guys, by the way, in this thing. Like, it's kind of like the MLB where like, look out white guys. Because these Brazilian dudes, they can ride a bull, dude. Brazil is kind of like South America, America, dude.

You know, like, it's just, I mean, like, there's some badass. dudes down there. Obviously you've got the MMA guys but you've got a you know soccer is their football right. They've got the country folk they've got the bull rider types and obviously like they're well represented in PBR and so you know all these Brazilian dudes are out there on the dirt and Nate turns to us and said there's this Brazilian guy tonight that's riding and he's ridden 60% of the bulls in his country successfully. 60% of the bulls in his country. So the guy, in actuality, the guy's rate of success is 60% in country.

I heard the stat wrong. This guy is just, he's like Santa Claus. He's hopping from what he's got a, he's a busy man. He doesn't have any time to spare. He hops off one bowl. He goes to the next bowl. he goes to the next bowl. How many, how many, how many bowls in Brazil?

Approximately, Brazil counts approximately 238 million head of cattle, which includes both cows and bulls. 60%, yo. Well, there's no exact standalone figure for the bulls. Agricultural census typically show that the breeding bowls and working oxen make up roughly two to three percent of a commercial cattle herd. this equates an estimated 4.5 to 7 million bulls in the country. Okay, so 40, 60% of 4.5 million, I think he might have, you know.

Yeah. It's 4.2 million of seven. He's, I mean, you're in a few million bulls. If you've been riding bulls since you were probably, you know, a young bull, you probably, you might have did that. It's an interesting factoid, Nate. It was. My favorite thing about it was they have reviews.

and I don't know if this happened, this predates football, but like they have challenge flags. So if the bull does something that's not kosher, yep, or, you know, doesn't lead to a good ride. Or the rider does something not kosher. Or the rider, yeah. And they'll throw a flag, the other team will throw a flag. They'll throw a challenge flag and then there'll be a review and they'll go up to the review booth and the guy, they're Mike Pereira. He's like more of a, yeah, he's my. more of like a cowboy Mike Pereira.

He'll be like the call in the dirt stand. Or the call in the dirt calls for a re-ride. Yeah, re-ride. Everyone gets hype for the rewrite. Everyone gets hype for that. When he reviews

for a rider who touched or didn't touch the second hand, basically you have to have one hand off the bull. He'll say he did not touch him. He says that. Yeah, it's incredible.

It's incredible. So Archie and I were running around. He did not touch him. After further review, he did not touch him. Yeah. So a lot of fun. We'll be back. We'll go to another PBR event.

Shout out to Case hit and Caden Loud on Sunday. Nate and I watched this, but on Sunday, so we were there Friday, Saturday on Sunday. And unfortunately, the Wildcatters took two L's Friday and Saturday on Sunday. they had a walk off. The Wildcatters walked it off. They were down two successful bull rides. Yep. They needed, uh, they both case hit and Caden Loud got re-rides. They needed to both ride successfully and get a certain score. They did so and they won, walked it off in Oklahoma City on Sunday. Pretty impressive for those. Shout out to OKC. Shout out to the Wildcatters and, uh, shout out to Braun Stromen as well. The, the legendary wrestler. Um, that motherfucker is,

a real life superhero. You just meet some people, and I've been around a lot of, like, human beings of different shapes and sizes and, you know, physical feats and the whole thing. This guy is 400 plus pounds, and he's got abs. He took his shirt off at the OKC event. He basically flashed the crowd. Like, they put him on the big screen. He's like, I guess they want to see my tids.

Like, for real, for real, he looks like he could have played the mountain. in in in legitimately in um in the game or throne legitimately i got off my elevator to go to my room and there's this guy walking down the hall away from me and i only saw the back of him and i was like god damn everybody in okay c is fucking huge dude and then of course we meet him and he's the he's the famous wrestler but this dude is just an absolute unit and a great guy we we hung out after and went to the bar called cowboys where Nate kept talking about he was going to ride a live bull at the bar, but he never did. They didn't have the live bulls out that night.

That was the only reason. Everyone gaslighted me the whole weekend. You got to call ahead. Cowboys. You got to call ahead. Next time we'll call ahead. Which I have a T-shirt from now because I couldn't get in without any sleeves on. You would think a cowboy bar.

You can go in there without sleeves on, right? You know the deal. He had his, he had his Cheyildress Alexander jersey on. And they were like, no. No. Which was a shock because, one. walking around the city for the most part everybody thought he was Shea Gilgis Alexander which is a there he's so we add Shea Gilgis Alexander Ligaribbunt to the list

Marshawn Lynch of the Marciaun Lynch Nate you've you've heard it all right white people and the only the only person that really made sense was one of the workers at the at the hotel was like he goes you don't look like shea he goes you look like Lou Dort more than she And I was like, I was like, I actually, I was like, I definitely see that. I know what you're saying. Didn't shit. Yeah, but I, and you know, the, the, uh, did you notice the farming simulator signage? They're like, like, one of their main sponsors on the side of the arena was farming simulator.

Oh, really? Yeah. If that doesn't speak to like the, the demo that they're after. I mean, like, it is just a, it's a different kind of deal, dude. It is. It's a wild deal. PBR, great, great event. Big shout out to Zone who made it possible for getting us there.

But BBR wasn't the only sporting event that we've had this summer. That's right. I've had a list of them. We did. I mean, you know, in the dog days of summer, you got to find something to do. And for me, I mean, that World Cup was a godsend. That was a lot of fun, dude. And also, I could see it in my kids, my boys who were 10 and 7.

They got to watch it like they're into soccer now. Like they're into soccer. Like they understand it. They're pulling for the teams. they watched all the games with me um the world cup you know i know it's not a hot take i'm sure somebody's delivered this before but like it should be every year like as an american like every two years i would take that every year dude and and uh or yeah every two years whatever it is but like it was just so much fun and i know like for america hosting it especially in a time like this

where we're at each other's throats and the whole whole deal like there's a bunch of people that came to america we're like man this place fucking this place rips like love this is cool and you know of course a lot of people were like see there's nothing wrong with america we it couldn't be any better yeah i'm like yeah well you know like visiting it is is one thing there's a lot of people that can't afford to live in america right now um but but i think uh for the people that that visited they got to see what this place is all about at its best and i think that was really cool um and uh and man like the fucking storylines the whole thing like the holland guy from norway and then it ends with him getting taken out of the game and he can't finish because he's too tired um the final was crazy i mean like i was pulling for

argentina and it felt like i guess there's a football equivalent to what happened in that final it's like a team that just absolutely dominates the game and gets stalled in the red zone 15 times but like you know that's what's cool about soccer to me is you can dominate the game and not win it um you know it's it's it's it's it's a little bit different than other deals where you know you saw some upsets um like what's the team we're curious cape verde cape verde is like the they're they were like the heartthrob of of the whole entire world and they were drawing games they were bringing all these games they were like the only team to not technically like lose a game because i think all their games went into extra yeah they didn't lose it in regulation regular time well

It's crazy about that I think they're goalie. Yep. Like there's just cool stories that come out of this where like one performance in the World Cup, this guy's now making more than he's ever made in his life and he's like my age. Yep. You know, it's, it's pretty cool, man. Like, I saw some great games. So World Cup was awesome.

I bet baseball a little bit more than usual this summer. I told Tanner and I was in the group text like, man, like I got the MLB app. the whole thing. I started betting baseball because now I'm starting to understand baseball and the appeal of baseball. You know, not big, but just something to wet my whistle until the football season starts. And it's funny one night I was like up putting my kids to bed and waiting for them to brush your teeth. And my son Whalen pops down on the bed next to me. And I was on my phone. And I said, let me, I got to look at something. And I'm on my score app and I'm cruising through the through the baseball games

and he looks over my shoulder because I don't know he's looking and he goes, you're betting baseball? And of course I lied. And I was like, you know, I don't lie to my kids at all.

Like I felt ashamed. I was like, man, this is just like I can't admit to being a degenerate like this. And so I made up some bullshit story. But I have found myself at like dinner parties like being like,

oh, the brewer's just lost. And everybody was like, what the fuck? Is that guy betting baseball? Like there's no reason. It's a wild time to be betting baseball because it's like the dead center of the season. Yeah.

It's like, you know, there's nothing on the line other than your bet. And that's what's what drives me fucking crazy, dude. When you lose a football bet at the end of the game, the guys are dejected, just like you. They're fucking pissed. Their whole weeks ruined. Their season might be ruined. But you lose a baseball bet. Yeah.

And like the last guy strikes out with the bases loaded. and everybody's just like, all right, back to the hotel. And I'm like, you're, you got to get mad, man. Like, I'm fucking mad right now. Like, you're not mad, dude. I just lost $100 on you. Yeah, no. Like, they don't, they don't care as much as you do, dude.

It's the sport where the bettors care more than the players. Yeah, yeah. Because they're like, we got another 160 of these. I bet basketball is similar around the middle of the season. For sure. And I haven't crossed that bridge yet. And maybe I will. But, like, the baseball betting's fun.

Because you know what? baseball is fun i got the MLB app and you know just there's always a full board yeah and you can always zoom in on a game in the seventh yeah you know you live bet something in the seventh and then you pop in you don't have to watch the first seven you can do the first half bets if you you know the pictures and yeah i you inspired me to start betting again not not not not not not been going well not not been going well no i i i started literally went against all my advice to you and started betting uh betting on the nationals On the nationals, but not only on the nationals,

I was just betting on specific players to hit homers, which is a huge no-no. Yeah, don't do that. You can't predict. Don't do that. And I think if you go in my BetMGM app right now, my last eight bets were like $100. Yeah.

And I sprinkled some other teams in there. So I was like going back and forth between games, not a single one hit. $100 a bet, huh? Yeah, we, you know. Damn, we pay well here, bro. Let's see this. Our producers are, you know. We got a few free bets from MGM.

Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, dude, I just need you to throw your glove or something when you lose a game. So I feel a little bit better about what's going on in my world. But there's some cool stuff going on in baseball, man. A guy just hit the ball harder than anybody's hit a home run. The highest exit velocity of all time. It happened on the same pitch, the highest, the fastest pitch by a starter in baseball history,

106 miles an hour. The dude hit the ball out of the park faster than anybody's hit the ball out of the park ever. So baseball is fun, man. Like there's shit going on all the time, dude. There's shit going on all the time in baseball. You just got to look for it. You've got to have the MLB app like me. So Ben Betton Baseball.

LeBron to Philly. You got to show them around. Your guy. Yeah, it's our guy now, dude. You know, Nixon 5. But yeah, like, That's exciting. My kids are hyped up.

I know you've got to be hyped up, Tanner. Well, yeah, no. As a bronze sexual. I've made the switch, I think. Like, at first when it happened, I was, Philly was probably my last on the wish list, you know? Yeah. I even texted Charlie, other producer, about, like,

I was like, I think Golden State would have even been better than Philly. I was like, why, Philly out of all the places? And then within two days, I was fully sold. You know, I was full, I'm in. Like, we're... $8 million, two years? He's winning a chip, you know. You think so?

You know, it's a good team. You know, what's funny about this whole thing is, like, LeBron is going to play in Philly, which is not like playing in Memphis, as he put it. Like, Philly's a great city. I'm not saying Memphis is not, but that's what LeBron said, not me. Yeah. And he's not even going to, like, spend much time there. He's just taking a souped up helicopter from, like, New York to practice.

He's going to live in New York and take a helicopter, back and forth. Just opposed to the fact that you got, and it's football time here, so I'm just making a point about what. Travis Kelsey, who just had a wedding at MSG, he's in a fucking dorm room right now, dude.

Like, it's just the difference between what a basketball player lives like and what an NFL player lives like is unbelievable. We were talking about it earlier. It's not even the first time Sixers lived in New York. Like JJ Redick did it. Oh, yeah, Jay.

So you don't even need to be, to do the commute thing. You don't have to be able to be. And be like, I'm too good for this city. Anybody can do it. I'm not saying LeBron said that, but. But I would live in Philly if I was LeBron, but I understand. But at the same time, too, who says LeBron's not going to have something in Philly?

He might have a little condo there. And no one knows about. And you're just playing a safe. Tell everyone you live in New York. Nobody comes looking. Exactly. We got a, we have to, we have to get LeBron on the show. It makes a lot of sense now.

you know he's gonna want to he's gonna want to ingratiate himself to philly i mean and this is a major hub for for getting a mural up next to years yeah exactly dude hey you play your cards right lebron they might put a six foot mural in fish town dude i can see them winning i think i think there already is probably there's probably already already not not just not just anywhere but in fairmount oh really river uh yeah those my old stomping grounds dude Oh, look at that, dude. LeBron's on the wall. Long as they don't cover yours.

That does look great. No, they can cover it. I think that, is that right over top of yours? Can you see yours a little? Is that JES paints? Is it the same guy that did mine? No, it's a different guy. It's not over here.

It's a fair amount. Okay. Same neighborhood. That's not the wall, dude. We've been to that wall. Okay, good. So, yeah, anyways. I was saying down the road,

if Philly did win it, I guess LeBron at the parade to wearing a fur coat wearing the fur like i hope he does yeah i'll be late got to get through the next though so facts um defending champs uh all right let's get into football shall we there was one thing that happened that um i feel like i feel like the niners are are in some trouble okay like Ricky Pearsall's got problems with his knee You know Mike Evans is older They bring in Debo Samuel

This is an older roster in general You know they're replacing a D coordinator Shanahan gets in a car accident That nobody hears about for a little bit Evidently it's worse than you might have thought And now they've got interim head coach Chris Forrester And that's all I

want to talk about you know we'll talk about the Niners in the preview yikes well y'all pointed it out in jem pop in the group text that chris forrester is the guy that less than 10 years ago was blowing coke in an NFL facility and i'm not trying to dredge up i'm not trying to bring up old shit it's there people have done worse in the NFL and continue to play or coach like worse i mean he's only harming himself there yeah the installs probably very high energy crazy okay so i don't know how it affects like the teaching of the of football. But here was my question because there's that iconic picture. He was a O-line coach, I think.

I think he's an O-Line coach. Offensive line. Yeah. So the picture, the famous picture, I mean, they got him on HD. Before 4-8-D. Yeah, doing a line through a dollar bill or whatever it is. Oh, man. And my question is this, and I guess I've never asked this question as somebody who's

never done the nose candy thing. why don't cokeheads find a cleaner way to blow coke you always hear about money being the dirtiest thing like ever and they're just mainlining coccanea through through a fucking through a dollar bill that's been god knows where and a guy like chris forster i kind of feel like and i say this respectfully like he might have brought that home from tootsies that that's that dollar bill and like strip club money is really dirty and i'm just like Like, there's got to be a better way to get your buzz. Do you guys know, like, have you ever thought about that? As someone who's never tried the booger sugar, I haven't thought about it. And, like, I just feel like if you don't got the long, clean, manicured Coke now, I don't know how you would take. Yes. You would take a drug like that without consuming it.

You can't have coke nails and be a no line coach. You can't hold the bag. Not the baggy, the bag. But I like I, coke heads out there in the comments. I've seen people do the little spoon before. You know, they have like a little contraction. Yeah. A little spoon.

Yeah. Into the nostril. If you're if you're a cokehead in the comments, first off, why? Secondly. Is it fun? I know it's got to be fun because he really does people by the balls. you know um but but yeah like why do you do that like there's a lot of germs on that on that dollar bill that's all i'm saying if you've ever played sports you know the competition can get pretty

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Bajon Robinson signed a big deal this morning. Bajon. Hit the group text before I could even get out of bed. But it's 75 mil. What? Four years? Three. Three? Three, 73. No? 25 mil. Yeah, 25 per.

So three years, 75 mil, mil 25 per this is this is big money obviously and uh you know the immediate question that you know somebody brought up was like does this signal or cement the movement back towards hey the run game is important right like does this mean that the NFL has gone full swing back into like we would the era that started with zeke elliot being paid and the cowboys not taking the next step is in people kind of the group thinks saying, hey, like running back's not important, is that era over? I don't think it's over. I think we've stabilized from that point of view where like, you know, hey, the chiefs,

for instance, bringing Kenneth Walker this offseason. And that makes a lot of sense. For a number of reasons, I can't wait to talk about it. You know, there's a trickle-down effect to having that run game. We always say, hey, the running back, the special running back is kind of a, you know, it's the cherry on top. it's icing on the cake you do that last when you have everything else you you invest in the running back now Atlanta went out and drafted this guy you know Detroit went out and drafted jameer gibbs and

jemir gives is waiting in the wings and like you know you want to talk about what I think is the the big takeaway from this thing is that jimir gibbs is sitting there like hey I just got even richer and uh the the lines are like fuck man like you know I don't know what their timeline is like but you know a couple days earlier can make a big difference in the NFL. And so I think this, I mean, I think it's easy to look at the Rams, going to 13 personnel, the Seahawks, getting in heavier personnel to throw, like the play action pass, some of the successful teams leaning into the run game and saying like, hey, it's swung back.

I think Bejohn Robinson is a special individual. You know, I think he's an outlier. You're going to be, although right now Atlanta doesn't have the quarterback of the future, in my opinion. Although they're not a playoff team right now, it's hard to imagine letting the guy walk out of the building, especially considering you just had a special player on his rookie deal and you kind of stumbled through the whole thing, which is everybody's fear, right? It kind of makes you feel like, God, we've got to get something out of this special player. Like, we've got to pay him.

You know, and I don't think it's a sunk cost fallacy thing. Here, I do think, I do think Bajon Robinson can help you. He can differentiate your football team because look what he's done for them already without stable quarterback play, right? He gives them an identity, and that bleeds into the passing game. And, you know, I think the one thing in retrospect, I don't know what his numbers were over the first few years of his career, but like having Tyler Algier who left now,

and went to Arizona definitely helped keep the mileage down on Jean Robinson. Like he was able to assume some of the duties that were a little bit more physical at times and cut into the, you know, the overall usage quotient. So do I think it's a bad move? No, I don't think it's a bad move. You have to pay a guy like this. He's special. And I don't see him slowing down in the next few years.

But what this does, it starts the clock on like, you better get this fucking quarterback thing right. You know? Because right now they got one guy with a. who's got a backiotomy and the other guy he's torn his ACL like 15 times and um you know they're both lefties and it's the weirdest quarterback room in the NFL and they just signed cooper rush so it's like you know if you're atlanta and you pay bejan robinson you almost got to hope that this year doesn't go as well because next year you got a deep quarterback draft um you know there are also free agency options you know in today's NFL like certain quarterbacks walk

or end up switching teams veterans and we'll talk about one in a second that that could you know that fate could could happen next year but like you have to get the quarterback thing right um the it starts for them you think starts the season i think tua starts the season and uh there's a lot of reason to think that tua might be productive for them i mean they've got weapons and they've got a run game i think so too but uh but he is stationary and you know you down you know you're down to Some of the ceiling that you have in an offense like that where you can't attack edges is that you can move the pocket. And I don't see them moving the pocket with Tua. And so I don't think this is like, hey, Atlanta's where they want to be, but they better get there in the next year because they just signed this guy to a monster deal and you hate to see him waste the next.

This is it for running backs. Like, few and far between produce into their 30s, right? So running back's first contract, oh, it's gone. He's a Hall of Fame talent. First contract, that's dead and gone. This is it. You know, he'll get to a third. God willing, he'll still be a dominant player on his third contract and that sort of thing,

but it's never a foregone conclusion. So it really does, the clock is ticking a little faster for them right now. And, you know, if you look back, I said, look at the last 10 years of the guys that paid their rookie. running back handily is it an ominous thing to do that is it a because because I look at it and I say like while I'm all for this like there there are some teams that would say hey like that didn't work out for us the guy who started this whole thing Zeke Elliott right um you've got Todd Gurley who they they paid in in L.A um and that year they end up in the Super Bowl and he's on the the sideline you know because of an injury that sort of thing like they're not able to

cash in on paying that running back. Nick Chubb, you know, examples like that. There's examples like Joe Mixon where he ends up being the centerpiece of, not the centerpiece, but a central piece of your offense and you end up in the Super Bowl, you know, but that's not every outcome. And of course there's situations like Derek Henry. Of course you pay Derek Henry. And Derek Henry elevated that team in Tennessee with Ryan Tanahill at quarterback into situations

they would have never otherwise been in. But you have to have the other piece. And I think that's an example of, and Derek Henry still playing very good ball for the Baltimore Ravens for somebody else. So there's a couple ways you can do with this. You know, there's also counter examples like the Jags let A-chan go.

And I'm not talking about Devon A-Chang. I'm talking about Travis A-chan. A-chan. The new pronunciation of E-T-N. And there's teams like the Cardinals who drafted Jeremiah Love in the top five and everybody's fucking on their ass

and who knows whether that works out or not. But I think every situation is different. The other thing about the tight end thing where they're getting into 13 personnel. We talked about this, I think, before, but tight ends are cheaper. They're cheaper. So that's another, you know,

it's not necessarily all a tactical calculus. It's also like, hey, it's a way to hack the mainframe on the cap, man. Be like, you know, we don't have to pay a bunch of wide receipts. receivers like we can put tight ends on the field force people into base put them in situations where like we know nickel is one of the most sought after positions in the NFL and it's a really hard thing to find a guy that can get in the box and play right like there's not a lot of derwin james is walking around guys that could play deep third or you know cover a guy man to man and and and and and live in the box and rundowns like you kind of need a very good nickel in today's NFL you don't kind of you do to be

successful and teams embracing the heavier personnel thing only solidifies that so it's easy to just boil it down and be like hey running backs are back it's easy to boil it down and be like hey running backs are worthless i can find you counter examples to both claims and so everything is is teams are well-oiled machines it's it's a calculus and every team's different so um the an example of it working out to me has been james cook james cook james cook signed by the Buffalo Bills unlocks their whole offense, but they also have a dominant quarterback,

who by the way, you look at a lot of these executive off-season rankings, like I've seen an athletic and ESPN, you know, ranking compilation from executives and coaches and GMs. Josh Allen's been one or two in almost every one of them. So, you know, I guess if I'm crazy, everybody else is too in the world of football. You know, only the fan that says when's he going to win the big one knows what they're talking about.

But I think the point in Matt Stafford's up there, Patrick Mahomes is up there. And I look at these lists. Pull up the, pull up like the athletic quarterback list and pull up the ESPN list because it's an interesting dovetail into what we're about to talk about now. Why is Jackson Dart on the main graphic? Okay. never mind go go down a little bit go out a little bit so so okay these are people that moved up give me the the okay tier one they've got patrick mahomes they have josh allen they have matthew staff or this is the athletic joe burrow four lamar jackson five this is it's hard to disagree with

it they got herbert at six so although the guy hasn't won the big one they a lot of jams will say hey he's the sixth quarterback i would take deck prescott who doesn't get enough respect. Drake May's 8th, so last year was great, but, like, I want to see it again. Jared Goff, Tide for A. What the fuck? Jordan Love.

You don't think golf's the top 10 guy? I don't know. These Detroit fans are going to get you. I think he's a top 10 guy. I think golf is a top 10 guy. I think he's right where he's supposed to be. He's right where he's supposed to, you know, you talk about having a run game and everything.

Gibbs and Montgomery, another team that added a running back is Dave Montgomery, and you could say, oh well but they're replacing Joe Mixon who disappeared right like he was supposed to be part of their plan okay Jordan loves 10 keep going Brock Purdy 11 keep going Caleb Williams 11 I think he might be a little low Jaden Daniels 13 want to see more of that we're 14th Baker Mayfield let's talk about Baker Mayfield because Baker Mayfield my guy really not on this list what person Trevor yeah he's down he's he's in he's like 14 or 15

There's a lot of good quarterbacks, man. You know, and I think I don't have any huge qualms with this list. The point is there's a lot of good quarterbacks. There's a ledge around probably 20, right? And there's certainly ledges at different points in the first 20 where it's like after five or six, like, you know, after five, there's a ledge. Yeah. Okay. And after seven, there's a ledge.

Like, Baker's a couple ledges down. And I don't have a big issue with that. You know I love Baker-Mayfield. And last year, I had the high hopes for the Bucks. Because that 24 season for him, I think it was 24, was fantastic. If you're in the Bucks' GM, you would get a deal done? So I'm about to tell you. I'm about to tell you.

Because this, I thought the Baker-Mayfield podium thing was very interesting, where he spoke really openly about it. The fact that he was looking for more appropriate. appropriate compensation, right? Number one and two, more stability, long-term stability. He wanted three years and he wanted to be paid according to his production, right? And they came in at like 50 a year for two years. And he's like, one, I'm better than that number because of my production.

And two, I want more security, right? You have to understand that Baker Mayfield is a chip on the shoulder guy. He wakes up in the morning and looks in the mirror and he's, and he's, he's, he, he, he takes it as a fuck you like the guy in the mirror he's like what did you say like that's baker mayfield and that's the thing people love about baker mayfield and it only got more pronounced as his career went on because you know i'm sure growing up he was too small he wasn't the prototypical six foot five josh allen looking motherfucker he's not really a lamar jackson guy like he can move a little bit but he's a gritty guy dude and you know he's drafted high um yeah that

guy in the mirror telling him don't take 50 million exactly dude it's fucking crazy bro you got to tell that guy to shut the fuck up take the 50 stop looking in the mirror right so so so as his career's gone on I feel like I feel like and justifiably like the situation in Cleveland I thought they chose O'Dell over him and I think that they took a season where he had an injury and just sold him down the river dude like he just they said hey i don't care that you want us our first playoff game and we dropped like 40 points on a division rival and like Cleveland hasn't been this good in a long time like they let him walk dude and so he's he ends up he's banished he's north of the wall dude he's in carolina he's going to sean macvay's camp out west and he ends up in tampa and so this team

took a chance on him but now a couple years later he's kind of like like I'm going to add you guys to my shit list. But it was a very cordial like I'm pissed at my team. It was like, hey, I'm not holding in. I'm not holding out. We're going to have a great season, but like duly noted, you know, that kind of thing, which is you got to figure Baker is going to be trying to play his best ball this year. I mean, last year, I think he was hurt.

He did not play well. The team didn't play well. I think Todd Bowles is on the hot seat. And I think that's, that's, that's, fair that's fair as fuck for him to be on the hot seat because i think there were failures in strategy last year i think there were failures and i think jason lights a fantastic gym there were some pieces of the team that were left kind of to rod a little bit like the linebacking core really really mattered they've they've dealt with injuries they had injuries up front in the

offensive line they had an injuries the wide receivers the secondary they really overcame a lot but at the same time lost a lot of football games they probably should have won and so you got to look with the head coaching, I'll look at the quarterback, especially the quarterback who did not play to his standard last year. So the Bucks are sitting here saying, hey, Baker, the year we're arguing over is 2009. He's going to be 34 that year. I don't know if they're that out of line. And also, as you notice, like, they do this with other players, like Vita Vaya is asking for a trade. You know, they've been in this situation before where they kind of have a way of doing things. I think Baker kind of falls into the the trap of and I've done it as a player.

Conflating production with prestige. When you're Baker, you look around and you say, hey, the numbers, because as a player, you always hear production is production. Numbers don't lie. They always tell you numbers never lie until they're like, well, you're not one of those guys. And I'm just telling you as a pass rusher at times like that happened to me where I was, you know, whether it'll come time for a Pro Bowl bid or, you know, whatever, late in my career, like, I want more money or that sort of thing.

Like, no, you're not one of those guys anymore, or you're not one of those guys. Like, you can have great numbers. You can bring in a sheet with all your pressures and your sacks and say, hey, like, but these are the guy. But we just don't believe you're that guy. Like, we think you're really good, but we don't think you're that guy. And I think, and I think for Baker, that's the, that's where he is, is he's, a 10th to 15th best quarterback in the league, which is very good. And at times, like, he'll make, he can make all the throws, right?

He's got a great arm. He's scrappy. He can move off the spot. He makes magic happen. And he's helped this team win games. But is he one of those top five to eight guys? No, he's not. And I think that's where the bucks are coming from, where they're like, hey, Todd Bowles is

on the hot seat. this might be the end of the road for him this year. What if we fire Todd Bowles, do we want the new guy to come in and have to build his program around a quarterback that he doesn't necessarily want, or do we want to keep things in phase? So just in case, hey, if Baker plays great,

they'll throw the, they'll open the checkbook, right? If Baker plays great and they make the playoffs, I think they'll sign him to a deal that would satisfy Baker Mayfield. But if this year goes like last year, The coach is fired, and he's a free agent. And that's an interesting predicament for Baker because he's not going to get Kirk Cousin. Like, he's not going to turn into the next Kirk Cousins because they can't franchise tag him.

The cap number's prohibitive. And so he's going to be like a real free agent, which is a rare thing for a top 10-ish quarterback to face. And I think an exciting prospect for him. I think that's part of the reason why he's not like throwing a shit fit right now is because If you believe in yourself, you know how this goes. Now the difference is that here's the problem with this year, 27 draft claps very deep. So if so if all of a sudden you're a free agent, like you might have to wait and see what certain teams want to do because there's going to be teams that aren't even picking the top five that say, hey, we can move up to get the guy we want or that sort of thing.

We get a quarterback and a rookie deal. We don't have to give a guy $50 million plus a year to be a quarterback, not a 29, 30-year-old guy. guy, right? Who has an injury history. You know, and part of the reason for the bucks is, in Cleveland, he was hurt. He got hurt last year, I'm pretty sure. And if he didn't get hurt, he just didn't play well. If they don't sign them, I see, I see Magic City Baker coming soon.

So that's the, dude, I'm glad you said that. Because that's a division team. They got a ton of weapons. I don't have a quarterback right now. if I were Baker and I play and I was let walk I was let to walk like I played well

and I'll play against the same teams I'm already looking at you know what I'm saying and so and so like there would be options like I you know like first first one would be I'd look at LA but they did just spend a one on a quarterback right and who knows staffer might play again

that would be a cool deal Pittsburgh Nolan brought up Pittsburgh I think Pittsburgh would be an interesting one but Atlanta I mean Atlanta with so so he has so this is a very rare situation for quarterback I'm playing for next year's deal and an open market on me and and that's fun that's fun that the flip side of the coin is like if he's injured late in the season does he protect himself a little bit like if it's like hey like we need you to hurry up and get back like I know that's not Baker but like does that

Does that factor into it where it's like hey I'm hitting the market in a month? You know, I think it's going to be an interesting year in in in Tampa for all those reasons, but you know, you talk about Vita Vaya Vita Vaya is asking for a trade and this has been like a week since this bomb drop, but you know, like and I don't know if he'll get it. I thought maybe it was kind of posturing, but like I'm not hearing anything. You heard maybe West Coast he wants to be back you know on the West Coast like you know the Rams the Niners I wouldn't make the move if I were the Niners because and I'll talk more about this during the preview I think they're old anyways they'd only be getting older and more top heavy and I don't think they're a Vita Vio way I think the Rams obviously would be you know would be would look hard at this deal they're throwing the kitchen sink at it I thought the bills would

be a great spot for them you know jim leonard three four defense there you know a lot's being made of switching to a three four from a four three can ed oliver play a four i think he can um can can uh sanders play four eye to the left i think he can i actually like that kid um the the big kid from kentucky he's like six foot eight dion walker can he play can he play that really important zero i don't know that he's going to hold up the way you hope he does he's not quite the body type for that he means like he's a towering guy you know i think a dominant zero knows would be a gift from god for buffalo but i don't know that they have the cap space to pull something like that off so i don't know where vita vaya ends up but you have to wonder if you're selling on vita veaa like doesn't that signal

that like you're not all in right now and maybe you're not going to pay your quarterback either um i just feel like that's kind of where they are um and plus they got a lot of young guys will have to pay if they play if they pay baker this is a list that no one gave me a young guys on their rookie deals i mean obviously can't see who's been hurt but he's a dominant player abuka who who came out like gangbusters uh you know good good young player bane who we haven't seen him play yet but like maybe you have to pay him barton barton's a good player parish morrison like they've drafted well and you know part of the the burden of drafting well is you got to make decisions on who you keep a couple years down the line and then you have to like really

strategize on when these contracts come up and how many of them there are and so you had a quarterback to that list though ooh Tampa bane they're gonna pay bane it's gonna be a big year I'm excited hey bane I can't wait to see him play and I love you see the video of his whole family at training oh yeah yeah that's all the craziest thing is like half of them we're at our we're at our Miami game when we beat them oh really like I got got probably that's your cousin that's your family 17 18 tickets for that game and it's just funny that's how they travel to all the you need to get in the wave dude you need to show up with bain's family and be like yeah i'm i'm just cava bade i got to definitely got to get a jersey one more time that is nate's cousin that it hasn't been confirmed by like

ancestry dot com but he claims to be bane's cousin go through the family tree if you guys want to you guys have the time if they have the access to your family tree they have to um anything to On Bejohn or any of the headline, anything interests you guys football-wise? I-YC, is that his first big deal? Ian Yates Cunningham, our guy, that's a big deal. Yeah, our ex-our old teammate, our UVA teammate, is the GM of the Falcon. Well, it's interesting. He just saw the power of the run game in Chicago, right, with Ben Johnson and that sort of thing.

And, you know, this is a different kind of, you know, they're doing it with Menungai and people like that, but, like, this is a star. And you know, you just, I think it's, you have to do it. You don't have a choice, but this is just really, really, you know, there's going to be people at home that are like, you do have a choice. I'm like, well, I mean, let that guy walk. He'll end up on a fucking, a team that's adding him as the final piece and they'll be in the Super Bowl. Yep. You just can't stomach that.

So we'll see. But I think the haircut's very mortal combat, is it not? Bro, do you see that video? of him training. Yeah. And he makes the cut. As he makes the cut. He said his hair called for the ball.

Call for the ball. That is hilarious. That's incredible, dude. It is incredible. How does that work in the helmet? I have no idea. Like, as someone who did not have hair when I was playing or had a little bit of here towards the end of my career.

Yeah. And just the little bit I had, it would be annoying trying to get your helmet on the right way. Totally, dude. And it's like only certain, I mean, he probably has a downpact. now but like only certain hair styles too like for guys with dreads realistically will work under your helmet yep before i feel like it's a like a fit issue or an adjustment that you have to do where i wonder if the helmet's even like really protecting you if you have your hair a certain way you know who you know whose hair always fits under the helmet brock bowers

no it's not fucked up it's true i mean you know he's got a low profile head of It's good for football. Oh, man. Sometimes you've got to make sacrifices. No question. No question. Okay. Just be a top athlete, the top tight end position player.

Oh, I'm looking at, oh my goodness, I'm looking at camp tape. We've got live padded practice. Any fights yet? Let him fight. There was a Jamaic case fight last week. I'm just telling people, creatine has changed the game for me. cognition is a big part of it too it's not just like hey you know getting jacked or that sort of thing we're all jacked you're jacked bro thank you i appreciate it say it back but i'm jacked

you're jacked as well oh there it is next he is jacked yeah he is more jacked than almost anybody here the guy lifts the most but creatine he looks like he's on a lot of creatine a lot um you know do you take creatine how many how many grams do you do you take creatine how many grams do you take i take seven i take seven grams a day um and they're good for your brain i talked about the cognition really important benefits for recovery strength um cognition staying active as you get older um i think everybody should try creatine um and uh you know i'm not a doctor but you don't need to be one to to be slanging creatine you got a doctor um you know why did i stop when i start taking it i really do honestly have a hard time keeping my weight on i've always had a hard time keeping my weight on i

just run I run like a machine that's like a ton of RPM so I'm like always burning calories and shit. Creatine helps me keep my muscle mass on which helps me stay in the gym, stay strong into my 40s, which is a whole you guys will see. It fucking sucks. But creatine helps me there. And like even in the afternoon when I got some rain fog or whatever, I might take some creatine like half my dose, you know, and I really do feel clearheaded after I take it.

I have introduced people to creatine. Yeah, I've introduced. I try to get my wife to start taking creatine. She's taking some creatine. Healthy brain, cognitive benefits that get older and the muscle maintenance that, honestly, I wish I took creatine when I played. You didn't? I did not because I was always worried about pulling muscles.

That's kind of like what people talk about. But you've got to take a lot of it to really have tighter muscles. So, yeah, I mean, like, listen, I'm a washed up NFL player now. And it's kind of the key to me staying in shape enough so people aren't like, what the fuck happened to you? Create gummies, man. and check them out. They really do help.

The other thing I want to finish with is... Oh, your boys. What person? The disgusting jerseys. Oh, the bills? Yeah. The gray jerseys? What is that?

They're not great. Like, I've got to bet against them anytime they're going to wear those. Gray jerseys are just not. They don't work. Like, what is it, though? They don't work. I don't know. Nickel City is the name of them.

Nickel City. Nickel City. Oh, man. Yeah. But are they like, where do you get these alternative colors from? I don't know. These teams, they got to sell jerseys, man. They're talking to the robot. Let me see the helmet.

The robots, the AI robots are like rolling. Brees and Buffalo are buying those jerseys. No, I mean, I feel like Buffalo has a face. Didn't Josh come out and like, I think Bill's fans were pretty anti-off? I know, but Josh was like, hey, man, take it easy on the new jersey. Yeah, yeah. I don't hate that the helmet's kind of interesting. Yeah, but the jersey sucks.

Every kid in Buffalo will have this gray jersey on. Whether their parents are going to wear it or not, they're going to have a gray Allen jersey on. Maybe. Chub 9. Chub 9. Chub 9. Getting ready to play for the bills.

That doesn't look too bad right there, dude. Certain angles. Did you say, did you say you love it? like the helmet i think the hell it's worse than the grays dude you and i never park our car in the same garage on these jerseys dude never never my first thought when i saw this if you take the bills logo off i thought smu tried to do an all gray and just it fucked it up it looks like a tosa it looks like tulsa to me yeah tulsa's a good call you know which is also in oklahoma and it's color rush style too right it's great pants and great top yeah dude baseball away jersey yeah yeah so bad

Anyways, that's not good. Better get a win. Better get a win in them. Are those going to be shelved quick? Oh, Dion Walker's going to look ridiculous in this thing. He's all six foot eight of them. It's a lot of gray. Yeah.

That's a UFO. Concrete piling, dude. Yeah. No, they don't look that bad photograph like that, dude. It actually kind of looks tight photograph like that. The numbers are... Am I coming around on these jerseys? I thought you were going to love them.

because I hated them at first. No, no, no, I don't love them. I don't love them at all. I don't love them at all. I don't love them at all. I don't know how you fix them, but. The name of them, Nickel City, is because the American Bison appeared on the reverse side of the vintage Native American head, nickel minted 19, from 1913 to 1938. We'll finish the show.

We'll finish the show because we got a lot of work to do and we got these previews coming up. So again, one more reminder, Thursday, the division previews start. and we will be on a two show a week cadence until the season starts, and then we will get back with you on the cadence. But the Chris Johnson thing happened over the break, diagnosed with ALS. Well, he was diagnosed with ALS a while ago. He came out and talked about it and did an interview with Strahan

and that sort of thing. You know, it's like I'm not happy to see the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge thing again because that means it's, you know, it's on the forefront. And, you know, I've been seeing a lot of the ALS Ice Bucket videos and people are showing Chris support, and I think that's amazing. But it just sucks. It sucks to see another guy go through this, you know, got to know Steve Gleason towards retirement and after football

and just a wonderful person and just watching him kind of bravely stare this thing down for you know now at this point a couple decades um it just takes a special kind of person it takes i don't know if we you hate thinking about it because even to think about it you you know it's it's so uncomfortable but like could you handle it like could you you talk about being a father and having just you know watch your kids grow up and not be able to participate you know the way you you were used to or you not be able to just get up in the morning get out of bed and walk you know you need to be helped to do so many things and you still have a powerful mind but your body's just failing you like that is a nightmare um and it's an awful disease and you know

our thoughts are definitely with chris johnson who was one of the most special football players i've ever played against and um there were no angle angles with chris johnson like you couldn't take an angle he ate every angle up and um i remember rookie year uh myself calais campbell a couple guys chris johnson in canton at the um at the uh at the uh at the at the hall of fame for our rookie trip and we were all up in the room drinking beer playing cards man like chris is a great dude he and and i don't i haven't talked to him in a long time but um that that crushed me to see him and and so quickly in the condition he's in and uh you know it's sobering man i mean we had the amon green news which uh you know he ends up being diagnosed with Parkinson's.

These, you know, neurological diseases are terrifying for anybody. But like for football players, it feels like kind of a reality. I mean, like, I was reading about it. And, you know, it's bad news, but you've got to educate yourself as like NFL players, I think have a four times higher rate of neurological diseases. Like Parkinson's CT, you know, you. you know, ALS, the whole dementia. And, you know, that's bad on the surface.

But then, like, for me, I'm reading about it. It's like, if you played more than five years, it goes up like a bunch. And so it's, I don't know, it's kind of a, it's kind of a wellness check moment for any football player when you're seeing all this news. I mean, the other one was a guy 38 years old, offensive lineman just just died by suicide um had like four kids at home like the reality is football

is not good for your brain right and i think we all know that and like we all played it on different levels and that sort of thing but um it's a weird thing man to see guys your age start to have problems um it's uh it kind of like i think midlife is hard enough for for anybody right because because you're 40 and you're like okay I'm halfway done like what have I been doing with my life like what do I need to do with my life the second half of my life like I'm getting old like I got gray hairs like you know it's fucked up getting old man like it's not easy I try to spin in my head like it's a privilege to have gray hair it's a privilege to like to live to see 50 or 60 or 70 like don't be depressed about it be excited that you're you're here because there's a lot of guys

as evidence by news like this that don't get that opportunity or whose lives are going to be affected. Like, you know, the life expectancy, somebody with Parkinson's, can be a couple decades. And you see with Steve Gleason, he's had a very fulfilling life, albeit one that, you know, it's challenged him, but he's inspired a lot of people. And he's raised the profile of ALS fundraising. And, you know, because of Steve Gleeson, Chris Johnson's going to have a better shot at care and technologies that make his life easier.

And so it's not all negative, but, um, You know, you watch things like this happen and, you know, everybody says midlife at 40. I think I've just resigned myself to the fact that I'm in a hockey game and the second period just ended. You know what I'm saying? Like, which is a sobering thing for a football player to deal with. And I just a moment like for, I think football players when this bad news comes out to be like to think about like their life. and so it's not just bad news on the on the ticker for me or for Nate or for some other guys it's scary like it is fucking scary you know and and uh like you guys know this i've talked about this before

like you know i deal with depression and shit like that and it's my the optimistic part of me is like dude everybody there's a lot of people that deal with depression there's other people with ADHD. There's people with like anxiety or you know who's mood who's mood fluctuates or you know like yada there's dudes that work for this company that probably deal with the same shit but the part for a football player is always like but why am I you know like what's causing this is it more sinister than just I need to like get more sleep or manage my stress or improve my diet or you know like the optimistic part of he says there's a lot of good news you know you see i always bring up guys like alan page who was uh he's like probably 80 years old now how old is alan page allen page born in 1945 he's 80 years old okay um born in canton

ohio that's pretty good uh but he was a supreme court judge man for for most of his life like you know you talk about how sharp you got to be that guy played a ton of football in the caveman days you know my dad played 13 years sharp as attack almost 70 years old um you know you see all types of guys that that that are really lucid and living full lives and and uh they got grandkids and and that whole thing but you know it just kind of feels like a flip of a coin you know um and so this is a it's definitely a personal topic for me and other guys where it's like, where it's like, damn, dude, like, how much time do I have? You know, and that's a fucking crazy thing to say.

I'm 41 years old. I still feel like a kid sometimes. A lot of the time. I still, and you'll know this, Reed and Tanner as you get older and Nate, you're getting older where you'll hit 40 and be like, damn, I always imagine like, remember that movie, this is 40 when that came out and I was like, I wonder what the fuck that's going to be like. And when it comes, you're like. oh I'm the same person I just have a different life like and there's different realities

but I'm the same person like I'm still developing I'm still growing I'm maturing I hope that when I'm 50 I'm a better person than I am now like I hope that when I'm 60 but when you play in the NFL you're like how much time do I have to be better and when there is a fork in the road or you go through rough patch, you wonder if is mine different, you know, where some people, you know, their life does this, this, this, and that's normal to have your ups and downs. When you're a football player and you get in a valley, you wonder if the valley's deeper and deeper.

And I think that's the hard part of stuff like this, you know, like. So I don't know what the take is. I think the take is just that I'm praying for Chris Johnson and, you know, I'm praying for Amon Green and for all former players that have a lot of trouble. But I do think there are things that you can do. I mean, obviously there's nothing you can do if you're going to have ALS or you're going to get Parkinson's. But there are things you can do to try to take care of your mentals. And I'm trying to learn what those things are.

I think life's too short to be stressed. I mean, you're always going to be stressed. But try to do things that make you. you happy and and so i i just wanted to say like you know all that and then i you know i apologize for not for not uh for not being on mic as much this summer you know i's uh definitely definitely a lot going on in my life and uh and and and i think football's coming right on time i think football's football is going to help everybody um you know it's it's the irony of it is like the guys on the field are really putting their ass on the line and like maybe the outcome

aren't great but man does a football season excite you and and and it gives a lot of people like that that thing to pull for and and uh can make them forget about their bad day or the stressful thing going on or so it's it's a catch 22 man it's a great game we have and everybody loves it but those same people rightfully so sometimes look at news like this and say like what are we doing man like these guys are you know they're dying they're getting aLS they're getting CTE they're getting Parkinson's And I'm not saying that's where me and Nader headed. But what I am saying is, there is a reality when you walk away from the game and you wonder, like, how much time you have and what the rest of your life's going to look like. Because I'd like to live another, you know, I'd like to live another 60 years.

I'd like to be 100. I'd like to see my grandkids, my great-grandkids. But when I think about it, I got a three-year-old daughter. And a lot of these players that get ALS or Parkinson's or dementia, like, it could be 60. for them it could be 55 it could be 50 years old my daughter's going to graduate god willing when i'm 50 when i'm 56 years old um you know like i forget hey make it to 80 i'm like i want to make it to 60 um so i can see my daughter go to the wmba and bankroll our whole family thanks um but yeah i don't know just a moment for you here you you wonder what a football player

thinks when you hear when they hear this news i don't know if you do but like It definitely, it definitely, uh, it affects your, your outlook. Um, but anyways, I, I'm pulling for Chris and, uh, I know as evidenced by Steve Gleason, you can still make a lot of, a big difference in people's lives and, um, inspire people and be a father and, and be a husband and, and be a community member and all that stuff, even in the face of like, really terrifying stuff and, you know, um, and same thing. Well, like, you watch, I'm on green, announce his diagnosis and he's so brave man he just he's looking the camera square in the fucking eye and he's you know he's measured he's he's he's bold and you know he's the same guy that was out on the field taking all those hits he's still

got the same brave attitude in the face of a really scary thing so man my heart goes out to these guys um and as always man like football players uh you know reach out to your buddies man reach out you know have a conversation i think social isolation can make this thing a lot worse you know and by this thing I mean the challenge of life after football and you know I know for myself like I can kind of get into hermit mode sometimes and not call anybody or just kind of deal with my problems on my own I'm the I'm the main one who's like hey call me if you got a problem and I'll pick up the phone at three in the morning and I will and I've been in on these these calls with with guys I play with or whatever but I'm never the guy to make the call and so

you know I just I just would encourage anybody who's having problems to fucking call your buddies man and and spend time with them and open up a little bit because life ain't easy after 40 and it's certainly not easy after 40 if you play football but anyways enough bad news um there's good news on the way which is that football is coming and um you know the irony is not lost on me after just talking about what we just talked about so i hope the game continues to get safer and uh and treatments for these things get better but but in the meantime like we love football and and guys know the risk going in and at this point as a player i feel like if you're a young kid signing up to play football or you're a rookie in the NFL like you know you know the risks and it is it's one thing because when i was younger

and that movie concussion came out and shit and we and all this stuff started you just feel more invincible you're just younger and you're like fuck it dude i'm not not to conflate yourself with like somebody who's actually like a warrior but you're like i'm a warrior dude like i this is what I'm supposed to be doing and like I want to break my body not I wasn't thinking like I want to break my brain but I was like you took pride and breaking a bone and playing through it or you took pride and playing on something hurt like you never thought about the fact that you're going to walk fucked up later not be able to do X Y or Z like all you thought about was like answering the bell and there's a high that comes with answer in that bell and that's part of being a football player that's part of the ethos of being a football player so when some people are like why do football players do it anyways we know the risks at this point, but guys want to answer the bell and guys want to play the game. And so all I can pray for is better research, better outcomes for these things because it's a reality. And it's not going away. And it is Russian roulette.

So, Nate's good. What were you talking about? I forgot. I'm just joking. Dark joke. You got to. i i got to keep it light um anyways that it's been it's been good catching up with y'all we will be back thursday with straight preview shit but uh miss y'all locals man i hope you came man this season

we need you to tell as many people you can about this podcast man get some asses and seats for us get to get some eyeballs on our channel um if you love this show you know get behind us because uh Because we're trying to make it a great season and make it our best yet. All right, we will see y'all Thursday. Take care.