The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 1029 - Aaron Rodgers Tuesday LIVE From New York City, MNF Recap, Jeff Saturday, Tim Legler, CJ Stroud, Dan Orlovsky, & Darius Butler

Episode Date: December 5, 2023

On today’s show, Pat, Darius Butler, and the boys are live from the ESPN Seaport Studios to chat about last night’s Monday Night Football game that saw the Bengals get a massive win over the Jaguars, as Trevor Lawrence went down with a high ankle sprain, and if we should be worried about the Jags, and if the Bengals have enough left in the tank to make some noise. Joining the show in studio to chat about his coaching career, how it ended, and everything else happening around the NFL right now is 14 year veteran on the offensive line, Super Bowl Champion, 4x All-Pro, 6x Pro Bowler, and now NFL analyst on ESPN, Jeff Saturday (8:30-56:47). Next, 4x MVP, Super Bowl Champion/MVP, and Quarterback for the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers joins the show to chat about his achilles recovery, his birthday party over the weekend, the report coming out that Zach Wilson doesn’t want to return to play this season, his thoughts on Jordan Love’s development, the college football playoff, and much more (56:53-2:06:39). Later, 11 year NBA veteran, 1996 Three-Point Contest champion, and ESPN NBA analyst, Tim Legler joins the show to chat about his thoughts on the NBA in-season tournament, which teams will be contenders in the Western Conference, and who he thinks will eventually be NBA Champions (2:06:45-2:13:03). Later, Quarterback of the Houston Texans, CJ Stroud joins the show to chat about his development thus far this season, who will step up in Tank Dell’s absence, why they’ve been so successful, his relationship with DeMeco Ryans, and much more (2:13:08-2:32:48). Lastly, 12 year NFL veteran at Quarterback and ESPN QB guru, Dan Orlovsky stops by to chat about Quarterback play in the NFL, and everything else happening in his life (2:42:03-3:04:38). Make sure you subscribe to youtube.com/thepatmcafeeshow to watch the show. Or watch on ESPN (12-2 EDT), ESPN’s Youtube (12-3 EDT), or ESPN+. We appreciate the hell out of all of you. See you tomorrow, cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello beautiful people and welcome back to New York City on this Aaron Rodgers Tuesday, December 5th, 2023. This sports program starts right now. Football! Happened last night in a massive way as a backup for the Bengals beats the Jacksonville Jaguars in their first home Monday night football game in 12 years. A devastating blow to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are in conversations and maybe becoming the team that represents the AFC with the parity on that side of the NFL. And what did Jake Browning say?

He said, I'm from Washington, and I can spin it. On a historic evening for the quarterback, the Bengals maybe claim that this season isn't completely over and the Jaguars have a lot to figure out. Shout out to Duval for showing up last night. I think the light show and the fireworks

and Jax Himdeville doing a gainer off the top of the stadium to start the entire evening and bring the football down to be kicked off for that game was nothing short of flawless. I do believe that maybe Monday Night Football could have turned up the audio on the crowd a little bit, give them a little bit of a rub because they haven't been on TV in like 12 years in that way.

But nonetheless, good game. What happened to Trevor Lawrence at the end? We will certainly dive into that as we go on. What does it look like going ahead for the entire AFC? That'll be the topic of conversation today, as well as Coach Jeff Saturday will join us live

in studio. Tim Wagler will join us live in studio. CJ Stroud joining us via FaceTime, 2.30 Eastern Standard Time on ESPN Plus and on YouTube and live in this studio. The same one where a lot of things have been said about this man. Oh, yeah. I think he was called a murderer by people.

Possibly. Aaron Rodgers will join us live in studio today. We cannot wait for all of that. The boys are here at the talk show table at Boston Connor and at Ty Schmidt. I see the ponies running, Conman. Yeah, yeah, ponies are running. Because, you know what? We've been talking about these primetime games being absolute dog shit all year,

which they have been. But this weekend, I mean, we had three back-to-back-to-back that were unbelievable. And let's not even think about the possible terrible primetime games coming up. I just can't believe that we got a Jake Browning 350-yard master class in Jacksonville in the first time that they've had in Monday Night Football games since 2011. How about Zach Taylor? Yeah.

Unbelievable. How about Zach Taylor having to do what he had to do? Jamar Chase obviously has a big-time touchdown showcase himself. Higgins was doing his thing. Joe Mixon's running all over the place. The Bengals said, we heard what you've said about us being dead, and we do not necessarily agree. And I think Jake, 2018 was the last time he won a game.

Yes. So I hope he got to drink it down. I hope he got to suck it in last night because congrats, dude. You're making a name for yourself on a team that is built to go. And on the defensive side, Lou Anne Rumo, got to stop when they need it. That's the conversation. Got to stop whenever they needed it. I think they'll be able to figure it out. Good for the Bengals.

And, Con, man, you have a graphic now with what happened with Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Beathard, fresh out of Iowa, making an appearance last night, started out a little bit rocky, then he goes on to make a couple plays for the Jags. How many quarterbacks now is it? I believe 50 quarterbacks have started an NFL

game so far this season, and it will be 51 once Beathard, hard not beat heard starts next week presumably for the jacks because it looked as though trevor lawrence's ankle uh turned left that song bitch turned sideways gross that was not cool for trevor but no no brutal but 12 of 32 teams right now have a backup starting in week 14 yeah okay that's going to be a conversation no matter what it is on the afcFC side, it's nine of them. That's a lot, which is why the AFC

is so wide open. I think if you were to look into it, NFC side, three different backup quarterbacks, and obviously this is taking into account that maybe Derek Carr will miss a game because we have seen Wolverine blood in Derek Carr before where he seemingly broke his leg on a Thursday

and then on Monday night football, four days later, he's playing where he seemingly broke his leg on a Thursday. Completely. And then on Monday night football four days later, he's playing somehow. He recovers quickly. He had a shoulder, back, and head. If he's able to come back, we will certainly be impressed. But let's assume he's going to miss at least one game, and Jameis is going to be in there. 12-32 with backup quarterbacks as we get into meaningful football. One half of the hammer.

Cowboys tone digs. That's something we're going to have to take into account whenever we're gambling, pal. Yeah. You're going to have to look at the teams where it doesn't matter if the backup quarterback is in or not. Like,

you know, if you lose like a, a like top tier elite guy versus you're going from Kenny Pickett to Maserati, Mitch Trubisky, like a lot, some of these backup. You like Mitch Maserati.

You like Mitch. Is that what I heard there? Sound like you like him. If we were to go back in time, that was not the case at all. The minivan. This guy was called the malpractice Mitch. Right. You remember all those things you were saying? Now it's Maserati. Like a Gus

Johnson. What happened? What's going on here? Any way that we can get Maserati Mitch in there, I'm going to get in there just like Gus does for Marvin Harrison Jr. Heisman finalist. I'm just saying, I wouldn't say, I don't know how you guys took that. I love Mitch there coming on. I mean, I love him.

Oh, so you hate Kenny then? No, no, no. I'm just saying, I don't know if the drop-off is significant. Okay, so let's talk about having a good backup quarterback. It's why the Indianapolis culture where they are. Jake Browning last night, I think, surprised us all. D-Butt, nine- having a good backup quarterback. It's why the Indianapolis Colts are where they are. Jake Browning last night, I think, surprised us all. D-Butt, nine-year NFL vet, host of Everything DB and the Man to Man podcast. Incredibly clean onesie here.

Wow. Incredibly clean onesie. What's that? We got some space between us. I get it, but if you tucked it, you look fantastic. You look fantastic. You had the Jags minus 10 last night at home against the Bengals. I think a lot of people did. I seemingly only took the Bengals plus 10 because I had to because of the standings.

And A.J., Cincinnati Bengal legend, he even went with the Jags. Nobody expected O'Brien to do what he did last night. What did you see from him? I mean, he played a hell of a game with 90%, 350 in the air. That's something we haven't seen from somebody non-drafted. But he was a dog, you know, from beginning to end well played game obviously had needed him from wire to wire to get it down to ot jamar chase had a huge game was targeting him early wasn't going down the field much early but then got more comfortable as the game went on so hats off to zach taylor you know

getting him ready uh for his second start now uh and take his team all the way to the white look at this chase play was incredible but uh it was was – I like him dancing going into the end zone and then obviously bust out to Gritty. And Chase, you know, we know he's the number one. But you lose your quarterback, all of a sudden you're staring down a much different season. T. Higgins got back out there too. He made some plays. And he was awesome. He said that he knew that Jake was going to be a guy going into the week.

I think he reiterated that in an interview afterwards. He's like, Moxie, the confidence that he showed was something that we're all incredibly impressed by. Are the Bengals back? I mean, AFC, we saw the war of attrition with those quarterbacks over there. So they definitely got a shot. And you got to expect that Lou, you know, that defense, definitely got to pick it up and make some plays. You would think that would be the strength of this team right now,

especially with a backup quarterback. They definitely have to get in there and make some plays to be better. But they got a shot. You know, AFC's still wide open. Are we out on Jacksonville tone or what? I mean, we got to know. We got to figure out what Trevor's injury. I mean, CJ.

Look bad. Obviously a Hawkeye. You got a guy. You got a guy. I mean, listen, I hope Trevor's not out for an extended period of time. That looks bad. And it looks very bad. He slams his helmet.

He didn't lose that game last night, though. Yeah, well, I mean, CJ did everything he could, you know. Yeah, yeah. I'm just saying, the Jags are the first. You're at home. I'm on that. What did he do right after that, though. Yeah, well, I mean, CJ did everything he could, you know. Yeah, yeah. You're at home. What did he do right after that, though? Boom. Marsh them right down the field. Kick a field goal. Let's get into overtime. And then, yeah, they couldn't get it done, but he's a player. I mean,

he's a game manager. He's not going to go out there and poop the bed like some of these guys might do. Now, would you rather have Trevor Lawrence going into the playoffs? Yeah. Absolutely. That's how we're going to have to just view the AFC, I think. Who has their starters? Yes, exactly. And they lost Christian Kirk.

First play, what was that? Did they describe what that was? It was groin. Yeah, but what? They didn't say exactly what. Because that looked like a pretty standard football move. Yeah. Just kind of turning and falling.

What was his over-under? 50 yards? And your bet? That's where I had him at. And he had half of it on the first play that went out. But, hey, that's football, baby. I hope he bounces back, man. But a tough injury.

He's their yards leader. It's weird. Jacksonville. Ingram, reception leader. Kirk's the yards leader. And Ridley leads them in touchdown reception. So they spread the wealth. ETN's a beast, too.

Oh, yeah. And I respect Doug Peterson. I feel like he'll have it figured out speaking to somebody that i respect somebody's just walked in the studio that we need to join us i was very lucky to watch this man be a leader whenever he was a teammate of mine for a few years then i got an opportunity to watch him on tv boy this handsome man man yeah yeah brought the juice and the energy and then last year guess what we get to see him do? What's that?

Be a head coach in the NFL. Yep. Hell yeah. Had he ever coached in the NFL before? Absolutely not. He's a head coach, though. He's our coach. Ladies and gentlemen, Coach Jeff Savage.

I took all your bets, and some of them hurt me. Jeff, do you get into the gambling at all now that you're no longer a coach in the nfl just a touch i dabble i dabble i mean i went with a db i thought i was gonna ride with him in my you know all my picks got hurt first quarter i hit everything else yeah that's that's how they get you man that is it is three out of four let's talk about last night's game jeff let's go in jake browning does something that nobody really could have fathomed that he was. There were 10-point dogs last night because of him

being the quarterback going into Jacksonville. Hasn't had a Monday Night Football game in 12 years. Can't lose that one. Obviously then we also lose Trevor Lawrence and Christian Kirk. All things wrong for Jacksonville last night, even though we love their team. Do you believe in this Bengals team now with Browning, especially with the AFC with the way it's looking right now? I do not.

Okay. I wish I could. Here's my thing last night, right? Like, if you're Jacksonville, I mean, one dude is not going to beat me. I'm just going to say it right now. Like, if there's and listen, you've done a lot of defense in your life, man. If there's going to be one dude who you're not going to let beat you,

he's not going to be the guy. A buck fifty? Like, he had a 70s plus yard and a 60-plus yard, dude. Oh, yeah. 150 yards coming out of one dude. Like, at some point, you just got to go, hey, man, circle the wagons. We're going to cover him. Let Higgins beat us.

Let, you know, let somebody, let's mix and beat. Let somebody beat us. But don't let that guy beat us, especially with a quarterback who isn't as seasoned as you would like. The kid played lights out. I'm not taking anything away from the kid. Spinning it. Listen, mix and play good. The kid played lights out. I'm not taking any away from the kid. Spinning it. Listen, Mixon played good. They played good.

But, man, that guy's not going to be the guy to beat me. And that was the part that was disappointing to me. And also, after Trevor gets hurt, you missed a field goal. You can't do that either. That was brutal. There was just too many mistakes from Jacksonville's side. McManus came back and made one, by the way. McManus came back and made one.

The one that didn't matter nearly as much but that's where we are it was a painful loss if you're jacksonville um but but from the bingles side i just from an offensive perspective i don't know that they know they have those type of production nights all right so i hear what you say there with the whole we're not gonna let this one guy beat us and that's like i think that's football conversation. I think it's TV, TV conversation. Let's talk about you being head coach. Yes. Haven't got a chance to really chat with you about being a coach. So everything I had heard about that building was potentially that it was in ruins. Okay. Whenever you were brought in there. Yeah. And we have a lot of simpatico family in that building.

Yes. And I asked immediately, like, how's Jeff doing? You know, how's Jeff doing in there? And a lot of people, I'm not going to say exactly who it was, but a lot of people in that building had the same message. It was like, our culture has completely gone to hell. There's people late for meetings. There's people missing treatment. There's guys gambling against the Indianapolis Colts who are actually on the team.

It was like the building just kind of fell apart. So Jeff is coming in here, and he's going to be a guy who's just going to have to take it on the shins from everybody as he has to reinstate what a professional football team looks like. Is that an accurate depiction of what you had to do in your first day in there, where you caught off guard completely about what you were walking into? It was more than I anticipated. I'm searching up a little bit. There was a lot of what you're saying that was going on so

it was um but i i think i think ursa knew that so like i will say i think ursa i think i think i think they knew kind of where the situation was kind of how it had gotten a bit off the rails and kind of what it needed to look like for it to get back to to you know what they what they envisioned um i knew going in about you know my conversation with jim was we're gonna go 0-8 like just recognize we are no shot yeah no first of all you just you just got rid of all of your offensive staff right like like so just put that aside we're gonna walk in this room parks frazier's calling plays. Yeah. We have a 20-year-old who hasn't had a room, right? Like, he's never, like, been in charge of a room yet.

And I love Parks. Great kid. Great guy. Love him. Great kid. No, no, no. Sweet boy. And a good football guy.

Yeah, love him. But he had never had his own room yet, which means for those out there, he didn't, you know, he had never been, like, the quarterback's coach or the receiver's coach or whatever, where you're sitting in front of a room every day. So I knew we were going to have offensive challenges. We had a quarterback they weren't sure of, right? So there was a lot going in. My job when I went in was there were two things I knew.

I wanted to make sure the culture was going to get back to where it was when I was there and when you guys had seen it with productivity. And the other thing was from the offensive line perspective, like stop the nonsense, stop the noise. We need to get these guys back playing together. They're going to have bumps. They're going to have bruises. It's not always going to be pretty, but we got to get –

if the team wants to go anywhere, they put enough assets in those five, they got a ball. Three guys getting paid more than you ever made there. Oh, my word. Different money. You're in the ring of honor. made there. Oh, my word. Different money. You're in the ring of honor. These guys are the ring of honor. They got different rings, like all kind of rings they can afford.

But it was definitely a challenge. But, again, I never looked at it the way I think the outside looked at it. I knew what I was getting in for, and I knew what, you know, it was going to be a lot of, like you said, you know, beatings press-wise, whatever it was fan-wise. But I was glad to take the opportunity to do it. We were proud of you. I was proud of you, brother. I was going to bat for you as much as I possibly could just because.

When you don't win, it's hard to go to bat, bro. You've got to get first. You know that first, man. Yeah, just beat the Raiders. Here we go. We had a good time. I was pumped for you, man. I got pretty loud after that.

You gotta come in. Connor has a question for you. Yeah, Coach. So, obviously, when you get hired, some people were, you know, talking about how they were pissed. Other guys deserve it, all that bullshit, right? Sure. How did you deal with that? Because it's not like you were saying, hey, that guy shouldn't

be the head coach. I should be the head coach. Absolutely. You were reached out to be the head coach and then you kind of got buried because of the fact that you'd ever coached before. Right. What was your reaction to that? Did you tell anybody, like, hey, go yourself or anything like that? Good discipline. Yeah.

I will say this. My biggest concern when I walked in was the coaches. Like, making sure and the first meeting I ever had with these guys, hey, man, I ain't trying to pretend like I know nearly as much as you guys know about whatever position you're coaching, whatever. My job is to help you be the best at whatever. So whether it was Gus Bradley, whether it was Parks Frazier, I mean, you just look through the whole building and said,

what can I do to help you guys, right? And so I think everybody understood that there's a level of humility. I wasn't trying to be like, hey, man, I do to help you guys? Right. And so I think everybody understood that there's a level of humility. I wasn't trying to be like, Hey man, I have all the answers right here. We're going to walk in. We're going to correct all these problems. And I think I was, I was, um, for those guys, it was, it was good because they knew I wasn't the one beating on that. I wasn't beating on the desk for myself. I was like, Hey man, what can I do to help fix whatever problems? Listen, they knew. They're going to have to start playing young players. You think our defense

want to go play? I mean, we sat a lot of good players to play some young guys who are now playing really good. But you think Gus wanted that? I mean, you know what I mean? Exactly. So you're sitting on that, but let me tell you, if I can dial in that hill for him, I'm glad to do it. Because he's a freaking great DC. The guy understands ball. He gets people

ready to go. That was my role, right right and so that's just what you do man you don't i didn't sweat all the man listen i tell you i've forgotten more football than everybody who's making fun of me i ain't sweating it even a little bit like these dudes you know off the couch blasting me i get it man i wasn't your pick. But I will say this, too, from Jim's perspective and Chris's perspective. I think, you know, Gus and his whole staff was brand new, right? They had just fired the two play callers on off day. Like when you looked at the staff as a whole, there wasn't a lot of places they wanted to go, you know, because they're going to have to look at this

and revisit it at the end of the season. So it was an easy, like, come in, do your eight weeks, and get out, right? And so – Did you want the job? I wanted it under condition. Because when I saw – when I heard you wanted the job, I'm like, Jeff. Yeah. I'll say that.

Get the agent. And your coach is only 32 and over. Yeah, I get it. I get it. And I will say this, the lifestyle part for me, that's what I'm saying. The biggest.

And that part, when Chris and I sat down, that was the biggest, that is the biggest issue, right? Like I, I will tell you very frankly, I ain't going to be there from 5.

A.M. To midnight. I'm going to let y'all know, but I'm going to eat dinner with the family. And I have that Bruce Arias, like, you know, Tony Dungy, like mentality, brother. go do it but i ain't you know like i'm good right like i'm and jim knew that as well jim had he's like hey man if you want to do this thing let's interview at the end see what happens and it was a great experience like i mean i tell people i had to write like i got jim caldwell tony like

i got all these guys. I wrote, like, a 200-page. Manifesto. Yeah, dude, about, hey, this is what you would do with your program. Here's the type of players you want. To Jim? No, to Chris, to Ballard. When you're presenting to Ballard and, you know, as they were going, and obviously it would go to Jim later, but as you're going through that,

there was exercises that I went through that were phenomenal, man. As a leader, like, what do you want? What type of staff do you want who would you keep who wouldn't you keep like player wise who do you like which direction you want to head there is a and i will say this man it gave me a completely different perspective for coaches like these dudes man like like they take a lot of shells love Love ball. Love ball. Love ball. Love some ball. Like live it, breathe it, die. Like the whole deal.

I mean, when I tell you there are some dudes on staff who have been doing this a long time, man, and ain't seen a kid play a sport. That's tough. That's just kind of the requirement, the expectation. It doesn't make any sense. That's why most former players you hear from, it's like, nah, I'm not born to be a coach especially ones on tv and radio yes yeah we're not born to do it

ever uh d-butt has a question for you i saw you uh throwing some pancakes at foxy earlier on the set and now we got aq who shows shines a light and shows the guy in the trenches a ton connor mentioned 50 quarterbacks have started a game this year. What are some of these offensive lines? And obviously when you get the backup quarterback, the offensive line I think becomes even more important. What are some of these offensive lines around the league who don't get enough credit who you think can make a run? Oh.

And do offensive lines stink now? Offensive lines have taken a step back, but I will say because of what is being coached. Like we coach so much more scheme specificspecific now than we ever did, right? Like, when I was playing, it was much more about fundamentals, techniques. This will translate. Yeah, it'll translate to whatever it is, right? Yeah, it'll go hands in the dirt, right?

All those kind of things. Now it is much more about specific, you know, scheme, whether it's Mike McDaniel, whether it's Shanahan. So you look at those two teams, their offensive line, although they have to be good, I'm not trying to minimize their, but they don't have to be like Philly's offensive line. Like Philly's offensive line has to be cut from a different mold than those guys because of what they asked to do, right? And so as you're looking at the way that teams are judged,

especially offensive line-wise, it makes complete sense for certain ones like Carolina's offensive line. A lot's going to be asked of them to protect Bryce Young, right? I guess they're not doing a lot. I was just saying it didn't work out great, right? So it's like it's those kinds of things. I will tell you an underrated offensive line, Buffalo Bills. They get blasted all the time about not being able to run it, about not being able to do whatever they're doing.

These guys are a good group. They can make it happen. The Colts offensive line doesn't get nearly enough love, right? Like these guys have played lights out. I mean, they have played lights out this season. Hey, we're in it. Oh, man. In it.

They got some steering power. Hey, Gardner Minshew, too. Light out football player. Minshew mania. Running wild, brother. I got to meet him at the training camp or whatever. And, you know, a couple years back, he was all over the Internet. He had living in his RV, making videos.

He was in commercials because he's this lightning rod of a character. I'm like, hey, you've kind of disappeared from the internet. He goes, I just won't play ball. I think he got a chance to experience all that. I was like, this is not. I just want to play ball. I think he got a chance to experience all that. I was like, this is not. I just want to play ball. And he knows that he doesn't have forever. So he's like, I just want to enjoy every single moment.

And even though Anthony Richardson was there, all the teammates were like, Gardner has been a great asset to this building as a leader and everything. And now that he has an opportunity, it's not always perfect. Boy, there are some bad decisions made in the Gardner Minshew experience but at the end we're in it yeah and Shane Steichen I don't know if you got to meet him Shane Steichen this guy is had to deal with Jonathan Taylor not wanting to be there oh bro and now he's there he's had to deal with the number five or four overall pick getting hurt in four out of five games and then losing him and now Gardner Minshew's in here he Alec Pierce just scored his first touchdown.

He was first-round draft pick last year. So it's like the things that they've had to go through to get to this point is insane to think about. Bro, first of all, Steichen is a freaking stud. Dog. And got some brass cojones, bro. Like, this dude drops them out there. All the time. And continually makes, like, good calls.

Like, I got a ton of respect for what this guy's doing. I will say this. I got a ton of friends who still live in Indy, right? Every one I get is about Minshew Mania. I mean, these dudes are fantastic. They want the jorts. You know what I mean? They want the cutoffs, bro.

They want the whole deal, man. They have bought into this guy. And to your point, like, there's something electric that's going on with Indy. And you saw them, man. They're just putting one in front of another. They keep finding ways to win. The defense finds a way. Offense finds a way. Special teams blocking two punts. He had to have surgery on his knee.

Tease and peace to that, pal. We hope you come back. That looked terrible. A couple of your former teammates, too, doing a hell of a job on that staff. Reggie Lane, receivers, Kato June, and they were the linebackers. My boy Mike Mitch in the middle of the secondary. So, it's a good job of Shane keeping those guys on the staff, holding them over. All three of those guys that you talked about are difference makers, right?

I mean, like Kato, Mike, those dudes. Mike got a different mentality. That dude's for real. That's a dog for real. I'm telling you. Nice. Listen, he is not about the new rules of ball. However y'all want to take that, he don't care about no new rules, bro.

How about de-cleaking folks, right? Kato's saying right now. Him and Reggie being on this, I like that. Oh, and Reggie, you know, he, you know Reggie. He is, I mean, that dude is for real. And he got Pierce Ball, he got Josh Downs. Pittman. These dudes have, yeah.

Pittman. But he was already. But I'm talking about these dudes. He is. Josh. I think Josh Downs' impact, to me, has been undervalued and underrated. Because this guy in the middle is opening up everything for everybody. Did you see him in training camp?

Beast. No. Couldn't catch a ball. Oh, you're talking about Josh. Yeah, Josh Downs. Training camp. He was in preseason games. I think he had like five drops right in front of my eyes at his preseason game. training camp beast no couldn't catch a ball you took my josh yeah josh downs training camp he was in preseason games i think he had like five drops right in front of my eyes at his preseason game i'm like this poor guy no but then as soon as the game started for real it was like

diving catches i'm like it's my favorite guy on the team all of a sudden so my son went to school with him at carolina right so my son walked on to Carolina as a receiver Downs is in a Jack Downs is from my area in Atlanta and let me just tell you dude like my son first first week he's playing he's like this is the smartest receiver I have ever been he's like dad he when the ball is snapped this dude is getting vertical and he sees every rotation and he makes play actively he said this dude is ahead of the coaches this dude knows ball I remember telling Ballard last year, we were talking about it. This guy is an absolute beast. He's a little guy.

We're thankful for him. Look at you, your final gift. You made me be scouted. I'm scouted. I'm scouted somewhere. Chris Bush is ours in too now. Caleb Downs. This is my little brother.

Starting at Bama. They'res. This is his little brother. This is his little brother. Starting at Bama. Roll Tide. They say he's Hall of Famer. Bro, Roll Tide. So, do you remember Big Chap? You remember Big Chap? Yes, man.

Josh Chapman. You might not have been there. No, no. Josh Chapman, next regime. D-tackle from Alabama. I think he was a captain for Alabama as a sophomore or as a junior. Multiple-time national champion. He's beloved down there.

Reason why he's beloved, classic D-tack. We're talking like 370, southern accent, like incredibly infectious personality. Great cook. We're talking about he's cooking an entire grocery store just because it's a Wednesday. 370 probably might have to. He's awesome. His locker was right next to mine, so i grew grew very tight with it he is the man we go down to alabama to do the simulcast or whatever see him he's now part of the strength staff or something i think coach david's just like just want this guy in the building yeah

we just went in the building for whatever it is i come over he comes over to chat with us we tap him up we're like what's up and we hey, who's somebody that we should know about? And he goes, we got a safety boy, best ever. And I'm like, what are you? He said, gold jacket. Haven't even seen him do anything. This guy's a gold jacket. This was second year of the year. He said, Caleb Downs, this boy different.

And I'm like, what's different? He said, different. He's a true freshman. Yes. And he's leading them in tackles. He's calling out checks, too. He's reading plays. He blew something up in the Georgia game that was like he saw it beforehand.

That Downs family is for real. Oh, bro. And Josh has been a hero for the Colts. I mean, to your point, he has been a hero for us. Dad is a coach. Caleb won a state in my area last year. This kid, whatever you needed him to do, you want him to run it, you want him to play defense, you want him to return punt,

you want him to kick it, whatever he can do play defense? You want him to return punt? You want him to kick it? Whatever he can do, dude, is the best. And he'll smoke you. Yes. Smoke you. He puts this part on you. It is not a free. You talk about that, Mike.

That is seemingly how they talked about this guy. He's a true freshman. It's like, of course, Saban. Yeah, obviously. That's why they put him in the college football playoffs. That's why they put him in there. Ty, here's a question for you, Jeff. Yeah, Jeff, you were talking about Carolina's offensive line a little bit,

and your situation with the Colts was a little bit different, obviously, because you had the previous relationship with Jim, and it sounds like you knew all the expectations, laid everything on the table when you got in there. But when you look at the situation right now in Carolina, do you think they need to hire an established head? Like, can a first-time head coach go in there, but when you look at the situation right now in Carolina, do you think they need to hire an established head? Can a first-time head coach go in there knowing what we know about Tepper, where

he's calling him to the carpet every Monday, he wants to be super involved with everything? Based on your experiences, this sounds exhausting. Did you see Frank? He looks exhausted. He was exhausted, bro. You're fighting fires everywhere, dude, including your owner.

Like your owner walks up dropping F-bombs in front of the media like, that does not help you. That is not helping anybody. I would say yes. I would say, in fact, this. I would say getting an offensive-driven guy, similar to what the Colts just did, right? Go get a dude who you have seen run an offense similar to what you want,

and let him go run with it. And understanding that this is what it's going to require. Now, I will say this about him. Like, the Colts had a much better roster than what the Panthers had. O-line specific. But, I mean, you looked at them in general. Whether it's Pittman. I mean, you had Pierce they had just drafted.

Like, they had dudes in the building on defense at the point. They had Shaq. They had Zaire. They had EJ Speedlight. They had Buck in the middle. I mean, so they had guys. The issue from the Panthers is they're devoid in a lot of areas. So, whoever they're going to get, like, Tepper's going to have to pump down, man.

Like, you're not there. You're not at the point where you're going to go win ten games, right? Like five games is going to have to be good, right? And so unless you just invest a bunch of money, bring a bunch of dudes in right away, they don't have – they don't got that gear yet. Yeah, there's something. And what I will say is I'm very thankful that Tepper's an owner in the NFL. Yes.

He's just chirping. All the time. He's just chirping. Now, another owner also seemingly back in his bag, both on Twitter and press conferences. Big time. How do you feel about the state of Jim Ursa? Both of us know him very well. Very well.

Very well. And obviously, you were the first call that he made whenever he was looking for somebody to be a head coach in the middle of a season when it's going terrible so you're very tight with him i believe me and jim also pretty tight as tight as you could possibly be and i'm just kind of watching him live his life right now feels like he has gotten to the point where he looks in a mirror he said this at the last owners meeting they were going through all the uh photos owners photos from all the meetings and he is in the longest the longest, the most amount of photos. That's right. So he's the longest tenured owner. Yeah. And there was like something that switched in his head where he was like,

this is my leak. Yeah. And it's kind of almost how he started like operating. How do you feel about owners in the modern day right now? Jim Irsay, Tepper, others, Josh Harris, Magic Johnson. Mark Davis. I mean, it's like becoming a thing. Mark Davis is awesome. Mark Davis is awesome. But how do you feel about that as a whole? I'm going to put them all on different levels. I want to say this about Jim because I do have a personal relationship. Obviously, I like Jim.

You knew something changed in him with the whole Dan Snyder thing. Yes. You remember like he walks out and I guess like the whole thing was, yeah, we're going to be mum. Nobody's going to say, dude walks out walks out like excuse me i got something to say let's do this i got no fear he hires me i mean like the dude he got no fear right i'm on a different level right now what y'all gonna do to me he just has a no gas principle right now going on in his life and so when he when he goes through it i think you know it's it's good

for our game when when owners care right like you you want ownership to care about the game you don't want like the guy who's got 12 businesses and this is just one of it right collecting money yeah you you want you want them to actually care now do they all make the right decisions no but but there is a level of respect from players when your owner knows who you are cheers you want and i would say that that's the part of i know about jim that i don't know about other i don't know mark davis we'll have to know if he's that guy but man he's like yeah so he loves this guy right you got ap in there he's like hey i'm gonna love on my like though that matters man when you're finally done with the game dude you don't want your owner to be like hey i don't

even know that guy business and. In business, it matters. You know, if the person at the top knows the people that are working, they're going to operate a little bit differently. However, the people at the top are making decisions that are affecting everybody's lives, have no tie to the day-to-day. I think people care. Now, with that being said, we do not agree with Jim Mercer tweeting Kimberly Martin and Stephen A. Those are his opinions. Those are his opinions. Those are his opinions in that whole thing.

Yeah, I'm not getting it all in there. And he is a billionaire who is not scared. No. And, I mean, you're just going to have to charge it to the game.

But I appreciate the way they responded to it all. Let's talk about the Raiders a little bit with Antonio Pierce getting high. They're saying

seven to ten jobs are going to be open. For sure. Seven to ten jobs are going to be open. 7 to 10 jobs are going to be open. Expectations, dude. It's silly. I mean, I think people think, when you look at a season, y'all know this, man.

You look at the season, when you start the year, you look, there's six teams. Every year that you'll go, they got a real shot to win. I mean, we play on the Colts. Every year we thought, okay, we have a shot at this thing, right? Not every team woke up that year and goes, hey, we got, you go, they got a real shot to win. I mean, we play on the Colts. Every year we thought, okay, we have a shot at this thing. Not every team woke up that year and goes, hey, we got... They may lie to

you and be like, oh yeah, we got a shot. And then they go three and whatever. But you look at these teams and realize, but owners have this expectation that it's going to be like Houston. I mean, that is a freakazoid right now. I cannot believe that how good they have gotten as quickly as they have gotten.

But that's like the needle in the haystack, man. It's going to require more usually than that type of turnaround. I just think ownership has these expectations. Fans, though, too. Well, fans, too. The reason why ownership has it, I think, is because now with social media and now with everything you hear everything everybody thinks like back in the day back in the day it was only like what this studio yeah decided to tell you what the newspaper decided to tell you now it's like everybody has a platform for an opinion for better or worse now do yeah we don't agree with that but you do hear

everything so i think owners who own a company and a business, especially like Robert Kraft, his stadium's not selling out. He's like, why is my stadium not selling out? You go to the social media, you can see what every wicked, awesome asshole thinks in a matter of seconds. I think that is heightened, too. Owners being like, well, I can't have the perception of complacency or it's going to ruin our business where it might have been the same in the past now it's like in their face absolutely all the time i think that's a real deal that's a great point i will say that you know when i realized that the most was this year with pittsburgh like tom you know the whole way and you just felt it from time like you felt the weight of him letting go of mac canada when he did and whether you love mac canada hate mac canada

nobody was in that first one, Earl. You know what I mean? Like, but if you're in that, you felt it for Tomlin. Like, he's like, man, my job is to get these guys to do their best job. And he felt, and I remember Dungy being like this. Like, Dungy would, dude,

he ain't firing guys. Like, this dude is going to go to the, he will not fire guys. Whether you think he should or not, I think it is becoming increasingly difficult to do that because of what you said. How loud? Dude, you heard it. We're in Utah. We were in Utah. That's very far away.

Very far. Utah, I think, known to be, like, genuinely – Good people. Good people. And we open the show, and all of a sudden it's like 400 people. Fire Canada! Is that the same? Are they talking about pain in the country?

Are they talking about Matt Canaan out here? Wow, dude. It got very loud. That is painful. And I did appreciate that Tomlin basically said he felt like a coward. I feel like because when you fire somebody, you're pawning blame off. That's right. On this particular person as opposed to me. I appreciated that angle from Tomlin. I hadn't heard that from anybody, I don't think.

Or like the new owners, too, with their coaches. We did the Tepper. He's on his sixth, including interim. It looks like Josh Harris now. He's their first year. They'll probably let go of Ron. And then you look at the Waltons. They did one year with Hackett out, and then they brought in Sean Payton.

That's right. No one wants to win. You buy a team, you want to win. Yeah, not just fans. And also, you buy a team, you got a lot of cake. Yes. And there's no coach's salary cut. No.

That's a thing of beauty. That's why you did that 200-page. You and Jim are on the same contract, right? Because you might only make it eight games. All right. Like Frank's bank account ain't hurting. Whether he's from Indy or here. They did the math.

It's like $25,000 a day for the next like eight years or so. 70 years, Frank. Through 2026, I think. That's like 80% of the question. Hey, congrats, Frank. Yeah. My man. My man.

You did it. You did it. Tony has a question for you. Yeah, Coach. First and foremost, all I can do is stare at your hands because they are absolute bear paws. And it looks like you just punch trees all day long, so I don't want those on me.

Just want to let you know. But you were there with Shaq Leonard last year. Yes. He was hurt, but you were there. You were in the building. You've heard. You know him. Yeah.

Why do you think that didn't work out because they paid him? Normally when you pay a guy that much, he's not a guy that gets caught in the middle of the season. And do you think he still has enough juice to help the Eagles here on a run to end the season? Yeah, yeah. Two things. I would say probably for the Colts is you have Zaire, who is balling, right, and playing well.

Speed was balling, playing good. They already let go of Bobby last year, right, to go to the Giants. So they kind of knew. I think they had an idea of what they were going to get out of. And then you have Shaqq who's coming off the injury and wants to be the guy again, right? But you've seen other guys build and play to the level that they're playing to. And I think he's super competitive being Shaq.

He wants to be on the field. He doesn't want to get taken off. And if you are taking it off and he's having issue with that, it makes it difficult for Gus to manage that, for the team to manage that, right? So it becomes a, is this really worth it? We have Z playing well. We got Speed playing well. We can move on from that. As far as

what I think is... Hey, he was intro'd last just like four weeks ago. Yep. Yeah. At stadium. Still intro'd last. We do. You know, when the defense was coming out on the field. Really? Yeah. And then they were taking him off on third downs, taking him off on fourth. It was weird. It was a weird situation. And you know he ain't coming off on the field. Really? Yeah. And then they were taking him off on third downs, taking him off on fourth. It was weird.

It was a weird situation. And you know he ain't coming off happy. No. No, no, no. He's coming off happy, right? They come off, they piss in vinegar, right? They're like, don't take me off. That becomes a distraction.

And I think from Shanesbury, he's dealt with enough, right? At some point, you've got to go, hey, man, we can find ways to win. This is what I do know about Shaq. Even when he was injured and not playing, the dude from diagnosing football plays to understanding personnel, formations, groupings, this dude is a savant, bro. Like when I tell you he understands football from the defensive side as well as anybody I've been around. So he can diagnose it and see it and be able to help guys.

So going to the Eaglesagles especially in their defense physically even if he's not there helping guys understand where they can be and then his link in the middle man i mean the guy can pick it off he can knock balls free he has that kind of tenacious ability and he loves ball loves ball like you talked about minchu like all he wants to do is play ball bro So we got a chance To see him He came to the game

Right after it got cut Right after it got cut Because he had a suite there And it was a Sunday And he had a good time To hang out with the family So he came to the game And I got a chance

To chat with him you know And obviously Indianapolis Is going to miss that dude His energy Everything he did For the community You saw he was doing The turkey giveaway

Literally the day he was cut Like we were very appreciative To watch him play And everything he did Felt community. You saw he was doing the turkey giveaway. Literally the day he was cut. We're very appreciative to watch him play and everything he did. Felt like Gus Bradley's defense, though, just never was the right one for him, right? And he was hurt when Gus Bradley's defense was kind of put into the Colts. So he's coming back. It's already kind of been built and established

without him. Kind of a misfit is kind of how I thought it was. His style of play, too, not really. And Z, man. Zaire's a dog. Also, Walter Payton, man of the year. Yes. Well-deserved.

Hell, yes. Dude is a stud. But that's the other thing, man. Our game, when guys get injured, unfortunately, other guys – and thank God it did because that's how I got my start, right? When you get guys who have been basically a special teams guy and he gets his ability to start and he balls like he did it makes it easier for a team to move on from a massive contract or a situation they don't want to get into because

the guy behind them is playing at that level not fair that's exactly but that's our business but it's reality uh speaking of not fair but reality the jets Jets have fired Tim Boyle. Wow. What? Gone. What? Oh, boy. The Jets releasing quarterback Tim Boyle and signing veteran quarterback Brett Rippin off Seattle's practice squad per Jocena Anderson. Rippin started a game this season for L.A. Boyle started the last two games for the Jets, and obviously not a lot of conversations have been had about the Jets,

mostly because watching their game sucks so bad because they are so horrendous. It is bad. You doing this with that jersey over your shoulder is just speaking of Aaron Rodgers will be joining us in about 21 minutes live in this studio. We'll get his immediate reaction to Timmy B being let go and what else the future could look at in an exclusive sit down interview. Yep. Right over there.

That's right. I'm doing Barbara Walters over. I love it. I know it's gonna be hard hitting. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I over there. I'm doing Barbara Walters over there. I love it. I know it's going to be hard hitting. Oh yeah. I got notes. I got notes.

Jeff, you played with Aaron Rodgers, obviously. All the things that are being said about him, I guess, before we started interviewing him and having conversations with him, were wild for us because he was just basically cast as a a smug prick yep mean guy he gets it and then we get a chance to meet him and chat with him it's like definitely unique uh sure definitely a hippie for sure but like you're talking like football guy yes like old school football dude and then when he comes to the jets

it's like there was this big celebration and parade and everything and it only lasted four plays and now we're getting a chance to punt it for a year is how everybody's viewing it but the jets fans are having to sit through this year yeah and what's they're trying to run it back next year what a time what a story and what are the possibilities you think with him and this jets team with how it's constructed right now if he was to play next year oh bro i mean they would be super bowl contenders even with that o-line absolutely you think because he covers up that stuff bro listen there are there are a handful of guys to ever be able to do it like he does it and when you talk about when tom brady walked into tampa or when peyton manning

went into to denver staff. Stafford to LA. These are different dudes, man. And look, if you don't think he's seen every blitz known to man, he's seen every coverage they're going to try to give him, he understands how to put his line in the best place to do it, whatever that looks like, right? You never feel like you're out of a game when you have a quarterback like that. And when you've got the defense they have, you have the running –

think about the running backs, how much better they'll be when you've got that guy back there. No longer can dudes play nine guys down and go, hey, throw it to beat me, right? You've got Wilson, that's all we're worried about. Like, it's going to open the entirety of the offense up. He is a – I'll tell you this, the first time I was ever with Aaron, we were just warming up in QB center exchange, right? Before practice, you go out there.

I've been with Peyton now 13 years, right? So I go to snap the ball. The first time I'm wearing shotgun, I snap the ball back, and I hear. And I was like, I said, bro, did you just gas that? Because it made a freaking hum past my ear, right? I was like, that hits me in the head. I'm going to die. You know what I mean?

I was like, bro, did you just gas it? And he's like, no, man, I'm just warming up. Come on, bro gonna die i was like bro you just gas it and he's like no man i'm just warming up come on bro and i was like good lord like like i'm just telling you that the the way that dude lets that thing go so it's next level i think with what you just said and what we've all kind of realized this entire team was built for aaron and then whenever it gets ended on september 11th four offensive plays into it. Then you've got Zach Wilson trying to go in and do what Aaron's doing with a brand new offense. It's West Coast offense that Aaron's been in for actually 18 years. That's right.

Where he knows the ins and outs of it. And then Tim Boyle goes in there. It's like kind of a, I don't want to say impossible task for these people. But this is what the team was built to do this year. And it did not happen. It was 100% impossible. Like the whole idea that somebody else was built to do this year, and it did not happen. It was 100% impossible. Like, the whole idea that somebody else was going to come in. They were bad when they had him starting as a quarterback.

The offense was built around him. Like, it's not going to all of a sudden be good with an offense that's not built for him putting him back in. By the way, dudes were wearing somebody else's shirt last year, right? They're like, Mike White. Yeah, exactly. You're like, holy crap, now we're going to ask him to go back. Hey, Zach Wilson's a good boy. He's a good boy.

Great, great, great. You're a pro. You get paid. You're such a defensive guy. You are such a defensive guy. You got drafted two overalls, so we know you got the skill set. Now you're sitting behind Aaron Rodgers. You got training camp. You got these meetings.

What did Jake Brown do last night? Zach Wilson's a good boy. that now you're sitting behind Aaron Rodgers, you got training camp, you got these meetings, and like, we just saw, what did Jake Brown do last night? Zach Wilson's a good boy. Jake Brown. Well, I don't know if Zach Wilson thinks the team around him is great. I don't know if he thinks. We have some news out of the game last night now. Coach Peterson has announced that Trevor Lawrence has a high ankle

sprain. That is good because that that son of a bitch turned sideways. That thing was sideways, and the look on his face and the punch of the ground, he obviously knew something was wrong. High ankle sprains a few weeks. Happy to hear that, Trevor. Sucks. Sucks that it happened.

Happy to hear something like a dislocated ankle or a fractured ankle or something like that. He can get back if the Jags can continue to do what they had been doing until they lose to Jake Brown. Hey, AFC South is a wagon. Could have three. Could have three. With the way

people were popping off at the Moth about the AFC South. You guys don't know about the wagon. You don't know about it? You have no idea. Three teams. Three teams here. Speaking of, CJ Stroud will be joining us at 2.30 Eastern Standard Time on YouTube and ESPN+.

Can't wait to talk to him. You said something about how what Houston was to verse what they are now and the job that's been done. D'Amico, Coach of the Year there? Absolutely. Is that what's happening? Absolutely. And why do you think D'Amico has been able to turn around?

Man, listen, I have no idea. Because if you can bottle whatever he's done, every owner in the league is buying it, bro. Like, this dude has. Stingley, Will Anderson, CJ Stroud. Good draft picks, for sure. For sure. Stingley one year before.

Yeah, but I'm just saying. Oh, yeah. Tank Dell. In the build, all their young guys are. He's going to call him Tank Dell. All draft picks are performing well. Tank probably not going to be lead blocker anymore going forward. They also have a left tackle who just is an absolute brick wall.

Who's that? Laramie Tunsell. Oh, his cardio. We've known since draft night that guy's lungs are better. He can hold. He can hold for a while. Is that what you're saying? Oh, yeah.

I sent a text to Chuck Pagano when that video hit the internet and I was like, listen, I've happened upon said gas mask that was on face of Laramie Tunzo in that video before and I've seen others with the same mask on their face that Laramie Tunzo on. I've never seen

anybody just go, yeah, that was alright. That guy's lungs. What is wrong? Move them to this might drop out of the first round i'm like excuse me this dude is a super athlete we need to take care of it and he's gone on to prove it yeah he's gone on to prove it maybe i should get into scouting but what other than just the players what do you think domico's messaging is and why do you think they're all buying in so much? First of all, I think he's as even keel as it gets as a person, right? Like playing against him, like he is a methodical, you know, he's a prepped guy.

Like he understands what it is. But he's not emotional about it. You see him in the games, man. Like he's going to keep it even keel. This is what we got to do. And he went and got a guy in cj straub that feels a lot the same right like when you watch him you never think they're out of a game and and like i told i said this one on get up like most most qb's their rookie year you want to get them to the end of

the fourth quarter right like put all the pressure on them make them see your coverage make them see the disguise make them figure this thing out the does it. Every freaking week it feels like he walks off the field with the lead somehow. And as you look at that as a rookie, it blows me away. And I will say this, Strouser, who used to be an Indy, who's now the O-line coach for the Texans, has done a phenomenal – not only can they throw it, they can run that thing too. They can tote the rock. So offensively you're seeing those young guys produce.

And then defensively, as a coordinator, I would tell you that D'Amico was probably one of the top one or two callers in the game when he was in San Fran, and that has just continued. He doesn't put his defense in bad positions. Even late in the game, when Russell throws that interception

last week, that play, it's insanity. That's chaos. The ball gets spinning out, doing all that kind of crap. And then the guy's right in the position. I think that's part of it. What were you going to say? Not only the draft picks, but even the signings. The guys that they bring over, that's obviously incredibly important.

But Dalton Schultz, he's been a monster. Stevie Nelson in the corner. Jimmy Ward, who had a damn ceiling pick. So, you know, obviously you've got to give a shout-out to D'Amico Ryan, but Nick Casario, too. Casario's done a great job. He's obviously dealt. Sussex.

Sussex. That's what Tom said. That's what Tom said. To your point, I think I saw a tweet yesterday that their last eight games or something like that have all been decided. This game-deciding play has all been within the last minute of the game. Yes. Like, they are the cardiac kids, and they win those close games,

which is, you know, D'Amico being so even and CJ yeah CJ being a guy is certainly something more updates here from Ari Mirov of Doug Peterson's press conference Doug Peterson doesn't believe that Trevor Lawrence will need the tightrope surgery procedure which is the same procedure that Kenny Pickett had and I think we learned about it from Tua. Yeah. Is that how we all learned about it? Yeah, this year too. That's right. You enacted it last year. But it's been something very recent where it's some sort of surgery. I wish I was a doctor.

We'll have Aaron Rodgers joining us. Right. Ask him. 13, man. We'll ask him. Yeah, he's a doctor. But it's some surgery that they started doing, I assume, down there in Birmingham. Yeah, Birmingham.

James Andrews. Andrews' thing. And it's like standard high ankle doesn't normally need a surgery. But then they said, but wait a minute. We can take this maybe five- to six-week thing, make it a three-to-four or two-to-four type thing. And they started doing it. I appreciate that we're trying to beat all these injuries.

Him not needing it is good news? That's what that sounds like? You would think so. But, like, Kenny just got it. Noah's the card at? Thank you. Are you serious, bro? You know what?

It was terrible to see his franchise quarterback walking all the way to the locker room, but at the same time, it's a good sign. It was a good sign. Yeah, true.

You stop searching it up, bro. You got a cop taking your franchise QB into the house. It's weird. That is crazy. Big Dom over there. Big Dom would have put him on his back.

Yeah, yeah. By the way, Big Dom and the Niners, I do believe, probably have a phone call, a sit-down. Nice. I think they're all kind of – If I know Big Dom's culture. I think so. Kyle Shanahan came out and said that he's heard that Big Dom's a good guy.

I respect Big Dom. Basically, he heard, okay, no problems, let's move along here. If I know Big Dom and his culture, he brought some of his guys and the 49ers guys and they sat down at a table and they discussed it. Was there one light on over the top? There was one light on.

Some gabagool. There was some caprese, there was some bruchette. Oh, and some cannolis. Green Law was right, bro I don't care what anybody says That dude was right, bro I'm telling you right now, dog Greenlaw, I'm with you

I ride with you, man Hey, we agree. I agree, by the way And I bet you Big Dom was like, what? Probably should've got smacked in the mouth But I didn't like that Greenlaw got kicked out for that mouth. But I didn't like that Greenlaw got kicked out for that. No chance. And I didn't like that Big Dom got kicked out. He's got a little soft on kicking people out.

Like, no pun. I mean, like, you touched his face or he yelled at you. We're kicking people out. People are calling that a left hook on the internet. That's what I'm saying. Come on. Where are those people? Where are they from?

I mean, that's a quick guess. No, we know. We know where they're from, Jeff. We all do. We run into a lot of them in this business. They're from the 2000s. Yeah, absolutely. I liked it.

I think it got everybody energized. Better ball. More fun. Did you hear the Zach Wilson story? Yeah, about him not wanting to play or doing the whole. Yeah. Undisclosed injury. We don't know what's real and what isn't, though.

Especially, you know, because Zach Wilson's a good boy. He's a good boy. He's a good boy. And it seems like they got it out for him. Hold on. Before you, let me say this, man, because I had a canty and I went at this about this morning. This is the Jets' fault, bro. Like, this is the Jets' fault 100%.

If you brought Aaron in, like, send that dude on, bro. You had dudes on his team wearing another man's jersey underneath their shirts, bro. And you're going to bring him in to be your savior after your guy goes down? He dropped their number two overall. I don't care. We can't do it. They invested in the kid, Jeff. They invested in the kid. How'd that work out for you? At some point, you go, okay, go get

Joe Flacco. After you saw two weeks of it, go get Joe Flacco. Go grab him and send him back to the practice squad for God knows what reason. We can't win with you? Yeah, they're just going back on the practice squad. That's dangerous putting them down there. How many teams have backup quarterbacks right now?

12 going on 13. You go down to the practice squad, you are available. You are available. Word on the street is Flacco said, hey, look, I've played basically just as good as Deshaun Watson. Give me $230 million guaranteed right now. He's not wrong. That's just what the word on the street is.

What if Flacco did walk right into the GM and the head coach and said, you see what I did there? Yeah. You saw that deep ball? Yeah. I think he needs to start for the Steelers on Thursday night. Let's get the whole AFC North division roundup for Flacco. Okay.

How would you feel if Flacco was the starting quarterback? You'd be more confident? It would be the funniest thing that's ever happened in the NFL. Yeah, but you'd be more confident? I wouldn't say You'd be more confident? It would be the funniest thing that's ever happened in the NFL. Yeah, but you'd be more confident? I wouldn't say I'd be more confident. I wouldn't be less confident. He does not like Mitch. Jeff.

You don't like Mitch? I love him. He doesn't. North Carolina ties. I get it. But this dude has said some terrible things about Mitchell Trubisky. I've never done that. I had to delete a lot of tweets when the Steelers got him.

That's not true either. That's not true either. That's not true either. All I said was, actually, I think it was a positive for Mitch because I said it's not much of a drop-off from the starting quarterback for an NFL team. That's what you said today. That's a very bad thing to compliment. No, it's not.

With Kenny Pickett. Oh, so you don't like Kenny? Yeah, I don't have to like him. I don't have to like him, though. I get paid not to like him. I don't have to like him, though. I get paid not to like him. I'm a good lawler. Me too. I mean, you're going to take a backhand.

They are both good guys. You could have a beer with both of them. I can promise you that. But I also think, you know, it's the Christmas season. Why not put the Rudolph in? Hey, we have to talk about it before the hour ends. Before the hour ends, we have to talk about it. Connor wanted to bring it up since minute one.

Well, I can't wait to hear what this is. I didn't want to bring it up. You did. I have to ask about it. Who cares now? The Colts are 7-5. They're going to the playoffs. And pancakes is the best segment on TV.

Thank you. Sat him down. Love it. So much better than in the trenches. So, guys, back to last year. When you go into the locker room in Minnesota and you're up 33-0, you guys just eating orange slices? No.

Just kind of like, hey, we did it. I'll be deadly honest with you. We walked in and I was like, boys, we're in trouble. No. You sound like LeBron right now. Listen, I're in trouble. No. You sound like LeBron right now. Listen, I went in. I don't think we scored a point offensively.

I'm dead serious. Like, we got the ball down inside, like, the 15-yard line, I think twice, and had to kick field goal. We had a block hitting for a touchdown. Like, everything went our way. And I was still scared to death. I was like, man, we can't get a first down. Like, we are, when I tell you we are, so we start out the second half and I was like, we got to push the gas right here.

So we called a shot play and it's freaking wide open, bro. And Matt doesn't throw it. Why? What's his deal, Jasper? I have no idea. Still don't know. Whatever it was, I was like, when he didn't do it, I said to Parks, Parks, we in trouble, my man.

We are in trouble. So, no, and here's the other thing. I will say this, the other thing. And listen, if you can't laugh about it, right, like, I ain't crying about it. So, it's like, we could not, like, when they saw Jeff outside, Joseph Jefferson outside, and you saw them, like, and just throwing the freaking back behind and this dude is jicky jacking and taking it to the house and i was like gus what coverage are we he's like we've called them all and we can't stop in our soul right now we're like these dudes are

they are taking it to the house on us carly earth says all the heads that for all this huh oh absolutely absolutely she was making a record and i, I'm just kidding. We get down. The only thing I had was we're at fourth and inches. And I was like, they were like, we can try. And I asked Bubba, I was like, hey, what do you feel about the field goal? He's like, nah, man, we need to. So I was like, all right, we're going to go fourth and inches. We're going to go for it.

We're going to go for it. So we go to get it. And Matt gets it, but gets it late. And so the referee's like, Hey man, the rule in the NFL is if his feet stop, we, we, the play is basically dead. So when he got the ball, he kind of laid first and then started driving his feet. And the referee was like, that to me was it, right? Should we have tried a 57 yard or whatever? Maybe, you know,

how do you do it? But at the end of the day, we had our shots. We just didn't do it. It's all right. It's history. It's history, bro. It's history, bro. It's in Canton. We're all in it. It's in Canton.

It's in there. Make it happen. That was Jeff Saturday. What a legend. Indeed. Appreciate y'all, man. Absolute legend. Crush it on TV.

Very lucky to be a former teammate of yours. And keep going, Jeff. And just keep accepting any head coaching jobs. We can have some fun with it. That that's not on you that's on the teams let's take a trip to journalism time whoa in this particular studio a lot of sports journalism takes place. Real stories are told. Hard-hitting questions are asked.

The go of the sports goes as this particular studio goes. And joining me now for an exclusive sit-down interview is a four-time NFL MVP. Wow. Current quarterback of the New York J four-time NFL MVP. Wow. Current quarterback of the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers. Yeah! Attaboy, Aaron! Hey.

Aaron? Trying to be Roy Firestone right now, or what? Barbara Walters, mostly. That's a thought. Look at how intimate this is. Incredible. Okay, we got a camera here two shot we got a one shot right here for a moment i'm asking my questions i think that we'll be able to cut to and whoa you have one shot there let's get to the main one shot here it's coming

aaron when you speak just act like that camera's not even on you incredible one no because you're talking to me you know you're talking to me you're talking to me you're not talking to the people this is just us chatting okay i have to ask there is a growing narrative across society even that you did not tear your achilles here we are watching you walk your handsome ass into this studio down pier 17 on the sidelines we see you moving in the tunnel we see you moving and we see you throwing when are we ever going to find out the truth about your fake torn achilles that's how you want to start this whole thing out huh journalism this show's losing losing that shit no used to make it good you know one trip to new york and this is

where you go whoa this is your town this is your town why do you think people think you didn't tear your achilles mr rogers well i'm just trying to do something no one's ever done before so when that happens it can't possibly in the collection of the impossible ever be the reality. But I'm proud of people. There was a time a few years ago where anybody who had any ideas outside of the mainstream narrative and the normal thought process were called the C-word. And I'm glad that there's some other people joining the ranks, the people who are questioning things. Now, if we know the history of the word conspiracy. Oh, the people who are questioning things. Now,

if we know the history of the word conspiracy... Oh, that's the C word. Conspiracy theory. Journalism. Remember, we got the low camera shot. We got a one shot here for this one. Maybe I should talk directly to the camera. Thank you. I respect everybody's opinion

about it, however misguided and wrong. Alright, let's opinion about it, however misguided and wrong. All right, let's talk about you being a conspiracy theorist lunatic. Just feet away here in this particular studio, I believe you were potentially called a murderer for not getting vaccinated a few years ago. Now we sit here, December 5th, 2023.

How do you feel about how it all took place and how is the body? Are you the most healthy you've ever been? Yeah, I feel great. The body feels great. I will say I saw Stephen A in there and he's been taking care of himself too. So shout out to Stephen A. Jacked right now. He's been getting jocked.

Something to that whole eating right, taking care yourself exercise and cold tub sauna even I should maybe talk about that a little bit more but as I sit here today I feel like I'm definitely on the right side of history and went through a lot of shit for an opinion that was my own you know personal belief based on what was best for my body. And in an era of censorship and quelling free speech, I'm glad that I took the stand that I did

and welcoming more and more people to the side of freedom and free speech. This is great. I can just directly go to my account. I actually like this more. I can just go right to my account. I actually like this more. I can just go right to my one shot. I was going to say, we just did real journalism there. Yeah, this is great. They're loving this, I'm sure. Oh, absolutely.

What else do you want to talk about here? This staircase right here. Who else can we piss off here? Two gays. All right, how about this one? Zach Wilson and your relationship with him. Very close, seemingly. Is that accurate? I love Zach, yeah. Did you talk to him about him saying,

I don't want to play football here i i will say this you know when you when you uh when you have sources right and and that's always an interesting you know thing and you know first of all to have like uh that you can go down a whole rabbit hole with actual sources, made up sources, why is someone willing to be a source, what are they gaining out of that, on and on and on. But when you use sources and whether intentional or unintentional try to assassinate someone's character like that report does for Zach.

I have a real hard time with that. Okay, so you're saying that that was an effort to maybe make Zach look like a worse human than a potential people already view. I think that that was, how can he not read it any other way? I mean, you're basically saying that this kid is quitting on the team and doesn't want to play and has given the middle finger to the organization. Now listen, I don't want to speak for him because he's going to get a chance this week to speak and I'm going to let him speak. I'll tell you that I love the kid and I've spent a lot of time with him and I think

he's an amazing young man and he is young. He's in his early 20s and I've had a blast spending time with him. He's gone through a lot of shit in the last three years, and he's got every right to be frustrated and disappointed about it. I think he's done a good job of standing up and taking accountability this year when it's been his part to do it. And I think that if that's journalism now if you're going to use sources and whoever that i want to say the f word now you can't we're doing journalism but

whoever can't right that's yeah that's fool that's one of the rules what's one of the rules i whoever that person is that that thinks it's okay number one one, to talk to anybody like that. I don't understand what you get out of that, number one. But number two, what is your impetus? What is your motivation to try and bury someone like that? And that's a problem with the organization. We need to get to the bottom of whatever this is coming from and put a stop to it privately because there's no place in a winning culture where, and this is not the only time,

there's been a bunch of other leaks. Big city, a lot of reporters. I get it. A lot of friends. I get it. They're not your friends. No, yeah. They're not your friends.

Yeah, friends. They're not your friends. Even if they are, is that really what you want to be about you want to be about using someone in the media to leak stuff to uh in order for what to get them to put your name out there for a job or if you're a player to get you a write-up something i think it's chicken shit um at its core and and uh you know i think it has no place in a winning organization to be a source on it, especially not being an assassin in somebody's character, and especially not when it's someone

that I really love and care about like Zach Wilson. Obviously, it's not the only time this has ever happened in the history of sports and teams. Obviously, we've seen this happen before, which is why you're not only just speaking for this situation. We've seen it in the past. You've got to nip it in the butt. You've got to get that person out of your building, especially if they're trying to tear you down from within now

let's talk about that building the new york jets organization we chatted about it with jeff saturday earlier now jeff let me say this first go ahead just listen i've i have uh had relationships uh with uh obviously a number of different uh media people over the years you get to know them they're in the locker room there was beaver riders um you put your name on on something then you stand behind it you know like i believe and this and yes it's okay you're immunized yeah exactly thank you i understand what you're saying yeah yeah put your name behind it i have no problem with you i honestly i don't have a problem with anybody having a relationship with Diana Rossini or... Shefty.

Yeah, any of those people. Rappaport. What? Palisaro. What? Shelterport. What? Ari Miroff.

What? Lombardo. What? Lombardo, definitely. He hears some stuff. But just put your name behind it. That would make things a lot better. Actually, then we'd have a conversation within the organization.

In the real world, okay, like the real news that do these actual interviews like this on a regular basis, we understand where anonymous sources might save somebody's life, okay? So we're not talking about all media. No, I'm not talking about that at all. Whistle blowers, love it. Boom. Gotta do what you gotta do. Gotta do what you gotta do.

That's the real world. You're potentially dying. Anytime there's major corruption going on if there's major corruption we need the whistleblowers to have the protection to be able to speak up without getting harassed fired killed something came out today yeah heard a lot of that we're not saying all anonymous sources are bad but in sports there's no death potential so it's, I think that is kind of the guys they stand behind. It's like, you got to protect anonymous sources. It's like, from saying Zach, trying to kill Zach, why?

You think Zach Wilson's family is going to kill him? How, who do we, who's going to do that? We're talking sports specific. This isn't an all anonymous sources need to stop that conversation. Very good point, by the way. Yeah, let's talk about the building in the Jets. Building of the Jets. The actual structural

building? It's a long one. We saw it in Hard Knocks. You're going to walk a long way. Art Deco. Yeah, Gothic. 18th century. Yeah, gorgeous. The Johnson & Johnson's built a good building. Oh yeah, with good money. They do build a good building. So, yeah. With good money, too. They do. They do build a good building.

So aside from the building being built great, which we all agree, heard the boys break it down, the Jets team itself, okay, we're watching how it's going this year. There's obviously a lot of questions about the offense line, the protection, Hackett's play calling, the entire situation. From watching where you are, you know, you think, hey, next hey next year this year whenever you're back you speak you were doing journalism so you give whatever you want to say uh whenever you play again we have a chance to still do everything we dreamed of in the offseason whenever we were

running into this miraculous year that it was supposed to be for the jets i think so yeah i think i think uh it's about the. You know, culture can win championships. Chemistry wins championships. So we obviously need to fine-tune a couple things, just tighten a few things up. And I feel like there was some really amazing progress that I saw throughout OTAs and training camp and the people got to see in hard knocks

the way that we cared about each other the culture that was being creative the chemistry that's being created and the practice habits as well and when you win in you I was joking with this with one of my buddies in locker room that day when you win and everything gets glossed over and you know and Jeff knows and anybody's played knows it can be a blessing and a curse because the little things aren't big things you know and and a lot of things gets kind of swept under the rug what that could lead to sometimes is is some some habits starting to form over the years but usually takes a long time for that to happen when you're losing every little thing becomes a huge thing

the tiniest little thing and the media is doing their job and a lot of times that job is to divide and to get a quote and a comment that is going to draw people to it when a lot of times it can also be very divisive. There can be clips taken out of context and a guy saying, what did he say about this or who said that about what and just the littlest things can become things that can really divide a locker room. So that's kind of what we've been dealing with i think uh last uh last few weeks especially after um things were you know four and three looking like we were starting to turn the corner and then obviously we've lost five in a row and it's been a rough stretch but um you this next five weeks will be fascinating because as we're not mathematically out,

it'll be interesting. Oh, that's a big piece of information for you from what I've been told, journalism. I haven't gotten my single shot yet. I was going to make the Jim from The Office face. Enough. You're making a mockery out of this whole thing. Yeah. Next five weeks are very important.

It'll be interesting to see how guys respond because we've had adversity. We've seen our guys deal with adversity. Who's going to finish the season as a professional? You know, who's going to do it, buy into this thing and keep doing it together and put good ball on tape and take pride in their performance? Because I've been on a couple teams where down the stretch it's been rough. My first year in the league, we were 4-12. And my first year starting, we lost 5 out of 6 down the stretch, I believe, after we were 5-5. And so I've seen what it looks like at times when things are going not great. And it really reveals the character in those adverse moments.

So it'll be interesting to see if guys stick together and we hold this thing together because there'll be a lot of interesting decisions moving forward. I'll be interested to see it and I can't thank you enough for taking the time to sit down. Can we go back over there and have fun now? Hey, what do you think of this?

What do you think of this here? What do you think about this from Mike Grimm? Oh, you can't hear me. Speaking of... Can you get me linked back up? this here what are you thinking about this from my cream oh you can't hear me yeah oh speaking of yeah can you can you link back up i got some i got some adidas on back in adidas whoa yeah because remember he was wearing those moon shoes yeah the robert de niro on those yeah the robert de niro's from the irishman you're walking like that 12 weeks tomorrow what do you think little stride right now. 12 weeks tomorrow.

What do you think of that? It's unsigned, so it's kind of strange. Oh. Jeez, Greeny. Six to midnight. There was a conversation about that yesterday. Greeny was afraid to ask you. Yeah, Greeny was asking me if I should ask you or if he'll ask you. Didn't really know the ins and outs.

Who's got the most makeup on right now? Nobody. Nobody. All declined. Come on. Do you? No. We're real sharp. Oh, you declined. Come on. Do you? No. We're real shot.

Oh, you got makeup on. Do I have a single shot here or not? Yeah, definitely. Two. You need to stop with the single shots. All right? We're sick of this shit. I see you, Rob.

I've been a pro. It's beautiful. Is that your watch? Is that Zenith? This is not the new one, but this is a Zenith, of course. They're your people. Thank you.

Let me shout out Zenith. Can I shout out Ho out a little bit too? It's the you know, it's a Danish concept that means Cherish the little things. Oh, yeah, you did this before we did this thing before. What's it called? We got shot right here what? No, no two you got two over three three now. Oh, yeah me. Oh, you got a lot of single shots What's it called? Hooga? Hooga. What's that?

Hooga. Hooga. Hooga. Shout out to Hooga. Got that. We're all about Hooga. And speaking of, Connor has a question for you. Yeah, Aaron.

We are all about Hooga. And, you know, there were some, how do I say this, WikiLeaks today. But I'm not going to bring that up just because. No, I think you should. Yeah, there's some good ones out there yeah uh you mentioned the culture you know when you come in you're the you know most experienced guy by a lot in in the jets especially when you're thinking about like playoffs what what did you add to the culture because obviously that was a huge thing for them

in the previous years that maybe hadn't been established per se yet and how do you see it now as opposed to when you first got there? I think because of what I've accomplished and how long I've been around, I think there's an instant like clout that I come in with. It allows me to, my voice to carry it. A little bit. Yeah, I'm thinking it does. A couple of EVPs.

My voice carries a little bit of a, you know, stronger tone, I think, from the start when you walk in there. And guys respect what I've done in the league. So I have a platform to kind of speak into certain things. I tried to in the beginning to just kind of be an observer, to be a consultant, to kind of take the experience I've had from 18 years in a great organization and see what I like about what we're doing, what maybe we can adjust a little bit, and where I fit in. How I can use my voice to get this thing steered in the direction that we want it to.

I felt like there was a lot of leadership. I just think I didn't know when I got to the team who the guys were, who the leaders were. I think we have a lot of great leadership Especially on defense, you know If you look at what CJ Mosley has done as his career and the way that he leads And does it kind of like a Julius Peppers who should be in the Hall of Fame just want to give him I put him in there Absolutely

Windmill dunk still yeah, yeah, do the thing that I think is interesting about both those guys is Don't mess with those dudes Like those dudes The quietest, the silent assassins man Like JP never said a whole lot But if you ever got into them And we played him in Chicago one year And the whole plan was the first four plays

We're going to chip them We're going to chip them outside Then we're going to cut them Then we're going to send two guys at them And we had this one play We were in goal line personnel Like on the minus 40 And the whole thing was we're going to like send two guys at him and we had this one play we were in goal line personnel like on the minus 40 and the whole thing was we're going to have a guy outside and he's going to come down and crack this shit out of JP and we're going to toss right so he was going to

motion to whatever side he was on so JP starts on this side he sees the guy motion down he runs the other side we motion the guy across he comes down again JP goes the other side it's called timeout and I was like I went over said, why the hell are we pissing off the biggest bad guys on the team now? And CJ's like that as well. Awesome leader. But I've seen a lot of guys grow and step up. Obviously,

we're playing a few more young guys at this point in the season, which has been fun to see their development. The offensive line has gone through a lot of turmoil. If you look at the five that started the season, Connor McGovern's out for the season, Elijah Veritaker's out for the season, Makai was starting it right, now with the left, we've had right tackle injuries, Joe Tippman's now in at center for us. The only guy that's kind of been standing through the whole thing at the same position is Lakin Tomlinson, who's had a nice season for us,

but it's tough when you have so many moving pieces up front. Obviously, we've played three different quarterbacks now, and there's obviously more developments happening this week. Tim got fired. I don't like to say it, but it happened today. But, yeah, it's been a great learning experience. It's journalism. I believe in the guys there.

I believe in the men and women that work at the facility. I believe in the individuals in the position of leadership. I think that there's, just like anywhere, there's a lot of reactions that happen at various times. And some may be influenced by fans and pundits, maybe a little more than I'm used to. But I think it's a great opportunity for us to stick together now and to just watch and see how it all plays out and how people respond to this adversity. It's been a wild ride, and I look forward to taking back the reins pretty soon.

What did you do on Sunday night? Sunday night I had a party. What was it? I had a party in the city. What was it? For a birthday a party. Oh, what was it? What was it? I had a party in the city. What was it? For a birthday, yeah. Okay, so now that you talked about it, I saw that there was a bunch of your Jets teammates

at that party. A bunch of them. You think? Were you surprised? What's that? I didn't see it. You were a big hit at the party, though. Oh, so you got there?

So that's where you were. You went? I thought we did okay there. What? Honestly. You were a big hit. More than anybody, and there were some interesting people there. A lot of people wanted to meet. So that's where you were. You went? I thought we did okay. What? Honestly. More than anybody, and there were some interesting people there. A lot of people wanted to meet Pat.

Where's Pat? I said, the only freaking guy wearing no sleeves. Shane Gillis had a t-shirt on. Let's never forget that. Shane Gillis had a t-shirt on. I heard after we left, there were some speeches given, and Shane Gillis did not give one. He's a professional speaker. I heard AJ brought the house down. I did hear AJ brought the hammer.

I don't think that's true. He lied to us? Where is he at, by the way? He's in Ohio. Is this the slow? So the setup, you have no idea. Nah, you probably do. The slow phase out?

Could never be without. Hey, sorry, we're going to actually move the set. To New York City. No, we're using a truck that was driven here that is outside of this particular show. Shout out to all the men and women that make the behind the scenes. Especially here at this one. I mean, there's a lot of people

that have no idea what our show was who have been to work it the last two days. And we're very, very grateful and thankful. Do you think they'll be excited to see, you know, the truck? Us gone? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Should have seen them yesterday after the show. Like, Jesus Christ. Thank God. One more day. Oh, my God. I actually heard one of them say. So, Foxy getting fired, too? Or not Zito?

No, they're all in a truck outside. Hey, all right. Okay. You guys are still here. But look at the setup, though. It's not a real, it's not a real set. They're getting very tight, huh? Yeah in a truck outside. Hey, all right. Okay, you guys are still here. But look at the setup, though. It's not a real set. They're tight, huh? Yeah, the amount of...

Listen, Aaron, now's not the time for this. We just appreciate everybody. Absolutely. Love this studio. Really appreciate it. Yesterday, we couldn't hear a thing. Today, they fixed it. Pretty good.

So it was incredible. I'm very, very thankful. That's not real. Come on! What are we talking about? Because that's classic conspiracy theory. That's a window. Yeah, that's conspiracy's classic conspiracy theories. That's a window. Yeah, that's conspiracy theories over here.

There's a boat. Double of them. I'm glad you said it. I've been sitting on it for 48 hours. I wasn't allowed to say it. Thank you. They're not real. Nobody told Tony he's not allowed to say that. Who knew the Cowboy and Rogers would team up? Yeah, like that lady on the plane that said, that's not real.

That's not real. Well, she's being muted. Yeah, well, actually, she's... Tiffany Gomez? She's being muted. I've seen her a lot. She's going. And by muted, I mean she's just saying like, oh, yeah, I didn't really see it.

Okay. Yeah, I did hear a lot of people saying they probably cloned her in Antarctica, brought her back up, and not having her do this PR run. Okay, so that's that C word he was talking about earlier, but who knows? She's a lizard person. Let's talk about the conspiracy of your birthday party. Yeah. Okay.

What about it? No conspiracy here, unless people want to dive into it. A lot of Jets players there, okay? You think about draft day with Kevin Costner. Yes. Remember that one guy? Yeah, it's important. They were going to draft.

Nobody was at his birthday party. That's right. For you, you weren't here that long. You weren't here that long. And then you were gone for most of the season. Whenever you were talking about over there about the relationships and the culture being built, it feels real still after coming back. Now that you're here full time,

does it feel like exactly how it was at training camp with the boys? Or what is it all like since you've come back with the team? It's different. It's different. I'm not playing. So the whole vibe is different. I mean, I think that it's been frustrating for sure to not be out there, to watch us struggle at times, to know a lot of stuff that I'm about, that we tried to build that just couldn't get kind of pushed that I'm about, that we tried to build,

that just couldn't get kind of pushed into the standard practice and just kind of the way we go about things because it kind of goes into autopilot sometimes when you're doing the same thing over and over and over and they're seeing me and how I go about my business. It becomes part of the routine. And without me here, it's just natural. You know, things fall back to what they have been before. So it's good to be back around the guys,

and I love spending time with the fellas. Cool group of dudes. All the dudes I met, cool group of dudes. Very talented. Garrett Wilson's hands, too. Yeah. Large? Yeah.

Big. He was there. I didn't want to give anything away. Brees Hall also there. He looked so cool. Hardy was there. He was there. I didn't want to give anything away. Brees Hall also there. He was so cool. Hardy was there. Great. Nothing sacred, huh? Kai was there. Biggest. There was a lot of humans.

Big human. Huge. Huge. Did you give him a hug? No, but I hear you hug his mother. It's very nice of you. You're a hero. I thought you were a bad guy. He's a nice lady. Tony has a question for you. Yeah, I kind of want to expand on that. Since you haven't been there for a while, is it different? Like, this is the gift-giving season, and you normally give amazing gifts.

So now that you haven't been there, and you haven't been playing with the boys all season long, do you still give the gifts? Do you still give a gift if it was your first season? What's that like this year? Are you really putting me on fire? Yeah, it's got to be a good one, right? It's got to be a good one. I love Christmas. I know you do. season what's that like this year? You're really putting me on fire. It's gotta be a good one. I love Christmas. You know it's like

Thanksgiving, love Thanksgiving. My birthday get that out the way and then Christmas and New Year's it's a it's a fun season and you know I enjoy the gift-giving part of it. And so we have some stuff set up, obviously for the line and the quarterbacks. The line usually does something, I guess, together, but we've always done it line and quarterbacks. So we have something planned for all of us to do a white elephant.

And then, you know, when it's the first year, like the first year that Matt's staff came in, they weren't aware of kind of how I do Christmas, like gifts for the QB room, you know, because it's first year like the first year that Matt's staff came in They weren't aware of kind of how I do Christmas like gifts for the QB room you know because it's pretty extensive and I didn't tell them just because it's almost sometimes more fun to like when you kind of shower people with gifts and they give you like a little Puzzle or something Yeah, thanks, you know it's great

I love puzzles, I do, they're great. Fantastic. I like when other people do them for me. Not crossword, though. I do those myself. Thank you. What a hero. You're humble. Still humble. Local? Yeah, of course. But I do like going all out for Christmas. Do you crosswords? I'm sorry. Word searches? No. So those are Wheel of

Fortune people. I'm a Wheel of Fortune guy. I'm doing the word searches. You're Jeopardy guy. You're doing a crossword puzzle. Just two different options there. Sudoku, I think both parties dabble. Really? I think so.

I think Sudoku's a unifier. The one through four or the one through six as well? I think the six. Isn't it the six? Nine? Yeah, nine, right? Three by three. Three and six and nine?

Listen, don't let me just out academia you right now don't let you i am not the guy that you want to have out academia in you you know what i mean what about uno and checkers yeah i can play it on debuts jacket right now if you want so checkers and chess i think i'm saying similar yeah i think checkers wheel of fortune yep chess jeopardy people and i think anytime you're making a decision need a jeopardy person around and a wheel of fortune person around. I agree. I think those are two matter of facts.

Speaking of Jeopardy, people are not street smart. And Wheel of Fortune people are not book smart. Yeah, because a lot of those questions are like, name the character. No, I watch Jeopardy. I watch every night that I can. I'm a Jeopardy fan,

but I mean, if I get two right throughout the entire night, I'm jacked up. I am jacked up. I think you should maybe do what Bill Murray does in Groundhog Day. He's watching the same episodes and you memorize all of them and just go to an old person's home and just start laying these down.

Hey, you guys want to watch Jeopardy together? Come on. Yeah, that'd be amazing. I'm a genius. I am. Daytime Jeopardy. watch Jeopardy together? Yeah, come on. Yeah, that would be amazing. I'm a genius. 11 a.m. That's, you know, daytime Jeopardy. Our Jeopardy guy. Yeah. Guy got accepted to Harvard, obviously tied.

Well, you know, I think Jeopardy would be better off if you were still hosting it. I don't know if that's still. Whoa, you don't like Ken? I love Ken Jennings. I do. I do. But it's just not the same. And as a Jeopardy head from, you know, long, long ago.

Not the same without Alex. That's what I mean. That's what I mean. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's a beast. That's ago. Not the same without Alex. That's what I mean. That's what I mean. Rest in peace. Rest in peace. Rest in peace. Let's have a moment of silence, actually, for Alex Trebek. Boy, he hated Pat Sajak.

Rightfully so. Rest in peace, Alex. Rest in peace. Here's to you, Alex. Here's to you, Alex. Here's to you, Alex. But anyway, so as we've talked to you this year, you've kind of said how you've reached out to Jordan Love after certain games.

And for a good chunk of the season there was, hey, he is the guy. And then it's, hey, he's not the guy. We still need to see him down the stretch, what he can do. And now it's kind of flipped back to he is the guy. And we've always talked about like accuracy is kind of the one thing where either you have it or you don't. Guys typically don't just, like, become more accurate in the NFL. Maybe that's not true, or to an extent it is.

But have you been surprised with what he's done over the last couple weeks here? Kind of like, you know, confirming that, hey, maybe the Packers do finally have this next guy after Aaron, and he is going to be the guy for the future? No. No, I'm not. And he's playing the last, especially the last three games, he's playing outstanding, but he's in his first year starting. Like, as well as he's playing, can we not crown him right now? Yeah.

For his own sake. Because we shouldn't do that to kids. We shouldn't crown him and we shouldn't cancel him. Darren, let's just crown him right now? Yeah. For his own sake. Mm-hmm. Because we shouldn't do that to kids. We shouldn't crown him, and we shouldn't cancel him. Dennis, just crown him. Yeah, I'll crown him. Okay, go ahead. That's fine. I love Jordan.

I think he's going to be a great player in the league for a long time. Yeah. But can we let him play his career? Mm-hmm. And it's both sides, too. You know, people, a great example is Geno Smith. People just kicked him out of this town. They wrote him off.

And then he went and was a backup for six years. And then he went to a Pro Bowl. And sometimes it's situation. Sometimes it's change of scenery. Sometimes it's figure something out. I do believe you can get better at accuracy because you throw the football from the ground up. So you learn how to have great fundamentals.

Everything else, when you sync those together Everything else is going to be better So am I surprised by the way Jordan's played? No Am I happy for him? Hell yeah I think there's And there's some people that probably like this But there's some people that probably think that I was rooting against the Packers this year Rooting against Jordan

Couldn't be farther from the truth I'm not a bitter person about that Obviously I wish things had gotten different when I was in Green Bay And there's things that I wish I had done better. But I have so much love for that organization. I have so many people I still talk to, you know, every single week that work there. If I catch Jordan's game, I just send him a message. I was at a birthday party Sunday.

I didn't see the game. But what was I doing? We were watching. I was asking you every few seconds, how's Jordan doing? What's the score? You know, because I keep in touch with how they're doing. I got to go talk to a super famous guy, come back. What's the score of the game?

So I'm not surprised at all. I also think for all these young kids that are playing, let's give them some time to develop. You crown somebody too early, the expectations away to that, it's tough to deal with. You crown somebody too early, the expectations away to that is tough to deal with. You bury somebody right away, dealing with that type of negativity and pressure is hard for people to come back from. Yeah, but what are we supposed to say?

Well, it's sets like this. Not sets like this. That'd be a countdown. It's easy to get upset. I don't watch that, so I'll just withhold my comments. Big Perk's on there. He's worth a watch.

Big Perk is worth a watch. But I do appreciate the fact that you're like, hey, the pressure that is immediately anointed on these people. And, I mean. It happens to top picks all the time, right? It happens to number one picks and number two picks. And we have one in New York, in Jersey, right? Yeah.

Number two pick that has gone through some some tough times in three years and people want to bury them in year one and they want to bury them in year two they want to bury them in year three but and the burying part you know there's some objective things number wise you can look at although I think there's subjective lenses with which we look at those and we and we miss out that there are some objective things that you either have or don't have your disposer that can affect the way you play but i do have a problem when there's character assassinations because you're making generalizations

about people and who they are without actually really knowing them and if somebody in locker room came out and said something about him i was willing to stand behind it that's a different story but it's actually a good boy he's a good boy. He is a good boy. Yeah, and he's dealt with a lot of shit that would crumble a lot of people. And I'm proud of him, and I'm looking forward to letting him speak. That's why I'm not trying to speak for him today. I know how I would feel. You're going to bat for him, though, which is a big deal, I think, by the way.

But I heard you're not supposed to do that. You're a premium dog. But I'm excited about listening to hear what he has to say this week and rallying the guys and finishing the season out on a strong note. And then who knows what's going to happen for his career, but doing it the right way. Piggybacking off of that,

is there a time frame or a number of starts or a number of seasons starting where if a quarterback hasn't figured it out by then, then... We can say these guys suck. Because that's a cool thing. I agree with you. Like one season is not enough.

Obviously, the first season started. Probably two isn't enough either, but you obviously know much, much more. I think you're going to see flashes in the first year for sure. And then with any quarterback, after you play 16 games, when I first got in, now you have a year of film that everybody can watch. So you can see, like, how can we attack this person? What did teams do?

Did they pressure them? Did they play coverage? Was it a lot of two-eye coverage, a lot of one-eye coverage? What was the makeup of the team? Did it have a strong line? Were you worried about the run game? Did it have a number one back? Was he a pro ball back?

Where were the weapons at? They get to sort all that stuff out, and you have three teams in your division that play twice a year that really dive into those division games so the second year is always i think you start to see like sophomore slump is what they say which happens because why you know you have you had no film on you you come from college you're on a different scheme possibly and maybe you're in a shotgun the entire time now you come to a team that's more 21 personnel, you're going to be on the center, you're going to be on action stuff, you know, and then for a player, think about, and I always say this, the rookie year is so freaking difficult, because you literally go from a season, and I mean,

kids don't play in bowl games anymore, but now you're training, right, for a couple months for the combine, and you go from the combine back to training, then, you know, then you get drafted, then you go to your team, then you're, they're all off season, then you go from the combine back to training then you know then you get drafted then you go to your team then you're they're all off season then you you know have a tiny little break and you go out in the training camp and now you're playing more games you ever have in your career and now it's the first offseason you go oh take a breath okay now what i got to work on there's so much development that happens between years one years two and two and three in this league it's a what have you done for me lately it's i have zero patience and zero attention span so everything needs to be made.

We got attention span boat. There's a boat behind you right through that window right there. Did you feel more pressure on you to be good early, being that you had a chance to sit behind Brett for a couple years? You know, now it was your very similar love. 25 years old, he saw you win a couple of MVPs, saw you do it behind the scenes. So do you think, obviously, you dealt with it personally, but is that a thing with you guys?

Yeah, as usual, DB, that's a great point. When you've been in the league for, like I was, three years, three years for J-Lo, I felt it. I'm sure he did too. The grace period for it is much shorter. Like you better show in year one, it's year four. So if you look at Jordan's career though, years one to two, there was a big jump in development. Years two and three, you know, you see him

in the preseason, you're like, oh, you know, he's playing well. And he played, I think, one game in two in the second year. With a toe. And then played in the third year, he played against Philly. Hey, real quick. Let's go back. Why did he play that

with that toe? Why did Jordan... What happened? You want to go back over there? I had COVID. I had COVID. COVID toe, I thought. COVID toe, yeah.

COVID toe, yeah. Do we have to go over there? Yeah, go back. We will go back over there if you want to. Remember you said the toe to the camera? Remember that was your

actual Twitter profile photo. I used to be three. Now I'm two, I think. Way to handle it. This guy's a pro, dude. Not bad. This guy's a pro. Back to three.

But you're saying development was very evident, you think, from watching him in different stages. As I did in 2007 when I played against Dallas on that Thursday night. Jordan came in against Philly when I got banged up and did some nice things. And the thing I'm going to say, which actually answers your question, and I apologize, my answer wasn't great. I got sidetracked. But the narrative in this league changes so quickly.

And to watch the up and down ridiculous roller coaster that I would watch you talk about on the show about the Packers and about Jordan. It's really a reminder for all of us players and coaches. Watch your mouth right now. Watch your mouth.

No, you've got to be able to block out the external noise. No, let us in. We're good. I'm not saying don't watch it. Of course you're going to watch. You're going to see it. But can you deal with it? I don't think you should seclude yourself and not watch anything.

But if you read everything and read all the comments, for a person that's not super mentally tough, it's hard. When did you get to that point, by the way? Because there was a lot of terrible things said about you a lot of the time. I mean, like from somebody that didn't live in green bay just outside the only time we heard about your name was just probably something bad or a comparison to somebody who's like considered one of the greatest of all time so they're kind of putting you down that was a large portion of your career right i mean i don't want to like put words in your mouth or teammates too that you had

a bunch of success with you know helped out made them a lot of money right and then they came out well right but but that's what we're referring to. Two people. How did you just, at least they went on the record. Yeah. Hey, respect. Hey, where'd it go? Put your face out there.

But at what point did you get the mindset where like, none of this is real? I can't listen to anything out there. Cause that had to be tough. Honestly, I genuinely, as a human had to be tough. None of this is real. Dude, that's the whole thing. It's not true. boats come on yeah the real both side from the birds whoa easy Tony Don't fall in see the frost Yeah a heart that's the same boat going back what's the loop time on this

A heart? Same boat going back What's the loop time on this? What? 15 minutes? Nope That's a GoPro With a window That's a window

That's a window Right there That's a window there Listen, I think dealing with Negative comments, media Whatever it is Is all about identity And if you find your identity

In those comments, if you need to find a pump-up from those things, then you're never going to get what you actually want. If you know who you are, I think it's important to be aware of it so you know what's being said out there, but you can't find your happiness or identity in the comments from other people

because none of these people for the most part I think you'd ever ask their advice for something ask them for advice about something so why would you give a shit about what their criticism of you is hell yeah true you're preaching there go ahead Connor yeah so. Yeah, so obviously. Nice shirt, by the way. I appreciate that. Yeah. Kind of found it in. Wow. Wow.

I don't know about that. You've had some better ones. You've had much better ones. Absolutely. But you can't all hit home runs because they're all home runs. And how do you know when, you know, you eat. Big Mac did. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah, he did. 1999. I suppose. Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber. Schwarber. Sure.

How about when Sammy Sosa was eating all his steroids? Yeah, him and McGuire, same summer. Yeah, Marky Mark. That was a good time. Barry Bond. That was great baseball. Put him in the hall. They were going in his river.

Baseball's going through. Baseball's been struggling a little bit. Yeah, let the boys juice. We've been saying it forever. Let the boys juice. Or maybe just whatever they're doing in Colorado, like juicing the balls up a little bit, maybe they should.

That's not a bad idea. Yeah, fake all the stadiums 5,000 feet. Boom, build a whole hill. Yeah. A mountain. Hyperbaric stadiums. Now we're talking. Yeah, that float. Home runs all the time.

Like on Pandora. Zero gravity. Yes. All right, we figured out baseball. Baseball fix. You're welcome, Manfred. That's who the... Oh yeah, yep. Bring the spitballs back out baseball. Baseball fix. You're welcome, Manfred. That's who the... Oh, yeah.

Bring the spitballs back and the pine tar. Yep. Steroids. Hyperbaric stadiums. No suspensions for charging the mound. No. No, let the boys fight. You get a run.

You get a run if you fight. Yeah. How about that? You win the fight. Oh, true. If you win. Anyways, yeah, we're fixing baseball. I didn't know that's what we were going to do.

Yeah. Look at journalism. How about that? we're fixing baseball. I didn't know that's what we were going to do. Look at journalism. How about that? We're doing a lot of journalism. Remember the commissioner of that league? Yeah, Bob Manfred. He said that they're playing for a piece of metal, right? Yes. Worthless piece of metal. That's all. That's what the commissioner called his own trophy. Commissioner's trophy, which is what you win

in the MLB. He thinks highly of himself. I like his humility. Yeah, kind of right. Is he coming on the show? Who? Is he coming on the show? Bob? No, I think him and Raj will be the only commissioners that don't come on the program.

Speaking of tomorrow, Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA, will be joining us live. Here we go, Adam. Here we go, Adam. Adam, I scared you. Roger, are we still waiting

for Roger? We got the NHL commissioner coming on. He was so cool. Remember, he had his shirt open. He was at his desk. You know, but... He came on. Told a couple stories. Remember he had his shirt open. He was at his desk. You know, Pat. He came on. Told a couple stories about, we're not against fighting. Did you ask him why he was trying to

get the fighting out of the league? Yeah. Journalism. He said, the staged fighting is what we're trying to get out of the game. The natural fighting is A-OK. The staged fighting, we don't need that. They could do that on Saturday nights in boxing.

Now we got the commissioner of the NBA coming on. I think the MLS commissioner wanted to come on. The SEC commissioner, Greg Sankey, was coming on. We're starting to become a commiss show, except for one. Hey, Raj. Raj. Don't be scared, Raj.

Come on, Raj. Put your big boy pants on. Get out there with the crowd. It'll be good. It'll be good, Rog. It'll be good. This guy's doing all these- you see last night- Put your Gucci on, Rog. Come on, Rog. Come on, Rog. What's he wearing? We make it 50 a year. What's he wearing? 60. 60. That might be one of the questions. I'm gonna say he's worth it. Yeah. By the way, Rog. Why is your basement so shitty still? Well, that was not his actual basement We know that I was a movie set. Yeah, like No

Don't you believe those commies from Russia? Don't you believe? It was you're talking about another thing. What are you talking about? Each time out Australia the Hanks's when they were over there You talking about the moon? We're talking about the space race. No, no. He's talking about Australia. The Hanks' when they were over there. Oh, jeez.

No, I'm not talking about that. Oh, okay. Let's get back to sports. Google AI did come out, though. Russia's Google AI. Yeah, exactly. Let's see. I don't think that's a thing.

Again, you know, the people who got their asses beat in the space race are saying, yeah, they never went to the moon because they couldn't. Shocker. How about that? You're right. I agree. Exactly. Huh? We would bet. Why would we go back? We went up there and it was rocks. We're going back to see more rocks.

Set our eyes on Mars. What about the dark side of the moon? Well, we don't talk about that. Transformers are over there. Good album. Yeah, we don't talk about the dark side. It's a good album. Yeah. It is. Who's that? D-Bot. D-Bot. D-Bot. Come on. Bocce. The dark side of the moon. It is. Who's that? D-Bot. Botch. D-Bot. D-Bot. D-Bot. Come on.

Botchy. The Dark Side of the Moon. Pearl Jam? What is it? Aaron. Oh, yeah. I should have knew that. It's not Pearl Jam. Damn it.

My bad. God. You love it, man. Sweet. Bye. All right. Is there anything that we haven't covered journalism-wise that you think you should have a take on on ESPN?

His team is playing tonight. Where's my camera at? One camera. Five. Two. Two. Five is the jib. That's been a great camera.

Hey, you've been crushing it all day, Jim. Yeah. Everybody here has been crushing it. Yeah, even that guy who's just crushing Pokemon on a Nintendo Switch. Love that guy. Yeah, but when he was called upon. Boom. Boom.

Put it down. Boom. I got to catch Pikachu, but I'll pause it for you. He had the wire so quick. He was. Love it. That actually, you know how like football players when they're not in, they're on that little bike on the side. They're staying active.

That's what he's doing. That's what he's doing. With his hands. Staying active, staying active. He's going back and he's catching the bullpicks, you know. Easy. First throw. Guy's a dog.

He's a punter. Not a lot of time needed. Yeah. But when you are needed, got to be explosive. Right. And he has. He's been able to crush it. Two, I think, is your number.

I feel good. I feel like we covered some things. You can't, you know, give away all the great juice on one show. But his, I mean, your team is playing against your new city's team tonight, Milwaukee against the Knicks. Is it an in-season tournament? This is the in-season quarter. Hey, this thing's awesome.

It counts. I like this thing. Where is it at? I think it is in Milwaukee. It's tough barn. Tough barn. Tough barn. You'd be courtside if it was here.

You know what the name of that stadium is? Milwaukee's best. The Deer House. Beast Light. The Buck Stops Here House. Buck, yeah. Buck Dome. Buck Dome buck don't the buck arena buck off dome. Oh, let's go Hmm I serve or I'm it's close. Okay, I serve I serve I serve so hold on you. That's your company you own Don't you own that team?

Yeah, yes, play for guys to tiny tiny. Are you the majority owner? No, are you gonna do more ownership stuff as you grow older on this cue here? Yeah, yes Are you the majority owner? No Are you going to do more ownership stuff as you grow older? Give us a cue here Have you come around with Johnson & Johnson And Pfizer because of it? Have I what? Have you come around on those companies?

Pfizer with the arena and Johnson & Johnson It wasn't, it's Pfizer A lot of money on TV America On this network Are you going to hop in one of them maybe? Pfizer. Spend a lot of money on TV. A lot of money. America. On this network. No. Are you going to hop in one of them, maybe?

Oh, you'd be throwing them. Throwing a couple babies. What if he was throwing one? Woo. Yeah. It was like the best thrower of the ball in history throwing you. Boom. Right next. Vaccine right in your arm.

And then somebody's like, hey, Alan. Hit me. Yeah. That'd be sweet. Brightest ride. Look at us. We're brainstorming. This is journalism.

We won an Emmy. You ever sat by yourself on the bench all by yourself in the first quarter? Looking all sad and stuff. Tons being a hater right now. Who was doing that? Travis Kelsey. He's talking about Travis Kelsey right now. Travis Kelsey on Sunday Night Football.

You had a party. First half. I bet you, though, even though he might have been sitting there, he was probably doing something else at the same time, maybe thinking about something. It wasn't just sitting there. Two at once? Yes, you mean.

There was something else going on. And on that note, I'll tell you what, Aaron. I don't know if we're ever going to win an award for what we do. But, damn it, you deserve it for everything you've said on this particular show. You've enlightened us. You made us smarter. And you, I will say, for somebody at the status that you have, your lack of fear of basically saying and doing anything is ridiculously admirable. Because you could just mail it in right now.

You could just do whatever. You've got people, smart people that you're friends with that probably say, let's just do this, let's do this, let's do this. A lot of people do that. The fact that you don't and the fact that you came in here is awesome. And we appreciate that. You gave me no choice because you told everybody yesterday I was coming in.

Although I had some other things going on. Wheel of fortune guy. Wheel of fortune guy. Wheel of fortune guy. Yeah, let this guy slam me in the mouth. Not coming in. Damn, I got to dress up too. I got to. But I'm going to wear my hygge hat, you know.

I'm going to wear my Zenith watch. Absolutely. Yeah. And your Adidas shoes. Book club? Right. Ooh. The Bible today?

No, I don't think so. Okay. I'm telling you, I got some gems though. I got some gems though Those watches would be a great Christmas present Yeah, for who? Just boys interviewing you normally I'll see what I can do So is the book club coming back yet? Yeah, with some bangers

I mean, what week are we on? We got five weeks left in playoffs Who knows, we might do an in-person in Indy How weak are we on? Yeah. Bangers. I mean, what is it? We got five weeks left in playoffs. And playoffs. Yeah. Who knows? We might do an in-person, an indie one of these days. Whoa! See which set we like better.

It's not a Fiverr set anymore. Do you guys have a view like this, though? What's that? You guys have a view like this? Yep. Yeah. We could. Yeah, you could throw a circle up behind it.

Actually, you do. The circle's right behind us. Yeah, no problem. Great sun. And we could drop a river in it. I mean, look what Zito did on this particular graphic right here. Boom. Clouds floating by.

Zito did that? Zito did that dong-shaped building over there. I'll tell you what, this is fake, but the view of the city, whether you're driving in, looking at the skyline, flying over it, pretty cool. Do you love the city? I do. Yeah?

Knew you were going to love the city. Hello, Seaport. This is Dan in Bristol. You got me? Check one, two. Check one, check one two okay dan and bristol we got you check two three check two three dan and bristol important we all had that important check at 150 dan we got you dan go ahead dude don't know what's coming on next but dan's on top of it. Uh-huh. Dimey Wow, Dan's gonna handle it that guy knows do we get Dana race? Yes, please and an event on air just in our Hopefully on air

You're about to give a good answer I think about the city of New York that a lot of people could potentially hear. Because, for instance, me, I could never see myself living here ever. Okay? But I love coming in. I don't live here, though. Yeah, but you're in the area. Yeah, but you're in the area. You brought Tony Soprano's house, right?

Yeah. Smart. We saw it on the internet. Beautiful home. Yeah. Beautiful home. Alleged. Yeah. Crystal through our unit.

Never know. Oh! Oh, Crystal. Crystal again. Crystal. Crystal. Crystal through our unit. Oh, Crystal. Bristol again. Bristol, we can hear you. We are in Seaport. But we can't. But we can't.

Houston, this is Apollo. They should not be hearing me. Go flight. Is that what he just said? Poms, go flight. Coms, check. When he said a search party for Dave. You love

living in the area, though? You do enjoy it? I do really love it. I mean, I'm a Cali kid. I grew up out there. I love spending time at the beach, but man, there's something special about the city. Great energy. And the music is taking us out, so I'm going to give it back to you to do a sign-off.

You're good at this. Yeah. Just like AJ. That's what AJ Hawk does. Where is he? Miss you, AJ. Fine. I think we'll be able to call him in the last hour, I think.

There's only so many computers. There's a whole thing. It's a slow phase-out. We'll be back in Indianapolis tomorrow, but we are incredibly grateful for all the people here Thank you On air talent Dan coming in Very thankful for him

And very thankful for everybody that watches this program Aaron Rodgers Tuesday Continues for a little bit On ESPN Plus and YouTube I believe SportsCenter is in about 7 minutes We'll see you tomorrow live from the Thunderdome. You're the best. Be a friend. Tell your friends something nice. It might change your life. Goodbye.

Has that music just blasting? Question. Is that anatomically correct? Is that where the Statue of Liberty is normally in the city? Yeah. In a what? Anatomically?

Why would that be anatomically correct? That's the word. Geographically. There's a lot of modalities when we're talking about where buildings are in the city. Hey, she's right there. Statue of Liberty. Yeah, right in the middle of the... No, like she's...

Yeah, right over there. You can look out this window right here. Open the window. I can open the window look up Lena. What all how sweet with that What's your deal What's your deal with this thing? What I said the whole day yesterday They don't want you saying that no, it's just kind of we didn't want to ruin We almost made it through two days. They didn't want you saying that?

No, it was just kind of, we didn't want to ruin their thing. This is the house that Greeny built. Yeah. Also, it turns out that staircase. It looks great, but yeah, it's fake. That staircase over there. Yeah. Doesn't go anywhere. That door up top.

Yeah. There's nothing up there. It's the staircase to heaven. Or something else. Yeah. There's some interesting rooms in this place. All right place How so Secret port maybe yeah, I mean maybe

Are we going back are we back on we've been we've been on this whole time. Oh We're not going back on ESPN I guess yeah. No, no, yeah. Tomorrow. Oh, true. From Indy. Maybe. We had a lot of journalism today. For sure. Hey, thanks for doing journalism. If this was the last show for you and the show on Big Network, man, I think pretty solid. Right.

Everybody just kind of look this way. Oh, what's that we see? Boom. Statue of Liberty. There it is. Wow. Boom. Check it out.

That's Statue of Liberty. She's beautiful. Right through that window. Uh just fun fact you Jeopardy people. That was a gift from France. Yeah that's right. How about that? They got a matching one. So was the Brooklyn Bridge I believe. What? I think that was a gift too. Baguettes as well. Crepes. Crepes. Mm. Really good. It's a good gift. Duck you say basketball this morning? Duck La Ronge. I had pizza, Grimaldi's Pizza, which is underneath this Brooklyn bridge right here.

That's real, right here. There's a pizza place, allegedly the best in New York and in the United States. Really? Last night, had it. You said it was your second favorite of all time behind. What's it called? Grimaldi's, I think is what it's called.

Oh yeah, Grimaldi's, yeah. Right? It's supposed to be legit. Yeah. It's supposed to be pretty good. It was good. Ed doesn't like it, but I think it's pretty good be legit. Yeah. It's supposed to be pretty good. It was good. Ed doesn't like it, but I think it's pretty good. Ed.

Ed doesn't eat pizza. Look how sexy that guy is. That guy hasn't had a pizza in years. That's money team Ed, by the way. He needs a lot of credit. Yeah, two cameras. Two cameras. Yeah! I watched that guy do a wedding.

And shout out Ryan next to him as well. Hey, Ryan. Hey, Ryan. Ryan, you dress really cool. You dress so cool. Look at those loafers. That guy dresses so cool. What kind of camera is that?

Denim, denim, denim. You don't even know. Leica. You wouldn't get it. You would never. D-Boy, you think you could handle a camera like that? Yeah, I'd try. You have to take that to an old Kodak to get it developed.

And I gotta wear it just like that too, sweet. Oh yeah, I got that in the rig. I mean that beard, the beanie, and then also the toms I think down south? Oh yeah. Human weapon. You buy a pair of toms, they give a gift, they give a pair to a kid. That's right. Thank you toms.

Thank you toms, thank you! Thank you! What a human weapon right there. Guys, I'm real. Missile. Doing philanthropy through his feet. The weapon right there. Guys, I'm real. Missile. Doing philanthropy through his feet. Yeah.

The camera's still on him. It's great. That's right. It's great. Hey, you've had a lot of single cameras on you today. Mm-hmm. That was fun. That was way more fun than I thought

it was gonna be over there. Just to be able to go through the single camera. Have a little faith. Yeah. Trust the process. Have just a little bit of faith. That's some hard questions. It is some bullshit, though.

You know, like that report that came out. About Zack? Yeah. How many of those are? Like, if you see 10, are 10 of them, are they all just shit? I mean, it's shitty what they did. Yes. I don't know about the gist of the conversation.

I know that what was reported was not factually correct, you know, as far as like my involvement. Like, I made it seem like there was some big drama that was going on, and then we had to bring in the old guy and say, hey, call this young guy and, you know, square everything up. It's like, but that never fucking happened. Like, that was never part of any of it. Like, Zach and I talk all the time. You time. We talk every single day. I see him. We had long conversations during the game about various things. Oh yeah, we saw one of the videos. Actually, I mentioned.

They grabbed it. What did I say? You tell us. It was funny. You're a professional. You know the camera's on you on the side. Zach's not as savvy. He'll figure it out. You're not supposed to doing it. And he does not. Zach is not as savvy. He'll figure it out.

You're not supposed to say that. But that could have been at any time. So, like, where's my – You guys were talking about the Falcons. Third quarter. So, the thing is the little mouthpiece is up. So, I'm guessing it could have been defense was out there because I usually have it down when the offense is there.

So I don't know what – I was probably talking about one of the calls because there were some real interesting calls that happened. I'm trying to see whose ball it is. Normally we can tell. Second and 16. Tim Boyle was spinning it. Tim Boyle, 12 and 19. Yeah, I mean, look, who knows who he's talking about.

But the whole point is, you know, I don't understand, and I never did, and this stuff isn't like just the Jets, but I don't understand anybody that will use, like, some media people to get some sort of, like, what is the, and there were people in Green Bay that would leak injury information to reporters in return for, a positive review or a positive word or putting a good or putting like writing that they should be up for a pro bowl or something i never understood that i mean i remember really walking out of of uh walking in the training room hearing something talking to a guy who was hurt and literally he had just walked out of the office and the doctor's office and like 30 seconds later he was out there by a certain guy and we all knew it was like four guys around who heard what was said it's you and we know exactly who it is it's you so in this situation I don't

know who gains I guess you know whenever you like with's like, you want to figure out what the whole, what's really going on? Follow the money. Of course. Follow who is to gain in this situation. I hear you. That's amazing. I mean, yeah.

I mean, absolutely. So in this situation, who is gaining something here? Like, trying to assassinate Zach's character. I don't know. I don't think anybody gains in this situation, whether it's somebody from the organization or a coaching staff or a player. I think it's... Do it's the Kardashians.

Yeah, Kim and Kanye, allegedly, they gave fake names to everybody in their tight circle, and they wrote down what the names were going to be for their kid, and then whichever one got reported was like, all right, no, it's this person. Gotcha. No, it's this person. It's a shame you've got to do that with humans, but it's the way it goes. You talk about nobody benefiting.

I mean, have you heard the anonymous quotes that have been said about this particular show to the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal? And it's like the people that are saying it are people that would potentially benefit from our show doing well on ESPN. But instead, we know who they are. I mean, it's very clear who they are. It's like that's everywhere. And it's like you got to get those people the hell out. Like it's impossible to do, though. You know what I mean, it's very clear who they are. It's like, that's everywhere. And it's like, you got to get those people the hell out. Like, it's impossible to do, though. You know what I mean?

Because I feel like once you put your finger in one hole, another one's going to pop up at some point. Don't you think? I agree. Yeah. There's no place for it. And as much as you had a couple interesting individuals, the same two over here saying stuff about me. At least they said it, you know. I mean there was probably some anonymous shit there in 2016 that was said, but at least they talked about it.

Yeah. It was interesting why and the content of what they said was very, very questionable. I think we all can probably At least they they put their face to it They're looking at situation like this like do you have to even do damage control like in the locker room or do the guys understand to like oh this is horseshit like Yeah, or do they have to make an announcement exactly not say yeah to the team or everybody just knows that to be true What do you think I mean? We don't're not going to spend a ton of time with it, I think. Got it.

I would guess that Zach will probably say something to the team tomorrow. I would hope that if that's the case, it stays within the team. Because we've all been a part of a team or an organization before, and there's some things That are esoteric in nature. I mean they're meant for a certain group of people There's some conversations that are only meant for certain people Yep And shouldn't leave the building, you know what I mean?

Like there's a trust that goes along with being in a locker room where you say something to your homie and that shit doesn't go anywhere Or you say something to the team meeting room and it doesn't go anywhere and there's been too many instances this season Where that stuff has happened and it's not okay, and we need to weed it out in whatever way necessary. Did you say esoteric? Esoteric. Who? Esoteric? That's a good word.

Foxy can bring up a definition. Like an element? I'll wait, and then that's when we'll end it. What did Chuck say? What you see? Where's Chuck at? What you see, say, and hear here stays here. Chuck's probably in Boise, Idaho right now.

He's probably being old somewhere. He starts traveling tomorrow from there. It takes him six days to get to Indianapolis. Esoteric. Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number. Wow. With a specialized knowledge or interest. Wow.

Esoteric. You're a Jeopardy guy. You're a Jeopardy guy. You're a Jeopardy guy. I'm going to say I learned that at Butte. Shout out BCC, Butte Community College. Yeah, shout out. That was where that

your high school was where that one wide receiver. Thomas Wilson. Yeah, Thomas Wilson. Shout out to Thomas Wilson. Your biggest fan in the world Is this man right here Look up some high school Aaron Rodgers highlights

And it is an Aaron Rodgers highlight reel for sure But it's also You might be confused because there's number 10 out there A lot of place Dog too Dog mentality Alright let's get the hell out of here We appreciate you man

You guys done? You got another hour. You want me to get the hell out of here? We don't want you to take up more time. Do you want to hang? Oh, do you want to hang? No, I got stuff to do. I got to busy. Oh, so you try to make me feel bad.

Jeez. Try to make me feel bad. I got a lot of hats I'm wearing, you know, besides this Hooga hat. Hell yeah. That was four times. That's pretty good. How about that watch? Look how nice that thing is.

Beautiful. I see DB's watch all the time. I said, I got to bring in mine, you know. That's his ass, right? The green face on yours, though, does look good. Thank you. Would you wear it? Oh, every day.

Hey, you were going to actually play. Every day, Aaron. Hey, hold on with the music. There we go. Thank you. Hold on with the music. You were going to actually play this year, yeah? Because I'm looking down at these shoes, and you're out of the moon shoes and getting

to another pair of shoes, I think was a defined step at one point through this whole process. You were going to play this mathematically, not eliminated, still rehabbing as fast as possible, as hard as possible. I get it. But genuine, that would have been game-changing forever. Have you thought about that now that the chances potentially aren't as high? Have you thought about that? Yeah, I mean, it's the most disappointing thing about the whole rehab process was that there was, you know, the 24th was literally on my mind. I felt like that was you know post what 16

weeks I started 14 weeks today's tomorrow's 12 weeks at two more weeks yeah I'd be like 14 and a half weeks I felt like that was reasonable based on my progress and you know what I did last week in a small circle felt great I'm not sure what I'm gonna do this week'm going to try and get out there tomorrow and Thursday But yeah The 24th was always What I was focused on You never know what could happen

You never know what could happen Yeah because mathematically Mathematically not eliminated A lot of things happen to the NFL A lot of injured quarterbacks Who NFL. Exactly. With all these injured quarterbacks, too. A lot of injured quarterbacks in the AFC. Who knows? You never know what could happen.

That's right. I could show up to the ESPN set in New York City. Yeah. Who would have thought? Not me. Not me. Not me. There's a lot of things said.

That's fake. What? You got to get yours in, too, I guess. There's been a lot of things said right in this area Right here Not on this desk Brian new table This is where they do first take in here

First take's over there Get up's in here This is the NBA desk What's the difference Greeny Steven A This is Greeny Get up Get up Greeny and who

Orlovsky Maziano Yeah Maz Dino Rex Ryan And then D-1 Ryan Clark

First take is Steven A And Maziano was on there Kimberly Martin Shannon Shannon Sharps Shannon Sharps

Molly hosts every single day But That was an accident I promise you You threw the ball to Sterling a lot I watched this show And that's about I promise you. You threw the ball to Sterling a lot? I watch this show and that's about it. I didn't throw the ball to Sterling, you asshole. Yeah, it was Brett.

Sterling was a dog. He was a dog. You keeping an eye on the Brett situation? I am. I'm keeping an eye on it. Allegedly. You're allegedly keeping an eye on it. What's going on?

A lot going on. You trying to get sued again? No. No, I wasn't. That's double jeopardy. You're actually not allowed to get sued again? No. No, I almost have come all the way around. That's double jeopardy. You're actually not allowed to get sued again. For the same thing, I don't think so. I think, by the way, handled that one pretty good.

Yeah. Pretty solid. Did you win? You handled it well. Yeah, I think we did okay. I think the people in Brett's ear, someone's got to sue them. Allegedly. Allegedly.

We don't think it's... we're gotten to the point where. It was good. Save there. We're not sure Brett knows anything's going on. No. We think it's other people representing for Brett. Allegedly. Allegedly.

So that is, that is how I've kind of come to think about it. It's like, does Brett even know that he sued me? I don't know. Now I'm not, you know, I'm not hurt and sure. Allegedly. No, I'm certainly feeling that way. But I don't know I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not

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I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not

I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not That was cool. So good. Yeah, the food, too. Sushi. Oh, man. I get to have that. Was it on top of... Naked people. Yeah, like Kanye's.

Did you have the naked people? Can we ask about the masks? What was the masks? Why were the people in the masks? Like Masquerade? They were awesome. I have no idea. I grabbed one.

But shout out to Zero Bond. Oh, okay. Yeah. Shout out to Zero Bond. That feels like an AJ Eyes Wide Shut thing. That's what he's super into. Yeah, he did it one year. He did a party at his house, you know, for his charity,

and the theme was Eyes Wide Shut. So, like, I've seen all of Kubrick's movies, obviously. Right. Of course. Shout out to that. Yeah, obviously. Don't go there. Yeah, well, maybe.

His cinephile's unbelievable. His what? Cinephile. I'd say he is a cinephile. Good definition there. He is a cinephile is unbelievable. What? Cinephile. He is a cinephile. Yeah, you kind of misused that, but yeah, put up a definition. We get it. You're saying his IMDB? Yeah.

Boom, there we go. His catalog. We got it. Yeah, we got it. All right, let's get out of here. Let's let you go do your thing. The 24th is when it was supposed to happen. Now we know that.

No, put it. I mean, that was a target. You said it. That was a target. That's what you said. Still could be. It was literally, you remember when Coach Saban told us, yeah, bench the guy.

I want to see how you respond from that whole thing. Yeah. And then a few weeks later, we say, yeah, you benched him. I don't like saying guys got benched. Is this hat color, hygge, by the way, is it more, would you say, I got my camera now, I'm good. Yeah. Would you say it's more Florida State red or Bama red? I think it's Florida State.

I think it's got some Montana State in it. That's what I originally thought it was. Maroon. I thought it said the Grizz on top of there. Rolled damn tat. How do you feel about Florida State? Those boys. That was my team growing up.

That was my team. I think they should have got in Florida State? Those boys. That was my team growing up. That was my team. I think they should have got in. Over? And Texas. Okay. Nice. Nice. Yeah.

Nice. All right, but Texas beat Bama four months ago. Yeah, and Saban called us to tell the college football playoff committee to put them in. Yeah, ESPN. That's why you just said what you just said. Oh, my God. He's an ESPN show now. Show. How? football playoff committee to put them in so yeah that's why you just said what you just oh my god he's an espn show now wow show how because you want the sec in there wow hope you feel good

welcome to new york all i know is the pack 12 is in finally west coast bias ends the last year we're in the goddamn division we're an actual division last game in the goddamn division. We're an actual division. Last game in the Conference of Champions history. California Golden Bears go to the Rose Bowl and take down UCLA Bruins to earn a bowl game. Shout out Justin Wilcox. Everybody in Cal Bear Nation. Adam Durst for coming to my party on Sunday. Love you, bro.

Yeah, it was great to see you, dude. You are the rain king. And shout out to you guys for having me in here today. See you in Indy soon. Not too soon, but soon. Well, first course not. We've got a season still. Mathematically non-eliminated.

Soon is relative. You know, it's a few months. Shout out to Steve Levy, too. Shout out to Stephen A. Smith, too. Yeah, not wearing any sleeves. Looks good. Looking good, man. Change his diet, change his life.

You know what I mean? Who's next? Maybe Connor. Possibly you. Probably not. How about Greeny? You got anything to say to Greeny? I love Greeny. Got to see Greeny back there. Need to get that thing out of there.

That jersey, listen, it's nice, but we can do better. So next time I'm here, which who knows when that's going to be. I'm sure soon. I'm sure really soon. He said he sleeps in the white one. I should have brought one that was signed. I'm sure we can sign that one though, right? Let's just sign the glass right now. That's right. I should have brought her like a one that was signed. I'm sure you sign Christmas

It's smeared yeah, you're a good man green he's gonna love that you just said that that's where he sits every morning He's gonna sniff the seat when he walks So smell as we're gonna win Wow I do love that about Jets fans You know what I mean They care So

Damn Much And this has been a shit Season For sure But we will be back Hell yeah Football Is what we normally talk about But here on this glorious Tuesday Football!

Is what we normally talk about, but here on this glorious Tuesday, we have an opportunity to chit-chat with a man who is synonymous with chatter about the NBA on ESPN. We saw him in the Seaport area this morning on TV, and we said, can we get that guy on our show today? We never have that opportunity. Ladies and gentlemen, Tim Legle. Yeah, Legs! Hi, Legs. that guy on our show today? We never have that opportunity. Ladies and gentlemen, Tim Legle. Yeah, Legs!

Hi, Legs. Can we call you Legs? Everybody does. Strangers call me Legs all the time on the streets. And you guys aren't strangers? Absolutely not. Well, we certainly were strangers until about three and a half minutes ago. No longer.

But, Legs, it's an honor to meet you. And thank you for joining us. Let's dive right in. Hey, this in-season tournament has seemingly built a lot of buzz. Now, I'm from Indiana. We live in Indianapolis. Tyrese Halliburton's making a name for himself in this entire thing, just like he did last night against the Boston Celtics.

This has become a smashing success in my eyes. Now, am I reading it properly? Is that how it's being viewed by everybody nationally? And what does the NBA do next with this entire thing? Yeah, 100% absolutely nailed it. And I was dead wrong. I want to be the first to admit it. I was so skeptical because I'm saying to myself, you got professional players with a much bigger prize at the end of the year.

Why is this going to matter to them? It's almost like a Christmas tournament for a college team. Like, that's what it kind of felt like. Got it. Here's the part that I discounted. I should have put more credence in this. The bottom line is this. When you have guys that are alphas with this much testosterone and competitiveness,

and you put anything on the table and say there's a trophy, go get it, it does tend to bring this out in you. And that's what I was surprised about. Top guys on top teams buying into this extent to something this early in the regular season, that's different. I think the NCAA component of it, some guys didn't even get a chance to really enjoy that very long, if at all, right?

It gives them that feel. And every single one of those guys, which is they had won a national championship, they wanted to experience that. This is as close as we can replicate it in an NCAA format with these one-off type situations. And you saw it last night. That was about as wild an environment as I have ever seen in a regular season game. have ever seen indiana was popping off incredible and haliburton put on a show and he's now become

a player that's of national consciousness he's not just a local story in indiana or guys that watch the game every day everybody now knows about tyrese haliburton because really of the in-season tournament okay so last question for me before a couple big time nba guys have questions for you harold burton doing his thing, doing it all. I heard, too, that since it is a $500,000 bonus, too, a lot of the starting guys feel like they're putting on for their bench. Like they're playing for their bench. That's another great positive sign for the humans that are in the NBA

that I don't think gets talked about that much. Well, no question. You look at the game last night. Just take a look at the video of the guys on the end of the bench for Indiana. Look at their reaction on every bucket, right? You're like, okay, this doesn't look normal for like an early December regular season game. But that's what it created. And the way that they have gone about this and played it out so that you had the pool play and those games took on as greater significance.

What we're trying to really do is create a bridge for this time of year, right? Because the adrenaline from the start of the year is over. This is all football all the time, even for me, the biggest NFL fan in the world. Unfortunately, my team's at Commanders, so I can't talk about them much right now. Season ticket holder to the Washington Commanders. That says a lot. Thank you for adding money

to fix that stadium. Yeah, there you go. I personally have contributed to the problem. We're just trying to create a bridge to keep people interested to understand there's something else going on besides football right now in the NBA. And now let's see what the carryover is when it's all over. I want to see, do we just go back to feeling like the regular season for a couple months until the All-Star break?

I hope not. I think this has created a level of awareness that we desperately need. Other game last night, Pelicans with Zion. It feels like the team that everyone wanted them to be when they first drafted. Zion, are they one of those teams right now that, sure, it's the in-season tournament and they're going to Vegas

for the semis and possibly the finals, but are they like a real contender in the Western Conference at this moment now, and if they can stay healthy, they'll be in it at the end? Completely. Once they got CJ McCollum, I said, you give me that as my top three, because we're always talking about big threes all the time. You give me a point guard on the level of McCollum, a wing at the level of

Ingram, and then just a unique force in Zion Williamson, which there's only one of them and they have them. Yeah. To supplement it with this bench and this depth they have, they've got nine, ten guys they can go to outside of those top three guys that are all put on the court for a specific purpose and they impact the game every night. They might be the deepest team in the Western Conference

in terms of impact players. With that level of talent at the top of your roster, the question is always going to be, not only Zion's health, his commitment to competitiveness. Because when I watch him sometimes, he's kind of cruising. If he ever went all out and actually sprinted end-to-end and really went out there to do damage every night and be the best player on the floor,

New Orleans is probably in the championship contender category until he gets to that point. Come on, Zion. I don't know if I put a point there. But they're absolutely, to me, one of the most interesting teams in the league because they've got more than enough to throw a monkey wrench into the Western Conference with Phoenix and Denver and those teams. The question is consistency and staying healthy.

Last question. We know you have to go. I don't mean to put you on the spot, but I'm watching all football right now. Not really tapped into basketball yet. We know we saw what Joker and Denver Nuggets did right now. If you had to pick a team right now that's going to hoist that championship trophy, who would it be? I'm going with Denver right now.

They have the core continuity and they've got the best player in the world. It's no longer debatable who the best player on the planet is. Joker, best player. Jokic is the best player on the planet. It was a debate there for a while with Giannis. It was a debate last couple years with Embiid. I think that was a fair debate. He has separated himself from everybody right now.

Because he does everything. He does everything, and he does it so efficiently. There's not one second of wasted motion in what he does. It's a simplicity to what he does that's so overwhelming because he embarrasses people when he looks like he's really kind of going half speed and you have no answer for his skill level and his iq is really what separates them denver to me because of the core continuity but look boston's going to be there milwaukee and let's see what happens with phoenix when they finally get all three of these guys together okay at the same time how about the Pacers I don't know if they're a championship all the love necessary but let's not go that far hey we're gonna have a parade we win that day

ladies and gentlemen Tim Legler as Tim motions into his next program which we can't thank you enough. Appreciate you, dude. We have the incredible opportunity now to get a chance to chit-chat with a guy who is taking the football world by storm. Tim Legler says he's a massive NFL fan, and obviously he's a season ticket holder for the Commanders, so he hasn't gotten an opportunity to see a rookie quarterback

to slice and dice the NFL for a long, long, long time. Down in Houston, they go from fire sale to talk of town. Now, obviously, rookie head coach, rookie quarterback, if they were to make the playoffs, it'd be the first time since Andrew Luck and Chuck Pagano did it in 2012. Same division, different city. Houston Texan legend. Ladies and gentlemen, C. did it in 2012. Same division, different city. Houston Texan legend. Ladies and gentlemen, C.J. Stroud. Yeah!

C.J., great to see you, pal. How's the body feeling? You know, we're in week 14 now. You've come straight out of your college senior year, right into the off-season workouts, right into training camp, right into a full season how's the body how do you feel cj uh you know you played in this league before going all the way

back to college man uh fast forward now but a lot of work put in so uh banged up a little bit but you know it's part of the league everybody's not healthy at this point and just working through that but um healthy enough to play which is a blessing yeah blessing for houston uh now granted you're still in the same division as gardner men's shoes gardner men's shoes cooking cj but not as much as you okay everybody's chit-chatted about how great you've done as a rookie and how you know you're an anomaly at thing. Has there been things that you feel like you've visibly gotten better at through this season? Has there been stuff that has slowed down for you? What is each week like for you at this standpoint

that you've seemingly mastered the NFL already? Yeah, I mean, it's been a blessing to have it look so easy, but this league is very challenging. There's great players every week. It's like the challenges of a defense is harder and harder every week. It seems like, so it keeps you really honest. And I just really been on a great routine on my body on top of watching film or preparation and things like that.

So it may look easy, but it's hard at times. And I just, every week I try to just get better and better, and I pride myself on not making a mistake twice. I feel like I've done a decent job of that and just trying to keep that going and really, really lock into something special that's going on and keep building that. Every franchise is praying that a C.J. Stroud will show up

and do what they did. You've made, hey, you should be very proud of yourself, CJ Stroud. A lot to accomplish still. A lot to accomplish still. But I think we're still learning stuff about you, which is what we love. Tone Diggs has a question for you. Yeah, CJ, I mean, obviously all the throws are awesome and everything like that. And we've kind of come accustomed to you making these unbelievable throws and stuff.

But it was the first time that I've kind of seen some dude get in your face and push you and you didn't back down one inch. Okay. All right. Is that because you're comfortable now? Would that have happened earlier in the season? Or, like, what's your thoughts on it just altogether? Yeah, I mean, I really haven't had an opportunity

to really stick up for myself here. Like, there's been a lot of respect on both sides of the ball. There's been, like, a couple little things here and there, but nothing direct. And that situation, I mean, I just felt like clearly the whistle was blown. You can see me trying to retreat and not take a hit or whatever. Usually I'll dirt the ball in that situation, but there was really no one to dirt it to.

I should have probably did it anyways because we were in an empty formation. But, I mean, I feel like, yeah, I'm becoming more comfortable, and I've been able to hold my composure and keep real calm, cool, and collective. But that situation, I just felt like it was necessary. And honestly, I'm glad because I was going to throw the ball at him. But thank God I didn't do that. Yeah, I would have had a flag on me. But it was fourth and two.

We ended up getting the flag and getting the first. So it kind of worked out. But, yeah, it was just something I felt like I needed to stick up for myself. And the coolest thing for me was seeing my brothers having my back. You know, my old lineman, they ran down. They was not playing by me. And I appreciate that a lot because just like they were there for me, I'm always there for them.

And I try to be as best as possible. Yeah, you learn a lot about each other in those moments. And the rest of your team learned a lot about you in that moment too. You know, like quarterback, kicker, punter, similar situation. You're not scared to get into a fight. The rest of the locker room is like, did you see? Yes. Did you see?

That's a big deal. Obviously, I'm not speaking out of pocket here, but like it feels like you and that Texans organization and team is, like, the perfect fit. Does it feel that way for you as well at this point? Yes, sir. Yeah. And the thing that's been so cool with that is it was all natural.

You know, it wasn't like me forcing myself upon them, forcing themselves upon me. It was just really natural. Everything that we built relationship-wise, just trust. You know, I think for me, that was something that was really big was coming in and being a leader. But I wanted to be earned more than given. And you can tell how much that my teammates love me.

You can tell how much I love them. And it's been a blessing to be able to grow something special so far. But definitely got to keep it going, and we can really do something special this year, I feel. So that's definitely a first step. Yeah, if a rookie quarterback top two pick sticks his face into an outside linebacker's face. Yeah.

Yeah, I'm thinking that's going to be beloved in the locker room. D-Bud has a question for you. Yeah, CJ, when your teammates and your draft classmates as well, obviously a great win but a big loss with losing Tank Dell for the rest of the season, Who's going to step up in his absence that maybe the public doesn't know about quite yet? Yeah, it wasn't. It's been

it's actually hard to work, hard to like really speak about it still. In those type of moments, you want to go back and really just like, dang, the play before that, we should have just did this or did that to not let that happen. So, man, my prayers are still out of the tank.

That's really part of my best friend on the team. And we hang out all the time. And I've been in constant communication with him, just helping him out, trying to keep his mental health. So, I mean, that's just a sad situation. But part of the game, and I really, I mean, I told Nico after the game, I was like, bro, you had a great game. I think, what, he went from 190 or something crazy.

Yes, man. I was like, not, yeah, not only do I think, like, you need to keep that going, but I think you need to start being a leader and be more vocal. And so I kind of challenged him with that, and, man, he was all for it. So him, I mean, Noah, Rob, Metsch, I think Metsch is going to get more involved, which is going to be great for us. But we have the tools that we need to still be great. And, of course, we would still love Tank.

He was the forefront of that. But this league is an X-Men up league, and I definitely have faith in those guys to make plays. And I can't wait to see those guys do that. You're a rookie. You know, it's hard to – the way you talk and the things you say, it's hard to put that into perspective. But, like, this dude's a rookie. It's hard to – the way you talk and the things you say, it's hard to put that into perspective. But, like, this dude's a rookie right now.

And you talking to Nico, like, hey, you need to be a bigger leader now. And then we see on the defensive side of the ball with Will and what Stingley has done, feels like there's a youth movement down there in Houston. Do you guys recognize that? And how close of a group are you? Yeah, for sure. We have our player development guy, Dylan Thompson.

We have a rookie development meeting every, I think, was that Monday? And all the rookies, we sit in there, and he gives us like a thought of the day, lets us know about the team we're playing from GM, owner, all these little things, and then he gives us a nugget, and he lets some of us talk and things like that. And I remember Will one day, it was after we played the Colts, we were all in two, and Will challenged everybody. And he was like, okay, we might be young.

We might not know all the things that are going on in this league. And that's all right. But we're the foundation. We're going to lead this team. And I definitely think that we were all picked to our organization for a reason reason like every single rookie that we have that is active inactive or a practice guard whatever you want to see like we all have a sense of leadership so um that was a challenge that he challenged us with early and i feel like as you can tell it's been a young team kind of aura that has lifted this team up so it's been really cool to see that.

And, of course, along with a lot of great vets that we have, too. But definitely this team is young, and we're trying to definitely lead the pack as best we can. Speaking of young, first year, go ahead, Connor. Yeah, CJ, D'Amico, obviously, you know, he is, I think, one of the frontrunners or in the top three for Coach of the Year. And if you look at what he did to the Texans and what you have done for the Texans, they've completely turned the entire building around.

How is that relationship on a day-to-day basis? Like, are you going up to him in practice talking shit? Or how are we doing about that? Are you all right? I honestly don't know what just happened. I'm trying to figure it out while I talk. Yeah, that's good. No, you're good.

Yeah, Mika's a great coach. And him being a defensive coach, we definitely have a good idea of how we approach each other. And sometimes he gets irritated with me because I'm doing good against his defense. And sometimes I get irritated with him because he's calling zero blitz and a two-minute drill and a walkthrough. Oh, yeah. So we have our competitive competitive nature and i love that about him like he's not a coach that's going to shy away from competing um that's for me that's what i that's

what i'm uh happy uh to to really be with a coach that definitely cares about the team and he understands what it is to be a player and he played for the Texans. So one of his biggest goals was to get this team back rolling. So I appreciate him and everything he's done. I definitely think he should win Coach of the Year to see how quick this thing has turned around at his leadership. All right, we'll count you down for a vote towards him for Coach of the Year. Go ahead and write that. Yep.

CJ votes Tameko for Coach of the Year. Your word should mean something. You think another thing that I think T Tomiko and you and your young crew, like these close games, you guys win them. You know, like there's a lot coming down to the end of the game, need to make a play. You guys do it. Why do you think your group does that?

Why do you think you guys in these close games, you just know how to win? What do you think it is about your team down there in Houston? I think one thing, like you said, that gets harder and harder as the year goes on, especially after Thanksgiving, is those hard wins, those last seconds, those two-minute drills. So, Mikko has done a great job of putting us in those situations all the way back to OTAs.

We've done the two-minute drill after practice every day. So, and then now, since we can't do it full speed, we do two-minute walkthroughs on just operation, getting in and out of our cars, echoing the car outside. This week was our defense that was up, and they did a great job of just

being resilient. That's everything that you want going into these last games. Stingley's everywhere. Adudas everywhere, it feels like. Yeah, no. Stingley's everywhere. That dude is everywhere, feels like. Yeah, no, Stingley is,

I told him after the game, man, I'm proud of you, bro. Like, he's special, man. He's a generational talent.

He's definitely like, I don't know if I've ever told him this, but he's the most talented dude on the team by far. Like, just pure, like,

athleticism, ball skills, getting in and out of breaks, like, offense, defense, whatever you want to say, he's the most talented dude on the team. And he's been working his tail off at it, so I'm super proud of that dude. I know it's going to continue to happen, so I'm just really proud of him.

He's floating through the sky there. And then his last one, he goes up, contested another big-time catch. That's crazy. You hear that about Sting everywhere. You heard the same thing at LSU, that crazy talented roster, and now to hear CJ say that's crazy. Hey, Sting, wait. Hey, you done good, bu everywhere. You heard the same thing at LSU, that crazy talented roster, and now to hear CJ say that's crazy. Hey, Sting, you done good, bub. You done good.

People saying really good stuff about you, and me celebrating in a big way. Tone has a question for you about some stuff. Yeah, CJ. Did I see that you're warming up with basketball before the game and maybe some other things, baseball? I don't know if a baseball bat was in there or not. Swinging a stick. What is that for?

Yeah, I go back to really college. I started working out in L.A. with this company called 3DQB, and my trainers are Taylor Kelly, Adam Dudo, and John Beck, and they've done a great job of just putting me in situations. Home run. That was a home run. Splash. To make my body kind of dissociate from my shoulder to my hip.

And I've been working on some different movements and stuff. And it's been cool, man. Like the basketball, I really use that. One, because I love basketball. Two, it's the pronation of like flicking your wrist. I'm throwing a football to shoot in the basketball. It use that one because I love basketball too it's the pronation of like flicking your wrist I'm throwing a football to shooting basketball it's pretty similar and it helps me just put rotation on the ball also the basketball is a bigger ball so by the time I touch the football and

smaller and I feel I can throw it harder faster farther and the baseball swing is just kind of separating my shoulder and my hip and just that helps me zip on the ball and taking a lot of pressure off my arm. There's a couple other things that I do, but my coach in college, Coach Diggs, always go to Stephen Curry's pregame when he played for the Warriors and my coach coached for the Niners, and he said his warm-up was like an hour long

and just that routine of getting yourself, letting your body know you're about to play a physical game that's something that I've taken up and it's been cool to kind of just see it pay off and it's not easy so and for kids don't try if you don't know what you're doing because you might hurt yourself so it's been cool though to kind of just get the buzz and help people out who want to try it but be careful yeah get fully lubricated out there before you do your thing and when you're swinging that bat are we hitting dingers there are we spraying the field oh we hitting dingers yeah we squash the buzz it's a it's a golf thing but i use it as like a more i feel like a football throw is more of like a

baseball swing like setting your front foot not not over-striding and rotating your hips. So a lot of it kind of has to do with baseball in a sense too. Let's talk about your throwing. You had a throw a couple weeks ago that didn't count. Oh, holy hell. You know what I'm talking about. Is that the furthest you've ever thrown a football? That was one of the most absurd things I've ever seen.

We actually ran the highlight of it the next day. First time we've ever gone, no, this play didn't count. But look at this. That was bananas. That's just in there all the time. That's in there? Yeah, I feel like I think I can throw it farther, to be honest. I left it a little short.

Yeah, now I'm thinking about it. It did look short. Yeah, kind of floated at the end of it. Well, it's a shame that it didn't count because I don't think it was a penalty. But, you know, we're third and 20 and they just don't want us to get that thing. So it is what it is. We'll try to make that play happen again. But, no, it was pretty cool.

But I definitely doubt I could throw it farther. Okay. Well, I can't wait to see that. And you've said on the record so many times that refs have a hard job. Yeah. You know, they're not going to get it right and you appreciate them but you're right we agree that was not a penalty I know Ty has a question for you CJ yeah CJ we just had Aaron Rodgers in here and he was basically saying how you know we shouldn't be so quick to either crown a guy or basically say like hey this guy

stinks and he said a lot of times in the NFL when you're young like the development from your first year to your second year and then from your second year to your third year is massive. And you might be a completely different guy. But with you this year, when you come in and you just hit the ground running like that, you've been incredible. Like, do you notice your development week over week, like as the season progresses? Like, is there any time, like, for instance, last week, where, like, you're either reading a defense or you make a throw and you're kind of mentally saying, like, oh, that's something that I wouldn't have necessarily been able to do or wouldn't have seen, like, in the first week of the season.

But, like, you can kind of jot down, like, these different benchmarks and, like, progression that you've had because you've been playing so well this year. Yeah, most definitely. I feel Aaron hit it on the nail. There's a type of progress that you need to see every week. And for me, like I said before, I hate making mistakes twice. So there's a ton of mental bookmarks that I put on defenses, teams.

And this is a players-led league, and players make plays. So more than my scheme, of course, scheme is very important. You've got to know coverage. You have to know what kind of play you're running against a bad look or a great look. At the same time, you've got to know who you're playing against. So I've been just jotting down notes and stuff on how certain players play because, I mean, it's really different.

You can play an aggressive safety like Jesse Bates one week and then you can play a conservative safety the next. So it's been a lot of progress. And I think, like, even as a team, you look at when we played the Ravens week one to now, we're a completely opposite team. And I just think that's the testament to hard work and not only on the field but preparation and things like that. So, for me, I know this is just the beginning.

And I've said this before, and they'll hate me. I mean, they'll love me this week, but they'll hate me the next. And that's one of the realest things ever. We love you. We love you, CJ. No matter what. We're all turning our back quick. So I understand that.

And for me, that's not what I do it for. I do it for the glory of God and to see my teammates happy and smiling, for the Texans fans, because see my teammates happy and smiling for the Texas fans because it means more you know and I can't wait to see the progressions keep going and to get better and better in year two year three or four and it's a lot of a lot of exciting things that are going to come and let's fill up that stadium yeah that's right let's fill up that stadium CJ you know that hey you don't know this because you were probably in junior high at the time but whenever jj watt who might be playing for you guys again this year it sounds like

the way he's been talking on our show when jj and them were rolling down there that stadium was the loudest in the entire league i mean the texans fans in my eyes are some of the best in the nfl whenever they and they got it with you guys. I'm excited to see the train that this entire thing becomes. And I think the more I hear you talk, the more I think of like how perfect of a front man you are for a team and an organization. And then we learned about your cause, your cleats this weekend, which is another massive piece, I think to your entire story. We're lucky to learn about you, CJ. That's just what you, the NFL world is very lucky for you. The football world as a

whole is lucky for you. And I know that the prison reform is a massive thing in your life because of what has happened to your father. Just keep going, dude. You know what I mean? We appreciate the hell out of you. We genuinely do. You need to hear that. You need to hear that from us. You need to hear that from us, for real.

Thank you, man. That means a lot. I appreciate that. Thank you, man. You need to hear that from us. You need to hear that from us for real. Thank you, man. That means a lot. I appreciate that. Yeah. Now, granted, you know, Colts two times a year. I knew it was coming. Yeah, 17-game season. You know, maybe these NBA guys.

Yeah, two off. That's like 12 games off. Yeah. Take a couple. For the good of your career, I want to see you play 20, 30 years. Two games off each year against the Colts. Look at us. What are you thinking?

Not happening. Not happening. I'm playing against the Colts. They're a great team, though, man. They're doing a lot of special things. I like Shane. He's a good coach. I met him throughout the combine and everything. He's a great coach. And I think Garner's's a good coach. I met him throughout the combine and everything.

He's a great coach. And I think Garner's playing really good football. So that's a matchup waiting to happen. But it's some weeks ahead. So we'll see. All right. Even whenever you say something like that, it's the right thing. Yeah.

All right. I appreciate the hell out of you. You're the man. Ladies and gentlemen, quarterback for the Houston Texans. Rookie of the Year. Last job is C.J. Stroud. C.J. Stroud. Thank you, man. Look and gentlemen, quarterback for the Houston Texans. Rookie of the year. Let's have CJ Stroud. Thank you, man. Look at us just giving out awards.

I think we're pretty safe there. Yeah, you throw his hat in the ring for coach of the year. We can throw our hat in the ring for rookie of the year. Come on. Yeah, and MVP. Why not? If that Texans team ends up going on a run, like a real one, in the AFC, which is possible. Hey, it's very possible. Could get a home game.

In the AFC. Home playoff game, obviously huge. But what if they fuck around and win in the playoffs? They have the team to be able to do it. That would be absurd. With where they were to where they have come. Yeah. That is banal.

Jeff Saturday mentioned it earlier. He said a lot of these other owners and other fan bases are seeing what's going on in Houston. Oh, it's rookie head coach, rookie rookie quarterback we're able to do it it's like i that's a special group down there right now that's what we were saying at the start of the season and we weren't saying it but a lot of people were saying like hey you know they they're gonna suck next year and then they're gonna draft marvin harrison and they're gonna be able to kind of reform that bond they had at ohio state it's like they're going to be picking in the mid-20s. It's just like no one thought that they'd be doing what they're doing right now.

I don't want to say that anyone could beat anyone in the AFC because that would be stupid, but I think anyone, any of those AFC teams, if they have a bad day, could lose to any of the other teams if that makes sense. Yeah, like if somehow the wagon that is Tua in that offense, which has happened for some reason, just isn't on. Could happen. Yeah. Especially, I mean, if Houston has the home game, it wouldn't be.

But, like, in the playoffs, could get cold. Yeah, sure. You know, and I saw something out of Tua last night that made me think he's the coolest guy of all time. Yeah, for sure. Yes. That was awesome. He was great on the Manicast.

Unbelievable. And then Peyton and Eli both deciding at the same exact time, oh, we got to sing over this. Singing two different tunes, but they sounded certainly the same. Congrats on that moment. That was incredible. And he's shredded. And the more, yeah.

Shredded. Oh. Bang. Look at the mental toughness too, by the way. Still going. Yep. Keep going. You're perfect. On a delay?

Yeah, seriously. You need to work on your cadence. Singing. Singing. singing not bad, not bad very good speaking of music did you know that song?

I did not know that song you didn't fucking know either it was not Pearl Jam it was Pink Floyd we were fucking with you I did not know that song. Oh, my God. D-Bud. You didn't fucking know either. Yes, I did. It was not Pearl Jam. It was Pink Floyd. Yeah, he was Joe. Yeah, we were screwing with you. Yeah, we were messing with you.

You were getting fucked with. Darius, we were fucking with you. Well, now I know. That was Eric Clapton. Yeah. What, too? It was just playing. Yeah, I thought that was an original.

No, no, no. Tunes and him. But I saw Darius Rucker did say he would play with him. Oh, yeah. Well, Hootie and Blowfish actually going on tour this summer. What? Mm-hmm. They're back.

Let's go. Come to Indy? Come to Indy? Mm. They should. Oh, man. Have to. Indiana Annapolis seems like a place Hootie and Blowfish would have to go to.

Yeah. Got to. Maybe. Seems like it. Darius Rucker, I think he was down there at the SEC Championship. Drumming away. Gamecock, right? Yeah.

You were named after him? No, I wasn't. What? I wasn't. Oh, first the window's fake. Yeah. Now you're not named after Hootie. Why would Aaron tell lies like that?

Well, it's the C word. That's right. Yeah. I thought it was a different C word the first time I saw it. Me too, yeah. I was sitting over there like, whoa, we're doing journalism. We're doing journalism right now.

Jeez Louise. Jeez Louise. Oh, that C word. Ooh. Yeah. No. Well, I don't know what you went into. It's just roster.

You are. You went straight to conspiracy. I don't know. I went straight to conspiracy. I knew he was going conspiracy. Mine was a much shorter one. Yeah. Really?

Not me. It was a completely different one. Oh. Cat? Not me. It was a completely different one. Oh. Catastrophic. Had to do with USC, actually. South Carolina. Yeah. Oh.

Yeah, that's what I thought. What are you talking about? No, I knew immediately it was conspiracy theories. I do believe there are just a few other ones. No, no. Yeah.

That I... We could just get out. Yeah, sure. Yeah. Feels like we did it. Sure. Didn't we? We did New York.

Yeah, we did New York. It was great. We did pizza. What? Yes. Yeah, which. Feels like we did it. Sure. Didn't we? We did New York. We did New York. It was great. We did pizza. Yes. Yeah, which? What was that? It was pretty good. It was good?

It was like real good. What were you saying? It was number two? Yeah, where's it at? Two, not one. I'm not going to do a full pizza ranking right now. Dallas-South Pizza is near the top. It just needs to be known because that's a personal relationship and I work there.

There's one that tends to just sit above the rest wherever you go. And it travels. It is everywhere. It's everywhere. Really? And its consistency

is so good. Top notch. And I have this Italian horn on, okay, and I grew up in an Italian community. So when I say this type of stuff, I get judged harshly. I don't think you should say it.

Bingo. There's one of the Italians I grew up around, Anthony DiGiulio. And Franklin Nicholas Moraldo is probably going to have some thoughts. And there's a Peronio out there that's going to do it. And there's a Dallas Sala who owns a pizza shop who's going to have their entire thing. And this could literally go on for the next 15 minutes of the most Italian names that you've ever heard of in your entire life. Master Giacomo was one of them. I mean, his first name was Angelo.

I mean, you're talking about all Italians all the time. So when I say Pizza Hut is phenomenal. It's the best. Pizza Hut is phenomenal. Oh, and their wings. Their wings. Pizza Hut is so

fucking good. And that's, listen, now the difference. Like I ate that Grimaldi's, number one in New York. Right. You could tell that they have like natural ingredients. Sure. And it was like super fresh. This morning I didn't wake up and feel, you know, the urge to sprint to a toilet. Exactly.

And like, you know what I mean? Because it was a much more fresh pizza. Sure did taste good it was delightful now there's some new york pizza that is not good very bland very cheap and people act like it's better than everywhere else because it is new york i can respect that i understand that that's how you think but we in pittsburgh also like the way we make our pizza and then there's some in in Chicago that's lasagna that they call pizza. So there's different takes in this entire thing. I will say Pizza Hut, most consistent when you go to town where there's no Italians, okay?

That's actually, yeah. No Italians. Yeah, if we're eating pizza in Indianapolis, sure. Boom, you go to Pizza Hut. It is going to be better than all the other chain ones. But also, I'm not scared of them. It is going to be better than all the other chain ones. But also, I'm not scared of them. It tastes better.

It tastes better than what I ate last night. And that's the thing. If you're in the pizza game... But it's terrible. It makes me feel terrible immediately afterwards. Absolutely. Charge it to the game. It tasted great. It made me feel good. Charge it to the game. You're going to have awful diarrhea the next day. Awful. Almost immediately upon taking it down. It's it to the game. You're gonna have awful diarrhea the next day awful Yeah, almost immediately upon taking it down. Yeah, it's wanting to get out. Yeah, like for me It's same night and next day that's gonna happen

But the thing is is like people in the pizza game like Grimaldi's like they know hey, we're playing for second place You know? Everyone knows that. I'm gonna sell their soul to get them all. Everyone knows that. They do. Well, it's just like, what Grimaldi's is willing to put in their pizza... Mm-hmm. I don't think it's as much as what Pizza Hut's willing to put in their pizza. Exactly.

Because I have no idea what's in there. I know the grease on top of it is plenty. Oh my god. I know it's a lot. And Grimaldi's didn't have much. Grimaldi's was like optically. Yeah, unbelievable. Tasted very good. I bet.

But literally the only thing I compare it to is the pizza that I'm able to eat now in Indiana on a regular basis. And that's greasy ass. Who knows what the ingredients are. Pizza Hut pizza. And this particular one, I i gotta give it to the hut absolutely and people in new york know like hey the big new yorker from pizza hut is better than any slice you're gonna get in new york it's just the way it is i don't think that's just the way it is i mean i don't think what you're saying no it's a thousand percent sure and i hate saying it

because i do love new york pizza but i'm eating dallasella pizza over pizza hut pizza though that needs to be i've never had dallasella you should yeah so i can't you know dallasella Because I do love New York pizza. I'm eating Dallas-Hella pizza over Pizza Hut pizza, though. That needs to be noted. I've never had Dallas-Hella pizza. You should, yeah. So I can't, you know. Dallas-Hella would never be able to make it out of about a mile radius of where Dallas-Hella pizza is. Sure. I don't think they're doing DoorDash.

Okay. They are. We're talking every morning they're doing it. Right, mixing it up. Yeah, they're doing it. Does it help that the owner of Pizza Hut His last name is Hutzioni Does that Piazza Hutzioni

That's not real No no it is Piazza Like Mike Piazza That's his first name Hutzioni So it was like they say Adidas is Adi Dossenheimer You're saying Pizza Hut was Piazza Hutzioni And he was like shit shit, mama's recipe.

I could turn this shit into, hold on, Piazza Pizza. No. No. Piazza Pizza Hut. Hut. Hut one. Hut two. Hut one, hut two, hut three.

Well, well, well. Well, well. Here's a man that doesn't like any flavor on anything. Ladies and gentlemen, a guy who's made his home in this particular studio. Dan Robski. Wasn't he supposed to be here like four hours ago? Yeah. That's weird.

We talked about it yesterday. We literally talked to you. What's this all about? This is the New York thing. The way he looked at me, too, I can't shake his hand because I think he's going to pull it away. No. You know what I mean?

No, he's not going to do that. Smart. Smart. He's different in person. What are you talking about? What, fatter? I get it, dude. Sorry, I'm eating nothing.

Do you want to sit down? You come across nicer in person. You want to sit? That's not true. Do you want to sit down? Can we get you a chair? He wants to get you a chair. I got a chair.

I just drove. Yourself or? Yeah. Oh, you guys are on our. Yeah. Here? Yeah. Right here?

Is there everyone else in the studio? No, no, no. I sit in like a little closet here. I usually do it from Bristol, but UConn plays. UConn tonight? No. UConn plays tonight. So.

No. At MHG. Don't laugh. What's the aspect? No, it's just the way you said it. You two are the two most famous UConn alumni of all time. You got place tonight, so no, I don't laugh Yeah, you two are the two surprise you're not going to call it all time Work they play the the Dickie V classic tonight. So they're big and say UNC. Yeah. Hell. Yeah, Dickie. You killed Hey, what do you think about what you think about Jake Brown? You think if you just drop him into San Francisco 49ers offense he'd be able to a Brock Purdy does Basically drop him into San Francisco 49ers offense, he'd be able to do what Brock Purdy does? Basically.

He's the worst. He was good last night. Did you watch him? It was just a question. I thought he played really good. I thought he played really good on time. I also think Jacksonville's defense was so bad. Not great.

Like surprisingly bad. They didn't challenge him once. They played a ton of easy zone. I thought they ran themselves out of so many different plays. I was really disappointed in Jacksonville's defense. But Browning played good. They moved it. What did you say?

Didn't take chase away. But even in zone. Like, they didn't play much man. They just gave them throws in zones. Now, he played on time. So, that's a credit to him. And they moved a pocket to hit some screens versus some blitz. But I was more disappointed in how poorly Jacksonville's defense was.

Could have been the one seed if they won. Dude, they literally just lined up in zone and just got ripped apart pass after pass. Just 350 yards. Yeah. Think Beathard got a chance with Dex? Was it going to be three weeks? A chance to, like, hang in there?

Yeah, like 8-4 right now. Yeah, good player, obviously. No? Iowa guy. Texans and Colts at their heels. Because you hate Iowa? What do you mean? Come on, Dan. He's a good backup. Okay backup. Solid backup.

I mean, 9-10. Solid. Talk about beat hard. Yeah. Is that what we're talking about right now? No. Is he a former Niner? Eventually, no. If he is a former Niner. He's a former Niner. Hell yeah. That's the one. He's been spinning in that Shanahan offense. That's the one that everyone says. Like, you could play anybody in there, and then it's like, well,

there was a stretch where it was Nick Mullins and him. And Jimmy G and Trey Lance. Jimmy G played good. Like Brock Purdy? No. Oh. Dan. Is that a compliment to Brock Purdy?

Yes. All right. Damn. You like that, Dan? That's a full moment. We do like that. You're getting better. 6'5".

You're tall. He's very tall. You know what? Everyone always says they come up to me in the streets and they're like, man, you're so much taller than I thought. And I look at him and I said, dude, I was an unathletic white dude playing quarterback That's not true. I heard you were athletic.

Well, definitely athletic. Can golf, can hoop, can play. I was an athlete. No, I was very unathletic. But you got to tell Hawk. When you're doing your stuff for Hawk, you got to get him closer to the camera. He looks so little. Because when you're close to the camera, he's part.

And you're a model? He's getting a G. Take it off. Take it off. Take it off. Conor, I'm married. I'm married. No, you're right.

I mean, the boys are buzzing because Dan Orlovsky stopped in his studio. Dan, when you walk in here, what do you think to yourself? You know what? Today, every take is mine. Is that what you think when you walk in here? What day is it? Like today or Mondays? Every day you walk in here, you say, you know what?

It's fucking take time. Is that what you do when you walk in here? Because every day you bring it. Oh, yeah. Every day you put that bat right there on the shoulder. that when you see first pitch fastballs we swing boom that's what i'm saying i yell at all the kids when they look at a first pitch fastball in little league baseball it's gonna be the best pitch you're gonna get you're not allowed to coach them though i can coach uh baseball i can coach okay i'm coaching basketball right now i also hit up jj

reddick to ask him for five plays that I could run for my youth basketball team. Not a bad little connection there. JJ sent me a seven-minute video. What a guy. All positioned on a dry race board. And what did he say? Let's get the elbow inside?

Yeah, seriously. JJ Redick's assistant coach? I mean, we got to wait. He gave me a dry race board, all the positions where people go, why they get called that position, the type of player I should put in that position. JJ! We're going to be awesome.

Thank you, JJ. Connor has a question for you, Dano. Yeah, Dan, when you're thinking about, you know, Time Magazine's Athlete of the Year, do you immediately go to, you know, maybe someone like Bailey Zappi or Mac Jones, or do you think Lenny O'Messi deserved it? Good question.

It's a good question. We better hear it. Are those the three that I can choose from? Can I tag team off of that? I will throw Kenny, Mitch, and Mason Rudolph in there. You want Mason strictly because it's Christmas. Yeah. Okay.

How did the Patriots offense look after they benched Mac? Just answer the fucking question He's happy with slinging it If I had to choose between those three I'd go Mack 1 Messi 2 Bailey 3 Put them on the cover

What do you think about the fans in New England That won't even show up at the stadium anymore That's crazy to me And are thinking about the draft already That's the Patriots That's crazy to me. And are thinking about the draft already. Where are they sitting? That's the Patriots. That's crazy to me. That's the Patriots.

Really? Three years. It's gone from the pinnacle to being like 20% or 20 other teams that always suck. Well, it's been five years since Brady left and three years ago. Yeah, but they went to the playoffs in 21. So it's been two years. So three seasons. Yeah, two seasons. You're right. 22 and 23. Boys, we're fighting to the playoffs in 21. Yeah, so it's been two years. So three seasons. Yeah, two seasons.

You're right. 22 and 23. Boys, we're fighting over the minute details. The fact of the matter is Dynasty just ended seemingly yesterday, and today they're already kicking the bill out of the building, and they're not even going in there. Yeah, but it's been bad for – it's been below average performance or average to below for four or five years now.

But it's still crazy to not show up. Two years. I played in Detroit, and we were the worst team ever and people would show up. How about Detroit? You think they're all the way up? Are they, is this,

is this the brand new lines? I think the NFC, I think the NFC is one team that if you, you catch them and they play a B game, you can't beat them. Same for him. And then there's the group of Philly, Dallas.

That's probably that tier below. And then there's the group of Philly, Dallas, that's probably that tier below, and then Detroit. Ooh. Say it. And maybe Seattle? Green Bay? Green Bay. I think Green Bay's in. Okay. Wow. Rams got a shot? Can I ask you about this dream scenario that I

just discovered yesterday, okay? From a Detroit person. I was listening. That's brutal. You would throw for 500 yards. that I just discovered yesterday, okay? From a Detroit person. From a Detroit. Yeah, I was listening. Yeah, yeah. That's brutal. The line. He would throw for 500 yards. Stafford?

He would throw for 500 yards. In that game? Yes. And I love him. Foxy, did you hear that? Sorry, Foxy. He might throw two pick sixes in that. Why do you always have to be on it?

There he is. There he is. We got you, Foxy. Okay, we got it. Yeah, no. Dan, you know this cannot happen. You know Matthew Stafford has five touchdowns, 500 yards. Our offense is great.

The Lions' Jared Goff has been awesome. He's not keeping up with that. There is no way that that can happen. We cannot allow the Rams in the playoffs, especially against Detroit. I can't hear him, but he also has great hair. Rex thinks that Foxy, I'm asking you a question. Rex thinks that the defensive lineman, the rush end, that it was so hot. Houston, he's coming back this year.

Have you heard that? Have you heard that he's going to get healthy? Yeah, people think he's going to be healthy. He was so good at the end of the year last year as a rookie. So we need him because that defense, you know, has issues. And they can't stop anyone right now. Don't be so negative. They're the brand new Lions.

That's not negative. That's just being real because I love this team. You were the one yesterday that said Matthew Stafford and the Rams are going to get in the playoffs. They're going to play the Lions. I just said that's my worst nightmare. That is my absolute worst nightmare. But I just want to see them win a playoff game.

And if they have to play Stafford, I don't know if that's going to happen. If they play the Packers, the Vikings, any of these other teams. Hey, hell, even the Cowboys. I like us against the Cowboys more than I like us against Matthew Stafford. Yeah. Okay. I think a lot of people are going to question that. They play the Cowboys soon, don't they?

On Monday Night Football, don't they? They do. Are you calling that? No. I have Miami Monday night. Oh, you're doing Monday Night Football? don't they? Are you calling that? No, I have Miami Monday Night. Oh, you're doing Monday Night Football? Miami plays Tennessee and Miami, and then

at the same time on ABC is Packers-Giants here. Okay, real quick. You're calling Monday Night Football next week? Yes. Let's go. Let's go. Yeah, fired up for it. And they're the one seed. Okay, let's go Yeah, fired up for it And they're the one seed Okay, let's go

What are you going to lead off with? What am I going to lead? What's the open going to be? Yeah Oh, that last time What did you choose to do? I didn't go I wasn't the last time

No, the last time you didn't wear pants The last time I was in Germany No, the last time you didn't wear pants No, the last time I was in Germany No, you sneezed Yeah And your microphone caught your fart. Yeah.

Well, where were you when you didn't wear pants? That was London. Okay. That was London. Do you want to show up? I don't know what the lead. The lead is probably the fact that Miami is the one seed. And I don't know the last time that they were the one seed in December.

I mean, it had to be Marino. Not a bad company. Pennington might have had those boys, bud. Chad? Not a one seed. Not a one seed. out of one seed. Out of one seed. We were in a division with Brady.

Darius does. Remember, he's a Dolphins fan. I've been in the division for 20 years. Jason Fiedler? Hey, Fiedler has some years. We've been looking for a guy like Tua since Dan Marino, like legit. Obviously, we had Breeze, but didn't, you know, the shoulder thing. Did a great Tua story with McDaniel.

So, did the Germany game Did a great Tua story with McDaniel. So, did the Germany game. Two great Tua stories. Did the Germany game. And so, we sat with Mike and Tua. And Tua's sharing a story of, like, within the first day or something, McDaniel calls him. Like, hey, I'm fired up, this and that.

And Tua's on the golf course. And he was, like, in between, like, do I tell him the truth? Like, do I tell him I'm golfer or do I tell him, hey, coach, I just got done working out and I'm about to go watch tape. And McDaniel was like, I want to come watch tape with you, this and that. And so Tua was like, okay, coach, I'm golfing. And McDaniel was like, oh, dude, that's awesome. You know, so like that was great for Tua in the moment. And then so the next day or two, Mike McDaniel made like a a 700 play cut up at the oh yes we've heard about passes whatever and then

you know he was like two of these throws and two thought in a bad way two was like oh i probably should have thrown it here or yeah the read and mcdaniel's like oh no i'm not talking about it he's like i've just watched you throw 20 straight out routes to the field to a dude that's completely covered, and you put it on his face every single time. He's like, Tua said that was massive for him. Relationship building, trust building. Yeah. And then the first offseason, Tua threw like seven picks a day. No, because Mike was just like, listen, when I tell you to throw it here,

just throw it there. He's like, if I don't get them open, it's on me. And Tua was like throwing all these interceptions, and he was turning around to Mike, and Mike was like, just trust me. Just keep throwing it. Tua, like, at first was very hesitant, and then now as the offseason went on, he started to, like, do it more and more and more, and that's why he's playing so fast.

Are you watching Hard Knocks? I have not seen an episode of it yet. I've watched one. It looks awesome. What McDaniel's doing, the way he coaches, they talk about the accountability we had jalen on yesterday like he'll run in the middle of seven on seven to like a corner and be like what are we thinking here why are we running this we're running this because of this right

yep yep yep and then like just jog away it's like oh that's his style of coaching like just like a quick little hey remember this is why we're doing this and he's up he's like he was everywhere in the episode talking to Tua wide receiver I think even the offensive line at one point he was talking to a corner it's like oh this guy is like he does it his own way but I think he gets his message across I think he's a very like hey this is how this has to be too especially with that offense I don't I don't think he gets a lot of credit for that because he looks so cool yeah because he looks so cool yeah Yeah. Because he looks so cool. Yeah, everyone gauges him as this very reserved personality, maybe, and quiet, and he's not. And he's very, very, very upfront and to the point.

Yes, and diligent. Quite calculated. Cerebral. They got the right team for it, too. He's a fucking genius. He's a fucking genius. They're so fast. He should get more credit, too,

when you look at how Tua was with Brian Flores. It's like a completely different guy. Think about it, too. They didn't pick up his fifth-year option. Well, that was on the owner because they were paying him to lose. Allegedly. Well, he was tough to... That was being talked about in this studio, though, too.

Not just us. Not just us. Legend. Let's get out of here. Hey, thank you for stopping by. Thanks for having me. Thank you, Dan. Thank you, Dan. We got to live Dan's life for a couple of days. Hey, thank you for stopping by. Thanks for having me. Thank you, Dan. We got to live Dan's life for a couple

days. Yeah, it was fun. Good life. You guys honestly didn't know that wasn't real or you did and just didn't share it? Dude, it's real. This is disgusting. It's real. Don't be falling in for Aaron's conspiracies. Look at that boat. It's going across. It's right now going across.

They do, don't they? Did you see my journalism? Don't threaten me. I'll jump out the window. I thought it was a very good spot. How come you guys don't do that type of stuff every day? Why aren't you over there journalism-ing? You guys never use that area.

They used to more. We don't use it that much anymore. You got too comfortable in here? Too journalism? I think that is just so one-on-one. If Green has an interview that is one-on-one, I think he uses that. He should sit you down one-on-one. So if Green has an interview that is one-on-one, I think he uses that. He should sit you down one-on-one.

Yeah, what did he say? You know what, Dan? Not every tank. What if he said that? Yeah. No one will watch. You should stepbrother. Dan, we watch when your face is on the TV.

We watch your face. I don't think I'm that takey. I honestly don't. Okay. Well, that's part of the problem. All right. Let's get out of here. We appreciate you. You just say things with such

conviction that it comes off that way. You have to say what you're convicted about, Pat. Not at all. I felt the wrath of the Florida State fans yesterday. What's that? I felt the wrath of the Florida State fans yesterday. Everyone did. Not as much as Herb Street, but...

The way i handled it was kind of like let's let everybody else talk about it yeah you know right so i had herbie on herbie's 28 years he has a real passionate view on this and he knows more than we do let's have him come on now the reaction to him through our show was loud. Yeah, it was. A lot of comments. It was loud. Now, Herbie knew that was coming, though, I think. And he decided to do it. This morning on first take,

it was awesome. Molly goes, uh, Pat, Florida State, go ahead. And it's like, I've been trying to stay away from this one because I understand it's not fair. Like, I very much And it's like, I've been trying to stay away from this one because I understand it's not fair. No.

Like, I very much understand it's not fair. And if I was on that team, I'd be so pissed. If I was a fan of that team, I'd be so pissed. I would feel completely fucked and betrayed by the entire situation. But then you look at the other side of the coin, and it's like, what about the other teams, though, and how they feel about it, and the rules that were put in place for this exact situation to potentially happen it's like

i just it sucks i can't wait for the 12 team one yep it sucks that we've had to have this entire situation for florida state for college football as a whole because now all of college football is getting attacked for this and it's like hey it was a hell of a season it wasn't a awesome playoff it was a phenomenal season this year and it's like, hey, it was a hell of a season. It was an awesome playoff. It was a phenomenal season this year, and it kind of sucks that this is going to be the thing that everybody's going to kind of talk about. But once again, not fair. Not fair. Can't cut off the head to save the body.

Now, to be clear, though, and I said this earlier, like, I understand we're on ESPN. Yeah, of course. So this is ESPN coming in my ear to tell me to say this, obviously. Yeah, we'll do what we're told. How much have you gotten paid to do that? That's the type of human I am. It always has been. That's why you see we're now in a New York studio.

That is what happens. Yeah, exactly. I do exactly what I'm told all the time. That is kind of how I operate. If Alabama plays Florida State right now, Alabama wins. And I think that is the conversation. Like, Jalen Milrow is playing his best football. Alabama is playing their best football as a team.

Florida State winning. We're very happy. Not playing their best football. You know why? Their best player is no longer there. So it sucks that this situation even exists, but I think that's reality of the situation. Dude, when he went down, I was on first take, and I was like, no matter what happens, if they win out, they should be in.

Florida State, I also did not expect them to look that bad in two weeks or I did not expect Bama to beat Georgia. Sure. That's what changed.

Georgia should be pissed too. They also beat Florida who was playing a backup quarterback. Georgia should be pissed too. And now granted, they already had national championships

back-to-back ones, so you have enough. Yeah, I'm agreeing. And you guys try to kick me national championships back-to-back ones, so you have enough. I don't agree. And you guys try to kick me out of a restaurant because I'm not Dave Pollock and all the bullshit that you guys were spewing this entire year. But to speak up for the Georgia people, it's like

they won 29 straight. 29 straight, back-to-back national championships, and then they lose a game. They also had a three-week stretch this year where they beat I think it was number 12 Missouri, 10 Ole Miss, and then he loses a game. They also had a three-week stretch this year where they beat, I think it was number 12, Missouri. Tennessee. 10. 10.

Ole Miss. And then top 10. Tennessee by 75. Yeah. It's like Georgia fans probably thinking to themselves, yeah, we get Florida State. Okay, cool. Yeah, they got a legitimate, yeah.

What about with everything we've done, and now we can't defend our national championship? And there's a one-loss team in there? Yeah. Two one-loss teams in there. And the defending national champions are just 129 straight. Good point. Can't get in there. It's like, yeah, valid.

Yeah, very valid. But, hey. We're going to 12. You're going to beat Alabama. That's right. Who would be 12? Who's 12 this year? Liberty.

Liberty, yeah. And they would get beat by 90. Whoa, those boys got heart. For sure. But if they're playing five by 90. Whoa, those boys got heart. For sure. But if they're playing five Georgia in Georgia. Honest question for you. This is honest. Yeah, okay.

How many shirts, the animal shirts, do you have? Uncountable. Over 100. No, that'd be countable. Did you love animals as a child? Like, what's the reason why? Yeah, dude. Love PETA.

Kidding me? I look like an asshole? Yes. Okay. That's it. You just love animals? Just love them. What's your favorite animal?

Too many to love. Do you have a pet? No. Do you like cats? Yes. That's a flaw. What? Okay.

Have you ever met my cats? My cats are awesome. Got a three-legged cat named Scootsie. You don't like Scootsie? What an asshole. Wow. You're a bad guy. Cats are terrible.

You should get killed for that one. Get him, Peter. I mean, Scootsie. You're the only cool cats on the entire planet. Dogs are the best. You don't have to. Yeah, you do. You don't have to.

Yeah, you do. You don't have to. No, you don't. You do. You don't have to pick. No, you do. You don't. I got Val't have to You don't have to No you don't You don't have to pick No you do You don't I got Val Greatest dog on earth

In the house as well By choice or because Of Mrs So Mrs brought All these animals Into the house So not by choice So none of this

Was by choice You know that whole thing How many animals Are in the home Six Six Not the most At one time, though.

There's been a time where we had like two. The other house had a pack of raccoons living in it. Outside, but then it moved into the wall. And they all had diabetes because Sam was feeding them actual fruit loops and fruity pebbles every single day. Yeah. So then we moved and we just assumed that that diabetes ended up killing them all. No, it was the construction workers. They put nails in the raccoons' heads when they saw them.

Okay. Can't let them just shoot me. That loves Peter. They did not do that. That's what I heard. They did. Anyways. You're a one of a kind, man.

What? How did you find this character? His internship video. We'll send you the video. Long story. It's actually from start. We knew exactly what we were signing up for. Were you at from the company? He was at from the moment God's company I don't know what you're talking about. They're all interns. Yeah, it's how it all started at his company. Yeah, okay

No, no, I was yeah, they joined when we were at barstool, okay But like we were in Indy, you know Barstool. Oh, okay. But we were in Indy. Barstool was in New York, so we were in an operating situation. So I've been like his first boss, really. Yeah, ever. I had to go back to Fairfield because I was valedictorian, so I had to give that speech and everything. And then I moved back to Indy.

Where you left? He ain't no valedictorian at Fairfield. Look it up. No way. Look it up. Look it, read it. It's in a book somewhere. What's your last name? Stallions? You don't have to know. Campbell. Yeah. He way. Look it up. Look it, read it. It's in a book somewhere. What's your last name?

Stallions? You don't have to know. Campbell. He is our Connor Stallions. How do you feel about that whole situation? They're number one in the country. Michigan. Damn, we're doing a show.

Damn, we're live still. I made them wipe my records away. I don't want the government to track me. How do you spell Valley of Victoria? You figure it out. I'm not here to teach, Dan. The hell? What are you here to do? You come. I'm not here to teach, Dan. The hell? What are you here to do?

You come. I don't know. If you ever met my cats, by the way, I'm just so, you need to take back what you said. I can't stand them. I got a buddy who's, one of my buddies has got a cat, and he thinks it's, he likes the cat more than he likes his wife, for sure. Well, that sounds like your buddies. That guy's a weirdo.

It sounds like it. Sounds like there's a lot brewing there. Dan, I'm happy to hear the couples you guys hang out with like to keep things a little spicy. We also appreciate what you do for sports media. Yeah, love it. Thank you for your time, Dan. Thanks, guys.

Thank you, Dan. Travel safely home. We're proud of you, Dan. Love you, Dan. Way to go, Dan. Hey, man, Dan O. Rip it up on Monday night. Dan O.

Dan O. Dan O. Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Dan O, Way to go Dan O. You,! You! You! You! You! There. Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan! Dan, Dan, Dan! Dan, Dan, Dan! Rise and go! Right through the beat! It's flat, we don't need it. Check ball, ball game.

That was really good pass. That guy's a quarterback! Dan! Dan, Dan, Dan! Alright, alright, that's a show. I think that's a good way to end it. That is the show. That is the show. We show respect.

Yeah. To... respect. Yeah. To. Dang. Dang. Dang. Hey, we had journalism today for real. Journalism. That was an awesome sit down. A lot of journalism.

He didn't address the Achilles, did he? No. No. No. But I think the shoes did the talking. And you hammered that home. The shoes did do the talking. Barbara Walters would have pressed a little bit.

Eh, maybe. Who knows? Rest in peace? No, she's still on house arrest. She's still kicking talking. Barbara Walters would have pressed a little bit. Eh, maybe. Who knows? Rest in peace? No, she's still on house arrest. I think she's still kicking. Sorry, what? On house arrest. Or someone else.

You're thinking of Martha Stewart. Oh, there it is. She's not on house arrest. She's not on house arrest, by the way. She did her time. Yeah. She's out. She's a dog.

That's great news. Barbara Walters still doing it. Hell yeah. Thank you, Barbara. I thought of you. I'm getting a hit. Barbara's dead. Barbara's dead. Okay, rest in peace. She had a hell you, Barbara. I thought of you. Barbara's dead. She had a hell of a run.

How'd she die? Old age, probably. Barbara, we apologize. Who cares? She lived a great life. Bingo. Just like the snakes did on his boots. I tell a lot of people in New York, snakes died comfortably in their sleep. They were turned into boots. That's how this whole thing goes. Barbara Walters lived a full life.

I have a fun fact about that. And I thought of her. I want to let her family know, although we did not know if she was still with us because her presence is always with us. I thought of her as I was walking over there. Boom. Barbara Walters. She's dead, though. We need to remember that.

Fun fact, so everyone can sleep peacefully at night. The snakes can boot. The snakes accidentally bite themselves, and they die. And that's where the boots come from. Genius. Okay. So is a dumb snake. They accidentally bite themselves.

Yeah, they're poisonous. One bite kills you. That actually works. Barbara Walters died at her home in Manhattan right here on December 30th, 2022. Oh, very recent. Almost a year ago. She'd been suffering from, okay, our last words were, no regrets, had a great life. Hell yeah.

That's awesome. Hell yeah. No regrets, had a great life. Barbara Walters went down like a G. Are we really? Don't. Are we really? Don't do it.

She had dementia in her last years, and right before she died, she said, God, my life was sick. Did she really know? Didn't you have moments of pain? Yeah, yeah. Okay, I'm just asking. Jesus. I'm just asking. Jesus. I'm just asking.

93. I mean, whether she knew or not, that's a great life. Ty, what are you going to remember from this New York trip that we had here, pal? A lot of things for sure, but unquestionably, you saying this morning that Pizza Hut pizza was better than Grimaldi's. I will think about that probably every day for the rest of my life. I'm getting Pizza Hut right when I get home tonight. I cannot wait. What kind of crust? Well, we'll see.

I'll probably do one thin crust. Might grab a big New Yorker and then you just got your traditional hand-tossed pie. Maybe if I'm feeling crazy, I might throw a little pretzel crust on there. Grimaldi's didn't have that option. That's the thing about Pizza Hut.

They will do things to pizza that others won't. That's right. You know, and I will say the Grimaldi's was door dash. Now, every Pizza Hut I've ever had has been delivered. Sure.

So I'm comparing similar things. But a lot of people say, like, when you're in there and it's fresh off the... Hey. Might be different. You know how New York... Little Caesars.

I know New York has lost its fastball because there's a lot of New Yorkers in that same studio and no one has smacked you guys in the mouth for saying that that pizza is worse than Pizza Hut. Couple pops, actually. Yeah, they know what's right. They know what we're talking about. Yeah, they are very...

I thought I was Dan for a second. You know what one of my takeaways will be before we get to... Yeah, what? How professional are these people? Absolutely. They're professionals, Foxy. Yeah, they are very. I thought I was being, for a second. You know what one of my takeaways will be before we get to all the boys? How professional are these people? They are awesome. Thank you for dealing with us. Good people. We're sorry. Town, how about you?

What do you take away from this New York trip? We have someone in our office who likes to say, as a New Yorker, a lot. And they say, basically, a lot. So basically. So basically. His name is Matt Brown. Also known as Bruce Brown. Yesterday he said, hey, we're at this place.

He goes, hey, guys, let's go to this other place. I know this other place. I'm from New York. This place is awesome. It's a great little bar that we can go to, get some drinks before we go to dinner. We went to that place, and it was a Whole Foods. And there was not a bar in there.

There was no sex. Oh, kind of got exposed? Yeah, he... It was... It was the worst... It was the worst... Oh! So basically...

So basically... Worst recommendation I've ever heard from someone in my entire life and him putting himself on this New York pedestal that he normally does

for that to happen just was the best thing that's ever happened. Bruce, if you want to speak for yourself, I guess you should now at this particular time. Yeah, that didn't happen.

It's the place right there. The tin roof place. Was there a bar in there? No, no bar. Why didn't you guys go to the bocce putt-putt? It wasn't open. They must be paying $150 million a year to run whatever racket they're running. The easy grade right here.

There is a building on the pier right here. Prime Real Estate, I think, in New York where this is. It is beautiful view, obviously. Massive. Literally, Statue of Liberty is right there. Brooklyn Bridge right there. It's like a pretty perfect spot. They have maybe the entire pier, and we didn't see a single soul inside of it.

Nope. Has to be a front. For something. Has to be. They were like, come play bocce here. It's like a bocce bar is moving enough to pay for this. Bocce, and they had putting pool that you stand on top of. It looked awesome.

Shuffle board. Shuffle board. I assume there's food in there. Not a single soul in there. Nope. Lights were on. Lights were on. Yeah.

We had a Schefter's recommendation, Il Bargante, last night. How was the vibes? Good vibes. Great vibes. Wine was great. Food was great. It was a classic little Italian place in New York. Little Italian place?

Yeah. Il Bargante. Well, where we were sitting was little. It was. No, the whole place was small. A little cozy. Yeah, even inside. Tight quarters.

You guys were sitting in a shed on the sidewalk, I heard. Yep. They built it during COVID so that they could stay in flow. Hell yeah. Yeah. That's ingenuity. Ingenuity. Exactly.

What's your big takeaway from our time in New York, Conman? My big takeaway, as someone who kind of experiences bums on a daily basis In Indianapolis My big takeaway was this Weekend while we were driving Not sure assuming We don't know that it wasn't Assuming That to me is like

I'm trying to That's like a hall of Fame bum right there. That's my LeBron bum. And I saw him with my own two eyes. It was crazy. And now all I'm thinking is. That's your Chris Kyle of both. Yeah, exactly.

American hero. Bum of honor, if you will. And what I think I need to know. It was absurd. It was the biggest water gun I've seen. It was a.50 cal. It was a.50 cal water gun. Yeah.

Huge. Yellow. Bright yellow. cal. It was a.50 cal water gun. Yeah. Huge. Bright yellow. He had no shoes on. He's pointing his thing at people walking down the street. It was wild. We actually had a full conversation about how do we react if bum turns corner with .50 cal water gun.

I'm not 100% sure. Didn't have to experience because we were driving by. But that is quite a sure. Didn't have to experience because we were driving by. You hit the deck. But that was quite a scene. That was quite a scene. That was cool. So cool that first thing I'm going to do when we get back to Indianapolis,

buy eight of those things, spread them out around the city. We need to get our bum game up immediately. All right, all right. Geez. All right. I'm happy you want to bring

that tradition to Indianapolis. Absolutely. I mean, the city sucks. Aside from that, this place blows. So I'm glad that I got here. What are you you talking about this place is beautiful these look at these beautiful beautiful people are beautiful it's been cloudy and i mean look at look out the window oh the weather yeah it was probably your fault because you're driving a truck now yeah right that's why that's

why the weather is if i was driving a truck it probably helped how shitty this city is what are you talking about? There's nothing for us here. Okay? Nothing. These people are doing a lot for us. That's what I said. The people are great.

The city itself. Okay. New York City. Pizza. Bagels. We got Pizza Hut in Indy. So there's one. See ya.

I haven't had a bagel since I got here. In fact, the spread out in the morning, I believe they had stuff, you know, one of those mini bagel stuff things from Dunkin' Donuts. Okay. Can also get that in Indy. What do they got there? What are you talking about? Water.

Great water. It's not great water. You're not. Look at this. It's the best tasting water in the country. Yeah. They've actually worn that award. People swim in the Hudson all the time.

It's beautiful. Yeah. Swim in the Hudson. Guess what they do as soon as they get out? East River's even nicer. Whoa. Die immediately from the sludge. No. That's not true. Yeah. I in the Hudson. Guess what they do as soon as they get out? East River's even nicer. Whoa! Die immediately from the sludge. No!

Yeah. I think he got it all wrong. Kramer had a swim club in it. It's cities. And you know what happened to Kramer. That guy's got a past. Do you know how long it is? He certainly has said some things.

It took me an hour and ten minutes to get across that beach. Oh, my God. Yes. I can't believe I forgot that. Hour and ten minutes. This is L. Oh my god. Yes. I can't believe I forgot that. Our intended... This is LA East. It is as big of a pain in the ass to get around this place.

One lane up to that Brooklyn Bridge. One lane down. It's barely a lane. You're touching the railings of the fucking lane. But hey. Beautiful city. Can't wait to come back. Can't wait to come back. Can't wait to come back.

Hopefully we do this, you know, two years, three, four, seven. Sooner. We got the tech figured out. Semi-intern. Do we? I'm excited to listen after the show. We do. Big Mike and the boys worked on it.

And a bunch of people. Thank you for that, team. Appreciate that. The video. Did you see the camera on the journalism Thank you for that team. Appreciate that. Did you see the camera on the journalism show? Oh, yeah. Gorgeous. That was unbelievable. Every shot was.

See, that's New York. You should associate that with New York. No, it's the people. Once again, that is the people here who are fantastic. Everything else about this place fucking sucks. Now, die on that hill. What do you think? die on that hill Die on that hill Alright Darius

On that note What's your big takeaway from this That's hard to follow up No we need you I personally love New York Me too He's off the beaten track spot So I asked the guy

Where can I find a nice little sports bar to watch the game? He said, oh, I've got something for you. Come outside. You hit this corner, you make it right. It's going to be a door. Crack glass. Doesn't look like shit in there. You reach up, top left, pull a lever.

Yes. It'll open up. Him and Gump did this together. So I'm like, all right, cool. I go take a little peek. Probably not a good idea to go by myself. You know, he's like yeah you're getting there it's great vibes three ran by three degenerate gamblers nice guys but he's

gonna pour you some shots on that oh that was awesome let me hit gump up hey gump what's up gump comes downstairs we go we hit it you know and I get there I feel shitty about this I very disappointed myself couldn't get that motherfucker open oh no so now this. I'm very disappointed in myself. Couldn't get that motherfucker open. Oh, no. So now I'm the guy at the door. I know he's probably inside looking. So a guy comes and opens it for me. I get probably three steps in.

Dude comes from behind the bar. Hey, you know this guy? Gumby? No. He asked the guy that opened the door for me, does he know me? So the dude's looking like, no, he was trying to open the door. You don't open the door for people here. You got to get look like no you try to open doors you know open the door for people here you got to get in yourself like say hey Bernie sent me Oh Bernie since you huh definitely needs to fuck it up so

slow is an event but a great time it was an event great vibe and I come back to New York that would definitely be my spot when I come back. All right. I'm going down to some private club. Yeah. I like how the best spots are hidden. That's another great place about this city. That is. Best restaurants, best spots, but yeah, good time. Yeah, Bernie, too. What a plug. Shout out Bernie.

Sanders? Bernie might be a little sketchy. I'm sure. I'm going to drop his name next time. I'll tell you how much. No, it got you right in. It did, man. I was already in.

The guy that almost got his head blown off got me in. Appreciate him. He didn't know the drill, but that was a little awkward situation. Happy you all survived. The boys in the back, great work back there. Yeah, hell yeah. There you go, boys. Bruce, you too, pal, on your own little thing.

Thanks, boy, Bruce. So basically, like, you guys did New York, you know, right, Bruce? What did we not do? We saw the Statue of Liberty. Yep. We broke into a speakeasy. Yep. Had local pizza.

Right. Had some pasta. Yep. Yeah. I was pissed, too. He was pissed about Bruce leaving us hanging out with the fucking king of New York. We're fucking out here.

Bruce and Gumby got a nice little rivalry going on right now. We saw the homeless guy with the 50-cal water gun. We did it. What did we miss, Bruce? Anything? I mean, you could hit a Broadway show. We kind of did that. Yeah, Flatiron area, that's a good spot.

In a way. I think you did great. I don't know who told you that Grimaldi's was the best pizza in New York. Oh, here we go. Here we go. Is there another? John's is a popular answer. Oh, here we go. Here we go. Is there another? John's is a popular answer. Oh, okay.

Papa? Papa spots that I would rank above. The Papa? Three Uber drivers that drove me over that bridge that took an hour roughly every single time to get onto it, across it, and down the other side. They all said, that place right there, Grimaldi's best pizza in the city.

That's what they said, Bruce. I'm just going by what the locals were saying. It was on the Brooklyn side? Mm-hmm. But they weren't saying, like, in Brooklyn, best pizza. They, like, reiterated a couple times, like, hey, this is our city's best option right here, is what they said.

You don't think that's true? No, I don't. I don't. So that was this baby face, the pizza. Yeah, exactly. All right. Thank you, Bruce. Have a good day, Bruce.

Zito, what'd you say, pal? Burnley's down one zip right now. And water is wet. No, they won 5-0 this weekend. Yeah. Yeah, the boys were-0 this weekend. Yeah. Yeah, the boys were buzzing on Saturday morning. That was huge. But Huang Li Chan just scored a goal for the Timberwolves.

He's a good player. He is. Once he gets rolling, too, he gets one in the first half. Normally, Huang Li Chan will score in the second half as well. Gumpy, what's going on? What's the name of that team that they're playing right now? This thing work? Yeah.

No. Sounds like you're in Bristol. Wolverhampton. It's not working. No, that one doesn't work. We can hear Bristol. We can't hear you. What was that?

That was awesome. It was. We need that to happen more often. They should not be able to hear me. All right. Yeah, we hear you, Gumpy. We can hear you. That's good stuff.

That's it. The Wolverhampton Wolves. Thank you, God. What's their name? Wolverhampton Wolves. Alright. On that note, I think it's time for us to get the hell out of here.

What a fun time. I appreciate New York. I appreciate all the people that set this up, and we'll be back in Indianapolis tomorrow. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. From New York City.

Woo! Woo! Yeah. Goodbye.