The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 1058 - Trenches Wednesday With Marc-André Fleury, JJ Watt, Jake Johnson, AQ Shipley and Darius Butler LIVE In The ThunderDome, & AJ Hawk

Episode Date: January 17, 2024

On today’s show, Pat, AQ Shipley, Darius Butler, AJ Hawk, and the boys chat about Jason Kelce’s retirement and what it means to the offensive line community and the NFL as a whole and how difficult it is to walk away from the game, Mike Tomlin telling his players that he’s not going anywhere, how impressive Todd Bowles’ game plan against the Eagles was and how it will differ against the Lions, and everything else happening around the NFL as we prepare for the Divisional Round. Joining the progrum to chat about his career, this season, and where he may end up next is 3x Stanley Cup Champion, 2003 1st overall pick of the NHL Draft, the 2nd winningest goalie of all-time, Marc-Andre Fleury (42:34-56:08). Next, 3x DPOY, future Hall of Famer, Houston Texans Ring of Honor member, JJ Watt joins the show to chat about the playoffs, which teams he likes moving forward, his problems with PFF as a grading system, Burnley getting screwed by VAR, what he would do if he were Jerry Jones, and much more (1:07:02-2:19:45). Later, actor, writer, producer, and director, Jake Johnson joins the show to chat about his Bears and what he’d like to see them do with the #1 pick and kick the tires on Jim Harbaugh, his new film Self Reliance available on Hulu which he starred, directed, and wrote, his career as a whole, what’s next, and much more (2:23:27-2:50:40). 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 to our humble abode, the Thunderdome, on this Walk Wednesday, January 17, 2024. This sports program starts now. Football! It's a beautiful thing. We're heading into the divisional round this weekend with high hopes and high aspirations for the final eight teams that maybe they can change the trajectory of their entire program and their franchise now the chiefs if they go on to win this entire thing holy hell we're in the middle of another dynasty not that we aren't already but oh my god they're adding to the dynasty and if the houston texans can somehow topple the number one seed baltimore ravens this weekend are we talking about the greatest rookie season in the history of the nfl both from the

quarterback position and the head coach position, potentially. And how about the brand new Lions? At home, favored by 6.5, and I believe there will be a very handsome, mannequin-looking son of a bitch in attendance as the Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield travel up to very cold Detroit, Michigan. Hell yeah, can't wait. Haven't been to a games in 2016.

This will be my first ever Lions playoff game. Fired up for this one, boys. Let's go. I'm very happy for you. I'm about over people tweeting me, though. What are we going to do to get Evan to a game? He's an adult. Yeah.

Okay, I'm not his dad. No. What are we? I was about sick of that as well. I never told him. No wild card. Also, Sunday night football, what do you want me to do? Go to Detroit, drive back, get home at 5 a.m., and then what?

We got a show to do and I'm a dead body here? Now, listen, I appreciate the fact that you are that committed to your job, and obviously you have to be up and you have to be able and you have to be on top of everything back there. There's been a couple hangover Foxy days where I think Foxy has experienced a different life back there than whenever he feels good. We would have been very pumped if you would have went to that game up there in Detroit. Definitely.

It also would have helped you however you need to get up there and do that whole thing. But I was about sick of people tweeting me, don't you think that Pat McVie should let Evan Foxy go? What are we talking about? Yeah, and for all those haters out there, Pat was the one that was like, hey, you should go to this game and and you should go to SeatGeek. Get your tickets. Company will pay for it.

Let's go. Boom. There we go. Thank you, Pat. Hey, no problem. And also, let's make sure we get good seats, too, so you don't make the company look bad. Oh, yeah.

That's a whole other thing. The seats I originally picked, Pat said, no, no, no, no, no, no. You go to the fourth row right now. You're going to make me look bad. Yeah. You make me look bad. You're going to sit that high as if you're not getting paid anywhere. I see some other companies send people, and they're

up in the top row. I'm like, company looks bad here. I understand the game probably doesn't look good. Company doesn't look good. I'm happy you're going to get a chance to experience it, but what if the brand new Lions win another playoff game? It's all house money for Detroit. All they've been looking for is getting to playoffs and win a playoff game. They win a division,

then they win a playoff game. win a division then they win a playoff game if they were to win another one and going against a very hot buccaneers team that we're going to learn a lot about i think here in a matter of moments because we do have a massive formerly massive man that played offensive line who has been around todd bull's system a bit is going to point some things out that i don't think anybody has chatted about against philadelphia eagles on why they made jaylen hurts in that offense look as bad as they did in the prime time. Super wild card game. And then what do you think about the Niners?

What are they? Have we forgotten about what the Niners are already? Have we forgotten that the Niners are an absolute buzzsaw because we saw the Green Bay Packers do what the Green Bay Packers did to the Dallas Cowboys? Eight-point dogs going into Santa Clara. Nick Bosa is still talking. He needs a microphone more often. Just like Green Bay needs to put Jair Alexander at the stand every single day

until this game. They should do it with Bosa as well. We're in for a good one, and we are pumped about it. Lucky to be here, obviously. The Talks Table is here at Boston Corner and at Ty Schmidt. Gone Man, sweet shirt. Ty, Packers, Niners,

playoffs. This is a story as old as time, seemingly, in recent history. Yeah. I mean, those are the old Packers, though. You know, a lot of demons, obviously, with either going to San Francisco and getting their asses kicked big time, game being over, basically with like seven minutes left in the first quarter. And a couple years ago, coming to Green Bay when it was so cold Packers were the number one seed you know I had frozen tundra supposed to be you know one of the

preeminent home field advantages in the NFL they get beat Packers win that game who knows they may may win a Super Bowl that year but the closer we get to this game I mean same deal the same deal as the Dallas game no one's given the Packers any chance to win this game haven't forgotten how good the Niners are but I'll tell you what, we talked about it last week. We're going to talk about it again this week. I mean, this young Packers team, they don't know what they don't know.

Bingo. Hey, it's just another football game. You kidding me? Obviously, the stakes are a little bit raised, but going in, I mean, confidence could not be any higher after going into Jerry World. Do you feel like house money as well,

just like Foxy does, because you guys beat the Cowboys. You weren't supposed to do that first seven seed to beat the two seed or whatever. Absolutely. Packers had to beat the Bears. They had to win their last three games of the year just to get into the playoffs. At this point, again, Jordan loves the guy of the future. They found their quarterback.

And now let's see how far we can take this thing and play spoiler to a couple teams. If you beat the Niners, then everything changes. And it's like, hey, let's go how far we can take this thing and play spoiler to a couple teams. If you beat the Niners, then everything changes, and it's like, hey, let's go win a Super Bowl. So, I mean, I'm... And if you beat the Niners, the Niners on the other side are having a lot of conversations about what the hell went wrong, and they are probably calling for a lot of change, even though that team has been a complete buzzsaw.

Not a great spot for the number one team, but I know that they've earned it, worked for it, and we know that there's probably going to be a great show from that defense. Yeah, good football team. But Jordan Love has showcased that he can play against great defenses. Jordan Love has the calmness of a 45-year-old vet, but he's also in his first year. What does he know? We don't know.

What are the Packers? I don't think any of us know. But we know what the Niners are. Yeah. Buzzsaw. They are Buzzsaw. One half of the hammer. Darn! Cowboys tone, Diggins here. Tone, great news. Yesterday after we went what the Niners are. Yeah. Buzzsaw. They are Buzzsaw. One half of the hammer. Done.

Cowboys, Tom Diggs. Your tone, great news. Yesterday after we went off the air. Yeah. Mike Tomlin's back is what I heard. Yeah. There we go. Tom Diggs, this happened literally as soon as we got off the air yesterday.

Yeah, Coach T back. Coach T is a leader of men, and I would be an idiot if I said I wasn't happy that Coach T was back, because who would I be to question him and his great coaching career and every single player? Well, you already have done that. No, I don't think so. I don't remember that. You did that a lot this year.

Not him directly, but like the whole. Alluding. We'll get there. Who would I be to question all the players in the league that say he's a great coach? T.J. Watt said it when he was going through his contract talks. He said, hey, Mike T needs to be my coach. Cam Hayward said it, who's a great coach. T.J. Watt said it when he was going through his contract talks. He said, hey, Mike T needs to be my coach. Cam Hayward

said it, who's a great player. Listen, Mike T gets the boys up to play, okay? Love Mike T's back. If there are not, I almost swore, if there are not changes other places, and we just roll out the same thing that we did the last five years,

I'm going to lose my mind. Diggs. What do you mean? We've been above 500 17 years straight. He has such a good fit on him, too. You should see him. You do look real cowboy. Being above 500, that's cool.

You know what's cool? It's winning playoff games. That's not even cool. Winning Super Bowls is cool. Everything else doesn't matter so in the current situation we haven't done that since 2017 when we lost to the patriots in the afc championship oh you guys are a long way away from that yeah we are so are we won that so are we even though it feels like we're closer it doesn't matter like it doesn't matter if you're the second or third pick or the 18th pick does it at the end of the year 31 teams are gonna be disappointed and it doesn't feel like we're close to being that one team that's not disappointed

uh but i don't think coach t is that issue but there are you know a lot of people blame the roonies uh that they will not pay you know elite coordinators and that's that's not coach t's fault um i don't know if that's the truth or not but that is definitely what a lot of Pittsburgh thinks. If they go out and not saying the coordinators need to get fired or anything like that, but there needs to be

some reinvigoration of some things there. A couple of the guys we went to high school with after the interview with Lombardi yesterday where Lombardi said, if you think you're going to find a better coach than Mike Tomlin, good luck. And that's kind of how everybody talks about Mike Tomlin. A couple of guys from our high school said, okay, maybe we don't find somebody better, but maybe we'll go better than 9-8, 10-7 for the next hundred years.

We are about fed up with it. But a lot of people say the same thing. They say Tomlin's able to get above 500 with that roster with that roster how come the conversation is always about how crappy the roster is and how shitty the team is do you think Tomlin ever thinks about that and isn't Tomlin a massive piece of picking their roster or is he hands off with that no how do they make a change you think how does this whole thing evolve he is not hands off he's very much hands-on with the drafts everything like that I think omar khan who's come on come in and done very well with the draft so far um the the draft wasn't great the few years before omar stepped in um i don't know maybe make a free agent move every once in a while and

they've done free agent but like an actual free agent move like something that and don't be like oh well we drafted this guy so got to stick with this guy forever. And it's just the status quo. No, that's loyalty, remember? I think Grant's staying on loyalty. The Steeler's way. And consistency. You can always do that.

Which worked for them for a long, long time. But, like, it's not working right now. This is different. This is a new NFL. Nine-year NFL vet joining us for the third straight day for the 19th straight week. Yeah. Unbelievable.

Ladies and gentlemen, host of the Man to Man podcast and everything DB presents. Good, D-Bad, D-Darish. Hey, brother. Hey, boy. D-Bad, you look awesome today. Wow. Thank you. Yeah, you do.

Came in bright red. It's real cold outside. Everybody's spirits were lifted when he came in wearing this onesie. Oh, yeah. You look awesome. Do you know the name of the designer? Or are we just going to? Palm Angels. Okay.

The brand. I don't know who the designer is, but that's the brand. Do you remember the last designer we talked about? Oh, who is that? Psy. Oh. Ty. Oh, yeah.

That art switch. Su-Ty. Su-Ty. Yeah. Silent T. Yeah, you were grandstanding on how cultured you were. This is the fashion designer. Su Tai.

It's on your shirt. T-S-A-I. That was bad. You sure that's Su Tai? Yeah, that's Su Tai. That looks like Sai. That looks like Su Tai. Su Tai.

And immediately after the show, by the way, name is Sai. She was, hey, your fits this year, you should feel very proud of what you put on display here, but also the football acumen in which you've displayed every single day that you've joined us, we're very grateful for. I see the hockey hat on. That's because we have Marc-Andre Fleury joining us in about

30 minutes or so. Minnesota Wild, formerly of the Vegas Golden Knights, formerly of the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he was a three-time, well, I guess, yeah, three-time Stanley Cup champion. And now he's the number two most winning goalie in the history of hockey. He's a friend of the program, actually. He's been on before.

He's also been on Hockey Talk in the past, which was Nick and you quit on it halfway through. Oh, wasn't it you? So you don't even count. You don't even count. Anyways, he's a big part of that. He's a fantastic dude, funny gentleman. He'll be joining us and chit-chatting about the season. You don't even count. Anyways, he's fantastic, dude. Funny gentleman.

He'll be joining us and chit-chatting about the season. He's potentially getting traded. But in hockey, that's one of those things that's just kind of like, I think, openly discussed and you kind of know because their team is sitting eight points out of the playoffs, I believe. He's going to be in a hunt because he's playing great hockey, obviously. How many more years does he left? He didn't say he wanted to win a Stanley Cup. That's the only place he wants to go.

He actually wants to play meaningful minutes somewhere. But whenever you're at that stage of your career, you're always going to be talked about potentially being on the move. Anyways, love the hat. Let's go back to Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin's sticking around in Pittsburgh. I think Diggs kind of alluded to this. He said, I have no idea what the future looks like,

but I know pretty much exactly what's going to happen. Mike Tomlin staying in Pittsburgh is the most Pittsburgh Steelers move of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Only three coaches in the last 60 years there. So they are a very consistent bunch. Mike Tomlin will be able to find, you think, a championship team again in Pittsburgh? How do you think that whole thing works? And what do you think the team kind of views this decision going forward?

I assume every player in the locker room is pumped about this, that Mike Tomlin's back. But how do you end the season better, which has been the issue with Pittsburgh? I mean, every player you talk to room is pumped about this, that Mike Tomlin's back, but how do you end the season better, which has been the issue with Pittsburgh? Every player you talk to or you've been around, most of them, overwhelmingly, most of them will say they love Mike T, love playing for him. Obviously, the standard is the standard.

You've got to find a quarterback. You've got to find a quarterback, and Kenny Pickett, obviously, he drafted him a couple years ago. People still, hey, is he the guy? Is he not the guy? Maybe he's a new coordinator I think they have done a pretty good job especially driving uh drafting wide receivers the offensive line was an issue they played better towards the end of the year defensively you know a lot of people because of the turnovers and what T.J. Watt does and Highsmith on the other side I think it's a lot of holes on that defense as well

but you need a quarterback in this league you look at the quarterbacks that are left now in these final eight. First round, first round, first round, first round, first round, first round, first round, first round, seventh round. So I might have did eight first rounders there. There's eight teams. Just know that seven of them, first round. And that seventh rounder is a very, very good player and a really, really good offensive system

and obviously surrounded by a great player. Go on, D-Butt. You need a system. It all works together. You need players. You need a system. You need guys who are going to spend the money and put the team together like Lynch has done. Agree completely. And I'm a big fan of Brock Purdy and how he plays. And would he be this

in another system that maybe did stink? Probably not. Nobody probably could have success in some places the way it looks around the NFL. But that one over there is beautiful. And the fact that they go 10-7, 9-8 every single year puts them in a spot in the draft where, you know, you're never going to potentially get it, which is like a purgatory, I guess, which is what the Steelers fans feel.

A man who played for Mike Tomlin, 12-year NFL vet, Super Bowl champion, very slim fellow who just ran a half marathon this week. Wow. Thank you, Shipley's here. Yeah, huge. Thank you. Quickly, as we wrap up the Mike Tomlin chatter for the Pittsburgh Steelers, you're from Pittsburgh area, Moon Township,

same hometown as Joe Nardo, the greatest weatherman of all time that you hate somehow. Miss you, Joe. Because he ruined a golf outing you had with your dad as a kid whenever he forecasted some rain, and rain never came. It's Pittsburgh. Okay. Sorry, Joe Nardo got it wrong two times times you happen to have golf tea time on both

of those thank you joe nardo created for two sounds like he's over those two he was on tv every day yeah 365 days a year all right yeah did you hear that aka aq it's tough he's tough he is joe hey it's been the only guy I know who hates Ben. The dog, yeah. I'm Ben Roethlisberger. We're talking about Steelers. Actually played there with Ben Roethlisberger. Mike Tomlin. What's that? I said love

Satan. I don't think he's defeated the Ozakis. The guy's got a cross on his body and also celebrates Hanukkah. I think he's checking all the boxes that aren't Satan. Upside down cross. Anyway, when he's doing headstands, which is what he's doing these days now that he's so fit,

that's why you're seeing the cross upside down. His body is kind of shaped in a way where if you stand on his feet or on his head, you really... You don't know. Anyways. This show sucks, dude.

So bad. Anyways, A.Q., you didn't deserve any of that. Thanks. Mike Tomlin's coming back. You played in the building during Mike Tomlin. That was closer to the very, very, very successful years of the Tomlin run, which was at the beginning as opposed to more so as of late.

Whenever you hear he's coming back, your thoughts are, of course, that's kind of how the Steelers operate. Do you think they'll ever do massive changes, though, from within? That's not the Steelers' way at all. Do you think there's a chance? No, I don't because they won't do that. But they need to, for once, hire outside of the organization. It's been a constant.

I think it started with, you know, it was Bruce, and then it went to, I think, Randy Fickner, right? Maybe Todd Haley was the only one outside. Todd was out, and that was Killer Bees. And then they ran him out, right? Yep. And then they've continued to go within, right? If I was down there at Tequila Cowboy having a good time,

everybody's holding that over his head. I need more of that. Everybody's holding that over Todd Haley's head. That was after the AFC Championship game, yeah. Yeah, he's having fun. He's having a blast out there doing his thing, but they kind of ran him out. They need something.

They need something outside the organization. They've got to go get something that's creative, something different, something that brings a new energy, and I think if they can do that with some of the pieces they already have, you might infuse life back into that building. Okay, let's talk about another building that you played football in, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You won a Super Bowl with them.

At the AQ. AQ has been on a lot of teams. He. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You won a Super Bowl with them. AQ's been on a lot of teams. He's been on the Buccaneers, he's been on the Cardinals, he's been on the Colts, he's been on the Ravens, he's been on the Eagles, he's been on the Steelers. The guy's been everywhere, man. But down in Tampa Bay, he won a Super Bowl. Congratulations as a player and as a coach. Tampa Bay is a place that obviously has great history, great tradition. It was lost

for a while, then it was found when free agent Tom Brady went down there and changed the entire city. There was cranes basically in every single corner of Tampa Bay whenever we were down there. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Go Bolts, they were winning Stanley Cups. Everything came alive in Tampa during that time. And now Baker's come back, and I'm not saying it's the same exact experience, but he's putting up the same numbers that Tom Brady was putting up whenever they went on a run. Vibes are high in Tampa.

Press conferences are electrifying. Let's visit Todd Bowles' press conference from yesterday. Coach, I'm looking forward towards Detroit. The weather has been a factor in some of the playoff games, even for the most prepared teams. Today it's 13 in Detroit, which doesn't compare to some of the temperatures. Any special plans to acclimate the team to not only endure

but perform in those kind of frigid temperatures should you face them in Detroit? You do know we play indoors, right, and they've got a dome. I don't... No. Nothing planned. We're indoors and we only have to be outside for 20 seconds, getting off the bus, going under the thing, so we'll be okay. I am preparing for that walk

though, you know, because in Detroit, it's like a back alley. Remember, you walk into like a back, a little side door almost. So there is like a good... There is a good 20 30 seconds chance where you can get hit by that 13 degree weather that you can never replicate in tampa bay especially this time of year now to that lady's credit we've been told by a lot of people that have been in media a lot longer than us that some of the local media down there might have been a little thin

so they might have sent a news reporter in to maybe get a quote or ask a question into the press conference. With that being said, news reporters, I think, I've been accused of not doing enough of this. There has to be some sort of research you do beforehand so you don't get dunked on in a press conference and then laughed at across the entire area. Todd Bowles handled it professionally?

He did. I agree. I've said a lot of dumb things, asked a lot of dumb questions. That lady's life will continue to roll on, move on, have success. But whenever you talk about Todd Bowles in press conferences, he's given legendary answers of the past. Whenever you talk about Todd Bowles coaching football, the guy got a big, big brain. AQ, whenever you see Todd Bowles having the success that he's having,

more specifically the success that he had against the Philadelphia Eagles. Where the hell's my iPad? Shoot. Is it over there? Yeah, it's still over there. Go grab it. Hey, that'd be, Bruce, if you could grab it. Anyways, whenever you saw Todd Bowles have the success he had against Philadelphia Eagles, you noticed something I don't think anybody else did. And I think it's because you were in the building with that

man. And I think it's because you looked at the film and said, a minute this was the weapon that made Jalen Hurts look as bad as he looked thank you Bruce great work Bruce uh that nobody's really chatted about good football coach great football coach is this team have what it takes to go on a run right now kind of out of nowhere in a crappie NFC South yeah I think he's an absolute stud he put on an absolute master class against the philadelphia eagles when you watch what we're about to watch i got five clips here's the deal everybody's played the philadelphia eagles in nickel defense for the last two years for the most part they're scared to

death of what they can do in the rpo game and all that stuff right todd bowles went 27 out of 60 snaps with seven man front or even eight man front he went goal line defense 14 snaps in this game and his whole reason was we're gonna send more than you can block so here's what's gonna happen man front or even eight man front. He went goal line defense, 14 snaps in this game. And his whole reason was we're going to send more than you can block. So here's what's going to happen, right? This first clip here, we got one, two, three, four, five, six on defense, right? Then we got one, two, three, four, five on offense. Do we see that? Everybody sees that, correct? So, yeah. Okay. So what's going to happen here is as we let this thing run, they have one more than we can block, which you get a free rusher, Shaq Barrett, who just a few short years ago had 19 sacks,

free off the edge, fade away, incomplete pass. That's what happens in play one. Okay. I picked four separate looks moving forward now check it out same thing right we go back we got one two three four five six seven guys on defense we have a six-man protection they call this cover zero bring one more than you can block right here it is let's let it run and jason kelsey's pointing out, because check it out, that's a defensive end at linebacker. Oh, shit. We send all these people, free man off the edge. Uh-oh, man in his face. Fade away. First third down of the game, incomplete, huge play. Tampa goes up 10-0. Let's go to the next one, okay? Check it out. Again, let's take notice first that Anthony Nelson, I don't know if you can

circle him, Pat, 98 standing up. He's normally a defensive end. They switch places. That is also going to cause confusion. We have seven, seven man front again. Again, you haven't seen this against the Philadelphia Eagles. As we go, we have a seven man front as you just did, right? And we're going to send somebody in motion and we get another five man protection. The only person that doesn't come here is Levante David. And so we're still bringing six versus five. We are sending more than they can do, which causes Jalen to get the ball out fast. DBs are able to sit on the routes,

don't have to cover people down the field, and ball has to come out fast. And he has pressure in his face because there's unblocked people. They're also confused on who they're going to because you have a defensive end standing up and not on the line of scrimmage. Shit, who do we got? And then the back's like, shit, who do we got? Let's go to the next clip. Next clip we got. Now we get interesting, right? We only got a three-man front, right? Now we got four linebackers, or so we think. But check it out. That's Anthony Nelson, number 98, playing linebacker. That's number 94, first- round pick out of pit kalijah can't see a defensive tackle

playing the jack linebacker and they're going to run a will jack cross dog again and 94 so 98 says to pick 94 around the running back has no idea where to go he's confused and then 94 comes scott free pressure in his face gain of two fade away throw fade away throw again now we go again another three-man front but guess what this is nickel defense now but still 98 94 two defensive linemen pass rushers as linebackers we're going to run another cross dog and then 45 devon white we're going to send also runs over the over the back. Pressure in his face. Masterclass by Todd Bowles. Just sending pressure all night long.

So that was – why didn't everybody do that? Yeah. Doesn't that feel like just like the natural right play? And Todd Bowles I don't think gets chatted about a lot as like mastermind defensive guy. I think it's because everybody laughed at the NFC South all year. Why doesn't everybody do that? Is that what you're supposed to do against everybody seemingly? Listen, first things first, A.J. Brown was out.

That's a huge piece to this puzzle. Huge, huge piece to this puzzle. Secondly, that is his M.O. His M.O. is he's going to live and die by the Blitz, and he's done it from the time he's been a coordinator, the time he was in New York, the time he's been in Arizona with me beforehand, the time he's been in Tampa. he lives and dies by the Blitz.

He lives and dies by pressure. That's actually what kind of got us beat against L.A. in the playoffs. Sent cover zero Blitz. They hit Cooper Cup. They win the game after we make a nice little comeback when I was down in Tampa. But this was a master class, just watching him go one more. How well go against Detroit? So that's the beauty.

I didn't give away anything because that's the beautiful thing about what we just showed. You won't see a single thing of that. Not one single look that we just saw right there will show up this next week. He will have a completely different plan, a completely different plan of attack. It's a completely different offense, and that is what makes him so good. Todd Bowles, dog. NMC South champion.

Obviously, he'd been a head coach before at the Jets, I believe. Yep. Success. Then he went down to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Bruce Arians, kind of passed the baton over to Todd Bowles, getting an opportunity. Everybody that talks about him says how big his football brain is. Oh, yeah. So smart.

And yesterday in that press conference, good personality. Yeah. You know, because you saw his brain go in a couple different times. This is tough. This is tough. Where is she headed? This is tough. No, don't do this. Please don't put me in this. No. Well, then he is. They got a dumb lady. Don't. He is tough. Where is she headed? This is tough. No, don't do this.

Please don't put me in this. Don't, no. They got it, don't, lady. He answered it like, what are you talking about? And then he went, all right, I need to be nice. We'll be outside for 20 seconds. We should be okay. Yeah, he tried to give her the right answer.

The internet really had their way. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. We put that up on the Instagram. That had a million views in about 40 minutes or so. Yeah, those comments. A lot of action. Yeah.

Yeah, and then a lot of people coming in saying, hey, this is how this works. This is why this lady was in there. I like the fact that she rehearsed the question. Okay? She even added in a couple ha-has. You know? Yeah, good to live, right. She was comfortable, confident in there.

Oh, yeah. And then just completely backfired. You know? And that's not her fault. No. Well, kind of. Should know that, I think, especially if you get the opportunity to go to a press conference. But she's not in the sports

world. That's not a normal thing. She's saving the world normally. Absolutely. I like to imagine that immediately after she asked that question and got that answer, she looked at her producer and said, where were you on that one, dipshit? You're supposed to be doing the legwork on that. Nine iron, huh? Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Oh, you're fired.

Yeah, I do believe. Yeah. People are saying a lot of stuff about her. They are? Yeah, they are. And this comes after the Mike Tallman situation with, you know, where he was asked about having a year left on his contract on it. Anyone?

Mike, you have a year left on your contract. Anyone? Mike, you have a year left on your contract. Never gives a whole. What was funny was last night on Steelers Twitter, Noel did the same thing to a reporter in 88, I believe. Same situation? Pretty much.

Last question, same look, just pieced out. I don't know. Tomlin's look and delivery of turn was, you talk about master class for Todd Bowles against that Eagles defense, that was master class of, I ain't about the shit. Then it comes out that he's coming back. Speaking of coming back, we don't know I guess officially what's going to happen with the greatest center of all time, one of the most

sexy men to ever exist, Jason Kelsey. He addressed the message that he sent to the locker room after losing this past weekend, getting leaked pretty much. And the big fella gets a little emotional, I will say. Here's Jason Kelsey talking about his future in football on the New Heights Podcast. You know, Nick kind of gave me an opportunity to talk. I didn't announce what I was doing on purpose, despite, I guess, what's been leaked to the media.

I just don't think you're in a position after a game like that to really make that decision. I just don't. There's too much emotion in the moment to really fully grasp that decision. I'm not trying to be dramatic and continue to draw this thing out. I'm really not. It's just something that I think, you know, when it's time to officially announce, you know, what's happening in the future. It'll be done in a way that's, you know, definitive and pays respect to a lot of people and individuals that have meant a lot to me and has led to the career I've had. You know, I don't think that it would be respectful or even accurate

to be able to do that right after a game like that. Yeah. But I did address the team and pretty much said the same thing that I just said to you, which is I got belief in every single one of you guys. I cherish the moment you have in this league. A lot of guys are like, you know, if that is your last game, I feel sorry for you. And I'm like, don't feel sorry for me, mother******. Oh, no. Don't feel sorry for me, mother******. I'm not going to be ****.

Oh, no. Hell yeah, brother. Hell yeah, man. Jason Kelsey. I mean, don't feel sorry for me. I've had a, and he was about to say, a phenomenal career. A phenomenal career. Right, of course.

And he started thinking back on all the moments. And whenever he're saying, you know, to do it the right way, he's like to thank his, like, little league coach, obviously his parents, his brother, I assume, high school coaches, state of Ohio, university of Cincinnati, like the whole thing, everybody that's kind of affected his life. So I assume he feels a certain type of way about not being able to do it his own way. We talked to Mitch Morse yesterday, and he basically sang his praises.

And I even mentioned to Mitch Morse that you're a D1 hater. You even sang Jason Kelsey's praises. He's a guy. He's been the guy. And what do the Eagles team, what do they lose whenever he's gone? And what has Kelsey's career kind of been like from your point of view as a guy who's basically been there the same

right? I mean, he's our age, I think. He is. he's a year younger so 2010 i was in philly when literally they drafted him so i got to watch him his rookie year and have the utmost respect for what this guy does what he means what he stands for as a player as a person he's unbelievable got a signed jersey from him i think it means the world to me right you guys are great that's pretty awesome you got his autograph. That's sweet. That's pretty awesome. You got Jason Kelsey's autograph? Did you guys do a swap? We did, but here's the deal.

He asked for yours? I mean, it's kind of like a little center thing, right? Like a little center. Oh, that's nice. I didn't know he asked. He's asking for your autograph. I don't know if it's up on the wall. I know it's up on my wall.

It's a cleaning rag. That's all right. That's all right. Might be using it as a rag on his car. In the toilet. It's okay. I mean, he's right. Might be using it as a rag on his car. In the toilet. It's okay. I mean, he's unbelievable. And some people were posting some highlights I saw on Twitter yesterday.

He's so good. And he's been so good for so long. And he's been durable. He's reliable. And he just goes to work. You see the knee brace on him. He's obviously a little banged up at the end of this year. He just plays and plays and plays and plays his ass off.

He's an old ass man now at this point, D-Butt. And whenever we got to watch that documentary on Amazon Prime, which I think was their most watched documentary of all time, they're also getting more into the sports. I think they bought all the ballet sports. Bingo, like 37. I think there's a lot of negotiations happening right now. Okay? And

I got to catch the beginning of most of those conversations whenever i was doing my conversations on where you know we were going to take the show potentially home and all the future ideas were certainly a part of all those conversations that i got to be a part of now we're kind of seeing it unfold that is uh the nfl media one that has been negotiated by everywhere. That's a huge deal. That's the one. That's a huge, huge deal.

But I think there's a chance that the people that were potentially in on that and others are going to try to do. So the Bally sports deal, good deal for Amazon. It feels like if you want to get into sports and you're able to have all the local casts everywhere, that feels like a smart play. And for Bally's, they were, you know, because I think I even had conversations with the people that own that potential network.

They were trying to figure out how they were going to survive as well. That feels like a very, very good relationship. Go ahead, Tom. That'd be really cool if they could put on Amazon, like because we can't watch. I don't even know if Bally's is in Pittsburgh, but like we can't watch Penn's games. So ESPN Plus. Yeah, unless

they're on ESPN or Pirates games or whatever. I'm just saying, if you could be out of state and go on Amazon and watch where you're from, locals, teams, games, that'd be awesome. Yeah, it feels like that's probably where they're headed. I think MLB and NBA, big for the Bally's. I think that

is where it's at. The NHL, I think the ESPN Plus deal was a massive one, and you have the opportunity to do that. But on that documentary that we watched on Prime with Kelsey, it's like you saw him hang out with his family, and you saw him with his daughters and appreciating that time. And he talked to us about how if he feels like he can still be a player and still have that time and enjoy it all,

that was going to go into the conversation. When you have to retire and you saw him get choked up it's not easy at all especially for guys that are goats guys are going to be first ballot hall of famers guys that played nine years are appreciated by everybody that they played alongside that's not an easy decision to make at all yesterday while we were talking about it like obviously we hadn't talked about it because it was headlines everywhere it wasn't like we were the only people talking about it. But as I was doing it, I'm like, I wonder how Jason Kelsey feels about this being how it is being talked about, his retirement. Not easy decision.

Not at all, especially with him. You know, obviously a great career, hype, won the Super Bowl and lost the Super Bowl, came back this year. Obviously, it didn't end how he wanted to. We're just wired, you know, to compete. And you know, like you said, don't feel sorry for him, you know, because he had a great career. He reached those highs, got paid, all these different things. So definitely don't feel sorry for him.

But regardless of where you are, five-year career, 15-year, when you go and take that leap, it's a huge leap. And it's a tough transition for a lot of people for different reasons. So I'm sure there's some fear there as well. Then just not being in that locker room with your guys, especially the position he plays, like it's almost like another quarterback, you know, in the trenches on both sides. So just not been in that locker room with your guys, especially the position he plays. It's almost like another quarterback in the trenches on both sides. Just the utmost respect for him.

Obviously, insiders and guys, they got a job to do. They want to be the first to leak certain things. A guy like this... Who in that locker room leaked that, you think? Could have been anybody. It could have been a trainer. You know the game. Everybody's got moles and rats and everybody's.

Everybody does. We're learning more and more and more. We're getting good, aren't we? A lot of keys out there. Trainers, coaches, front office people. Like, who knows where it can go? What do you get out of it? Oh, you get a future narrative builder from you.

Yeah, you get some help down the road. That's a whole scratch my back, scratch your back, but my back's located. Oh, my. Yeah, that whole situation that they've got going on there. Maybe he'll just focus full-time on being a model to him, being the sexiest man on Earth, Con Man. Could do that. Could also focus on being the greatest sports podcast out there right now.

But you mentioned the doc. As someone who didn't really know Jason Kelsey kelsey as you know a casual fan growing up watching the documentary he's just one of those guys that everyone loves and it's easy to root for but for you guys like how hard is it to retire when the message for a lot of the year even when they're struggling is like hey we're so close like we we are right there we just have a couple plays where you know we don't get the exact look or whatever situation it is, and especially when your best player gets hurt for the playoffs. How hard is it knowing in your mind, hey, this team could go on and win a Super Bowl next year again,

just like last year? So for me, vastly different story, I assume, than you guys. I retired after a Pro Bowl, and I said, all right, I'm done. And I was okay with it. I was completely cool with the whole thought of it. I did think the team was going to continue to be great, but I was just like,. I was completely cool with the whole thought of it. I did think the team was going to continue to be great, but I was just like, all right, I'll just cover the team. But I had no impact on whether or not we were going to win games. Like I could help, but if

we're down 21 in the second half, I might as well have a seat in the front row because I'm watching like, Hey, let's do this. So my happiness started being dependent upon how everybody else was i was doing this sounds so selfish but it was like i was having my greatest i was unconscious for a while just like doing my job better than ever and then i wasn't able to be happy though because we were losing like so it was like uh for me it was like uh is it worth it anymore at my position to continue to do this and it was a, obviously, because you're taking a leap, and I've played competitive sports my whole entire life. So it's like that has been my entire regimen.

So I think that was the biggest thing for me. A lot of guys, though, get told when it's over. A lot of guys get told when it's over, like, hey, it's over because you're no longer good enough, which then guys get jaded towards the sport, towards the league, towards the team, because for the first time in their entire life, literally, if guys are playing 13, 14 years, they started playing when they're, what, five, six years old?

Now at this point, they're 37, 38, almost 40 years old, even older, I guess, than that, and they're being told, hey, you're not good enough anymore. That's the first time in their life in any competition where they've been told you're not good. So some people get a little bit jaded some people get very pissed off about that turns them off to the game some guys don't even watch the nfl or football for years afterwards because of how angry they are without then inevitably they start coming back you know then inevitably they start coming back and then they remember why they fell in love with football and they understand nowadays that their knowledge of football can bring them a lot of money, and it can be a profession,

and you don't have to just disappear and wither away, and your resume does matter and everything like that. But the medical one, the injury one, is the one that's tough. And I think that is something that AQ can kind of talk about. And I'm not saying Jason Kelsey is going away because of that, although he is banged up seemingly. Yeah, always. Always, all the time, at the age he's at especially

with the tush push where he has to get on the ground and scream my life before every single one of them it's like the injury one for you that was tough as a very good friend of yours i assume for your family and for you did you get jaded at all towards the sport what was kind of because for those that don't know aq walked into into a doctor's office after playing with Tom Brady in the middle of a probable Super Bowl run. First time getting a chance to really start because Ryan got hurt, right? Allie Marpet got hurt. They moved Jensen to guard. Got it.

Allie Marpet got hurt, moved Jensen to guard. AQ gets to play now on a Super Bowl team with Tom Brady, year 12. Played well, too. Here we go. Playing good. And then gets an injury. Obviously knew it was something involving spine and neck.

Goes into a doctor's office like two days later expecting like, hey, probably two, three weeks. Gonna have to do this thing. Instead, doctor just says, hey, you're not playing football ever again. You're done. Right? That's how it all kind of took place. Exactly. I called you literally minutes after I get this news,

right? I mean, I was very, very upset. I think the biggest thing, like when you're, for me, like I knew I could have stole another couple of years.

Like I knew that, like I knew I was still playing at a high level. I knew my body was in good enough shape to. Had enough connections. Had enough connections to kind of, whether or not, and listen, when I went down to Tampa,

I wasn't going down there to be the star. I was going down there to be like the veteran mentor in a locker room. And I could have done that for like two or three more years. Right. And so then, you know, when that's pulled, when I went down to Tampa, I wasn't going down there to be the star. I was going down there to be like the veteran mentor in the locker room. And I could have done that for like two or three more years. Right. And so then, you know, when that's pulled, when that when that plug is pulled, like within seconds, it's like, whoa, like what just happened? Right. And so and now my my case was obviously middle of the season. But there's so many other cases where it's, you know, they've had six surgeries in the last five years. Right. And those ones now it's like, man, it's had six surgeries in the last five years, right? And those ones, now it's like, man, it's struggling for me to get out of bed.

It's struggling for me. It's a struggle for me to walk to the bathroom in the morning, right? Like those things. And then that's when it's like, oh, it's time. But, like, you're never prepared for it, ever. Ever. Ever. What happened?

I don't think I remember. I had a position change going into my ninth year. So I had a one-year deal. It was moved to safety. I had a good year. into my ninth year. So I had a one-year deal, was moved to safety. Had a good year and, like, same situation. Felt like I could have stayed playing, still had the connections. Body wasn't very banged up, but kind of towards the end of the season, kind of, and that was a tough year for injuries and winning and shit.

Like, that's when, you know, teams started doing different things for the future. So towards the end of the year, I kind of already had my mind made like, okay, I end this year healthy. After this season, if it's not like a – because I wanted to play 10. I played 9, got to 9. I wanted to play 10. But I told my agent, if it's not like the perfect situation coming in, getting the role that I want, getting the money that I want,

just don't even call me. Because I would rather just flip that switch and start going forward. Full. Yeah, full. Because that's the biggest thing, honestly, transition. it starting at five retired I was 32 and I retired but whenever you retire 25 20 years like you're as a football player basketball player hockey like that's your identity for a lot of guys like that's who you are and that was what I did was a big part of who I am but it never was everything you know what I mean so I felt I, like, terrified of going out into the real world.

I felt like football prepares you for a lot of different things. You take a lot of shit you learned in the locker room and coaches and all those different things and take them to life. You can go a long way. So I was mentally kind of ready, but then, like you said, once that season starts or training camp comes around, it's like, damn, you start to get that itch. You know, you're not working out the same anymore.

You know, so it was tough, but at the same time, I was kind of ready for it. Yeah, I think everybody stays on the routine for the first, like, five years probably after they retire. That's why, like, J.J. Watt is still squatting. He's still getting on the rack. You know why? Because that's literally what he's done his entire life. And then you'll see guys start to, you know, okay,

now we're getting a little fatter. Okay, fall's coming around. We're not getting ready to do anything. We're like three years removed from the league. Now we're out there. But everybody's so, you know, I don't want to say systematic and routine, but it's very real. So Jason Kelsey getting choked up there when he does give his official.

Oh, man. Full. Got to be in that fit. Yeah, but. Okay, nice video. He's going to. Oh, yeah. Hey, he's a big emotional bear too he wears his heart literally right there on his sleeve he's done great

things for the NFL we're very lucky that he was in there I think part of it too is like remember how the whole Brady situation where it's like we knew Brady was gonna retire but then that report comes out and kind of usurps like what he to do. And for these guys who are first ballot Hall of Famers,

it's just not fair. You want to go out on your own terms. You want to be the one who kind of lays it out. Because like he said, there's so many people, and now it's kind of just like an unceremonious like, yeah, he's going to retire. He's going to have his opportunity to

do it his way, but it's also... We should sell tickets to to this thing he should do it at a theater yeah you know what i mean yeah he should do a full one yeah he should do that now that it's already been ruined right exactly it's already been ruined okay he said i didn't mean to say what i said in there right but once again jason kelsey transparent authentic always going to wear his heart on his sleeve and speak to the guys it's like they should do it now. It should be like a celebration. Yeah, at the link. Yeah, why not? And then get his high school coach in there.

Sell booze. Do the whole thing. And then donate all the money, obviously, to something in Philadelphia that he's kind of always done. I assume they'll do something for it. Hopefully he will feel the love from everybody at some point. I hope so, too. But it feels like he's an offensive lineman,

and he'll probably just do the most classy thing he could potentially do. But I did see yesterday people were not happy with Schefter for reporting that he was retired. Oh, really? Yeah. But if it wasn't Schefter, he's somebody. No, no, no. I know. I'm just saying, whoever was going to report it was going to get shit for not letting him

do it on his own. Just like Brady did. I'm happy that we as a society are like that now. Kind of taking the place. Come on. Come on. We're I'm happy that we as a society are like that now. Yeah. Kind of taking the place. Come on. Yeah. Come on. We're going to read that. Yeah.

And we're going to tell our friends. Thank you. But that's not the right thing to do. Sack of subs. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is a future Hall of Famer in the hockey world. He has found himself as the number two most winning goaltender in the history of the NHL. Damn. He's won three Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Hell yeah. He was a Las Vegas Golden Knights pillar. Hell yeah. Now he is on the Minnesota Wild. Ladies and gentlemen, friend of the program, Marc-Andre Fleury. Yeah, Marc! How are you, Bob? Very good. Yourself?

Hey, congratulations, dude. Number two all time. Number two all time. Now, obviously, I would assume growing up in hockey, you always had an incredible ability. I think you were a number one overall pick for us, so everybody had high hopes for Marc-Andre Fleury. Did you ever expect to be able to play long enough

to become this number two overall winning goalie? It feels like such a pipe dream, seemingly, for a lot of people. Did you ever expect this? Was this dreams and goals or what? No, not really. It wasn't in my plan. I was young. I just wanted to make the team.

I wanted to play one game. I just lived my dream of playing in the NHL for a game there. Obviously, I got lucky landing in Pittsburgh and being part of such a good team for so many years. And I feel very fortunate to be here now. Oui, oui. Ça va, by the way? Ça va, merci. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Merci, merci. In Pittsburgh is where I learned of the flower, the math, the absolute superstar. Now we're deep into this game. And you're nowhere near finished. It seems like you're, have we done the full reflection thing? Have we seen light at the end of the tunnel? Are you still doing one game at a time? Because we were just talking about Jason Kelsey, who had a phenomenal football career, one of our legends, and it kind of got leaked that he said to his

teammates he was going to retire and it's kind of unceremoniously. Now you're reaching these records that a lot of people obviously would start thinking about the end have you done that have you started thinking about the end and how do you handle all that yeah uh i have for for a few years you know uh being my age right in the sports you never know when the end's gonna come right so uh but it's hard it's hard to say i'm done you know i don't know what else in life i can do that will bring me such, I don't know, joy, fulfillment, you know. And obviously, I don't know, I love the game, love playing, right?

But also getting a little older, getting a little more tired, more sore, right? A little more banged up and stuff. But I don't know. I told myself I would wait at the end of the season and make a decision then. Your quads just got to be, right? Because we're like this. We're like this. What is it?

Knees? Quads? Hips? What is it for goalie? Little everything. I think hips is the one that gets banged out of the mold, so I think, you know, from the butterfly, right? You always go into splits and stuff like that,

so I think that's when things go south a bit. Well, I can't do those, so I'm going gonna stay away from reenacting things that you do every single night on the ice uh minnesota wild now we're eight points out of playoff you're playing gm there is actually a former teammate of yours what's it like in that building what has it been like to experience these different play i think you were chicago to las vegas pittsburgh what has it been like to kind of experience all these different buildings and be the legend in every single one that you step into i don't know about that part but you are dude you're number two hey number two all time math this is a little guy that's putting icy hot on people's hockey things hoping that it'll get

you're now hall of fame guy that's who you are oh Thank you. It's good. It's good. Appreciate it. You know, it was hard. It was hard leaving Pittsburgh, right? I was there for 14 years, and I always thought that was going to be my only team. But I'm kind of happy that all things turned out, you know, to get the opportunity to meet more people, other organizations, see how things are done elsewhere, and meet more fans, other organizations, see how things are done, you know, elsewhere and meet more fans, more teammates, you know.

You know, like you said, now being with the Wild and being, you know, my boss, the guy that I played with and won with, right? So it's pretty special too. Now your name is up, right, for Trade Talks. That's kind of how hockey goes. Is that how it goes? Is that just how your life has been? And how do you feel about that?

How do you feel about that? The last few years it has been like that how it goes? Is that just how your life has been? And how do you feel about that? How do you feel about that? The last few years, it has been like that way, right? I don't know. When the team's out of the playoff and your contract's ending that season, I feel your name's always mentioned for trades, right? But I don't know. I still believe in my team. I still believe in the Wild.

I want to be here and try to go for a run here and make our way back to the playoffs. It happens in every sport. Obviously, it happens in the NBA, a lot of names. Derrick Henry's story is actually coming out through Bussing with the Boys about the NFL having trade speculation, every single trade deadline.

In the NHL, it feels like it does happen. For you, the last couple of years, it's been taking place. How's the locker room? You just got to tell the boys at the end there, you said, I still believe in my team and that. They just understand it's part of the business? Yeah. Yeah, I think we've seen it or lived it long enough that we know what it's like.

But it's never easy, though, right? Like some guys you play with for years and you become good friends. You see them every day, you know, all day, every day, right? So you get close to guys and, you know, when there's moves, there's trades, and also sometimes it sucks to lose your friends like that. But I think we all know it's part of the job. Yeah, professional sports, man.

Have a lunch with a guy. Yeah. I just hung out with this guy. I just hung out at his house. Had a good time. Great guy. We've been around each other for six months straight. Bestest of friends somehow. Just popped up out of nowhere. Only known him

six months. Had lunch with him. Go to a meeting. Never see the guy again. He was cut. Yeah. Because we needed somebody at a different position. Not even because of him. Never see him again. He's gone. Talk to you in ten years when your career's overdue. Alright, see you later. Speaking of, you know, building up relationships with people, Tone has a question for you. Yeah, Mark.

I know a bunch of Pens fans were bummed out a few weeks ago when the Wild was in town, and you didn't get the nod to go that night. Is that your decision? Is that the coach's decision? You just didn't want to shut the boys out. You'd feel really bad. You didn't want to cross-check Sid, maybe slash Gino one more time. What was going on there?

No, that's usually the coach. They make the decision, right? And we were playing the next night in Boston, and I think I had a few good games in Boston. So he just thought, you know, we'll play that game. And Gus, my partner, played in Pittsburgh. So it wasn't too – I don't think many people make too much of a big story about it, but obviously for me it's nice to go back to Pittsburgh.

I love seeing the guys on the team, the staff, and obviously the fans and all. They always give me such a nice welcome, right? It's always a special place to be. Yeah, yeah. You've played a couple good games in Boston. You've played a lot of good games in Pittsburgh. A lot of good games in Pittsburgh, because the way it was being reported

was that you didn't want to play, I think, right? I don't think I followed it close enough, but from what I remember, it was like, doesn't want to play there, and then all the other sub-storylines started, too emotional, because obviously he's like, well, I mean, we've got a game in Boston the next night. We're trying to win some games here. That's hilarious

to think about, because it happens in our sport a lot too. Whenever just a narrative gets put out there and then boom, gone, Mav. Gone. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Maybe social media and all that's too quick, right? Everybody has their opinions.

But I think sometimes it's just simpler than what it looks like. Yeah. Well, I mean, isn't that the truth? With what we've been. Oh, yeah. You just preached right through my brain and my life there. Darius has a question for you, Math. Yeah, Math, I like that. Yeah, Mark Andre.

Okay, Math. Yeah, I see you are quite the prankster. Where was the prankster, I guess, in you born when it comes to, you know, pulling off your pranks in the locker room? And are you still? I don't mind him once in a while. I feel with, I don't know, if it's age, but I feel like I've gotten lazy sometimes.

I don't pull him as much. But one guy this year, though, he said on the TV, I wasn't bad for a 50-year-old. It was Brendan Dwayne. So I made sure I got him a few times. There's a full article about it. I think that's where Deebutt actually learned about your

prank, but this goes back. You're a legendary pranker, allegedly. Was it Letang's helmet? I think he stole it and replaced it with a different one. Keep him on his toes a bit. Was it Letang's helmet, I think? He stole it and replaced it with a different one? A different one, yeah.

Keep him on his toes a bit. Look how happy you are. When I started, I think guys would do it more. I learned from the old guys. My socks got off, my underwear got off, my ties, my shirts. Guys would always mess with me. I just learned from the other guys. On that note, Connor has a question for you.

Yeah, Mav, as someone like you mentioned on the back half of your career here, how do you pass on knowledge to the younger goaltenders or even defensemen? Do you just tell them, hey, just stop the puck? There's not much more to it than that? Or what tips and tidbits do you give to guys? Are there certain specific players, players like mcdavid for instance that you'll kind of harp on more because he does things that other guys can't do or how does that work um the question uh you know i it's tough i feel like you know the other goalie i play with gustavson is is younger um i think the younger generation

has a little bit of different techniques, too. You know, being older, I don't know, I scramble a little bit more, right? So I don't have any good tips for him there. But I think a lot of the game is playing in the head, right? I think it's so mental. And, you know, if I can just help him stay calm and believing in himself and being consistent in the same way every night, every period. But he's such a good kid.

He's such a good goalie also, right? So I don't feel like I do too much, you know, but I try to help him the way I can. Yeah, I assume he's listening to every word you're saying and watching everything you're doing off the ice, even cutting the ties and changing the helmets. everything you're doing off the ice, even cutting the ties and changing the helmets.

Whenever you think about like old school goalie versus new school goalie, because you just said there, I'm a little bit more of a scrambler. I assume the techniques have just been developed over the years. And have you tried to adapt any of those or are you just, nah, I can't be too technically sound here? No, I try.

I always try. I try everything new I learn every time I see a new kid coming up with some new style. Goalie coaches bring it up too, right? But I try everything. Some things I change. Like the way you play on the poles, I think I've played four different ways since I started playing in the league.

But at the end of the day, I'm comfortable with, you know, my way. And I think that's a little bit more what I've done in my career and a little bit older style of it. Yeah, and a little bit more exciting. There's a video that we actually just saw. I don't know when it was, but you crossbar hits. And while you're still, you give like a thank you to the crossbar. Yeah, here it is. Puck is still in the zone, by the way.

Oh, shit. Thought that was a goal for sure in your head, right? Thought that was in. Nope, it wasn't. In the zone. Thank you. Thank you. Just the moxie. Just the moxie in the middle. Let's do that more. I need you. That's hilarious.

I saw Patrick Waugh when I was a kid. He played for Montreal, right? And he would say thank you and talk saw Patrick Roy when I was a kid. He played for Montreal, right? And I always watched the Canadian and the Latin. He would say thank you and talk to his folks. And since then, I always say, well, thank you and merci, you know, to the folks when they make a save. So in America, do you speak English to them? And then in Canada, you speak French to your posts?

Oh. I do both all the time because I don't know what Iran is from, right? From Pittsburgh. From Pittsburgh. It's all from Pittsburgh. You know that. Speak a little Yinzer. Hey, thanks down there. Last question here because we're coming up on a hard out.

We appreciate you, Mav. Yeah, Mav. A lot of the people we have on associated with the NHL and in the hockey world right now say that the skill guys, like the NHL is in the best spot that it's been right now. Is that something you're cognizant of as a goalie? Is it much harder to keep a clean sheet now than it was when you first came into the league?

I think it is, yeah. The four lines, the 12 forwards, everybody can score. Everybody has a good shot. Everybody's fast. The speed of the game is fast. When I started, guys would use wood sticks and a couple of guys per team, that big slap shot, right? And then bottom six of the lineup were guys that would hit

and fight a lot, right? So I think nowadays there's more skill and more speed throwing at us a bit. Well, Maff, we appreciate you for everything you did in Pittsburgh, obviously, as big-time Penguins fans, and what you've done

for hockey. And I'd like to say, hey, we have a goalie goal on the year already. You put another one, you put one in, okay,

for the rest of the year, wherever the hell you're playing, whatever the hell you're doing. Yeah. $250,000 donation to a choice of yours. All right?

That's good. I like it. I like it. Come on. You went up. Last time I think I talked to you, I don't know, a few years back, and it was 100. So now you're on ESPN.

You do well. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, the second winningest goalie in the history of the NHL, a man who, if he scores a goal this year, will earn $250,000 to a charity of his choosing. Marc-Andre Fleury. Merci beaucoup, Paul. It's happening this weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

Two games on Saturday, two games on Sunday to decide who will be competing in the championships of the AFC and the NFC. A lot of great teams, a lot of great players still available to play for the Lombardi. And I can't wait to chit-chat about that and all the storylines happening around the NFL. Which coach is going to end up where? Who's still available? Is Atlanta and Bill Belichick a real possibility soon? What?

Is it heating up? What? What about Harbaugh? He interviewed with Atlanta. Is that real or is it Chargers? It's a hot one. Where's Frabes at? Where is Frabes at? Antonio Pierce, is he the Raiders coach yet? I mean, there's so many questions and we will try to answer and chit-chat about

them all. The Toxic Table is here, both wearing green. Love it. At Boston Connor and at Ty Schmidt. You boys look great. I appreciate that. You look great too. Navy's a good color as well. Well, thank you. It's negative 10 wind chill out. It's cold. Supposed to break today though.

Supposed to get up to 20. It did feel a little warm today. Did it? Not this morning. Yeah, this morning it did not, but I do believe it's heating up to a nice balmy 26 degrees today. We're back down on Friday. Welcome to winter, baby. Welcome to winter.

We watch Hard Knocks. Miami had to deal with winter for real in Kansas City. I thought that was a really good episode. At Bubba Gumpino, currently sitting in place for Zito. Zito, we miss you. I hope you're doing well, buddy. And congrats to you and the wife and beautiful baby. That's right.

Gumpy, watching that Hard Knocks episode last night, kind of taking the tractor another round, not only on that particular loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but the entire season. How did it make you feel, pal? Are you in a better spot now after that episode or a worse spot now? It was a nice wrap-up of the season. I feel a lot better after what they said on Hard Knocks.

I mean, I just love that team. I know it didn't go as planned, but like for the Dolphins to go back-to-back years to the playoffs, yes, it's not where we want to be, but I think we're moving in the right direction. It was a nice wrap-up of the season rather than just being bummed out after losing on Saturday night. Speaking of bummed out, one half of the hammer, died. Cowboys 10 things, you made a sound there whenever he said he's in a better spot. Is it because you immediately thought of Mike McDaniel afterwards in the Kansas City Chiefs visiting locker room saying, you guys made me so proud and almost choking up in there?

Yeah, almost. I did. That's football. Definitely choking up. I'm almost crying. I think he did probably cry in front of the boys. I did. I love Mike McDaniel.

His fits are unbelievable. And that's – I was just – because it's football. And, you know, they care. And you don't get that a lot of places when you are over, I don't know, 18 years old, like in a workplace or something like that. So that's just awesome to see. Oh, invested in stuff. Yeah.

Emotionally. You know what I mean? Yeah. And that's what football is. And that's why earlier when you – I think the Packers are playing with house money because they're huge dogs against the San Francisco 49ers. Lions aren't. They could sell you they're playing with house money.

Tell you what, they lose a home playoff game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as almost touchdown favorites. They're going to be disappointed, okay? Well, certainly disappointed. They should be. They should be disappointed. They've gotten to a point in their lives where you are not at. What was that all about?

They're just happy to be dancing at this point. They're appreciative of the moment. Tony, you've known me for six years. I've been asking for a playoff win for six years. We finally got our playoff win. And I know you have, Foxy, but if you go up there, how long has it been since you've been to a game? Since 2016. And they lose. There's going to be a lot of curse of Foxy, but if you go up there, how long has it been since you've been to a game? Since 2016.

And they lose. There's going to be a lot of curse of Foxy. There was a lot of losing in between that whole thing, Tony. Why are you trying to start this narrative? Why are you trying to start this narrative, Tony? Let the kid live. And AJ will tell you because I know he's there. Let's not lower the standard now, okay?

Like, I know Foxy's standard was 10-7 a playoff win, but you got that. There's there. Let's not lower the standard now, okay? Like, I know Fox's standard was 10-7 a playoff win, but you got that. There's a new standard. We did it. It's beat the Bucs on Sunday. When's the new standard start? Middle of the season? No, right now. Divisional weekend? New standard. Can't even enjoy the old standard. Once you reach it, we need a new standard immediately,

which I respect. Speaking of standard, this dude is the standard whenever it comes to football IQ and fits. Nine-year NFL vet, Terryarius J. Butler is here. D-Butch, the Detroit Lions lose this weekend. They won a playoff game. Huge disappointment for them. Oh, my.

When they hired MCDC, and a lot of people made a lot of fun about the hire from the outside, but look, the guy we always talk about between those four walls, and they built the culture. But look, the guy we always talk about between those four walls, and they built the culture. And everybody in the locker room, I mean, I don't necessarily believe Packers are playing with house money. I think there's some expectation there, too. I know the line has moved a little bit.

I'm sure the money's – a lot of money on the Packer. I've seen how they performed in the wild card. So, when you have that team, obviously Jordan Love is his first year, you know, first full year as a quarterback. But he's a 25-year-old quarterback. Youngest team in the NFL, though. Lions are a top five youngest team in the NFL, by the way.

Get that in there. All right, so everybody kind of kicking accountability down the road. Are you kidding me? Enjoying the moment, which I appreciate, because if I was a Packers fan, I wouldn't have expected to win a playoff game, let alone go in a divisional round. And if you knock off the San Francisco 49ers, hell wouldn't have expected to win a playoff game, let alone go in a divisional round.

And if you knock off the San Francisco 49ers, hell yeah, you lose to the Niners. I'm under the mindset. Now, Darius is thinking, I think, from how the locker room feels. And if the locker room, they should feel as if they're going to win. You don't know when you're going to be back. Absolutely. You don't know. My rookie year, we go to the Super Bowl completely undefeated. Two years later, almost completely defeated,

potentially never making it back. It's a quick fall to the bottom. You have a window that is so short. Patriots obviously had the longest. The Chiefs are currently in the middle of a window. There's other teams that are in a window. So in the locker room, yes, I think they should believe that they can beat anybody. But as a fan with realistic views on it,

I think Foxy and Ty are in the best position out of absolutely anybody at this point. I will absolutely be disappointed if they lose on Saturday night. No questions. But, I mean, they're in the dance. They're still alive. If they beat the Niners and then don't win the Super Bowl, I will be looking for bridges to jump off. What?

Jeez. It goes from here to, hey, let's go win a Super Bowl. I understand you'll be disappointed that you didn't win, but it's not like a heart game. It's not like a heartbreaker. No, no, no. You're not like the Chiefs fans, for instance. Their team's supposed to win it whenever they're in these games.

Sure. These Buffalo Bills fans are like, hey, we got to go. We got to do this. I assume the Ravens fans with a lot of free agents, they're like, hey, we got to go win this. But if you're the Lions who haven't won a playoff game in how long? Since 1991. You won one?

Yes. After the game, you're bummed. Next day you wake up long? Since 1991. And you won one? Yes. After the game, you're bummed. Next day you wake up, you go, that was a cool year. Yes. Sometimes it's not about the destination. Sometimes it is about the journey, and I'm enjoying the journey, and they did it. They got their playoffs. 12-year NFL vet, A.Q. Shipley's here.

It's about the friends we made along the way. What are we doing? We're going to be miserable. What friends did you What are we doing? We're going to be miserable. What friends did you make along the way? We're going to be miserable every single season. We don't win the Super Bowl. Then why am I watching this team every single year for three hours a Sunday? To be clear, as a

person who's from Pittsburgh, alongside you guys, you're expecting Detroit fans to have the same view on professional sports? That's why Tony hates Bills fans right now. This is why I get arguments with fan bases because I expect them to have the same expectations. But you are right now, currently. You're kind of taking a shot at Pittsburgh right now by saying that Detroit should have

the same view on their NFL team as Pittsburgh does. They should not. They have sucked so bad. There's been, what, three teams that have gone out in 16? Two. Two. Just dumbing the prize. Dumbing the prize. That's not who they are anymore, though. Yeah, and 16? Two. Two. Just them and the Browns and the Lions.

That's not who they are anymore, though. Yeah, and Tony. Tony. I agree, but they lived through this. These humans lived. Joining us now is a man who's a part of the 0 in 16 years. Great point. Absolute stallion.

A man who is a college football national champion and a Super Bowl champion. All-time leading tackler for the Packers, A.J. Hawks. A.J., I know you're going to say, stir, stir. We've got to go win. But, like, Lions fans waking up The next morning if they lose to The tip you saying the Bucs now

You can't lose to the Bucs Niners one seat You get that Bucs Bakers had a great year What do you think AJ you think the fan bases They wake up on Monday after a loss to the Niners And to the Buccaneers are As devastated as maybe The Niners fans would be.

No! No way! No way! But they're going to hang on. It's a different form of devastation, I believe, in the fan bases, whether you're Niners or the Lions, teams like that, if you would lose. But how do you handle success? We talk about it all the time.

Handling success is the toughest thing you can do, and now there's a new standard in Detroit and Foxy is not living up to that standard. We got our playoff win. I've been asking for a playoff win. Is everything else now icing on the cake as they say, Foxy? Yes, 100% AJ.

It's the Packers season of failure. It's this year! I think as soon as the offseason starts, and I don't want to talk for Lions fans, but I've tried to put myself into Foxy's kind of viewpoint here, especially as Tony Diggs starts calling this the Foxy curse, trying to make Foxy feel terrible. Nice try. Well, this is a payback to what he did to the Steelers in 2020.

Yeah, you're right. You're 100% right. He became a Steeler. That's where they were, though. He was picking up other teams for the playoffs because he was 30 years old, and his team's never been there. They just sucked. So, for me, I think what Lions fans will say if they were to lose this game to the Bucs.

Now, he is saying the Bucs every time. Starting to sway me a little bit. Good football team. Starting to sway me a little bit. Baker Mayfield's dealing. Yeah. 9-8. Defense is humming.

I think they'll say, good year. Something to build on. Excited for next year. I think that next year good year, something to build on, excited for next year. I think that next year becomes the year where they're like. Right. But you started the conversation off by saying you went your rookie year and you never made it back. You guys hung a banner in 14.

We get it. Good banner. Good banner. I didn't hang shit. I didn't hang shit. So now that they're here and they got a real chance, they got to go, right? You don't know what's going to happen. They let their brains go there, AQ.

If you're this far, if you already have a playoff win, as a player, as a fan, everyone's already taking their brain. They're like, oh, man, I could get some tickets. I could fly to Vegas. I could go to the Super Bowl. That's what you're starting to think now. So when you let yourself get ahead of it like that, then that's what makes it much more devastating. So, AJ, Packers season is a failure if they lose?

That's the exact same standard? Always. No matter what. If you don't win the Super Bowl, yeah. Joining us now! That's fair. Joining us now. It's not the same at all.

Aaron Glenn's gone. It's not the same at all. Aaron Glenn allegedly got an intensive tights. Not individually as much, but as a team, yes. Listen, I think you're thinking as a player. Like, player, yes. Better feel as if you were a super... I'm talking about the fans on Monday or on Saturday

after they go through the punching of the TV the night of. The next day they wake up and they go, man, that was a fun year. We did you right. Punch my TV. You're right. Joining us now is a guy that might have a more level head. This guy owns a soccer team.

How are they doing, Gumps? Oh, boy. They got absolutely robbed in their last game. Actually robbed. The EPL actually took down JJ's video of it. It was so bad. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, Houston Texans Ring of Honor member,

future Hall of Famer, JJ Wall. JJ, sorry we made you wait. I did not expect all of this. Pablo Sanchez. Nice. What is that? I don't think I know that. Backyard baseball. Classy. He was one of the best players in the league from day one. Pablo was. He could see the curveballs. The greatest video game

player of all time. Pablo. He hit absolute moonshot. He's like 2-5. He good. Well, yeah. I mean, he hit absolute moonshot. He's like 2'5". He can throw gas, too. Yeah. Yeah.

Long back. I play role-playing. It was a computer game. He was the first Altuve. He was Jose Altuve before Jose Altuve. I respect that. And I'm happy to hear you play video games and still became this. That's phenomenal.

Is that real? I mean, when I was a kid, yes, I absolutely did. I don't participate anymore, but I did when I was a kid Yes I absolutely did I don't participate anymore But I did when I was a child Very much enjoyed I'll play the PGA game nowadays It's a great game Not to mention the Hawk

Yeah I'm in the Oculus arena Anyways thank you for joining us JJ Heard you guys got screwed What's going on? Who are we in a war with? Who do you need me to be mad at? Since you're probably not allowed to say it We'll take you off the screen.

Just tell me what to say and who I need to say it because I saw the video that you posted before that league took it down from an owner's Twitter account. That's messed up. You got screwed. I don't know soccer rules that well. I've only played for like 18, 19 years of my life or something like that. But that seemed to be quite a bamboozling. How's this happen and what are we going to do about it jj uh i appreciate that yeah no i'm i'm as i said in my tweet i'm new into ownership so i'm

not well versed in what i'm allowed to say and what i'm not allowed to say but i definitely had a problem with what happened in our previous match i also have a problem with the follow-up to it, which they released the audio of the VAR decision. So unlike over here, it's pretty cool. They've actually started to release the audio between the replay official and the on-field official. And a lot of bullshit happened in that also. So I'm not happy on many fronts.

I'm not happy. I'm not happy about it. I'm upset. It cost our team points, which are extremely valuable right now. Obviously, they're at a premium, and we need them all. It's very, very frustrating at the highest level and the best league in the world to have decisions like this being made. The NFL and the MLS and then that one obviously but whenever you talk about these points being worth actual millions of dollars at this point and then you hear some

var guy just basically give some half-ass bullshit reason is that what it was wrong just factually incorrect how i mean i mean the assistant so like there's a var guy there's assistant var and they're both watching the tape and they're talking to the official. The assistant VAR guy literally says, I think the forward backed into him. And the main VAR guy just basically shut him down like a little child. He was like, no, we're not going to listen to that. I believe this is the way we're going to do it. And I mean, it's just.

This is like the song. If it's a different jersey, if it's a different crest on the jersey, I think the call goes a little bit of a different way. That's all I'm saying. I respect the Clarets. Wow. They want Burnley out. Well, Premier League's got a big problem on their hands.

You know who that is? And I'm not afraid to talk about it. Like sometimes these small clubs, sometimes these clubs that aren't, you know, in the top six don't have a voice, don't have the ability, don't feel like they can have somebody to speak on their behalf. That's not us anymore. We're going to talk about it. We're going to bring this shit up. We're going to

have a conversation. We're going to talk to the Premier League, and we're going to make our voice heard. Will it matter? I don't know, but we're at least going to bring this shit up. Hell yeah. Thank you, JJ. Get Tyler in there. It's not always easy. I didn't see Dude Perfect say anything about it, but I assume that they have deferred to you

and been a part of the email chains where you said, hey, this is what I'm thinking, how we go about attacking this. I think putting a little public pressure on people is a good thing, especially if you're willing to do it. But it's going to come back at your shins. You're going to be in a meeting with just Premier League people, and they're going to show this interview, and they're going to show your tweet,

and you're going to be made out to be the bad guy in that party of eight. You got to remember outside that room, you're the hero, pal. You're not the bad guy. You got it. You got it. You got it, JJ. Because they will. You'll be the only one in there.

Oh, yeah. And even your partners are like, yeah, we told him he shouldn't. And you'll be feeling heat from everybody. But you got to remember right outside those walls in reality everybody's like go get them jj yeah go get them just fight them so remember sound like you're sound like somebody coming from a lower experience a lot of it yeah whenever you're the one that's just like yep i'll say it here's my shins you know you gotta sometimes there's some uncomfortable conversations that have to take place where people make you feel like you're the bad guy or you're wrong, deep in your gut, in your J.J.

Watts, you already got this. It's got to be not 0%, it's 100% Will in there saying I'm right to hell with everybody and you're the right guy to do it. Going to change the Premier League forever. Going to change the Premier League forever. You're welcome. America.

Look at another thing we're doing. Now they're going to be mad about that one. I probably just affected the leverage that you had there bringing up our country, baby. We're the ones that saved the entire sport. It's okay. One step forward, two steps back, three steps forward. We'll figure it out. Okay, three steps forward after one step forward,

two steps back. I was doing the math while you were doing it. I'm like, where are we at? Okay, we are still up. That's great news. JJ, I appreciate that you've joined us all year. Over there in the Pittsburgh Steelers facility where you did not play for them.

Nope. Son of a bitch. Could have used him. Sellout move. God, when Josh Allen was doing that full thing you could see yeah tj jj watt yep been there behind them tracking them tracking them wrong that boom sasquatch you know coming to get them we all had visions of that as they were showing the replay and i'm sure a lot of yinzers thought to themselves that would have been nice but whenever you hear about everything that's

kind of taking place after that with allegedly tomlin's gonna step away and then the brook prior question the press conference being one of the greatest moments I've ever seen in my entire life documented sports entertainment pop culture whatever when he just walks off and then he comes out and says that he's staying to the boys or whatever that's all a bunch of BS what are your thoughts on that and that's not the only building that's having that particular type of situation I mean Dallas is wondering what the future looks like right now Seattle John Schneider's over. It's like a lot of question marks everywhere. How do you think players handle that, and what are your thoughts on all of it in this particular season?

Yeah, I mean, you look in the locker room and you read the quotes of the guys in their exit interviews with the media, and to a man, every single guy has said that they only want to play for Tomlin. Obviously, TJ said it's a big part of his contract negotiation a couple years ago. He wants to play for Mike T. The only guy he wants to play for is Mike T. Everybody in that locker room loves him, respects him, wants to play for him. I also don't think that that means that they're satisfied with the outcome.

That means they're satisfied with the way things have gone, and that means they're satisfied with where they are currently i think there's certainly things that they want to improve and get better on there um but in today's day and age i also see the people on the other side i mean i'm sure tolan has a ton of thoughts on this but you know i do see the people's side where they're like well if bill belichick can be you be escorted out of his role as the head coach of a team that he won six championships with, why are we in this situation where we can't say that maybe at least have a conversation about our coach? Now, I am personally also fully and well aware of how difficult it is in this league to find a good football coach. And I do think that people think that there's these quick fixes and somebody's going to come in and make this thing miraculously better

and figure it all out. I really, really, really do not know if you're going to find many better football coaches in the world than Mike Tomlin. That's what everybody has said, and then all the Pittsburgh people say, well, can we win more than nine games? Can we win a playoff? That's what they all say. That's literally the answer from all the Pittsburgh people.

They're like, we understand that we're maybe looking like a bunch of ingrates, okay? We understand that we have had a success that other teams would dream of, more specifically the Detroit Lions for like the last 30 years before MCDC got to town. But with that being said, we'd like to reiterate

the fact that when the playoffs come around, we know we have no shot. Like, we have absolutely no chance. So what are you dancing with? You know, what are you doing? And that's how the time feels. Yeah, and I think that, you know, something that I would say, this is purely from an outsider standpoint. This is from an outsider standpoint, looking at it. I think that you would say is purely from an outsider standpoint. This is from an outsider standpoint looking at it.

I think that you can say that Mike Tomlin is an unbelievable leader of men. He's an unbelievable head coach. There are things that seems to be in that organization. Obviously, this year they had to change their offensive coordinator mid-year, and that offense was a bit of an issue. I do think that there are things that can certainly be improved. But I also think you can also say that there's a lot of things that need to improve and Mike Tomlin is still the best leader of men for this organization.

So I think if you're willing to go into the off season and have realistic conversations about what needs to happen and how things need to change to make that next jump. But you can also say we should still have Mike T at the helm. Yeah, that's kind of where I've landed, JJ. Yeah, TJ. Jeez. Come on.

I was going to say that's where I've landed, JJ, because TJ came out and did his press conference, and that's where I get my marching orders from. So then I was good with that. TJ what? Yeah. As soon as TJ said that's the only coach I want to play for So then I was good with that. T.J. Watt? Yeah. That's smart. As soon as T.J. said, that's the only coach I want to play for,

I said, well, that's the only coach I want to root for. Billy Bones, if you do recall, when he met J.J., said, hey, huge fan of your brother. Then walked away. That's how a lot of Pittsburgh feels about your brother. You Watts have done good. Go ahead, A.J. A.J., do you pay attention when the media is asking some of these players

if they want their coach back or they expect him back? I know we hear the Steelers players absolutely laying on the line for Tomlin, but when you hear some other kind of players respond, they say, oh, I didn't know his job was up in the air. I didn't know he was going to be here. I guess I'm out of here as well. Can you read between the lines and kind of see if there's any kind of wavering support for other coaches?

I do. I do. you read between the lines and kind of see if there's any kind of wavering support for other coaches i do i do i think that you can tell a lot by players answers in certain situations and it's all very subtle um i think that their players i mean players aren't idiots sometimes we are i mean there's no doubt sometimes we are but uh sometimes we're really really big idiots but i do think that when speaking to the media especially at the end of the year in an exit interview like that you you go in knowing what types of questions are going to come your way and you go in knowing what they're looking for in their answers and there's a lot of times where you don't have to say everything out loud but you can say some of the things that you're thinking. So I do think that you can read into guys' answers in the way that they maybe avoid talking about something.

Yes. How would you respond, JJ? Let's say you didn't want the coach to come back and you were in one of those interviews. What would you say if they said, hey, what are your thoughts on your head coach possibly being fired? And say you despise this guy. You may or may not have gotten in a fight with him during practice.

What do you say to try to sugarcoat it? Just make this situation up. Hey, man, this is all above my pay grade. We've got to be better as players. We've got to go out there and do everything. None of us are happy with the way this season went. Nobody's happy. We've got to, of course, find a way to be better

next year. That's all about my pay grade. He's got a great personality. Every day he shows up. Nice guy. Every day he's in here. We hear that. The pay grade? Yeah.

Also, we should go back to some JJ clips from back in the day. There's the pay grade line. Oh, pay grade. There it is. There it is. That's way over my head, man. I have no idea.

Obviously, you're a living legend in Houston and many cities for good reason. Houston's buzzing right now. Go ahead, D-Bud. Yeah, I know you tapped into that fan base. We were having a spirited debate before you came on. What are the expectations in this divisional round and beyond with C.J. Stroud and his Texas teams? And do you kind of feel like, hey, kind of playing with house money this year?

We got D'Amico, C.J. coming back. We'll be all right going forward. I was listening to the conversation you guys were having, and it really is a fascinating one because I agree with A.J. in that on one hand, while you think you're playing with house money and whatever happens from this point yeah but on the other hand like the opportunities in this league are so hard and so difficult and sometimes so rare to come by that once you have that in front of you and once you realize how special it is like this is a chance to go out there and get something done

and yes you for houston you have a rookie quarterback you have a head coach in his first year you're looking at the future and you're saying this is incredibly bright we can sign more free agents this offseason we can go out and really build ourselves something special for years to come but there's also that part of you that's like let's catch lightning in a bottle let's do something special unbelievable right now right here because maybe these young guys are naive enough to not even understand how special this situation is so they don't get affected by the pressure because they're just enjoying it they're living it they're being there's got like i do think there is something to be said for taking

advantage of that opportunity when you get it because you don't know when it's going to come around again my first year in the nfl we went to the playoffs for the first time in program history. We won the first round playoff game. We went up to Baltimore, and we played a damn good football game. We just unfortunately couldn't get it done. We had some turnovers and things, but we were damn close there. And obviously, I've won in the first round four years of my career, but I never made it to the championship, never made it to the Super Bowl.

So while everything may look like it's on the up and up forever, this league can humble you real quick. Did you have a pick in that Buffalo game? It was the Bengals. I had a pick, yes, and a sack. It's become a Houston Texans just kind of like right of passage to get a pick and a sack in a playoff game. That's what we do.

Pick sixes in playoff games. There it is. Two of them. How about Joey Flack? Back to back. Man. Joey Flack. That first Flacko pick six.

Oh, man. Classic Joe. That was classic. I love Joe Flacco, dude. We knew this was going to come at some point, but in Joku not being able to make the tackle right there, that was all she wrote.

Joe Flacco. Somebody's got it. Miles Teller gets flattened with a great block. By the way, he ran like a 4-7. 4-8, which was phenomenal. A couple pick six is obviously a big deal. And you were talking about from a player standpoint, obviously, where we can capture some lightning in a bottle,

maybe play a little bit more free. I'm talking about – and his question was even framed that way. The fan bases have to be – like the Houston Texans fan bases right now have to be pumped, right? I mean, we saw it. You saw it. Yeah. We showed it right here.

Yeah. D'Amico said this week in his media, have to be pumped right i mean we saw it you saw it yeah we showed it right here yeah demico demico said in his this week in his media he said my goal when i came here was to restore pride in the organization for people to be able to walk around houston wearing texan skier with pride and i think that mission has absolutely been accomplished i mean i think that what he's done and what that team has done and to watch that city just be fully revitalized, be fully proud of their team, be able to, you know, talk about the Texans, wear Texans, post on social media about the Texans with full pride. And that stadium was going absolutely bonkers on Saturday. It was it was really cool to see. And I know literally exactly what that feeling feels like.

And I'm just so damn happy that this city is getting to experience it again. Hey, this city, are you there right now? Are you in Houston? No. It's just my city. Okay, got it. I didn't know if it was this city. Maybe second ring.

All right. I still feel good. I got three games maybe in me there. The Stroud House was loud. They're all set, man. They're all set, man. They're all set. If somebody fell out and it wasn't necessary, you know, but they're all set. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

All eyes on the Houston Texans injury report. Whoa. Going forward for a potential J.J. Watt return, but the Stroud House was loud. It was back to being what I remembered as it was whenever you guys were doing your thing. There's a clip from back in the day where you dap up to miko i think we actually have it he said yeah i will do you call him Cap, by the way? That's how you talk to him initially there. Yeah, he's my captain.

He's my captain. You knew he was going to be the guy, huh, whenever he was head coach of Houston, Texas? You knew it was going to work or what? I mean, I knew what I wanted to happen. I know, yeah. I mean, it's just, let's say it's, what is it? It's manifestation. You just put it out there in the world. Don't start.

Don't start, bitch. Please. We'll start it, bitch. Don't. Oh, no. Oh, no. What happened? Am I going into an ayahuasca retreat? Okay. What happened? I don't know. Pablo Sanchez. I thought we were having a good week. I thought we were having a good week.

I thought we were having a good week. I don't know. Well, it started out actually. We've had a good day. Good day. We're a day and a half in. Stacking them. To no wars.

That's right. Every day is a good day. Just like Jim Harbaugh said. We're waking up every day. We're going to update the. Trying to dominate today. That's it. And we're going to bed and trying to do the same thing.

We're one day down. We're going into. We're halfway through. Let's go. How are we doing? Good? Good day? You just tried. You wrote meditation. I didn't say anything about meditation. I said manifestation.

Just putting words out there. I'm not talking about smoking anything. I'm not talking about sleeping on the ground. What the hell? I don't know. What'm not talking about sleeping on the ground. What the hell? I don't know. What are you talking about? You were saying words or spells. Because they cast spells.

That's where you were headed. And we heard it. I want you to know I heard it. I heard it. You saw AJ's face go. What side are you on? What side are you on? AJ did get excited. It was a good reaction. What side are you on? AJ did get excited. It was a good reaction.

That won't be on the meme for next time. AJ reacting to World of Defense. It'll be great. Good video. Too much of us right now, JJ. Too much of us. And I feel like with the Premier League, I feel like with the Premier League comments, now we're going international into who hates what.

Everybody's going to hate us. Especially because of that little American thing I said at the end. I just walked right down range again. Everybody hates VAR. That's the problem. VAR has a chance to be successful. It has a chance to be good. It has a chance to be legitimate. But everybody hates it because it's so subjective

at the moment. We refuse to use the technology that the World Cup uses, which is a very clear cut for offside. There's so much stuff that could be good about VAR, but right now, it's trash. It's a problem. It's costing people points. It's costing people enjoyment. It's

taking away from the game. VAR, at the moment, is terrible, and it needs to be fixed. That's just a fact. The Premier League needs to fix it. VAR is a problem. Get it fixed. That speech was wonderful.. The Premier League needs to fix it. VAR is a problem. Get it fixed. That speech was wonderful. It was in 720p too. So whenever everybody watches it late...

Shit! It was great words though. We heard you the whole time. What's wrong with my internet? I don't know. You tell us. AQ's been running around the neighborhood a little bit too much. On that note about it being a sham and being subjective and everything like that, Tony Diggs has a question for you.

Yeah, let's talk about that. Let's talk about technology and let's talk about the Houston fans playing with house money because according to PFS, C.J. Stroud stinks. He might as well be the worst quarterback in the NFL. You tweeted him. You know it. What's your thoughts, Jage? Oh, boy.

I got a lot of thoughts on this. I got a lot of thoughts on this. Listen, it's a business. PFF is a business. They have created a business. They somehow have gotten their way onto NBC and are putting their rankings on national television every single week.

But from a player's standpoint, from somebody who has been in meetings, has been on the field, who has been with coaches, who has literally talked to people who know exactly how the algorithms work, who know how the grading system works. I mean, I was – so, so like i'll take a step back i was pfs highest graded player one of their highest graded players let's go jj let's go jay hang a banner so this isn't biased this is not like oh they don't like me so i'm not like i i literally had a 106 grade one year and they had to change the entire ranking system because of that day uh so like it's not because like they

graded me poorly so i'm speaking badly this is literally speaking players coaching people all around the league um the system is terrible like do they watch a lot of film sure great do they know everybody's assignments do they know exactly what of film sure great do they know everybody's assignments do they know exactly what's supposed to happen do they know how they're waiting and how they're doing different things no uh it's just a terrible system and the fact that they have the ability to affect not only what the public thinks about players but literally affecting voting for awards uh how players contracts are being handled moving forward. Like, it's really pretty crazy and scary that they've somehow gotten that level of power.

And, I mean, like I said, the fact that their graphics and rankings are put on NBC on Sunday nights for the nation to see, that is just downright absolutely ridiculous. Okay, so J.J. hates VAR, Premier League. In PFF, he does believe some positions I think they get it right. For instance, you were their highest graded guy. I was their punter of the decade. So I think it's easy for PFF folks who watch film to see if there's a successful punt. There's a successful punt operation.

Well, and the thing is, think about it from their perspective. If they just ranked everybody like the best players as the best, then there's no reason there's no... Is my video off? We'll call you back. You look terrible, JJ. You actually look like

Pablo Sanchez in the game. Yeah. AJ, what were your thoughts on PFF? Was it towards, obviously it was a part of whenever you were playing. Did you even have

any thoughts about it? It wasn't, it was not like it is now. I don't know if it was nearly as prevalent. I have no clue what was going on when I was playing.

How about JJ saying, they put that on TV. That is, it is true when they pop up the starters and you're like, oh, that guy stinks. I'm like,

how do I know what you mean? The 40th tackle? So here, yeah, I didn't even know there was, guys, 88th the starters and you're like, oh, that guy stinks. I'm like, how do I know what you mean? The 40th tackle? So here, yeah, I didn't even know there was. Front office. Guys, 88th ranked something. It's like, how many are in the league? Front office is using that to do your negotiations. Then your front office sucks balls.

Well, agents are using that for sure. Well, yeah, if it helps their client, they will use it. And if it doesn't, they will not. Yeah, if it behooves them, they will certainly utilize it as evidence as they're trying to make the case for why somebody should be paid. That was pretty good. I felt pretty good about that. As much as they're paid.

But it's like the narrative built about players, when you're talking about Pro Bowl, All-Pro, I guess you can see everything like that, does come from those little numbers on the introduction. It comes from the commentators too. And a lot of commentators are using PFF to get their grades. So, like, for instance, punting and kicking.

Like, kicking, I guess people know. Punting, though, people have no idea what's good or what's not good. If the commentator says, this guy's really good, okay, fans are going to be like, all right, this guy's really good. If they don't say that, though, there's not even a thought. So, for me, I would always, like, try to at least have a conversation with commentators beforehand. Just be like, hey, have you done any research at all about what i'm trying to do or what i'm not trying to do just because i had bonuses in my contract that were very dependent

upon if i would get voted into the pro bowl like a lot of money on the line for that and all you need is one commentator have no idea what they're talking about on a national game like tariko would always tariko is very good al michaels well is always very good like they're trying their best but not everybody does that so in replacing that though these pff grades going up there there's a lot of people who remember those players forever by what they see from that because i didn't do all the research but they did they had to they did and then they get legitimized and it's like safety position corner position we watch everything db they get legitimized, and it's like safety position, corner position. We watch everything DB, good D, bad D.

It's like the people you think that are on blame for some plays, not at all. Nope. It's somebody else completely. Even if the person's upset on the field, they might be upset because they just gave up a touchdown and their team just gave up six points. Well, that means it's their fault. It's like, no, that does not mean it.

And even with that, you know, I played all across the secondary. AQ played across the O-line, played for different coaches. And I'm going to give it my best opinion on what's going on. You say that when you do it. Yeah. Hey, this is what I think based on what I've been taught, based on what I've seen. But I have no idea what they're going on the surface and say, hey,

if we get this formation, we're going to do this, you're going to do that. So it's so much that goes into it. And I like PFF as a tool, right? You know, because I can only watch so many plays. I can only watch so much film. So if I watch three games and I go to PFF and it kind of matches up what I'm seeing, definitely use it as a tool.

But if you just use that as one thing, it's definitely a tool. And Chris Collinsworth, you know, he started, former player. He's got a lot of, you know. Good business, too. Good business. Congrats to him for that.

Joining us now again, hopefully with some better service, J watt jj yeah better holy hell wow look at those teeth wow holy anyways so let's say pff rates the best players as the best players well then why would anybody subscribe to that they literally have to be different than other people for people to be like oh yeah they do know something that we don't know like you you it's it's bullshit man they gave me the punter of the decade so i hope they survive forever and uh i hope that is the case just for personal reasons but i do understand where some people like friends of mine maybe uh that have shorter arms and maybe uh you know, rounder gut who are playing guard, center, fullback, and return person with their grades. And then those are being used against people in negotiations and stuff.

It's wild. It's a wild time. I mean, your little speech about it was 100% true. Like, it truly is leaking into affecting players' contracts, affecting players' Pro Bowls, All Pros, things like that. It is actually real what it's doing, and it is extremely unfortunate. Didn't CJ and Jordan, they literally had the same game, right? Same exact game.

Same exact game. But there was a couple throws where… There's a lot of what there's a lot of uh what ifs that happen with pff they're like it's all like projected and probabilities and pass rush win percentage ratios well if you win a lot of pass rushes you're probably going to get a lot of sacks that's generally how it goes if you're winning a lot of pass rushes not getting sacks something's probably wrong like i was like there probably wrong. Like, if you're throwing a ball that's an interception-worthy ball but it wasn't intercepted, well, how worthy was it?

I don't know. Like, I mean, this shit is dumb, man. Like, it's a results-oriented league. Like, it is – like, you go out – like, oh, wow, why don't we just give the Super Bowl to the team that projected to win the most games? Like, no, there's a reason you play the Super Bowl to the team that projected to win the most games? Like, no, there's a reason you play the games. There's a reason you go on the field.

There's a reason you do it all. Take your little. Hey, but it can get better. That's all we want. Better from here. We just want it to get better. You trying to get into soccer? You trying to get into soccer over there?

Yeah, pro soccer. CFS. Ooh. They actually do a lot of that type of stuff in football. Soccer. Soccer. Right. Yeah, you're an American.

Don't do this. It's called soccer. The co-founder is from Ireland. Yeah, but I mean, I do enjoy our fan base. I do like our supporters supporting me, so I prefer to call it the thing they'd like me to call it. Yeah, but they're the ones that created soccer. Soccer was actually a term created in England.

Mm-hmm. That's correct. Thank you. I did my research. They still call it football, but they're the ones that created soccer. Soccer was actually a term created in England. That's correct. Thank you. They still call it football, but yes. You are correct in your research. Yeah, I was getting pretty attacked by a lot of people. I'm certainly better than them at soccer, saying a lot of things. First time? Huh?

First time? Getting attacked? Yeah. It's normal. It was coming in waves, though, during the World Cup, whenever I was telling how good we were. We were the team. We were starting to think you enjoy it.

I don't enjoy it, but when it has to be said, it's got to be said. Sorry. Like, for instance, soccer's our game now. Bingo. Who won the balloon dort? Who's that? Methi. That's right.

In the MLF. So allow us to potentially fix your sport. So terrible. Absolutely so terrible. I apologize for that. You talk about being played and results-oriented business. There is certainly a factor in that whole thing. AQ has a question for you, JJ. JJ, I'm assuming you've

played in all 32 stadiums. Not everybody has, which I guess is kind of crazy because the way the schedule works. But of the eight remaining teams... Not everybody has, which I guess is kind of crazy because of the way the schedule works. But of the eight remaining teams... Not everybody played 15 years. How many years did you play in the NFL, JJ? 12.

But there's guys that have played 18 that haven't played in every stadium because of the way it flips. I'm going to check PFF if that's true. But eight remaining teams, who do you think has the best home field advantage for the remainder of the playoffs? Pull up the schedule. Yeah, can I see it?

We're in Santa Clara. We're in Detroit. We're in Baltimore. And we're in Buffalo. And another storm came through Buffalo. Yep. Buffalo Sabres game tonight actually postponed, I believe, because of the storm. Okay.

So home games right now are Baltimore, San Fran, Buffalo, and the Lions. I mean, I just think that whatever is going to happen in Detroit this weekend is going to be pretty awesome because last weekend, obviously something special, getting another home game is that place. They have to just blow the roof off the entire place. What's happening there dan campbell everything i mean i they just give eminem a microphone and put him at the 50 yard line and have him sing lose yourself like just get everyone in the entire world on your side

with that like who's not watching that video and getting amped up to play for that game uh i like baltimore i think baltimore is a great stadium, a great fan base. I enjoy playing there. Buffalo, obviously, is Buffalo. I mean, the Bills Mafia is incredible. Caught a little bit of wrath from them this past weekend. I mean, I don't think it was right for them. I corrected

myself immediately. Oh, no. Yeah, I saw that. Yeah, I actually retweeted it, and as I was reposting it, I knew you were getting into the blender. As soon as I saw the first response to both you and I, and I put my phone down because I was in three other wars,

and I came back and you did your... I was asking a legit question. Sorry. What are we even doing? I was just trying to learn. I'm trying to be a smarter person, but they don't care about that. I am a big fan of Bill's Mafia. I really am. Even back in my own free agency and long before that even.

Bill's Mafia is an unbelievable fan base. They're literally one of the best fan bases in the country. When they pounce, they pounce rapidly and ferociously. In bunches. Yes. And I caught that. I tried to correct it. I tried to tell them that I was wrong, and I saw that, and they did not care.

Yeah. But I think that place is going to be a phenomenal atmosphere again. Obviously, Kansas City-Buffalo seems like one of those matchups that we see almost every single year in the playoffs. And San Fran, I actually like that stadium in San Fran. I think it's a cool stadium. I think it's a great place. As far as a true home field advantage, I don't think it's one of those places

that you necessarily toss up there as the scariest place to play, but I really enjoy playing there. So if I was picking one right now, I would say with everything culminating into one, Detroit right now. Okay! Hell yeah, JJ.

Let's go. Yeah, because Baltimore with the weather and their fans and them knowing that this is an actual potential Super Bowl team, I think that place is going to be electrifying. I am very excited to see Baltimore show up in a big way. The Buffalo Bills, like their fans are awesome. The amount of snowballs that were thrown on last week, I don't know if that's going to continue into this week with how many snowstorms are coming.

Great. Santa Clara, I think everybody just views it as a nice stadium. Yeah. Beautiful. It's a nice stadium. But Detroit was a college atmosphere this past weekend. They were there an hour and a half before the game, chanting. Like, it is.

And one person we miss whenever we're going through all the Detroit legends, you know, Jack White. Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I mean, if he was to— Yeah, let's do that on Sunday. And then that's obviously at the beginning, and then halftime, you only get one shot.

Do not miss your chance to blow. I don't know how easy it is to get Eminem back on a microphone. Just turn all the lights in the whole stadium off. Spotlight. One spotlight on the tunnel. Eminem just comes walking out with a microphone. I mean. Flips the hoodie down.

And then just. Parlezy. Ooh. Tony. One foot's popping comes off. Tony. Oh, man. He said Jack Harlow. Yeah, the Thanksgiving callback. The fact you guys have been able to do this with how you guys set Jack Harlow up to fail at halftime Thanksgiving is certainly something that football gods are not going to forget.

I'm starting to think it was Jack's fault. Oh, yeah. That's what I'm starting to think. Don't say. No way. Oh, shit. The igloo? Yeah. Well, if that's what I'm starting to think. No way. Don't say. No way. Oh, shit. Big glue? Yeah.

Well, if that's what you call that. I mean, Jack Harlow had no shot, dude. No, he didn't. See what Dolly Parton had? She had a 400-yard star. Oh, yeah. 600 dancers. What?

A light show, fireworks. I think there was a drone show happening above her head. Jack Harlow had what? Plastic on the field. What do you want this guy to do? I was told that was his vision. From an inside source, that's what I was told. That's his generation. Dolly Parton is part of the greatest generation to ever live.

Well, maybe that's the case. I didn't know we had the matter of fact on that. He had a boutique vision. Bingo. And that's halftime at Thanksgiving. Jack, next time you get that opportunity, which we hope is next Thanksgiving. That ain't happening ever again. What? He had his chance. He had his one shot happening ever again. What? He had his chance.

He has one shot. And he blew it. He missed his chance. Exactly. So see you, Jack. And that's why we lost on Thanksgiving. Baby. But also, Packers are damn good football teams.

Yeah, they are. Damn good football team. Connor has a question for you, JJ. Yeah, JJ, great job on CBS this weekend. It was much easier to watch with only one game. So just absolutely fantastic. You also said earlier here. you jj yeah jj great job on cbs this weekend it was much easier to watch with only one game so just absolutely fantastic uh you also said earlier here hey way to go jj good suit thanks guys great great it was on my couch here in arizona but yep i wasn't on i didn't i could have swore

really thanks for leaving me saturday saturday sat Saturday you weren't out there? Great suit Oh man That's on me brother Sorry about that Justin I really thought That was great suit though I could have sworn I lost you

This weekend The CBS game was on Monday wasn't it? Of course Matt Ryan was in my seat So I don't know if you think we look alike you this weekend. The CBS game was on Monday, wasn't it? Of course. Matt Ryan was in my seat, so I don't know if you think we look alike or... All whites look the same. That's the one today. Pretty messed up.

Same teeth. That's on me. All these people with these great teeth, I just think JJ Watt right away. Yeah, I don't think anybody's got the teeth that JJ's got. We actually talked about your teeth earlier today. Great. Oh, again? It's just a running topic here? Off air.

It might be the best ones. Great set of teeth. For sure. That might be the best kit we've ever seen. Great kit. It is the standard. The Oregon ducks of it. Oh, boy.

Well, with that being said, you also earlier said that Bill Belichick was escorted out of New England. It was an amicable split. Okay? You asshole. You don't have to say he was escorted out. It was amicable. But with that being said. Pete Carroll.

Pete Carroll was kicked out. That is who you should point your gun at when you're using terms like. I mean, yeah, all these great coaches. That was the discussion. Carry on. Amicable split. Make your point. With that being said, how do you feel about just an immediate succession plan

in new england belichick obviously signed off on it it was moved up a year because of a 4 and 13 season but what do you think about that hiring someone in-house who has been there through the good years and also saw you know 2019 to the most recent year the fall of the whole entire thing do you think that is the right move and then also do you see the no GM, just Mayo kind of being the guy? Is your vision kind of seeing Gerard just splooge his Mayo all over the building? So there at the end, JJ, he was trying to force. I was so close. I was so close.

I was trying to get there. I was trying. He had the destination. He just didn't have the road. I didn there. I was trying. He had the destination. He just didn't have the road. I didn't. I didn't. He forged the path. That was the most Steve Farrell, like, in the office thing I've ever seen.

Michael Scott. What a terrible. He had a good ending, though. Yeah, I had it right there. I just, I started a couple speed bumps along the way. That's on me. There's no road, bud. You got lost.

But anyway, what are your thoughts on the succession? So what do you want to talk about here? Mayo! Mayo and his mayo! No, I'm excited for him. I mean, if you listen to all of his former teammates, if you listen to all the players that have played under him as a coach, if you listen to everybody in that organization,

the way they speak about him as a man, as a coach, as a person, I mean, it sounds like a phenomenal hire. And obviously somebody that's been there through all the years and knows what it took to be successful and how to be successful at the highest level. I mean, it certainly appears like they've got somebody great there. I don't know. Personally, I mean, I can't tell if it was part of the joke or not part of the joke, the GM thing.

But I'm very, very much not a fan of the gm and the head coach being the same person whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa how about the lead council um contract no that's lead council uh gm head coach head athletic trainer i think yep that was bill o'brien chapel when he was down at the fca guy priest yeah right yep priest you're mixing a couple different humans there now but you're not that far off yeah well that was the thing right because the more the situation

seemed to get uglier in Houston the more jobs Bill O'Brien took on it felt like from the outside looking in I don't even know if he were there towards the end of it but like it hasn't worked for a lot of people that have tried this particular thing. Bill Belichick's seemingly the only guy that this has ever really worked for. So I think the expectation that Gerard

Mayo will be able to do it, I think, is one that is very lofty and not necessarily one I think Gerard Mayo certainly... Maybe he does. I have no idea. Maybe he's able to do it when nobody else has been able to have the success doing it as such. And they're still considering hiring a GM post-draft. They're just saying that right now,

because they've already done all their scouting and prep work, they're just going macro and Elliott Wolf for now. He did say he will have an OC and a DC as well. And they're looking out of house. That's huge. And Belichick kids. Yeah, Steve and Brian both have been offered jobs. He is the safeties coach.

Yeah, they've been offered jobs by Mayo, but their dad allegedly on a boat with Atlanta Falcons. Well, yeah, but Bill said, boys, you've got to become your own men, okay? You can't follow me to this next gig. You've got to go out and find your own way. Maybe that's what he told them in that apartment that he walked out of on the ring. Bingo. That's why they were there.

That was the celebration. Yeah. Last year. It's probably last year. All right, boys, tarts off. I don't think that people understand how difficult some of these jobs are, how time-consuming, how energy-consuming, and how truly hard that they are. So whether it's – oh, boy, we're leaving.

We got music playing in the background. Let's send you out on the right note. PFF sucks. Have a great day, everybody. Boom. Wow. There we go. Okay.

Nailed it. Right on the... Right on the screws. On the screws, Watt. I do feel like you nailed it. That was a Pablo Sanchez nuke to right field. Boy. That's JJ's war.

Good shit, JJ. That's JJ Watt. We did not script that. Okay? Before this even gets into this. Son of a bitch jeez louise chris collinsworth's gonna invite you out to cincinnati kick your fucking ass fine that's fine i'll shoot it like i shoot it straight man i'm shooting it like it is like if they want to act

like they got some like like they they come from a very high and mighty place like they come and they speak like they know everything that there is to know about football and they tell all these players and these coaches that they're so much smarter and that they're so much better and that they have these ways of figuring things out that are so much superior um it's just as somebody who's done it and who's been in those trenches and who knows what it's like and who knows what it's like to have somebody telling you how good you're doing i mean i've literally sat in a meeting room with coaches and put the grades side by side from a coach's grade and from the PFF grade. I've done it.

And it's not even remotely close. So, like, don't sit here and tell me, like, you don't know what you're talking about. You don't know how all this works. Like, yeah, I do. I've literally done it. I've sat in that room and done it with coaches in the National Football League. So take your shit and shovel it somewhere else because I'm not dealing with it.

Yes! Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Jack and Chris are just. That was good passion right there. I can't wait to see Jack. I do hope you guys get a chance to shake some Hans. You know what I mean?

I hope you get a chance to shake some Hans and hear what Chris has to say about how they're in touch because I assume they've heard what you've said numerous times. No, I will say there was a couple times a few years back where they would put a quote about somebody who stinks or somebody should have a new job and then they would put pff sam underneath it and it's before we obviously learned that pff sam all in his smartness and we actually said well pff sam says it you know it's got it's kind of been that way though since the beginning like we are the ones who have the answers we are the ones who know everything about every player because we watch the film and we've all i think as a football society you've just been like yep they do okay it's kind of just become a common part of the process now so i think a lot of

players are going to be very thankful for what you just said especially the guys who are maybe low rated in the pff system uh this is like what happened with madden you know madden yeah madden was the first one that was putting numbers on people you know like hey here's how good this player is here's how good this player is so outside of the contracts which is putting a number on somebody and how much you're worth versus other people madden this outside company now becomes the company that is telling you that, oh, you're the 10th ranked whatever you are. And it's like, how the fuck do you know? What is that even?

That has a whole thing. So now PFL is another one. It's interesting whenever you start putting numbers. And I would like to say this. Like, it is nothing against any players. Like, I want every player to be rated as highly as you can. I don't care. It is nothing against any players, against any of that.

It is literally with the system and the way that they do things. So it's zero to do with players or how players are graded. I don't care. I want everybody to be graded as fairly and properly as – I just don't think that's the way it is right now. And, like, at least Madden adjusted. Like, now they send people to every single training. Yeah, Ocho is part of it.

Next players are a part of it. They make guys better as they play better throughout the season. They should just use PFF. Why doesn't Madden just use PFF scrapes? Okay. Why are we all? You don't have to. Wild West payroll.

The biggest problem is the decision makers that are using it. And it's legit. And you kind of heard Pete Carroll kind of allude to it a little bit but a lot of people past you know the coaching and the scout department that have a voice in the decision that have been made as far as the rosters who's getting paid what who's getting this and that they don't know football like legit don't know football like i've had conversations with him like hey if i learn football like that'll actually be like kind of a bonus for me you know you have the have the Ozzie Newsomes of the world. You have, obviously, John Lynch.

And any of the guys who didn't play DeCosta who was under, you know, you got guys who didn't, Nick Casario, who didn't play on a pro level who can do it. But I think it's a weapon when you have people that actually know the game and can watch football from that standpoint. And you're saying those people that don't know football, admittedly don't know football, so they potentially rely upon PFF and then other people's opinions too outside the building. You hear Michael Lombardi say it all the time.

He's like, David Tepper's got to stop calling people. That's what Lombardi said. Tepper's calling too many people. I assume PFF is one of the things that Tepper is certainly looking at whenever he's breaking it all down. It's like PFF, I think, has been accurate about stuff, obviously.

Especially in the punting department always the kicking department and everything else but i i think what jj's saying to kind of put a wrap on this entire thing is we can't just be blindly expecting them to be 100 right just hey these people are right and the cj stroud jordan love is the most recent one. There's been a lot of others in the past on a very regular basis. And, yeah, thank you. Hey, JJ, if not you, then who? You know? Bingo.

Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's the nice part about being retired is you can say stuff and it doesn't matter. I mean, but it's just the truth. Like, I can say stuff a lot of guys in the locker room are thinking. I mean, we've all had these conversations. I mean, literally in the last 24 hours, a lot of players have reached out to me and been like finally somebody said something like oh so you got empowered coming in today okay so you got like

love that you got the green light from a lot of people like fucking tell them jake because i'll tell you i've been a part of a couple situations in the past where i've said something and i got a lot of messages like yup hey yup and then it. And then it's like, all right, so you get a microphone, here we go. That's how you came in today it feels like a little bit. Yeah, I mean, because obviously players aren't going to want to speak out because they don't want their grades to be different than they already are. I just – the part that I do not like about it is that it is – we are putting literal rankings on people

and then putting it on national television or putting it out on social media and that people are looking at that. And like you said, people that don't know football are like, oh, wow, so that guy's the number 74 out of 100 offensive linemen in the league. He sucks. You're like, well, that's because some guy in a room that didn't play in the NFL was judging the tape, said it was that, so then he plugged it into the algorithm and then their algorithm said,

because that guy thought he played on that play, now he's ranked number 75, and you sitting on your couch at home watching, just hanging out watching Sunday Night Football, now think that guy's the 75th out of 100 player in the NFL, and that's your 100% decision of that man. Or we got voters for awards, and we got people for All-Pro,

which ultimately decides contracts, at pff like hey i didn't watch every game of this year let me go and see who the best players in the league are oh okay these are the top three guys rated by these guys who hall of fame hall of fame shit is real hall of fame stuff because obviously contracts uh is a part of it and we know that has been a part of it but like whenever they look back on hall of fame if a guy misses uh let's say two three pro bowls okay i only missed it two three times and you go from a two-time pro bowler to a five-time pro bowler or a three-time pro bowler to a seven-time pro bowler like that is a vastly yeah that's a vastly vastly vastly different conversation all of a sudden whenever it's how was your career remembered. AJ, I don't think I ever made a Pro Bowl.

None. All-time leading tackler for the Green Bay. No way. Technically, one is an alternate. When we went to the Super Bowl, I got paid for it. So, yeah. There you go. A block to the check.

No way, man. Got a jersey. Think about that, JJ. That is crazy. I mean, the Pro Bowl has its own and we all know i mean as players and everything with the voting process and with the fan process like that's that's certainly flawed um what and it hurts players man like that one really hurts players too like that that process could be better winfield he's going now though as yeah i mean you guys know like filling out that paperwork like

they hand out the papers in your meeting room and they're like all right guys vote for the pro bowl and literally i mean that like that is as big of a joke process as you've ever been a part i'm not going to say we did this because we would never do this to group of men that we had in the room that we shared but boy if somebody could potentially get a spot over your guy too it's like well definitely i voted for third stringers i voted for third string receivers and stuff because i wanted our receivers to go bingo yep and we're part of the problem we know yeah we are we like yeah man we are that's why like like they came out with that like uh players voted all pro list and i was like man if you guys knew how that was voted on in

meeting rooms you would not take this worth a grain of salt, man. And I wish it was different. That's all we're trying to do here. We're just trying to make it better. Like you said, AJ, there are legitimately people that vote for third stringers just because they don't want their guy to lose or because you're not allowed to vote for people from your team. That's how it works.

Just trying to make sport better. Just trying to make sport better. Just trying to make sport better. JJ, you're doing a little bit too much up, I think. Yeah, close your fists, AQ. Especially the week that we've had. Jesus, AQ. All right, just, you know. I can't find the camera.

There it is. Look at that fist. Hey, we're all just trying to make sport better that we love. We're all trying to make the league that is the greatest in the world a little bit better. We're trying to make fans a little bit more educated because once you fall in love with the sport and once you learn about the sport,

you're going to be infatuated with it forever. It's a beautiful thing. Football on three. One, two, three. Football. Let's get back to talking football. Ty, I have a question for you, JJ. Yeah, JJ, seeing how you are an owner of a professional sports team,

if you were Jerry Jones, what would you do with the Cowboys? Mike McCarthy's won 12 games three years in a row, and everyone was kind of praising Dan Quinn throughout the last two years until like the last couple weeks now, and then the playoffs happen, and all of a sudden it's this guy fucking sucks at his job. They need to clean house. Obviously, Belichick and Vrabel and all these guys are out there. If you were Jerry, though, what are you doing with the Cowboys this offseason?

It's a great question. It's a great question. I truly don't know the answer. I mean, honestly, like you got a guy that wins 12 games three years in a row in the National Football League. At least PFF gives us answers. Yeah, exactly. They would tell you.

Oh, yeah. I forgot. You're supposed to just be definitive, even if you're wrong. Just go with something. Be all in on it. Boom, you're on camera. Welcome to sports. Yeah, welcome to sports entertainment.

Go work on CBS this weekend. But, I mean, like, it's so hard because you look at that team and there's weeks throughout the year where you're like, wow, this team absolutely could win the Super Bowl. And then they go out in the first round of the playoffs and they do what they did. And Dallas fans are notoriously some of the toughest fans on their team in the entire world. They have such high expectations, rightfully so. They've been great for so long. And you look at it and you're like, okay, why?

Why can they do this in the regular season and then they do this in the playoffs? Is the change of coach going to do that? Like, is a new coach going to win 12 games next year with that team? Is he going to win 15? Like, I don't know, man. It's a risk. It's a definite risk. I think if I'm Jerry Jones, and I know how Jerry Jones, we've all seen, obviously, how he thinks and how he acts.

I think he's moving on. He's trying to find somebody. And he's saying to himself, this is a 15-win team, not a 12-win team. We shouldn't be winning only 12 games. We should be winning more. And if you look at that roster and some of the guys they have, I can't say I fully disagree with that. But, man, to lose in the way that they did in the first round to a seventh seed,

that never, ever in life is going to sit well with a guy like Jerry Jones. What's going on over there, Jerry? He's thinking to himself as he's been thinking his entire life. He's 82 years old. Damn! He's old. Looks good. Spry, obviously.

I assume he still has the competitive edge and competitive juices. I assume his suit collection at this standpoint is so flawless. His boots. That boat. We know his boat. His yacht is fantastic. He's made a couple draft picks from there.

He's got a whiskey that's 103 proof. So he's trying to get fucked up. You know what I mean? He has to. He's trying his best with his whiskey. We were in his stadium and they said, you want to try Jerry's whiskey? Sure. And I drink it.

They're like, you know, Bacardi 151? I1 i'm like god damn what are we doing here trying to get people trying to get people ready to go you know but does he and i guess this is a good question that we were posed earlier does he want to rebuild an entire at 82 you know and i know he's got a lot of juice and energy do you want to rebuild an entire everything? Everything daily schedule, a new logistics, who's answering to who? Like, whenever you do a full turnover, there's a lot of bullshit that will come alongside of that about how, especially if it was a Bill Belichick was coming in there. Okay, so now Stephen Jones, him, me, players, who do we got to get?

How do we got to get? What's the building look like? What's the daily schedule look like? There's a lot of change that goes into that. And I don't want to say... Bill at second, Jerry Jones would be a wild matchup. That's a brand new relationship every day. That's a huge thing at

82 to sign up for. That's a whole... That's an added dilemma that I've kind of really started pondering here as you question about full change. It's like he wants to win. I get it before he passes, but how much bullshit does he want to deal with too as a 92-year-old?

Have you been to that practice facility, the Star, down there in Dallas? Only seen pictures. I mean, it is an unbelievable setup. I mean, it truly is incredible. But there's also like a, I mean, they have like a hotel and offices attached on one side. Like there's massive, I mean, there's, it is a full blown compound. Just me picturing Bill Belichick driving into that facility and then like going out into those practice fields. I literally cannot picture him like on those

practice fields in that like state of the art. With just people overlooking the whole practice field. It's a fascinating place. Incredible place. We've only seen photos. This was actually a massive piece of the conversation about a year and a half or two years ago. They're like, why can't the Cowboys win? Well, I don't know.

Maybe there's a fucking Eagles scout that paid for the VIP tickets that's able to sit on the perch that overlooks the practice field. Isn't that really how it goes? That was the pictures that we were shown. I mean, obviously, I would assume and hope that there's something preventing something like that from happening. But, yes, there is a huge glass building that literally overlooks a practice field.

I don't know what happens. It certainly, I would think there has to be somebody thought about the privacy and security of that. I don't think so. And if you did, there's Connor Stallions of the world out there. They're not afraid to put on sunglasses and a hat

and just being like, let's go Cowboys! And then got the little POV cam. We practiced there for a week during Hurricane Harvey. That's where we got Yeah, boys! And then got the little POV cam. Yep, Zoom. We practiced there for a week during Hurricane Harvey. That's where we got redirected. We were there for a week.

I mean, everything about that facility is, there's sometimes that we talk about things where it's, I talk about this with Brian Cushing a lot with USC, because he talks about Heritage Hall. He talks about, you know, that place being kind of a dungeon. They had the weight room down in the bottom of it, and he he was like that was like nitty-gritty hardcore like really and then when they switched to a brand new incredible beautiful facility um how that can just change the mentality a little bit that's so i think there's something to be said for facilities being almost too nice and too incredible and too beautiful like that place is

truly stunning and it's a special place and if you got the right players and you got the right staff and everybody like you don't have to worry about those types of things but there are things about having a super nice place where everything feels cushy uh that that is that is an actual thing bill belichick coming in here uh We need a much worse cold tub. We need a much worse cold tub. This breakfast buffet is too nice. These guys deserve. Is this what we're eating every day?

This is a fucking seven star. We need a couple protein shakes over here. Can we get some pancakes or whatever? And then eggs. What are we even doing? They're going to be out here the whole time. is what guys are gonna want to hang out here look how nice these chairs these chairs need to be much less comfortable much less comfortable there's gonna be sitting out here the whole time there's like a there's levels to this whole thing and you

talk about Cushing he was the he was the he was the juice of the team this week gave a speech I think they had a video of him he pulled the I think there's a little tiny cannon you guys are shooting off now. Yeah, yeah. A little tiny one. Oh, really? Yeah. Tiny. Tiny?

It's cute. This was the size of it. It is. It packs a punch, though. It packs a punch. It's like the cricket. I get it. But Cushing, he pulled the plug on the cannon.

It was like this little baby. It was. Yeah, sure. It was wilder. He was the guy. That's funny. was like this little baby. It was wild. He was the guy. That's funny. I'll give you that. That was funny.

Well, thanks. It is a small cannon. Hey, you did it. Yeah, thank you. That's the first time. You did it. Good job. The first time I swung and hit the anvil at the Lucas Oil Stadium,

the hammer was the size of this pen, and the anvil was the size of this football, let's say. And they're like, all right, everybody to the jumbotron. And I'm standing there next to this thing. He's going to hit the anvil. Boom, boom,

or whatever. And like ting, ting. And then my first, as soon as I'm walking out there, it's like, you guys made me look like a little bit. What are we doing?

We need a bigger hammer. We need a bigger anvil. This thing needs to be a lot. And then to the Colts point shirtless, Kirk cousin style. Dude. to be a lot longer. And then, to the Colts point. Should have done it shirtless, Kurt Cousins style. Dude, how about hell? When they blow into that thing, the... What are they doing there?

That's a gut blow. I have the same question. I have the same question. Is that computer generating the thing? Are they actually doing anything, or is it purely just like somebody pushing a button? Yeah, I don't know. It's a button. Definitely someone pushing it. I want to know so badly because it would be pretty badass if they were actually doing it. Well, just something like if their

breath turned something on in there to make the sound, that would be cool. Because if not, they're all thespians up there. They're all just acting and do they know going in like, hey, Kirk, you're going to be shirtless, you're going to do the skull thing, you're going to do the drum thing, and you're going to this thing it's not gonna literally does not matter don't feel obligated to blow anything just put your lips on the side of this thing

like does kirk know that i assume so that stadium actually had one of the coolest things i've seen in a football stadium in a long time last year when i played there when jared allen got inducted into hall of fame he came riding out on a horse he they should have jared allen right out on the horse every week because that shit was awesome. Those horses aren't going to survive a mess. No, they aren't. Way too cold.

Going to have to give them a jacket, a couple jackets, you know, as we're rolling through. All right, JJ, great week. Indoor stadium. I don't know if you're aware. It's like the Buccaneers reporter. Indoor stadium. They're going to make a stable? Okay. Yeah, heated stable.

Inside the stadium? Don't be an asshole. The horse is going to live in the fucking stadium, JJ? Is that what's going to happen? Why not? I mean, I guess you're right. It's a big stadium. I actually just, this is a wild turn of events,

and this is a perfect conversation for this show because this show is the best show on the damn planet. I was driving by i drove by medieval times the other day yes and i was i was literally looking at medieval times and i saw like a stable out back and i have never thought about the fact that they gotta they're literally a live working horse stable ranch and a restaurant yeah that's crazy yeah and a show oh yeah whenever they put the little... Whenever you're in...

I was in a yellow one time, and this fucking guy, I don't know how many times he's been on a horse, but it was evident he was on a horse much less. Getting onto the thing, he was uncomfortable. We're fucked for the whole time. They're going to have us dark. Everybody else is going to have the greatest night.

And lo and behold, first fucking little challenge, put the stick in the ring thing, guy missed four straight. We're out. We're in the dark. Got nobody to cheer for. I'm high the dark. Got nobody to cheer for. I'm high as shit. I came to cheer for a fucking knight.

My guy can't ride a goddamn horse. What a brilliant concept. Yeah, wait. What is this? Oh, you need to go. Come on. Just go on vacation somewhere. I've never heard of this once.

You need to do this. I've seen Cable Guy, but I've never been to it. Have you ever been? No. Oh, dude. It's fucking epic. It's a restaurant, but it also has been to it. Have you ever been? No. Oh, dude, it's fucking epic. It's a restaurant, but it also has a medieval show that's going on.

They put you in sections, and there's the white knight, the blue knight, the yellow knight. Have you ever seen A Knight's Tale with Heath Ledger? Yeah, of course. Take that and put it inside of a restaurant. And that's what it is. And they feed you just like meat.

You guys seen Cable Guy? Yes, obviously. Big part of Cable meat. You guys seen Cable Guy? Yes, obviously. Yeah, big part of Cable Guy. Big scene in Cable Guy. Okay. Do they have one in Indiana? I don't think so. I mean, I feel like they have a few.

I've only seen it when I go on vacation. I feel like it's a big date night spot in Indiana. Like Myrtle Beach. So it would be if we had it here. Sam and I would be at that place. A turkey leg and a proper joust. Yeah, that's a good date. Yeah, for anybody.

I think I was at a place, plane delayed overnight because of a storm, I think, back in Indiana. So I had a night in a place. Sure. No real hotel room, so I was staying in a hotel room. This place was right next to my hotel. And I just looked over, and I saw how absurd it looked. It was a castle. And I,

I asked, I actually asked them what they do. And they say, we, are you guys a bar? What are you? And they said, uh,

we're a show and a dinner. And I'm like, deal. I, I am. I went in there alone. I went in there alone, probably on like 70 milligrams,

just living ready for yellow to fucking show up five minutes in the guys out of the race yeah it was unbelievable so you pick your night or based on where you're sitting where he's i i got like one of the last seats i think it's like uh it fills up yeah oh yeah it's like a pretty quick oh yeah damn it's a stadium yeah it's cool closest one is in schaumburg ill Illinois. Just a quick three-hour, 45-minute jump. It'll be worth it. Get a horse, actually. Make that thing fit.

I have a son. There is not one in Indiana. They're missing out. Yeah. To be honest, this might be a business idea. They might have to open one. No, we just kind of... Let's dump all that so nobody else in Indiana does it.

Dump it. You could just name it something else. No, they've got it figured out. It has to be medieval times. Bro, they got it figured out. Yeah, it has to be Medieval Times. Bro, they're fucking really out there. Jousting. I legitimately have never heard of this until right now. They're wearing the full costume, the full kit.

You literally look like you could be a character in Medieval Times. You've never heard of this? Never, no. Was that a shot? No, it's a compliment have you ever seen a night still a night still is one of the most underrated movies of all time i like the night still by the way so many times it's a beautiful movie anyways phenomenal movie all right so who all we put over medieval times that's good boom that was good we put them over ford field put them over

out on a high note complimented ford. These are just whenever everything's kind of talked about after the program. Let's remember that these things happened as well. Yes. Well said. Yeah. Kind of knocked PFF down a few rings. Yes. I said they were a good tool, though.

Good tool. Yeah, we did. We did save it. J.J. didn't say that, but you did, yeah. Yeah, but we're a team. Remember, we did the full. Oh, yeah, yeah. You're right.

Well, Nate, they're just going to say that you have a grudge because they hate TJ. Yeah, but the grudge is unfounded because this guy was the highest rated of all time. True. They had to change the ranking. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They literally did. I mean, that's a fact. Chris Collinsworth told me that.

Well, we'll see what he tells you next. I don't think it's going to be good. No, it's good. Two fine gentlemen. Two fine gentlemen. Two fine gentlemen. Him? He doesn't care. Him and Jack.

Chris doesn't care. Baseball bats to the knees when they see Watt next. Dude, Jack Collinsworth pulling one out of that jacket. Let him try. Let him try. Let him try. You don't want that, brother. Dude, two Collinsworths with bats?

That's why I don't like. Let's try it. Let's do it. I don't care. That's funny that you Let's do it. I don't care. That's funny that you think that way. I think that way, too, as the wars are starting. It's like if push came to shove and we had to fist fight, who's winning? All right, cool.

Let's do it. That is. Now, if they bring friends. Mike Tirico. I got a lot of friends. Oh, my God. Why does it say, Jimmy? Yeah, but they're in the playoffs right now.

So, you know, the Mike Tirico. Oh, no, Michael Phelps is coming. I love Mike. John Wrong. John Wrong's coming with a golf club. You guys are missing one huge name. JJ didn't always – he wasn't always this confident. And then AQ now walks around the neighborhood in a flak.

Oh, God, with his flak jacket. Did you see him? Did you see the shoes he's been wearing? He did a half marathon this weekend. Big topic of conversation throughout Phoenix, Arizona. Big topic. What's he wearing? Everybody's seen it.

Everybody's seen it. Hell yeah. Walking around. Did you win AQ? Everybody's proud of you being from there. I'm just happy I didn't. I literally ran the whole time. Two hours and 14 minutes of running.

Let's go. 10-minute mile average, right? 10 minutes something? Like 10, 14, I think it was. Shut up. Yeah. JJ, he's a machine. That's go. 10 minute mile average, right? 10 minutes something? Like 10, 14, I think it was. Shut up. Yeah. JJ, he's a machine. That's incredible. He was wearing the biggest asshole shoes I have ever seen in my

entire life. You wore them in here today, just bopped in on these things. They have no laces. You got to slide them in there. They're blue, pink, and red. They are something that not most people would want to be seen in. Like form to your foot? They're sick. Those Cam Haines? Yeah, they are.

That's exactly what they are. I put them on. They're very comfortable. Boy, are they the ugliest things. The ugliest shoes I've ever seen. I don't even know if you described those as shoes. They're like socks with pads. I felt like a clown.

That's exactly what they feel like, too. Unbelievable. You hear AJ when he's saying, he got the name of the shoe right? Oh, geez. Okay. You've seen them. I know what they Okay. I didn't hear the name. I know what they are. I've seen them because I know Cam Haynes. I see him

on the internet and what he's doing. But yeah, they do look very colorful. No question. Well, it's not just the design. The whole thing is just tough to look at. Do you wear socks with them, AQ? Yeah, I wear socks. Do you tape the nipples? Oh, I do. Band-Aids. Smart. Smart. Band-Aids, yeah. You did 10-minute mile for 13.1.

13.2 or 13.1. Dude, that's impressive. Good job. Let's have a parade for the guy in the neighborhood. Thank you. Yeah, that's great. You bring the AR out. Have him shoot into the air a couple times.

We feel safer over here. I can tell you there is a calm safe feeling over the entire neighborhood we feel protected like we're putting up signs you know those signs that say like this house is adp security or whatever we put up signs that say this house is aq certified yeah hell yeah i appreciate that beware of dog. And the dog is just AQ's face. With the helmet, with the helmet, with the strap, like, riding up on his face. Beware of dog in neighborhoods. Spelled D-A-W-G.

There they are. He walked in wearing these. Oh, man. Sick. Michelin. Yeah, they're cool, man. They're really sweet. If I get into running, I will wear those. But I don't know if any human that is AQ size has ever worn those shoes

these are these are for runners right I assume yeah no and those laces don't seem like they're holding those those chompers in there they don't tread the little boa little twist unbelievable you can't be having wheels on shoes that's my biggest thing you can't be having twisty things those look like Heelys remember he was oh sweet still got them he these were so cool they need to make a comeback same with fidget spinners oh yeah need to get the fidget spinner back as well the wheelie's cool how about the grinders kids had the grinder shoes it was sick those kids were headed straight to in-school suspension always saw the grinders walking in school yeah you're doing great like the little finger skateboards that you would do I could never get that thing to holly

Seems like everybody was easily able to operate that thing I couldn't get the fucker off the ground I don't know how anybody did it You guys were cheating? You guys were using a third finger? Me too I was third fingering that thing the whole time I was really bad at them

What's that dude? AJ heard you say slip a third finger. Whole time. Every time. Never failed. Because I'd step up to a desk. I never had one myself, but I'd see people have it, and they'd be fucking doing all these tricks. And I'm like, oh, let me see. It looks like you guys are having fun. And that fucker just

never jumped. So I'd have to sneak it in there, jump it, and I'd do a little roundabout, and then I'd say, this loser can't fucking jump this door. So thanks for bringing it up, JJ then I say, this loser can't fucking jump this door. And that was, so thanks for bringing it up, JJ. Hope you're happy. I got bullied because of it. Let's get out of here.

JJ, you bullied enough people today. Okay? Are you going to be the guy that pushing was for this Texans team now this week? Are you in the motivational speech in the video? Are you pulling the cannon at the practice field? Are you doing all that stuff? It's an away game. I thought you said practice field. Practice field? Pull the cannon on the practice field? Are you doing all that stuff? It's an away game. I thought you said practice field. Practice field?

Pull the cannon on the practice field? I mean, are we trying to prepare for a game or not? Pew! You should fight Ray Lewis in the yard line. It could be even smaller. All right, JJ. I will be at the AFC Championship game for CBS, though, so I am looking forward to that wherever it may be. You did great on there, man.

You've done so well every time we see you. Thanks, guys. I appreciate you so well every time we see you. Thanks. Thanks guys. I appreciate you. Yeah, we do. Every week. We even watch when you're not on. I think you're there.

We visualize. Seriously. I told you this, but I seriously appreciate you guys watching Burnley. It does mean a lot. I really do appreciate it, even though sometimes we have a little fun with it, but it is really cool to see you guys watching and texting and following along.

So thank you very much for that. If I'm on the guide and obviously there's nothing else on that I watch, I don't watch a lot of stuff. So I watch football and wrestling. Football and wrestling is all I watch. So if there's nothing else on, I'll be like, and I see Burnley on the premiere.

I'm immediate, immediate. How we doing? And then I'll watch about two, three minutes. And then normally there's a text or a tweet going out about watching Burnley soccer. And then I'll text Gumpy. Who's normally watching every soccer game somehow that's happening all the time. And I'm like, how are we doing? And Gump's like, the lads were hot early, kind of cooled off. What happened in the 94th minute the other day? It was the 93rd. We were driving to

Ohio and that's when they got screwed on that. The guy ran into the goalie, and then Buddy just tapped it in. I mean... We had the lead. Yeah, I would say play the video, but apparently that's frowned upon. Don't do it. Seasons is quick. They took that sucker down quick.

Very quick. We all saw it, though. A lot of people saw it. You haven't gotten an email or anything from the Premier League? I mean, no. I have not been chastised or fined or anything from the Premier League. Soccer and golf are the only people to strike us on Instagram or Twitter, though, as well. Yeah, Patrick Reed, that was the first time I got it. Those are the only two that have ever gotten strikes from soccer and golf.

Yeah. Like, generally, you would think you want to grow the game, let people share your highlights. Like, that's generally the whole point. But the bad ones. And, I mean, I also feel like when you are part owner, you should kind of be involved in those. Like, you should kind of have the rights, but whatever.

Step up, then. I don't know. Why don't you walk into Premier League offices everywhere in London? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Do something about it. Is that where they're at, London? I don't know.

Are they in London? I thought it was Qatar. I don't know where the office is. Easy. Who has offices anymore? Everything's just communicated via email and phone calls, you know? No, there's some people saying, you're getting back in the office, you're getting fired.

And those people are being chastised pretty heavily. I've never seen someone else before. All right, let's get out of here. We've gone too far. Ladies and gentlemen, legend, Burnley owner, Hall of Famer in the future for the NFL, Hall of Famer for the Houston Texans already, J.J. Walker. Yay!

J.J.! Well, let's get to a break. Okay. I thought VAR used the, I thought it was like tennis, where they use lasers in its computers, not humans. So he was talking about the World Cup setup. Yeah. Which, breaking news in the NBA world, the Pacers have completed the trade of Pascal Siakam.

Obviously from the Toronto Raptors. Wow. This guy's got one year left on his contract. So everybody was thinking that if they were going to trade for him, he's a hell of a ball player, you're probably going to have to pay him a massive deal as well. Then there was other people saying, no, that's not the case. It could just be a kind of finish the season type thing at the current. We don't know what the Pacers are thinking,

but we do know with Pascal and Tyrese Halliburton and Miles Turner, look out for the Pacers. Look out for the Pacers. Oh, no, we lose Bruce Brown. Yeah, it is an RIP Bruce Brown. Bruce Brown's a great player for us. He out for the Pacers. Oh, no. We lose Bruce Brown. Yeah, it is an RIP Bruce Brown. Bruce Brown's a great player for us. He's been a great player. Both of them? NBA champion. We got to send ours too? Yeah.

I'm not going to fucking Toronto. Okay, Bruce has made a decision. But the Raptors are a pretty fun squad now as are the Pacers. Pacers are a much more fun squad. Yeah, the Raptors suck now. I don't know what we're talking about fun. Bruce Brown's a good player. Great player.

I think I heard the Toronto Raptors coach talk the other day. I had no idea that was the case. Oh, yeah. Radko. He's pissed. Oh, yeah. Not much they find him. But also, like, right?

He wasn't American? No, no, no, no. I had no idea that was the case. I don't follow the NBA close enough. Serbian, I believe. Yeah, no, no. I had no idea that was the case. I don't follow the NBA close enough. Serbian, I believe. Yeah, this year I think they're... Serbia is like becoming... Yeah.

Is he related to David Blatt? No. David Blatt, also not European, just coached over there. Okay. We're trying to figure it out as we go. I think there are other coaches, though, right now. There are. Yeah, who are?

There's a couple. European. All right, look at the game of basketball, girl. Doing a real good job, too. This is what we normally talk about. Okay, football is pretty much the engine and the driver of everything I'm a part of, and most certainly this particular program. That's A.J. Hawk.

He's a college football national champion, a Super Bowl champion. The talk table is here at Boston Corner and at Ty Schmidt. Boys, why aren't you green? You look fantastic. Hell yeah. Thank you, brother. You look fantastic as well. You guys look like you're matching, like you're going homecoming. Well, yesterday I was wearing lines and everyone was saying, hey, are you sporting the Lions? If anything, I'm sporting the Green Bay Packers. That is the team I want to win for Ty and also for the league because a quarterback like Jordan Love winning it all would be electric.

And the storyline would be phenomenal. That would mean they would have to beat the San Francisco 49ers who are the clear number one seed of the NFC and a buzzsaw like they were last year going into the playoffs would be huge if the Packers were able to get a dub. Who knows? One half of the hammer. Done.

Cowboys, Tony Diggs. Look at extra ranchy today. Thank you. I appreciate that. Every once in a while you've got to do it because you got to remind some people that this ain't just an act, okay? It's who I am. Amen.

Amen. When are you going back to the ranch? Now, to be clear, me and Tone actually grew up on the same exact street. Same ranch. Impossible to have a ranch where we were, but Tone used to drive two hours to get out to the ranch every single day. Me and you lived on State Road 130. Nope.

An hour and 45 minutes to get to each other's houses. Yeah, that's right. It certainly was the case. 12-year NFL vet, Super Bowl champion, player, coach, Jackie Moon of the NFL, A.Q. Shipley. Way to win some money for somebody over there. Almost 20 people for making a shot. Nine-year NFL vet, a man

who looks incredible today. And you all read. Maybe Dee Botch. I don't know if you know, there. Almost 20 people from making a shot. A nine-year NFL vet. A man who looks incredible today. Any old red. That was Jay Butler. I don't know if you know, but there's a superstar about to join us. Like an actual talent. You know, we're a bunch of doofuses, stooges, speaking about sports on a daily basis to find ourselves in wars that are way over

our head every once in a while. Right? Yeah, I think that's accurate. Nailed it. The person that's about to join us has actual talent, AJ. This guy's brain, okay? Not only is he able to act and do things that make people's minds escape reality for a little bit, he writes, he directs, he creates.

And his newest Hulu original film is called Self Reliance. Alongside Anna Kendrick, Andy Sandberg, and numerous others, he's in an absolute, fantastic piece of cinema. Ladies and gentlemen, Jake Johnson. What's up, dude?

What's going on, guys? I'm honored to be here and to talk football with you guys. I'm the frigging doofus, but I'm a diehard Bear fan, and I'm pulling for the Niners. Okay. To hell with the Packers. I appreciate that. I like that the rivalry is very much alive still on both sides.

Hopefully the Niners are able to get that done if you're a Bears fan, but let's talk football real quick then. Justin Fields, we love him. You love Justin Fields? You know, I'm a big Fields fan. I think he had a great year. I like what Floose is doing, but I feel like if we got the number one overall pick and Jimmy H is available, I can't believe we're not kicking the tires.

Jimmy H? Jimmy Harbaugh. Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah, why not bring Harbaugh in? I mean, he's meeting with Atlanta. He's meeting with San Diego. We're not even kicking the tires.

I love that. So close. Los Angeles now. You know, you're not even kicking the tires. I love that. So close. Los Angeles now. You know, you're so dived in on writing and creating magic. The hardball thought of him going to Chicago. And Belichick also available, Jake. I know, but we're about to get the number one overall. We could get a QB.

I want an offensive guy. We've never had that. If we take Caleb Williams and we pair him with an offensive coordinator who might be on a two-, three-year deal, what are we doing? So it sounds like you're ready to move on. Am I on a line here, Pat? No, Jake, you're actually speaking what a lot of Bears fans are thinking. It's a pretty mixed reaction, I do believe, from Bears fans.

There's a lot of people that are thankful for the Iberflues culture seemingly hitting at the end of the year. Justin Fields getting back playing his best football. Here's everything we've been building for. Do we want to start over again? But with the number one overall pick, I mean, you've got a lot to potentially build upon. Yeah, I think what would be really scary is if Caleb Williams comes in the league and he's not on our team and he's incredible.

And then we've got to deal with Jordan Love in Green Bay, who seems to be another hit, which I've lost so much money on that kid because I was sure he was a bust. And if he's good, and then Caleb Williams is good, and then if we middle, I mean, at a certain point, we just got to take our losses. Yeah. Well, you guys have been taking a lot of those. A lot of those.

But we're building, Pat. Yeah. Yes, you are. Yes, you are, James. We're going to take the North, Pat. We're not going to give it back. Jordan Love looks so good. He does.

He looks so good. I hate it. Yeah. I hate it. Okay. Let's talk about this self-reliance movie first before we dive into the rest of the football conversation and life talk. Congrats.

I assume this is a massive ordeal. So a lot of people know you from New Girl. You're the voice of Pete. Yeah. Peter Parker. Yeah, Pete B. In Spider-Verse. Peter B. Parker. Yeah. massive ordeal so a lot of people know you for new girl uh you're the voice of pete yeah pb in spider verse peter b parker yeah which we looked up the amount of money and success that this is i've not seen it i'm watching it tonight i didn't even know this existed by the way that's on me i'm a sports doofus i'm watching it tonight this is you in that particular film you voice this particular character and now with this self-reliance, you're killing it, Jake. Absolutely killing it.

Thanks, buddy. How did we get to this point? And for self-reliance, I know that you wrote it, directed, starred in it. Is this just what it's going to be going forward for you now? Congrats, if that's the case. Thanks, buddy. I hope you work their kicks off to get to that. Thanks, man.

Well, I got to give it to you, too, man. You're killing it. I was watching that WWE promo, and that looks fun, man. Come on. Good on you, man. Good on you. Hey, you can't trust a rattles Come on. Good on you, man. Good on you. Hey, you can't trust a rattlesnake. Good on you for you guys' show.

Oh, thank you. Yeah, thank you. But, you know, the movie was a lot of fun. It was something I'd wanted to do for a long time. I got the opportunity to make it. It's on Hulu right now. It was number one all weekend, which was a really great honor. And it's been fun.

But I got to tell you, I feel like I'm an actor first. You know, I'm doing a podcast these days called We're Here to Help, and it's fun. So I don't really know what's next. I kind of take each gig, you know, job by job. But I will say, I know it's a really fun era. You guys have talked a lot on your show about how the old guard is going away

and there's a new guard, and that guard is going directly to the people. And this movie I made on Hulu, we made it for five million, so it is an indie. But the reach is as big to the people. And this movie I made on Hulu, we made it for 5 million. So it is an indie, but the reach is as big as the big ones. So I'm in a, I'm feeling like we're in a really exciting time across the board.

Great leverage for you going forward. Go ahead, AJ. I know you said you feel like an actor first, but have you always written? I know it makes you much more valuable to imagine if you can write your own stuff and try to present that. Is that something you've done from a young age as an actor and why doesn't every actor

write and try to produce yeah yeah thanks aj yeah definitely i started off as an actor because i mean as a writer because to just wait and audition is really tricky especially if you got a profile like mine no you're handsome you're handsome stay straight stay straight but patty i mean you got to look at guys like ryan gosling and you look at these hunks so if you're coming up as an actor and you're a character actor like myself and when i left chicago i was walking around at 215 with a pack of cigarettes and you know a six pack of beer in my stomach at all times oh yeah so i thought i might not get that role but if i write it myself and i write it apart for me, I got a way better chance

of getting it. So I've always kind of thought you got to do everything in the business in order to get a seat at the table and stay there. A lot of the things are comedy, you write, do you do stand up? Did you do stand up? Have you ever? You know, I did a little bit I did more improv, I came out of Chicago, where the second city was, and I looked up to the Bill Murray's and the chris farley's and this idea of being in an ensemble and being on a team and making the team better that's where i always thought was the road through and i always loved that more than the idea of just standing up there with a mic i think tina fey is from second city chicago as well tina fina yeah she's a killer rachel dratch a lot of a lot of great people. Tim Robinson. Ooh. Oh. Ooh. Yeah.

He's a killer. He is a killer. We had a couple weeks on this particular program where literally the show was a sports topic and then rammed in, I think you should leave, reference in there. So obviously Second City has had a lot of success. What's the writing process? We smoke dope. We are in a quiet room. We play music. What type of music, how do you, what is your creative process? You know, it always starts with a seed and then I believe in the grind. So I believe I want to do kind of three or four drafts to everybody else's one

draft. So I believe in the first draft is a kind of a vomit draft. You just get it out and then you send it around and you get notes and you just keep pushing. So if I'm going to smoke weed, it's going to be at the early stages, at the idea stage. And then I'm going to start fading as I get into drafts. Do you do it in notes section? How do you do it? Type, write? What do we type?

Yeah, old school. You know, I went to NYU for dramatic writing. So I started off as a screenwriter. So I copied the three-act structure. I'm back from like the late 90s, early 2000s of the way like a big movie should look. And I like doing indies with a big structure. So I like a three-act structure.

I like a protagonist going through the whole journey. I like the change. Stuff that it feels like a movie movie that you could see in like a Pixar movie. I like trying to do it like a little weirdo movie like Self Reliance. Okay, I love that. In the business sense of it, you wrote, starred, directed in it. I assume you to do it like a little weirdo movie like Self Reliance. Okay, I love that. In the business sense of it, you wrote, starred, directed in it. I assume you own it as well.

How's that whole thing work? Yeah, so you get a percentage of points, but it's different. So this was a like an independent contractor, I got hired to do something. So I own a piece of it, because each part that I have in it, that gets equity. But the other things I've done in the past where we've self financed Indies, and that's kind of more new world where you own the whole thing um so this one I do have a piece but this was more I wanted to see if I could make a bigger one I want to see if I could make one with an Anna Kendrick you know Chris Lloyd plays my dad in it Gator's in it Eduardo Franco's in it you know i did stunts in it it's a really fun movie so it's like a really wild ride it was kind of described to me by somebody i did press with as a stoner comedic

thriller and i'm like well i like that i recommend a joint before you start watching it kick back it is meant for fun okay so i mean you said you made a movie for me. That's what I just heard. I'm not looking for you to have a cup of coffee and put a scarf on and study it. I'm looking for it to be smoke a joint, have a couple beers, and enjoy the ride. Okay, let's talk about the business of that. You talked about making your own self-funding and everything like that. This was hired for a job. This is seemingly the way these platforms go, right?

Adam Sandler gets hired. Hey, you're getting this amount of money to make this amount of movies, pretty much. Is that happening with Hulu, or is this a one-off? And when I watch it, and I give you a view, are we currently in the middle of negotiations for more with Hulu, or will those numbers ever get released for, say, publicly, how many people watched it? So, I don't know.

I do know I'm not in negotiations with them, because I like being a free agent. So, you know, the next project, I'm meeting with people now, different talent. I want to pair up more with actors and go in as a team. And I don't know if I want to be at Hulu. I don't know if they'll release. I do know that on their website, they see the top 15. And so we've been number one all weekend. So I wrote in, I said, like, is this real? And they and they said it's it's real on our app so they you know they refresh that so as long as that's there i know we're good but i don't know

if they'll ever release how many we really did well as you're coming up trying to get more opportunities like that all that is a massive ordeal let's screenshot the shit out of those at number one yeah ty has a question for you jake as soon as it is screenshot say it's over yeah uh the way the victory has happened it's done no the time staying power all weekend you put the time stamp on when the one photo is to the next one it's like here we go this guy's got it and jake we all appreciate your brain so we would like you to get more opportunities to make more shit so this is for all of us go ahead yeah but something go ahead no no go ahead But something you're doing that I really respect is starting off as a podcast and building. So you're doing your own thing, and then you're on ESPN.

So I also think, you know, this podcast I'm doing, the We're Here to Help, is based on that same thing. Rather than leveraging and going to Hulu and saying, give me a three-picture deal, I like that we're just doing our own thing in our own galaxy appreciating the promotion appreciating being out there but also having our own base yeah yeah and we uh obviously the deal has been talked about a lot us and espn but it's like a licensing deal too you know so like 100 of shows still you know it's it's good for you yeah so it's good for new me everything's still good for new yes we all have the same mindset of what the future yeah jake let's go let's go hey ty has a question for you jake what about the director piece because i know this was your

directorial debut but like did you enjoy bossing people around on set were you doing like any scene you were in like you give one take you make're like, man, I fucking crushed that. One take, Jake killed it. Exactly. And if there's a scene Anna's in, you're like, ah, maybe doing Fincher, like, hey, I'm going to need you to maybe give me 99 to 100 takes on this. But guys like John Krasinski and some of these other actors now who have kind of moved from in front of the camera to behind the camera,

did you enjoy the experience? Was it super stressful? And I know you kind of just mentioned that you know acting is still kind of your main focus is this something you could see yourself doing a lot more of in the future though you know possibly there's going to be a break for a while but what i really loved about it is in terms of sports it felt like the director you get to be the gm and pick the team. And so I hired everybody on the crew. I hired the cast. So there were no bad apples. Sometimes you get on a set and there's a vibe or someone's behavior that is making it hard for you to do your job. And you just have to push through. The beauty of this is everybody kind of had the same mission statement. And that was, I think the most fun I

had in directing where, and I kind of wanted every head of department. And that was, I think, the most fun I had in directing. And I kind of wanted every head of department, my camera operators, my DPs, set design, I wanted them to win. And so I wasn't micromanaging them. I kind of believe you hire good people and let them do their thing. And that was a nice relief for me. It's what made it not too overwhelming. Go ahead, AJ. So I know this show is a very big pro Tom Cruise show. We love Tom Cruise. I know

you were able to act with Tom and jump off buildings, do stunts with him, do everything in The Mummy. I read somewhere, I think you said like, oh, it was kind of maybe a little bit intimidating to start that project. What was it like from start to finish to work with Tom Cruise? Because we just think that guy is, I would love to know what he's like day to day weapon he is the best number one in the business you know they talk about in sports at least for a fan they say like a quarterback or a michael jordan sets the tone first one in last one out yep and how hard they work you all work well that's the same on a movie set with number one on call sheet whoever's movie it is really sets the tone uh and tom cruise is the with number one on call sheet. Whoever's movie it is really sets the tone.

And Tom Cruise is the best number one I've ever worked with. He works hard. All the stunts he does are genuine. He and I did three weeks of stunts in Africa together where it was all in two shots. And we did one where we're running across these buildings as they're exploding. And then we jump off at the end. and there was no netting or wires and so i said uh hey man if we fall off we die and he laughed and i go all jokes aside man i got two young kids so uh what are we doing here my man and he said don't fall off and i thought you're the best man and while doing that

he also makes you train with him and he cares but he expects you to go for it we did a stunt where we were on a three-story building and it was rigged to collapse and then you hit the ground and we hit the ground from about seven feet and it hurt and afterwards he ran up and he goes like are you okay are you okay and i thought something went wrong and i went like yeah my man but uh i think i talked wrong and he goes are you injured and i go no and he goes what happened i go i can't breathe you know all the wind was taken out of me and he goes well you fell off a roof and i went like oh you get hurt every time you just push through and he's like yeah you get hurt every time you just push through. And he's like, yeah, you get hurt.

You just train so you don't get injured. And I was like, oh, this man is an animal. Some people are faking it. I was like, this man is a real animal. And then you watch his movies and you see it. You go, this isn't pretend. This is the real deal. This is a bad man.

Yeah, this guy's been through some shit during this movie. Because at the end, you have a broken left ankle. He's running a little bit differently. But he also, he's a dude who cares. So I came in a little bit chubby, and he put me on his diet. So his chef was cooking food for me. I had to cut back on the beers. I'm working out five days a week.

And in the middle of it, I'd started trimming up. And scripty said, Jake's a little bit thinner than he was at the beginning, which in terms of continuity, I thought, let's eat some fries and drink some beers and slow down on the workout. Let's get back. Let's get back. And old Tom Cruise said, I don't care about the continuity. I love that Jake is pushing.

And I thought, like, what? So if you're a Tom Cruise fan, all I had to say is he's everything you want him to be yes yes that's true it is he's we have one of the biggest he's the best is one of the biggest tc fans oh man they're just music to my ears he is just the best and he's also so intense on a tuesday morning at 8 a.m it's shocking you know you start off and you're like in a rehearsal and he's a 10 out of 10 and you're like my man let me finish the coffee and you go like oh well this is what like a winning team does he's into it like he got really into coffee so there was like this espresso thing and uh all of a sudden i was talking to the

espresso guy and i'm like, this is delicious. And he's like, yeah, I'm from Columbia. I won some contests. So Tom flies me out on his own dime. And I'm like, give me a break.

What world are we in? Self-reliant to have shitty coffee or pretty good coffee. Yes. Folgers. And if you want something better, go to Starbucks. What do I care? We're making a movie.

Hey, get a TC movie if you want a little bit better. Conman has a question for you. Yeah, Jake, obviously one of your massive roles throughout your career was in New Girl as Nick Miller. And we were talking about how a lot of times these shows, and it kind of started with The Office, is after there is a very successful show like New Girl, they try and just remake that show in a different way over and over again like they try to do at the office um yeah from your experience was that tried after new girl and just filled miserably and did you guys use zoe and the whole crew look on like

that's right motherfucker only we can do that or did they not even try and they're like hey that is no so new girl's different because when we were on we had a big season one uh and uh max and zoe were emmy nominated i think the writers were season two we were hot then season two we fell off a cliff so while we were on we nobody was really copying us and we were the kind of show that like whenever i'd get like a cab the cabbie always had to let me know he knew who i was but he didn't like the show and it was one of those things that like whenever i'd get like a cab the cabbie always had to let me know he knew who i was but he didn't like the show and it was one of those things that like you know we were like every dude had to let me know like i know you man and i'd go great and he'd go i don't like

that show with the girls okay and then thank you thanks i appreciate it uh 14th and 8th please then it came on new girl and a whole new group found it so if there's copycats i think it's happening more now i uh so i will say i know you from tag okay that's where i didn't watch new girl i would have loved it though if you were in it show i'm assuming i would have loved it but it feels like you've done some how old are you now you don't have to tell me how many years you've been in business i'm 45 man i'm not i'm 45 i've been in the business i started getting paid when i was 28 but i've been on stages since i was about 17 18 congrats man dog so many different roles and now the spider verse thing thanks guys that is voiceover shit the best or the worst

i love it uh but i especially love this because phil lord and chris miller are the guys at the top are shockingly talented i guarantee you're gonna like spider verse pat that's what everybody's saying i literally the amount of money it's made is absurd and then shock it i started looking i started looking at some of the what people were saying and it's like movie great not just like for everybody seems like yeah yeah it's a uh those guys are the chris and phil are the tom brady's of our game they're just the greatest of all time they are just killers whatever they touch turns to gold if you follow them you'll see their track record and when they we did spider verse the first time i saw it i was a fan too and And I just thought like, God damn.

Like this movie is that thing. You did that in the basement? Where'd you record? Go to a studio? How long does that all take? Most records for movies you can do in two or three sessions. I think I recorded for Spider-Verse for two years. They don't quit.

They don't quit. And they don't care if you're over budget. They don't care if the studio is mad. They want it right. And they don't quit they don't quit and they don't care if you're over budget they don't care if the studio's mad they want it right and they don't care they keep pushing we improvised all the time we would be in there saying the lines improvising they would bring other actors we would do me and shamik who plays miles uh we would just do the scene and we're acting until we're sweating you know we're and'm like, we're in a booth. But those dudes just, they want it to be great. And when you're around that, it is truly inspiring.

Especially if you've been around other stuff where they don't care, like where it's a moneymaker. You start feeling really quickly like, oh, this has a different engine to it. And when you're around a group that really wants it to be great, everybody steps up. Man, that's awesome to hear. Thank you for the little inside baseball we got popping off right here. Go ahead, Tone. Yeah, Jake, I'm a big fan. But my favorite thing that you ever did was when you were on a local news station.

I believe it was Nashville. And you kept thinking it was Memphis. And you kept saying that you were going to Beale Street and everything like that. That was my favorite. That was probably of all time. Is that the first and only time that that's happened? No. I got shit for brains, man. Especially, you know, we did a bit, and I still do it,

but when you're doing a lot of press and you're doing the same thing over and over, rather than just repeating, Max and I on that show, we play Schmidt, we created a thing called good sales. And good sales is when you really sell the damn product and you do a hell of a job doing it. And we had just gotten too tired. We had started about 6am. We had been running through it. And that Nashville one just got on top of both of us. But the real winner of that was that woman who hosted the show. Because if she would have been kind of an ass about it or tight and nervous

it's not funny but so basically i start screwing up and i don't even remember what city was but i was saying the wrong one and i was trying to make it local because we started doing a thing in terms of good sales make it local to where you're pitching oh yeah and so i was like let's just get in details and then everything i got wrong I got the time of the movie or the show wrong. I got everything. And rather than cut away and get tight and pretend that the local affiliate matter, she just played along. She's like, don't worry. I got your back.

It's 7 o'clock, not 8 o'clock. That's not here. You've screwed up again. And then my buddy Max started laughing. And we were live, so we couldn't get out, and it just turned into a really fun one. Hey, good promo. Sounds like we're still talking about it. I don't know when that was.

We're still talking about it. Exactly right. Absolutely great. Yeah, great. Good sales. Good sales, man. Good sales. Great sales.

Darius has a question for you. Hey, Jay, there's been a lot of screenwriter script talk when it comes to the NFL for the last couple years. Obviously, we got the Packers in the playoffs, got the Lions, so I'm going to assume if you were writing the script, how this whole playoff, the rest of these playoffs, play out. How would it play out for you in the NFL in the playoffs? And who is that over your left shoulder? Oh, this old-timer?

Yeah. So that is a lamp I got when I was 17. My mom and I's apartment was near a Salvation Army, so that was the uh a lamp i got when i was 17 my mom and i's our apartment was near a salvation army so that was the first piece of furniture i bought that made me feel like an adult baby so it looks like it's not a legend it's a hidden temple yeah yeah it's incredible so every woman i've ever lived with her been to my house i've always hated it and it just keeps falling and now my wife allows me to keep it in my back office. In terms of the script, I know what the NFL wants. They want Kelsey and Taylor Swift kissing under confetti.

I think for me personally, I'm really hoping San Fran beats Green Bay because if they got another monster in Jordan Love, enough's enough. I love Campbell and what he's doing with the Lions. I loved his opening press conference of biting people's kneecaps off. I loved him on hard knock. Everything about him is fun. I love that when he talks, I was watching the game after halftime, he had a red nose and dipped teeth.

I was like, this is not a head coach, man. This is a dude from outside a bar that I'm bumming a cigarette to. And I go, you think the Lions are going to win? And he's going, we got to slow them down on defense. We got to get them. I'm like, so my script says, let's see the Lions take the whole thing. I want to see Ravens, Lions. I want to see that personally.

Okay, that would be a great Super Bowl. It would be a really fun Super Bowl. But I'm really afraid of the Packers, and I'm really nervous about what they're building. I hate to keep hearing about how they're the youngest team. They are. All first and second-year guys in skilled positions. Pretty much every important position is still getting better.

Still getting better. It's a nightmare. It's a nightmare. It is a nightmare. All right, good for you guys, though. Good for you up there in Chicago. First pick. Good for you up there in Chicago. Number one overall pick.

There you go. Get it. All right, so Self Reliance is on Hulu right now. I could watch this shit tonight. We dropped on Friday. We're still there. We're currently still number one. I hope everybody enjoys it.

Kick back and enjoy it. Oh, I've been screenshotting. Oh, there we go. There we go. I hope everybody enjoys it, man. It's a load of fun. Did you lose your teeth there? Is that what I'm seeing? Yeah, I get it. It turns into the premise of the movie is I get invited to play a dark web game where people are hunting me and trying to kill me and I have 30 days to survive. Okay. And then nobody in my life believes that I'm playing. So it's a, I'm going through this wild game

and everybody thinks I'm just making stuff up for attention. So it is comedic from the family's point of view and a thriller from my point of view. A million bucks on the line, right?

A million bucks on the line. 30 days. Can you stay alive? Let's go. While all your family and friends think you're a psychopath? Now we're talking. Self-reliance I'll watch tonight because it'll benefit you immediately.

Then we'll do Spider-Verse tomorrow. I'm having a couple days with Jake Johnson. My wife and I are about to really digest some Jake Johnson. And then when you're working out, throw the podcast out. We're here to help. That Jake Johnson. And then when you're working out, throw the podcast out. We're here to help. All right.

That's going to be nothing but laughs. That's going to be nothing but laughs. It's lighthearted. It's an advice show where my buddy, Gareth Reynolds, who's a stand-up comedian, has a Packer tattoo on his arm. We take call-in live, and we give advice to people. But the note is nothing serious, but serious to you. Okay. I can't wait.

So no divorces, nothing heavy, but if there's like something stupid in your life or you did something really embarrassing, our pitch is, the premise of the show is if you go to a bar with your friends and you go, I'm in a shit situation, they will pitch rather than just say, I'm sorry you're in it.

They're going to try to get you out of it. It might not be the right advice, but we're going to try to get you out of it. It might not be the right advice, but we're going to try to get you out, and then we follow up with the people. So you're a modern Judge Judy, Judge Joe Mammoth. I started this career for that, Pat. Now I'm finished. It's a nice podcast version of Judge Greg Mathis.

That's right. Yes, that's exactly right. Judge Steve Harvey. Yeah, we saw Mathis yesterday. Remember? Oh, yeah. There was this boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, was suing his ex-girlfriend for $3,100. And I'll tell you what, I don't think either of them won.

No. But she looked guilty and he looked slimy. Yep. And Mathis. And they each got a day rate. You're saying that's fake? Don't do that to me. Don't you do that to me. Pat, you get do that to me. Don't you do that to me.

Pat, you get paid to show up. Don't you do that to me, Jake. I don't need to hear that right now. All right, we appreciate you. Good luck with everything, man. Keep crushing it. We appreciate you. I appreciate you guys.

Thank you for the time. Ladies and gentlemen, Jake Johnson. Hey, Jake. I remember we liked him. Yeah, he's a man. Yeah, he was pitched for a show. I forget when. Maybe it was tag. I think it was tag. It was tag. It might have been tag.'s a man. Yeah, he was pitched for a show, I forget when. Maybe it was Tag.

I think it was Tag. It was Tag. It might have been Tag. And I had no idea who he was, AJ. And I think everybody was like, we like Jake. And then I watched Tag and I'm like, yup, love Jake. And then now he's writing, starring, directing, getting deals with streaming networks. Good for him.

He's a good movie. Self-Reliance looks good, honestly. Sounds good. I don't know how many Hulu original films are with it. White Man Can't Jump. Two. Two was on there. Yeah, not the first one.

Well, maybe it was on there before that, but Jack Harleasy was... Sounds like a little bit... It's a new version of... Was it Surviving the Game? Where they go hunt up... Ice-T. Ice-T.

That's a great movie. They're talking about the pest? Very similar, yes. Are we talking about the one with Stone Cold? That's the condemned, but yeah, kind of same idea as well. But I don't think they're in Jungle. It's in the suburb. Let me read the thing. I don't know how much I'm allowed to give away.

No spoilers. They sent this to me, by the way. It's already out. Yeah, but that doesn't mean it. It's only been out a weekend. Yeah, so? When a middle-aged man, Jake Johnson, from New Girl, is invited into a limo by famous actor Andy Samberg,

his dull life... That's not me, Jake. It's what your people say. Word for word. His boring-ass, shitty- ass life takes a thrilling turn. Johnson is offered a chance to win a million dollars in a dark web reality TV show where assassins from all over the world

will attempt to kill him for 30 days. The catch? He can't be killed if he's not entirely alone. Leading him to recruit an unlikely team to help him survive. Boom. Good luck finding one friend.

Anna Kendrick. She's in it. That's probably the friend. Natalie Morales. What? I hope Anna sings. Yeah, Gaeta from Dave. Yeah, that's who that is, right? A lot of butt cheeks from Dave in that one. None from Gaeta.

Gaeta never shows butt cheeks. Mary Holland. Boban Marjano... Boban's in it? Boban is in it. Are you kidding me? That's a basketball player? Yeah, that's the giant basketball player. His acting career has taken off.

He was in John Wick 3, I believe. Never seen his last name. Only Boban. That's why you've never seen his last name. Marjanovic. Boban Marjanovic. Christopher Lloyd. Wayne Brady?

Wayne Brady? Wayne the Brain. Probably one of the killers. Maybe. Boban definitely is. Oh my god. They're kind of pigeonholing him in that role so far. To heal? No, as a assassin. That was a great conversation. I'm going to watch Self Reliance, AJ. I think we should.

What did he say? Stoner, thriller, comedy? Yep. Smoke a joint for it. Was Tag a show or a movie? Movie. John Habs. I thought you meant Tag. There was a Tag TV show where guys chased each other around. That was JJ Watt's show. That's what confused me. I didn't see that movie. Tag the movie really

good, actually. For Shoot what confused me. I haven't, I didn't see that movie. Tag the movie. Really good. Actually, Jeremy, really good. Ed Helms. It's a true story about this group of friends who have a game of tag that is still happening where they set up elaborate travels and pranks to tag people. It's a, Oh,

okay. I have seen some of that. Sounded incredibly corny. So whenever I was pitched for him to come on the show and they laid out the thing, I'm like, Oh yeah, that sounds terrible. I'm not going to do that. I don't want show and they laid out the thing, I'm like, oh, yeah, that sounds terrible.

I'm not going to do that. I don't want our show associated with that. And the boys were like, Jake Johnson's awesome. Jake Johnson's awesome. Comes on the show, wins me over. I'm like, all right, I'll watch the fucking movie. Not corny at all. No.

Incredible. It was a phenomenal movie. The cast is unbelievable. What is it? Renner, Ed Helms, Jake Johnson. Ham. And then Jon Hamm and Jon Hamm's penis. It was unbelievable.

Yep. I thought that goes kind of hand in hand, right? Yeah, that's John Ham's penis. It was unbelievable. Yep. I thought that goes kind of hand in hand, right? Yeah, that's a hamaconda. Wow, it actually goes hamaconda in hand. Oh, boy. That's true. Yeah, definitely plural. Definitely two.

All right, I think we're done here. It was a good Wednesday. Good day. Great work this week, D-Butt. AQs, thank you again for coming in and crushing it, pal. A little breakdown of Todd Bowles' defense was good. Pretty good. We'll take that for the rest of the week for sure.

Turn digs. Tomlin's back. Good for you. You're ranching. Yeah, it's awesome. Ty Schmidt, we've got hope. Maybe the Packers will do it. Here we go, baby.

Saturday night. Jake Johnson said, fuck them. We need the Niners to win. I respect that. He's a University of Iowa guy, though, so I'll just kind of let that slide. I saw that at the bottom of the name tag there. I obviously knew that before the interview started that he was an Iowa guy. Oh, yeah.

You knew that, too, Derrick Smith. It's like a lot of people in Chicago suburbs. Second City up there in Chicago, they created a lot of talent. A lot of talent up there. Tina Fey and the blonde lady. Who was that? Amy Poehler. Amy Poehler. They both came from there. Tina Fey and the blonde lady. Who was that? Amy Poehler. They both came from there. Tina Fey goes

first over to Saturday Night Live. But Tina and Amy, I guess, tight at Second City as well. So then Tina goes to Saturday Night Live. Amy's still back at Second City. And then Amy comes over there and then all of a sudden I watch either an interview or a documentary. Tina Fey has really crushed it. Yeah, she's a beast. Absolute

beast. And speaking of beasts, you son of a how about you love wednesday you had a great day to do i disagree but it was a fun day all right sweet happy to hear that uh i think that's all that matters vibes are good vibes are high i think this is two straight days where i think so you know yeah look at us. There's moments where we didn't know if we'd see these days ever again. No. Maybe you've put yourself into a situation where

you're getting attacked from all angles. Now, people you've never met before are saying things as if they do know you and very terrible and rude things All warranted But in those moments you start to wonder Is this what I retired from kicking balls to do?

Is this what I want my life to be? Some people love this How? How is this what people enjoy? And then days like today happen And days like yesterday happen And the first four months we were on ESPN You remind yourself We're the luckiest motherfuckers on earth hell yeah and just like they do at a

night's tale bingo medieval times bingo you hop right back on that saddle even if you're the yellow knight you fucking suck and you let down an entire part of the crowd that is only able to cheer for you because they've been forced to sit in your section. You get back on that saddle the next night and maybe you knight a little better. That's what we'll continue to do. Divisional round is just a few days away.

Hell yeah! Eight teams are left. Stories are still to be wrote as if that Jack Johnson had the god damn pen. Bingo. Let's enjoy tomorrow. Let's enjoy today. We'll see you then. AJ, great work today, pal. You did a fantastic job.

Good job, AJ. Hey, good job, Pat. Good work. Today was an okay day. First hour, we did a lot of good talking. Remember first hour, we did retirement talk. Awesome. We did hockey talk today. Hockey's awesome, by the way, for these evenings. If you're not watching Self Reliance on Hulu, watch some hockey.

Yeah. It's worth it. Oh, yeah. And if the Pittsburgh Penguins are playing, there's number 87 on the ice. You're watching history in the making. Must see. So appreciate that. All right. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. We're all history in the making. Must see. So appreciate that. Alright. Be a friend. Tell a friend something

nice. It might change their life. We're all in this thing together. Okay? We're all in this thing together. Goodbye!