The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 485 - Cam Newton Cut.. Mac Jones Named Starter In New England, Travis Kelce, Michael Lombardi, Trent Dilfer, & AJ Hawk

Episode Date: August 31, 2021

On today's show, Pat and the boys react to the news that Cam Newton has been released by the Patriots and Mac Jones will be the starting quarterback, and all the other cuts that have been made as NFL teams have to get their rosters down to 53 guys. Joining the program to chat about the Mac Jones/Cam Newton situation and why the decision was made to go with Mac Jones is 2x Super Bowl Champion, former GM of the Cleveland Browns, Special Assistant for the Coaching staff for the Patriots, The Daily Coach, and host of the Lombardi Line and GM Shuffle Podcast, friend of the program, Michael Lombardi (9:20-31:47). Next, Super Bowl Champion, 6x Pro Bowler, 5x All-Pro, member of the 2010's All-Decade, #5 on the 2021 NFL Top 100, and friend of the program, Travis Kelce joins Pat and AJ Hawk to chat about this upcoming season, having a bad taste in his mouth from last year's Super Bowl, why Patrick Mahomes is so special, his thoughts on the Top 100, and his time being a reality TV star (33:51-48:40). Later, Pat and AJ chat about the different cuts around the league, Mac Jones being the starter in New England, and all the things we need to be looking for as we approach the start of the NFL season (50:06-1:12:55). To close out the show, Pat and AJ are joined by Super Bowl Champion, 14 year NFL veteran at QB, and current Head Coach of Lipscomb Academy, Trent Dilfer. Pat, AJ, and Trent chat about the video of him going viral after his altercation with one of his players on the sideline (who he's known since the players birth), what he would've done differently, and his thoughts on everything going on in the NFL right now as cut down day is here (1:12:55-1:41:11). Make sure you subscribe to youtube.com/thepatmcafeeshow and listen every day on Mad Dog Radio, Sirius XM Channel 82. We appreciate you all for listening, come and laugh with us, cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, it is Tuesday, August 31st, 2021. Massive day. Hey, a lot of things happening around the NFL. A lot of things happening in the world. We got great conversations with Michael Lombardi. You know, he has direct ties to the Patriots and there was some rather large news that broke this morning. Travis Kelsey joins us and Trent Dilfer to talk about what happened to him on Friday night with his team, Lipscomb Academy, when they went viral for a situation that involved him coaching. I think you're going to enjoy the hell out of it. And if you do, please be a friend, tell a friend. If not, just act like it never happened.

All right, just act like this never, ever happened if you didn't like this show. But if you did, don't be scared to tell somebody. Let's get to it. Today is a big day because there's a lot of things happening around the NFL. The NFL teams have to make their 53-man roster by 4 p.m. today. What does that mean? We'll dive into all of that. For us, what it means is this morning there was already some fireworks. The toxic tables in studio downtown Indianapolis while I am serving my eighth day in the covid cave

getting a little cabin fever but it's a lot better than dealing with covid like i did the first couple of days cannot wait to be back in studio with you boys at ty schmidt you look fantastic at boston connor your mullet seems to flow a little bit better today the excitement seems to be radiating from your soul. There's a smile that seems plastered on your face. This morning, the New England Patriots made it official, releasing Cam Newton out into the wild to become a free agent once again. He got paid a $2 million signing bonus, a $1.5 million salary.

That money will get handled. However it does, Cam's going to make $1.5 to $2 million this year, whatever the case. But what this means is Matt Jones. Who? Matt Jones. Who? Matt Jones.

Who? Is your starter in New England, and Boston Connor has been eagerly awaiting this day ever since we saw his Joker walk to the stage after being drafted at pick 15 by the New England Patriots. Mac Jones is your starter, Connor. It looks like you are absolutely pumped. Anything to say to Cam Newton,

who won the battle with your terrible roster last year, did not do great. Now you guys spent $150 million on weapons for this team, who went to battle with your terrible roster last year, did not do great. Now you guys spent $150 million on weapons for this team. And Mac Jones, the rookie quarterback who has been an absolute sensation, not only on the internet, on the practice field, in the locker room, but all over the world. How do you feel this morning? I mean, one pinky, one finger, one thumb to Cam Newton-Bletso.

And we've been looking for this for quite some time, Pat, because Cam filled that role. He went 7-9 with a team that probably should have gone 1-15. And thank God he went 7-9 because we don't have Trevor Lawrence. We don't have Trey Lance. We don't have Zach Wilson. We got Mac freaking Jones, dude. And he is unbelievable.

I think we all saw the writing on the wall. After the first preseason game, you said, look at this guy. Look how he's commanding the team. Look how he's throwing the ball. Looks like he might not stink. You got eviscerated. Turns out, I believe Mac Jones had the highest PFF preseason quarterback rating since Patrick freaking Mahomes.

Ever heard of him? So, yeah, I am through the roof. I am going to be pretty damn insufferable probably for the next two years until Mac is the MVP. And then it'll just get, you know, kind of heightened even more. I mean, Mac Jones, Brady, week four, now we know. I'm through the roof right now, Pat. Absolutely juiced.

I don't think anything can bring me down. Not even Gilmore being out for six weeks, which stinks, but that means he's on the team. Massive win. We're only winning today. It is incredible to be a Patriots fan once again. Okay, Steph Gilmore is on the PUP physically unable

to perform list, which means he's out for six weeks, at least six games. If you're on the PUP, you see people get activated off the PUP list and then that becomes a big storyline. Both Steph Gilmore and David Bakhtiari of the Green Bay Packers are two players that

are of great significance that are currently on the PUP list and out for at least six weeks. But let's get back to the New England Patriots. Whenever you talk about, oh shit, whenever you talk about Mac Jones, you have to at least have the conversation that for five days, the New England Patriots were able to see what the team would look like if Mack Jones was your starter. And I'm not just talking about on the practice field where he sliced and diced the Giants and Joe Judge had to stare at his team and say, hey, what the fuck are you guys doing while this guy is dicing?

But behind the scenes, in the film room, in the team meeting, in the offensive meeting, everywhere, they got to see what it was like without Cam Newton there because of the re-enrollment process, misunderstanding, miscommunication that happened between the Patriots and Cam Newton. That's for another day. We are all the way past that. Matt Jones is now the leader of the New England Patriots. We'll talk to Michael Lombardi, former general manager in the NFL, also confidant, I believe, to everybody in the New England Patriots organization.

We'll ask him about what those five days were like for Cam, for Matt, for the Patriots. And if you watch that offense with Matt Jones in it, and it is exactly what I tweeted after the first night it looks exactly like not exactly like because tom brady is incredibly handsome obviously sure and everything like that but that offense looked very very very similar to the offense that we saw win for a long long time 20 plus years they cut cam because he was playing a much different style of quarterback. They're going all in. Hoyer is the blueprint for Mac.

If Mac has any questions, I would assume that this is exactly how the New England Patriots fans hope this would turn out, even though they appreciate Cam Newton. But getting back to some comfort level, drop-back quarterback, But getting back to some comfort level, drop back quarterback, seems like a guy who's fiery, runs around, throws the ball all over the yard. Matt McDaniels can draw up these plays. They've got a bunch of weapons. They spent a lot of money on that.

It does feel as if the New England Patriots are all the way back just in this one move. And we didn't know if they were going to have Cam start for a few weeks, let Mac Jones watch Cam as a starter, see how he handles himself, whether it's with the media or the locker room or the team and everything like that. But I think that five-day peak seat at Mac Jones being the starter and Mac rising to the occasion, playing his best football during those times, I assume during the break and the meetings, he was performing very well as well. That had to have pushed them to this decision. We'll ask Michael Lombardi about that whenever he joins us here in a few minutes. But this is the type of shit that's going to happen on this Tuesday, August 31st. We're going to have a lot of news from a lot of different teams on who's

potentially going to be on the roster and who's not going to be on the roster well we have to remember okay and i had to learn this the hard way whenever it's cut day and then it's obviously if you look at the glass half full it's make team day too yeah right so it's that's why i don't want to call this massacre week because although a lot of people are getting cut this is also a lot of dreams coming true a lot of people making nfl rosters but even more so now with the extra week that all these teams are going to have, if I am a bottom half of the roster guy right now, okay, if I'm their family, if I'm their friend, you cannot celebrate until that first check clears.

There's going to be a lot more moves made. Teams are going to get down to 53 by 4 o'clock today. Look for a lot more moves to continue to be made. It might not be with big name players and household name players, but these rosters are going to continue to evolve over the next couple weeks

here before the first season, and it will through the entire regular season. But this is a wild time. It's very different now. Teams are practicing, then they'll have four days off this weekend. Aside from the Buccaneers and the Cowboys, you have to play that first week. I believe they're off right now, and then they're practicing later in the week. But with the teams that are practicing right now, and they're getting their rosters down, then they'll have Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday off. Then they're back Monday for

the first week. Look for a lot of those teams to potentially watch film on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday off. Then they're back Monday for the first week. Look for a lot of those teams to potentially watch film on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday of the team that they put together here for Monday through Wednesday. Look for a lot more moves to be made over the weekend as well. It's an exciting time. The NFL season's right around the corner and rosters are being made at Tone Diggs. Your thoughts on what's going on around the NFL? Hammered down, pal? hammered down pal hammered down wise mac jones went from plus 900 to plus 450 to win rookie of the year this morning

unfortunately i didn't jump on it quick enough before it made the move probably should have been on it earlier but he is second behind trevor lawrence who's plus 400 now huge move for mac jones this morning to win rookie of the year hell yeah i think he was at plus 2000 a couple weeks oh yeah for sure yeah it's been on the move as he's played better throughout this preseason and it has looked like this is potentially a chance the odds have dropped but this just this morning plus 900 plus 450 okay so mccorkle jones is obviously the big story joining us now is a man who's a former general manager for the Cleveland Browns, confidant, advisor, everything like that for the New England Patriots. And I think one of his kids is actually still coaching at the New England Patriots. Friend of the show, friend of Hammerdown,

ladies and gentlemen, Super Paisan Michael Lombardi. Paisan, thank you for joining us, boss. How are you doing today? I'm great. Yeah, for joining us. Boss, how are you doing today? I'm great. Yeah, I think you capsulized the day perfectly. Don't get too excited. Every day is a new day, and these rosters are going to be in flux, especially since we've never had this two-week period to get ready for the opening day game. If you're a vested veteran, you're really nervous, too,

because your salary doesn't become guaranteed until saturday at one o'clock yeah that's five days at least or five years right if you're at least been in the league for five years or four years four years if you've been in the league saturday at four o'clock one o'clock pacific you become vested for the season so that's really that then you can really open up the champagne and breathe a sigh of relief and know you've got streams of income coming in all year. That's next Saturday, not this Saturday.

I think a lot of – There's a lot of play in this rope. Yeah, I think so too. And I told a story last week about how my first couple years in the league, a special teamer would make the team, and I knew how happy he was, and that was that first day. I'd have lunch with him. I'd talk to him. Hey, this is cool.

Then we'd go to a meeting. I'd never see that fucking guy again. I mean, he was cut immediately afterwards because they found another special teamer that they could bring in that maybe fit their scheme a little bit better. I mean, these rosters are going to continue to move. GMs are going to get it down to 53 because they have to, but they'll continue to make moves. Before we talk about any of that, let's dive into the big news here. I said that that five days where Cam Newton wasn't able to be in the building because of the re-entry process with the entire COVID rules was a great time for

Bill, McDaniels, everybody to see the world if Mac Jones was their starter. That's team meetings, everybody to see the world if Mac Jones was their starter. That's team meetings. That's cafeteria. That's offensive meetings. That's practice. That's everything. Was I getting an accurate read on that?

And is that what you heard as well? Like, hey, when we got a chance to see Mac because we were forced to not be able to see Cam, he rose to the occasion? Or is this just something that has kind of been brewing all along? I think it's been organic, but I think you're right. I mean, look, let's face it. Cam is a natural born leader and so is Mac Jones. But Mac's ability to win over his teammates, Mac's ability to resonate. You never make a quarterback shift this dramatic unless the team really believes in the guy that you go with. This is not Belichick making a decision or Josh McDaniels. This is the team season, and you can't fool the team.

You can't fool the team. The team knows who the best players are. They know who should be playing quarterback particularly because they're at every practice. They watch every throw. They see the team being led. So this was a situation where it became crystal clear and obvious, particularly after the five days against the Giants

where he was really good, and then in the preseason game against the Giants where he was really good, that Belichick was probably forced to make a decision. And I've said this before, Pat. Everybody thinks it's either A or B. And Belichick is always about second-order thinking, how he will process,

what happens if I make this decision? Then what's the cause of that decision and for me what he did was he said look cam newton's a better backup than brian hoyer no one's going to argue that cam's a better player than brian hoyer but it's hard to take a four-star general and make him a corporal it's hard in the same locker room you're going to have you know they had to move patent over to the third army once they, you know, they didn't get the promotions, right? So it's hard to take that general and demote him

and put him in as a backup role. He loses his effect. He loses his luster within the locker room. And I think in the best interest of their total team, Cam would have been a better backup, but not in this situation. Well, and Cam plays much different than Mac. I think we're talking to Michael Lombardi, former general manager and two-time Super Bowl ring winner with the New England Patriots. Can't thank you enough for joining us. Do you think the plan all along was if Mac does well, he'll be the

starter day one? Or do you think the plan was he'll watch Cam? Just like all these other rookie starting quarterback competitions, I've always said that there is a great benefit to young quarterbacks getting to watch older quarterbacks operate, how they maybe talk to the GM, how they talk to the coaching staff, how they talk to the media, their teammates, everything like that. Do you think that Mac just surprised him so much that he was forced to make this decision like you alluded to? Was he planning on Cam starting here and Mack kind

of filling in, do you think? Or how do you think he saw this playing out versus how it actually did here? Well, you know, I mean, the first thing he does before the training, but when everybody comes together for the minicamp is he tells the team the best players are going to play it doesn't matter where you get drafted it matters how you play and if that's your philosophy if that's your true belief you've got to stay true to it did he think that mac would come along this quickly obviously i don't think that's true i think he felt like mac cam could get him through now i do know that in 2022 they felt really good good that Mac Jones would be the starter based on what they saw. But this kid kind of has developed.

And this is why I kind of thought that Mac Jones would have been the third pick over Trey. Because he was ready to play for Sam. I thought he was more ready to play than anybody in the draft. And he fit what Kyle did. And then he slips to 15 and the Patriots get lucky. So I do think they moved quicker than I anticipated. I don't think they wanted to do this. They guaranteed $3.5 million to Cam.

But they had to make this decision because this is basically the best player on the job. Okay, so let's talk about Cam a little bit here before Connor's going to have to ask you probably 100 questions. He is ecstatic. I assume Bill knows that all of New England's excited about Mac Jones in the future because it looks a lot more like the Tom Brady offense than the Cam does. It looks similar to the 20 years of dominance whenever Mac's on the field. I mean, you can see why fans easily go,

oh, we've had some of the best nights of our fucking life because of an offense that looks like that. You can see why the fans kind of bought in on that. For Cam, and this was being reported by Calhoun, Colin Calhoun, I believe, who I have a lot of respect for. He said that there is, his source told him that Cam not being vaccinated and then the COVID situation happening and him being out, they viewed him as non-reliable and something else.

And then this obviously is leading into a much larger story of, will any other teams sign Cam knowing what's going on with the entire protocol and vaccination process and everything like that. Did any of that play into this, you think, whenever the decision was made? Or is this a football thing only? But the vaccination status, if you're missing games, that also is football related stuff as well. Do you think that played into this at all? Well, I don't think I think it's unfair to call Cam unreliable. I mean, he's the first guy and he was the last guy to leave. I think, you know, him not getting a vaccination is certainly problematic. I don't think you could dispute that. But he's not an unreliable person. I think the misunderstanding he went and took a test from a non-certified COVID person. He didn't violate team rules or was unreliable. The perception of Cam by the media and the reality of Cam in that building are way two different things. I mean, you're talking about a guy who's well-loved, respected, works hard.

You know, yes, he dresses in crazy outfits. I mean, that I couldn't pull off and he could. But there's no off the field issues with Cam when it comes to that. But I do think there is a problem with the unvaccination. I do think that creates some problem. But I think at the end of the day, this is about taking a four-star general and making him now a master sergeant and trying to keep him in the same room.

That's a hard thing to do. You've been in those rooms. You've seen it. Like, look, it would have been easier to bring Peyton Manning back to the Colts instead of cutting him. But could you really bring Peyton back to the Colts when he wasn't the Peyton Manning that we remember from the old? Probably not. Right. So sometimes you've got to do that.

I just think to me this was a move about fit in their team. And and I don't think it was about unreliability. Cam Cam's an incredible leader. And when you're a leader leader that means you're a leader of of people of men or in the nfl you're talking about men and for the people that you have led to have to see you take a back seat it's almost like bill belichick was born and raised in navy was like i almost bill didn't want to see that i almost didn't want to see that for him we see it all the time in the league right you know a guy makes 5 million for a team he doesn't want to see that. They almost didn't want to see that for him. Pat, we see it all the time in the league, right?

You know, a guy makes $5 million for a team. He doesn't want to take a pay cut because he doesn't want to go in that locker room and everybody knows that he has a PC on his chest. I took a pay cut, right? But he's willing to take less for another team because they don't know what his contract is. There's a little bit of keeping your cachet and your luster with your teammates. And you don't want to be humiliated in front of the guys that you've been leading. of keeping your cachet and your luster with your teammates. And you don't want to be humiliated in front of the guys that you've been leading. Not that this has been humiliating, but Cam's a leader.

Cam's a starting quarterback. He's never been a backup at anything in his life, going back to high school, college, whatever. That's not the role he's good at playing. And I think that ultimately, now he can go out there and see what he can do as a backup player. I hope Cam gets another opportunity because I was excited, man, when he signed with Bill Belichick. I was so excited last year. And then obviously Uncle COVID came to see him.

And then the team, the roster wasn't that great. And then now he just falls into a situation where Mac Jones seems to be the hottest quarterback In the NFL it's fucking Unbelievable at Boston Connor He's going to be pumped up about this Lombardi He's been yelling all morning I've heard him at my house Go ahead Connor Absolutely Juice Mike I think we've been saying for quite Some time that Mac Jones clear cut

Offensive rookie of the year now that he is Officially the starter would you put your entire Mortgage on that bet and then also Are the expectations now With Mac going forward officially the starter would you put your entire mortgage on that bet and then also um are the expectations now with matt going forward super bowl every single year like do you see them competing for at least an afc championship or a super bowl for the next 20 years you know first of all i don't own this house my wife does so i couldn't put the mortgage on i pay rent here basically so there's no chance that that would work. But

look, I think we're going to see Josh McDaniels at work. I think we're going to see the talent of Josh McDaniels as a coach really come to fruition. You know, he tried to work around Cam. Look, let's put Cam away here for a second. Cam has always been able to carry a team. That's a fact. He's carried his high school team, his college team, his pro teams, the Panthers to 15 and more. But injuries have affected his ability to carry the team. So he can't do that anymore. He's not the same player. But now they can go back to their old offense. They can go back to doing the things that Josh McDaniels is very comfortable doing and changing the game plan week after week to allow Mac Jones to develop and grow within the

framework. So I do think Mac Jones will have given them a 15-year answer at quarterback, assuming he could stay healthy. Because here's what's really good about Mac. He will throw the ball to the open guy. I know that sounds really simple, but sometimes quarterbacks kind of get stuck in trying to throw the ball to guys that they feel most comfortable with. Young players haven't gotten there yet. So what we'll see out of Josh is the true offense. We'll see what they want to do. And I think they'll be very good.

I think they've improved. Their offensive line is one of the best in football. Their defensive line has really stepped up. Gilmore being on PUP didn't surprise me because he's not healthy. They're going to need somebody in their secondary. And they're going to need to continue to develop their defense. But I do think they're good. I mean, but Buffalo's good too. Buffalo's a good team, but they'll know how to play Buffalo. Buffalo will, they'll play Buffalo a certain way to give Buffalo trouble like they did in the game. Cam fumbled going in. But I think they're competing. I think it's about

where are you in November and December with your football team to really determine whether you've got a Super Bowl chance Yeah, Bill Belichick, it feels like he's always going to have a plan that no matter how shitty the roster is, they're going to be in every single game I mean, that's the NFL as a whole but even more so with the greatest coach and GM of all time, when you're talking

about Bill, and can I ask you a question about Bill? Yeah Everybody's saying he spent that $150 million When you're talking about Bill, can I ask you a question about Bill? Yeah. Everybody's saying he spent that $150 million because, you know, maybe he sees the light at the end of the tunnel here and he wants to get at least another win or build up another dynasty or whatever. Is there any, in your conversations with him, is there any sense that the end is near for him or do you think he is just the same guy he's been for the last 20 years?

You know, I was around him. We talk talked quite often i was around him for a day and and the energy level and the enthusiasm i think has maintained itself i think he loves it and i think that you know the team building aspect of what he's doing he loves and the fact that he's changed this team on the fly you know and sustainable success is what he's always been after in his career. And I think he's put the team in position to have sustainable success by getting a quarterback. Look, what sells hope more than anything? What gives Jacksonville fans hope? What gives Jet fans hope? Quarterbacks, right? When you don't have a quarterback or you're struggling to get into the top 10 quarterbacks in the league, you really don't have a lot of hope. It's hard to win in this league without a quarterback. But now that he has a quarterback or you're struggling to get into the top 10 quarterbacks in the league you really don't have a lot of hope it's hard to win in this league without a quarterback

but now that he has a quarterback that he feels like he can build around and they can build their offense around with the skill set with the two tight ends that they they signed they've got a chance and i think that chance gives them a lot of hope yes this motherfucker ain't ever stopping huh no i don't think so. I mean, look. Look, I mean, you're dealing with this. I mean, look. I mean, you want, I mean, Zach Taylor and Bill, I mean, like, seriously, it gets easier. It's not harder.

Like, you know, it's like he's done this for so long. These coaches like Andy Reid, Sean Payton, Mike Tomlin, don't go against those guys. Those guys, even though the owners don't want to hire experience, every indication says experience matters. Yeah, but the experience of the good coaches are hard to find. You know what I mean? I hate whenever they just recycle and rehire just because the coach has been there before and has seen the shit that comes across the desk but has never really had success.

I mean, it's a fine balance on who's going to be a successful coach and who isn't. Is the thing that makes you success is doing squats, you know, getting under the bar at the age of 70? Is that what it is? That was unbelievable. I think it's his – basically, I mean, he's willing to make decisions that necessarily are not always popular.

I think that he does what's the best for the team in his mind, and no decision is ever made very quickly. It's never made just off the top of the head. Let's do that. There's thought. Nothing's by the seat of his pants. Go ahead, Ty. Michael, yesterday a bunch of reports came out,

and we talked to Charles Robinson that there may be five teams that are still interested in Deshaun Watson, and then today it said a trade's not going to get done. He'll be on the 53-man roster, just inactive or whatever. As a former GM, it seemed like most of the stuff we were hearing about his situation was that teams weren't okay with the compensation, but that all the legal ramifications seemed to be kind of in the backseat. And then we heard that his civil case or his first civil case isn't until February of next year after the season. Do you ultimately see that someone will go out and try to get him this year or no?

You know, I said this on my pod and I've reported, I tweeted this yesterday. So a team called the Texans before camp even started, and they offered in their terms way more than they should have ever offered. That was their terms. They were uncomfortable with their offer, but they did. And Houston never countered. And Houston never showed any interest, and he's engaging in a conversation. So for me, that tells you Houston doesn't really want to trade. It's like you own a home and somebody offers you 10 times the amount of money for your home and you say, no, I don't want to

sell it. You don't want to sell it. You know, you're not in the market. And I don't think Houston wants to sell. I think Charles Robinson is right. I think Miami, I think he's dead right. Miami's interested. I think he's right that Denver's interested and Philly's made calls. I think there's no doubt teams have called. However, I don't think there's been any sense of interest by the Texans to do anything. And I think that's been the problem. I think people are frustrated with the Texans' inability to say, yeah, we'll trade them. You know, what do you really want for them? Because even when teams give them what they want, they don't take it. Do you Italians that are in football have a group text?

And does Casario say, I did not expect it to be like this? Look, hey, the reason they pay you the big money is you've got to make big decisions, man. I mean, Joe, you know, the reason they don't just give out, you know, they don't give all due respect to mailmen, but they're not making five million a year. You know, I mean, it's like you get these jobs, you know, there are no easy decisions in these jobs. Right. So you've got to figure it out. And Nick and Nick has taken the path of doing nothing as the best thing because he doesn't have enough information. And God bless him with that. I mean, they've made some really interesting decisions in in houston i mean this whole shack lawson thing they trade they pay six million they trade them for basically they give up six million dollars for

a six round pick i mean there's some things going on there that that are not great but i think they don't want to trade their best player a a top five quarterback in the league, until they absolutely know what they're up against. Jack Easterby said, you know, Shaq paid his tithes. He can go. I mean, he paid his tithes to that church. I mean, Shaq Lawson might be the luckiest guy in America. I mean, he doesn't need a quarterback. And then people keep paying him $6 million.

I mean, he's hit the lottery. Like, seriously, don't cry for him. He's doing great. I mean, Uncle Sam's happy too. They're getting their tax money. Go ahead, Tone. Michael, let's make some money. Week one, I know how you feel about Tua.

You absolutely love what Tua does down there in Miami. We definitely taking Patriots minus the two and a half now in New England with Mac Jones as the starting quarterback. Did that line move to two and a half or was it three? I thought it was three yesterday. Did it shift back down? Yeah, it's a two and a half right now. Wow, because the rookie quarterback made it move a little bit. That's interesting, right?

Yes. You know, look, I think it'll be, I think throw the preseason out. I think there's a certain way that teams are going to attack Tua and if he can beat beat that team doing that, they're going to pressure him inside. They're going to force him to be a pocket quarterback. They're going to double Gillespie inside and take away his comfort. And then they're going to force the ball somewhere else outside of Parker. They're going to have to win outside. This Miami offensive line is going to have to protect inside out. That's going to be a challenge. And for New England, you know, last year people forget about this,

but Miami gave up eight yards per pass attempt in the passing game. I mean, their corners all do respect. I think Xavier Howard's great. I think keep him over there. But Byron Jones didn't play well. You know, they didn't really get a lot of production out of their other corners. They're going to have to figure out a way to pressure Mac Jones to keep them from hurting them in the passing game. Last question before we let you go. Can't thank you

enough for joining us. Michael Lombardi, former general manager. I told you, Pat, you call, I'm ready. I mean, I fucking appreciate it, man. This is huge, too, because I mean, this is big news. This whole Mac Jones cam news. It's the biggest news of the morning thus far. There's probably going to be more. I assume some vets are going to get released today, and there's going to be big conversation. But once again, those releases are going to continue. These rosters are going to continue to be molded, especially with this extra week of time for general managers to look at film

and do their whole thing and overthink, by the way, overthink, overanalyze, pull the trigger, do their thing. What is, in your eyes, Mac Jones succeeds if what? If Josh McDaniel sets him up? And is there, do you see any way that Mac Jones does not succeed? I legitimately watched his first game, and I put a tweet out, and I said, it feels like 31 fans are going to be pissed off about, 31 teams fans are going to be pissed off. It looks like he's not going to stink.

It looks like he has it all in between. He looks good physically. He looks good. Is there any road that you see that he doesn't have an incredible year this year? I would be shocked if he didn't play well. Do I think he's going to play his best football of his career? No. I think he's going to continue to get better.

Do I think he'll make mistakes? No doubt. And he'll learn from them, and he won't make them twice. But I will say this. I think what hurt jones more than anything is the picture of him smoking a cigar if mac jones had a six pack and looked like a you know like a greek god everybody would have said oh my gosh but for some reason he got this perception that he's not athletic that he's not physically in shape and none of that translates to on the field. We saw it at Alabama, and we've seen it in the preseason.

He has been able to. And, you know, it's a great story, and I know you've got to run, but he was Central Florida offered him. Very few teams offered him, and Lane Kiffin deserves a ton of credit for this. Lane Kiffin was in Jacksonville, scouted him, and got him to go to Alabama and throw so Nick Saban could watch him throw. And that's when Alabama offered him. And then the rest of the Southeast Conference offered him a scholarship. So this kid's been good.

He's kind of been always questioned for some reason. I think those questions have been answered. Well, whenever he got that public in-talks or whatever, he was crying because he thought his life was over. Here we are, pal. You're a starting quarterback in the NFL with Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels pulling the strings. I think he's going to have a hell of a run.

I can't thank you enough. Ladies and gentlemen, the founder of the Daily Coach, the GM Shuffle Podcast, the Lombardi line, former GM, confidant to the New England Patriots, ladies and gentlemen, Mike Lombardi. Thank you. Yeah, Lombardi. Thank you. Yeah! Bravo! Bravo!

Now that the world's opening back up, so many new thrills are on the horizon. Okay. And whether you've been in a relationship for years or just getting started, we're excited to get back out there and meet new people. Hell yeah! When the moment comes.

Let's not come too quick. Oh, here we go. I get it. That is not what they had in their copy. Okay. They should. That was, I think they're going in a different direction. So let's go back a sentence or two.

Okay. Okay. When the moment comes, you want to be ready. That's true. With Roman, you can get a free online evaluation and ongoing care for erectile dysfunction, all from the comfort and privacy of your home. Once you take care of that, though, you get the Roman swipes,

and guess what? Lasts a long time. Bigger, bigger, bigger. Yeah, it's Pete Alonzo at the All-Star Home Run Derby. Boom, dingers. Round time. Bingo. David Rua.

Population, you, dude. Hell yeah. Roman Ready equals confidence. The confidence that you know you can rise to the occasion in the moment. We're looking at the Summer of Love 2021 version, and Roman wants to make sure you can participate in your way. Whether that be as a single person or a couple who would

still rather stay in with each other, a U.S. licensed healthcare professional will work with you to find the best treatment plan. If medication is appropriate, it ships to you for free with two-day shipping. Okay. That's huge. Free? The shipping's free, I believe. Wow. Not the medication. Free? The shipping's free. Wow.

Not the medication. Free two-day shipping. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go to GetRoman.com slash McAfee today, and if you're prescribed, you can get 50% off your first month of ED treatment. Okay. That's G-E-T-R-O-M-A-N.com slash M-C-A-F-E-E. And if you're prescribed, you can get 50% off your first month of erectile dysfunction treatment. Make sure you're ready to have confidence and control this summer. Roman Ready.

Our next guest actually came out and said, I want to beat Tom in the playoffs. I don't know how or why that quote got taken out of context for sure. Okay, I don't know. I'm not 100% sure where that quote came from. But the best tight end in football. Absolute swag god. The clean baby face tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. Out of Cleveland, Ohio.

Travis Kelsey. Yeah! How'd it do? How'd it do? Yeah, it's starting to come back just a little just i think i might keep it right here i think i might just keep it it makes me feel young and it it keeps me off of everyone's social media i think it's perfect okay when you open up twitter and you see your name trending and it is just people calling you the blandest old white of all time because you shaved your

face what is the reaction what is the reaction oh man just read it scroll and just enjoy the ride man there's nothing you can do at that point once once it's out there it's out there and everyone's gonna take a hack at you i loved it man i thought it was hilarious although everybody's roasting me man it was pretty good man you know what i had it coming man it is what it is it is not your fault you should be allowed to shave your face you're just so incredibly handsome that as soon as you change your look at all it's like you my dad was always a mustache guy and then he came home without a mustache one day it was like oh that's a whole new fucking face right there yeah that is a whole new costume so uh So how are you feeling other than with the fresh face?

Body feel good? You look good. Obviously, you're playing great right now. Yeah, we're rolling, baby. We're rolling, man. We got two weeks. Got Cleveland coming in the house. One of the biggest games to start the season off, man.

And we're all fired up. We're all fired up. We got a completely new and revamped offensive line. And Pat Mahomes is back there slinging it confidence. And right now we just got off the field and everybody's flying around. We're having some fun, man. Excited. Trav, how does Andy Reid keep you guys engaged and motivated?

We know 17 game season. Pat and I talk all the time. For teams like you, the regular season just sets you up for the postseason. But you guys, obviously you want to win every game. How do you guys continue to stay laser focused when you know you have a huge target on your back and you should win every game probably yeah i mean we got great leaders it is what it is and it starts up top with uh with coach reed it starts right there and he what he does is he challenges us every single week he takes care of us uh both physically mentally uh gets us right every single week in terms of having

the right scheme and stuff like that. And I know Spaggs does that in terms of the schemes and everything. He takes care of the guys on defense. But for the most part, it's just leadership. You've got to find a way to motivate grown men to come in week in, week out, not to get, you know, not to feel any sort of complacent. There it is. Thank you. Not to feel any sort of complacency and just to keep the ball rolling man and keep getting motivated week in week out and sure enough i mean coach reed has

done that my entire career super bowl obviously last time we saw your team on the field whole different chiefs team now you said revamped offensive line but this is the first time where you guys seems like since you've got running and obviously it's a short run the last couple of years, Super Bowl, obviously, with everything, but the bad taste in your mouth, the off season of everybody kind of, you know, saying, oh, maybe the Chiefs aren't the next team, or maybe the Chiefs can't do this thing.

Have you guys used that to motivate yourselves? Have you, has there been any, you know, like... I had a bad taste in my mouth there. I think that we are going to come out on all cylinders firing, man. We're motivated right now, dog. We definitely got the bad taste in our mouth. We're trying to get some good juices flowing here and get this Chiefs offense back and revamped and scoring touchdowns because that's what we didn't do in this Super Bowl, man.

We didn't give our team a chance. We didn't give ourselves a chance. And we're just fired up right now, man. You guys took that personally, huh, when everybody said you guys stunk? Yeah. Yeah, no, I mean, we did. We did. We stunk.

But live to fight another day. We get another chance this year to go back out there. Hey, how different is Mahomes now, Trav, from when he first got plugged into the lineup? I know the dude's been making plays since he got in, but how different is his demeanor or anything from day one until now? Goddamn. You know what?

Mahomes is – he just keeps evolving. He keeps evolving into more of a – I don't want to say a mastermind, but that's what it really is. He's nonstop trying to think of the next move. And what he does week in, week out in terms of making sure that he's accountable, understanding what defense is, he's really playing chess with the defensive coordinator. And then on top of that, he knows his matchups when he sees them. It's just mentally, he's taking his game to another level. Physically, I mean, he's already one of the physically gifted quarterbacks,

being able to throw the ball any which way he wants. It's just seeing him keep developing in terms of offensive mind. That's really where he is right now. Travis, whenever we talk about your team, obviously you have to talk about all the weapons. You know, you've got a guy that's legitimately challenging Usain Bolt right now okay yeah that guy is that's a real conversation i'm putting my money on him i put my money it's like a real conversation yeah if tyron kill could beat the fastest guy to ever exist yeah like that and he's grateful his the ability to stay healthy

explode i mean it's unbelievable your entire but with the amount of weapons you guys have whenever you go into a game at what point do you realize like, oh, this is what they're taking away today? Or does that not really come into play for you guys because of the way the offenses are? Is there games where you line up and you're like, okay, they're fucking, they are doing everything they can to eliminate me today. And you know that, or is it just kind of, if we do our thing, it doesn't matter what the other teams are doing?

A little bit of both. We do feel that, you know, it doesn't matter what you throw out there. We're going to find a way to get open. I know in terms of double coverage, I've gotten the ball in double coverage before and Pat just kind of hangs and waits until I, you know, make my move to get open or create separation. And I know Tyreek is fast enough to get past two guys. I mean, you could throw three on him and try and see if that stops.

But I'd say probably 90% of the catches that he has, he's got two guys around him. He's just an unbelievable route runner now. And you'll see his game evolve even more this year, too, with the type of routes that he's going to be running. And then you just go down the list, Nicole Hardman, Clyde Edwards-Alaire. We got Jet McKinnon. He's coming through, a veteran running back. I mean, it's just, it's exciting, man. It's coming through, a veteran running back. I mean, it's just exciting, man. It's exciting. Then you throw the offensive line out there.

And then the four tight ends, man. You got to watch out for us four tight ends out there running around, scoring touchdowns. I saw a little bit of that in the preseason. And it's just, yeah, we got weapons across the board, man. You're going to have to – we're going to be keeping you honest all over the field. That offensive line's really come together, huh, quickly, much quicker than anybody could have imagined camaraderie-wise, chemistry-wise?

What are your thoughts? All of it, man, all of it. It's been a pleasure to have all those guys come in and just be professionals. You know, it's just one thing trying to get guys – get the ball rolling, get guys caught up. It's another thing for guys to take ownership and get themselves caught up. And that's what every single one of them have been doing. Making sure that they're accountable because they know how serious this team is and how much we have a chance to be able to at least make a run at the Super Bowl again. Yeah, nobody wants to be the reason why you guys start making...

Guys, Connor? Yeah, Kilo Trav, you just mentioned the Super Bowl. Obviously, that is the main goal. But how real is the 17-0 conversation in that locker room and trying to do the perfect regular season? I mean, you just got to take it one day at a time. Who goes into a season trying to lose a game, you know? I mean, that's always been the goal is to win every single game that you play. I think that everybody's taking what Pat said and kind of, you know, put it as a headliner.

Well, yeah, just because we probably have a good chance at doing that. You know, we have the players in place. We have the coaches. And, you know, if everybody stays healthy, we have a pretty good shot at it. But at the end of the day, you just got to take it week in, week out, man. You can't think of, you know, whether or not we're trying to win games down the line or anything like that. You just take a weekend workout, play in, play out, and you just make plays when the time's right. I heard you wanted to beat Tom in the playoffs.

That's crazy. Yeah, it is because he doesn't really lose that much in the playoffs. But I'm fired up to get after him again if I get the opportunity, that's for sure. I have no control over what that guy does. I'm on the offensive side. for sure. It's always, it's always, I have no, I have no control over what that guy does, you know? You know, it's just, I'm on the offensive side. I just kind of, you know,

I just got to go out there and just, you know, try and score tutties, man. Any sweet dances? Are you going to taunt anybody? Maybe get some 15 yard penalties afterwards or anything like that? I'm going to try and stay away from the flags,

but never say never. Maybe a few fines, illegal, illegal touchdown dances, maybe a few fines, but I don't think flags are – I don't think that's helping the team out at all anymore. Go ahead, Ty. Travis, Pat alluded to it earlier how you're a mainstay on the NFL Top 100.

If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure that list is voted on by the players. Is that something you pay any attention to? I think you were number five this year. I imagine that's pretty cool knowing, like, hey, the rest of my peers in the league understand how much of a fucking beast I am too. Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah, I think that, without a doubt, it's by – I am, without a doubt,

you know, honored by all the selections throughout the league to be league-wide known to be one of the best in the league and top ten. You know, I think there's still a little, I don't want to say shakiness, in terms of how the heck you even, you know, rank these guys. Because it is such a team game. You know, who's to say this player is better than this player just based off of their position. But I definitely think it's cool, and I appreciate, you know,

the respect that I've gotten throughout the league. Would you be upset if you weren't on that list, like, you know like these madden ratings everybody not so much me i could really care less what guys think of me but i think in terms of my brother without a doubt i'm fired the fuck up i don't understand i can't name 10 20 players better than my brother in the league right now and they had him sitting all the way at 90 something and i just i'm just like they said they gotta fit you gotta fix this you gotta fix this than my brother in the league right now. And they had him sitting all the way at 90-something. And I'm just like, you've got to fix this. You've got to fix this, man. My brother's been a staple in the league, the best in the league since he's been in. And you can't tell me any different, man.

He's got to be top 20, top 25. I said this the other day whenever your brother was sprinting around the lightning-infested MetLife Stadium. You two deserve a lot more credit than the coolest dudes from the same sack conversation. Never gets talked about. I think it's because Jason's over there in that Philadelphia Eagles wasteland right now almost. The only time he gets talked about is when he and Doug Peterson almost fight each other when Sunfell comes on. You know what I mean? That's a real thing.

Being in a good situation, especially for a lot of these like public awards and shit, is a massive ordeal. And right now the Chiefs are beautiful in the division. Who do you guys have first? Cleveland? Yeah, we got Cleveland first. They're not in the division, but they are in the first game. The first divisional game I think will be the Chargers. But the first divisional game, I think, will be the Chargers.

Okay, so do you guys prepare at all for the divisional opponents because you have to win your division first? Do you think you shape your team at all for your divisional opponents? Do you think that is what Andy Reid is ultimately dead set on and then you just have to figure out your best matchups for anybody else outside of there? Because your division is very good. They just so happen to be in the Kansas City Chiefs division right now. Yeah, I think that without a doubt that gets you into the playoffs so you win the division I wish that's that's huge so that's always one of the first goals on the list is the is to win

the division and make sure that we get a chance to play in the postseason um and we got a really great division this year I mean Teddy Bridgewater being named the quarterback, I think is going to give Denver a lot of energy. And then you look across the board and see, you know, what the Vegas Raiders have been doing the past couple of years and the Chargers with the young gunslinger they got. We're definitely going to have to bring it every single game. You know, those teams know that we've won the division the past couple of years and they're out to get us right now.

But we're well aware of that, and we're just going to work every single day, understanding that. I think a little bit of preparation is needed in the offseason to focus on the divisional opponents and to make sure that you've got that at least in the memory bank and that you've worked on a little bit in the offseason, and that's what we've done here for sure. Hey, so Pat's been on here on the show for a while trying to, I guess, call out to whoever he knows to win a sports Emmy.

He really wants a sports Emmy now. Oh, nice. You started in a hit reality show, Catching Kelsey. I remember that thing. I'm not sure the network it was on. That was legit. I don't know if Pat's even aware of this. What was that?

What are you talking about? Dude, hold on. Hold on. I'll give you an answer. We played against him while that show was being shot and i actually ran over to mike said who'd you pick who'd you pick it was in the way i was so happy for you i love that show love that show is in the past baby and it is uh it was fun while it lasted man i um i i'll tell you what it was a hell of an experience man 50 girls it's about three weeks max in terms of air time and um yeah it got it

got pretty wild in that house around those ladies but all the all the girls were cool as hell and it was just um it was fun but i don't think i could ever do reality tv ever again man are you in i got a little wacky. Okay, fashion-wise, what should we look forward to? Do we got any shoes coming? You know, Pat's got some shoes, but it's a little bit of a conflict. I did a little Nike collab with some Blazers, some 77 Blazers, man. You do it, Nike by you or the old Nike ID. You can customize them yourself.

You can get a little inspiration from a few that I made. But, you know, I'll keep my fingers crossed. Maybe if I get top five again next year, Nike, you know, consider getting a nice little trainer or, you know, SB, some type of collab. Get some fashion out there, man. Hey, Nike, let's go. What are we waiting on? Come on. You're here and here, man.

The people want to see it. Yeah, the people want it. Get some going. Travis, thank you so much for your time. I hope you make the team this year. Thank you, man. Thank you. Today's the cut, so hopefully I don't get the Grim Reaper tapping me by the time I get out of here, man.

Shout out to all the guys that didn't make the team, man. Hopefully you guys find another home, big guy. Yeah, I hope everybody finds the right spot to make a billion dollars. I hope everybody's a billionaire. I hope you get a chance to enjoy that Lombardi once again. Good luck. Going to be a tough season, but we appreciate the hell out of you. Ladies and gentlemen, TE1 in the NFL,

Travis Kelsey. Yeah! Thank you, too. Good to see you. You, too, man. We interrupt the show to let you know that whether you're hustling for a promotion, working on your goth swing, or just chilling with friends, Cuts Clothing keeps you feeling good and looking sharp.

And to mark five years of creating clothing that can be dressed up or down for anything, Cuts is having a month-long anniversary celebration. Five years ago, Cuts founder Steve Borelli set out to create clothes for every occasion the modern man faces. Since then, Cuts has become the Tesla of t-shirts, hoodies, polos, sweatshirts, and more. From their signature buttery soft Pika Pro Tri Blend tees to their cozy Hyperloop French Terry fabric hoodies,odies cuts elevates clothing staples with cutting edge fabric technology cuts is premium with a purpose each piece is crafted with custom engineered fabric and a comfortable fit without compromising on timeless universally flattering style this month

marks the cuts fifth anniversary and they're doing it big with two collection drops, a product launch, and a week-long special event. Join the celebration now and get 25% off site-wide by going to cutsclothing.com slash pat. That's cutsclothing.com slash pat. 25% off and access to anniversary events all month long. Back to the show. and access to anniversary events all month long. Back to the show. Joining us from his attic in Ohio,

former member of the Bishop Sycamore High School football team, ladies and gentlemen, A.J. Hawk. Yeah! A.J., of course, Ohio is associated with this fraudulent high school team that has adults running around playing against high schoolers. Your thoughts on Bishop Sycamore, and have you ever played this team or recruited to play for this team? I had not heard of this team until all of this kind of happened, but I assume that whenever I heard about it and I was reading this,

I didn't see it played on ESPN. I assume they won the game. I'm like, you have some 22-, 24-year-old guys that are some juco, some studs. How did they get blasted so bad? No, they got smacked by everybody, not just IMG. I think they lost 40-something to nothing as well to maybe Woodland. Were they going to school at all? No, what are you talking about?

No, these are dudes that are just having a good old time playing high school football and using insulin, people. That's what this is. They are terrible. It seems like they do not have the grown men's strength on their side. Pictures have emerged of their first wrestling match, though. A guy very similar to Bobby Lashley gripped up what appeared to be a sophomore in high school. Yeah, there it is.

They're starting their high school wrestling program. It's also off and running. Never would have guessed that Ohio was involved in this, though, AJ. Never in a million years would have guessed that this is an Ohio thing. I thought of you right away when I saw this story break, and I saw that they were – they're in the Columbus area, too, I believe. I'm shocked I haven't heard of them. Same thing, I thought of Conor's big dumb face, too,

when I heard that Cam Newton was getting released. I was like, oh, this guy is going to be... You can't even be around Conor, I would imagine, right now. Conor's been tough to handle for some time. I think a lot of people would say, I enjoy his presence and his company. He did say earlier that from this point forward, he's going to be insufferable now.

That's what he said. Which I don't know what we've been living in, but he said from this point forward, he will be insufferable. At Boston, Connor, AJ, by the way, it's great to see you, pal. I hope the golf outing went fantastic yesterday. Thanks for saving lives. How'd you do?

Did you do well? Yeah, I did all right. I either bombed the drive somewhere playable, or I hit it 400 yards out of bounds. So, yeah, it was one way or the other. That's way out of bounds. That's golf. it was one way or the other. That's way okay. That's golf. That's golf for you.

Connor, the reaction in the group text from all you mass holes, similar to how you're reacting, everybody's excited about this, huh? There were, in fact, people crying, Pat, and that is not hyperbole. That is legitimate tears coming down people's faces. It's a whole new era. And last year the whole thing was about like, yeah, I can for one year, but you really don't have a light at the end of the tunnel unless you have that young QB that you know is going to be the face of the franchise.

And now we got it. It's unbelievable. I did not expect the turnaround like this. I felt bad for the boys for a little when Thunderstruck played for the eighth straight time this morning in the office. But what are you going to do? That just is what it is sorry ah ah ah ah yeah that was awesome why would you be crying because a guy got released is it because you feel like hey

bill trusts mac so much to be the next guy? He released Cam, so that's why we're happy? We're not crying because Cam got released to AJ. You don't get it, all right, dude? Explain it to me then, Connor. We're crying because a lot of people thought that Cam was going to walk out week one and they were going to be very upset and people were calling into question, you know, maybe Bill doesn't want the Patriots to be good this year and that's why he won't start Mac.

And then when Cam did get released, the realization, the overflow of emotion, the absolute happiness started coming over people. Oh, my God, Mack Jones is going to be the week one starter for the next 25 years of our lives. Holy shit, we're back. You're going to get held accountable for what just came out of your mouth there. That's fine. When you just said that, Bill, maybe Bill doesn't want us to be good this year hey i've always i've always been hammering home in in in bill we trust

that's what it is uh but i'm just telling you i'm you ask what these people were saying in these group texts one specifically and i'm just telling you that was the reaction i've always said hey mac jones i actually got a free pair of no bull shoes because I put on the line, hey, I guarantee Mac Jones will start week one, and I had a couple wagers going on. So I'm firmly in the camp that Bill has never, will never lose it. By the way, I was going to drink some of this coffee every time Thunder was set. You know, classic beer drinking.

Oh, yeah. Kind of. I immediately thought to some terrible nights. I mean, that of all the drinking games, that one will get you. You know, the power hour? Sure. That one will get you as well because the amount of foam will catch up with you

and all that shit. But the Thunder Struck game, I mean, that has ruined my life a couple times. Lights out. As we were singing it there, that's all I could think of. AJ, we haven't got your full take on this, though. First hour, we spent a lot of time talking about this. I assume we'll talk about this a lot until Trent Dilford joins us

and Travis Kelsey will join us in the third hour. But your thoughts on them releasing Cam Newton this morning, Mac Jones being the guy. It feels like that five days that they had with Mac Jones being the guy probably solidified that, hey, this guy's playing really fucking good, and it seems like he's a guy behind the scenes. Lombardi said the team ain't going to lie to you. The team's going to let you know how they feel.

It feels like all of New England's bought in on Mac. AJ, your thoughts? Well, I just saw a quote from one of his teammates that said from the very first practice, they knew that Mac had it, that Mac was going to be that guy. But I started thinking, when do you believe that Belichick started to, in his brain, think about possibly cutting Cam or moving on from, like, I want to know how many weeks ago or how long ago did he feel like, yeah, this is a real possibility?

I tried to ask Lombardi, like, you know, what was the plan? What was it nobody knows because when you're gm and coach like i guess all you know is like for instance for our company all you motherfuckers know is what i tell you yep in the conversations that i'm having like and i feel like i'm very transparent with everybody though i think very oh yeah i guess you guys don't know though like that's the thing i'm the one telling you you know what i mean like that is that's what trust is true bingo but when you have one person that is you know kind of deciding what is what there's a lot of trust that that one person's either sharing their um the reasons why they're doing what they're doing what they're thinking what they're doing or anything like that I wonder how many people in there knew what Bill was thinking or have been thinking over the last couple years.

He has confidence. Obviously, Matt Patricia has to give the okay to draft Matt Jones. Of course. And Josh McDaniels is probably going to be the next head coach. I mean, there is all these things we assume. But I wonder if Bill, you know, like night one, draft night, what if we find out that draft night, Bill was like, this is going to be my fucking guy.

I'm just kidding. You know, like we have no idea. And he played it so close to the vest because that's what Bill Belichick does. Yeah. What was the question? Who won some competition? He said, we'll announce the transactions here soon. And they said, what about the quarterback competition?

He said, we'll announce the transactions. So he kind of gave away that they were going to cut a quarterback yeah yeah here it is any update on the kicker competition this is via mark daniels pj belichick who normally says nothing he says we'll announce all of our transactions any update with the quarterback situation we'll announce all of our transactions or whatever he says same answer so it's like oh shit they're going to cut a quarterback that that was as soon as i saw that i was like oh they're going to cut a quarterback. That was, as soon as I saw that, I was like, oh, they're going to cut a quarterback. Then that means that's what's going to happen there.

I wonder how many people actually know what the hell Bill Belichick's thinking, though, on a regular basis. I honestly do. Very few. Do you think, and is there any chance that they thought they could possibly trade him at any point? They did not even attempt, I guess. So maybe Bill made a call, or maybe Bill just felt as if that wasn't the right thing to do by Cam because of how much he liked Cam, maybe. Maybe he was like, I'll let Cam decide whatever the fuck he wants to do.

And maybe that was one final, like, hey, I appreciate you. I'm sorry about everything that has happened. We just kind of got to die here. I'm not sure. Because you'd much rather get cut than traded to, let's say, Houston. Boom. And also you've got to expect to a certain extent, like Cam had to see either that coming

or obviously that his time with New England wasn't going to be something that was going forward past week eight even. All right, let's run around the NFL a little bit. There's some more news happening. Mike Evans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are restructuring Mike Evans' contract. Mike Greenberg, the salary cap guru who's been able to work absolute salary cap gymnastics down there to bring back all 22 starters, plus Antonio Brown as well. They're going to restructure his contract to open up some more space

as they try to piece this team together in all of its remaining parts. I love that teams are doing this. You've got to do it with a guy that you trust, a guy that you know is going to be around for a while. Mike Evans has to have the utmost faith in the organization. The organization has to have faith in him as well. This is a good move. Obviously, the Bucs continue to get richer somehow in an offseason

where they seem to keep all of their incredible flowers that they have. Well, it's pretty amazing what teammates are willing to do when you have Tom Brady at the helm, of course. Players, coaches, everyone wants to hang around as long as you can. But is there any downside to these restructures when guys aren't taking less money? They're just getting more up front guaranteed and less salary. What's the downside for them?

So if he gets cut or gets hurt, I guess, right? Because the signing bonus, then you're not getting paid. And I think the Bucs are a big, like signing bonus, then you're not getting paid. And I think the Bucs are a big, like, we'll pay you while you play team. If I remember their contracts well, like, they're not a big bonus, like, hey, we'll pay you

how this thing goes. But with the whole, we need to make up some salary cap, let's move some, shift some into this roster bonus, as opposed to anything. I don't see any downside at all, other than you're admitting to the player that like he's a very important piece of the whole puzzle right that's all you're doing is empowering the player almost yeah giving him saying okay hey we know you're supposed to make 20 mil over the next two years we're gonna give you 15 right now like yeah so what is the downside? Why isn't everybody doing this?

I guess maybe what... Because I did this all offseason. I did this all offseason. I don't want to get back into this. Why isn't everybody fucking doing this? I guess you can do it, but we would have to have a cap guy come on and talk about it. It could make their cap number much bigger next year

and then you've got to figure it out again next year. It's like a Ponzi scheme. how much can we keep covering up is it going to come due well so i think i asked chris ballard right when he came on yeah i asked him like why aren't we doing this chris why aren't we doing all the shady shit it seems like everybody else is doing and just getting by and he said at some point you have to pay the piper right whenever you kick the can down the road kick can down the road because i think with these bonuses you spread out that amount of money through the amount of years that are left on the contract. So whatever the this year salary cap hit is supposed to be, you put that in a bonus

and it spreads out for however long contract is three years, four years. So then it's automatically being divided into three or four or two or however many it is. And how come everybody's not doing it? I guess because you might end up in a saint situation where they had to cut like 10 people because they couldn't get under it. But why couldn't you just restructure everybody again? And that's because you've got to at least have organizational trust and player has to have trust in the organization that everything's going to work out well and want to be tied together for the long haul.

Wouldn't you think that some of these teams with like the really elite quarterbacks would be the ones doing this? Because now they realize, okay, let's just continue to create this window while we have Brady. We'll kick the can down the road. If we win two Super Bowls and go to another, that was a success. We can deal with the fallout whenever he's done or he retires. And some of these other teams who know that they have a guy

who could get him to the Super Bowl, why wouldn't you create that window now? I have no idea. I'm going that window now? I have no idea. I'm going to let you know, I have no idea why you wouldn't. I have no clue why, all right? Like, Carson Wentz's deal. Ooh. Now, Carson's back on Thursday, by the way, good news, even though I think they have the weekend off.

Ah, so Monday. So he's probably back Monday. Because right now, so with this, the way this works, AJ, you know how normally fourth preseason games on Thursday, cuts happen on Friday over the weekend. Monday at noon-ish, you normally see what the first 53 is. Then teams won't have enough time. They still make adjustments to the roster, but there isn't an entire weekend or a week almost where you can adjustments to the roster, but there isn't an entire weekend or a week almost

where you can fuck with your roster, which me and AQ were talking earlier today. There is a chance that there's going to be a lot of changes made to a lot of rosters with the four-day weekend coming up where everybody's going to be off, where general managers and scouting departments are going to be able to watch these first couple of practices that the team that they just put together is supposed to look like. And then you know everybody's going to over analyze overthink look at the waiver wires elsewhere these rosters are going to continue to be molded all the way through next week's opening but whenever you think about like why why don't we make fight fake contracts for everybody why like why why don't we make fake contracts for everybody?

Why, like why, why aren't the Colts doing that agent? Why, why, why? And, and who knows?

I feel like we're going to miss out. I feel like the Colts are going to miss out. I honestly do. I feel like the Colts are going to miss out right now. We have a team ready to go now with the COVID protocols. And obviously we all know now a lot more about the colts than we had in the past with who's vaccinated who's not vaccinated who's this who's that it just feels like with some of these teams working these salary cap gymnastics and some teams not you're

going to have the haves and have nots in this entire thing and maybe i'm overreacting but it feels like the bucks and the chiefs seem to be the two best at this entire thing. And they were the ones that represented the AFC and the NFC in the Super Bowl last year. The Bucs continue to do it yet again with Mike Evans. Yeah, I guess why does it happen so much more now? Where guys are restructuring and this is how they find a way. Like, is there always going to be some new wrinkle that these people figure out that way to, hey, let's just push this down another year or two? Yeah, I don't know.

And will the NFL say, hey, I cut just push this down another year or two? Yeah, I don't know. Will the NFL say, hey, cut the shit? Yeah. They don't care. No. You don't think the NFL loves the Tampa Bay Bucs. They love that they can keep that roster intact as long as Tom Brady is there. That is good for business. Yeah, but all the other owners don't.

Yeah, but the TV money still is probably as big as it ever has been. Yeah, but I think at some point you're going to see some owners come out and be like, we got to cut the shit here. Enough with this team. How did they keep Leonard Fournette, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, Tom Brady,

AB, Antonio Brown, Ronald Jones, their entire starting five, basically. How have they been able to keep? Shout out to the delivery guy. We're working here. Come on. Fuck it.

All right. All right. Got to sign for it, I think. What's that, buddy? Said he probably needs you to sign for it. I'm not allowed to. I'm in day eight. I'm not allowed to.

Oh, you're right. Thursday. Leave'm not allowed to. I'm on day eight. I'm not allowed to. Oh, you're right. You're right. Leave it at the door. Look at that guy. Val. Come on, dude. Val is ready to fucking. This guy doesn't know.

I was ready to rip his face off. I appreciate you, Val. Let him know that he's interrupting the show and needs to not do that anymore. All right. You put it down, sir. Thank you. All right. The wife is feeling much better, by the way,

for those that are watching. She lost her... Yeah, she's not good. It's not good. She doesn't have the smell and the taste. I don't know how this is going to work out. That was my biggest fear. I mean, that was my biggest fear.

Is there an estimate? What's the range of people's smell and taste coming back that have had it, you know? Well, so she has gotten some messages from some people that have had to battle through the same thing and it is ranging from like the people that got it early and they're saying like, hey, for 12 months I haven't had my shit.

And then we need those messages to stop being sent to Sam. Yeah, I will not tell you anything of anyone that I know close to me We need those messages to stop being sent to Sam. Yeah. Now. Hey. If you're out there. Yeah. I will not tell you anything of anyone that I know close to me that doesn't have smell or taste for the last eight to 12 months either. Do you have a chance of that? Yeah.

Oh, yeah. I know a couple people. Yeah. I haven't got it back. Yeah. And I guess there's like an entire like, you know how we had to do rehab for our knees and shit to teach our legs how to walk again? Yeah, they told them to smell like coffee beans and smell things that are like lemons.

Do something to try to get it back, right? Yeah, they got to go through an entire, like, sniffing Olympics almost, I guess. The teacher knows how to smell again. I have no idea. I'll be the supportive husband that I've always been through this entire process. And anything she doesn't want to eat, I'll eat. You know what I mean? And I'll taste it for her. That's very nice of me. I've said I supportive husband that I've always been through this entire process. And anything she doesn't want to eat, I'll eat. You know what I mean? And I'll taste it for her.

That's very nice of me. I've said I've done that. But shout out to the delivery guy that just got Valerie up in arms there. But let's continue to go around the NFL. David Bakhtiari, your guy, Takatari, he's on the PUP, physically unable to perform list. He's out for at least six weeks to get back healthy. Was this expected? I don't remember us have we not talked about this as much

as we should have? Has he been playing and practicing in training camp or has he been out this entire time, AJ? I haven't seen him in pads, at least, out there with the team doing any kind of team activity, so I would assume this is pretty expected, right? When was his surgery? Was it January sometime? January 7th, I believe.

We checked. Adrian Peterson came back in a shorter time than this and led the NFL in rushing. There's a message to Justin Takatari? I'm just talking about science here. I'm just talking about medical. I'm just talking about science. I think six weeks he's out,

so do they have a bye early or no? I don't think so. A lot of the stuff I was reading too is, and Rodgers said last year on the show, they're going to bounce Elton Jenkins out there. And Rodgers had glowing praise for him. And I think they've seen enough so far in the preseason that like, okay, they think he's one of the best linemen in the NFL. So I wonder if that had something to do with them being more comfortable.

They love Jenkins. You're right, Ty. They all love Jenkins. They say that dude is an absolute monster, can play like every position, I feel like. Yeah, he did last year. The G's silent, right? Is he moving to center after when Bocatari comes back,

or what's he doing? I know he played guard last year, tackle and center. I don't know if he'll be the center because I think Josh Myers, the rookie from Ohio State, has also been pretty good in camp this year. But I think he is one of those guys where he can be flexible. So if they have guys go down, he can play any position on the line. That's the perfect swing offensive lineman that you need out there. Every team is looking for somebody like that, especially with 17-game season. I mean, that's going to be big going forward.

Michael Thomas is also on the PUP list. He's out for six weeks to start the season down there in New Orleans. New Orleans also, but they have a bye week early, so he's going to miss five games. New Orleans also might be playing the first quarter of the season in Dallas, allegedly, due to Hurricane Ida. We hope everybody's okay down there, by the way. T's and P's. Sean Payton said the Saints are planning to be away from New Orleans for the first quarter of the NFL season

and will adjust accordingly via Jeff Duncan. I think he also said something along the lines that we might be playing in AT&T Stadium. I'm not sure if Jerry Jones would hate or love that, to be honest. I honestly don't know how Jerry Jones feels about that. But the NFL family looking out for the rest of the NFL family. Last year, San Francisco 49ers got kicked out of their stadium, ended up in Arizona. This year, due to Hurricane Ida,

the Saints are probably going to be out of New Orleans. That's an added adversity I'm sure you don't want, but it could be much worse, and we hope everybody's okay. Yeah, what makes sense there is, so Dallas is obviously at Tampa or whatever week one, so they could probably play there, Dallas week one, and then their next home game is week four. Dallas is home week four, but Houston is on the road,

so they could probably play in Houston there in week four, I'd assume. Okay, so I love when the NFL family has to come together for stuff like this. You know, like that's legit because there's billions and billions and billions of dollars on the line. Fans on the line, by the way. If the Saints come into Dallas and let's say Jameis Winston goes out in the community and wins over a bunch of people, you know,

like that's how greedy corporate fat cat owners could view this entire thing. But when everybody's just ready to kind of put everything aside and be like, nah, come do your thing because of what's going on i love it i think that's a beautiful thing i honestly believe that's a beautiful thing aj well the saints uh what year was katrina they got they were transplanted the whole year i know in green bay we had a couple coaches that were on that staff and i talked to different buddies that played there at the time

man that was a tough year is that 05 or 06? The anniversary was this weekend. I think it was 05. Yeah, because we played the Sugar Bowl in Georgia that year. Oh. That's how I remember. And by the way, Katrina was obviously devastating, as is everything. I mean, New Orleans.

So what is it? It's the weather down there? Because of where it's at? Is that why? I think that's part of it. And then the levee, that was the big thing. Yeah, Katrina levees broke. They overflowed this time.

Golly, dude, that's scary. Isn't it down there where you, if they don't bury bodies, do they? Like you can't dig down and bury bodies because they can float away. Yeah, driving through New Orleans with uh cemeteries all having above i mean that it's uh new orleans is a special place man it's a special place down there hope everybody's okay i i couldn't imagine a bigger fear though yeah then not knowing you know like is that water right there just going to come kill me? Yeah. You know what I mean?

I was down in the, I was down in the Keys. And I guess, I don't know how many years it was, 2016, maybe 17, four or five years ago, whenever they had the massive hurricane went through the Keys or whatever and kind of took everybody out. And then the people that live there, they said, ah, once every 10 years it comes or whatever. You just got to look out for it. It'll give you a warning you get out of there. the people that live there they said ah once every 10 years it comes or whatever he's gotta he's gotta look out for it'll give you a warning you get out of there i'm like i couldn't even imagine sitting there because i grew up in pittsburgh obviously which is i mean the only thing we had to worry about was steel mill soot yep the neighbor's cigarettes potentially getting a secondhand

cancer and uh and you know maybe the pittsburgh steelers not being great, but the entire thought that where you live at could attack you, I don't know, that's scary to me. I have nothing but the utmost respect for everybody that can handle it on day-to-day. Switching gears, joining us now is a man who is an NFL quarterback, a Super Bowl, one of the leading voices in the quarterback world for a long time, including the Elite 11 camps. You've seen him on ESPN

for a long time now. He is the head coach for the Lipscomb Academy Mustangs in Nashville. Went viral on Friday for an interaction with one of his players, ladies and gentlemen, Coach Trent Dilfer. Yeah! What's up, Coach?

How are you feeling, Pat? Well, I'm on day eight over here in my COVID cave. I'm about ready to get out of here. I'm getting a little stir crazy, but the body feels good. I appreciate you asking. How are you feeling? I feel great. Disappointed, but we can talk about that.

Yeah, let's get right into it. So I want to let you know where our show stood on this entire thing. Especially after finding out about Bo Dawson. I told a story about how I was not in the football world. I was in the soccer world. I would show up on Friday nights, and there was one game where I hit a kickoff out of bounds or something like that. In frustration, I took my helmet and I slammed it off the ground.

And our defensive coordinator, Frank Sacco, who was a little bit of a hard-ass coach, grabbed me basically and said, hey, you don't ever do that to your helmet. The helmet is basically your lifeline out here on the field. And I remember it for the rest of my life. But also, coaches have a certain obligation to its players to make and mold better humans. In the football world, I've been very lucky to experience that, to see that. I'm also a little bit of a chirpy guy, so I've had that interaction with a lot of coaches and people in my life. You obviously went super viral for it. I heard your response to it. I want to let you know on our side,

it was like, hey, that's football. That can happen every once in a while. 2021, though, everybody's saying you've got to be different. Where are you right now? How is Bo Dawson? Your statement about it was incredible. What is your entire mindset of this as you kind of shape yourself going forward as a head coach? Well, I'm disappointed in myself. You know, there's so many opportunities as a leader, as a football coach, and you guys know this, where you can take a situation and make it better.

Unfortunately, there's opportunities where you take situations and you can make them worse. And I really work hard with these young people. They're incredible young men. I have great coaches, a neat community, and I work hard on trying to identify each situation and say, okay, how can I make this better? And that ranges from on-campus stuff to in-game stuff, emotional stuff, connections with players and parents. It goes on and on and on. And in this instance, I had a really great opportunity to make a situation better.

And I whiffed. I allowed a couple personal fouls that happened beforehand by different players. I thought we were losing discipline as a team. You know, Bo's an emotional player. And all of a sudden, I single him out instead of letting it breathe. You know, if you're giving, if there's a term that I've gone back in my head over and over and over again, that I'm usually pretty good at is let a situation breathe for a little bit before you address it. I didn't do that. I feel worse for the player because, you know, somehow, I don't know how this happened. He's he, at times he's been labeled the culprit here. There's not a coach in America that wouldn't want this kid to play for him.

He is everything you're looking for in a student athlete. He's everything you're looking for as a team leader, as a player. Unfortunately, because I didn't let a situation get better, I allowed it to get worse, he's unfortunately taken some heat. And that's the thing I feel most awful about. Do you think it could be part of the reason why maybe you responded to him, even though he didn't have the personal fouls, because you knew he was this solid of a guy and he could take this and be all right?

You know, that would be an excuse. I love this kid like my own. I've known him since he was born. We've had tons of great experiences together. But that would be an excuse if I used that. At this point, if I could say anything, it's that I want to be a great leader. I want to be a great football player. I want to treat all my players with a great deal of love and respect

and also coach them hard and help them become better young men. And I think the good thing that's coming out of this, if there's good that can come out of it, is I was able to model to this group of young men the next day as we talked openly and honestly about the situation, said, you know, the hardest thing I've had to do in my life is as a dad to three daughters, have to sit them down when I've broken their hearts when I've done something in our family that is saddened them or may you know hurt

their hearts and look in their eyes and ask for their forgiveness and apologize and and ask them how what I can do with my actions moving forward to make it better and I sat with my team moving forward to make it better. And I sat with my team, and I asked them the same question. I said, this is hard, guys, but you're going to do this as fathers one day. You're going to do this as men. You're not going to be the leader you want to be at times. You're not going to do the things you want to do at times. And you're going to have to go to the people that you've wronged

and ask for their forgiveness and humble yourself. And that's what i'm doing now and hopefully our boys learn a valuable lesson from this and and we can move forward because i know that we have a special thing going as a football team and and this is a unique group of kids and coaches that that will somehow take a hard thing and turn into a good thing that's kind of been our mo MO. And I'm just sad that I'm the reason I caused the hard thing to be harder. And that's not my place. My place is to make hard things easier for them. I appreciate the way you're looking at this and viewing this.

But I think any human that ever played football before saw that moment and said, okay, that either happened to me or a friend of mine, and I don't know Bo, okay, but you're only doing that to somebody you actually care about and think that they could actually change, and they're not performing to their absolute best, either as a player or a human at that moment. Did you see the world calling for you to never,

ever coach a football game, before did you again did you see that that's what the and i guess i don't like to blame you know the internet for anything because we live on the internet but it does feel like there are situations like this that happen all of a sudden and people that have never been on a team sport or had a coach care about them before or ever ever have this moment while you're still in high school and shaping your entire future still at this point, both as a person and as a player. I mean, there's a lot going on. There's a lot that coaches are being tasked with doing. Did you see the reaction or have you just tried to stay out of that and just deal with your

team as you have to deal with it? I tried to deal with my team, Pat. I don't play around in the social media world that much. We use it to promote our program and use it for goodness. I made a point when I was back at ESPN and just saw the toxicity of social media. Big word, right? I don't know if I even said it right. Toxicity. I wanted to use it for good. We try really hard here. My family, my girls are active to try to use it for good. So I avoided that part of it and really tried to stay focused on our tribe. And, you know, I'm sure every coach says this,

and it's going to sound like coach speak, but we work really, really, really, really hard on culture around here. We're very transparent. We're very honest. We talk about really hard things as a group. We call ourselves a human development program. Mass is a high school football team. And when we make mistakes, we deal with them together.

So we've tried really hard to deal with this together this week. The kids have been amazing. The coaches have been amazing. So I've tried to keep to deal with this together this week. The kids have been amazing. The coaches have been amazing. So I've tried to keep the negativity out of it and just stay focused on how to heal and how to move forward. What does Phil Dawson say? He's been really good, man. You know, he's been one of my best friends for years. It's been hard just because, you know, they have to see their kid have to have to be part of this

show. And that's you can imagine how hard that would be. But they're incredible people. That's why they've been friends for so long. And they're working on the healing process like I am. So I don't it couldn't it couldn't be a better situation after a bad situation for moving forward. Well, I appreciate your accountability and ownership here. That's why you're an incredible coach. Don't ever lose that passion. Maybe let it breathe next time is what you're saying. It's kind of the answer to everything I'm learning with this coaching thing.

It's just let it breathe. So, like, if A.J. was coaching my kid and my kid had that moment with him, I want to let you know, I'd go, Phil, and you are very tight, but I would go up to AJ and I'd say, hey, AJ, like, obviously, little Midas Michael would fucking deserve that, but let's not push him all the way. Is there any, like, have you gone back and thought to yourself like without losing your mind there, do you still get the point across? You know, like and I think that is the balance of coaching, right? Like how do you especially when you're dealing with teenagers?

That's a tough thing. I'll never be able to do it. I appreciate what you're doing for the future of American coaching and everything like that. But I sometimes like I needed it when I was a kid, like I was a fucking asshole. I needed that type of thing to happen from some people. I think it helped me. Rich Rodriguez is a guy that he had to do it to me and other guys. And I'm not saying that, you know, he did anything cross line, but I feel like there are some people in some kids and I was one of those kids, so I feel like I was much more understanding to the situation maybe than anybody else. Do you figure out a way now, like scout yourself,

like if something needs to be done and said, how will I go about doing it? And how do you still stay emotionally invested and passionate while curtailing it? That's just a tough thing. It's a great question because I think one of the things that I've really tried hard to do is create an edge with our football team. As you guys know, to play this game at a high level, you have to have an edge to you. But then you don't ever want that edge to cross the line of disrespect, of taunting, of all the negative things that can come with playing with high passion, high intensity. For me personally, I've always been a fiery competitor. Those,

AJ, you played against me. I mean, you know, I enjoyed that part of it. So, but you have to, and this is something I'm learning, and I want to evolve every year as a coach as long as I do this. You have to treat everybody fair, but not the same. And you can't just have one method of coaching, and it can't just be yelling all the time. I'll transition here a little bit, not to avoid anything. You guys know me.

I'll talk about anything. And you already have. How I've had to learn to deal with refs. So in the NFL, as you guys know, we get up in their action, right? And they love it. Like it is your John and you're joking and you're trying to get a call and trying to manipulate them. And, and then you yell at them when they miss a call and they yell back at you. And, and then you get to the high school space and i'm doing that year one and these poor cats you know they're making 20 bucks an hour running up and down the field sweating their sweating their butts off and breathing hard and their lawyers during the day and school teachers and truck

drivers and they're coming out at night just trying to do the best they can and I'm just up in their grills and pointing out every mistake they're making and and then that off season I'm like you know I like these guys they're not they're not doing anything but I like the guys in the NFL too but there was just an understanding in the nfl that you could do that so year two i was 92 better i saw my eight percent when they blow a call and it cost you a touchdown or cost you a sack or something and and then this year i i before every game when i said the rest i'm like i want you to know i am a different human being. You are not here for me tonight. I don't even talk to him.

I say hi before the game, high five, how's the family? Hey, we're going to stay back on our sideline. I've gotten after the coaches about getting in your way. If anything happens, come talk to me. I'll probably agree with you. So I've evolved that way, and I'm learning you have to just kind of treat every player different some players do they need you to be intense with them at practice they need that wake-up call they need to hey Johnny let's go that's not good enough and then there's the kids just need you to put

your arm around them and say hey what's going on today that's a mistake you know usually don't make those type of mistakes there's kids you got to let it breathe a little bit. They have to have an emotional outlet. They're emotional players. They're going to have some outbursts. Our tailback's a great example. He's one of the best players in America. He's so hard on himself. And when he makes a mistake, I know he's going to be harder on himself than I'm going to be. So I don't need to be hard on him. So I go over to him like, hey, you cool down yet? You good? You want to take a couple reps off? You want to get back in? So I really think one of the arts of coaching, one, you have to evolve. You have to own your mistakes when you make them.

But two is you have to really study your people. And you've got to know a unique way of connecting with each one of them sometimes those connections come after mistakes and the the forgiveness piece and the going to that player and saying listen just because I'm the coach and I'm the authority figure doesn't mean I'm always right and when I mess up I want to be able to tell you I'm wrong. Well, I appreciate you evolving as a coach and giving back to the sport and owning this entire thing. Why don't you stop beating up kids though? All right. Speaking of beating up kids, okay, let's transition out of this. of this um bishop sycamore high school in aj how does this happen trent how does this happen how does this happen and is this a normal thing for adults just to be acting like a high school

football team and playing against high school kids i don't understand how this even works bro my defensive coordinator text me i'm pulling up the text right now, the stuff yesterday. And we had talked about it a little bit because we'd all watched the games on Saturdays and Sunday we kind of prepped on our own. So like yesterday, we're getting in the office and we're

just starting to talk about it and he texts me all this stuff. This is bizarre. I mean, how does nobody find this out before the game's played okay so how do you do it do you talk to the other team's coach like because you're at lipscomb academy you're very i would have i want to know everything about everything about our opponent not just for a scouting perspective but you know we gotta again let's go back to what we're just talking about you have all these emotional teenage boys you're asking for

something terrible to happen in a game if you haven't prepped your team on how to handle what may happen on the other side so you want a good understanding of the coaching philosophy that you're playing against, the type of players they are. I call refs and ask about, hey, is this team we're playing disciplined? You want to do as much due diligence on the team you're playing as possible to protect your players because you're throwing them out there on a Friday night for 48 minutes. And, you know, you want to make sure that the other side treats the game with the same level of respect and professionalism that you try to teach your kids to play it with. I love if you were to reach out to a ref and the ref goes, I'll tell you what, quarterback looks damn near 40. Oh, yeah. He's got a deep voice.

I saw him smoking cigarettes on the sidewalk. Hell yeah. It was a great handshake, to be honest. I don't know. I didn't expect it. Go ahead, Ty. Trent, not to, I mean, got the big Mac Jones guy here. Oh, yeah.

Oh, I love it. So do you think, like, I mean, Cam being a guy who's been in the league, he's been there, he's done that, outside of the vaccination status, do you think he'll get an opportunity somewhere else this year as potentially a starting quarterback or no not as a starter um i was i was surprised he got the opportunity in new england be honest with you uh he's a great pro so this is not an anti cam newton statement he's just and i go back to a comment and I don't know, maybe you can find it. Steve Young and I did a segment after the Panthers played,

you know, it might've been a playoff game. Actually, did they play a playoff game against Houston one year? Anyways, Steve Young and I did a post-game segment and he had just carried the ball 13, 14 times, thrown it 30 times. He was in his seventh, eighth, ninth year, whatever it was. And I made a comment to Steve. I said, I love this player, and he's such a dynamic and unique quarterback. But I'm sad because I'm watching a 15-year career turn into an eight, nine, 10-year career.

Like, you are just wearing his body out and he's such a great competitor and he's such an incredible physical specimen he's not gonna admit it he's gonna say I just keep giving me more and his team's gonna say yeah just keep giving him more but what you know as you get older is that your body just can't handle those things and what we've seen now what can it came out to be true that he had this really good stint where he was a great player because his physicality came out all the time when he played but now it's just not there so if he's primed to run the football he's not as consistent throwing it if he's a thrower well then he's not as good as a

player because you're not utilizing his giftedness to run. You're always worried about him getting hurt. So I think you want him on your team because as he proved in New England, he is a fantastic leader. He's a guy, he's a glue guy. He brings people together. He's a tremendously hard worker. But I think this game, we're seeing it now that these young cats can come in. I don't know how they do it. They're so much better than I ever dreamed of being. But they come in at a young age, and they can deal. They can handle protections.

They can handle coverages. They can handle the pressure of the moment. I mean, Mac Jones is going to be an immediate star. You saw it with Joe Burrow last year. I said this a few years ago. I might have said it on this show. We're walking into the greatest generation of quarterbacking we'll ever see in the league. I think it started a few years ago, and it's going to go on for years more.

Because guess what? There's three or four more this year, and there's three or four more the next year. And they're so well coached in college, they're to be able to come in and and play the nfl game and then credit to the nfl coaches you have guys like charlie fry in miami and you're these young coaches that are willing to adapt their nfl systems around the college games so there's less new football that that these young quarterbacks have to learn so i thought you were talking about that offensive line coach from Miami. I was like, he did not. He did not.

He did not adjust his game. You know what I mean? He stuck with what he knew from the beginning there, just got a little bit too public with technology. That thought that there's going to be a bunch of great quarterbacks coming into the NFL because of how good they are. And I think a lot of it, by the way, Elite 11 camps, quarterback summit. I think the quarterback community taking care of each other

has become a big deal to kind of teach guys and hopefully expedite their greatness almost. Is that going to change, you think? And I've been saying this for a couple years, and I was called an idiot by a lot of people for a lot of reasons. But whenever you pay a quarterback all that money, okay, it obviously offsets the salary cap. Now with what the Buccaneers are doing and what the Chiefs are doing

and what the Rams have been able to do, I mean, there's salary cap gymnastics that can happen. But with the influx of quarterbacks that are great coming out of college into the NFL, you think that changes the way these second, third contracts go for some of these other quarterbacks that maybe aren't the, like, hey, I can win a Super Bowl by myself quarterbacks? You think it's going to change the future of the NFL, you think? It may. I, yeah, I could see that happening because here's the conversation I could see happening.

Our guy's really good. We really like our guy. here's the conversation I can see happening. Our guy's really good. We really like our guy. But we really like six guys playing in college, too. And our guy's grade that we gave him coming out is very similar to guy A and B at the two different colleges coming out this year. And instead of paying the second contract,

which is an enormous, enormous contract, uh, we can pay other players that we like a lot too, and have more depth on our football team. And, and we trust our offensive coaches and our system, and we'll get this next guy, whoever that guy is to come in and play at a really high level for us and, and have a, you know, a sustainable model of winning consistently because we have a lot of depth and we can pay A.J., his third contract, to be an awesome backer and a special teams warrior. And we can pay the right guard that's in his 12th year that still has a lot of juice in him and can be the swing guy and play a little center too.

And, oh, by the way, we can pay our corner, who's one of the top three corners in the league, and we can play man coverage now. And, oh, there's this pass rusher out there that if we can go pay $12 million a year, then we have the best three-man front on third long in the NFL. And, man, we're pretty good. And we don't need the quarterback to make a ton of money and drive this ship. So I can see those conversations happening. I don't know if they're right,

but I definitely see that those will happen in front offices. You can pay a kicker and putter too. True. I totally blew that one. Another whiff. Let it breathe. Another giant whiff on my part. Let it breathe.

Yeah, bump your long snapper up too for Pat. Is there a possibility that you think if you, let's say a quarterback is very, very good. He's a very good starter, but they're not 100% sold that he's their franchise guy. Do you think teams will be more likely to move on from someone like that

and draft these up and comers because they're coming in day one and they're ready? I think so. I think a lot to what you think about your guy away from football. Is he the hardest worker on the team? Is he super invested in the community? I think one of the reasons Dak Prescott got all the money he got and why they see him in such a great light is more than just what he does on the football field. I don't want to give a percentage, but if it's 80% what he does on the field, his 20% off the field is so exceptional.

Again, he's such a great leader at a young age. He has that community behind him. His teammates adore him. His coaches love him. I think all that makes it easier to pay that guy. Now on the flip side, AJ, it's, okay, I'll use myself as an example. Year four, I was just becoming a decent leader. I was not the hardest worker on the team. I didn't handle my business off the field to the highest standard. So I probably wouldn't have paid me you know i mean i probably would have paid the next guy the guy that maybe not was maybe wasn't as talented as me but may do the other stuff may play just as well as me and do the other stuff better than me uh yeah i think that's a that's a realistic conversation at least if i was in front office that i would have i want my quarterback

um to be exceptional everywhere uh not just on the football field. And if he's exceptional everywhere and he's making our team better, I've always said the ultimate job of the quarterback is to make everybody else around you better. If you're making everybody else around you better, pay him. If you're not, go to the next guy. Trent, and we can't thank you enough for your time here, and this will be my last question.

I'm not sure if Connor and Diggs have a question. I'm sure they do because every time you come on, you're incredible for us. So I appreciate you. When you talk about all these quarterback competitions that are happening right now, you know, San Fran, obviously, Chicago is the conversation. I guess one just ended. It did clearly just ended in New England. But I and AJ and I have been on the same page here.

I feel like a team needs to know who the starter is and who the backup is. Like I think, and I think we have talked about this before going into the season and Jeff Saturday, who I have the utmost amount of respect for. He's the best. Yes. I, I, uh, I was very lucky to be teammates with him. I am a big fan of Jeff Saturday. He said yesterday on get up, like the Chicago Bears locker room should be pissed if they put Andy Dalton out there instead of Justin Fields. How is the right way to handle this, you think, if you're Justin Fields and Andy Dalton or Jimmy G and Trey Lance, because everybody else in the locker room is looking at you to figure out how

this goes. You're a quarterback in the NFL. We're for a long time, both backup and starter. You understand both of those roles and what you have to do. How do these get handled smoothly, you think? And is there any chance that it's not going to be smooth in either situation? Well, I'm a big believer a lot has to do with who the quarterbacks are. The quarterbacks in the room can help make this situation better for the team. If you know that you have a guy that is going to be disruptive, then I think you're absolutely right, and I would agree with Jeff, that a line in the sand has to be drawn. And it has to be like, okay, this is the guy, this is not the guy, and we're moving forward, let's go.

And if the guy that isn't the guy and we're moving forward let's go and if the if the guy that isn't the guy becomes disruptive oh well nobody cares because you're moving forward now if you have if you have a room a quarterback room that's really healthy uh i think you can play it a little bit longer let's use fields and dalton andy dalton's one of the best humans in the nfl uh if you end up playing this thing out a little bit and you end up going one way or the other andy dalton's going to handle it with a great deal of class he's not going to be disruptive uh he's going to turn around and mentor justin fields even if he's disappointed uh so i think you have to as a head coach as a gm you have to, as a head coach, as a GM, you have to know the temperament of that room.

Now, the fan will never know that. So it's going to be frustrating for the fan because they're going to want a definitive answer. But as the head coach or the decision makers that are making the decision, usually the head coach, I do think you have to take the temperament of that quarterback room into account before you make a hard-line decision. Hey, Trent, we can't thank you enough. Good luck to the Lipscomb Academy.

Mustangs, continue to dominate and win. People forget you won 62-7 in that game. I appreciate you guys. Thank you so much. No, thank you, man. Continue to do what you have to do. Continue having passion and emotion, by the way. Investing in people is the way you make them better. So I appreciate it. Ladies and gentlemen,

Trent Dilfer. Can't thank you enough for allowing us to penetrate your ear holes. The fact you allow us to be a part of your day-to-day, Monday through Friday, I am eternally grateful for. Hashtag end of pod squad. Go ahead and put out some tweets. I believe we're still giving away t-shirts. I think we've given away a hundred to date in the last couple of weeks. Okay. So we want to give away more. We can't thank you enough for listening all the way to the end. Hope you enjoyed today. Be a friend, tell a friend. Ty, please play some independent music and propel these people into a beautiful Tuesday night as we come back for a beautiful Wednesday.

Aaron Rodgers Tuesday starts in one week. The football season is nine days away. Let's go, baby. Cheers. Thank you. សូវាប់បានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបាូវាប់ពីបានប់ពីបានប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពីប់ពី Thank you. សូវាប់បានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបា Thank you.