The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 711 - Peyton Manning, Chargers GM Tom Telesco, Colts GM Chris Ballard, Bills GM Brandon Beane, & AJ Hawk

Episode Date: August 4, 2022

On today's show, Pat, AJ Hawk, and the boys chat about the NFL deciding to appeal Deshaun Watson's suspension and what will ultimately come of that, as well as everything going on around NFL training camps. Joining the progrum to chat about Omaha Productions, being a Hall of Famer and what it means to him, and to ultimately announce a new partnership with PMI is one of the greatsest Quarterbacks to ever play the game, The Sheriff, Peyton Manning (13:24-28:51). Later, Pat, AJ Hawk, and the boys check in with three different NFL GM's from training camp as Tom Telesco joins the show from Chargers camp (42:42-1:06:01), Chris Ballard joins from Colts camp (1:06:03-1:30:03), and lastly, Brandon Beane from Bills camp (1:30:05-1:51:52). Make sure you subscribe to youtube.com/thepatmcafeeshow to watch the show, and listen on Sirius XM Channel 82, Mad Dog Radio. We appreciate the hell out of all you. See you tomorrow, cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello beautiful people. It is Thursday, August 4th, 2022 and NFL football is officially BAM! Here we go at it baby! Here we go at it baby. Let's ride into a time in which there's an NFL game being played on this day when we woke up this morning. Maybe took your morning grumpy, had a shower, had a breakfast, had a coffee, had a tea. Whatever you had to do to move on to the next portion of your day. You knew that you woke up on a day in which there is NFL football. You knew you could go over to FanDuel Sportsbook and there was NFL lines to bet on. You knew that you had gone through months and months and months of tedious bullshit talking about off-season stuff in the NFL and talking about sports that none of us know enough about

because we are an American football program. Hell yeah. Today's the day in which two teams donning NFL equipment will be playing football in a high school stadium in Ohio. Which high school stadium? The same one that one of the head coaches played in as a high schooler, and now he's back as a head coach representing the Las Vegas Raiders. Josh McDaniels will take a team wearing Raiders jerseys into a high school he played at when he was in high school

to take on Doug Peterson and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Both teams looking to change the face and kind of the image of their program and go on and win in different ways. Doug Peterson obviously had the whole Philadelphia Eagles wins the Super Bowl and then what the fuck happened? Let's burn it down. We're going our separate ways. I'm going to take a year off.

Whatever happened there, we will never find out. It ended with Carson Wentz leaving, Doug Peterson leaving, Nick Foles leaving, and two out of three of those have a fucking statue of themselves outside the stadium there in Philadelphia and they go run out of time. What were you doing in Jacksonville? He pays Christian Kirk, changes the entire NFL market. They're trying to build a little bit of a monster down there.

Good luck to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They're still in the Colts and the Titans division. And then the Las Vegas Raiders, speaking of division, they're in the AFC West. What? Every team out there could go on a run. Every team out there could go win a Super Bowl. Every team out there's fan bases think that they are going to win the Super Bowl and should be the favorite.

And Derek Carr is sitting in a tiny little Uber driving around Ohio alongside Devontae Adams and Hunter Renfro. Hunter Renfro eating his kneecaps. Not sure that's good news for their season, but that team is more loaded than they've ever been. Josh McDaniels is ready to do his thing. Will the Raiders surprise everybody and make it out of the AFC West and go out and win the Super Bowl tonight?

We get a glimpse of what the McDaniels era could look like as a Raiders coach. Or tonight, we could get three snaps into this game and be completely devastated that NFL football is nowhere near back. This is USFL, XFL football with some interviews of people we know on the sideline. But nonetheless, we still get to turn on a goddamn game, and we should be excited for that for this show today. is nowhere near back. Yeah. This is USFL XFL football with some interviews of people we know on the sidelines. But nonetheless, we still get to turn on a goddamn game and we should be excited

for that for this show today. Big day. Huge. Hall of Famer Peyton Manning will join us in about 10 minutes. Whoa, whoa. Yeah, it's Hall of Fame game.

Sure. It's Hall of Fame day. The Peyton Manning, man who has a statue right down here and probably gonna have one in Denver as well and many other cities.

Peyton Manning will be joining us in 10 minutes. That should be a good convo. Yeah, I'd say so. Tom Telesco, general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers. He will join us in the second hour at 1.15. Chris Ballard, general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, will join us at 2.35. And Brandon Bean,

general manager of the Buffalo Bills, will join us at 3.05. That's all happening today. Be a friend, tell a friend. Let's have some fun. Football is back Thursday. The Talks at Table is here at Ty Schmidt at Boston Corner. Connor, I'll start with you. Brandon Bean's coming on the show. Every time he comes on the show, he

dunks on you. I'm excited for that to happen yet again. Yeah, not just him. You know, a lot of people come on the show and dunk on me, but that's just kind of how it goes. You don't deserve it. No, not at all. I mean, hey, look. Bills are a good team. I'm excited to talk to Brandon Bean, especially because now it's no longer like, oh, Josh Allen and the Bills, what are they going to do this year? Now it's, hey, the Bills are going to the Super Bowl.

If they don't go to the Super Bowl, then it's kind of a disappointing season. Much different attitude in Buffalo now. I'm excited for him. Sal Capaccio told us just yesterday that although there is a new play caller, there's a lot of experienced play callers around the offense. Josh Allen's more mature in that offense. They're ready to go. No day ball is a question, though.

Yeah. Huge. You lose a play caller, especially when you're that efficient of an offense. You could, you know, see it drop them. Maybe they add some wrinkles that nobody's seen before and they get even better. We shall see. Brandon Bean, always a good convo. Chris Ballard, always a good convo.

Tom Telesco, always a good convo. And Peyton Manning's a good conversation with anybody he has. Today should be a glorious day. Ty Schmidt, big news yesterday, came out after we went off air. They had until 8 a.m. this morning. They made it a little bit ahead of time. The NFL will appeal Judge Shue Robinson's ruling of six-game suspension for Deshaun Watson. Now, we had chatted about this from the very beginning,

that although Judge Shue L. Robinson, former federal judge who retired in 2017, was hired to be an independent judge so that Roger Goodell was not the judge, jury, and executioner, that was that the players did not want. So now we're getting a chance to see the new CBA, the new process work for the first time. Judge Shu Robinson overheard the entire court case. The NFL had their lawyers representing wanting Deshaun Watson allegedly suspended indefinitely for at least one season as more information rolls out. The NFLPA was representing Deshaun Watson allegedly suspended indefinitely for at least one season as more information rolls out. The NFLPA was representing Deshaun. They said no games. And then allegedly

they were okay with six to eight games. And allegedly the NFL was okay with 10 to 12 games. But once again, nobody knew shit about fuck because nobody was in there and there was no leaked sources. Now it is alleged that not only will Roger Goodell appoint somebody from the NFL to oversee the appeals process, but the NFL is in control once again of what the ruling is, how this will go. The internet backlash after the six-game suspension was given was a lot. A lot. A lot. A lot.

I think we're all very, very surprised about the amount of allegations, the narrative that seemed to be pretty true in all of those allegations. So maybe there's a conspiracy to get Deshaun Watson to make him look terrible and maybe extort him out of money. Or maybe there's some definite truth in some of these stories, and we've got to think about that being the highest-paid contract in the NFL, representing a league full of very good people where negativity normally hogs publicity. So there's a fine balance in there of what's going to happen.

New precedent. Judge Shue Robinson puts a six-game suspension. Now it's back to the old Cba the nfl is back in charge uh and this thing everybody's assuming it's just going to be a full league year because that's what the nfl lawyers who represented uh the nfl in the case in judge shu robinson's courtroom are going to be pitching to the next appeal uh which is not roger goodell he's going to appoint somebody maybe condoleezza rice or something like that. All of this is precedent though, Ty, right?

All of this is precedent for future situations that arise. Obviously, we hope that this type of situation never pops up again in the NFL. We hope nothing bad ever happens again in the NFL. But with thousands and thousands of employees in basically every single company in the country, something bad is going to happen. Negativity will hog the publicity. It'll be huge. And this is going to have to take place yet again in a different avenue.

And everything that happens here is setting up for what the future punishments are going to be. Yeah. And how everything's going to be handled. The NFL knows that, right? Yeah. Everybody's thinking they're going to come in and just do a full league year. everything's going to be handled the nfl knows that right yeah everybody's thinking they're going to come in and just do a full league year if they do that that'll set up for the future discussions to be like well who's actually what's the purpose of this court case if we're just going

to peel it and they're going to be doing it anyways it's a fascinating time in the nfl even though it's obviously an incredibly serious allegation coming against deshaun watson yeah for sure and we talked about it yesterday like simpler terms, like it seemed like this was the opportunity maybe in the only time in his career as commissioner for Goodell to go baby face and kind of make this decision on his own. And you wonder if maybe this situation almost has an asterisk, like, and it's tough because this is going to set the president, uh, the precedent, but maybe this almost has an asterisk because it, there are so many cases and cause we know bad things are going to happen. But, you know, when it's – the number, I think, is what everyone is kind of – you know, you get hung up on that.

It's like it's not like this was a one-time offense. It's whether the stuff was right or, you know, whatever happened is whatever happened. But it was a repeat case. So, like, maybe – I mean, I guess it goes just to the – like what the players were saying that they didn't want Goodell to be judge, jury, and executioner. But if he just hands this off, like – What's the deal? Exactly.

So now I'm wondering what's the deal. Why Roger Goodell doesn't want to make a decision now, or does he want to continue to be like, hey, I heard what everybody was saying about the fairness of me having every decision, all the power in the book, so I'm going to continue to kind of give me hands off of this? Or is he nearing the end of his career and he's just like, I don't know if i should be the one setting precedent in this entire thing yeah i'll let somebody else do it who are the names that were potentially going to condoleezza rice was one of

them for sure i i think there were two more maybe that were options but again it feels like with this stuff too like you look at the suspension numbers it's like when they first reported it it was like oh you know it could be zero games it could be one games it could be two games like and it's gone from like zero up to an entire season you know what i think it's because nobody had nobody had a clue no i think all the people that report and stuff were just literally just grasping for straw pissing into the wind yeah just like hoping it does it like just hoping that something was going to happen because i think ian rapper came on our show and was like, it might just be a fine.

It was like, who the fuck is saying that? Not a chance. There's no way that was what it was. And then when it came out six games, everybody thought it was very, very low. So was it a misread maybe by the powers that be on what the expectations were outside of there? Or is this just Sue L. Robinson was, this is my first time. I have to go off a precedent of what has happened in the past.

I have to go off what was presented directly to me. And she is just like, hey, this is how it goes. Like this is what's presented. This is the precedent. This is what this has been. This is my ruling because that's what a federal judge would do. So as Judge Sue Robinson and the NFL are trying to figure out how they're going to manage this relationship,

I assume we're just watching it unfold publicly. And hopefully this goes for 10 years. I think all parties would be excited about an independent arbitrator. But this is all very, very important. Like every step of this is very important for future shit. Yeah, I think they were guessing because they didn't know what Sue L. Robinson was going to do. And she basically, like what I've been reading is she said, like, I guess violent versus nonviolent was a huge thing in the player conduct policy. If it's nonviolent, it could only be so many games or whatever.

And then she was only presented the four or five cases. I mean, I'm sure she knows about the number 26 or 24, whatever it was. But in her ruling, I don't think she was allowed to have that number in her head. that number in her head. So did Deshaun Watson's lawyers text the NFL's lawyers? Yeah, all of his text messages for the last two years. Every single one. Deshaun.

Yeah. I don't want to make light of anything. No, no, of course not. Of course not. That's a good watch, though. If you need a good laugh, that is a good laugh. Switch it up a little bit, maybe. Sir, do you know what perjury means? That he is getting killed.

Oh, yeah. Sir, this is not your show. Yeah. My Lord sent you all my text messages, and I'm hiding something. Oh, man. What a situation. my text messages and I'm hiding something. Oh, man. What a situation. Tell you what, there was a lot of high horsing going on yesterday. No, you don't say.

You don't say. I think I found the highest horse on all the internet. Well, listen. I don't even want to... Tony went down a bad worm. I don't even want to dive into it, but boy, I'll tell you what. There's a lot happening in the world, and I think the Deshaun Watson thing is going to continue to be a storyline at least for the first six weeks of the season,

which doesn't start for three more weeks from four weeks from today. So we're talking at least another 10 weeks. I mean, that is 11 weeks, five weeks until actual season. Yeah, five weeks until the season actually starts from today. Okay, so we've got at least another 11. This is three months. This is three. We we got a quarter of a year still to chat about this entire thing because it's going to be a reoccurring conversation because the browns are a good fucking team it's the biggest contract in the history of the biggest league on earth

they are a very very very very good team and on the field the last we saw him which will be years ago whenever he potentially steps on, he's a good player. He can make their team very good. So there's a reason why we have to talk about it, even though I do not love it at all. We don't have to chat about it because it's super negative. Here's a Hall of Fame game tonight. Yeah, exactly.

Real football. You know, the odds have been moving a little bit. Oh, they have. They've been bouncing back and forth, and I think it's because there's more film that comes out of practice on these quarterbacks that nobody's ever heard of or these wide receivers nobody's ever heard of. And the sportsbooks are like, oh, it looks like there's more film that comes out of practice on these quarterbacks that nobody's ever heard of, or these wide receivers nobody's ever heard of. In the sports books, they're like,

they might have a 4-3. Can the guy catch and run the right routes and know what the quarterback wants him to do? Probably not. But if he happens to get the ball in space, that's gone. That's swing the thing the other way. I have no idea how they're putting odds on these games. I do know that

30.5 has moved to 29.5. It's moved to 29, to 29 i think at one point like up to 30 and a half i think i like the over but i can't wait to watch nfl football and i can't wait to watch you know a celebration of what the game has been what the game is and what the game will be which is what the hall of fame weekend is all about absolutely always get good interviews on the sideline of these games now normally people just see them as clips on the internet because it's tough to watch the entirety of the Hall of Fame weekend is all about. Absolutely. Always get good interviews on the sideline of these games. It's awesome. Now, normally people just see them as clips on the internet because it's tough to watch the entirety of the Hall of Fame game unless you have a family, friend, or a school player playing in the third or fourth quarter of a preseason game. It's tough to keep it on full time,

but the clips and the interviews that come out. The best. You listen to Hall of Famers talk about their day, what they're thinking, what they're celebrating, what they're looking forward to the weekend. Joining us now is a Hall of Famer. Joining us now is a man whose name is synonymous with the NFL and will be forever, not just because his family is a massive part of it, but because of how damn good he was on the

football field. He also has a big ass brain, both literally and figuratively. He has transitioned away from football in beautiful fashion, being an incredible businessman, philanthropist, and a guy who might be an entertainment mogul. Started a production company that might have 55 shows in production right now. Big brain, genius, Hall of Fame quarterback, known as the Sheriff. Ladies and gentlemen, there's a statue of him like three blocks that way, Peyton Manning.

What's up, dude? Wow, I love that intro. Hey, Pat, dude? Wow, that intro. Hey, Pat, I think you missed your calling. I think you can make a lot of money doing walk-up intros for, like, youth baseball. All they do is play music now. If you got on there and introduced each player, I mean, there's a big opportunity for you there, I think, pal. Okay, so I saw that kid a couple weeks ago, right? They started playing Biggie, and he started dancing,

and then he hit that ball off the tee, and then he ran off to the side, and the whole place went bananas. Is there intros happening there? That does need to happen. I mean, that's a retirement gig for me, I think. I mean, every kid has a walk-up song, right? But it's like, it's six seconds, you know, it's, you know, this girl's on fire is a big one

for my you know daughter's softball team uh you know all kind of different songs but i think to get you on there start throwing some personal accolades out there some stats that's kind of next level stuff that's guaranteed home runs okay so if i could boost some you know the next one soto yeah yeah yeah anything the big polar bear that's right Pete Alonso like if I can motivate the next one of those I'll feel accomplished in life and we'll obviously talk football but go ahead no I was just saying and get a piece of their contract you know like you started it you were the foundation yeah I want that hey you remember when you were going to go play music you were going to go play music?

You were going to quit sports because of how bad you were at baseball. Then we started giving you a little confidence. You started hitting dingers out there. Remember that whole thing? You could be in a band right now. Hey, before we start talking about football and Hall of Fame and your legacy and, you know, all that incredible stuff that is warranted of a conversation, you love being dad, huh?

Because I know for a long time the world looked at you and was like, when's Peyton going to have a kid? When's Peyton going to have a kid? People talked about it. Like, well, he doesn't want to have a kid when he's in football. And I've never heard you say that, but you were like talked about for this.

Now, you with your kids everywhere is fucking awesome. You love it, Peyton? And what has it really done for you, you think? No, I do love it. Right here on a little family vacation right now out in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. School starts in a couple weeks. I am coaching youth football this year.

I'm the offensive coordinator on Marshall's sixth grade tackle football team and will be a big part of Mosley's softball team. So I love the youth sports and love being there, Pat, for all of their games and practices. I mean, that's been the number one priority for me in this second chapter is staying busy and staying stimulated, but being able to do it on my schedule where I could be at their school functions

and their sporting events. My dad was at those events for me. That was important to me as a kid when my dad was at those events for me. That was important to me as a kid when my dad was in the stands at a baseball game. He didn't necessarily coach me all the time, but he was present. I've tried to take that same philosophy in this second chapter for me. It's been very special. It's been a lot of fun as well. Hey, it's been cool to watch too, man. It's like from afar watching it all happen has been awesome because I know the amount of just attention to detail

you put into every single day of being an NFL quarterback and how much you respected the position and how you literally, they say all that cliche bullshit about somebody that works hard. You were the living embodiment of it, and I fucking watched it, and it was like, I can't believe this human is is like this but this is why this human is the way it is you always had great relationships with people you're always a human but you were committed fully to football i think we all know that and that's why you had success so watching you enjoy your life i think all your former teammates are like very fucking happy for you just want to let

you know that and talking about your dad being present he sent me a picture of you i think last year you were coaching a team quarterback has a sleeve you you got you're calling in plays it was like fourth grade or fifth grade i think you had a sleeve on that thing are we really advanced football at this point here but i mean i tried to get the earpiece uh you know, tried to put a little speaker in my son's ear to try to, like, talk to him that way. That was illegal. I only had five kids on the team, right? No subs, right? Every kid gets to play.

Every play, both ways. That's the way to do it. I told him, I said, look, if one of you kids gets COVID and ruins our season now, we have a problem. So wear the mask, you know, stay healthy and may or may not have added a few players that didn't exist. But just in case somebody on vacation. Right. And those three players, Pat, might have been named John Scott, Brian Seabrooks, and Sean Sullivan. Those would be the three equipment managers for the Indianapolis Colts. So a player gets sick.

We add another player. He's Sullivan for that day. I'm like, your name is Sean, right? They call you Sean. It's illegal. I don't know, but it's fine.'ll say that hey fourth graders don't have ids nobody can find out you can be anybody you need to be today and uh we appreciate you need to run a go route and also turn around and play corner but we'll figure this

whole thing out uh when you when you were named at a hall of fame they said what it took like uh 10 seconds or something like that 30 seconds and i thought it took too long that's like just expected i think from all of us while watching you play football like uh peyton's gonna be a hall of famer was it a big deal for you i assume it was with the way you view football but it was a given we all knew that i assume you did as well but when that honor is officially bestowed upon you what were the feelings as a man who has accomplished fucking everything literally at this point well it was a was a special feeling, Pat, especially the way that I found out. Ashley kind of organized, you know, due to COVID, they weren't doing the hotel knock. So Ashley

was told that I was going to be inducted. And so she organized for David Cutcliffe, Philip Fulmer, Tony Dungy, Jim Caldwell, Gary Kubiak, Tom Moore and John Fox and Jim Moore via video. Anyway, they came and sort of tapped me on the shoulder and said, I've been inducted. So to find out that way with all these coaches that have been a part of my football journey since I was 18 years old or even 15 years old. My high school coach was on a video. That was pretty overwhelming to find out that way. It's a great return to be a part of. I love the history of the game. I never assumed anything, never talked about it,

but it was a special weekend last year in Canton. To kind of rejoin teammates like Marvin and Edrin has been a lot of fun, too. And hopefully we've got some new ones, Colts and Broncos, coming along the way in the next couple years. Now, whenever you get voted into the Hall of Fame and you're in there, there's a lot of, like, I'm on a new team now. I'm on a new team now.

I think I've heard, like, Ray Lewis does a lot of that, like ownership of the Hall of Fame almost by this younger generation of Hall of Famers. What does that mean? And what do you think you guys can accomplish? You know, like, can you guys have real effect, you think? Well, I certainly hope so. I mean, the game has been under attack for a number of years now. And I think Commissioner Goodell and the league are trying to do the right things to make the game safer, make it better, trying to encourage youth football participation.

I did a little PSA for the NFL talking about encouraging youth football participation, flag, tackle, boys, girls, because it is fun. And I'm not sure I look very good in this commercial. The kids are basically making fun of me the entire time, but I was a good sport about it. Look, it's a great game, as you know it, Pat. I'm a staunch defender of it. It teaches valuable lessons. It's the ultimate team game,

so the more people that can play it and experience it is important to me. I do agree. Ray and a number of guys have taken this sort of leadership role in trying to grow the game and in trying to protect it as well. Yeah, it's – you know, there's separators every step of the way. And you talked about your coaches from every step. Like, as somebody who's just been an NFL fan my entire life and I grew up in a football city, you kind of watch it. Like has a guy who's like the best on their team he's obviously huge they all go

to college you know they're the best of every single town and then that group gets obviously cut down to the NFL like the best of the best and then there's that separating class and that separating class that is just of elite individuals that obviously you don't fall into earth that way there's a lot of hard work there's an uh you know a football iq and everything that has to happen and maybe some chances along the way but that group can change things i think like in the nba the nbpa peyton lebron's in there chris paul's in there russell westbrook's in there so when they're negotiating with the nba like, there's real business chatter happening. Like, I think with the way the NFL is going,

I think the NFL and the NFLPA business-wise are only going to grow bigger and bigger and bigger. And Peyton, I think you can get the ex-players in that game too. You know what I mean? Like, I think the Hall of Fame guys can get in there, and I think you can really have an imprint on the way everything goes forever. Not that you haven't already. I got immense respect for you.

Let's talk about Omaha. Hey, this is genius. You hear me? Everything you are doing right now is genius, Peyton. I got nothing but respect. You got a whiskey that is delicious. You got a whiskey right now going. Omaha seems like there's a smash hit every other day.

That college trivia game or whatever, your reading was impeccable. I have no idea how you read as well as you did. I didn't know if there was cuts. It didn't look like there was any cuts. This Omaha Productions is incredible. How long have you been thinking about this concept? And is it just every step of the way you're just loving it? Because it has to be a blast to do all this. It's been a lot of fun. And real quick, you mentioned the trivia game is called College Bowl. Believe it or not, I had an hour pronunciation meeting with, like, my coach every morning.

And I'm like, I don't know what that word means. Tell me how to pronounce it. And here's how I need it spelled in my monitor, right? These are my New Orleans slash Tennessee phonetics, right? S-U-H. She's like, I don't know what, I'm like, just spell it that way. I can pronounce it. So yeah, you don't have to read it. I was challenging, but fun, but the kids were great and they were playing for scholarships. Pat, it's been a lot of fun to be on this side of it, right? For so many years, I was always, you know, kind of had to be in everything. I'd never really been a part of something where I could kind of be in the background and sort of providing counsel and

resources and support. And it's just been fun to be on that side of it, be around another great team, got some great teammates, if you will, to use the football analogy. And we're trying to create positive, uplifting content that celebrates community. And to me, there's a lot of great stories to tell that way. And it's really been a special run so far. Wow. I think it's time. You know what I mean?

I think it's time, Peyton. All right. And, you know, this guy right here, when I get into the NFL, I am drafted to the Colts to play a position I didn't really know that well, punt. But Bill Pullian said, I thought you were athletic enough, you'll figure it out. That next week, we get shown around the facility, kind of just get shown around the facility, and we go into the locker room

and we're sitting in there and holy shit, there's these monsters of men walking by, and I'm kind of sitting next to Austin Colley. Austin Colley's right next to me. I'm sitting here. Donald Brown, right here. Fili Moala. We're just kind of hanging out, watching all these guys.

And guys are coming by, and they're introducing themselves to us. Dallas Clark comes by. It's like, oh, damn. All right. I remember him from my brother playing the video game. Dallas Clark playing. And his busted-ass fingers because he never wore a glove or anything. You're like, oh, that good old farm boy.

That's right. Yeah, and Jeff Saturday comes by. It's like, nice to meet you jeff damn those blue eyes right oh hell that those things cut like very nice to meet you yeah and then there's like you know a little shorter guy i've said this before look like would have been my uncle if my uncle was black and he goes hi i'm gary brackett nice to meet you it's like all right gary nice to meet you man i did not expect middle linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts. Rutgers' absolute dog, by the way, on the field. And I was like eye to eye with him. I'm like, Gary Brackett, this must be the smartest son of a bitch of all time.

Turns out he was on the football field. And then this guy from the back corner of the locker room comes walking over, had those southern things. What are those things that go around sunglasses? What are those? Croquis. Croquis. Croquis. I don't know.

You know, you know. Yeah, croquis. The glasses were down. Had like khaki shorts on. It looked incredible. Had loafers on. That was really nice. Came walking over, puts his hand out to all of us and says, welcome to Indianapolis.

My name's Peyton or whatever. It's like we all literally just were like, no shit, dude. But that moment all the way through, you were humble with your teammates. You were cool with us. You literally, I mean, I was the punter for the team. Nobody had a clue who I was. You invited me to shit, took me in like a teammate and a family man. Like you have done things right forever.

So for what I'm about to say, I'm very honored to be a part of. Peyton Manning and I are getting into business together. We have officially agreed alongside Omaha Productions to simulcast six big-ass college football games this season. We will be on ESPN2. The main cast will be on ESPN. Omaha is obviously helping us along the way, and we will be running it. Peyton, you're the fucking man Thank you for the opportunity Thank you for the business And I think we have to

I think we have to Celebrate Payton Ah, we did it. All right. I mean, I almost had a heart attack there. I haven't done anything since SummerSlam. Should have done more there. Peyton, this is awesome.

We appreciate the hell out of you, buddy. Peyton, thank you enough, man. Looking forward to it. You're the best. It's an honor to be your teammate again, if you will. And you will kill this. You know this. And everybody's fired up to watch.

I can guarantee it. Well, we appreciate it. I'll be working directly with Peyton and Omaha and nobody else. We will have, I think, creative liberty and freedom to do whatever the fuck we want. And I am so honored. Thank you, man. I appreciate you. Have a great Hall of Fame day.

Have a great Hall of Fame weekend. And we'll see you around, boss. Thanks, Pat. You're the best, pal. Thanks. Ladies and a great Hall of Fame day. Have a great Hall of Fame weekend, and we'll see you around, boss. Thanks, Pat. You're the best, pal. Ladies and gentlemen, Hall of Fame, Peyton Manning. Yeah, Peyton! Here we go. Howdy, baby.

Here we go. Howdy, baby. Here we go. Howdy, baby. Hey, how about you guys? Here we go. Howdy, baby. Howdy, baby.

Hey, toxic table. At Ty Schmidt at Boston Corner. We'll be seeing on ESPN2 six times this upcoming college football season as we have partnered with Omaha Productions, Peyton Manning's company, for a simulcast slash watch-along that we get to control, basically. What a life, huh, boys? Yeah, incredible.

Unbelievable. Hopefully we can wrangle maybe the Hawks for one game so I can watch Kirk's Dogs on a Saturday night. Man, they're about to be in a big game. We're only doing it for big games. Every time the Hawks take the field, it's a big game. In Iowa, maybe.

If Torrey Taylor is stepping on the field, you're 100%. He will be. He will be. A lot probably. They will actually be more than anyone. It's a defense. Jack Campbell. Maybe we get a Hawkeye game. Maybe. Maybe.

Why don't they earn it? Torrey Taylor's going to try to earn it. Maybe the rest of the boys will try to as well. Offense needs to earn it. Offense sucks. It was so boring last year. That's why Torrey Taylor was fucking electrifying. That's why you get a good punter, by the way.

Yeah, defense, punting, special teams. Who says no? Nick Saban said that's not how you win football games anymore. He did. He actually said that exactly. He did. And he said last year was a rebuild year for them. He did say that, too.

National champions. That's unbelievable. Probably a couple of road tag games, if I'm not mistaken. Aton Diggs won half of the Hammer. Done. Cowboys. Aton. I mean, pretty big deal.

We're in business with old Omaha ESPN2, I guess. This is a big deal. Just living the dream, dude. Something new every day. Fucking comes up and bites you right in the ass And you go That was awesome That was awesome

Yeah Why'd it bite you in the ass Just to wake you up Surprise Wake you up like Hey you're not dreaming This is real Oh so it's like a pinch

But instead for you Because you're a cowboy Yeah I was thinking about I had a horse fly On your ass Still doing that cowboy thing Yep Enough

Yeah Are you Yeah As long as the fucking president Is still getting COVID We Still doing that cowboy thing. Yep. Enough. Yeah. Are you? Yeah. As long as the fucking president is still getting COVID, we got to do the cowboy thing, right, Tony? Well, we don't have to worry about COVID anymore, Connor. What? There's a new one. There's a new disease they're peddling.

Jeez. He wants that big museum. We need to move on. Tony. Okay. What is big museum? What are you talking about? I don't know.

I meant hospital, but I said museum. All right. Let's move on. We don't know anything about that. I'm happy you are still the COVID cowboy because you're right. We still need to be cautious. We do need to be cautious. We still need to think about it.

We have been on top of that since day one. Wear your mask if you can. You don't have one on right now because. Well, six feet away. Oh, so social distance as well, you're saying. Wear your mask, social distance. Wear goggles when you can. Joining us now is a man who has also survived COVID a few times.

And we are incredibly proud of him for that. He's won a college football national championship. He's a college football icon, this guy. Super Bowl champion, all-time leading tackler for the Green Bay Packers, the face of Ohio. Ladies and gentlemen, A.J. Ha. A.J., how you doing? Oh, good.

I heard the big news. Is Peyton coming to town at all? I assume that we could if we really wanted to leverage him, we could. But I'm not sure if we will do that or not. The volunteers are playing. Tennessee going to be a big game? I know they got sanctioned. They are going to be good this year. No, they got sanctioned because they pulled those McDonald's bags out from underneath the table and said, hey,

got a cup of double cheese, extra cheese, you know what I'm saying? That's what Brew was saying to the boys. Yeah, it's a whole new era right down there. Got a good team. Maybe we'll get Peyton in there. I don't know. I feel like he's done enough already for us, but I'm excited, AJ. Your big ass is obviously going to be flying over from Columbus for that. It'll be in the Thunderdome.

And look how far we've come, AJ. Wow. I mean, the fact that it's on ESPN2, that's crazy. Yeah, I think so, too. Do they know what's going to happen? No. But also, quick follow-up. I'm not sure it was guaranteed to me that everyone's on ESPN too,

but I was told probably ESPN too. Okay. So in rollout, we say ESPN too. And then we potentially get ESPN too. There's a chance this goes to ESPN news. You know, cause college football, there's a lot of games on at the same time. True. But I was told ESPN 2 potentially for most.

What about ESPN Plus as well? Well, then why would we do it then? You know? No, I'm saying they do it on both when they show it on Plus and 2. Oh, yes. I was doing everything. Yeah, it's on there. On the app sometimes too as well.

Technically, they're not on ESPN 2, but on the app like live and you can scroll and find it. See what we're doing right now? Put that graphic back up. Look down there at the bottom, AJ. What's that say? More details as they get figured out. Bingo. A lot of that going on right now.

No, that was not an Omaha production script. That was ours. And I think they feel the same way. We're just pumped to make good shit, I think, you know? Yeah, absolutely. And they've, you know, ever since the Manning cast, when I went on there, you know, Peyton, I think is putting a good word for me a lot. But like, I think after the Manning cast, the people that run Omaha, we're good with that Foxy, the people that run the Omaha is a lot of really impressive motherfuckers, like the resumes of people that either,

I don't know if they have a stake, part own, or work for at Omaha. Very, very impressive crew. Like I get a text from somebody with a name on it, and then I Google the person. I'm like, holy fuck. Did Peyton put them all together? Did he recruit them and put them all together or what? I have no idea.

Like at some point I'd like to have a full sit down and maybe Omaha will help produce that with their entire thing. But like, I would like to know how it all came together because it is a efficient,

it's efficient too. Like when we deal with some companies and I'm not just talking about when we simulcast and make licenses deal, we're talking about advertising deals,

not currently, just in the past what has had to happen a lot of companies don't understand what the fuck we are right they know that we're popular like oh hey people watch this show because their kids tell them or something so they know that we're popular and then when we start talking to them the conversation like oh these motherfuckers have no idea who we are how we are what we are like this is not going to work like this is never going to work the Omaha people for how established the, what we are. Like, this is not going to work. Like, this is never going to work. The Omaha people

for how established the motherfuckers are that are running it, like, they were very much like, hey, like, let's just make this however, like, we just want you to basically do what you got to do. We will help out however you need to do it. And I'm, like, so thankful for that. So, for them allowing us their platform, which is basically, they're the ones that

negotiated with ESPN, right? To get that platform to happen. So, then they asked me to basically help produce it alongside them for it for with our crew like we gotta fucking do it you know like we gotta we gotta try to kill it there because i don't think the network would have ever done that you know so like i'm very thankful that omaha's doing it and peyton's crew's doing it you know and why wouldn't you if you're involved with good people that's the number one thing like even like money sometimes doesn't matter nearly as much if you know hey this might this has a chance to be really cool and you get to work with cool people why not like you said all the people behind the scenes are great yeah it should be fun i've turned down you know some

pretty large offers for this show this operation this company strictly because the freedom like anytime i talk to anybody at any of these networks that I chat with, every one of them say like, I wish we could do what you could do. And I'm like, well, you could have, right? At the beginning, all these networks just say no to you. And then you just kind of have to do it yourself. And then you kind of build that type of thing. But I understand what you're saying. I understand. I completely understand what you're saying. Everybody says that everybody's like, hey, that freedom of being able to do whatever you want. So there's been a couple times where we've been in conversation over the last year or so with a place.

And in the tone or in the writing, it's like final say of what happens is by whatever. It's a vote, 51-49 though. In the vote, I'm 49 or whatever. It's like, okay. It's like Raj over Judge Sue. Exactly. like, okay. It's like Raj. It's like Raj over Judge Sue. Exactly. Exactly, yeah. It's like this means nothing.

It's not 49%, by the way. This is 0%. That is not a, you are outscoring this percentage by 49 because if you have 51 and there's only two people, you see this is just a yes, no thing. This is not a percentage thing.

So I like the way you're writing that. So I've always tried to keep our freedom. Our freedom! I have. I honestly have. But there's definitely some things I've fucked up where people probably would have been able to make our operation much better. And because of the potential lack of freedom, I didn't get it.

So hindsight will prove all this shit to be right or wrong, but I'm excited for this Omaha relationship. Yeah, why not try it? You might as well. Chad Johnson goes in there and has a boxing match. I thought he looked very good, but he even said, okay, shoot or shoot, I'm going to take a chance. It was going to be fun.

I had an opportunity. It was fun. Let's go do this. Those watch-alongs are tough, though, some of them. Yeah. It'll be a good time. Also, six is a lot more palatable than having to, like, hey, you have to do this for 17 weeks.

You have to do this for every single week of the college football season. I think that is a good place to start. I don't know if you know your guys, Ty. I don't know if you know any Iowa games. A lot of Big Ten games are on either Big Ten Network or Fox. Yeah, I know. I'm just asking. So I think that's why we don't know the games yet.

We know a few of the games that we'll do, but a few of the games aren't decided yet what time it's going to be or who's going to be the... That whole thing is still up in flux or whatever. Hey, do the Hawks play on... You guys play noon on ESPN.

You guys play basic ass? No, they'll get a decent amount of... We're not doing a simulcast on ESPN News game. Seven. Come on, Ty. Listen, this ain't fucking Northwestern Illinois, okay? Hawks are never playing on ESPN News or ESPN2. I called one of those games.

Did you? You killed it, AJ. FS1, yeah, back in the day. Hey, what are you going to bring to the table whenever you come over for these? What do you mean? Charcuterie? You know. Got a nice shark tray maybe?

Are you bringing your college football national championship ring? We got to have one of those on camera. We have to have some legitimacy to people that are just tuning in. I don't know if I have it. Shut up. I can talk to Pistol. It's back home with Pistol somewhere. Okay, maybe just bring Pistol with it on. He sits right behind you. Have his hand over your shoulder

and he'll show it off like engagement photos. You should tackle one of us onto a tackling mat every time we're first on. have his hand over your shoulder and he'll show it off like engagement photos you should tackle one of us onto a tackling mat every time we're first on okay that is something we have thought about are you willing to do any physical activities yeah I'm very good at like unskilled grunt labor

alright so I'm thinking like if something good happens we have an alumni from said school where that person has to accomplish a task and then that determines a giveaway oh so what is like what do you mean exactly how would that work said school where that person has to accomplish a task and then that determines a giveaway. What do you mean exactly? How would that work? At the Thunderdome, we're going to have a lot of fucking shit. A lot of room for our teams.

I haven't even thought about it, but yeah. That would be very easy. There's a second story, right? You've got to have a slide down to the first story. Well, already. Fireman's fire pole that'd be cool put a map put a map below just spoke some real truth there too all these fucking new concepts we're thinking of know that we potentially don't get in thunderdome till 2025 okay you want a fire

pole sorry about it not gonna be able to get it till 2027 well this fucking guy asking about a fire pole can we get the hog house finalized this guy's just been snoozing over there you did hey for two three months that you pawned that off on something else okay yeah it's very easy to get answers it is yeah when you're persistent it is when you're not there and you're not in the thing and haven't seen the space it's very easy to go back and forth and try to get stuff ordered. But we got some stuff going. I feel like AJ did not put his hands with the fingers into the Hawk House planning until he knew probably when Hawk House planning was going to have to happen. No, no, I did.

I just didn't communicate well enough with you of exactly what we need. Well, there was no planning beforehand. There was conversations about what was there, and then there was nothing. I saw, like, it was like a stage zero has been completed no it wasn't from him okay it was from like uh architect they drew it out or whatever and they just arbitrarily put fake things in there and they're like how does this look it's like i don't know i could have fucking done that i mean we that is that is no problem at all is this real and they're like oh we're still figuring out the thing it's like

oh so you just showed me a room that we designed okay got it all right i get it yeah i saw the blueprints but then when you came in hey cracking the whip no it wasn't it was just he was starting to really it was shaping it i don't think he thought about the hawk house once is what i'm saying until it came time to really outline it by the way putting it together it's gonna be sick that thing is gonna be nasty isn't it? Thank you, Hawk House. I sure hope so. We'll see, man. I want to get there, too. I'm going to add a few pieces once I get there and I see the space myself.

I have a few other things I want to add. I get a call. Was it a text or a call about the turf field? A text for a while, yeah. I was looking at a sky shot of this place. It looks like there's a 30-yard field there right outside where the Hawk House is going to be.

You mind we put some turfs out there so we can pull some sleds in there? Yeah. I don't think we can, though, because it goes into the basketball court. No, outside. Outside, outside. Yeah, we can do it. Yeah, let's just – Let's go.

Yeah, I thought that's what you were talking about. I was talking about that, and then right in front, like the transition from the weight room into, like, I didn't know what that room was. That goes into the big studio, though. If we had a turf, like, 20-yard field there, you could do a lot of stuff right there and then jump right on the mic. Well, we can just make that turf.

No, because the basketball court. Like the old Bengals. Sorry, we got an NBA-sized basketball court. Like the Bengals' indoor practice facility we used to be. Yes, with that little turf inside. That was a great turf field to warm up on. So maybe we just make the whole basketball court that. Anyways, we'll figure this out in the future.

Okay. But we can't wait for that. We're very thankful that Peyton has extended that opportunity to us, and we are going to try to hit an absolute dinger with it. Speaking of hitting a dinger with an opportunity, this man became the general manager of the Chargers. He had to withstand a location move, a full team flip, finding a new face of a franchise and program,

and now he has a team sitting in a spot in which a lot of experts are saying, these motherfuckers are about to go on a run. Ladies and gentlemen, the general manager, the man who is responsible for getting me into the NFL, from the Los Angeles Chargers, Tom Telesco. Yay, Tom! Thanks for having me on. How have you been, pal?

Busy offseason, training camps taking place. It sounds like everybody thinks you guys are going to win the Super Bowl. Life's got to be good, Tom. Jeez, when you're a GM in my seat, it never feels like that. You look at the depth chart on the wall, you see all the holes, and you're in training camp seven days in, and like everybody else, you get some muscle injuries, but it's been good. It's bed seven practices, two fully padded practices. You start to get a little bit of feel for where your team is, but still really early, but so far, so good. What is training camp like for the GM?

You're just trying to figure out numbers at all times because a lot of my teammates have obviously been let go in training camp because a tight end gets hurt and you have a lot of talent at corner. And although this guy, really good at special teams, really good at corner, it's like you're actually our fourth guy. We've got to lose you to bring in another tight end. Are you just always trying to do the math to see what would happen how would happen are you just playing it as it goes no that that's a big part of training camp we're you know we're at a 90 man roster 90 man limit

we're at 90 and as you have injuries during camp we have to make sure we have enough players in different positions to work not only practice but pre-season games so you're constantly going through those moves and you have to think of ahead of where you're going to be. That is a part of camp. And then, you know, the other part, which is really big, I mean, our offseason program, it's good. It's relatively long, but you can't see everything you need to see in OTAs when you're out there just in t-shirts and shorts. So training camp is really the time where players are really competing for spots, competing for a role, competing to be on the team, whereas OTAs, it's really just instructional. So just trying to watch our players, watch them develop.

Certainly on defense this year, we have a lot of new faces. We could have five or six new starters on defense. Those guys have to kind of come together, you know, get used to communicating together, playing together in this defense. There's a lot for us to work on right now. What is, like, Khalil Mack, what is his presence? What has that brought to your defense? Obviously, he and Bosa coming off opposing edges is a scary thing to think about,

but what's it been like watching him earlier? Freeney Mathis, huh? Yeah, I mean it's, you know, you rush the quarterback and cover behind him, and Pat, as you know, having Freeney Mathis all those years, that's how you close out games. So having Joey, having Khalil, it raises the defense it has to and you know khalil hat definitely has a presence about him um it makes our tackles better facing those two guys every day in practice um i think on tuesday's practice we couldn't block joey um he kind of

wrecked practice for us on tuesday but uh yeah i mean that's it's two premium edge rushers um and usually you need more than two but having those two guys can really help us get to where we want to go. Like I said, it's a passing league. You've got to be able to rush the quarterback. You've got to be able to affect the quarterback. Certainly the quarterbacks in our division, we have to. So Khalil has been a huge addition for us. We're talking to Tom Telesco, general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Hey, Tom, Aaron Rodgers yesterday, he said a lot in a podcast, but in a post-practice interview, he talked about how, and now he's a player, and all players have basically the same view on preseason games once you've been in the NFL for a couple years. So we have to take that in consideration when we say that. But he says the practices are so much more important than the games. In the practices, you're seeing guys compete against similar skill level, maybe what NFL games will look like, same type of schemes,

because in preseason games everything's so vanilla and fake, and in practices everybody's kind of going. Do you view it that way? Like every practice is potentially a Super Bowl for a guy that's on the bubble, or is the preseason game mean a little bit more for a general manager than it does for maybe an old vet who's sick of football that doesn't pay him anything and isn't worth anything? Yeah, I think it's unique to that player, you know, whether you're looking at a veteran player or young player. But for young players, yes, practice is very important.

So are the combined practices. We're going to work with the Dallas Cowboys for two days and those would be great work. practices we're going to work with the dallas cowboys for two days and those would be great work but you know if you're a young linebacker a young running back a young safety um and any player trying to compete for a role on special teams the games are very important you know we can't simulate uh you know full speed full tackle in practice and certainly can't simulate that on special teams so the games are important for those guys for the veteran players i think practice is more important. You can control the tempo a little bit.

Our work with Dallas will be tremendous because the tempo will be higher than a regular practice but slightly lower than a real game. And we can control things too. In a game, once the ball is kicked off, we can't control anything. So that will be great work for our veteran players. But the young players, they really do need the preseason games. Tom, you guys have had a big response as far as fans at your practices already. I know we're only seven days in, as you said, but were you guys expecting this? I know the Rams won the Super Bowl this year.

You're in L.A. You guys have a giant following that seems like they're excited for you guys. Yeah, I know. We're trying to draw in those 18 million people, whatever it is, in this area. Our attendance has been pretty good at training camp, but it just feels different. Oh, no. Oh, you just want mute.

You just want mute. You want mute. You want mute. Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, are you back? Yeah, I'm back. You said it feels different was the last thing we heard. You looked awesome there.

Hey, listen, you were going. We said it feels different was the last thing we heard. You looked awesome there. Hey, you were – hey, listen, you were – I mean, you were going. We couldn't hear a fucking thing, but, I mean, you were all the way in there. You said it feels different, though, and I think Matt Money Smith told us this yesterday as well with your fans. Yeah, I think we see it. You know, there's definitely a buzz. You see all the Charger gear that's kind of come on the last couple years. I think people are excited.

I think we – you know, last year we did not make the playoffs, obviously. We play an entertaining brand of football. And I think we have an identity to what we do. You can see what our offense did last year. We need to keep improving on that. But trying to get a defense to match that was a big part of our offseason. And I think people can feel that. I mean, there's a lot of football fans in this area there's you know 18 plus million people you know and i think people

are excited to watch us play what's the next step that the franchise justin herbert's gonna make you think like where is it do you think it's off the field do you think it's on the field because he's spectacular i don't know even though like with josh allen we saw him year one to year two massive jump year two to year three incredible leap year one to year two, massive jump. Year two to year three, incredible leap. Year three to year four just kept getting better and better. In comparing anybody to Josh Allen, who is currently the odds-on MVP favorite, and I think the new prototype, Justin Herbert, big, massive, fast, his own right, his own person.

Like what are the leaps you think that you're going to see from him? Or is it just same Justin Herbert football? We just need to do some other things differently. What do you think it is for Herbert this upcoming season that we should be looking forward to? Yeah, it certainly won't be the same. I mean, his intelligence, his drive to be great, and his humility, that kind of drives him to be the player that he is.

And he still has such a long development to go. I mean, we're still talking about he's the youngest quarterback in our division still. So still a lot of learning and experiences in front of him. And he's come along so fast. I mean, he's developed so fast. I mean, just seeing him this year in our offense, obviously the second year with Joe Lombardi, and it's probably a little bit more comfort factor.

And I think you can see that you know probably have to ask him but when I look at it I think every young quarterback whether it's high school college or pro you know you kind of start off with you know how do we run this play and then as you get more comfortable and you know the offense more you get more of the why this is why we're running this this is what they do and this is how we're going to counter it so I think you're seeing more of that from Justin this year, more input in the offense and just a better feel. But he's still a young player in this league. He's going to keep getting better.

I don't see him leveling off anytime soon. Youngest in the division. You've got to be so fucking happy, Tom. I'm sorry. Go ahead, AJ. You've got to be pumped. It will follow up on that. I was going to say, like, how nice is it to know that you have your franchise QB

in place, you drafted right, and that's something that if you don't have, you are constantly searching for until you find that guy. You have him now. Obviously a lot of other stressors and things to do with the roster, but it has to feel pretty good. It does. I mean, you know, we've kind of had to transition from the Phillip Rivers era to the Justin Herbert era.

Luckily, there wasn't a big gap. You know, if you go back in chargers history over time i mean they had dan fouts forever and then they had a little bit of a gap there before they got the stan humphries who went through super bowl here and another gap before drew breeze um if there's that gap's too long then there's somebody else sitting in this chair doing this interview so um you know it was really important especially moving into this this new stadium in los angeles um the amount of marketing you have to do off the field to get people excited in this team and it really starts with a quarterback and that's where it all begins and to have that face of the franchise we have

that um and then we also have a head coach that really has an identity with this football team and if you get those two right they really take your organization to great heights i think that's why everybody's so excited about your program tom Tom. Honestly, it feels like the Chargers have a lot of momentum and popularity in conversation. I think that's not an easy thing to do, especially with the Rams in town with what they were able to accomplish. And I think it's because of the team that you've built. You should be incredibly proud of yourself, man.

I know we're all pretty pumped for you. I'm also very thankful that you hired my guy, Pat White. Let's go. I saw a photo. There's a photo sent over today from Chargers camp. He had a pencil in his hand. He looked very diligent in there. I love that you brought him in.

And I texted you this. I said, hey, we would have followed him into Baghdad whenever we were in college if Pat White said let's do it. I think he's going to be an incredible coach. I think he's going to be an incredible person to have around. I love the decision you made, and I appreciate you for that. I think you can see that. He was an intern coach with us last year at training camp,

and he really stood out to Brandon and to a lot of us. And I really think there's something, too. When you're a quarterback, you just look at the game through a little bit wider lens, and obviously you already have that leadership ability that you were as a player. I think that's why so many quarterbacks, they go into coaching, and you see why quarterbacks end up a lot of times being head coaches in our league. And, you know, Pat has a pretty bright future.

He's got a great staff to work with here. He's going to work with all different positions on offense and kind of see how far he can take it. But we're excited to have him. I can't wait to see the photos of him slinging it in warm-ups. It's going to be good to see. It's going to be good to see. Tone Diggs has a question for you.

Is that all right, Tom? Yeah. Go ahead, Tom. Tom, you've went O-line first round in the last two drafts. You brought in Filer. You brought in Lindsley. How much of that is you were like, hey, we found our franchise. We need to protect him.

And how much of it is that you just think that that's where the games are won? Well, both. Obviously, I think it's really important for us to protect our quarterback. We have a franchise quarterback. We're invested in him. We're going to make a real big investment in him in the future. You have to be able to protect him up front. So that was a big priority

and Brandon said it when he came in from day one. Offensive line and defensive line. That's where the games are won and lost. So we had to make an investment in the offensive line, but you can't do it all through the draft. You can't do it all through for agency. We had, you know, try and mix and match that. So that was a big priority for us.

And it's not just protecting the quarterback, but when we have a lead in the fourth quarter and you got to run the ball to close out a game, very important. It's also important in the red zone to be able to run the ball, you know, especially when teams know you're going to run the ball to close out a game. Very important. It's also important in the red zone to be able to run the ball, especially when teams know you're going to run it. So, yeah, those typically back-to-back offensive linemen, not maybe the most exciting picks in the world, but we feel like we have some weapons here,

a receiver running back and tight end, but we've got to keep protecting our investment in the quarterback, and that's what those guys can do. What was that? Was that two years ago the four-minute offense killed you guys? Was that two years ago or was it last year as well i don't remember there i think like you guys had four games one i think it was two years ago with you know a couple different stay in bounds clock run no timeout run like situations that just kind of popped up at the end of a game that i think it was herbert's rookie year before staley yeah i think it was herbert's rookie year or whatever a couple of different kickers pat you know all right all right i mean we didn't need to i mean the kickers take

enough heat but you're right there was a lot of that there was a lot of that that happened and i enjoy like you guys attacking head-on like hey this is where we obviously need to get better and i think those next steps and next steps are why everybody's like incredibly excited for you guys i forget justin herbert he did something a couple weeks ago. That was last year. He kicked the football. He's handsome. I mean, is he out in the community every single day?

He's going to become a full-on rock star for you guys, right? I'll tell you what, part of being a franchise quarterback is handling all that off the field. He handles it unbelievably well. At practice, we have different position groups every day designated to go over and sign autographs. He's over there all the time when he doesn't need to be. He loves giving back.

Again, that's part of that job as the quarterback is giving back to the fans. I think he's even mentioned before that he was one of those kids at those type of camps. I was one of those kids you know at those type of camps i was one of those kids at training camp with the buffalo bills watching up at the fence with my dad watching the players play so um you can't forget that when you get to levels like this and you know he doesn't he probably never will a lot of stars on your team right now you guys spent a lot of money this offseason i liked it hey i liked what you guys were doing i like whenever you know people are aggressive i like whenever you see an opportunity, you go for it.

JC being there. Obviously, Khalil Mack. Offense, I mean, we're all in right now, huh, Tom? Is this from top down? And is that something you're told or is it you have to ask? And how does that come to be whenever you're shaping a roster and thinking about spending money on people? Because some teams are doing it and some teams are not, obviously.

And it's a very clear separator, I think, in overall success, Tom. Well, I mean, from my position, we're all in every year. There's just different ways to build it. And a lot of it determines where your team is at that point, what contracts you have at that particular time, what your cap space is, and where your cash is. And things lined up this year for us as far as having a good amount of money to spend in a year that we felt like there were some players at positions that we wanted to get better at they were available and then it's a matter of just

making sure you evaluate the right players you're signing the right players and they come in and perform so um it lined up for us this year really did just having the space having those players available you know the cleo mac trade that just doesn't happen very often. That presented itself, and, you know, we jumped on it pretty quick. You can't predict that. Frequency worked out well for us the last couple years. Even, like it was mentioned before, you know, signing Matt Fowler to us was a big deal. You know, to get a guy like a tough veteran guard to build a wall in front of our quarterback.

He's also a pretty good athlete. He's smart. He's smart. He's tough. Those are really important players for us to add. So it's not always just the big star players. You know, it's players like Matt Filer and it's players like our return, punt return player, hopefully this year, DeAndre Carter, adding players like that to help us with a big deal this offseason.

So, yeah, it worked out well for us so far. We'll see how this plays out in the season. Yeah it's on but when your fans see you guys making those moves like the fans get like excited like you know i mean there's like it's a full momentum train you guys have because you're doing everything that i think every fan of a team would want their team to do we can't wait to watch we hope it obviously brings a lot of success good connor yeah tom another one of those guys you kept around was derwin james how is that hold in process when it comes from like the front office and him still being there and we're players like coming up to you like hey give this guy his fucking money or are you just kind of under the understanding that it was gonna happen

sometimes you do get that this is not our first hold and i know the first time we had one it was it was unique and different um had never had that before i mean everyone's first hold in. I know the first time we had one, it was unique and different. Had never had that before. I mean, everyone's had holdouts, but, you know, hold in was relatively new. This situation has been a lot different just based on the player and who he is and how he stays engaged. It's a process to work through in this league. It happens, but you just kind of work through it. But it hasn't been a distraction. And, you know, we'll get it figured out. It's just taking us a little longer than I would have liked. But on our end, we'll get it figured out and get him ready to go.

But he's been all in, fully invested in everything that's going on. And, you know, he's got to get this finished up. Tom, what was it like back in the old CBA when people did hold out? You'd have big vet O-linemen hold out for the first three weeks trying to get some extra money or just to miss camp. Like, what was it like trying to navigate those waters? Do you like it more now? Yeah, and follow-up, do you like it? I guess it kind of depends on the situation with the players.

I mean, what's kind of nice about it is the players are still engaged in meetings and working out, but obviously you want the players to be on the field practicing. I mean, there's a reason why the whole team's out there. But, you know, we also know know this is the nature of the business um as far as you know the business side of it typically you like these these things done in the spring um get all the contract things out of the way early and you get the training camp and it's just football but when you're doing an extension for a player yeah every now and then it could bleed into the into the training camp it happens uh this isn't the first time you just got to work through it um then we're going to get there but uh

yeah you just got to make the best of situations don't you think though like it's so fascinating that they're there because you guys are doing business right now and business is sometimes a little negative every once in a while because nobody wants to hear what they don't think of themselves on both sides or whatever you know so them being in the building i'm happy to hear that it's not just like an uncomfortable situation it's very professional but every time a player like jensen tears his acl like in a two thing like the players it's only going to continue you know so i'm happy that it's it's becoming like a functional negotiation it feels like you know is that right yeah and yeah and these these can't be cookie cutter negotiation everything is a little bit It's becoming like a functional negotiation, it feels like. You know? Is that right? Yeah.

And these can't be cookie-cutter negotiations. Everything is a little bit different. And you just got to be able to work with it. You have to be able to adapt and move. That's just the way that it is. And this is the situation we're in right now. We're going to figure it out. And we're going to adapt and just make it work.

And that's part of the GM's job is you got to make things work. It may not always be pretty. And you may have to move some things around, but it's our job to make things work and make sure the head coach has the players he needs to win with. But we'll get this figured out. Hey, you're the man. I got nothing but faith. Last question here, Tom, from Ty. Tom, when you look at the point about you guys going all in,

we always hear about teams, how good they are on paper. And you look at your team, and you guys are are unbelievable on paper and that's largely a testament to you um and and you alluded to it earlier you know you're looking at the depth chart and you see like a couple holes how do you temper expectations like internally and kind of you know give yourself a kick in the ass when it's probably pretty easy to look at what you've done this offseason and the team you have and be like, how do we get any better? Yeah, you know, the term I hate is look good on paper. And I know the offseason, there's no other way to look at it than how you look on paper.

But I hate that term because what we don't want to do is we're a good team. We're not just building a team where it's just a portfolio of players. And you can look at that listing of players and say, oh, look at good players you have to really build a team a team that can win together play together that's got some toughness and grit and can handle all the adversity ups and downs of the season you can't really see that on paper so that's what we're trying to build a team not just put a bunch of you know flashy players together and there to me is a big difference between those two things so um yeah but as far as expectations, I mean, we want expectations. I mean, a lot of us are in this business because we're competitive

and kind of like the pressure of that. Like I would much rather be playing in a game and competing in that game than watching from the outside. I'd rather go in, win or lose, than just be watching as a fan. That's just the way that I'm wired. I'd love to be a part of that and compete with that that but it's all about building a team and not just having a good looking roster on paper and then you just do this and you know you wait for the you know for next year so that's not how it works the competitive drive is the thing that has you

you know away from your family and in the office for hours and hours and we all appreciate you doing that and i wanted to follow up on your first answer though where you said you know you're trying to build a team aj and i and i think every ex-player that has ever had a microphone in front of them always preaches like hey a team getting along means a lot like a team is a very important x factor that you cannot judge and the teams that stink by the way probably don't like each other and the teams that are good like each other and they have to fit do you see some other places that clearly have never been on a team sport before that are putting their team together in question like that's obviously never going to work and then is that something you have to actually think about when you're interviewing prospects how will they fit into our locker room and how do you go about testing that

yeah always always thinking about that as far as how they're going to fit um and i'm not so it's not so much personality everyone's personalities are different we're not scouting personalities but um you know which what what your goals are what your traits are um how you interact with your teammates um i mean all of that has to go into you know do they fit for us or not more than just the X's and O's of the scheme. And I can only talk about the teams that I've been on through my career and how they were built. And, you know, watching the teams that you were on and seeing how everybody got along in the locker room. And they might not necessarily all love each other's personalities, but you guys really love each other as teammates.

And you play for each other. And that means a lot. I mean, I can't I can't scout that. I can't put a value on that at all. But when you're going out there, the guy next to you, you're playing for the guys next to you. And that is a lot of that's developed through time. If you get the right players in the building and have the right coaching staff, which we do. I mean, Brent is great with the players as far as building that camaraderie around the

team. But a lot of that kind of builds on its own. If you have the right people in the building and that that's where we think we are right now. Yeah. But eyeing a turd is a fucking incredible talent as well you know that's real aj don't you agree with that oh yeah for sure because you get you get one little trickles down through the whole locker room younger guys like listen to it and then all of a sudden they think that's how it's supposed to be and then bang that can take over like that i think personally yeah but that's the

interesting thing is is you two guys are in the locker room you many times you know that before i do because you're down there every single day i'm not walking to the locker room you know i'm not in the individual position meetings you guys know before i do and so that's why i think it's important for me is to make sure i you know keep in communication with our main veterans and just get some feedback from those guys. I love getting feedback from our players as far as what they're seeing, especially from guys that came from other places, but just to kind of get a feel and a pulse for everything

to make sure everything's going in the right direction. That's smart. Open dialogue is an incredibly intelligent thing. I think a very transparent organization is normally the one that trusts each other the most which normally brings in everything i can't wait to watch what you guys continue to accomplish in los angeles thank you for joining us tom yeah thanks for having me on it's great thanks guys do you miss hard knocks not at all This guy who just joined us live from training camp here in Westfield?

Yeah, I believe so. Indiana, I think, which is north of the city. Beautiful complex. The Indianapolis Colts have been putting in work. This team will look brand new with Matt Ryan at the helm. Stories are great coming out of training camp and OTAs already. The man who pieced it all together with an incredible southern accent, ladies and gentlemen, general manager for the Colts, Chris Ballard.

Hey, Chris. How you doing, Chris? Thanks for having me. I'm good. Yeah, how's training camp? How was the practice today? Did you get after anybody's ass out there, Chris, or what happened? No, no, but it was good.

It was a good practice. No, I'll let that up to it was good it was a good practice no I'll let that up to the coaches it was a good practice though hey a lot coming out right now about the demeanor of the team with Matt Ryan leading it about how you know practices have been quicker and for those that don't know that means there isn't as many repeats or fuck-ups or realigns it means things have been kind of bit more sharp and crisp with Matt Ryan. Is that an accurate assessment from outside looking in? And what has it meant to you and the team that you've built bringing in this guy who Jim Irsay said a Navy SEAL, an astronaut, has joined us? Have you felt that thus far from Matty Ice?

There's definitely a sense of urgency, you know, with Matt. You know, you felt the same thing when Phillip was in here. You know, where mistakes are not, you know, you're not going to walk by. He's not going to walk by a mistake. He's he's he has a way he wants things done and he's going to he's going to make sure that the guys know it. And, you know, when when you're playing that position, it's it's critical that you get that leadership. So it's been fun to be around. Look, I mean, as hard as, you know, and Matt's, you know, he's demanding, but he also enjoys it.

He brings a lot of joy, you know, just playing the game, which is fun to watch. You mentioned sense of urgency that he brings that. That's something that I feel like you can't really coach into somebody. Do you look at that when you're talking to potential people you may draft or bring into the team? Yeah, I mean, look, you want guys that want to win. And, you know, you take it for – like I think when you're young in this league, you think it's going to last forever.

And the opportunities to win, it's hard. I mean, like it's hard to win one freaking game in this league. And, I mean, I think sometimes that gets washed over. And when you're young, you don't, you think it's going to last forever. And, you know, now we're dealing with a, you know, Matt, who's been in the league for 14 years, who's been to a

Super Bowl and knows how hard it is to win. And the urgency you have to have on a daily basis to get yourself ready for the is to win and the urgency you have to have on a daily basis to get yourself ready for the season to win it has to be there and you can't you can't you can't miss those opportunities when they happen we missed it last year I mean we missed it and we had an opportunity and we we jacked it up and you know here we are again and I feel a team that it's not just Matt. There's a lot of guys with a sense of urgency.

Yeah, let's start talking about some of the pillars of that team because, you know, Shaquille Leonard is an absolute stud. He's a defensive MVP candidate most years whenever he's playing. He's a guy. And he came on and talked about Ibraflus' lead defense, about accountability and set the tone and we're going to work. Eberflus is gone, but now it sounds like the offense has a similar person in Matt

Ryan. How have the teams been getting along offensive, defensive-wise? How has Frank been managing it all? And what do you think about the OGs of your team now? It seems like just yesterday they were young pups. Now they're grizzled veterans, Chris Ballard. I know, I know. I mean, that's what the, I mean, that's the funny thing. And the grizzled veterans, Chris Ballard. I know. I know. I mean, that's what the – I mean, that's the funny thing.

And the grizzled veterans that are 25 and 26 years old. I mean, you know, we were so young in 18. I look back on it, how young this team is, and we're still pretty – I mean, in general terms, we're still pretty young. But these guys have been through it. I mean, they've been – you know, those guys that have been here in 18 and 19 and 20. You know, they've been to the playoffs. They've won a playoff game.

You know, they've been disappointed. Oh, yeah. So there's this great sense of urgency for that. And Frank handles – like it gets a little chippy. I mean, it's training camp. I mean, when you're competing against each other, trying to make each other better, it's going to get a little chippy. But, like, you know, Frank does a good job with our team. Like, you also got to be disciplined.

You got to have some damn self-control. And let's don't distract practice by being stupid. Chris, is Jonathan Taylor going to rush for about 2,500 yards this year? We sure hope to watch. He's pretty good. Hey, what was that story on a draft day? for about 2,500 yards this year. We sure hope to watch. He ate pretty good. He ate pretty good. Hey, what was that story out of draft day? Didn't Jim Irsay, like, tell you, don't you like him?

Don't you like him? Like, go get him, and thank God you did. I mean, this guy, workhorse and loved. He comes out last out of the tunnel. I seen it. I seen it. Well, the best – I'll never forget what we did. Because, remember, that was during COVID.

So I'm at home and we're all on this zoom call and we had been talking about Jonathan Taylor for a year. And I remember Jim just out of the blue, he had said a word and out of the blue, he just, Hey, Chris, don't you like this guy? Don't you think you should get him I was like okay it's all I need to know let's let's move up how many yards you think he's going to get what's a successful year are you even thinking about that are you tracking that like what's the conversation with Jonathan Taylor just get better from last year yeah I mean look just we gotta do whatever it takes offensively to win and score points so you know and that's the great thing about Jonathan. If Jonathan has 10 carries in a game and we win,

you're not going to hear anything out of him. That's what makes him really special. If we ask him to carry it 30 times, he'll carry it 30 times. So I think Frank will do, and the offensive staff, do whatever it takes to win. Wide receiver group. Talk to me about it. Talk to me about it.

Hey, because I've talked about it. I believe Pittman Jr., we got to see it live. He's explosive. He runs great routes. I think he's always on time. I think he will get along with his quarterback. Not as proven as maybe some others that are available. He's out there.

T.Y. Hilton, obviously he was on the team last year. OG of the room, not this year. Reggie Wayne is the wide receiver coach. So you've got an OG in the room there. You draft Alec. How do you feel about the of the room, not this year. Reggie Wayne is the wide receiver coach, so you've got an OG in the room there. You draft Alec. How do you feel about the wide receiver room, or is that still something you're looking at? No, I mean, so far so good.

I mean, Alec actually had a big day today, and Ashton Doolin the last couple days has been outstanding, and so has Paris. And then we've got some other guys. So, look, we'll always keep our eye, you know, if we get a chance that we think we can get better. But we like the group we have. And then, you know, the combination of that group plus, you know,

Naheem just gets overlooked, you know, in who he is and what he can do and the mismatches he presents for the defense. So I know they'll be creative in getting him involved. And we really like our tight end group. You know, we got two, you know, really three young, talented players along with Mo Alley. So, you know, we think at the end of the day, we're going to be pretty good offensively. Hey, Alex, a dog, huh? He competes. You know, he's not like that's the one thing you look for in a rookie

is how aggressive are they early. You know, I'd rather have to hold them back. And, you know, with him, you know, from day one he's been aggressive. And you like to see him. He's confident. And he's smart. And those traits usually, with his talent, those usually transfer to end up being a good player. Your three young tight ends are huge, huh? Because Mo Ali Cox, big dude.

He's been a favorite of every quarterback that you guys have had there because of how big he is, how athletic he is. You've got two more young guys that are massive as well, right? Is that on purpose? Well, I mean, you know, you like them. I mean, those big targets, I mean, they're always open. Hey, I've heard from camp these are some big motherfuckers. They're like, hey, tight ends are big dudes right now.

Like big, big guys, right? I mean, that had to be a plan. Yeah, Jelani's a big athlete that can really run. And then Ogletree had a catch today, a one-hander over the middle. Like you wouldn't – I mean, I better watch my language. You wouldn't believe – I mean, this kid is talented. So, no, it's a good group. What do you think he's going to do, hold out and renegotiate with you

if you compliment him right now? What were you going to say there? What were you even going to? Well, I was going to drop an F-bomb, but Connie gets pissed off when I cuss. Connie. And so, like, after every press conference, he'll go, well, Chris, you only had two curse words in that press conference, he'll go, well, Chris, you only had two curse words in that press conference.

That was pretty good. I said, well, actually, we're making progress. Yeah, well, I appreciate you respecting Conte. He's a hard worker. But you've got big bodies at that tight end position. And, like, how much is Matt Ryan getting to say on how things are going? Does he want to say? Has it been like a natural reaction and natural relationship with him? Well, to be honest with you, like before the draft that we gave him players to look at, um, I just said, Hey, take a look at these guys. Tell me, tell me how

we can use them. And you know, I mean, look, you're, you're talking about a guy that's potential hall of famer that's been playing the game a long time. I mean, why wouldn't you use that resource? I mean, he knows. He's running the show. At the end of the day, the players, you know, they know. Players know. And a quarterback that's doing it this long, he's got such a great feel for it.

So there's no doubt we have discussions. Chris, is that common uh around the league to do that maybe before the draft say you have your quarterback send him a group of guys and say hey tell me what you think i don't know i mean you know when you when you've got a guy that when you've got a guy that you you know this has this much experience why not you know why not pick his brain and get his thoughts he's seen a lot been a lot of around a lot of great players he know what he knows what they look like uh yes tom telesco this and i'll ask you as well is it weird not having the hard knocks folks around you know is it rather everything

be on camera huh it's it's you know it wasn't like this time of year it it wasn't bad. It was during the season. And to be honest with you, it was not because we were, they didn't, like training camp, they bring like three or four cameras. They got a huge crew for training camp. For us, they only had one or two cameras and three or four people. So it was never, you know, it was never one where, you know, you said, damn, I wish they weren't. I never got that feeling when they were around yeah everything we do see i've done screwed up anyway so everything we do anyways it's like we're in the light anyways what the hell i mean yeah but you were editing i understand and i think and i've never asked you this you were about to give a great

speech on one episode oh yeah you had you had you had the ball you were in the give a great speech on one episode. Oh, yeah. You had the ball. You were in the middle of the group. It was like, all right, we're about to listen to this. Buffalo. Here we go. Good speaker. This guy's a good speaker. We're going to hear how, you know,

Chris talks to the team that he has assembled in a big moment when he's forced to do so. And what they do, they cut the scene, moved on. Chris told them don't show any of the good stuff. That's how I think – that's what I think happened. No. I just stopped right after that. I just like right at that moment, I cut it off.

Like I just walked off. See, that's the bullshit that you want us to believe. How is training camp going though? You said you're getting a little chippy. How's the vibe? Team feels good. They know expectations are high, right? They're always going to be high, but it feels like this year,

especially with how Ursae is, we all know I love Jim. Literally everybody that has a mic in front of them loves Jim Ursae at this point, but he's put it out there. Jim is not a guy who's just going to sit back if the team's not good. Expectations are what they are. You've spent money. You've brought people in. How is everybody handling that,

and how is it being addressed, do you think, Chris? No, I mean, these guys work. I i mean that's the one thing you like i mean like you just got to work and you can't get in front of yourself like this is like training camp right now is the priority nothing else like just let's work let's get better let's get good at the things we need to be good at during the season this is when you get hardened. I mean, like our schedule, the schedule's changed. I mean, even when both of y'all played in the league, like it has changed dramatically. So the days that we actually get out and get work, we got to get the work done.

And that's the good thing about this group. They work. That's something I never worry about with them. You know, coaches don't have to, you know, prod and yell. I mean, these guys come to work and they're professionals and they want to you know they want to win are you taking notes all day every day at practice are you just an observer and go back watch the film later how are you deciding who erigo how's he doing how's he hey how's he doing he hitting the ball well he's hitting the ball well he's really good he's really good hey him and luke are they're they, I mean, both of them,

you almost take them for granted, you know, because they're automatic. And he's doing, like he worked hard directionally with a lot of the things. I don't, he had a good year last year, but I think his standard's so high. So he spent a lot of time, and he's really, like today, was outstanding. He was really good. You know the thing that stinks for Rego? And it stinks, but it's a compliment of the human that he is. He's such a boring punter because he's putting the ball exactly where you need it,

fair catches normally, not letting any return game happen at all. His misses, very rare, but his misses are, you can't really tell because the camera isn't embarrassing him. And he just does his job so good all the time, which is all you're looking for at the punter position. He just doesn't get enough of the low drop, let me hit this thing 67 yards so people can ooh and ah over it because he's bought into the team principle.

I am incredibly impressed by that guy i fucking love the way he does his job almost i laugh now because vinny like you remember if you'll think back like luke and rego were rookies and i remember vinny you know vinny i mean he's gonna tell me what he thinks and he's like fuck ballard he goes you know you're gonna give me a guy's never snapped in a fucking game. And I'm going to get a punter, you know, that's a converted kicker. Thanks a lot. And I just looked at Tom McMahon and said, hey, Tommy, make it work.

Yeah, you got to figure that out. You just said fuck twice, by the way. Conti's thinking about it. But you were Vinatieri there. So we all understand. You know, we all, I think you'll get a pass on that whole thing. I miss Vinny. He like, there's for the leader he was. And the one thing I could all, and I love this about people that are just blunt, honest, like the ones that kind of beat around the bush. Like, just tell me, like, I had no problem with Vinny. Vinny would tell me, like I'd be walking down the hall, and if there was something wrong, I was going to know about it. And I loved that about him.

Hey, it's your first time being a GM? Yeah. All right, well, you're just going to let this shit fly, huh? All right, we'll see you. We will see you, pal. Go ahead, do your thing. So right there on that film, right there on that film, it's a punt rep. I don't know what period you guys are doing punt,

either at the beginning or in the middle. You're looking right now at who potentially can also do that film, right there on that film, it's a punt rep. I don't know what period you guys are doing punt, either at the beginning or in the middle. You're looking right now at who potentially can also do special teams, right? That's every rep counts for every single young guy at that training camp right there. So in punt teams, it's the most important one. I mean, you've got to be able to protect. And finding one is your starting unit on the punt team, but then also getting some depth when things happen during the season. So, you know, Bubba Ventron's really good and he does a great job. And it's critical that you, you know, that these guys get enough reps

now and in the preseason and live reps in which we go live so we can make sure we're protecting and covering the way we should at our standard. Chris, isn't it an interesting thing because all these guys have been stars in every team they've ever played for, so they never play special teams. People talk about it at Alabama where a guy who's starting something is also covering on the kickoff team. That's because Saban knows, hey, this guy's going to probably have to fucking cover a kick next year.

It doesn't happen like that at a lot of colleges because not a lot of colleges can take a hit to their starter so these guys who played football their entire life are now being asked to play a different sport special teams is a different it's it's like putting in golf it's a completely different sport you're kick sliding I know you're a running back you're kick sliding you have to shed a blocker you have to go get in coverage lanes and you're trying to teach people that in training camp while also trying to judge whether or not they'll lose a game because that shit will lose you a fucking game i mean it's like absolutely the things are so it's interesting how you pick a team and how you have to think about all that shit at all times has to be a lot chris isn't that's a lot to think about You can't. Like, special teams, it'll win you.

You'll win two or three games a year just on being good on special teams. And it's an area that we put teeth into. You know, we take it serious. And we expect guys to play. And, look, from the get-go, we tell them, like, you're going to play. I don't care if you're a starter. You're going to play on one phase. We're going to play and look from the get-go. We tell them, like, you're going to play. I don't care if you're a starter. You're going to play on one phase. We're going to be good on teams.

And Frank does a great job making sure the guys understand it. We don't get any kickback. They understand that, I mean, it's a very important part of the game. And guys make careers. Yes. I mean, they'll have careers if they're good on them, and especially if they can play on all four phases. There's some

guy right there that you're watching that has zero snaps in the nfl who's just now learning how he's going to pay for his family's life for the next like eight years it's a pretty cool thing and then there's some guys that think they're too good for it and it's like all right man good luck in the xfl dude like that's well look that's when they figure it out so all of a sudden they get here and they're used to getting all of a sudden their third string. And they're looking up like, well, I'm not getting a lot of reps. And I'm like, you're about to. Don't worry.

Get in the punt unit and you're about to get a ton of reps. And every rookie and every shitfax, you've got to be able to play on them. You've got to be good on them. Man, that was awesome to hear from you there. And I would have loved to be on a team in which you were the GM because I would have been dropping seeds on who I thought should make the team. Hey, I know he's not great at coverage, like maybe on the secondary, but this guy can really – hey, don't you think you saw him flying down there?

And with Rego, he's hitting fair catches. All you need is good protection and a gunner or two. Should be in a good spot. I'm excited to watch you put that team together. The boys have some questions for you. Is that alright? Oh yeah. I love the boys. I know you're very busy. I love the boys. Alright, let's go straight to

Boston Connor. Connor, your question for Chris Ballard. Yeah, Chris, you got studs all over the defense and then you add Stephon Gilmore who's the defensive player of the year in New England. No big deal. How has he kind of fit in there and also has he become kind of like a teacher, mentor almost for some of the year in new england no big deal how has he kind of fit in there and also has he become kind of like a teacher mentor almost for some of the younger guys just in a way i mean much like matt he's not as vocal as matt um but just the way he works

like he made a great play today on a slant um on a third and seven and and had a big collision just like guys that have played and played at a high level and know how to play, that rubs off on other guys. It's been good for these other young corners to be around Stephon. Kenny Moore. What are you going to do?

Are you going to pay him all the money? Quentin Nelson? Quentin Nelson needs to get paid. Kenny's got to get paid. Jonathan Taylor needs to get paid. Kenny's got to get paid. Jonathan Taylor needs to get paid. Oh, yeah, Pittman, especially. He's about to have a breakout year. And they're paying wide receivers earlier than earlier.

If Alec Pierce has a good first couple games, let's get him locked in for a little bit. I mean, are you trying to make my job harder? I just like to see players get paid. No, but they're – And look, I love to see players get paid no but no and look i love to see them get paid too yes i don't ever uh i don't ever i want good for players i think it's great when you know when they get to their second contract sometimes it's with us and sometimes it's not um but even if it's ones that you know we have to move on from and they get another contract

somewhere else i'm happy for them because that means they've done their job and we've done ours. You mentioned the training camp schedule now being different, I guess, than the old CBA. Is it harder or is it easier, you think, to evaluate these guys and figure out who's actually going to make the team? No, it's harder. You know, you don't get quite as much work. And so you've got to be really diligent, you know, you don't get quite as much work. And so you've got to be really diligent, you know,

with your practice sessions to making sure you're getting enough good on good and then players that you really see ascending, making sure they're facing good players. So, you know, we're purposeful in our practice and how we do it. And, you know, this first week we're getting through and kind of seeing where everybody stands. But as we go forward into these preseason games, we'll start even getting a better look

and making sure we're getting the guys in position to see how they perform against some good people. Tone. Chris, I've always been intrigued when players don't make a team and then another team immediately picks them up? Is that because that's a guy that you've scouted before so you know you like them, you know that you have a spot for them? Do you have guys at camps?

Do you pay attention to what's going on at other camps? How does that happen so quickly? Our pro scouts have done a tremendous job. I just think of the guys we've claimed. From Kenny was a claim. Glowinski was a claim. Muhammad was a claim. Glowinski was a claim. You know, Muhammad was a claim. Pierre Desir was a claim.

And so we study all the preseason tape. Like, and you might only get a flash. I remember at Kenny, you know, there's about 35 plays, and you saw enough to say, okay, it's worth the shot. And we needed help at that, you know. We were at a point where we just needed help. So we were going to claim anybody that hit the – you know, anybody that we thought had enough talent,

we were going to claim them. You know, we're a little more selective now, but we study other – you know, all 31 teams during the preseason very hard. And then our pro scouts are involved in our college process, so they've seen most of these guys in college. And if there was a guy we like that hits the street, you know, even if we don't claim him, we make sure we bring him in and work him out and possibly get him on our practice squad.

Last question here, Chris Ballard. We can't appreciate you enough for your time, dude. This is very, very nice of you. Go ahead, Ty. Chris, guys getting injured is obviously just part of the business, but is there any – I mean, last year you guys especially kind of got snake bit early in camp. Is there any part of you that, you know, like obviously you got –

the team needs to get the work in, but I assume, like, are you ever getting kind of like a tight asshole walking around like, hey, let's just get to the season so we don't start slow and have, you know, four of our marquee players go down? No, I mean, you got to practice to get better. I mean, this game – I mean game i mean look i mean it sucks when you know when somebody gets hurt but you gotta get you gotta get the work in um now we can be smart about it from a contact standpoint but there still needs to be a certain amount of contact that

you have to get ready for this season get your body ready for this season so no i look you gotta practice you gotta work to get better. And, you know, our staff, our training staff and our strength staff and the coaches, they do a good job taking care of our guys. Sometimes something unfortunate happens. It is what it is, and you move forward. Hey, we appreciate you for your time. Good luck the rest of camp, pal. Thank you.

Appreciate you having me on. Are you sleeping anywhere? Like, are you in dorms or hotels? Are you at home? What's the deal? I stay at home. Soft? I stay at home. Soft. I stay at home.

Soft. The league's gotten soft, AJ. You hear that? I think he's smart, actually. Yeah, incredibly intelligent. If I could have done that, I would have done that immediately. Have a great camp. Keep building.

We appreciate you. Ladies and gentlemen, Coach GM Chris Bauer. Thank you, buddy. Yeah, Chris! Joining us now, live from training camp, a general manager that has been on this show far too many times because he is far too kind. An incredible conversation every single time he pops on here

because he seems to be a regular human who has a big football brain. Oh, yeah. He has sculpted a team in Buffalo to become a favorite to win the Super Bowl this year. He's a... He's going to be a trailblazer. People are going to be trying to do what he has done with the Buffalo Bills

for a long, long time. And I don't know if it's going to be possible because you've got to be great at golf, I heard. You've got to wear polos. You've got to have, you know, maybe have a beer or two every once in a while and your name's gotta be brandon bean what's up man uh that's a pretty good intro there pat appreciate that hey you deserve it thank you for joining us live from training camp how's life how are you feeling is there a little bit of

we just talked to obviously a couple gms is this a little bit more of a relief once you get to training camp, or are you still in the middle of every day, high anxiety, got to get a lot of shit done right now? Well, you don't have a lot to get done. It's kind of that time between there's no game. So coming up next weekend, we can start watching other teams, their rosters. If you need guys that may not make their roster that you may look, you know, for a position to fill.

Right now you just enjoy practice, but you hold your breath every time there's a guy going down or a hard hit or something like that, especially one of your precious guys. Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, go ahead, AJ. I know you're a big O and D line guy. I saw some comments before where you were excited about watching those guys when the pads come on.

What has that been like? I know you've had some O line injuries early in camp, but what have they been doing? Yeah, that's the best part about training camp. We do all this T-shirt and shorts in May, and now with the ramp-up period, you've got a week. I remember when John Fox was our head coach, we'd come straight out of vacation, 8.30 practice,

and we're doing goal line. You know, just a day and a half ago we're on a beach somewhere. How miserable can we make this? There'll be two of them, too, first day. Yeah, exactly. And then go take a shower, eat something, come back and let's do it again in the afternoon heat in South Carolina. It's going to be hotter, yeah.

It's going to be hotter. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, my God. But, no, it's been good, AJ. It's been fun to see. Unfortunately, we have been missing some O-linemen, as you said. The D-line have probably won more battles to this point, which usually, as you know, the defense kind of starts ahead of the offense,

especially running twists and stunts and games. But it's been good for a lot of our backup linemen to have to go against, you know, Ed Oliver, obviously Bond, Russo, and those guys. So it's been a good start. It's getting to that point, the dog days of camp, where they're tired of hitting each other. You know, we've had a few elbows, a little extracurriculars, but it'll be good next week. We play, we actually play Ballard's group in Buffalo next Friday. So looking forward to that or next Saturday. All right. We're not going to give any competitive advantage to anybody then. We're not going to talk about what we know, what we don't know. How many times you've been on the show? Four times, three times, four times, five times. Do you know how many times? I think three

or four. It's always a good time. How come i'm just now learning about sal capaccio i'd like to know why you know that didn't come up in our conversations in the past i am legitimately bummed about that well we're trying to keep sal under wraps we don't want to get him let him get out of buffalo so don't promote him too big that's a smart thing he talked though about josh allen uh in that fight. And you're talking about the dog days of summer right now where guys are getting sick of hitting each other. And that was the first day of pads.

And it was a goal line drill. And I heard it was the last play of the practice. So there was probably some, you know, emotions flying in there. That fight happens with Josh and a D lineman, a veteran. Your immediate thoughts on the sidelines are like, oh, no, no, no. Or do you like seeing like Josh Allen is a guy still? And you need that type of attitude and personality and moxie, I think, at that position. We've all learned, like, are you indifferent there or are you, oh, shit, Josh Allen just got, you know,

a quarter of a billion dollars and he's our guy while watching that? Well, once he's out of the fray and he's healthy, I'm good with it. You know, you do – your heart goes into your throat there for a second to make sure he doesn't end up on the bottom of the pile. Knowing Josh, as big as he is, he can fend for himself. You don't, you know, obviously want your quarterback necessarily in the middle of fights, but that's who he is. You know, he wants the ball in his hands.

He's not afraid. I always kind of get on to him not for bad throws but for taking hits so um it's it's one of those things he i almost think he does it to drive me nuts a little bit and that's just who he is so i'm not going to try and change him that's for sure yeah there's being hard here let me yeah what do you want to do you want to get that's awesome uh speaking of him wanting the ball we've seen him run isos and powers and leads. I mean, it is. He's six foot whatever.

He's bigger than everybody, stronger than everybody, faster than everybody. And just like other quarterbacks are able to run, his ability is not only being able to be fast and outrun people and jump over people, he can also run through people. And we saw a lot of that last year, right? I mean, he wasn't taking big shots, but he certainly wasn't shying away from potentially running somebody over that was Dayball's offense he's gone now new play caller how has that process been and how do you go about picking who the

next person going to be in Josh Allen near who everybody thinks is the next prototype in the NFL yeah I mean um Dayball did a great job here with Josh first four years, kind of helped get this program off the ground on offense. And fortunately, we had Ken Dorsey here, who was here three of those four years. And Sean and I were familiar with Ken back in Carolina. Obviously, he had a great history in college and played some pro. But Ken's a grinder. He and Josh meshed well, and although we did look on the outside, we ultimately decided that Ken was the best fit, not to have to change the offense, the terminology,

and just kind of move him up. And then we brought in Joe Brady, who had great success to be the quarterback coach down at LSU and then was in Carolina for a stint. And Joe's been great as well. And with the running part, we have to be smart with that. Josh does want the ball in his hands. He does want to run.

But, you know, ultimately he's learning. Again, I get on to him not for throwing interceptions. I get on to him for taking unnecessary hits. So we will run him. We'll keep that element there. But Josh knows to be smart, and we just got to – that's the main thing, keep him upright, keep him healthy. What about your defense? I know both your safeties are banged up early in camp i know you added von

miller it'll be fun to watch that guy like what have they shown early on in camp yeah i mean really um you know we're down poyer and hyde right now so we got hey that's not where i'm reading on twitter that's a massive shot this early in camp. But I guess Capaccio told us silver lining is you have depth at safety that now you're getting some reps that you wouldn't normally normally get with those guys. And Boyer and Hyde will be back because, damn, that's a devastating blow early to the to the defense. That is unbelievable. Almost that you put together, right? Yeah. I mean, you don't want to lose those two guys.

They're the backbone of the secondary, especially Trey White's on his way back from the ACL that he hurt last year. So we count on Micah and Jordan. Luckily, Micah's working his way back in. Jordan's probably another week or two away. But it's been good to get these young guys some experience. You never know when that's going to happen. Jaquan Johnson, Damar Hamlin, Nick McCloud, those guys are awesome young up and comers. So we're,

you know, that's the, you take the good with the bad, but, uh, overall our defense is probably one more, as I said earlier, you know, the D line has probably been the biggest effect, uh, kind of affecting, you know, offense, just getting too much penetration on the quarterback. But, um, it, that's also good, you know you know, for Josh not to be able to stand back there and play seven on seven, have to move around in the pocket, have to scramble until Mike plays. How will you view the preseason game? Are you going to play any guys?

It seems like nowadays, and Aaron alluded to this in his conversation, that these preseason games have evolved over the last couple years. You know, it did seem like preseason games were viewed differently just a few years ago even by the fans now it feels like everybody's in the understanding like can't have anybody get hurt want to see what we got a little bit but there isn't really any expectation when you and Sean sit down do you have to scope that out is that a decision that has to be made or is it kind of already figured out who's going to be up who's going to be down it's really a week-by-week decision. You know, we want to make sure, first off, you know, we come out O-line.

You know, if our O-line is not fully healthy, you know, to go play, we're not going to stick Josh out there behind a backup O-line and have him, you know, take a chance on an unnecessary shot. So, ultimately, we'll try and make sure that, you know, if most of our ones can go, whether that's week one, week two, week three, whatever it is, we'll make sure that they're kind of working together. Receivers as well.

And then on defense, kind of the same thing. We'll play more of the guys as long as we kind of have the full unit. Right now the D-line and linebackers have stayed healthy. We're missing the two safeties, so we'll see how they are as we go along. We won't play them a lot, but we'll try and get them out there and at least get them some game action before we get into the regular season hey what you're saying is making sense and when do you think that change happened because back whenever you're talking about those 8 30 a.m day one goal line drills it wasn't like that at all for preseason games it was like you're building up for the third preseason

game then the fourth one is off now it's like almost everybody in unison is like, let's do this smart. We don't need to do this anymore. Do you think there was a thing that happened, or is it the rules that got put into place? What do you think it is? I think it's just people are evolving and realizing that, yeah, you may not be hitting your stride week one. You may still be kind of working to who you are, but sometimes you're still doing that anyway. And to lose a guy unnecessarily, because we all know there's a lot of guys out there trying to make their team.

And they may take an unnecessary shot. And once you get to the regular season, everybody understands it's a long haul. So I think it's just people evolving. You're also doing inter-squad scrimmages, going against other teams, trying to get work without actually taking guys down. I mean, even practices of Bob, we do way more thud up than we do take to the ground. We did a goal line period today, take to the ground. But for the most part, we don't do a lot of that. Back in the day, as you know, rarely was there a thud up period.

That was like a day off to not be taking them to the ground. Yeah, anytime shells were set, it was exciting news. And then thought and let them go was a big deal. The change in all that and still football getting better and better has to be quite a win for those scientists in this. You know what I mean? They're like, told you you didn't have to die. And all these ex-players, you know, that are like, the game's gotten soft,

they also think to themselves, like, we knew it when it was all bullshit, when we were in there puking and getting our faces running. We't have to do this is a lot of people are saying no that's how you got to win and now it's the complete opposite i think it's brilliant go ahead ty brandon i assume going into every year you have pretty high expectations for your team but like with the success of last year and then going into this year with you know all the hype surrounding you guys again like does it almost feel different do you look at the team differently this year with, you know, all the hype surrounding you guys again, like does it almost feel different? Do you look at the team differently this year and really, you know, think like, oh, we actually, we do have all the pieces to go win a Super Bowl?

Well, I think, you know, the last few years, once we, you know, we made the playoffs with Josh's second year, we traded for Diggs that year and we'd had a pretty good year offensively. We thought that year, like, listen, not saying we're going to win it, but we thought we had a team if we got hot and the ball bounced our way. And then, you know, thought that year, like, listen, not saying we're going to win it, but we thought we had a team if we got hot and the ball bounced our way. And then, you know, ultimately that year, Josh's third year, we made it to the AFC championship, did not beat Kansas City. And last year, kind of the same thing, got hot late in the season

and kind of made a run. So we've looked at some of the areas that maybe we fell short, hence the Vaughn Miller move. We just felt, you know, we couldn't we couldn't quite – we were getting pressure, but we weren't getting the guys like Mahomes down. Closers. Yeah, we needed a closer. And so to use the baseball term, we brought Vaughn in to help us close the game,

and that's the biggest area that we thought, hey, if we're going to get over the top, we're going to need somebody like that. So hopefully that helps us. But, you know, we put a lot of expectations on ourselves, probably more than, you know, anyone on the outside will put on us. Tom Telesco mentioned why he brought in Khalil Mack. It's because they, you know, he grew up here in the Colts. And Franey and Mathis, if there was a fourth down at the end of the game and a desperate drive for another team, like guaranteed one of them is getting a set.

Like it was just a matter of fact almost. Like this game is over. That's why you have to pay them so damn much. They know that too. You know what I mean? They understand like, hey, I understand this isn't the first three quarters type of deal, but when this game needs to be over, I am the reason. And there's only like four or five of those opportunities through a season too

where guys can really come in and make a complete difference. And in those moments, everybody's like, that's why you pay that guy. That's why you pay that guy. It's a beautiful thing. That's the game, though, right? Everybody's throwing now, especially the team. I mean, the Chiefs that you're talking about, they're throwing the ball. Every offense is throwing the ball.

Those defensive end in corners, is that just going to be the price tag, you think, for defense as we continue to roll forward in these contract structures? Yeah, I mean, it's a passing league. The rules are set up for offense. Obviously, it starts with having a quarterback, but after having a quarterback and protecting yours, you better go get the other ones

down. You better get his ass on the ground. If not, he's going to beat you. Like I said, we've run into that the last couple years. We're right there with Kansas City, but we just didn't get Mahomes to the ground enough. And, you know, you talked about Telesco, Justin Herbert. I mean, what a game those guys played last year at the end of the year with the Raiders.

I mean, our game was good against KC. That game may have been just as good. So he's done a heck of a job and smart move by him going and getting Khalil Mack. Do you watch other people's moves and strategies, or do you have to just kind of focus on your own shit? No, I study. You know, there's a lot of smart people in the league, and I definitely don't have it figured out for sure.

So you try and learn from who's doing it well and then try and learn from who's doing it, you know, not so well. Hey, I want to let you know, Super Bowl favorites. I mean, that means the GM has done pretty good, right? I mean, that is what that means. For sure. That doesn't mean, Pat, that don't mean shit. You know that.

I mean, it's not going to help with, like, the absence of a ring in your legacy or anything, but they will say a couple times, this team is super. They were the favorite. I can't walk into the owner's office and say, I know we're 7-9, 7-10, but they said we were Super Bowl favorites. Can I get that contract extension? Yeah, you're right.

It is a production league. I get it. But, God damn, that team is ready to go. Go ahead, Connor. Yeah, speaking of good GMing, with all the, you know, rising contracts with the quarterbacks, do you ever, like, look at yourself in the mirror and think, like, God damn, I'm a smart son of a bitch for signing josh allen before all these things started rising are you already

thinking about the next one that you're gonna have to give to him no i don't think about it once that once i get them done i'm glad we get guys like josh uh signed and sealed trey white you know all the guys that we've been able to resign but no it's uh i don't you know look and gloat it's it's more who's the next guy? Who do we got to get ahead of the curve on? Because you're trying to keep as many of your pieces together as you can just to keep the continuity. It's hard, you know, especially after COVID with, you know, the cap going down.

Now it's working its way back. But, you know, we'll see. We'll see what happens. I asked – I forget who it was. Maybe Mike Greenberg, the salary cap guru for the Buccaneers. The salary cap, they give you what they think it's going to be, right? But there's these new deals coming in that might be, right? There's a chance we see a massive spike in the salary cap or no?

What do you think? You know, everyone keeps saying, agents keep talking about, hey, there's going to be a big spike. There's going to be a big spike. There's going to be a big spike. Okay, so that is something being talked about, yes. It is being talked about, but, you know, they still kind of regulate, you know, a little bit. So I don't know. And what happens is we don't know exactly where it's at next year. In December, we go to the labor meetings, and they give us a range at that point.

So right now we're left to our own just guessing and hearing things, asking the right questions. What's the new TV deals? What are the other new marketing deals, whether it's Amazon or all the various TVs? Yeah, Apple. So we're still more in the dark than I would love to be, but that's the way it is, and we just kind of deal with it. At the very expensive positions right now, it seems to be locked up.

Quarterback, you got somebody locked up. Defensive end, you got somebody locked up. And wide receiver, you got somebody up. Stephon Diggs, that deal continues to look like a great deal, but that was a must-have, I assume, because as soon as he showed up, Josh Allen became, like what, infinitely better overnight almost, right? Yeah, I mean, Steph's a a great player and part of it is fit you know and you know how's the quarterback and the receiver going to mesh and those two

from day one i mean steph came in here during the covid year where there was really no off season those two met for like three or four days in in may down in florida but other than that they didn't throw the ball together and it was weird instantly when camp started in a week or so you're like man these guys are already on the same page they're doing well and so uh why mess with something that's working so well you know that that'd be stupid on my part so glad to have Steph he's he's a dog he's a tough dude and uh glad we got him locked up for years to come you liked him immediately though remember because on our show is where you said we asked a question about like snooping around if you hear something's going on somewhere else,

if there's a chance that somebody wants to trade. And it was like when you talked about the Stephon Diggs trade, it was like, yeah, we heard there was potentially a problem. It was that you were very pumped to get him. He has lived up to everything you have wanted, I'd assume, as a football player and a teammate over there. Yeah, Steph's been great. You know, every situation's his own, and I've seen, I've been on teams where you had a player

that it wasn't working for whatever reason, you send them elsewhere, and they're kind of the best versions of themselves. And I think that's Steph. Not that it was, you know, I thought he was a really good player, talented guy. We had asked about him, as I told you before. Minnesota had said no, but they opened the door a little bit, you know, that year, a guy we had asked about him, as I told you before, Minnesota had said no, but they opened the door a little bit that year, a couple years ago, and fortunately we were able to work it out to get him here. Hell, yeah.

Josh is thankful, too. Yeah. You mentioned agents. You said agents are telling you that the salary cap is going up and all these deals. I would imagine since the dawn of time, agents have been telling GMs and owners that the salary cap is going up, right? Yeah, no doubt. They're always trying to tell you, oh, you'll have plenty of cap space. have been telling GMs and owners that the salary cap is going up, right? Yeah, no doubt. They're always trying to tell you, oh, you'll have plenty of cap space.

I heard it's going up to $235 million next year or whatever. Like, literally, this year it was going up to $208 million, and people are already saying it's going to be – some agents are already saying it's going to be $235 million, $240 million. I'll be shocked if it's that high. The agent coming in, I'm here – listen. Now, this is just couple reports. I got somebody in there. I'm here in 235, 240 maybe.

They're two and a half billion for the Sunday ticket package. That thing's going to skyrocket. We can get a deal done. Can we backload it too? That's hilarious to think of that taking place and you having to deal with that with every single convo basically. Oh, no doubt. It's part of it.

They're trying to get us to spend the money, which I get. That's no doubt. It's part of the, you know, they're trying to, you know, get us to spend the money, which I get. That's their job. They want their player paid. But, you know, ultimately, if I screw up and miscalculate that, they're not going to have to deal with it. I will. Are you going to have to do,

do you have to be leveraging in every conversation you have with everybody? I don't know if you do. I mean, I think, you know, my tactic is let's be straightforward and be honest. And, you know, agents are always going to shoot for the high side. We're not trying to shoot for the low. I mean, I think you just try and shoot for fair because, you know, if you sign a guy to what's a bad deal for him, ultimately you're going to have a problem in a year or two. It's just going to be blown out of the water. So, yeah, you're not looking to pay the highest, but you don't want the guy, you the guy going to bed every night going,

man, I'm an idiot. I signed a dumb deal. My agent screwed me. That's no good either. Yeah, because the value of a guy can directly affect how he feels about the place that's putting the value on him too. After the honeymoon, new contract, signing bonus phase is over, and you start seeing what other people are making, it's like oh these people these people think I'm trash

almost like that that starts creeping in that's a smart that's a good way to look at things by the way that might be why you're good at this Bean hey way to go way to go last question here we appreciate you go ahead Tony Brandon you brought in OJ Howard a pair with Dawson Knox is that because Ken Dorsey came to you and said, hey, I know Dayball liked to throw it around the yard, but I'm thinking about going double tights, maybe running a bit of triple option. Is that what happened there?

Well, you know what? It's funny. Honestly, the way I look at building offense is just trying to find weapons and really don't care if it's running backs, receivers, tight ends. It's just a way to give Ken Dorsey as many options as he can. In Carolina, we actually had Cam's first or second year, we had Shockey and Greg Olson. I thought it was just you had two big targets going down the middle of the field.

I thought it was easy for Cam to see. To add another big weapon, a guy who we got on a lower-cost deal, who was a former first round pick, had an excellent end of his career at Alabama, had an Achilles a couple years ago, has been down since, so give him a chance on a one year prove a deal and see what happens. Hey, we appreciate you, man. Can't wait to

watch your team. It sounds like you haven't changed at all, even though this guy's pieced together. The odds are on favor to win a Super Bowl. Hell yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, the leader of Bills Mafia, ladies and gentlemen, Brandon Bean. Thank you, Brandon. Appreciate you guys. Hey, you too, man. Enjoy

camp. I wonder if he's sleeping in a dorm or hotel. Still got a long way to go. Sleeping at the golf course. Scratch golf for that guy. At the club. Do the players stay in a hotel? Do they go to their normal facility? What is it? I, that guy. He's not at the club. So the Colts, do the players stay in a hotel?

Do they go to their normal facility? What is it? I'm not sure. I have not experienced this new. So their place is called Westfield, Indiana, I think, right? Yeah. Westfield, Indiana. They built this massive sports complex up there.

I don't know how it worked. It must have been some incredibly wealthy person had a bunch of space up there. Built up this strip mall plaza, this massive workout and sports facility, like literally overnight. I might be wrong with that. It might've been like a couple of years planning before it happened. But for the people of Indiana, this shit just popped up overnight. They have the biggest like baseball tournaments in the Midwest here, like out of nowhere, this entire town just kind of got created hotels things to do practices and training camp went there almost immediately upon a building so i'm not sure how

it goes i assume they stay in hotels and then they kind of just bike ride or golf cart around the the facility but it is beautiful and brand new up there aj brand how far is it from their normal facility uh probably like 45 minutes to an hour drive. Oh, okay. It depends on where you live around Indianapolis on how close this is to you. How close are they to the normal facility? Still like 15, 20 minutes?

Who? Colts players. So it depends where you live. Okay. You know how Indiana is. Yeah, true. Indiana is literally 30 minutes to everywhere. Yeah.

Well, the Saints had that facility at the Greenbrier. They don't use it anymore, but they have a big old indoor facility there and outdoor fields. Did you make a noise about the Greenbrier? Because the Greenbrier has the Governor Jim Justice's favorite chocolate chip cookie for sale. Those were absolutely delicious. I never, ever would I make some sweet old 90-year-old woman go heat it up for me and deliver me a glass of Moe.

Oh, you're talking about Nick. She was middle-aged, and she asked me. Well, you got a chance to try some of Governor Jim Justice's favorite chocolate chip cookies at the Greenbrier. Okay. I've been there. I didn't get to try any. That's on you. I should have ordered some poor old lady around to heat me one up.

They don't offer it up to bitch-made cats. Oh! Suck it. Buried, bro. Like Mr. Beast. Nick just got out the glass coffin, buried that thing 10 feet below you, and put you down. Yeah, that was the thing we remember most from the Greenbrier.

I think all of us, we hear the Greenbrier, we immediately go, oh, that's not the place that made me put on a rental suit. Remember that? I had to put on a size, like, 99 sports jacket to gamble. And they had to give me pants to put on over my shorts to gamble. In a fanny pack, had a lot of cash that I was going to go gamble. Couldn't get in until I put on one of their jackets and a pair of their pants. So we won't remember him for that.

Golf course was very nice, very difficult. Good times, people were nice. We remember them strictly because Governor Jim Justice's favorite chocolate chip cookie was for sale at every single tent and available. And, by the way, delicious. Quite delicious. It was delicious. Yeah, we had him at room temp, and we were walking around the little tent we were in. we got in a room temp and we were walking around the

little tent we were in we had him in room temp and nick basically stopped the lady dead in her tracks who might have been working directly for governor jim justice and uh she goes can i help you with anything uh maybe maybe a microwave for the cookie i think she was just saying like in passing nick was like actually yeah i will grab seven more too who says no and then also two percent milk please this lady leaves in the middle of the day comes back with these warmed up incredibly delicious chocolate chip cookies uh governor jim justice's favorite probably how he would serve them the first time right and how like oh these are these are my favorite and then a nice cup of milk while it's 95 degrees.

Ice cold. And we're sitting in a tent. It was an amazing moment. You lived like high society there, Nick, for a little bit. It was very nice of her to offer that. She was not suggested in any way. She was not coerced. Well, she did it for nobody else.

Strictly voluntary. It only happened for Governor Jim Justice. Jesus. And Nick Morota. By the way. Were those your favorite chocolate chip cookies? Hands down. Hands down. They Nick Morota. By the way. Are those your favorite chocolate chip cookies? Hands down. Hands down.

They were so good. That guy knows. How'd the governor make his money? He's a billionaire, right? Speaking of the governor, I looked it up from earlier. It was Johnny. John Kerry was married to a Heinz. There you go.

Phil texted me, actually, and said that. John Kerry's Earth, right? Any big Earth guy? I think he's... I don't know. I can't keep track of his hours anymore. Is he R.I.P.? Oh, that's John Kerry. No, John Kerry's not R.? Any big Earth guy? I think he's... I don't know. I can't keep track. I think he's RIP. Is he RIP? Oh, that's...

John Kerry? No, John Kerry's not RIP. Oh. John Kerry's still alive? Mm-hmm. That's awesome. Probably peddling for Saudi or something. W beat his ass.

Yeah. What's everybody's deal? What's happening? I don't know. I don't know this guy. W did beat his ass. Yeah, I know he did. In the presidential election.

Put him in the grave. Now watch me hit this drive. We will not stand. Yeah. All right, let's do some phone calls to get the fuck out. And burn this fastball. Yeah. Is John Kerry the one that said, get this Heinz ketchup out of Pittsburgh?

I don't think so. We need to find out who that was. It was your squad. What's the new company? Accrasure. Accrasure didn't say, hey, Hein Hines Kick everybody off your board From Pittsburgh in 2019 No Accrasure wasn't around

How do you kick How do you boot your board Like that I think it's a vote But didn't you Didn't you say like They got all new board members Yeah new money

Yeah there was a merger And that fucked everything Where'd they come from huh Kraft Kraft Shaitan Robert No

Where do you think they came from Khan Not Robert I don't know. Maybe fucking Asadi or something. No, it didn't Robert. What's your deal? What's your deal?

You've been wildly toxic lately. Yeah. All new money these days. And that's because football is only $35. Did Robert even earn his money? Is that what? Did Robert earn his money? Robert actually earned his money and then bought his wife's father's company and then

fucking changed the game. Read that in a book. Became friends with Jon Bon Jovi. Yeah. Jon Bon Jovi. And Michael Rubin. Oh, yes. The whole crew.

Jay-Z. Meek Mill. Sure. Is Connor a Bon Jovi fan? Yes. Who? Is Connor a Bon Jovi fan? He's just trying to peddle me into doing the gimmicks that he loves.

Oh, is this puppetry happening right now? I won't say it. Yeah. Is he trying to do this right now? I won't be a puppet to AJ's bullshit. Not anymore. Nuh-uh. New year, new me.

I'm not doing that. I enjoy when you do it. What's that banger Jon Bon Jovi created, though? Fucking. Jon Bon Jovi. Jon Bon Jovi. Jon Bon Jovi. We did it.

We got there. I wanted it as well, AJ. We all wanted it. It's been a while. It's been a while. Yeah, it's been a while. Dumb Monday. We did it. We got there. I wanted it as well, AJ. We all wanted it. It's been a while. It's been a while. Yeah, it's been a while. I'm sorry. We did want to hear it, though.

No, it's okay. Play the hits, they say. Yeah, yeah, exactly. It has been a while since the hits have been played. All right, let's answer some phone calls because I've teased it for three hours, four hours. And Hammer Down, were you betting this game tonight? I'm not betting this game. All right, let's fucking go.

Let's go, dude. It's NFL football. I've been on the Raiders since Monday. No spoilers. All right, stay tuned to Hammerdown. Everyone turns the better of the day. Let's go to the 5RNG phone line. Alex in Minnesota, what's going on, pal?

Hey, boys. Keep it moving. How we doing? All that bullshit. Okay. Don't you know. I got a question. Okay, I got a question for AJ. I got a question for AJ. When he was on that big Illuminati yuppity yacht, whatever,

how long did it take him to crash that thing like a golf cart? Oh! Dumped on! My God. What yacht was that on? That one in South Carolina with the dumps, right? Oh, yeah. If you call that a yacht, that wasn't exactly a yacht.

I was not at the helm of that. There was a captain driving that guy. Oh, Zito thought he was talking about the cult cruise that you go on. Captain Epstein. What was the captain's name? I'm tired. Let's go to the phones. He loved Columbus. He did. And he loved Columbus he did

and he loved sailing too the outskirts he was in the outskirts of the boat where are you I'm not I'm right in the heart of it oh of course

yeah way way from I actually am pretty far away from all the land Epstein bought up years ago oh yeah okay yeah and also how close are you to

Urban's little draft dance floor? About 15 minutes, probably. But there's two of them. I found out there was two of them after the incident. He was at the one I've never been to. Oh, yeah. Okay. For real, downtown.

Oh, you've never been on that dance floor, huh? No, the one I've been, there's two of them. I said there's one closer to me. I've been to that. I thought that's where he was. No, he was at the one downtown. The jaw pass? Sure stayed off.

Sure stayed off the dance floor. How long does it take if you use the tunnels under your house? I wish. That'd be awesome. This guy's in the fifth dimension. He is. What? Let's go to the phones right now?

He's in the fifth dimension. He's freaking out. What do you take to get there? Let's go to Ray in, well, we could expand upon some things. Just Google it. Should we call Jorah? Let's go to Ray in Virginia. Ray, what's going on at 5RNG Family?

Go to 5RNG.com. Use promo code MAC if you didn't receive 10% off your order of 5-Hour Energy shots. They get you from A to B. A being bleh. B being woo. Feeling good. What do you want to talk about? Ray in Virginia.

Hey boys, how you doing? Keep it moving. A couple of things. First thing, you know, we heard about Aaron Rodgers doing the whole Iowa thing. Now I'm just wondering, are you going to pull like a Doc Ellis and go out on the field on that and throw a perfect game? I believe that was LSD, but I do appreciate where your head is at.

I don't know. Is he tripping balls during the season, AJ? From what I've gathered, it doesn't seem like something you'd want to do every day, but I don't know. Maybe you could microdose. I don't know if you're microdosing ayahuasca. That would be, I mean, who knows? Science is doing new things every single day.

That's what dimension you're be, I mean, who knows? Science is doing new things every single day. Depends what dimension you're in, I guess, right? Well, what I've heard is you're trying to get the nine. That's right. I heard ninth dimension is where you're trying to get. What are you in right now?

Three. This is the third dimension, obviously. Come on, dude, wake up. I'm in five. Okay.

No, you're not. It's whatever dimension I think I'm in, right? No, it's not like an identified thing. Get out of here, dude. What is your problem?

Why do you got to fucking ridicule and minimize everything? You can't just change your dimensions all willy-nilly. This dude's minimizing the fifth dimension. You don't want to be in the fifth dimension, dude. Jeez. I'm on my way to the sixth. No, you want to get to nine, pal. You want to skip six.

Six is a big one, though. Six is pretty cool. Call Giorno, please. Let's get to this. I don't know about all this. Yeah, come on. Look it up. Read a book, maybe, one time in the third dimension about the other dimensions. One of those books over there that we had to read

every week. Joining us now is a man who has all the answers for the conversation we are currently having. Finally. Oh, no. Disconnecting. Come on. Let's go to the having. Finally. And I'm not sure. Oh, no. Disconnecting. Come on. Let's go to the fence. NSA. Yeah, I doubt it.

Let's go to. Remember, you are in the third dimension right now. Do you have any lawsuits out there? Me? Yeah. Not yet. Well, I'll tell you what. I mean, very oddly, someone did die yesterday.

Let's go to the folks. Let's go to Nick in Alabama. Nick in Alabama. This show. That's what happened yesterday. This show died in the middle of the day yesterday whenever we were trying to cover something. Let's go to Nick in Alabama here on this glorious Hall of Fame game, Thursday, August 4th.

Nick, what's going on? What's up, boys? How's it going? Keep it moving. Perfect. What part of Alabama? Hold on.. Perfect. What part of Alabama? Hold on. Hold on.

What part of Alabama? Are we roll tide or are we War Eagle down here? We're roll tide down here. You're goddamn right. That was an elephant. Why'd y'all shoot Connor down so bad to say that a pro team could go to Alabama when all these other states have three and four teams, three to two teams in there? Because you guys love college football too much.

Would you be able to open up for NFL? If we had a pro team, though, those two teams could come together and become one big team. Oh, when to become one. I need an NFL team to put our swords aside. You're War Eagle and I'm rolling on the front line Anyways, I don't think it'll work. I honestly don't think it'll work.

Just like a team in Columbus, there's no reason. If there's already a cult fan base, I don't think they're going to put it aside to go with somebody else. And also, I think college football towns are college football towns. And I think NFL towns are NFL towns. I might be just a hater, though. He lives in Alabama. He seems to think that that's different. I just't think the nfl will ever really go for it because of how awesome those colts are in the south down there i think you're

exactly right i haven't spent much time in alabama but i would imagine yeah like they are so in they don't know what it's like to lose down there either you're gonna lose some games if you're an nfl team it's gonna be tough to stick with it's almost like jacksonville right jacksonville kind of yeah yeah not just that too but if it're an NFL team. It's going to be tough to stick with it. It's almost like Jacksonville, right? Jacksonville kind of in. Yeah. Not just that, too, but if it's an expansion team that's moving there, they are going to stink for a while probably. And if Alabama's fucking going to the national championship every year, no one's going to watch or go to those other games. Now, to be clear, if a team wins, their fans will show up.

Sure. So that's all that matters. But I don't think – They're winning right away, too. Yeah, I don't think the NFL wants to compete With anybody in the SEC You know We saw how Birmingham showed up

For USFL So You're right Not a fucking good start Well They had every single game Yeah I mean

Were they expected To be at the stadium For ten straight weeks Ten straight hours Every weekend Uh huh Do they love football Turns out they

Not enough Not, I guess. And chicken sales. We've talked about it before, but if Bama were to play one of those teams, I mean, probably take Bama. What, over the XFL? Be in every single USFL team, yeah. What? 100%.

I would assume that would be the case. In New Orleans. Last year was a rebuild, dude. How about Saban going last year? It was a rebuilding year. The SEC, it is just different down there. Yeah. Like, it just needs to be understood and respected. If you're not from there, I mean, I guess Columbus is similar.

Columbus has a similar cult, and I assume there's other places that have pretty good. But the SEC is just, like, so – I mean, they are all in on their teams. They are so proud to go to that school, to be from that school, and for what their school is going to do. It was awesome to kind of experience for the first time there with game day a couple years ago.

I don't know if the NFL will ever want to just even try to compete with that. That's what makes college football cool is because there are, like, irrational, diehard fans. All right, let's get the hell out of here. We're part of the college football community. Yeah. Aren't we, AJ? Yeah. Where's Gump?

What's that? Who? Where's Gump? I haven't heard much from him. Well, this is a situation we're trying to keep quiet. You know, we're not trying to... Oh, no. Is he dead? No, no, no. We're just trying... This is kind of all smoothly happening, you know. All right, good. Then move on. Yeah, good. Gump, miss you. Can't wait to see you. Gump, we do miss you. Miss happening, you know. All right, good. Then move on. Yeah, good. Goop, miss you.

Can't wait to see you. Goop, we do miss you. Miss you, Gumpy. Foxy, it's been great to have you back, pal. Thank you, guys. Heavy. Heavy. Yeah.

Zito, great work. Nick, great work. Dirty, great work. Bill, great work. Bruce, great work. All the guests today, can't thank you all enough. Boys crushed it, killed it. See you, Mignogna, AJ, when we get to react to an nfl game oh yeah hammer downs in like 15 minutes at youtube.com

we shall see you minyana goodbye Thank you. so Outro Music សូវាប់បានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបា Thank you. សូវាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប� Yes.