The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 972 - Eli Manning, JJ Watt, General Bob Carpenter's Top 5, AQ Shipley, Darius Butler, & AJ Hawk

Episode Date: September 13, 2023

On today's show, Pat, AQ Shipley, Darius Butler, AJ Hawk, and the boys chat about everything happening around the NFL as we close out week 1 and prepare for week 2 including how the offensive line play as a whole was in week 1, if there is any more updates on Aaron Rodgers' achilles, Baker Mayfield figuring out the Vikings' signs on Sunday, Matt Stafford allegedly being on "Quarterback" season 2, and much more. Joining the progrum is 2x Super Bowl Champion/Super Bowl MVP, 4x Pro Bowler, 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year, and future Hall of Famer, Eli Manning to chat about Aaron Rodgers' injury and his thoughts on a comeback, what Josh Allen needs to do to limit turnovers and why it's difficult with his playmaking ability, his thoughts on the Giants leaving Daniel Jones in while down 40-0, how long it takes for rookie QB's to get comfortable, and more (34:21-55:26). Next, in his first of weekly appearances this season, 3x Defensive Player of the Year, 7x All-Pro, 5x Pro Bowler, 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year, and future Hall of Famer, JJ Watt joins the show to chat about the best defensive line play of the week including his brother, Jalen Carter, going into the Texans' Ring of Honor, some other pass rushers he's keeping an eye on, and much more (1:05:04-1:43:01). Later, 18th pick of the 2006 NFL Draft, the man who saved college football, "The General" Bob Carpenter joins the show to give his top 5 in college football this week (1:56:53-2:08:01). Make sure you subscribe to youtube.com/thepatmcafeeshow to watch the show. Or watch on ESPN (12-2 EDT), ESPN’s Youtube (12-3 EDT), or ESPN+. We appreciate the hell out of all of you. See you tomorrow, cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello beautiful people. Welcome to our humble abode, the Thunderdome, on this Trenches Wednesday, September 13th, 2023. This sports program starts right now. Football! It is here and obviously life is good. I'm not alone on this stage. It's actually packed today. And this is going to be one of the greatest days of the week for this entire football season. Wednesdays were kind of a day that nobody really liked on football season. The previous week is too far behind us. The upcoming weekend is just a few days away, but there's no real chatter.

Injuries aren't really new at this point. Teams are just trying to figure it out. Wednesdays are the driest day whenever it comes to football season when you're talking about NFL talk show. So this year we stacked it. What are you going to do? Well, I'll tell you what. Big time announcement happening right now. Ladies and gentlemen, for this entire

season, a man will be joining us every single Wednesday who happens to be a first ballot Hall of Famer who got to the quarterback better than anybody else. Ladies and gentlemen, J.J. Watt will be joining us. Not only today, but every single Wednesday going forward. Can't wait to hear what he has

to say about T.J. having three sacks and two fumbles, forced fumbles in a game that he got dominated against the San Francisco 49ers. Also, what's his thoughts on some other D-linemen or pass rushers around the league? Can't wait to enjoy the season alongside him.

We will also be joined every single Wednesday by our former fat friend, now very skinny friend, who will be breaking down offensive line football and his thoughts as a man who played 12 years in the NFL, is a Super Bowl champion, is a player and a coach. Jockey move. Ladies and gentlemen, A.Q. Shepard. Let's go.

Obviously joining us every Monday through Wednesday for the entire season, nine-year NFL vet. It may have played every position in the secondary. Would be with us all week, but he does a show that nobody watches, although it's a good show. Good job, Derek Shabala. It's a good show. It's a great show.

It's a good show. How's gambling? It's on 1.30 a.m., 2 a.m., ESPN 2, ESPN Plus. Stream it, yeah. What's that? You stream it anytime you want. Oh, okay. All right. NFL matchup show. It's a great show. Stream it, yeah. What's that? Stream it anytime you want. Oh, okay. All right.

NFL matchup show. It's a great show. We watch the show. It's a good show. Every week. But I have a conversation with every human that I meet. It's the first thing I say to them. You know, I met Joe Namath this past weekend at College Game Day.

First time getting a chance to chat with a Western Pennsylvania quarterback. Great. A man who went down to Alabama. Then, obviously, goes on to call his shot at the New York Jets. Now, after his career ends, there's certainly some decisions that get made because he is a human. But to see where he was at the age of 80 this past

weekend was awesome. I mean, he was quick. He was on it. And I said, hey, you watch NFL matchup show? And he said, what? Who's that? I was like, well, is that because you're 80 right there? That's the first question I asked you. He goes, no, not because of Boda. What is that show? So we need more people to watch that show because if it wasn't for that show,

Deebo would be here all week and we'd all be very appreciative of. So since he's not, let's at least make it worse. NFL matchups on ESPN, the Ocho. What is it? On ESPN, ESPN 2. It ain't on ESPN. Come on, now. the Ocho. What is it? On ESPN, ESPN2, and on ESPN Plus. Come on, now.

Come on, now. We need to find it, though, because it's you, Sal. Yep, Sal Powell and Greg Cosell. Great show. Been around a long time. That's right. 1984. You do great work on there. 1984. So good. Sal does great work. That's the last time someone saw it. Whoa! That's the talk of the table at Boss Carter! Whoa! That's the talk of the table.

That was Connor and that's Ty Schmidt. One half of the hammer. Dad! Cowboys turn digs this year. And that show that just had a picture up on the backdrop there behind AQ Shipley's massive head, tiny body, that is a good show. Mm-hmm.

Great show. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know Nixon was the third guy. That's Greg Costell. Come on. Who looks just like Nixon? There's nothing wrong with that.

Anyways, you're disgusting Shout out to NFL Matchup And shout out to Darius J. Bones Okay, AQ You know, a lot has happened since last time we chatted with you First of all, you lose 75 pounds Congratulations How much weight are you down?

60 Jeez Louise You look like a completely different person You'll be doing In the Trenches in the third hour on YouTube and ESPN Plus Huh? Jeez Louise. Jeez Louise. You look like a completely different person. You'll be doing In the Trenches in the third hour on YouTube and ESPN+. Huh? Yeah. Boom. NFL matchup?

Here we go. Is it on there? It's on everything. I don't know. It's on everything. Hey, buddy. On ESPN+, alongside NFL matchup, we will also be live for the third hour of this program every single day, also on YouTube.

Yeah. But In the Trenches will be in the third hour today and every single Wednesday going forward we'll get a chance to chat about offensive line play. How was offensive line play around the NFL this past weekend in week one? Not to make excuses, but typically week one, always a little behind. Always a little behind. There was some good stuff, but we got to pick it up moving forward, and they will. It's just getting the reps again.

Preseason, a lot of the guys don't play. Now we're back in live form. The coaches on all of these teams are trying to hammer the rep. They don't get enough reps. So here we are, but we got some really good stuff this week. I can't wait to show it off. Okay. So let's talk about an offensive line story that kind of captivated, uh, yesterday's headlines, the athletic reported, and we still don't know if this has been confirmed or not. No. Diana Rossini knows. She does.

Oh, yeah. We respect Diana Rossini's information. She came out and said that Aaron Rodgers didn't want to do the cut block that happened not only on the play they got hurt, but also the first play where Makai backed one down, then he ended up getting under pressure, having to turn, roll to his right, stumble, fall,

throw the ball out of bounds, which we saw him do in the preseason game. But this cup block on the quick game thing was a conversation that allegedly happened behind closed doors. Aaron didn't like it. Offensive lineman liked it. Now we have a guy with torn Achilles, four plays into his tenure as a New York Jet. Is that something that is kind of mixing an old school mantra with a new school mantra?

Like, how much has the offensive line room changed in the schemes, the strategies from the beginning of football? Or is that one of the most traditional places in football, the offensive line, where it's like, this is how it's done. This is what you have to do. Doesn't matter the generation of humans coming in or what all the rules are saying. Yeah, I think from the beginning of time, when you look at look at it especially at the tackles as you saw on that play the interior guys did not cut too close to the quarterback you can't have that happen but as the tackles those edge guys get up the field so fast and the quick game typically it's going towards the sideline guys hands down and so that's what happened there and whenever you saw that play you see him get down and then get back up and make the play so technically duane did his job he's a pro he's an

all pro at time at a time in his career and so when you see that you don't think he screwed up it's just coaches have been teaching that since the beginning of time if it's quick game let's try and get some hands down okay so not necessarily blaming the offensive line coach. No. But also if Aaron Rodgers, who's known to extend some places, hey, I don't like that, probably, I mean, that's going to be a full conversation going forward. Let's talk about the offensive lines, though. There was one particular place that did very well with the offensive line.

Tua didn't even get touched. Here's a stat that I got from Classic Hembo Texas Morning. These are awesome. Yeah, huge. I'm waking up in the morning, okay, baby, wife, how we doing? This morning, baby woke up, first time puking on herself while sleeping. Oh, yeah. Kind of scary.

A little bit. That is kind of a scary thing because I've had friends that have puked on themselves while sleeping, and you always got to worry about them dying, you know, because they're too boozed up. They can't handle whatever they're drinking. They're laying on their back, storm, and then puke, and then right back in there. That's very...

Oh, yeah. That's like a scare. So kind of a scary moment this morning that something slipped past the sound meter that would have us wake up or whatever, but she was so... She had puke on her face. Oh, yeah, in her hair.

And she's just laughing about it. I'm like, all right. So Kenzie's a dog. That's awesome. That happened this morning. Then I go up, obviously going to do the morning thing where you let go of all the demons from yesterday, whatever you potentially ate, and let's do it. Let's go ahead and scroll through our internet. And then I'm just waking up to

these texts now from Hembo that are just stats. These are just stats around the NFL. I am so happy I've entered into this guy's orbit. I'm relieving yesterday's demons. Just learning incredible things. Here's a crazy stat.

Thank you, Hembo. Every stat you send is a crazy stat. Rodgers was contacted the same number of times in week one, three, as Tua, who had 46 dropbacks without his left tackle, Teron Armstead. One team emphasized protection, obviously. The other emphasized trying to get a quarterback and some weapons.

That's a thing that I think will carry this Miami Dolphins team, though. Without their best offense alignment, they were able to protect Tua. If you're able to keep him alive, you're going to be a good spot. Is that offense line going to be able to do this for the rest of the year? Is that a good indicator that they have it figured out? I don't necessarily know if they're going to be able to do it as well as they did in week one, but here's the one thing you've got to really acknowledge.

McDaniels is so good. He is so good. When you watch the way he schemes, all the play action, everything... Hold on, did you say Josh McDaniels? Mike McDaniels. Oh, man, not plural. Thank you. Learn who you're talking about. That guy was a run game coordinator for the –

Yeah, singular. Josh McDaniels. There's a team coming. This guy gets skinny. He doesn't even know Coach's name. Yeah, that's embarrassing. Wow. Working with the tight ends these days.

Wow. But he's unbelievable at the way he marries everything up, the way we get the play action, the way we get the run game, the tight end starting over here, coming back, making it look like it's run. It makes the offensive line's job so easy. And in this day and age, in today's game, making the offensive line jobs easy is so big. Hey, run game matters right now.

Run game matters a lot right now. Everybody thought we were going to go to the air raid stuff, and I think there is still facets of that around the league. But the teams that can run the ball that around the league but the teams that can run the ball well are going to be the teams that end up winning the game and i'm very excited to kind of learn about who you thought was good this past weekend and who did you did you point out any trash crop plates from the offense line no crap smart that's smart good man still trying to get a job also be friends with everybody exactly yeah d buck comes out here and he's

like look at this guy getting bombed this guy This guy stinks. I only show one bat. Yeah, but you remember last year. Oh, it was just every week. Lowlights left and right. It was awesome. That's real though. That's meetings. We got to see the bat. You know, you get that, you take it, you know, learn from it and move on. I'm just saying that you're a mentally tougher person than I am. You know, like, I had to give a speech to Sam

Martin yesterday for the good of all punters. Hey, Sam, can't have it. Never again. Can't have what happened happen. Also, I watched that ball back and I punters. Hey, Sam, can't have. Never again. Can't have what happened happen. Also, I watched that ball back, and I don't want to play arm trick court. He could have got the ball out. Like, old buddy, whatever he cuts, Xavier Gibson cuts back.

That ball's in his left hand. That thing's out like this, and Sam is standing right in front of him within arm free. If he does that double punch instead of to the head, if he tries to punch him in the abdomen, he might get the ball out, dude. That ain't Sam's job. We appreciate what you did as a punter, but, hey, a punter, a snapper,

you got a job to do. The other nine guys, they got a job to do, and that's get him on the ground. Look, he makes that tackle, he gets hurt, and he's out for six weeks. He almost got hurt doing that. Get out of the way, Sam. He got his drop hand in there, too. We need to not have our drop hand punching at helmets there.

But, like, I had to give a speech to Sam Martin, who I'm a big fan of. Like, hey, Bub, can't have it, okay? Do you see what everybody's saying now? It's not good for any of us. That's right. You see it. You just fall. Pull a hamstring.

We don't need that ever again. No. But you breaking down film on guys, I think is an incredible mental toughness that I do not have. But also, I appreciate you doing it because fans of those teams and us watching at home often wonder,

like, whatever the commentator says has to be right. Yeah, of course. Whatever the commentator... And there's guys getting missed on the blame. And then there's people sneaking by, by pretty much that are definitely at fault. So we appreciate you doing that. Thank you.

Maybe something to think about. Burn some bridges. Listen, I know the way these guys go through film sessions with their own coaches. There's nothing good. Even when it's good, it's not being told that it's good. So if I can give a little fluff piece here and there, it's pretty good. Pretty good for the boys. They called us a sellout.

Could you imagine what they would say to you? Oh, my God. This new skinny body. Just fluffing people. They called us a sellout. Could you imagine what they would say to you? This new skinny body. And that starts calling out offensive linemen. You can bounce out of the club. You do look good. Thanks, man. I disagree, but it's not what you said this morning. That is what I said.

What do we need to know? First thing when I walked in the Hawk House. You look pretty good, man. You still look like a Clydesdale. You know, you're running on that treadmill, and your fat ass was still there. You got those. I still got the base.

Yeah, what is that? Birthing hips. Yeah, boom. There it is. You do have those. And then your calves are huge. It's just your upper body is getting sculpted. I appreciate what you're doing.

Maybe go back and play. You look like you're in the best shape of your life. I know you're training with Ryan Bader, obviously. Heavyweight? Yep. Heavyweight champion of Bellator. Longest ever. Crazy.

And you're in his fight camp. Is that because of you? No, it's not because of me. In fact, actually, since the camp started, I... They kicked you out? No, but I stay away. I don't want to be a distraction. Wow.

Bro, it's finally fight camp, and now you're kicked out? Oh, my. You don't want to be a distraction? What, you're too good? No, it looked real. Once I saw them in a cage and not on a mat, I now you're kicked out? Oh, my. You don't want to be a distraction? What, you're too good? No, it looked real. Once I saw them in a cage and not on a mat, I said, I'm out. Oh, so it started getting too serious. Yeah, it started getting real.

I thought you were going to go into the octagon. Somebody made you an offer from the Midwestern Knuckle Fight Conference. That's right. That's a very legitimate promotion, too. That's not just some random place. Yeah, some guy sent us an email that had a letterhead and everything. Said, hey, if AQ wants to fight anybody, we will certainly line up and fight. Absolutely.

It's like, we appreciate that. But the reason why we had to retire from the NFL is because a guy like Ty Schmidt could paralyze them. That's one. Right? Isn't that right? Right here. Suck it. Yeah.

Anyways, let's talk about some news around the NFL, not AQ Shipley and the offensive line-up, that we will learn about them later. We'll also be joined by Eli Manning in about 20 minutes or so. He's linking up with IBM, who has worked with ESPN to evolve the integration of artificial intelligence. Yep. Oh, yeah. Watson. Watson's a problem. You heard it right.

Into their fantasy football platform to scale the creation of insightful content that helps users make better decisions about their rosters no matter their level of experience. We're not big fantasy people here. I guess Connor is, but our show not genuinely or generally a big fantasy show. But we will certainly take every piece of information that this artificial intelligence

has and use it for gambling. And we will try to profit off of what these smart, fake things are. But I don't like that they're infiltrating our fun now, too. Everything we do now, they're getting into. I mean, we said it weeks, if not months ago, it's time to pull the plug and slow this thing down. You know, even if it's just a week or two, it's kind of getting ahead of itself here.

We need to flatten the curve. We do need to flatten the curve. We need to flatten the curve, you know, because the AI. Two weeks, it's all taken. The AI, well, that's certainly. Sometimes. The AI is going like this. Oh, it bit?

Yeah. It's getting way too smart. That's right. We need to flatten that curve. You unplug that thing? Boom. Don't have any power go to it. Easy.

Couple days. Bring it back down to life. Oh, how's humility? You tell us. Right at the bottom. You're dead. They're going to continue to climb again, but we've got to flatten the curve with AI. I'm happy they've gotten into this with fantasy football,

and I'm happy Eli Manning's a part of it because we're getting a chance to chat with him because of it. How about his Monday night with his brother starting off with that Jets game? Most watched Monday night football game of all time. Yeah, ever. It's crazy. Congratulations. The Jets and the Bills being a big-time draw.

$24 million, I think. That's huge. Massive. And Roger Goodell now is doing a full media tour talking about everything they got going on. Won't come on this show. Not a full media tour. Are you scared, Rog? Not a full media tour. You scared?

Just called to drop out in a tank top, Rog. Ain't nothing gonna happen over here. Come talk. Come on, Rog. We love the NFL. Quick sit down. I have mad respect for everything you've done. He's doing every show now, it seems. You've always been very adamant. He is your respect for everything you've done. He's doing every show now, it seems. You've always been very adamant. He is your commissioner.

He's my commissioner. He's made some decisions that have not made people happy. That's going to happen. That's like literally what a commissioner of a league is going to have to do, especially whenever you have fan bases that are as rabid as NFL fan bases. If you make a decision that's going to hurt that team, that fan base is going to say, I hate this guy. He's in that position.

That's why he makes $60 million. He's going to have to make those decisions. I think he's done okay. Had some mistakes for sure, but scared. Scared to talk to us. Wow. We've been putting requests in for about a year now for this whole thing. I know everybody else has

a lot of different time in the media game and everything like that, but it's like I can't wait to talk to that man. He was a Stephen A this morning for... Probably 15. 15, 20 minutes. Talked about gambling, talked about streaming,

talked about the future. Every time he talks, there's good answers that come out about the future of the NFL, and I enjoy picking through them and celebrating them. We just hope someday him and old McCarthy won't be so scared to get him on this particular program. We'll have a good time, pal. We'll have a good time.

Speaking of NFL news, I went through the Chris Jones deal a little bit. Because it didn't make any sense to me. Didn't make any sense. At all. Michael Lombardi, who's obviously a friend of the program, he'll be joining us every single Friday, as will another guest joining us every single

Friday. We'll announce that on Friday. He came out and said, this holdout made no sense. He loses $3 million in fines from the days that he missed, but he only has the opportunity to really gain $2 million more, and that's if they win a Super Bowl. He wins defensive player of the year. There are some other incentives in there.

If he plays 50% of the snaps going forward for the last 16 games, he'll get an extra $2 million or something like that, and then an extra million and a half somewhere else. So he did get more money, but to hold out and lose as much as he did with the way it looked and then obviously the Chiefs lose you would think to yourself this was not a good thing looked into a little bit Florio had a lot of information on this on pro football talk so the way that the this came together I think and the way that Chris Jones got to a point where he accepted this as the outcome as opposed to what he had been potentially stumping for for a long time well the way florio laid it out is if he gets franchise tag next year with

this amount of money he will have 53 million dollars guaranteed pretty much over the next two years they offered him a three-year 70 million dollar deal which is i forget how many millions of dollars less than what aaron donald got uh quinn and williams is in that ballpark or whatever so his entire gomble pretty much was 17 million okay or for that last year or more or just 53 million right now i think him owning his right to become a free agent after this season if they don't franchise tag him and getting 53 million dollars over two years is the reason why he accepted it but clark hunt notoriously if you look into the history, the owner of the Chiefs, not a big I'm going to pay defensive players

a third-time guy. You can go through the entire list. Barry, Tyron Matthew, old cuzzy. Is it Tomba? Yeah, Tomba. There's like four or five different guys that, like, the Kansas City Chiefs do not invest in third contracts. So Chris Jones, I think much like what Aaron Rodgers is going through with the Packers, had seen this.

Like I seen this trend and took a stand. It was like, no, I'm an anomaly. I'm defense player of the year candidate. I was doubled more than anybody else in the entire league last year. I want to get paid less than Aaron Donald, but I want to get paid in the top tier of these people. So I think the way Chris Jones has gotten to the point is he took a stand, he let it be heard, he has $53 million

coming to him as they franchise tag him, and he's also potentially a free agent afterwards. And I assume he missed football. Yes. I would assume. I would have been sitting in the crowd watching the team lose. Yeah, I think so. I'd assume he missed football. Because when you just look at the numbers of this year's deal, and then you think about how much he was willing to give up,

how loud of a distraction it was, everything that potentially negative came alongside of it, you think to yourself, well, why would he agree to that deal? That doesn't seem like what you would cause this big of a stink for. But then you start piecing it together on the flip side. It's like missed ball, getting 53, took a stand, probably for a

lot of people, not just himself, probably felt as if he took a stand for a lot of different players. Now let's get back to doing what we're doing with some achievable incentives. I think it's great that they have him back, but that was a real, especially with the Jonathan Taylor situation happening, I obviously was pretty keen on why and how this deal came together and i'm not saying jonathan taylor is

anywhere near what chris jones is okay let's not do that chris jones is top two at his position at a position that is not easy to find so we're not talking i paid position yes and jonathan taylor two years ago incredible so good last good. Last year, not good. Missed games, was hurt, didn't go fantastic. We had number four overall pick. Then after the season, he says, yeah, I'm playing through my contract. He is loved by everybody. Into March, I think, or April.

April, he says, yep, I'm playing my contract. So then all money's gone, all moves gone. Then whenever all teams are already situated and salary caps already figured out, then he takes his stand. It's like, yo, you're coming off your worst year. The team stinks. And whenever we had money to potentially do this in the proper time, you said you didn't want it.

You said you wanted to play through the entire contract. So that business decision, I just think, has been a bad one. I hope Jonathan Taylor makes all the money in the world. The Colts need him, clearly. But we're not winning the Super Bowl this year. So it's like, okay, if this thing ends up going another way it goes chris jones though seemingly conceded a little bit on his ass but still feels as if he got the job done are you happy for chris and what do you think this does for the kansas city chiefs yeah i'm happy he's back in the building uh the

new the cba it makes it tough for holdouts you just lose so much money and it's leverage and obviously like you said situations are situational. So Jonathan Taylor in a different situation than a Nick Bosa or Chris Jones. Would have loved to see him get, you know, the more money, the multi-years guaranteed and all that stuff. Because he is an anomaly at that position, at a very important position, especially when it comes to putting pressure on a passer. It's the passer. And then it's the guys who can put pressure on that passer. So I appreciate him taking that stand.

But all those things you mentioned, and not even to mention, you know, at this stage of your career, you know, you missed the training camp. You know, you're going to assume as a pro he's been taking care of himself. He's in great shape. So now you've got 16 games to go out there and hit these incentives. A lot of them are likely to be earned, and the other ones, I mean, with these incentives. A lot of them are likely to be earned. And the other ones, I mean, with the Chiefs, everything's kind of likely to be earned.

You can win a Super Bowl any year with that team and that quarterback. So I'm glad to see them work something out, him being back on the field, and just hope for a great, healthy year and he gets his money next year. He's on a contract year again. Yeah. So congrats to the Chiefs. They get – and contract years are real. Yeah.

Guys are motivated. They have those dog races. Yeah, the Iditarod? Sure. No. The Greyhounds. Oh, okay. The dog race.

Buddy, Iditarod also has a good race. That is a good dog race. We don't love that one. That one's tough. I think there's a lot of horse racing outcomes. Sure. No. I think there's a chance here.

It's real cold. But those Greyhounds know they put a rabbit in front yep and then that thing goes and then these dogs are just chasing the rabbit you know and they talk about dangling a carrot in front of somebody's face or whatever it's like a contract is that that is what it is like hey everything you've worked for your entire life is available for you if you just go get it so normally contract years, it's not just on the field of practice. It's normally all the other stuff that gets tightened up, you know, your nutrition, your schedule, your discipline. All of it creates the best version of yourself that you can create because that's what you're hoping for.

Chris Jones already has made like $70 million, so he's already rich. But this next bag is going to be a big one. I assume that's still going to motivate the hell out of him to show up. That's what I was about to say. We've all been in the locker room. We've seen guys who play a great contract year get paid, and then they're kind of a different dude. We've seen Chris Jones get paid already and still be that guy

and only get better. So you know he's a guy that you should be afraid of investing that type of money in. So excited for him in this contract year and beyond for sure. He can handle the money. Absolutely. He can handle the discipline that has to come whenever you get a lot of money. I was great with it. You know, after my first year, I go back to my second year,

I got about $2,500 in that bank. Seen four different continents. Good summer. Great. Yeah. Not just good. I mean, it was... Buddy, it was a good time.

Hey, buddy, you need to conserve your money. You need to conserve your money. Okay, have you ever been in a position where you want to go to Africa? Yeah. I do. I'm going. So I'm going to go. See ya. Hey, you want to come down to Miami tomorrow? There's a massive party. Oh, who's going to be there? Start naming off every human you've ever been a fan of. Yeah.

I think I do. Here's where we're staying. How much is the rooms? $3,500've ever been a fan of it's yeah sure i think i do uh here's where we're staying how much is the rooms uh 3 500 bucks it's a lot of money but sounds good am i not gonna stay there gotta stay there and then it's like well what if you don't make the team measure you weren't really that good it's like well i had a great run yeah you know i had a great run with the whole thing but whenever you're talking about chris jones why is he such a nightmare he's just faster, and smarter than everybody, and why do you centers hate a guy like Chris Jones, and how many Chris Jones are out there, AQ?

There's very few, and I'm glad that he doesn't line up over the center very often because, man, you don't see that combination of size and speed very often. When you get 6'6", 325 pounds that can move. Could you imagine what he would do to you right now? Oh, man. At your, what, 5'11", 215-pound frame? You don't know how many times I said when I got out, I got out at the right time.

I just keep watching these guys get more athletic, more freakish. Miles Garrett been crossing up the center. He was doing this before. What are you supposed to do there? What are you supposed to do? You're the expert. Well, listen, you just step back and hope for the best.

When you start seeing this, you call time out. Alright, this is the middle of a real game. I mean, this is unbelievable. This guy does not have any worries at all. No chance. No shot. He was telling me a story this morning that kind of happened to him. Yeah. I got a good story about this, actually. Very similar type play.

Hold on. What's that? Real quick. Hold on. Hold on. We heard a good story earlier, too. That was a dud. Clowney.

So Clowney was doing that. And this was when he was in his prime in Houston. And he's standing up. He wasn't doing the little crossover thing. But he's standing up. And I know he's coming in the A-gap. I got this A-gap. I sat there.

And he makes a little move to that A-gap. I'm like, I'm going to leave him for the back. I left him for the back. Oh, no. Now Andrew Lux retired. It was Adrian Peterson. Oh. Oh, this was when you were.

But guess what? Adrian Peterson stepped on me. Where was this at? Arizona? Yeah. Adrian Peterson still, I think he could still. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think he's still trying.

I think he is. He's still a free agent. Next time Sheffert comes on, we need to ask him, anybody sign Adrian Peterson? Where's Adrian? Have the Colts thought about signing Adrian Peterson? Yeah. I'm about sick of number 35 fumbling the ball every time he touches it.

You know what I mean? Yeah. I'm about done with that. I'm sure he's a great guy. Love everything about him. But we don't have Jonathan Taylor. This 35 guy had all eyes on him in that stadium. Buddy, they wanted to cheer for him.

They really did. The experts, too. Did you see the experts showing some freeze frames of that guy running the football? Yeah, there was a little bit of a stretch there. Boy, oh boy. Should have zigged, and he certainly zagged. Yeah, but you know, those Sky Cam shots. That's right.

It's so easy to play running back from a remote control. Exactly. You know what I mean? What's it like whenever you're out there and you already have two fumbles? Yeah, exactly. You think those holes aren't getting a little bit blurry? The vision isn't a little bit shaken a little bit? remote control. What's it like whenever you're out there and you already have two fumbles? You think those holes aren't getting a little bit blurry? The vision isn't a little bit shaken a little bit? Maybe Adrian Peterson will be able to figure

it out. We learned some stuff here about Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield, obviously in college, could outrun everybody except for that cop. That cop clean shot on him. We knew his toughness was real after that particular evening we knew his moxie was legit when in columbus ohio he took the

oklahoma flag on a turf field and said hi like it was the moon yeah which definitely happened absolutely absolutely i mean bakers wasn't as good as as when as when Neal shoved it into the moon, but it was pretty damn good. We love Baker Mayfield. Yes. The thought of Baker Mayfield. We enjoy the fact that he is a little bit spice, a little bit of a history, has some human-like tendencies off the field. And then on the field, he goes to Cleveland,

and somehow they won a playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh. They had not won at all. We're talking about a city that wasn't able to open coolers to enjoy beers because they locked them down until the Browns won. This team stinks. Stank and stunk. He goes in there, wins a playoff game for them, and then somehow, someway, everybody in that building hates him.

They run him out of town. Goes down to Carolina. People start talking. Is Baker really that good? And then somehow, someway, everybody in that building hates him. They run him out of town. Goes down to Carolina. People start talking, is Baker really that good? We see him throw 60 times on a Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers whenever he has a torn labrum in his left arm. And the coach is actually on record as saying, yeah, his accuracy is affected because he can't move with the thing that he has on. Now, two days later, that same coach goes, all right, Baker, here's the deal.

Putting Chubb on the sideline. And we're having you throw the ball 60 times. with the thing that he has on. Now, two days later, that same coach goes, all right, Baker, here's the deal. Putting Chubb on the sideline, and we're having you throw the ball 60 times. Felt like it was a little bit of a setup, a little bit of a bamboozle to make old Baker look terrible, and he did. So he gets out of town. He goes to Carolina.

He goes to Los Angeles. Now Tampa pays him a little bit. Tampa's like, hey, we actually need you. And we start hearing rumblings through training camp that maybe Baker's going to be the guy. Then some videos show up, and he's not great oh not great at all and then that obviously brought out all the baker haters to be like look this guy's getting another opportunity this guy is going to get so many chances he's been run out of every place he's ever been he stinks now we just heard a story from running back after week one in tampa bay

and the story goes like this. I mean, just understanding what they was doing, kind of, you know, we was paying attention to the whole game and they signal calls. And I just remember like they came in the locker room. Like, I mean, literally I had time. He said, I got it. Like we got all these signals. Like we in there talking like as an officer.

He's like, I know all these signals. If they do this, they going into cover two. They do this, they going into cover three. Every time they're going to cover three every time I alert this they drop him and they do this signal they drop him back to this and I'm like wow like you know that's amazing because I mean like I'm I know certain coverages but I'm I don't know a lot like that but I would just listen to him we just listen to him and we just kind of understood and then in the run game we just wanted to keep regardless of what the average looked like and what it was um you know we want to keep trying to be physical as we can and just keep running and never give up on it you know so uh that's a tremendous thing that coach canals did um and you know it all

panned out and worked out together like that he's in a shed doing this conversation i appreciate the backdrop there that was fantastic rashad white they're running back for the tampa buccaneers who's been there for a while. That goes against the narrative I think about Baker Mayfield. This dude in the middle of the game is looking over. Got it. Okay. Normally, correct me if I'm wrong, there

is a guy on every sideline that is tasked. Probably that quarterback three that you're seeing now that is dressing and going to be on the sideline. That's normally the person or if there's somebody that has talent in this particular realm of the world in the coaching staff, they're looking at the other signs, trying to get a read, trying to figure it out. The fact that Baker's doing it on the field while playing

and then getting it right, I would assume, is something that I don't think any of us would have expected out of Baker Mayfield. That's not what Baker Mayfield's known for. Baker Mayfield, this guy's got mocks, he's got grit, he's an athlete, he's a competitor, he's a fighter, he's this, that, that. This one is like, yo, this dude's cerebral. He's picking up signs in the middle of the game

and then delivering it with confidence at halftime. That means he had full belief in it, and then they get a win. This is the guy. This is the guy in the queue down there in Tampa. I mean, that's a huge win. That's huge for him, too, to be able to pick up signs like you said as a quarterback there's so much going on to see coverage to signal to the receivers to do this to see this and then be able to tell these guys the coverage that's huge because there's so many conversions on routes

based on coverage it was only i would say not even a handful of quarterbacks that we worried about knowing our signals and like like peyton you, Peyton would know, so that would be the week. Well, and the Patriots would know because they had cameras up. Remember they were doing this. Colts were known for having – Whoa! Go ahead, D-Buck. Go ahead, D-Buck.

Oh, yeah. Yep, go ahead. You know what? For having what? Yeah, what? Some great spotters on the other sidelines. So we were, you know, going into playing against the Colts. We were no – I actually remember the guy's name.

He just came to me. Go ahead. I'm going to put it out there. But legendary coach. Yeah, got some great signals. But Tom, Peyton, A-Rod. We were doing it legally. We didn't have an old man with a camera upstairs going,

I'll blink twice if it's a curveball like the Astros. That's not what it sounds like. You know, so Debo left out that little fact that, you know, the Colts were pumping in noise for years. Nah, RCA, that was just a lot, house. Sorry about it. Nope. Sorry about it.

You ain't cheating. You ain't trying. I would like to know, though, like how difficult that is. Yeah. Just as somebody who has, that feels like that's in my wheelhouse of brain stuff. But you have to see so much. Like, you have to see the call. Then you have to also know what the coverage is that they're running out of that, what disguise is happening.

So to have the confidence to be able to do it, I think is a big deal. And remember, yeah, congrats to Baker. All on the fly. And if you're wrong, you've screwed over everyone. you've screwed over everyone. It's a tough thing because if you believe the messages and you believe it and you're wrong you're worse off than you were without even trying to guess

at all. I feel like the thought too after seeing the score of this game you check and oh the Bucs beat the Vikings the Vikings must have taken a step back. No more Dalvin Cook. They're probably not going to have a good year. It feels more so now like the Bucs are actually a good football team. Instead of the massive drop-off from Tom,

they still have all these great players, and they're much better than we thought they were. We start looking at the NFC South, and we go, well, that division stinks. Exactly. Then you think about what the Saints did, and I saw Derek Carr say, I want to take another shot, and James Winston goes, yes.

Yes. That was a great video, great piece of content. We appreciate James Winston for getting on camera any time he gets on camera. But it felt like they're in good position. You look at the Atlanta Falcons. And we talked about the Atlanta Falcons last year because in the trenches had Atlanta Falcons on the first three weeks

because old Artie Smith draws up some incredible run plays. You know that joker Cordero Patterson that took over the NFL? There's a reason. There's a setup for success down there. Now, is Desmond Ritter a guy? We will find out. Didn't have to do much this past weekend, and we're being told from inside that building,

100% faith that Desmond Ritter is still a guy, even though the internet seems to be saying some other things. And then you go with this particular team, that NFC South all of a sudden, not that bad. Joining us now is a man who might be able to break down this at a much better level than any of us. Two-time Super Bowl champion. Whoa! Quarterback

for the New York football Giants. Long time. Incredible flip cup player. Remember? That's right. We saw him on the internet getting down with the boys. He hosts Monday Night Manning alongside of his brother Peyton, and today he's representing IBM who has worked with espn to

evolve the integration of artificial intelligence which don't love that don't love that working with the enemy in future at least ladies and gentlemen eli manning what's up fellas what's up pat how you doing man eli thank you so much for joining us what do you know about this artificial intelligence from ibm do we know if we can unplug it and just kind of slow it down if we have to at some point know if we can unplug it and just kind of slow it down if we have to at some point hey i i you know i'm new to fantasy football and this i'm using every feature possible so i'm on the espn fantasy app i got the ibm using watson i'm using ai i got the trade analyzer now with this waiver wire uh insights i know a lot of people look maybe looking for a new quarterback they've had aaron rogers you know you gotta you gotta get on the waiver wire find a new a new quarterback. They've had Aaron Rodgers. You know, you've got to get on the waiver wire, find a new guy.

So, you know, the waiver grades, they kind of give you some suggestions, your best quarterback you can pick up that matches your team, that matches the league, what the rules are and everything. So I'm using all the information I can use to help my fantasy team. Bro, you sound like you got it. Yeah. You got it. I'm sure there's fantasy football people watching right now.

They're like, this guy doesn't know what he's talking about. But I'm not a big fantasy guy. Everything you just said right there made me feel like, hey, Eli's got it figured out. And if you don't, we got AI helping. That's right. And every single asset of this thing with IBM. Let's talk about that Monday night game because you brought up Aaron Rodgers in fantasy football. Largest Monday night football game of all

time. How many millions? 24. 24 million people documented. How do they do that? We don't know because people are watching on so many different devices. How do they keep track? Congrats to you and your brother with an incredible start on season three of Monday

Night Manning and we enjoy it. Aaron goes down and then he goes to the blue tent. Then the cart comes out. Then Peyton has the same reaction, I think, as all of us. I thought it was a tweak. We're going to tape it up. He's off and running. And then the internet was like, well, look at the recoil on his Achilles right here.

This thing's much serious. It kind of blindsided all of us that this was how the Aaron Rodgers Jets tenure would stop at least for the brief moment after four plays. What do you think they do next? Did you see enough out of Zach Wilson in that game to think that he has matured or changed from years past to be their guy? Or do you think they should look outside the building to potentially make a run with this roster that looks phenomenal except about the except for the quarterback position

no i think i think you got to stay with zach wilson he's been you know been there all through training camp you know he still has some experience playing he's still a young quarterback but at least he's he he knows the system if you bring in a new quarterback who hasn't been anywhere not another system it just takes too much time. Zach obviously played great in the second half of that game. Got it going. A couple of nice drives there at the end to get the win. I think he's the guy. It's unfortunate

for Aaron. I feel for him. I know he was excited for this upcoming season. You talk with him a bunch, Pat, on the show and know he'd worked hard. Kind of a second chance and a new spot and a lot of new changes so you know feel for him that it had to end this way um it was a shock yeah i mean you kind of i got worried when i didn't it looked like an ankle at first and when i didn't

see like you know someone land on his ankle or get twisted or didn't see anything of the ankle that's when i was worried that it was gonna be something something worse yeah i agree and whenever we watch it back i had an optimism i was just hoping because he stands up and it's just like huh yeah all right well i'm just gonna sit down like well he's way too casual yeah right that's way oh yeah that is way too casual for something that could potentially be season ending. And it is at his age. You know, everybody's giving their takes on this. We believe without inside information from him, I believe he's too competitive of a human being.

He's not going to let it end that particular fashion. As a guy who got older, obviously in the NFL, everything gets harder. Everybody is a human body. What do you think about the 39-year-old Aaron Rodgers? No kids, no wife coming back, or what decision he's going to make over the next few months? Yeah, who knows? I guess it just depends on the recovery and how long it takes and the rehab.

But I would think the mindset would be that he's rehabbing to come back and play again. This is not how he wants to go out. This is not how he wants this kind of second chance and coming to the Jets to end with four plays. So, I would expect him to work his tail off and

come back and get healthy and see what he can do with this team. Hey, that area over there, he goes over there, big city, right? Everybody talks about he's going from small media market to big media market. Normally, you go from big media market to small media market. They're throwing parades for you.

Yeah. Happy to have you here. He goes from Green Bay to New York. And it's like New York, the biggest city in the world is, well, I guess there's a bigger one over, I think, Tokyo. Yeah, Tokyo. Shanghai. There's a couple. Anyways, biggest.

You get it. Yeah. We just got to make sure we get it right. Thank you. Yeah, that, thank you. That's the show. The biggest city in the United States of America is like, thank God you're here.

We are so happy. Was that your experience as the Giants quarterback, obviously, in the good days? Is that what it was like whenever you were winning? Because every door opens, because New York is the gateway to everything, pretty much. Is that what you experienced as quarterback over there for the Giants? And is that obviously what he's doing?

Yeah, it's fun to win here. I'm not going to lie, Pat. It's a good place to win a couple championships. They still clap for me, still excited to see me when I walk around. I think more so now that I'm retired. I don't know, maybe they're just happy I'm retired. Finally, yes, thank you for finally retiring. Eli, good to see you. Monday Night Manning, it's awesome.

Really good. You've been doing it a long time ago. That's awesome. But, yeah, so it's a good spot. Obviously, he was just like in the honeymoon of what was going on. Everybody was so excited to have him here. Obviously, the media can, you know, easily turn on you if you're not playing well.

Obviously, he's not going to have to deal with that. You know, got something much worse in this injury. But, he's not going to have to deal with that. Got something much worse in this injury, but I think everybody was excited. Hard knocks. After being somewhere for 18 years, can you come to a new team and have the same success and get

this team and get the Jets back to the playoffs after their long stretch of not making the playoffs? Such a silver lining right there. Guess what? That honeymoon phase is extended a whole nother year that's right pretty cool you know what i mean oh yeah steven a said yesterday uh he said new york is now going to tell aaron we will wait for you yeah we will wait for you you know so if aaron is on the fence of like do i want to commit to an eight month ninemonth rehab that is going to be miserable and isolating to get back at the age of 40 to play again?

Do I want to commit to that? Oh, New York is like, hey, you remember what we did there? Rangers game, Knicks game, Broadway, events. That's just another. You can roll your ass in there. You'll have a parking spot for you and your little thing that the Achilles is going to need. They're going to love it.

This moment here, Bob, and I assume you've had similar. You've done this before, I assume, yeah? I don't know if I've run out with the Flats. Oh, Eli hates America. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. What is it, Wednesday, September 13th? I didn't think I was strong enough.

Justin Tutt got it. The lineman got it. They usually give it to the big boys. I wasn't think I was strong enough. Justin Tuck got it. The linemen got it. They usually give it to the big boys. I wasn't strong enough to carry it. I needed some help. I got to get in the weight room like you. I'm not all jacked up like you, Pat. I got some vitamins I can send you that will help out.

I love that you love America so much, he said. I'm not strong enough to represent. Let everybody. I respect that. You love America too much. Hell yeah. Let the big boys. You know, let the, let everybody, I respect that. You love America too much. There is. Yeah. Hell.

Hell yeah. You speak. There's actually big news internationally about the NFL. We won't get into that now, but they just made a rule about one next year. Starting. There's a spot for one international player on every single practice squad. That's getting added to it. Like I think the foreign soccer leagues have this,

where there's only so many Americans allowed on the team. And I think the CFL has the same thing with how many Americans are allowed on the team. We're doing it now. We're opening up a spot for an international player who is either transferred over. He could transfer to America as a high schooler. Yeah, two years. Two years, and then he's able to make it. So that's good.

We love them, too. Welcome to America. Welcome to the greatest league. Great for growth, Eli. How much do they use you guys, the Mannings, because you're like the family of the NFL? Do you do a lot of international speaking, and do you go talk and represent the NFL in these other cities?

I haven't. I haven't, but I'm up. I'm willing. I'm willing to learn how to do it. But, yeah, since I retired, I haven't had to go over and, you know, go overseas too much. I've played two games in London, which was awesome, great experience. Went last year to the Giants, played to London, and enjoyed that.

But I haven't – my international game is not strong right now, so I've got to pump it up. Dude, they love you in England. They would love you in England. The sense of humor, I think you would crush it. Germany, too? They're selling out arenas for shows that are kicking off NFL weekend. I mean, they love it over there.

And they're speaking German, too. This isn't like American soldiers over there. It's like the actual Germans love it. They say nine to other sports, but they say ja to football, which we love. Darius has a question for you about rookie football players. Yeah, Eli, speaking of the Mannix being kind of the family of the

NFL, your pops obviously played a long time. Big brother, you were very prepared. Being a big-time quarterback, coming in number one pick. Got a lot of young quarterbacks starting off. Young, Richardson, Stroud. First of all, they've kind of passed the eye test with you. And what's the biggest adjustment for these big-time players coming into the NFL playing quarterback at this level? Yeah, man, I think it's just the – I don't think – I think the schemes are pretty similar.

I think the college game and the NFL game is not that much different. That's why I think it's – you know, a lot of these young quarterbacks are coming in. They're starting right away, game one, where that wasn't always the case. You kind of had quarterbacks. You'd sit them a little bit, let them get used to the NFL game. But I think a lot of times you're running similar plays. There's RPOs. The NFL game is kind of adjusted to the college game.

But I think it's just the speed of the defensive rush. In college, if the team's just bringing speed of the defensive rush in college you know if the guy if the team's just bringing four guys you can sit back there you can go kind of one two three like hey but you're waiting it's like all right number one's not open number two's not open i can get to three in the nfl you got to see the coverage and kind of disregard number one if it has no chance of being open you can't wait for guys to get you know to see that they're covered and then get the progression you got to start you know them out quickly and get through your progression so much faster and that just takes time and you know it's

different coverages different schemes different blitzes more disguise you know in college you have the what 20 hours a week to put you know towards practice and film watching 20 hours a week to put towards practice and film watching, 20 hours in the NFL, you get that in a day and a half. And so you just have so much more time to put in these different schemes where it just takes a little bit getting used to how quickly you have to get to your progression and what are these defenses and what are they playing right now. Yeah, they put clauses in contracts now for about the amount of time.

That's right. And then you get rid of them, obviously. Adam Thielen came on. Like, after watching your brother operate, you know, and I didn't get to see you behind the scenes. I assume it's very similar because you're all kind of wired the same way when it comes to football. Not life, but football.

It's like the amount of hours that dude put in. And then the movie theater, like, right next to the kitchen pretty much like why is that oh i need to during dinner i need to watch film in here and it's like literally all he did was watch film so when that contract came out with a clause about washingtonville it's like i think they're in a bad spot yeah if that's what they're worried about and what you said about guys knowing the progressions and then knowing something isn't available adam thielen told us a story about Bryce Young in training camp or OTAs where he ran a route and Bryce Young was so quick. He was the third option.

Bryce Young was so quick to him that when he came out of his break, the ball was already on him. And he said, I think I dropped it. I was not expecting it. He said Bryce was there before I was. Like Bryce knew the entire thing. Is that the most important part? I think the brain is the most important part.

Obviously, you've got to be able to make every throw. But the brain is what we need to figure out whenever we're evaluating quarterbacks. Right, Eli? Yeah, I think it's just how quickly they can process information, know the play, see the defense, know where they think the ball is going to go in this defense of going to the right spots and just understanding, hey, I got a bad play here.

Where's my check down? What's the best thing I can do? Hey, this is the perfect call. I got the perfect play. I'm taking my shot right here. And so just not forcing things and just be able to process that information and know everything's going on when you're hot,

knowing protection. So those first couple of you know the mind is spinning you're worried about hey what's my own play what's my protection what's the defense doing and now you got to play football and still and still you know make good decisions and throw the ball accurately so it'll get better you know those first couple games uh it's tough but it'll start slowing down you'll start understanding like kind of even just learning, like what are my favorite plays? Like what are, what are my base plays? What are my seven like plays I want in the game plan every single week? I can tell the coordinator, this is my first and 10 completion play. Just getting comfortable with, you know, with your base package, with your new offensive

coordinator and you know, where your kind of breather plays where you, you just know exactly, you know, whatever the coverage is, you know where to go with the ball and you can play fast. Such a basic little piece of information to have. These guys don't even know what they like yet. And they probably won't until what, like six weeks, five weeks? Yeah, I'd say kind of five weeks, five or six weeks. You start having some success with some of these plays.

Hey, let's call that one again. I like this one. And sometimes you can get too complex. And I understand you're trying to get some perfect plays or hit some shot plays, but some of it's just what are your two-minute plays? Those are probably the plays you've run the most. You've run the most during training camp. Everybody knows what to do.

Everybody can play fast. Sometimes, hey, just keep running those plays for a little bit. And there's fine ways to get the guy, some completions, get moving the ball. And then, you know, let them, and then, you know, all these guys are great athletes now let them run around and create some plays as well. Yeah. Just like you, Eli, great athlete. Now a team that is, yeah, great athlete. I saw this guy hit a golf ball. Oh baby.. 330, like picking a high draw. Pose, too. We're talking about pose.

No, that was you. Pose. Full pose afterwards, too. Hold it. And you don't know this if you're not around him. He's a big son of a bitch. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah.

He's like always pictured next to Peyton. And Peyton, obviously big. So you don't just like automatically. That was my first time really standing around you. And then at the first tee, you know, and Peyton obviously makes them. So you don't just like automatically say, that was my first time really standing around you. And then at the first tee, you hit that monster drive and it's like, this dude is a monster. I had no idea that was the case. Your golf game still good?

It's strong. It's strong. I had some free time this summer, so I got to play a little bit. So yeah, I enjoy it. That's the competition I like now. Golf competition. I do not want to play football. I don't want to get hit. I don't want to ru now, golf competition. I do not want to play football. I don't want to get hit. I don't want to rupture an Achilles.

I don't want to get sacked. Too soon, Eli. A team that needs to figure it out quick is your old team. Tone has a question for you. Yeah, Eli, Michael Parsons came out this week and was kind of criticizing or talking about how the Giants didn't protect Daniel Jones, specifically having him in the game up 40,

or when they were down 40 to nothing and not protecting him there. What are your thoughts on that situation? Obviously, it's just, hey, the whole situation was tough. You lose 40 to nothing, there's always, there's not much good you can take out from the game. I think probably Daniel, you know, he's a competitor. I bet he wanted to stay in there and get something going. Hey, let's go get a drive here in the fourth quarter

where we can go score and give us some confidence going into next week. Sometimes, you know, I've been a part of games. You're down late in the fourth quarter. You haven't scored much. The game's over. But, hey, let's go do something good. Let's get something positive. So I'm sure that was his mind thought, you know,

just want to have something to build off. And unfortunately that didn't happen either. So, you know, I think as a quarterback, you want to be competitive. You want to stay in there and try to, you know, make some plays, even if the game's out of reach. Yeah, he got hit like seven times the game was way out of reach. Yeah, brutal. So the only plays that were being made was by the rubber pellets on the turf,

and they were playing right with his face the entire time. Speaking of a guy that we got questions about, seems to be the same situation every year whenever it's not good. Ty has a question for Eli. Yeah, Eli, the other guy you got to watch quarterback Monday night, Josh Allen, a lot of people have been talking about this week, how he's led the NFL in turnover since he got in. And while he is a superstar, everyone understands that.

He can make every throw on the field. A lot of people saying like, hey, can this guy play within himself? He's kind of putting himself in this same situation over and over again where they have opportunities to win, but then he makes some of these bonehead turnovers and kind of just can't hold on to the ball. Why is he doing this kind of stuff over and over again? What do you think he needs to do to kind of get over that hump?

Well, it's hard to argue with his success that he's had the last couple years. I think the last three years they've been the top-scoring offense or one of the top. Combined, the three years total, i think they have led the nfl and so you know he makes a lot of unbelievable plays and so it's i think as a quarterback a competitor it's hard to be like hey keep making the unbelievable plays and the runs and the hurdles and like these great tight throws like keep doing that but just don't do then you have the bad play with it. With one comes the other.

You can't make a decision, I'm only going to make the unbelievable throws. I think he does have to learn to be a little bit more patient and you can't force things. I think they're telling him, hey, don't run. I think you've got to let him run. If he's told not to run, that means he's going to be throwing the ball,

and that's when you start forcing stuff. You can't change his game too much. Let him run around. Let him be an athlete. Extend plays. Make the great throws down the field. Trust your receivers. Unfortunately, the Jets are a good defense.

They had the best of them the other day, but he's still been so effective. He's still so explosive, and he's fun to watch. He'll bounce back, and he'll start having some great games and get back on track. Interesting stat here from him, Bill. It is true. Josh Allen leads the NFL in turnover since 2020 with 57. Also true.

Josh Allen leads the NFL in touchdownovers since 2020 with 57. Also true. Josh Allen leads the NFL in touchdowns since 2020. 131. So to your point, Eli, literally everything you just – shout out to Hembo. To your point about everything you just said there with a gift and a curse, it's like there's greatness coming. All these teams that played bad here earlier, are we worried about them or what? Like Burrow didn't play great.

Josh didn't play great. Kenny Pickett and the Steelrow didn't play great. Josh didn't play great. Kenny Pickett and the Steelers didn't play great. How much, yeah, Lamar and the Ravens get a win but didn't really play that great. Are we worried or no? No, I don't think you're worried. I think it's, you know, you're not playing as much in the preseason game. This is that first game. You had the jitters. You got everything

going on. You know, it's unscouted looks against the defense. And so then everything starts to calm down you gain you game playing better uh you know you get a better feel so burrow has he didn't just not play preseason he's missed a month of practice like that that stuff you know you don't just bounce back and you're and you're just you know automatically on it takes a little time it was red it was wet it was raining some of these places. So these guys will get it going again. And that's why you play 17 weeks. You're not always going to be perfect. Some teams come out and are on fire week one. And then you kind of settle in.

And I think it all evened out. And these guys are these top quarterbacks. There's a reason they're being paid so much. They're unbelievable players. And they'll start playing that way. Hell, yeah. And another team that we'll definitely have faith in, IBM. Have to. Of course. With their artificial intelligence helping fantasy football people

as well as helping events like U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and the Masters. Shout out to IBM. Shout out to fantasy football. Shout out to Eli Manning. You're the best, ladies and gentlemen. Two-time Super Bowl champion, future Hall of Famer Eli Manning. You're the best, ladies and gentlemen. Two-time Super Bowl champion, future Hall of Famer, Eli Manning. Eli! It is dangerous out there in space. Join the crew. We have to move fast. As they explore the galaxy.

We're not alone down here. Don't miss the new Star Wars adventure. Do you want to join me? Skeleton Crew. Two-episode premiere December 3rd. Only on Disney+. You know what's great about ambition? You can't see it. Some things look ambitious,

but looks can be deceiving. For example, a runner could be training for a marathon, or they could be late for the bus. You never know. Ambition is on the inside. So that road trip bucket list? Get after it.

Drive your ambition. Mitsubishi motors joining us now from an attic in ohio is a man who's a college football national champion a super bowl champion a rider cup winner although america lost he won okay that's right did his part won the battle lost the war exactly his battle was a dub because he's the current president of ohio he's the current president of Ohio. He's a COVID survivor, father of 10, and the all-time leading tackler for the Green Bay Packers. Can't wait to see what his face looks like right now.

Ladies and gentlemen, A.J. Hall. Yeah, you look good. Wow. Super cut. Everything seems to be okay. A.Q.'s looking good, man. He looks good on camera.

You're talking about A.Q.'s? Thanks, A.J. A.Q.'s? A.Q.'s, how much do you weigh? 250-ish. That ain't true. Yeah, that's boring. That is not real.

Come on. That ain't real. Just be honest. He's got an XL hoodie on that runs small that is baggy. He looks incredible right now. It is. It's a whole new human. Is this forever now?

Is this your life? That's the goal. I said that before, though, and I yo-yoed. Nice. We got to really keep this one on track. Well, I don't want to give away too much kayfabe, but that microphone you leaned into, not plugged in. What?

I was making it seem like it was real. Yeah, I appreciate you buying it. I appreciate you working that. Yeah. I really do. That is an incredible thing. We didn't have a wire, but you get it. AJ, big news of the day is that Aaron Rodgers and you have talked

and Aaron Rodgers and you have decided that he's playing football again or that he's retiring. What is it, AJ? None of those. I have not heard anything like that from Aaron Rodgers. Come on. Like I said, my opinion is I would hope and I would think that he's going to play next year. Yeah, but at what point?

We're on ESPN now. Yeah. Hey, Jay, we're on ESPN. We need it. That's what I'm saying. You can't be throwing it out there. You can't be throwing it out there and saying, oh, me and Aaron have talked and we said you're coming back. That's not a thing.

Oh, why don't you do some journalism? Huh? Why don't you do some journalism? One time. I guess, yeah, there's journalism, there's friends, and there's sources. I've got to figure out what's what, right? We had a great guy tell us that before. Jay, Ian Rappaport, who has his own show right now.

Everybody's watching. We're really happy for him. Great show. I've definitely seen it before. Just a little bit of journalism, though, is all we ask. Okay, do you remember the people that lost their jobs specifically so they could pay me? Do you remember that? Great journalists.

People that learn stuff. And now we've got a guy who's texting and FaceTiming all night with a guy that we're all considering about. And you just won't do it. How is he, though? Is he good? Yeah, I think he's all right. I would imagine he's a bit shocked by the whole situation, trying to figure it out. But I would assume it takes some time to kind of figure out what you're going to do next and where you're even, you know, what the next step might even be.

Okay. So whenever he says, I imagine, right afterwards, he's not going to get caught lying. No. Okay. So in shock, doesn't really know, thinking about it. That is what we – thank you, AJ. Thank you, Hawk. Thank you, AJ.

Good update. We really do appreciate that. All right. Let's start diving in to some news stories around the NFL. We obviously saw Matthew Stafford talk to his team with a potty mouth yesterday. The video hit the internet after the Rams get a big-time win over the Seattle Seahawks, which not a lot of people saw coming because the team has been decimated pretty much. There's only four guys that you really know on that team that won a Super Bowl.

They haven't been able to keep up payment-wise, contract salary cap-wise. They haven't had many picks. Now it's Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, and the third youngest team in the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams. They get a huge win. Huge win. Matthew Stafford talks to the boys. A lot of conversation happened about this team.

They don't know anything. With about five to six. Yeah. F-dash-dash bombs. What? Didn't love that. Jeez Louise. F-dash-dash-dash. Yeah. Bombs. Big difference there. Yeah. F dash dash bombs. What? I love that. Yeah. Jeez Louise.

F dash dash. Yeah. Bombs. Big difference there. Right. Oh, yeah. Big. Huge. Huge.

Huge difference right there. I appreciate that. Yeah. He was saying the F word in there. We're like, whoa, whoa. This guy is a sailor. Now it has come out that he is going to be on quarterback season two. Here we go.

Wow. Love that. It's being reported by Dove Kleiman, who has gotten everything right on the internet, obviously, since the beginning of his reporting of anything. He is a news aggregator. So he will find the NFL. If you don't want to follow a bunch of different sources, we'll say, there's about ten of these accounts on the internet right now that just,

I don't think they sleep they have notifications set to every single team every single insider every single player every single team and as soon as news breaks they find it and they will go according to not all of them do the according to though some of them act as if they break their own news we will say they have been wrong though just like any insider so we will set the precedent here on ESPN that if we read any tweets from any of these news aggregators, they have certainly not been 100% right in the past in their reporting. With that being said, it feels like this is one we could potentially believe. Because Matthew Stafford would be a great story for a quarterback,

especially with how young the team is, where he is in his career, already has a Hall of Fame pedigree, already has respect from his peers and from coaches, already rich, already everything. So he would be a perfect person for quarterback. With what we learned last year from Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins and Mark Smariota, that's tough. That was a tough go. I didn't enjoy watching it.

No. Not at all. I knew how it was going to end. Spoiler, as I'm watching it this is going bad yeah this guy's getting benched he's gonna go missing exactly and then some people enjoy that i did not but what we learned from patrick mahomes and kirk cousins last year what do you think we learned from matthew stafford i think this is a great move for him and congrats to peyton in omaha for getting a guy to say yes because i heard that was a problem aj i think stafford's

the perfect kind of guy because of where he's at in his career. He's got a ring. He's been a great, great player for many years. So I think guys like that feel comfortable speaking and being more open, I guess. They're not worried what a coach might say, how the media might react. And I think when superstars get older and they start, we get to see their authentic self. I talk about it kobe bryant like later in his career kobe would get in every interview he gave it felt like yeah he's being

super real and super honest and some people loved it i loved it and i think we'll see something like that from stafford rest in peace kobe but anytime they start sharing game you know like that's why like saban coming on the show every single thursday yeah you know and i don't want to say end a career because he could coach for another 10 years. He has not told us absolutely anything. So I'm not even going to dive into that whole thing. But the reaction from the crowd, a lot of people that heard the announcement were

like, oh, he's retiring. He would have never done this at the beginning of his career. And I feel like that's with Matthew Stafford. Matthew Stafford never talked to anybody. Matthew Stafford was super almost quiet. He was in Detroit. This guy loves ball. He has a broken neck, broken back, broken rib, broken arm.

He's going to continue to play. I'm very pumped for this, and this is good for the Stafford brand. Can't wait for the world to meet one of our toughest football players. With that being said, their team's very young. The offensive line was a massive problem last year. Probably the reason why they were so bad was because of an offensive line that wasn't able to get back on the right step after losing Whitworth and a couple others after the Super Bowl.

Do the Rams have a chance to be good? Because that Marcus Mariota thing on quarterback was miserable. If the Rams are miserable, which I don't think they're going to be, obviously they don't think they're going to be. They're actually F-wording everybody outside and saying they're not going to be good. What do you think of this Rams team? And did they fix the offensive line ultimately?

That's going to be the true test, right? I like what they did. They went out and got Steve Avila from TCU, who is a brawler in the middle, and he played really well in week one. They got healthy at all the positions that they need. And I think they only gave, you should check your stats on this, but like four or five pressures out of 40 dropbacks.

It was pretty impressive against a Seattle team. And they got all these young receivers that are stepping up and making plays. What on defense aside, though? Did we learn anything about them? They lose Jalen Ramsey. Obviously, we know that. Taylor Rapp. Aaron Donald's still there.

Aaron Donald's kind of on a revenge tour right now. I don't think they gave up a yard passing in like the third quarter. It was crazy. What? That's absurd. That's a himbo stack. Somebody's got to go look it up. But I saw at some point late in the third quarter, it was crazy. What? That's absurd. That's a himbo stack. Somebody's got to go look it up. But I saw at some point late in the third quarter,

it was like minus one passing yard that they had given up. And we know the weapons in Seattle with DK, Jackson Smith, and Tyler Lockett. So they did some good things on defense. I'm interested to see how Stafford obviously navigates the relationship with his teammates. And obviously, we've always heard he's a great leader. We saw him call up the huddle, but remember the story that came out

about it being an issue. We know they're one of the youngest teams in the league, so now we'll see behind the scenes of how he navigates that, which is important as a quarterback. He's talking about Kelly? He's talking about Kelly Stafford? It's a real report. She's a superstar. She has a good podcast. Great podcast. Love it. She's a dog, too. She beat cancer.

We'll find out about the Rams this week. There's a chance. I'm not going to say it. I'm not going to out her. Niners, right? Why not? No, no. You say it.

You're going to say it. Me, Stafford, Foxy, we had a great couple nights together. Love the Stafford. That's what I was going to say. Teammates have always loved Matthew Stafford, and Detroit especially win or lose, which makes me think we'll love this quarterback series with him. Which makes me think that he's able to relate

to the younger players on the team, even though Kelly said on her podcast, probably as a joke, we don't know what the context was. Yeah, the locker room is vastly different than when he was drafted in 2009. Yeah. Exactly. My draft class. 55 million he got.

We did not. We did not get the 55 million. What happened? That was old, old CBA. That was. $55 million he got. Yeah, all of us. We did not. We did not get the $55 million. What happened? That was old, old CBA. That was the CBA that AJ got. Five overall. He got like $65 million or something. Oh, man, you deserved it. You deserved it.

A lot of cloth on those suits. Got to pay. Somebody's got to pay for it. That's right. You know what I mean? Joining us now is a man who signed his fair share of deals. That's right. Large ones.

Record setting. This guy was running to the bank more than he was running to the quarterback. But the reason why he was doing that is because the way he got to the quarterback was unlike anything we had seen for decades. This man came in as a brawler, a shit talker, a man who could get around the edge and run you over, and the night he was drafted, he was booed. Whoa! Unbelievable. City did

not want him. No. What would he do later? Oh, whenever that city needed somebody, he would step up and help all his citizens because he felt as if he was just a member of the community down there. You would watch the Houston Texans play a game in person and every single commercial that would run on the Jumbotron had J.J. Watt on it.

You know, sometimes teams will have car dealerships that go ahead and get local sponsorships or like a local doctor or a local lawyer, and they'll team up with a player. And that player will do an ad read for a local thing, and then there'll be a picture on it. Every company in Houston did a deal with this guy. And there was a reason this guy was the culture.

Ladies and gentlemen, joining us every single week today, being the first time a three time defensive player of the year, future hall of famer, JJ. You look sweet. You look sweet. Thank you. I appreciate it.

I'm very happy to be here guys. Thanks for having me. I'm very, very excited about this and you look jacked, Matt. Thank you. I appreciate that. I'm very happy to be here, guys. Thanks for having me. Very, very excited about this. And you look jacked, Matt. Thank you. I appreciate that. I am right now. I'm putting in the work. I feel like a Wyatt, you know what I mean? But like that guy over there, he's up every morning, 4 a.m. too. He's starting to wear more stuff because I think he's getting more jocked and more lean.

We're just trying to be the most fit show because by the end of the season, I'm probably going to be 270, 280 of just slob. So right now we need to enjoy it let's talk about this season jj uh how's burnley doing huh how are we doing we're having fun uh we're coming out of the international break now we've had a little bit of a rough start we play i mean we played the best team in the world to start the season which was a tough start um but we've had the international break of a rough start. We played the best team in the world to start the season, which was a tough start. But we've had the international break to get some of our new signings accustomed to our team, learning our style. And I'm really looking forward to the matchup against Nottingham coming up.

And that's a big one for us. Nottingham. It'll be good. Oh, hey. Nottingham when they come to town, though. Boy. Gritty. Hope that Burnley squad's ready because in a crowd,

there's going to be some shenanigans from the hooligans. Oh, yeah. I feel like we've got a hooligan crew right here. If we took this crew over there, we could do some damage. Yeah. First flight to Scotland, I'd go. Right away. In England.

Actually, I should probably learn if England and Scotland are the same thing. Yeah. That's not good. You're an owner over there. You're one of the faces of the team. I mean, we can't have that. I would love to go wild. No.

Yeah, go ahead. A McAfee show live from Turf Moor in Burnley. I mean, just dream stuff someday. Someday we'll get you there, boys. Hell, yeah. That would be a dream. All in. What part of – that's in England?

Yeah, we're in England? Yeah, it's just outside of Manchester. It's up in northern England you there, boys. Hell yeah. That would be a dream. All in. What part of, that's in England? Yeah, we're in England? Yeah, it's up just outside of Manchester. It's up in northern England. Oh, Manchester. Of course. Oh, you know Manchester. Yeah, you guys. We love Manchester.

That's one of our favorite places. New Hampshire. All right, let's dive into some American football. You know, no offense, football. This weekend, your brother went ham. Now, I assume this is something that you expected. It was also revealed that he beat your

number of games to get the 80 sacks record by like four games or five games or something like that. You had an NFL record. Your little brother beats it. I assume this is something you enjoy seeing or is it still competitive banter about your career being greater than his career,

him trying to catch you falling pools? What is the relationship between you and TJ? And how do you genuinely feel about TJ in the history books of the NFL as a pass rusher? No, I'm extremely happy for him. We give him plenty of shit as a brother, as a friend, as like, you know, there's lots of stuff. He sent a text message to me and Derek of his entrance where he does the jump. And he said, like, highest vertical jump in the family. That you get a lot of shit for when you text it in the group.

But passing my records and any time you're mentioned alongside Reggie White amongst things like I'm elated for him and he's gonna start passing my records at a much greater clip now because he's entering the point of his career where I had all my injuries start to stack up so he's gonna he's gonna blow pie a bunch of them and I'm happy for him you know I watch this offseason as rankings come out as all these you know who's the best defensive player of the NFL and he's getting listed fourth fifth on these lists, and I'm sitting there like, are you guys nuts? Like, are you guys literally nuts?

And then he goes out there, and he just reminds everybody real quickly why he's the best defensive player in the world. And three sacks, two forced fumbles. I mean, they had a very, very tough day. The 49ers played incredibly well, and they're an unbelievable team. But he is picking up right where he left off and he's gonna have an incredible year.

Fun to watch, go ahead AJ. JJ, do we know anything about these teams yet? I know we loved, we had overreaction Monday, we love to talk about what's going on all this team. We bury teams after week one, we crown some teams the champ. How long do you think until we actually know like the identity of some of these teams? I always think back to some of those patriots teams with tom and they would start out you know they'd start out rough they'd be two and four after six weeks and people would be like

what's going on and then they'd run on to win the super bowl um some of these teams you have to give them time you have to let them learn each other you have to let them learn the playbook gel let these coaches figure out what's working every single single year in the league, there's some new plays that come out. There's some new styles of offensive plays that people are running. There's some new blitzes that defenses are running. As these coaches figure that out and as these players get accustomed to it, they'll get more comfortable. But at the same time, you can't discount it. You can't just say like, no, we're just going to forget week one. I mean, the Bengals had a very rough week one.

The Steelers had a very rough week one. How do you bounce back from that? Giants had a very rough week one. Buddy. How do you bounce back from that? That'll tell you a lot about your team. I think how you bounce back in week two. I mean, the Giants, that one, that one, you got to bounce back quick and

fast and violently. It was only on primetime. Nobody saw it either. No, and it wasn't against America's team or anything. It's not like that's a heated rivalry or anything. All those stats that came out,

those stats that were like, this has never happened in one season, along with this and this and this. And then everybody was like, oh, yeah, they all happened in the same game. That was bananas. Let's talk about a young guy in Houston who got drafted very high. And I know obviously you have ties to Houston. I think you went into the – what did you go into? You went into something.

A couple weeks we're going to go in the ring honor down there. Wow. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. But, yes, we're going to go into the Ring of Honor down there. Wow. Appreciate it. Thank you. But yes, I would like to talk about... Before we just talk to the new Ring of Honor, let's talk to you getting into the Ring of Honor. When they would play

turn down for what? Did you just get so jacked? You know what I mean? It was every single... A big play happens, and he was normally a part of it, whether it was offense, defense, or somehow special teams. This dude was everywhere in Houston. We obviously experienced it every single year. It was a massive

game against Houston. It was normally for the division. They would turn on, turn down for what? In all of Houston, would lose their shit. Babies in hospitals would start standing up and dancing in there. Do you expect that is what it's gonna be when you walk out there right and you're gonna have to do a full you're gonna have to go back you're gonna have to yeah you're gonna have to do it bro do the song and dance whenever they play the song like tom like when tom went and did the bingo lfg

boom exactly you see how good he looked by the way he was running with no man there was no limps look great there was no like a whole new body. It's a good looking human being. You got to bust your nose though. You got to bust your nose. You got to go do the whole thing. What is it going to be like whenever you go down? Have you guys talked about it?

Do you know what to expect? It's going to be good, man. It's going to be really good. I'm so excited. You know, I just went to the facility there for the first time since I left last week. And it just, it felt good to be back in that building. You know, you leave and obviously there were some rough years there for the first time since I left last week. And it just, it felt good to be back in that building. You know, you leave and obviously there were some rough years there near the end and they've gone through a rough period down there in Houston. But to know D'Amico's in

charge, to know that they've got this thing turned around and they're now working towards being in the right direction, it feels really good. And I'm happy for that fan base. I'm happy for that city. And I mean, I say this and I say it every time I go to Houston. It truly feels like a family when I step off that plane in Houston. Every single person from the flight attendants to the people working in the airport

to the fans, it's literally like I'm coming home. They all say they're happy to see me. I'm so happy to see them. I love it. I'm very excited to get back in front of those fans. Hell yeah, dude. Congratulations. A lot of people worked their asses off for a lot of different dreams.

You're going to go in the Hall of Fame. We all know that. But for your team to recognize you, especially with how it ended, you know, the whole thing happened at the end. To come back, it is a nice full circle moment, especially because anybody that watched you play down there, you were the... You were Jackie Moon. You were the halftime entertainment. What are we going to do? We're going to show J.J. Watt

highlights for six minutes. And then we're going to play turn down for what? He's going to come out, Dougie, here we go. He's going to have a touchdown on offense. He's going to have a forced fumble. He's going to block a field goal. And then he's going to bleed. And then he's going to talk shit the whole time. That is what the Houston Texans were for what? How long were you there?

I was there for 10 years. That was a decade of Houston Texans football. I mean, it was remarkable. Congrats. Let's talk about this next decade, though, with D'Amico Reyes. Thank you, yes. Shut up. Former team of yours is the head coach.

They go big, draft early, a guy that can get to the quarterback. Everybody said this dude was a grown man in college at alabama they're certainly missing him now seemingly down there what did you see from will anderson that made you go yeah this yeah i'm thinking this guy's good yeah will is a grown man i want you to look at this play he literally carries another grown man to a sack here this is first career sack he's going around the edge. The offensive tackle holds him. Will literally carries him as he bends the corner. Look at the bend. The elite level bend here is incredible. Not many guys are able to do that, let alone do it with a 330-pound guy on your back. Turns the corner, gets the sack on one of the hardest quarterbacks to sack in the entire league,

and you can tell he's excited about it. There's many, many more of those. So is this just what he does, huh? Is he going to have the power game as well, you think? I do. I do. I think that's probably the part that translates. It takes a little bit longer to translate because, I mean, NFL offensive linemen are just a little bit different, obviously.

But I do think he has that power. But when you have that elite ability to turn like that and to have that ankle flexion that you can't teach that why is he holding him thank you get off of it thank you stop holding him thank you listen at some point you got to do what's best to save your quarterback and i appreciate that i think a lot of people do yeah he's incredible would you recommend that he false starts or lines up in the backfield like we have seen? You mean like all the clips where every single time they do it frame by frame,

the ball and the players move at the same time? I can't argue. Every single time. I can't argue about where he lined up, though. I can show you one. I can't argue about where he lined up. We're on ESPN. We're on ESPN. Have some coot.

Okay, can't just lie. I reposted one. One. Ball. One. Player. Move. Same time. Look at this. One're on ESPN. Have some coot. Okay, can't just lie. I reposted one. One. Ball. One. Player. Move. Same time.

Look at this. One. Look at that. Same time. Hey, Q's just muting everybody that's showing them the early jumps. No, no, no. Everyone I saw, you must watch for more than me. Look at this one.

Look at this one. He was on sides. Now, why was he lined up in the backfield? That's a great question, but if you're going to get away with it, keep doing it. Damn right. Amen. Amen. If I could get away with it, keep doing it. Damn right. Amen. If I could get away with lining up two yards across the ball, I would do it too.

No doubt. No doubt. So I guess, you know, I said yesterday that the refs had a pretty good weekend. They weren't really the conversation. And then the first thing I hear out of AQ is, I'm about sick of these tripping calls where the guys roll up, and then I hear you. These guys are lined up in the backfield. There's always going to be bickering, I'm about sick of these tripping calls where every guy's roll up and then I hear you. These guys are lined up in the

backfield. There's always going to be bickering, I guess, about how offensive line and defensive line is called. Do you think it's gotten better or do you think it's only going to get worse? I think that we've just come to understand it. It's an offensive league. We know that. Holding, I understand. I'm going to get held. They're not going to call holding calls because

you could call it on every play. That would be boring for the fans. It would going to get held. They're not going to call holding calls because you could call it on every play, and that would be boring for the fans. It would be boring for everybody. I do think that the opening night of the NFL, having so much focus on that specific topic with the ref and the offensive tackle, that probably wasn't ideal for the league or for anybody, and I think it could have been easily answered with a quick flag in the first or second quarter and then, boom, nipped in the bud.

I don't think they should have waited until the last drive of the game. Oh, it matters now. It's almost like the ref was setting them up. Everybody's talking about, just wait, just wait. There's going to come a time. Oh, you guys need one first and 20. How about it? Good luck out there.

Go ahead, AJ. TJ, what about your old squad, the Arizona? Whoa. Whoa. Good luck out there. Go ahead, AJ. TJ, what about your old squad, the Arizona Cardinals? Whoa. Whoa. Jeez Louise, Hawker. You're doing a lot of stuff on each one of them. I am unaware of whatever's going on on this.

You guys' inside jokes are what's happening. Get the guy's name right in a second. Yeah. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one.

You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one.

You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one.

You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one.

You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You got to use that one. You Oh, wine hog. That was going in the ring of honor. It's a compliment. I'm going to let it slide because of the jawline.

You have a phenomenal jawline. No problem. And trust me, I know you're going to see you. What was the question? Well, I didn't get to it, but I see you with the planes, trains, and automobiles jacket. I'm the only one on this show that would understand what that is. Wrong. Respect to you, Tom.

I'm certainly on the screen right now. You're scrambling to save the screwed up. Dennis Garnack. Dennis Garnack. Dennis Garnack. Home alone. Dennis Garnack had two sacks in that game. Your teammate in Arizona. That guy was all over the field.

I watched that film. I couldn't believe the amount of hustle and just pure power this dude plays with. And he's been in the league like five, six years. Is he going to have like a monster year? Dennis is awesome, man. You would love Dennis. He is just like a monster year? Dennis is awesome, man. You would love Dennis. He is just like a barbarian. He is going to do literally whatever it takes to get there.

He's a special teams monster. He's been a captain for years down there because guys love him. He's tenacious. He'll do anything to get to the ball. And I think when outsiders looked at that Arizona Cardinals defensive line and outside linebacker situation, they probably said that's going to be one of the weaknesses of that team. And then they go out there and they have six sacks and they're pressuring the quarterback like crazy.

So they played extremely well. Dennis with two sacks was awesome to see. I love that guy. And, yeah, I hope he goes off. I hope he has just a ton. You know, those special teamers that can do stuff, but then he actually shows, just given the reps, he can go out there and sack the quarterback.

I love it. I hope he gets tons. Hey, that place is a dumpster fire, huh? A little bit. A little dumpster fire out there? Or what are we – it's hot, I guess. It's really hot. I mean, they almost won.

Like, everybody – like, all the tanking and everything, but they almost went out there in week one when nobody thought they would have won. Now, the defense played extremely well. The offense has to pick it up a little bit to help them out. But it's, yeah, I mean, there's no secret. They're not built to be, you know, a 12-win team or anything. How, why? Because of all the buses that go to the city?

Bro, it's a beautiful city. It is. It's a beautiful, it's like a great city. I love the place. You would think they'd be able to bring in free agents if they wanted to easily because people want to live out there. I just don't understand why, you know, every year it's like, Cardinals are going to stink.

Cardinals are going to stink. Cardinals paid their quarterback. Cardinals are going to stink. Like, that is kind of the new narrative about it. I don't – you were in the building. Is that changeable? It's tough. You know, when I came down here, I saw a team that had potential.

I wanted to help that team realize the potential. And then we started out seven and up and I was like, I saw it. Nobody else saw it. I saw it. Yeah. I was like, I knew it. I knew this team had potential. And then obviously we went through some struggles and then last season was really bad. And it all just kind of went downhill from there.

So I agree with you. I mean, free agents, I don't know how you don't want to live in Arizona. I don't know how you don't want to go down there. It's just you got to win in this league, man. It's all about winning, and it's a struggle right now. Speaking of a team that didn't come close to winning, you know what I mean? Tyron Diggs, Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

Yes, JJ. It wasn't. Have you talked to TJ this week? What's the morale? Because I assume he doesn't care about his sacks. I assume he only cares about the win. I don't know if you noticed there was a certain 5-tech, 3-tech who went on the IR.

Not a question there. I just wanted to mention that Cam Hayward went on the IR. But what's the vibes coming from TJ this week? Yeah, I think I did see that he went on the hour. It's unfortunate. He's such a good player. He's been a stalwart for such a long time. He's been, I hope he comes back quickly and healthy

because he is incredible and he's a massive help to that defense, obviously. I do think Keontu Neal filled in well, and I think he's going to fill in very well. Yeah, Badger. Badgers have success up there. I think he's going to fill in very well. Yeah, Badger. Badger's had success up there. I mean, they just drafted Herbig as well, who looked incredible in the preseason.

He has some of that bend we were talking about with Will Anderson. But it's tough up there. I have talked to TJ, and, you know, the thing that Mike Tomlin does best is the standard is the standard. So they're going to go in there and they watch that film on Monday, and you don't hold back on anybody. Every single player is getting evaluated. Every single player is being told what they did wrong,

and now you go out there and fix it. You look at some of these last couple seasons, Tomlin has turned teams around. There's a reason he hasn't finished below.500 in like 16 years or something because he's a damn good coach. So I'm not worried about him, but that was not a good performance on Sunday. You playing for him? Mm-hmm. I'm enjoying this job.

You did great on CBS. You did great on CBS. Good suit game, too. But we also see that you're a psychopath still working out in the same exact way as if you were still playing. In Pittsburgh, he's just naturally saying, Hey, you know what?

JJ Watts going to play for the Steelers. Whenever we make a run, his brothers are there. It's going to be natural. Cam Hayward gets hurt. There's a spot seemingly open. JJ is going to be a Steeler. That's good.

I, I love the city of Pittsburgh. I love the people there. I love that. The way that they treat my brother. I love the, the history, the tradition. I there. I love the way that they treat my brother. I love the history, the tradition. I have so much respect for that place. It is incredible.

I'm enjoying being retired. It's great. Sounds like there's a chance. Don't give up. Don't give up. Did not hear a no there. And by the way, home alone. Final answer.

Yeah. Great one. Yes, there we go. Home Alone. Planes, trains, automobiles, ATJ. We get it. We get it. I know John Candy.

Big fan. Yeah, the guy doesn't like to fly. He's in the back of the truck with the worst mom in history. That's great. That lady was so bad at being a mom. Yeah. Brutal. Not great.

Now that I'm a, you know'm a parent, I'll say, wife's certainly kicking ass, could you imagine being as bad as them? No. Never. Not just once, two times. Child services need to be sent in there immediately. I don't know how that even happened. Can you imagine having that many kids?

No. I mean, having one now, you know. Imagine having nine or whatever they had. Never. I was watching this who's that freak family that they were on? The Chrisleys? No, the. Duggars? Yeah, there it is, the Duggars. The Duggars.

I was watching the Duggars. That's like a religion thing. They're like, hey, we need to produce so we can take over. It's like, your family's going to do that? All I see is just a miserable life for the next what 50 years and then they start going behind the scenes it was like well dad didn't see those kids until they got a lot older

I mean there was no parenting happening they're all working out there it's crazy one daughter for me boy you got a boy right strong boy he's that boy he's going to play? Big boy. Boy. Is he going to play football? Is that boy going to play football?

He's going to be a good boy. He's not going to. I don't think. He needs to be too big to play soccer. I think he's going to be. Whoa. Mom, great soccer player, right? Yes.

Yes. I hope he has her speed, athleticism, and agility. Put that with my size, we might have something there. Wow. Okay. Are we homeschooling, too, so we don't have to worry about academia or what are we doing no we're tossing them into school we need them to we need them to get roughed up a little bit you know rough some people up rough up yeah that's right yeah also get out of the house yeah i mean you do that i

was watching tj waltz highlights from this past week, of course. Yeah, COVID, everybody's Zoom teaching. Like, all right, we're done with this. I don't know how that happened. I was thinking about Sally and Tim McAfee having to do that with me. Fuck, no shot. No shot. So shout out to all the parents out there. Shout out to all the parents out there.

I was watching one of TJ's sacks, and boy, did it look eerily similar to another what that has been up. This was his second sack now. The move he makes, the get-off he does, but the double-hand swipe, JJ. This was your baby, was it not? And do you guys work on this? Yes, this was my baby. I love the double-hand swipe around the edge, especially when an offensive lineman opens up that gate for you

at two or three yards. You can just swipe the hands, get around the corner, get the sack. We do talk about it. We do work on it. He came and visited me this offseason. We did some pass rush work together. He has an arsenal of moves. He can do a bunch of different things.

And this is one that he's added in, I would say, the last year or two. And it's just another thing that he can do. And look at that. You just swipe the hands down. Guy opens up the gate, and it's straight to thing that he can do. And look at that. You just swipe the hands down, guy opens up the gate, and it's straight to the quarterback with a chance to knock that ball out. Nothing better than a free run with the ball just sitting there. Okay, so you said you guys worked in the summer. We actually pulled this up.

Were you working on that move here? No, not here. Look at you boys there. Were you working on that move here? Literally, that's it, right? That's it. That's a double swipe right there. We were working the double swipe, and then you turn the corner.

Oh, yeah. Zoom in. Wait, wait, wait. I can't. I got to zoom out here. Stop working. What the hell is this, dude? Is that a thigh?

Is that a thigh right there? That's what you got. That's what you got on your arm right now. You're hanging off your shoulder. Oh, there's the TJ. Is that the work that's the actual move you guys are working on a golf course right there uh yeah we were we were there's there's a patch of grass right in front of my house yeah and we're notice we're not in

the fairway we're staying in the rough uh respect the course appreciate that man could you imagine golfing and then like people see alligators on the course and they i saw a guy getting uh tracked by a hyena the other day in some other country or whatever. Could you imagine teeing off, walking down, and then just seeing, oh, those are the two biggest watts I've ever seen. What is that thing? What are those? Like, oh, that's the watts. The watts?

Who? The watts. The watts? I would assume it's a pretty nice neighborhood. Nice golf. Yeah. So you're actually working on this stuff and then seeing it translate in the game immediately for TJ. Is your position a craft position?

Like people can make actual leaps quickly at your position? And how much room does TJ have to still grow or is he at his peak right now? No, I think you definitely can, especially at the level that he's at. No, I think you definitely can. And especially at the level that he's at, he's now at the point where he's refining things and he's adding just the tiniest little things to take him from already the best to even better. And to me, the thing that I love about him the most and the thing that is so significant for him moving forward is that he still wants to improve. He still wants to get better. He wants to find that little one move or he wants to find that little tip or key that he can get. And that's the sign of the great ones. And he's got that. He's always working.

It's pretty badass to watch and to see and then to talk to him after the games and be like, what were you thinking on this move? Why did you try this one? It's really cool. Did you ever say, like, maybe you should go play offense? You know? Ooh. Did you say, hey, you know did you say hey you know

what tj get three sacks two force fumbles and then be the offense coordinator as well you know because i think that would really if you were to not play d-line for the pittsburgh steelers if you just took the offense coordinator job i think you're still still loved still loved still loved in pittsburgh out there uh ty has a question for you, JJ. Yeah, JJ, there's a lot of chatter about Jalen Carter kind of just being dropped in there this weekend and dominating right away. Lucas Van Ness for the Packers looks like he could potentially be the

long-lost Watt brother. Looks very similar to you guys. Why is that? Well, for one, he's white. He's also very explosive, very athletic. You're calling him hercules so you know i mean just body type looks very similar to you guys but for these young guys who are being dropped in there right away and are expecting to produce how long does it take a rookie d lineman

to acclimate to kind of the size and strength of nfl offensive lineman well let me tell you jalen carter doesn't seem to need much time at all to acclimate. The guy, the guy is tossing people around. Um, he's polished. I mean, he's doing some, look at this, look, this is, he literally is just about to throw somebody out of the way. Like that is an NFL offensive lineman. He's just taking one arm, swat him out of the way a little bit, a little bit reminiscent of a D Jones, um, head slapper. Uh, he doesn't quite get the head, but when you've got that type of power and that ability to move like Jalen Carter does. Oh, here we go.

Oh, look at that guy. Football is football. What a move. Smack in the mouth. Stocked and slapped. Jalen has done an unbelievable job, and that's a guy that I'm really looking forward to watch because of how good he is, how early.

It really is impressive, man. And to be that big and that athletic and also have some of the polished moves that he's got, it's pretty cool to watch. Yeah, dude, they're calling him a rhino. They're saying this dude doesn't even know he's a rhino. Strength is obviously, like, I guess whenever we just talked to Eli Manning and we talked to him, we're like, hey hey i think whenever we're trying to evaluate these quarterbacks

obviously this rose everything we're trying to figure out the brain like the brain is the most important thing whenever it comes to quarterback that's why you see guys like purdy just drop in and figure it out now does purdy have a stronger arm than everybody else in the nfl no does purdy is faster than but no but purdy knows exactly what he's doing. That's the key thing, I think, whenever we talk about quarterbacks. For defensive line, strength is obviously at the... We need it. That's the most important part.

Having played the position, I can tell you it's definitely not brains. That's for sure. All we have to do is chase the ball around, man. It's a sweet gig. I always tell people, we have the easiest job because any play call they literally just tell us where to line up and that's it everybody else has like 15 words they have to know AJ's job was possible I don't even know how you do rush and coverage all at the same

time but us up front yeah it's all about strength it's all about athleticism and I think that mobility the ability to have your hips move to be able to to drop your hips, change direction, stop on a dime, that is really important to have in conjunction with the strength. You could have the strongest guy in the world, but if he's tight and bound up, he's not going to be very successful as a D-line. Jalen's only going to get stronger, we assume, which is wild to think about. Go ahead, AJ. What do you think about some of these third down packages we're seeing?

We've seen Myles Garrett faking crossover dribbles in front of the center the center putting double you know he can go a gap to a gap all these these third down packages we see like how fun was that to every week i think if you can get with your coach and all of a sudden you you get to see this is what we're going to do to attack these guys and we get them in third and medium third and long yeah i would say first of all when you're doing a crossover move like that before the play starts, that is the definition of in the zone. I know the feeling. I've never done a crossover before a play in my life, but I know the feeling of thinking, I can literally do anything I want on this field right now, and I'm going to dominate. That's what he's feeling right there.

He's like, screw it. I'm just going to do some crossovers and the funniest part about it is he showed the offensive lineman the move he was going to do he literally did a crossover on the center and then just blew right past and watch he takes one step to the left jabs and then goes around like that's he just he practiced it for three seconds before the play started but i think that's like like take a hint here bud probably gonna get caught with the crossover could you imagine next game he's yeah do it all right but uh i think it's great that they're moving him around i mean you gotta on defensive line when you got a guy like miles garrett you let him find the fish whoever that is and you let him go rush where he wants and uh he got the move he was on the left some he was on the right some he was on the center so you let those guys move jim schwartz knows what he's doing

from an attack standpoint and then you add zadaria smith into the mix i mean that's a very very very good defense right there uh i remember watching the nfl films thing you were mic'd up and basically i think you started on the right side and then the next series you're like right middle and i think you ended up on left side outside and it was like everybody the defensive line coach defense coordinator and other people that are on the line were like okay yep that's where jj watts going and he's going to go on that side is that happening with every team or only like did you have that freedom because you were the elite guy or how do you get to that point i think there's certain guys that you have to do that with for two different reasons number one matchups you want to try and get your best

guy on the best opportunity to win number two it eliminates the team's chance of double teaming you if you're constantly moving the guy around an offense can't it's they can but it's much more difficult to identify that and to double team it if If the guy's always on the right edge, you can put a running back there to chip. You can put a tight end there to chip. You can tell the guard to slide out and help. If you're moving the guy around every single play, it's much harder for that offensive coordinator to call the protection to get it to exactly where he wants it to be for that double team.

So it does that, and then it also gives them a chance. If there's a guy that they like or a matchup that they like, go take it. That'd be so much fun. This one. Pretty good, Dave. Hey day hey good right that's pretty sunk yeah give me this one you do have to be at a certain status level to be able to do that because some guys i mean everybody wants that guy i mean let's be honest everybody wants that guy so you gotta yeah i'm going to take that this time thank you how convenient, how convenient. Of course. A question here from Darius.

JJ? JJ, you already mentioned TJ, Miles, and some of the other guys. But who are some of the other guys, some of your favorite guys to watch right now to get after that passer? I mean, I love watching Micah. I think Micah's great. What he does and what that whole Cowboys defense did was pretty incredible. And the fact that they were still out there just hunting in the fourth quarter

up 40-0 and Daniel Jones still in the game. Just taking it, man. Just taking it. You have to respect it that he was still out there taking the hits, but you also have to wonder, like, was that the best move? Even Micah questioned it. Yeah, so let's talk about that. Why is that?

Obviously, why is Micah questioning it, though? Why do you look out? It sounds like something that, you know, defensive pass rushers would never say, like, look out for a quarterback. But Micah is, like, genuinely concerned. You sound like you're genuinely concerned for it as well. Why is that? Well, I mean, I think that Micah talking about that speaks volumes to

how they were playing at that time. I think we saw Trent Williams say with the Steelers, he said, I kind of wish they would have converted a third down so we got a little longer break. I think Micah's kind of saying that like, man, I feel we're crushing this so bad. I feel bad for the guy. There's a

point where you got to take the pride out of it. You got to take that, we're going to leave our guy in and keep fighting until the end. There's a point where you got to take the pride out of it. You got to, you know, take that, we're going to leave our guy in and keep fighting until the end. There's a point where you have to say, okay, we're down 40-0. Let's be smart in the fourth quarter. Because pass rushers crave the fourth quarter when you're up. They literally beg to be left in the game. I don't want you to take me out of the game because that's my chance to hunt. Like there's times where you want the game to be close enough where they're still going to throw the ball. They't want you to take me out of the game because that's my chance to hunt like there's times where you want the game to be close enough where they're they're still gonna throw the ball they're still gonna drop back because you can get it 40 to nothing generally you're just gonna run

the ball drop the clock out instead they were dropping back and i think daniel jones just get crushed back yeah here's one of them you gotta protect the guy we got one of these clips they're down 30 plus at this point uh maybe 40. Yeah. And he's standing back there. The whole D-line, the whole D-line is on top of the guy you just paid $40 million a year. You're down 40 zip at this point. It's like I love whenever the opponents in the division come out and say, this is malpractice. This is malpractice going on

on the other side. You echoing that sentiment is beautiful, especially in the Home Alone jacket. Before we let you go, and we can't thank you enough for this Wednesday experience that we're going to have all season long. Turf grass. There's a big thing. Lloyd Howe,

who's the new NFLPA senior director. Executive? Executive senior super director. He's a big thing. Lloyd Howell, who's the new NFLPA senior director. Executive? Executive senior super director. That's right. He's a guy that was running. He was the CFO for a company that I think tried to get like 50 extra million from the government. Correct. Now, they got sued for that.

But we think this guy's a dog. We think he is. Hopefully. An absolute dog. Might be the right guy at the NFLPA. He is an absolute dog, might be the right guy at the NFL. He has come out and said, you know, like if you're trying to do that with the government. Yeah.

OK, I'm excited to hear what he does, you know, with the NFL. His first real public action here is calling for the fields to be flipped to grass. This is obviously a huge conversation around it all. There are stats on the NFL players side that, like, hey, grass is more healthy for lower extremities, ankles, knees. And also every player that's ever played has said, yes, give me grass for my joints as opposed to turf. We had Dr. Sills on, who is the chief medical officer for the NFL, and it's his job actually to go through these stats on the NFL side.

And he said, we have a robot, he said, testing every field for every month because these grass fields change from September to December. These turf fields change from September to December on the outside of the field versus the inside of the field. We're still trying to gather up all information, which, you know, in most places sounds like a delay tactic and something like that do you have a heavy opinion on this uh and how do you feel about old how and the nflpa seemingly going

full court press on this for the first time i mean first of all i'd love to see this robot i mean what the hell does that look like and what does it do and also what does that cost like could we just change all the fields for the cost of the robot? Solid question. I mean, all things considered, when everything is equal, I absolutely love grass. Every single player does. It feels better on your joints. It reduces the injury risk. Absolutely. The only time I, as a player, ever preferred turf is inclement weather.

If it was raining, if it was snowing, as a player and a pass rusher who needs his footing, I liked the turf in that scenario because it doesn't get as sloppy. But overall, 100% I prefer grass over turf. The question that I have, and it's a very legitimate and honest logistics question, is how are you going to do it? Because I've seen when international football teams, soccer teams come and play in America, I've seen them lay down these grass fields for them.

And some of those are really, really shoddy. You're putting down a little slice of grass on top of straight concrete. It slips and slides around. I've seen it. I watched the game almost get canceled because of it. So if you're going to do that, that's less safe. But if you have a way, and then you look at stadiums like SoFi, it's literally dug under the ground. You can't do a tray system there. It's underground. And how are you going to do that every single week to have fresh grass in a dome stadium? Those are logistics things I understand are gigantic and tough to figure out and why it's tough to do right now.

But do I think that grass is better? Absolutely. Yeah, and they'll figure it out. They'll figure it out. Always do. Figure it out. You know what i mean yeah so it wasn't built to have a nice natural grass field figure it out figure it out around real madrid did i mean real madrid stadium is insane what they did with their grass how about it talk about robots

arizona's awesome they take that thing out for a walk the field and then bring it back yeah yeah i mean that's that's a beautiful Super Bowl wasn't the best... Well, that's because they wouldn't listen to the sod father. No sod prince. Sod son. This is classic old school, new school.

Sod father who's been doing every single Super Bowl since it started. 53 of them. 90 some years old. Still got his fastball though he says oh yeah well he said this new son of a bitch wouldn't listen they put too much water on it they put the torps on top of it and that's what you got and then they try to smear my name sodfather said i didn't have any say in my last super bowl so we don't know what's right and what isn't but we do know that grass field was terrible so bad that they actually thought that that the NFL was doing it so that NFL players

would feel stupid saying that they need grass. It's like, yeah, they're going to do that on Super Bowl. Of course. But they are playing 4D chess at all times. Just like J.J. Watt. We appreciate you, buddy. Ladies and gentlemen, rocking a home alone jacket. I can't read it.

Kenosha Kickers. Of course. Great polka band. Great polka band. Took them forever to get to showsosha Kickers. Of course. Yeah. Great polka band. Great polka band. Took them forever to get to shows, though. Yes, it did. They are not flying. A little much. You guys created the Wright Brothers did what?

Yeah, I'm not doing it. Give me the back of a box truck. Ladies and gentlemen, J.J. Watt. Yay! That's going to be fun. Yeah. That's going to be fun this year, I think. A.J.

Uh, T.J. Uh, A.J. That was awesome. Oh, what are you guys trying to make me look bad? Oh, inside joke. Okay, sweet. I had no idea. That was amazing.

He though, obviously going to be a first ballot hall of famer feels like a human though. You know what I mean? There was a time there where he wasn't being presented as a human though. You know, like whenever he was at the Houston Texans, he was on every single ad. He was also in every single thing on TV and And they were like, look at this superhero. Look at this superhero. Oh, this is the big football superhero. I think he actually did not like that and just kind of disappeared away from it all

and got back to football. I appreciate the Watt family. Anytime you've got three brothers in the NFL, that's good news, AJ. That's good news. Yeah, I'd say that's good news. With all the odds of that happening are very, very slim. How do you feel about him taking a shot at AQ? Oh, buddy. That was wild. Did he?

What'd he say? He said offensive lineman and a bunch of cheaters. Yeah. Oh, I mean, that's what every D-lineman does. Of course. No, I've never heard that. Well, you got real quiet out there. Yeah, I kind of shrunk. Darius asked a question. You asked a question. I don't have a whiteboard. I need a whiteboard. Nah, the whiteboard is just

like an easy way to transition to whose question is next. You know what I mean? If something pops up in a conversation, but you don't have a whiteboard. I need a whiteboard. Nah, the whiteboard is just like an easy way to transition to whose question is next. You know what I mean? If something pops up in a conversation, but you don't need that. Put my hand. Let me put my hand. No, it's a very simple process. Hey, you. I just did a nice.

Head down. Boom. Boom. That's all you need. I'm ready for it. That is not what you did last time. No. I said boom, and he.

Shook it off. He looked up at the thing. I'm like, oh, this guy. That's wild. He shook it off. He shook it off. He's like you whenever Carly Lloyd was on. Yeah, this guy. That's wild. He shook it off. He shook it off. He's like you whenever Carly Lloyd was on.

Bingo. You remember that? That's not true. I did not shake it off. I didn't shake you off. Yes, you did. Yeah, you did. Oh, no.

Her and the Fantasy Football Brothers. And the Wetzel guy. Yeah. You fell asleep while Wetzel was talking. That was one of the greatest things of all time. It was very hot

out on that balcony. The Fantasy Football one is the all-time one. Because that was a hard shake. No. I didn't have any fantasy football questions at the moment. I'm sorry. I know he had a hard out.

I had to let him go. The fact that this show is now on ESPN is such a joke. If you guys go back and watch, we've had some real doozies out there. We're talking real doozies. AJ fell asleep while a guy was talking to us. Crazy. Live on air. Sunglasses on. Act like these were sunglasses.

Sitting right next to me. Yep. Sitting right next to me. Great throw. Great throw. Sweet gas station. Connor got all of them. Gave Connor like a $250,000 bonus. Bought every pair of shades in every gas station you've ever seen. Bingo.

AJ sitting next to me with these glasses on. Cause we're out in the sun. This guy's giving an answer. I do the classic. Hey, you next. And I get nothing. I see his massive cranium.

Just. And then he, oh, he's up. And I'm like, Hey, do you have a question? You go?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Guy's still talking. Then, right in this guy's face. Yeah. Right in this guy's face. Fuck, I was in school again.

Honestly, fuck, I was in class. I really did. Wetzel does not deserve that. You know what, he can't help it. No. Guy worked his ass off to get to that point. It's not his fault. It's not his fault.

You were staring at his son. We know it's bad for you. Yeah. I mean, you shake off Carly Lloyd. You shake off the fantasy football. You fall asleep in Wetzel's face, and now we're on ESPN. Boom. What a show.

Call JJ TJ. Call JJ TJ. Son of a bitch. Unbelievable out here. All right. That's our first Wednesday down on ESPN. We hope you'll join us tomorrow. We will continue live on YouTube.

Sports Center in seven minutes. We appreciate the hell out of you. Say something nice to somebody, will you? Goodbye. Okay, so we had a clock thing happen. Oh, yeah. In the middle of that program. So first ESPN feed to ESPN goes down.

So they start a second feed that doesn't have five-second delay. Clock set for five-second delay here. Had to make an audible. I think our internet went down, down too a little bit on YouTube. Is what I was told? Yeah, it did. How's that happen? How? How's that? We got five internet things coming into this building. How does it go down?

It looks like it timed out for like a millisecond and it happened two times. Two times? Twice? A millisecond? I'm paying five internet bills. How's that happen? This is what we've been talking about this whole time. They're just throttling it down, ain't they?

These smart people. You can get as many internet situations as you want. They can throttle all they want. You have no control. Speaking of throttling, we would beat the hell out of aliens at football. This is something we need to remember. When aliens

inevitably become a part of our everyday life, which we all assume... Is this a Mexico thing? lot of aliens in football yep yes this is something we need to remember okay when aliens inevitably become a part of our everyday life which we all assume it's a mexico thing ah yeah yeah you just shut up it is the mexico thing okay i would have got there yeah in about maybe 45 seconds my god if you just let me set the table here what the hell i actually thought about it i thought about it i was like no i'm not gonna interrupt happened. You've got to let it happen. Spoiler, it is the Mexico thing. There is something happening in our world that hasn't happened before. It seems like governments now and other people are like, hey, we need to get ready for a potential piece of information that we thought was maybe too big for humans for a long time.

There is life out there, okay? They have visited. We have no idea about them. Now, is that true? We don't know. In Mexico, though, a ufologist gave an official presentation to the government where he rolled out two bodies of these beings and presented them to, that's one of them.

Boom. He rolled out these two beings and said that they were found buried in Mexico in 2017, and they've been mummified for about a thousand years. Okay. Who knows if any of that is real? What I do know is it was presented as if that is an actual thing. And my first look at it, this little bitch can't play football. No. We need to

remember that. That little head will get knocked off that tiny little frame so quickly. Unk, the unaffiliated neurologic consultant would rule these aliens out of a football game after one hit. That is what we got to keep in mind

if there's ever a time to fear these beings from somewhere else that we don't understand. They stink at football. We beat them at football. We win, AJ. Your first thoughts with the build of the dome on how this thing would play at football and your thoughts on this happening in Mexico. Seemingly, you're all over it. Well, I assumed when I saw this.

So you assume this was a full-grown adult alien. I said this might be a six-month-old. I was scared because this might be three to six months old, and they grow to become 18, 25 feet as they grow. But there was two of them. There was two of them. Two babies. Two babies crashed over 5,000 years ago, and they're mummified. Oh, no.

That is an interesting thought. I don't like that we did that to their kids. They're going to be pissed. No, it wasn't us. They crashed. No, they're already dead. It wasn't us. We were actually honoring you, right?

Has anyone checked these out? Has anyone tested them to see if this is even what it's made of? Yeah. Actually, 30% of the DNA they do not understand. Bingo, yeah. There's like metals inside of the DNA. There are like types of metals, and they're still not sure if that is part of the actual genetic makeup, or

if that was something they implanted into the aliens post-birth. And one of them had three eggs inside of them, or something like that, so they don't know if it was pregnant. If it was pregnant, we assume it's not a baby. Right. Aliens could reproduce at any age. Are they born with babies?

Are the babies born with other babies inside of them? What's the other 70%? Us, yeah. Recognizable DNA. So it's animal, human, something that was known already. H2O. What are you saying? Did we procreate with these things?

Oh, you're saying back in the day somebody pointed an alien. We're slapping cheeks. Smacking alien cheeks, you're saying. How did we get 70% in this? That was my first. Green dongs. What was the movie? That's the only way.

Popping off heads. Green dongs. Rolled down. It's worth it. Anyways, let's get to a break. Let's just know that there was an official presentation where two of these things got rolled out. Yeah. What, Ty?

Listen, I don't want to be a skeptic. I want to believe we get a lot of this kind of stuff, okay? And it's very exciting because, hey, we might have aliens here. That fucking guy made those out of paper mache last week and put them in a box, okay? I mean, there's a chance. And if that is the case, still beat him at football. Yep. Bingo.

Absolutely. There was another video released, however, from Russia of the same exact makeup from that alien. Oh, how do you feel, Ty? Well, we could do that tomorrow as well. I'll go to fucking Joanne's Fabrics right after the show and grab some paper mache and I'll make one of the Hey, look what we found in the backyard of the

Thunderdome. Same deal. Be cool. Know what else we could do? We could hypothetically, theoretically create a simulated moon landing that looked very real. Don't be a pig. Whoa. Thank you, Nick. Well, we could pay homage to the actual moon landing, which is very real and did happen.

Yeah. Yeah, thanks, Nick. Not a bad idea, actually. I hope you're happy. What's your problem? Why is there a problem? I don't know. I didn't like the way Ty was talking about this alien evidence.

Well, when I found out this guy was a ufologist. Yeah, bingo. I thought he was a councilman. Someone said earlier he's been debunked a few times before. Oh, no. So? Let's get to a break. Not this time.

That's him? Yeah. He's a ufologist. It was him and other professionals, they said. Mm-hmm. Which, you know. I don't trust this. He does not have a trustworthy chin.

And what's his name? Taimei? I believe it's Jaime Hassan. Jaime Hassan. Which is the Jamie of Mexico. Jaime Hassan. Yeah. And Jocelyn.

And Jocelyn. Jamie Jocelyn. Listen, you guys have been saying for weeks, months now even, bring out an alien. Trot an alien up. Exactly. We finally get it to happen. You can't just shoot it down right away. I'll make Jaime. That's what we did potentially. A thousand years alien. Trot an alien up. We finally get it to happen. You can't just shoot it down right away.

That's what we did potentially. Trot out an alive, real, breathing alien. Mexico did it. Don't we have a presidential election coming up? You want to win? Trot one out. And then we need an Oklahoma drill stat just to let them know who's

alpha here. I'm in. I'm coming back. Well, start eating. Doesn't low pad win though? They're all this big. I was gonna say that Mexico guy who had a lot of old AQ in him. No, a lot of new AQ in him. No, no, no. Look at that chin. You kidding me? That's old AQ.

I love the beard. Oh, I thought you were talking about the alien. No, no, no. You're talking about Hame. Hame. Hame. The Ball! alien no no you're talking about hame hame hame football is what we've been talking about all day aj hawk is right there the toxic tables here at boss of connor enticement connor sweet shirt yeah it's a bear screaming on i figure for the trenches you know you probably need a couple bears down low a couple dancing bears dancing bears good bears will put it all on the line, dongs out. Well, if need be.

Come on. If need be. I don't know what that's all about. What would that need be on the football field? When it's, you know, fourth and goal from the one-yard line, you got to put your dong on the line, knock somebody else's dick in the dirt. Exactly. I get it.

They do say that. Come on. I get it, Colin. Hey, now, there was a 40 that was run by somebody. Oh, there was. Who's that? That's a classic combine clip. We all know that.

Who's? See? Check it out. My memory is a little cloud. I remember it potentially happening. He's a very good player. Oh, so it sounds like you know the situation a lot better than I do. How would you not know?

How does anyone not know? I actually genuinely don't know. Yeah, I'm lost. I didn't know until you, AJ. That's the immediate. I didn't remember one half of the hammer. Cowboys' Tone Diggs was not the guy. 12-year NFL vet and Super Bowl champion A.Q. Shipley was not the guy.

Nine-year NFL vet and host of everything DB and NFL matchup. That's right. And a man-to-man podcast. It was not Darius Butler. Okay, so AJ, it seems like this is a good one. It's not my place to publicize it anymore. But, yes, it's a compliment if you're running and your meat just falls out of your skivvies because it's too big.

Oh, is this Frank Gore? I have seen that. I mean, that's incredible. Incredible. I'm not speaking on it. I am not speaking on it anymore. It's the ultimate compliment to this person. Congratulations to this person.

I'm happy we're not doing it. San Antonio home? I guess it is on the internet. AB? Oh, it's AB, isn't it? Ladies and gentlemen, we will move past that conversation. I do not think it was AB. And before we get to generals, top five A-B, isn't it? Ladies and gentlemen, we will move past that conversation. I do not think it was A-B. And before we get the generals, top five college football teams,

we're having connection situations, which never happened. No, it never did. Ever. We're blank on ESPN, I guess, because things went down. Really? It happened Friday, too. Yeah, I don't know what's going on. What the hell?

Getting throttled. There's a chance. Honestly, there's a chance. What if somebody got so mad that our show got signed to ESPN? They're like, oh, they think they're so smart. Oh, your show's so good. Gonna go off without a hitch, huh? Is that right? Throttle it.

Just right down. Honestly, we have never had these types of issues that have been happening we have had them like a year ago yeah not for a long time and like you go through the studio and like connect it and get you know like redundancy answers for things now we have new redundancy on redundancy that's already been created because this redundancy obviously is the right redundancy and now it seems like none of them know the right answer. This is like that sign I used to have in the old office, the story of somebody, where it's like everybody thought this guy named somebody was going to take care of something.

And in the end, nobody took care of anything because everybody thought that somebody would do it for them. This is seemingly the issue that we're running into a couple of times. We would like to let people know that, watch, we don't like it either. It's disrespectful to you. It's disrespectful to the people that are home. And we need to get it figured out. Yes, we do. With that being said, joining us now is a guy who has it figured out.

That's right. Always. Always. Always. Since day one. Always all the ways. This guy has a heating and air conditioning company in Columbus, Ohio right now. That's right. You call it, there's a chance he shows up and actually just lifts a new furnace right into your house.

That's right. Properly jocks. Still works out with the Ohio State football team. Has a morning show in Columbus for four hours still every single morning. Talking Ohio State and college football. An absolute stallion. Former NFLer. College football legend.

Ladies and gentlemen, the General Bob Carpenter. Yeah! Yeah! Hey, Pat, now let me tell you this. I know there's been some issues, and I think your conspiracy stuff might be right on point. I mean, you watched Hard Knocks. You saw Aaron start to expose all the aliens,

and all of a sudden, dude, poof. Whoa. And gone. Whoa. Think about it. Bobby. We're right Think about it. Bobby. Why'd you do that to me? Bobby's on to something. Bob, why'd you do that to me?

Why'd you put it in here? You just put it in here. Now I gotta think about it. I don't need that, Bobby. They're just trying to put a ceiling on you, man. Don't let them put the ceiling on you. You gotta burst through that thing. Yeah, that's what we're doing. Bursting through these ceilings. Speaking of doing that, I've had the incredible opportunity to having a front row seat to the biggest college football games every single weekend in the last couple of years.

And re-diving into college football has been awesome. It has been so much fun getting a chance to experience the celebration and shenanigans of college football as a fan as opposed to a player that was going into these places and actually getting a chance to go learn the truth has been awesome. But we know that no matter what we say about college football will not be judged as harshly as your top five. Welcome back. We can't wait to hear the changes that you've made and who you have at your top five this week. And if you sit too close to the camera, there's a sun coming through somewhere.

It looks like you've got a bunch of white stuff on the tip of your nose. I'm not going to point things together, but there's going to be people that are saying Colombian Bam Bam is something that you tried. You need to stay back and get that thing off there. The General's top five for this beautiful week looks like what, General Bob? Well, here we go. We'll start at one. You want to start at five. Where do you want to go?

Five. We'll start at five. We'll work our way up. We're going to start with number five, the Florida State Seminoles. Making their way in. We talked about their big game that they were going to have against the LSU Tigers. They came out, and they absolutely dominated.

Jordan Travis has been electric. Last week, they smoked Southern Miss, and it looks like they got it done in the trenches. I knew Florida State had the skilled position players. You thought they had the QB, but what they did in the second half against LSU was very impressive. Okay, so obviously Florida State seems to have the dudes, too, to go on a run, just like we've seen with another school this past weekend that battled in Tuscaloosa. I assume they're going to make an appearance. Who's at number four? Number four, I got Michigan. They're sitting in there. They've done a good job. They've played well thus far. J.J. McCarthy's throwing the ball well. Donovan Edwards,

Blake Corham, they've looked good. They haven't really played anybody yet, and that's what's tough early in the season is trying to figure this thing out. So you don't want to penalize teams for looking as they should or maybe playing average against some below-average competition. But Michigan is taking care of business. They're where they need to be. They're going to get Jim Harbaugh back here soon, and I think that should help them get on a run as they get into this Big Ten schedule. AJ, how do you feel about that from a school up north?

I think that's Bob just showing that he's not a complete homer towards Ohio State. Now we'll see what number one is. But, yeah, I think it's good to put Michigan in there. Who's number three, General? All right, it's the game that you guys were at. People have been saying this, folks, for the last 15 years. Texas is back. It has been the big mantra.

So we're going to go with the University of Texas Longhorns. Congratulations, Texas. You fellas were at the game. I'm going to tell you, everyone wants to talk about Quinn Ewers and how great it was. Man, he can throw a phenomenal deep ball. But what it is, Pat, is you saw it up front. AJ, you saw those guys.

They're front four. They're defensive line. It looked like someone taped a T-bone to the side of Jalen Milrow's head, and those were just a bunch of hungry dogs out there trying to get after it, doing everything they could. It was unreal in the second half what they were able to get done. Matthew McConaughey was on the sideline sending the vibes from the moon through his horn, through his body, through his tricep

that he was throwing out right there. Whenever he joined us, that Xavier Worthy touchdown from Quinn Ewers right in front of us, that was an awesome moment. Yeah. That was an incredible moment. Right there. I assume it's going to show up in something whenever he writes about it because he's a big, firm believer in the universe.

Oh, yeah. Putting things together. Manifesting things, yeah. What an honor to be there. And shout out to Matthew McConaughey's Texas Longhorn team. Number three in the country, says the general Bob Carpenter. I think they can go on a run, too. Bob, they got the pieces to go.

I think they're big enough. Coach, they got everything that they need. They got the D-line. They've got the O-line. They've got a quarterback. You've seen the skilled position players. This Texas team, I think they're going to win the Big 12. If they don't make it to the CFP, they're going to have only themselves to blame because this is a team that is gassed up, Coach, and ready to go.

All right, all right, all right. Yeah, hell yeah. Let's go. We're going to go with the Georgia Bulldogs, Carson Beck-led team. They spoke to Ball State last week. They're the defending national champs, two-time defending national champs. They've got everything they need. Their schedule is going to be tough because we're not going to really get a chance

to see anything from them for quite some time. So we're just going to have to continue to believe because you know what? Man, they've been rolling for the last two years, and I'm not going to put them in the grave until they prove me wrong. Okay, so obviously they've won back-to-back national championships. Still undefeated. Still a new quarterback. Same coach, same system.

Number two in the country, obviously. To get to number one on the general's top five, it ain't no easy task. No. Because at number one, it is? It is your one and only Ohio State Buckeyes. Okay. And until they do something to prove otherwise, they finally picked their starting quarterback.

They've got Kyle McCord in there now. They've got Marvin Harrison Jr. going. And listen, I know that we're talking about NFL first-round draft picks, top three guys. I saw Pat Shador Sanders, NFL legacy. Coach, one of the best receivers of all time. His son is here, and he might be better than him. So they've got everything they need.

His high school quarterback, Kyle McCord, now officially the starter. I anticipate they're going to be ready to go. We're going to start to see his trajectory, Coach. It's going to be like a ski slope. Right to the top. With that light. The way this whole thing started with that light. Now I'm talking ski slopes.

Downhill skier. Oh. Okay. I like that. that are you laughing about congrats to the ohio state buckeyes being number one in the general's poll now he lives in columbus hosts a show in columbus and honestly hey ohio state against the same georgia team that won by 55 in the national championship right a lot of returning pieces or a lot of new parts because i heard that ohio state fans aren't believers this year in this Ohio State team. It's the greatest tragedy of all.

When you play a high-level college football, everybody expects you to be great every single week. Ryan Day has done something, and every year they get better and better as the season goes on. So I'm going to trust the fact that he knows what he's doing. He's had three first-round quarterbacks in a row. Kyle McCord will get there. It's going to take some time.

They've got to get the D-line going a little bit this week, but next weekend, man, they're going to be up in South Bend, Indiana, taking on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, which will be the premier game in all of college football in about 10 days. So I am super juiced for that one.

Yeah, your top five is going to get tested by Marcus Freeman, Sam Harmon. I mean, they got a team up there, pal. All right, we appreciate the hell out of you, General. Great to see you. We missed you last week. You got time for my double shot? A double?

What? All right, listen, I got my double shot favorite, my double shot special this week, because everybody's been in a situation where. Oh, the Vince Carter riser. Where's the riser is the riser we got that we got the the the riser with vince carter this week it's going to be the double shot because pat you go to get your buddy a drink and you come back you're like man he needs to have

a good time you tell the bartender make it a double and they get something a little unexpected when they put that thing to their lips and all of a sudden bam hey who ordered me this and that right there is the colorado buffaloes with everything they've done they came out of nowhere this week coach two weeks in a row tcu then nebraska you thought that the first sip was oh okay it's a little strong let me dive back in a little more and that thing knocked you down shador sand Sanders is throwing for 900 yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions, and it's been basically flawless. Dude has been remarkable.

I didn't think that they'd be cracking the top 25 this year, but man, they got a tough schedule, and they might be in the top 10, and you might be walking with one leg shorter than the other after you get done drinking with them. Okay. I love everything about you. Ladies and gentlemen, the General Bobby.

Yeah, Bobby! Unreal. I did not know that was coming. No. So it's going to be a different time for my double shot? Yeah. Yeah, because I heard about it earlier. Like, hey, there's a double shot.

And I was like, no, I like the Vince Carter riser. Perfect. And then, you know, no, it's a double shot. And I was like, no, I like the Vince Carter riser. It's perfect. And then, you know, no, it's a double shot. I'm like, no, I like the Vince Carter riser. Like, I respect Vince Carter. And then now his explanation, is that going to be every week? Hey, this week, this is the tight pants team. Yeah, you think you're comfortable,

but then all of a sudden it gets up to your waist and it's a little bit tighter than you thought. This team will take you to the fourth quarter and go, is that what he's going to do? I like that he's exploring the space. Yeah, he better do that. Yeah, Bob is a very creative person, so I would assume he's going to try to come up with a new one every single week.

And the best thing is the more we gas him up and let him know it's a good idea, I think the more he puts into it. I think the general's still on. Hey, general. Hey, general. Way to go. Keep it going. Yes.

Keep it going. Way to go. I'm going to is still on. Hey, general. Hey, general. Yes. Let it go. I'm going to try to explore the bounds of creativity. If you're going to give me a little poetic Liberty with this, I mean, I'll get some good ones here for you. Okay. You're a, you're a warrior poet too.

Yeah. Yeah. That's the beautiful thing about your poetry. The best part is, you know, you see your guy AJ over there, Chief Crazy Horse. He was kind of a stiff in college. So when I had to order him drinks, I'd have to go tell the bartender, pour it like it ain't yours, fill that bad boy up.

And then he'd be like, you good? I'm like, yeah, I got the same thing. And I'd have to shovel him the heavy pour, knowing that he didn't want to have a good time. Well, maybe the reason he didn't enjoy drinking. I mean, I don't want to have a good time well the maybe the reason he didn't enjoy drinking i mean i'm just i don't want to say this could be that it just tasted so terrible every single time he went out that might have been a part of it i don't know but i do appreciate your friendship you're the man ladies and gentlemen the general bob carver

this guy never wants to drink with yeah what the hell Oh, shit. There's one of that guy. Yeah. The best. Coach. Yeah. Coach. I was trying to tell you, Coach.

Dude, so what happened? He wasn't able to connect his computer. Obviously, he went with his phone right there on his desk. Oh, no. He had a voice changer on, and it sounded like, hey, my name is Bob. He couldn't hear the- He was doing weird stuff before this. Okay, so he's really taking some creative liberties.

This guy has an auto-tune like he's T-Pain. He tried to put you... Did he get an app or something to change his voice? I don't know. What is this guy? What is he? He couldn't hear the show, though. Exactly.

He looked good, though. Yeah. Always. Have you seen him? He's doing like 50 pull-ups. Yeah, he did 40 at 40. Yeah. He ran 20 half-g. He did 40 at 40. Yeah. He ran 20 half gassers like a month ago.

Yeah. To celebrate his birthday. He's 40. That dude's a psycho. All right. What have we not covered today before we dive into the trenches to wrap this thing up? I think there's... Oh, yeah.

Here we go. This is a good story, I think, especially with the talk of the Pittsburgh Steelers today. Big Ben Roethlisberger, who is the host of an incredible podcast called Footballing, obviously number seven for the Pittsburgh Steelers, here over there, won a Super Bowl in his last game at home, literally got like a victory lap where the whole place cheered him out of the city of Pittsburgh. Now, there's people that aren't in Pittsburgh that view Ben Roethlisberger in a certain way, and that's always going to happen.

But in Pittsburgh, let's go ahead and check. How do Pittsburgh that view Ben Roethlisberger in a certain way, and that's always going to happen. But in Pittsburgh, let's go ahead and check. How do you feel about Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Diggs, Pittsburgh Steelers, diehard Yinser? I love him. I'd take a bullet for him. Okay, that's how they feel in Pittsburgh. And I will say, after listening to football and learning a little bit more about him, it has been intriguing to kind of get to know this guy who's beloved by every one of my family members and friends. Me, not being around as much during his era didn't fully get to see it he chatted about Matt Canada and his inconsistencies

he said listen Matt Canada needs to just let the playmakers make plays he said let's get a play there Kenny Pickett can at least get back on track with if Big Ben's talking to Matt Canada Matt Canada's not changing are you a little bit worried about what this future looks like yeah Mike Tomlin is like one of the most loyal dudes of all time. It's not like he's going to make a change in the middle of the season at all. If Ben can't crack through, who can, Tone? Yes. Been worried for a few seasons now about Matt Canada.

I love Tomlin, but at some point, Matt Canada's terribleness is going to fall on Mike and for him not pulling the trigger on getting rid of the guy. And there is one guy who could come in and save the team. He's done it before. He can do it again. He can save the city. And that's seven. Seven comes in.

Be the offense coordinator? Yeah. Whoa. That would be awesome. Just talking about quarterbacks calling plays yesterday. Literally yesterday, we said players that are great. Now, whenever they're able to see the jumbotron and they're able to focus on what the defense is doing

as opposed to having the ball in their hand. I mean, you saw Baker Mayfield, who's not considered, no offense, Baker, might come someday, but not considered as one of the great quarterbacks in the NFL. He was able to look at the defensive coordinators and the defensive coaches and get their signals. And then at halftime, everyone's saying, imagine what Ben Roethlisberger could do if he could watch the defense,

watch the jumbotron, call a play for somebody else. Is that where we're at right now? Are we at the point of pushing for Ben Roethlisberger? Oh, yeah. We are 100% at that point. And when Ben was best under Canada, when he was not paying attention to him, or in the two-minute drill when he was calling his own plays,

even if the other team could hear him call his own plays, he was drawing them up in the dirt. He was yelling out, hey, wide receiver, you're doing this, you're running this. It was still 10,000 times better than what was going on when Canada's plays were coming in the air, peace. What were you going to say, Dee, about it? When I was reading that quote by him, to put it back up, it was a lot of kind of what Eli was saying about the young quarterbacks,

about getting them some go-to plays, you know, get back on track, some staples, like, hey, you know, things aren't really going well. Let's go to some of my favorite plays and get some, you know, like you said, get the ball in the hands of some of these playmakers. They got them out there. Pickens, you know, there's a lot of hype about that connection.

Going into this season, we saw some shots of him on the sideline looking dejected. I'm sure he would like some more touches. He would like to see some more explosiveness out of that back field now down Deontay Johnson. That only gets tougher for a play call. Yeah, and I, you know, preseason, they look good, AJ.

Yeah. Team look good. Very good. They were throwing the ball, Pickens had all these highlights. Friarmouth was doing his thing. Warren was moving. Everybody. It was like, really. And then just the lights come on maybe they just ran to the juggernaut niners maybe that's just all that happened yeah played the niners right we got to remember yeah yeah yeah brutal start but we talked about this too i mean you have a

lot of time to prepare for it like obviously the niners are going to be there in the end they're one of them mess yourself up with that too though con you know that probably like when you have too much time paralysis by an analysis where you just think you have so much time, you keep going into it and you're like, alright, we just thought ourselves out of this game because we thought we were too smart. Orlovsky put out a tweet that he thinks the Steelers are just

running the same pass play just over and over and over and over. Well, I know Orlovsky. I know Orlovsky knows. That's right behind. It's coming up out of AQ's head. Yeah, it's pretty cool. Was that a tweet?

Why'd you make that face, AQ, whenever I said you know Orlovsky knows? Why was it? Well, just like that first time In the Trenches came about was because Orlovsky knew that pass protection. That is how In the Trenches was founded. Orlovsky created in the trenches. Yeah, he doesn't even know it, I don't think. Well, maybe he does at this point.

He should. He does. We've talked about it, right? Yeah, I think so. I think we've chatted about it. He's chatted about it. But Orlovsky, friend of the program, friend of ours. Thank you, Dan.

We love Dan Orlovsky. Yeah, we actually do. That needs to be said. So when we talk shit on Dan Orlovsky, it's like we're just talking shit on a friend or whatever. But yeah, he got a platform, and instead of doing some quarterback stuff, he actually just started burying an offensive line for how they weren't protecting the quarterback

who was clearly hanging on the ball wrong and misdiagnosing some pressures. And AQ was still playing at the time, and he sent the tweet video, and he said, like, I forget what the exact word was, but, like, Pretty aggressive. Fuck Dan Orlovsky. Essentially. And I'm like, what do you mean? video and he said like i forget what the exact word is was but like pretty aggressive fuck dan orlovsky essentially and i'm like what what do you mean because everything he was saying makes sense and then aq was like yeah but the center is on this the ball is on this hash mark and the linebackers lined up on this particular shade in this way so the actual call is this dan orlovsky has no idea about that that is not something that dan orlovsky would ever do like screaming at me

on the phone and i'm like all right dude right, dude, well, when you retire, we'll just figure out a way to let people know that. And then, boom, In the Trenches comes about. So, shout out to Dan Orlovsky. Shout out to Dan Orlovsky. And you and him have become friends since then. For sure. Yeah, we talk.

You think he's wrong there, though? No, I think he's probably right because I think we know about. What's the concept? He's in the same concept. How was the Jet Sweeps this week? Was there a lot? There was actually the second play of the game, my friend. I think we know about Canada's same concept. How was the jet sweeps this week? Was there a lot? There was actually the second play of the game, my friend.

Who would have thought? What was that? You don't like it? No, second and four. I think I was watching it. I think Nick at the Colts game was watching. I'm like, second and four, you get a good first down play. You go and jet sweep. You lose, what, three, four yards on the first drive?

You're like, why? And he's not his first time doing that. No. It's not like, hey, I've made this mistake. I have never made this mistake before. You should see the concepts, man. They're crazy. He runs a slant and then there's back out in the flat and then he runs a flood where

there's a 15-yard out with the tight end about five yards. Basically, a lot of the... That sounds like a great... I drew up that play on the virtual reality football thing. Which has a new era, right? Status Pro, too. I am the voice of the office of coordinator.

Yes! Keep playing defense. This guy's AI. It's a human taking an AI job in the Oculus Arena. Love that. Good job, D-Bud. What's the game called? Status Pro.

It's one with Lamar and the NFL affiliated. I've played it a few times. You draw plays. You throw footballs in there. You're in the Oculus. It's pretty sweet. But I had no idea your voice was going to be on it when we got in there. That's an incredible thing.

It's version three now. Two. Version two coming out. I think the 28th, he said. And we're actually having some conversations about how I can get more involved. You're going into META. You're going to be in Oculus there? I'm going to be in Oculus.

What if you pop out there in the Oculus? Hi, I'm Derek. I'm your offensive coordinator. And then, like, go to dap people up, too, with the – Good play. Got the hand thing. Yeah. Yes.

You still playing it, Nick? Hell, yeah, dude. You call ten times better plays than Matt Canada could ever dream of. Thank you, D-Buds. Thank you, D-Buds. Thank you, D-Buds. Matt will figure it out. He'll figure it out. I don't think so, honestly. While you were talking there and breaking down the concepts,

AQ is a yinzer at heart, so he's obviously heard all of his family and friends bitch and complain about Matt Canada, so I assume he's looked into it. He seems to be co-signing with what everybody else is saying, so that makes me believe, now just as a human that I am, like, okay, a couple people that I trust have said, yeah, this is trash. And this is no offense to Matt Canada, who's probably a good guy.

But, like, in the NFL right now, you've got some super gurus with the offense and things that have changed and evolved and just little tricks and leverage concepts that you can use to help everybody in everything. If you're not taking advantage of that, and I know Dan Orlovsky has said this before, but it's real, like, there's enough out there that if you're not taking advantage of it and your offense is completely inept,

like, it's malpractice. It really is. And Mike Tomlin is going to be the one that's going to get judged by this. Mike Tomlin's resume is good enough. Mike Tomlin's going to be a Hall of Famer. But it is, like, one of Mike Tomlin's thing, which is a good thing, is how loyal he is.

You know, now he takes care of his guys. And it's like, hey, it's like a college atmosphere and a family atmosphere here. It's like, I'll be interested to see how he handles this whenever it's continued to not go well. It's gotten loud. He knows they have a team, right? It didn't look like it against the Niners, but if you look on the roster,

defense, good. You got the best defense player in the world is what J.J. Watt's saying about his brother. On the Niners, but if you look on the roster, defense good. You've got the best defensive player in the world, is what J.J. Watt's saying about his brother. On the offensive side, seemingly Kenny Pickett can do it. We've seen it happen. George Pickett's one of the best wide receivers in the league. You've got good backs, good offensive line. It's like how long does Mike Tomlin sit there and say, my loyalty matters more than not getting the most out of this team

that I am in charge of? That is something we'll all kind of sit and watch, I guess. I gave you that stat yesterday about 400-yard games and how they haven't had one since 2020. And they're the only team. Only team. Every other team has had at least three 400-yard total yard games. Pittsburgh Steelers have zero.

Zero. What's the most success the Steelers' offense has had under Matt Canada? What year was that? It was 399 years. Yeah, yeah. I'm not a Hermson. But I'm saying, was there ever any good times in Pittsburgh for Matt Canada where you guys felt good about it?

Ben's last year they went to the playoffs, right? Yeah, but still it wasn't. It was bad. Remember, he was just throwing the ball every time. Yeah, snuck in. He had to get the ball out. I mean, and Seven could make shit look like flowers. Amen.

That's how they view him in Pittsburgh, brother. Can't put it all on the coaches, though. Can't even do all that two-minute stuff. I heard Belichick say, hey, good players make good coaches because you can call a lot of guys. Brady had a very simple system for a long time. We knew some of the shit he was calling. Did that work?

He executed. And Kenny did miss some throws that he wouldn't normally miss, which is a problem. But Peyton has the most interceptions in the history of rookie quarterbacks. He coached at Indiana here the first four years of his career. Shout out. Then he went to Northern Illinois with the Rhinebacks quarterbacks. Nice.

Then he goes back to Indiana. Okay. He's quarterbacks and passing game. Should we scroll? Scroll down. And then he's still at Indiana, still at Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, NC State, Pittsburgh, LSU, Maryland, and then Pittsburgh Steelers. Boom.

I mean, that is a wild leap for old Matt. I didn't know this was his first NFL gig. Yeah, and then. Couldn't tell. Yeah, certainly something, though. Good luck out there in Pittsburgh. Yeah, that's right. You got it done. Could be just the Niners, you gotta remember

Let's take a couple phone calls, then we'll do In the Trenches Then we'll get the hell out of here on this glorious Wednesday Oh, pretty big announcement On Friday we'll be live in Boulder Boom! Come on! Yet another place where I don't believe we have that large Of a following if you read the stats

On the internet. But First Take is going to be live out there in Boulder. We will be live out there in Boulder. I think some of the guests we are going to have on are pretty large. Yeah. I think we're going to be on the business field. To all the people in Colorado that know that. And obviously we'll do the whole thing.

We'll have some giveaways, probably. We'll have some giveaways probably. We'll have some good chatter. And we'll have a blast as we kick off a massive weekend for the Colorado-Colorado State game where game day will be there. And I assume every human in the sports world is going to embark to beautiful Boulder, Colorado. So we'll start there Friday, AJ.

I can't wait for it, pal. That place is on fire, man. It'll be cool to see that whole campus. I'm sure it's a big difference last year to this year of what it feels like there, especially on a football weekend. Yeah, I bet there's a little bit of buzz over there. As there should be. They are remarkable.

A lot of fun to watch. Can't wait to get out there. Cannot wait. Pumped. I've been watching everybody that's gone out there over the past couple weeks, staying on the sideline. It looks like a great time. Yeah, the scenes, just the actualeline. It looks like a great time. Yeah. The scenes.

Just the actual place of Boulder looks incredible as well. Which makes me say this, too. The team on the field has handled it. Okay? Oh, yeah. This is like back in the day with the USC. Whenever USC would have all these stars come in, the team handles it. There's teams that get a lot of accolades and a lot of hype,

and then they can't handle it, and they stink. If these dudes weren't phenomenal right now, none of this shit would be happening. So we've got to remember that as we talk about everything that's coming around the team. We're honored to take our show and be a part of everything that's surrounding the situation. But what's happening on the field?

Crazy. Insane. This is a turnaround that is quicker than anybody else. And they believe, which is Deion's big thing, like, do you believe? Yeah. If you don't believe, hey, we're going to get you the hell out of here. Every coach says that, but he's been able to actually do that. They believe they need to dominate

everybody. And that's not like, yeah, the Pac-12 is the best it's been in a long time. You're going to have a lot of tough games coming up. Think about that Utah team playing against this team. I mean, that's old school football. Oregon State playing against that team. DJ Uyunglele. USC playing against that football team. I mean, that's old school football. Oregon State playing against that team. DJ Uyunglele. USC playing against that football team. I mean, there's a lot of great... Oregon.

I mean, there's a lot of teams over there in the Pac-12 that they're going to have to get through if they want to get to the spot in which they could potentially get to, which is college football playoff. But they believe they can. And after watching them, why not? Why not? They have the mindset for it, the mentality for it, and I think we haven't even been introduced to some of the star players

that they have on their roster at key positions. And we'll probably meet week seven, week eight. This Weaver guy, he's the guy with the dreads, wide receiver. He's a beast, absolute beast out there. Didn't know he existed before this season. I assume there's numerous guys that transferred into Colorado that haven't had their shot yet, but when they do, going to explode with the

mentality that they have. Yeah, their big running back from Houston, McCaskill, had 16 touchdowns last year as a freshman. He hasn't played yet because of injury, but they have six ranked teams left on their schedule. Pac-12 is a real deal this year. Yes, it is. Going to be a lot of primetime games. Get a chance to go experience it. Yeah, I think so.

This weekend's 10 p.m. Yeah, which is a late kickoff. Interesting. That of prime time. You get a chance to go experience it. Yeah, I think so. This weekend is 10 p.m. Yeah, which is... Late kickoff. Interesting. That is a late kickoff. And I don't know anything about them, but boy, I feel like they're going to beat the hell out of Colorado State. Yeah.

Granted, they could have a bunch of great players. I'm sure they do. We're looking at the slate for game day, and I have nothing to do with any of that. We have nothing to do with any of that. I think the backyard brawl was very close. It was very, very close. But it's like neither team, no offense. Like, no offense.

Colorado has a chance to make the college football playoff. So it's like that's what – if West Virginia had, let's just say, covered against Penn State, I think. Sure. You know, just kept it competable. Yeah. I think it were competitive. For sure.

I think it would have been much more considered. Pitt didn't hold up there under the bargaining. Bingo. Yeah, exactly. I didn't want to bury Pitt. I just want to talk for it. I will on Saturday, of course, when we're doing the whole thing. But, like, yeah, there's a lot of West Virginia people that are, like,

disappointed. Like, why aren't you coming to the backyard, bro? It's like, I tried. I pushed. Yeah. I pushed. I think game day was very interested in me going back to West Virginia. I was excited to go back to West Virginia. Now it's like, since they

both, they had to go because this is the biggest story in college football. But you look around the slate, it is. The games, I don't want to say there won't be any upsets or magic because there always is in college football every single weekend. But as you try to project ahead, this particular lineup,

not nearly as packed as other weekends in college football. And I would like to say, hey, college football, come on. Yeah. Let's go. We're signing massive network deals. I understand their strategy and who your non-conference games are because if you suffer a loss, you're screwed pretty much for the future. But as this thing gets to 12 teams in the playoffs,

and it'll be a little bit more forgiving, I think, to teams that maybe lose a game or two, let's make sure we stack these things. Yeah, what do we say? Strictly selfish reasoning, but let's make sure we stack these games every weekend. No more non-conference cupcakes. No one wants to see that. No, I want Colorado-Ohio State. Exactly.

Ohio State. Sign Colorado. Good news, though. They're talking about with the expansion, now that there's not just 12 and 14 teams, there's 16 and 18 teams in your conference, they're probably going to be playing two more conference games. I think it's nine conference games that are probably going to be happening or 10 conference games are going to be happening or 10 conference games gonna be happening we're

gonna have a lot we're gonna have a lot yeah like bama texas that every single year like you mentioned upsets i mean that was a massive upset last weekend i feel like we were at there's seven point dogs wasn't it crazy though to think that alabama was seven point favorites but there were so many more question marks on the alabama team than it was on texas that was strictly because it was in tuscaloosa and Nick Saban's. Bingo. Night game. We just have faith Nick Saban will be able to figure it out.

And Sarkeesian's like, we got a really good team. Yeah. Really, really good team. Would have beat them last year if you were going to get hurt. Bro, they're big. It was questionable about him, too, though. Quinn, you were coming into that game, and he dropped his nuts. Yeah.

He was. Threw like three picks in a game last year, had like below 50% completion rate in one game last year. He like had the Josh Allen thing where like his arm is so talented that he's just making throws that you shouldn't – and they weren't – it wasn't going well. It was like, can he reign that in a little bit? And, yeah, I'm thinking he can.

Yeah, absolutely. I'm thinking he can. He's healthy. Hadn't had a touchdown pass over 20 yards'm thinking he can. Yeah, absolutely. I'm thinking he can. He's healthy. Hadn't had a touchdown pass over 20 yards or something like that. I think Reese. Air yards, yeah. Yeah, I think Reese Davis came by and said that. That was crazy.

And that pressure in the building. Like, Arch Manning's coming to Texas. It's not like, yeah, no, I'm the only option here. Like, I'm sure that was something, too, or if I screw up. And I think someone actually did say it. Like, he's two or three bad plays away from everyone just chanting arch's name hey very proud of you quinn yeah how about ohio state though i mean ohio state has had joey burrow leave quinn ewers he was there and left like these guys can't get on the field at ohio state and they go how do you feel about

ohio state because whenever uh yeah michigan was at four on the general's list you got pissed yep and ohio state at Obviously, you got pissed. You went to Penn State. I mean, can you not just have appreciation that the Big Ten's being represented in a big way because Penn State hasn't been able to do that for a long time? Is that happening this year though? Is Penn State an actual team this year? Well, we had a conversation earlier. I think

you're kind of jumping on this bandwagon a little bit. Maybe just a little bit. I watched the entire game against West Virginia and I'm like, you know what? All the mistakes that I've seen Penn State make in the past in situations, they're seemingly different this year. They're bigger, stronger, faster. Quarterback's awesome. Quarterback is an Ohio guy. It seems like he loves

the football. And it's like, can James Franklin guide the boys to something bigger this year? Maybe it is the year they can do that. Maybe it is. Michigan and Ohio State are obviously great teams, but I do think Ohio State doesn't have that quarterback they've had in years past. It might be a little maneuvering. AJ, Herbie is talking about this.

I don't know if it was on a call with him or on game day. To be honest, everything's kind of just blurring together now at this point. But the Ohio State fan reaction to McCord after they win by 20 in the first game, he said it was like loud over there. And then I think one of his takes was they're expecting him to be C.J. Stroud right now, who's just the number two overall pick in the NFL draft. They forget that, like, hey, there's going to be development when a new guy comes in because it hasn't had to happen in a while or whatever. Is it still loud over there about McCord in Ohio?

Is that always going to be the case? Not as loud. I mean, yeah, it's like anything when they had kind of two guys, they didn't have an exact starter until basically yesterday or today. Not as loud. I mean, yeah, it's like anything when they had kind of two guys, they didn't have an exact starter until basically yesterday or today. Yeah, people, if the first guy's not lighting it up completely, people naturally will say, hey, wait, why isn't this other guy in? And so I think now it's all right that he's officially the starter,

but everything, all that matters is the Notre Dame game coming up. They want to see how they do against Notre Dame. They better go up there and find a way to get a win. It's going to be a tough one. Notre Dame's good this year. Very good. Any win, good win, they do against Notre Dame. They better go up there and find a way to get a win. It's going to be a tough one. Notre Dame's good this year. Very good. Any win, good win, right, against Notre Dame? Win by one, win by ten? Yeah, I'd say.

Win by one, yeah, that's a win. Ohio State fans feel that way, though? Yes, absolutely. That's one of those games, I think. They're a respectable team. Yeah, but these Ohio State fans are bananas. Yeah, they're wackos, but I think it's different. It's awesome.

Not all of them, obviously. We're not saying, man, Herbie has done the entire 15% talk and everything. It is all college football fans. Just letting you know, as somebody that picks against a lot of teams every single week on a stage that is saying, hey, every college football fan will watch you, and then you

will have to pick against 10 teams. You will have to. This is how it's going to go. there's a lot of fans that expect a lot and have a lot of passion which is what makes college football great but the ohio state ones like it does feel like they live and die with every single snap and it's like if it's not perfect you're taking happiness away from me and i am not going to let that particular thing fly you can be out the door we can get a next guy in there and i guess that's just when expectations are bananas that's what happens yeah for sure and i think with notre dame now like the name always has been you know one thing but sam hartman has legitimized them and now everyone's

kind of like hey notre dame's not just the same team where if they make it to the college football playoff they'll end up playing a team from the sec and getting beat by 40 in the first round like they could actually beat some people this year they They're very good. And Sam Hartman? One rib down. That's right. What? Where's around his neck? Everybody else got all the ribs.

He's got one less rib. Like Adam and Eve. Well, yeah, because you take the rib, right? Marilyn Manson. Same thing. Different reasons. I wonder if he can do that, though. That was to get to his baloney.

I think he got the rib up here taken, not down here. Who, Marilyn Manson? No. You got ribs on your shoulder? Well, they had to relieve the pressure. You didn't watch the special done by Jen Lott? He didn't. That was a good piece by Jen Lott.

Yeah, yeah. His mom used the dremel tool. We watched it together, actually. Yeah, but it sounds like you didn't want – the Alabama fans, they were not too keen on seeing this guy's bloody rib on this big – No, they weren't. They were seeing this guy's bloody rib on this big. No, they weren't. They were booing this dude.

Oh, yeah. Jen Lotto was telling like a cool story, and it was happening, and the band was like, I laughed. I was laughing. I enjoyed it so much. I'm like, I appreciate you guys just being like, I don't care. Yeah. And get that bloody rib off of my screen.

He said he wasn't wearing it this week because it was too sharp. Yeah, not on the field, no. Yeah, he said it's actually not that. He should use it. Fucking, you know, get some guy in the Achilles, you know, slash somebody. Look at his beard, too. Beard, hair. I mean, he's got it figured out right now.

You know what I mean? Yeah. Marcus Freeman recruited the hell out of him. Oh, yeah. That was basically his answer. Smart. Whenever I asked him about, hey, I'm sure there was other teams that were asking for your services.

Imagine if Alabama's got Sam Hartman. Right. I mean, Ohio State. How big is that running back? Huge. That's the man? Huge. I saw him after the weather delay

take it for like eight. Oh, yeah. First play. And they will, too. They're not, Notre Dame's not scared, even with Sam Hartman, obviously,

and how incredibly talented he is to extend the place. They will. We're old school football. Bunchy in the mind. They will do that thing. Good O-line. Good teams. They want to win the Joe Moore Award this year. They said they're going to win it. They've won it a bunch in the last couple years. Michigan,

right, right now? The team that you got all upset about being ranked at number four? Who votes on that? Boo-hoo. They lost a lot of guys, Joe. AQD is a vote for sure. Who does vote for the Joe Moore? Who knows a good O-line? It's tough to know especially individual O-linemen who is good. Notre Dame's tackles projected.

Joe won't tackle. Joe won't. Number one? Number one. Ooh. Did you watch film on him? Do you believe it? Him and Penn State's tackle.

I haven't seen much of him. What about Penn State's tackle? I'll watch a little bit on him. Penn State's number two. The Olu Pichono. Oh, yeah. Wasn't he supposed to be, like, a top five pick last year? And he chose to come back.

Yeah. Yeah. Wow. We all to be like a top five pick last year? And he chose to come back. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. We all thought that was a bad idea. Big time. Just thought it was a bad idea. Always a bad idea. But now we've all played.

I don't know. And we – what's that? Maybe he likes college, though, for real. I haven't even talked to guys that got in the league. Like, man, I kind of wish I would have stayed, actually, another year. Yeah, not top three picks. No. Yeah.

No, yeah. It depends when you're picked. Yeah, normally you can, like, find happiness in that particular part, you know? So I missed the student union. Okay, build one in your basement. Yep. Okay, listen, let's you know, let's kind of take advantage of the situation that we're in, knowing that this situation in a physical sport,

a combat sport, a very injury-laden sport, let's take advantage of where we're at. But some guys aren't thinking that way, so I respect them. But every time they do it, I will say, I think that's a dumb decision, especially if you can be a top-ten pick. That's just not normal. But old buddy might get better this year. He might have been the biggest believer in Penn State this year out of everybody.

Hey, I'm willing to risk $25 million to come back and do this. Good for him. Maybe this is the year Penn State's back. Tough test next week. Who they got? Fucking Hawkeyes are coming up to Happy Valley, baby. I'm glad it's at Penn State. McNamara's feeling good. Why? You guys

don't like waving to the kids in the hospital? No, I just think that atmosphere, especially the night atmosphere in Iowa, is awesome. Yeah. I got a chance to see a game out there. It was crazy. Oh, yeah.

No service. No. Nobody has any phone service. So everyone's locked in. You're literally, you can't, your phone does nothing. You're sitting in the middle of all these humans in the middle of Iowa. You can't talk or hear anybody on your phone. So you're literally just in the moment.

It's like you take a trip back in time. It was awesome. The Iowa football experience was awesome. Fans are right here. You're sitting on the bench trying to pay attention. They're right there. Iowa doesn't get a lot of respect for that. I was going to say, yeah.

Should get more. We took the train there, too. That was pretty sweet. Yeah, there's a train. Hawkeye Express, baby. Yeah, people were very boozed up on that thing. Oh, yeah. It was pretty cool. Yeah, there's a train. Hawkeye Express, baby. Yeah. People were very boozed up on that thing. Oh, yeah. It was pretty cool.

It was like we took a trip back in time. Checked into the hotel, and they handed us two beers right away. Ice cold. Awesome. Yeah, it was like standard hotel, too, not like a trashy hotel. Right. It was like nice hotel, and they're like, welcome to Iowa. Here's a nice cold beer, whatever.

I'm like, I love this place. Yeah, people talk about it, but it is true. With no professional sports team, those games on Saturdays, it might as well be an NFL game because that's all people care about. Is it night game Iowa? At Penn State it is, yeah.

In December, there's no night games though in Happy Valley? Is that what I heard? That's a great question. I don't know if they remember. It's impossible to travel. Alleg don't know if they remember. Because it's impossible to travel. Yeah. Allegedly, a big part of the NBC Peacock conversation about what games they get for primetime on Saturday

because Fox isn't going to give up a lot. Because remember, Fox owns all the Big Ten TV rights. The former Big Ten commissioner, Kevin Warren, who's now at the Bears, basically said, hey, I would like to. He did a great job, too. Yeah, he said, we're not playing football because you're the first guy to say that in Ohio. That's where the general was born. Right.

Yeah. Actually. So the Big Ten Commissioner actually goes to Fox and says, hey, there's a lot of money for football happening right now. Is there any way I can sublease some of the games that you guys have under rights and give them to another network as these platforms are trying to build? Good business decision there. Now, did he tell the truth on which games

he was allowed to potentially sell the rights to from Fox to every network that was potentially bidding on that? Who knows? There's different stories, rumblings behind the scenes of what some places thought they were potentially getting, what they actually got. And then as that conversation started to brew about like, oh, there's not a lot of Ohio State games, not a lot of Michigan games. There's not a lot. There's a lot of Northwestern Illinois games potentially available.

Rutgers. And then it was like, oh, well, Penn State's going to be a big part of this. And then the conversation started like, in December, though, there's been rules made, I think, by your university about not having night games because of how hard it is like, in December, though, there's been rules made, I think, by your university about not having night games because of how hard it is to travel in December with the weather and people having to get in and out of there, I think was something that was kind of being chatted about. Makes sense.

That's crazy. Yeah, because it's impossible to get up there, right? It's impossible. And then plus all, I mean, obviously in December, you can get snow in November. You can get snow in October up there, right? It's tough to get in. Why'd you go there? Just because of the prestige of what Penn State was for a long time?

How's the campus? Is it a good campus? Campus is awesome. Great party school. Great party school. Good times. Great times. And Sandusky recruited you, right?

Relax. And then. I thought that was one of the reasons. You like to cut his chip. He was on the other side. I think he was D linebacker. I think he was linebacker. I thought he did linebacker's handle line. Ah, well.

Well, he might have. He might have. I think you were a D-lineman. My name is a D-lineman. Oh, so it was. Yeah. Were you a linebacker? No, a D-lineman.

You have an outside? They're going to stand you up. No, I wish. I would be now. Well, I don't know. You're probably looking like kicker punter right now. You think? Yeah, you and Kevin Kelly would have had to juice.

Wow. There's Joe boss saying, we love you. Look at that hair. Hey, Cush, we love you. Hey, Cush. That's what Joe Paterno said. Great sheners. That was big right there.

Oh, it's high school? Yeah. Trying to get big, or was this after basketball season? After basketball season, 300-ish. You were just bullying people in the paint. Yeah. Imagine trying to get a rebound around that fridge. Guys, Hall of Famer.

Actual Hall of Fame high school basketball player. This thing. Thousand points, right? Let's go to the phones. Congrats to you and congrats to Penn State, but I think they were... That was the plan for NBC. It was like, alright, we'll do a lot of Penn State stuff, and then it came up in conversation

that it doesn't happen. This is from 2009, so it's a bit aged, but it was a whole conference. Like it was a Big Ten rule that November, December, no night games. Okay. So it wasn't just Penn State. That makes more sense that that came up in conversation because NBC got primetime games for Big Ten. And it's like, well, actually, we don't do this. We actually have a mandate.

No primetime games. So that's what you got sold. So good luck out there. Have we checked out the NBC setup? We're two weeks into it. I don't think I've seen it enough. Who do we got? They got Castle, M-Rob, Maria, and Joshua Perry.

He's not our teammate. I thought Collins was on it, too. Or he's Collins. No, Jack calls the Notre Dame game. Okay, that's it. With Jason Garrett. Bingo. Yeah.

Hey, Jason Garrett, I don't listen to a lot of the Notre Dame games. TV on, not listening, though. No, would. Like Jack, like Jason, whatever. Jason Garrett on that football night in America, no flubs. No. No, he's pretty good. I think he's good.

I think there's a lot of people that hold his... Sure, the clapper. Against him from when he was the Dallas Cowboys coach and how the whole thing ended and how the whole thing went. On TV, though, I think Jason Garrett is a weapon. Made for TV. I think so. I think he's very good on football night in America.

Cowboys and then for the Giants, so he's not used to it. I mean, the bright lights don't bother him at all. I think he was kind of made to do that. Pretty good player, too, right? Back-up quarterback. Quarterback. Former head coach. Obviously got a ton of football in on it.

So the longer you do it, the better you get. Saw him smoking stoges out with the boys at the Pro Bowl, too. Love that. So I think he's like a human, too. That's why every time you see him on TV, you're like, look at that robotic fuck-up. Is that. So I think he's like a human too. That's why every time you see him on TV you're like, look at that robotic fucker. Is that a human? Why is that human like

that? And then he starts getting on a microphone and it's like oh, good guy. We should do this. I like this guy. I do. I do like this a lot. He was always just trying to be the positive guy, which I think he's remaining on Football Night America. I think they're doing well. The game day thing that they're doing though, those people there all day, right? Yeah, I think so.

Cool. Good luck out there. Keep it going. Good luck out there. Some of those college parking lots, hot. Very hot. Very, very, very hot. Next week, I'm going to get a good dose of it with Notre Dame Ohio State. You're going to hear it then. That's, by the way, that would

probably be one of the game day sites we would think. There's a couple big ones next week, but yeah, probably. Oh, man. That would be great. Is it the week after Notre Dame-USC? Or is that two weeks after? Well, I don't know.

Because they've got a couple. All I'm thinking about is that's a 20-minute flight. Yeah. That is right there. Probably fly home, sleep. Yeah. Probably drive home, sleep. Yeah. Probably drive home, sleep. Still wake up and catch the game later that night.

Oh, my. Yeah. This is going to be amazing. Yeah, well, I was looking for it because Clemson lost, so Florida State-Clemson not as big now. Not enough to worry about. Colorado-Oregon. Oh, that might be.

Damn it. Is that Eugene? Yeah. That is so far. Coach Corso talking about going to Colorado was a funny thing in the middle of the pick segment. Ohio State, Notre Dame, Colorado, Oregon.

Those are probably the... Oregon was beautiful so far. It is so far. Top left. You forget how big America is until you're just still on the plane. Still on the plane. All respect to Colorado and Oregon.

Ohio State and Notre Dame's fan bases are... Yeah. You've got to go to Oregon. Yeah, but that Colorado-Oregon one, I guess Notre Dame and Ohio State, massive implications. Top 10. Happy I don't have to make a decision.

Let's go to Kevin in Fort Worth on the phones. What's going on, Kevin? How we doing? Keep it moving. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Howdy. Hey, I got an idea for Jim Irsay to improve the halftime show. The Carolina Panthers figured it out a couple years ago with the mixed reality

Panther jumping up and down the stadium. Love that thing. I want Takate mixed reality, swimming around, and then he jumps out of the stadium to the Titanic theme song. Okay. Kevin, thank you for that. I hope Conti's listening. I'm calling him.

Yeah. That would be sweet, though. If you saw Taka Tag gliding through the fake water. I don't know how often this happens on an ESPN program. I'm calling the head PR guy for the Colts right now. And then it ascends to heaven. Yeah. Or then like Moby Dick shoots it. What if it jumps

out of the window and lands in the 757 the Jim Herschel? There we go. Airbus balloon. It's real. They flew a balloon gun. How could they have any kids? Who? Takite? Any baby whales come out of Takite? They also

killed themselves when Takite died. They didn't have room to have sex. Oh, no. This is unbelievable. Definitely not enough room. And what's he doing? Oh, well, well, well. So busy. What hole did he crawl into? Hey, hope you're happy, Conti. The world,

more specifically your fans, aren't going to get a chance to see Takate swim one last time. Son of a bitch. I'm sure Jim Ursa will be happy to hear that you just hung up on an idea that will glorify Lolita. How about that? Good luck keeping your job, Conte. We should just call Jim.

Good call. No, I'm kidding. Can't abuse that one. Let's go to Adam in St. Louis. Adam, what's going on, pal? Hey, man. Currently in St. Louis and six years in, no NFL team after my Rams

left me. If I could have some advice on a new NFL team to pick, and no cheats. I'm not a cheats fan. Who have you picked up? Who have you picked up? Who have you been cheering for? My uncle is from La Trobe, Pennsylvania, so he's been trying to

Push me to become a Steelers fan So I don't know how I feel about it I'm just riding with my Fancy team, the 69ers right now Okay, well not a bad choice either of those teams You know what, I think a team will choose you Adam You don't need to choose a team Right AJ?

Yeah, of course, or just pick a couple players you like to watch Yeah but he sounds like he wants to be a part of he should be a steelers fan honestly if you want to be like if there's a place that is more of like a community family type atmosphere as a fan it's a steal as someone who's rooting for a team right now don't pick one up sundays are much better when you don't have a squad to root for yeah be like me don't don't be like that, dude. That's terrible. So the Dolph fam, the fins up community, does not

claim Darius? You just can't have six teams, dude. It's not fair. It's not right. Yeah, D-Bud's watching Chargers Dolphins and he's just celebrating every single touchdown because he wants both teams to win. He's on the Eagles.

Herbert, yeah! That's actually not that bad of an idea, especially if your two teams put on the best show of the weekend. 36-34, right? Yeah. Bang. Down to the last play pretty much. Had to dial it up, get them on the ground.

Could you imagine if the Chargers were playing against any of those teams that just played like complete crop? They'd probably have a weekend where it's like 40 to nothing. You know what I mean? Like they'd probably play incredibly, and we have a completely different story about it. Now it's like, is Brandon Staley ever going to, you know, figure it out because they just so happen to play one of the three teams

that played very, very well, and they were the fourth team. But it won't get – you're not out on the Chargers yet, right? No. I mean, Staley, big year for Staley. Sad to come in this season. Big year for Brandon Staley. Sounds like he's out on the Chargers. He's out, yeah. Sounds like he's out. More in on the Dolpham? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, he's a frontrunner.

That's good, Gump. There you go. Welcome home, D-Bud. You guys won his affection. You guys won his affection on Sunday. They're a very welcoming bunch, too. The Dolphins fans? They're in the streets, my friend. They're an active bunch. I respect the hell out of them.

I will have to honestly say, though, the best NFL fan base is the Steelers fan base. They're everywhere. Every place has a Steelers bar. That's definitely the best. Every game has a Steelers jersey in the crowd. It's nuts to see that they're everywhere. Well, Yinzers, if you walk through an airport, you will know exactly which flight is going to Pittsburgh.

There will be hundreds and hundreds of flights. You're walking by gates. You're going to get your luggage or whatever. You cannot look at the screen and just look at the group of humans that are getting on a plane and be like, that one's going to Pittsburgh. Now, this one, going to a warm weather climate somewhere. This one here, oh, that must be international, seemingly. That one, those motherfuckers are going to Pittsburgh.

It is just the most obvious thing of all time. There's a look. There's a feel. There's a vibe. And there's definitely some sort of Steelers gear somewhere. You have to fly with one of the team's logos or a new logo. Definitely Steelers tattoos.

It's in the blood. You have to travel with black and gold on. They are like college fans. It's a college fan base. You're right, AJ. That's why you said to old Cuz to be a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Yeah, if you're on a flight and you don't even know it, you could be like, why is there 85 people here wearing Georgiaorgia shirt oh

because we're going because georgia's playing a game or whoever they're playing this week wherever they are it is very similar to that and the thing about colleges is how many people go to ohio state total i think like 50k undergrad jesus christ that's every year it's turning out 40 50 yeah that's what i'm saying there's alumni everywhere that's the thing they spread out and for pittsburgh i do believe the story is the reason why Steelers fans are everywhere is because people working in Pittsburgh in mills, steel mills, they move those things across the country to continue to expand. So a lot of Pittsburghers basically got picked up, uprooted, and moved to other places.

And that became a big-time Yinser expansion into the United States of America, which made America better, obviously. Amen. And created America. You're welcome. I wouldn't go that far. Yinsers. Oh, Massachusetts. You're welcome.

Massachusetts created America, but I see what you're saying. Yeah, you guys certainly just were a pit stop up there. We were the first pit stop, if you will. Yeah, just a little out the gate. You know, like where they put the horses into the little things. Everybody comes in here, and then right to Pittsburgh, and then everywhere else. Well, guess what happens when those horses run?

They come right back home. They finish where the gates open. And then what happens to them? And then they get shot in the fucking head. Jeez. It's a tough business. It's a tough business. That's the reality of it.

We don't know why. We never understood it. Don't ask us. We're just telling you about the truth. Well, if they break their leg, they're not going to a tough business That's the reality We don't know why We never understood it Don't ask us We're just telling you about the truth They'll break their leg They're not going to rehab them That's why Arts and crafts doesn't come together

Without any glue Let's go to the fence Let's go to Roman in Virginia We don't like it No I hate it This is not us promoting Do they really use horses to make glue though Is that real

Or is that an old wives tale I don't know If it's Yeah I think it's just one of those I think at some point Probably it was a part of it, but I believe we've read on the show that it's no longer. Yeah, I've also been seeing a lot of horses laying down lately.

I don't know if you guys have seen that. It's important to remember that glue has been around much longer than modern technology, of course. In the past, glue was made from animal-based collagen and traditionally obtained from horses, but now other animals such as cattle and pigs are more commonly used. We're wasting bacon on glue. Are you kidding me? Not a good choice. Well, there's going to be people that are mad that we even read that.

We would like to let you know we ain't making a glue. No. We're just letting you know what's happening. Talking about it. Okay? We have no cattle, no pigs, no horses. If you're a vegan, are you technically a vegan if you use glue? Well, and also, like you wear not a leather belt.

Let's say you wear a string belt. At some point, though, something's going to be glued to something. Absolutely. Yeah. Oh, no. I never thought about that. What about like sandals? A lot of sandals, I think, in the vegan community.

Yeah. Somewhere there has to be glue right from the bottom of the thing. Unless they're using rubber cement, they could. Oh, that's what they're using. What's rubber cement have in it? Probably like swans or something even more majestic. 100% sustainable materials.

We need to certainly Google. This is a real thing. We need to help the vegans out. We need to let them know. I haven't even thought of that. I could see whales being rubber cement. I don't know if there's enough of them. There are vegan-friendly glues. Oh, there's...

Okay. I bet those work. Elmer's and Gorilla Glue are both vegan-friendly. Wow. And they do. Both of them work very well. Rubber cement, cow gum, okay, is an adhesive made from elastic polymers

mixed in a solvent such as acetone, hexane, heptane, or toluene. Toluene is a quality solvent. Is that cleaner? You use that as a cleaner? Yeah, it's very good stuff. That guy used to paint chips out there. Absolutely. Alright, a man that didn't paint chips, we don't assume. Roman in Virginia, last call

of the day. What do you want to talk about? Hey, Pat and boys. Don't want to talk about? Hey, Pat and boys. Don't want to talk about glue, that's for sure. But as a pale white out here in Virginia, Pat, got to commend that left bicep, man. Had a lot of vascularity in there. Love to see it. Love to see it.

Love this guy. Nice. Thank you, Roman. And I don't want to be a terrible transition to AQ's trenches, but I got to ask AQ in particular, what are the Browns going to do with Jack Conklin going down this year? I mean, that's a tough loss early in the season. What do we do?

It's a great question. We got the mountain of a man from Ohio State moving in at right tackle. He's obviously a little bit of a drop-off just because he's younger, but I think they'll speed him along. Still top two, top three offensive line in the NFL. And also, we love Chubb. I saw him on the sidelines a couple times. What was he doing there?

Very weird. What are we doing? Put the guy on the field. Stefanski's trying to get shit came. Protect him? Well, he tried to get Baker. Right. That was an awesome moment we revisited there

that I did not expect to revisit on this particular day. But as I'm trying to set the Baker Mayfield table here, that was awesome. Hey, Coach Stefanski, do you think Baker's accuracy is potentially affected by the brace that he's being forced to wear? Absolutely. Yes, it's definitely making it hard. He can't all follow through. It's very uncomfortable. We understand that he's battling through some stuff, and we appreciate him.

It's very uncomfortable. We understand that he's battling through some stuff, and we appreciate him. Two days later, he drives back into the Pittsburgh Steelers defense with T.J. Watt and the boys. It threw for like 50 times. Had Nick Chubb on his sideline. It's like, oh, this guy's trying. This guy's trying to make this guy look bad, seemingly.

The other thing, too, is that playoff win they had, the only playoff win they've had in the Stefanski era, he wasn't even coaching because he had COVID. Oh, yeah. He wasn't even on the field. Remember, they wouldn't let him because we pitched the idea. Let's put the guy in a Popemobile from his house, walks

in the back, sitting in the glass. Driving from Cleveland to Pittsburgh, just him and his terrible COVID. Then, put him in one of those suits, hazmat suits. One of those hazmat suits. Have him walk his ass up to a suite in Hinesfield

at the time? Hinesfield? What's it now? Accresure. That's an interesting name. It is. Michigan-based company. Oh, wow.

You know the creator of the company is from Pittsburgh. Okay. Alright, we're using you guys for tax benefits probably. You made that up. You totally made that up. I honestly don't know. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Anyways, why couldn't he walk into Akershire and hazmat suit, go up to a suite, they kind of tape it down, and then he's able to call plays? I never

understood why they didn't let that happen. No sense. Why wasn't there enough bobbing and weaving through that whole COVID? I'm not getting into it. I just asked a pretty open-ended question there. I mean, Fauci did say. Yeah, there it is. He said the other day. He said we don't need masks.

Did you see that? Babyface turned out of Fauci. Yeah, I saw that. Or maybe he's finally telling the truth. Was he calling this winter the winter of death again? Well, that was certainly alarming. When he canceled Christmas and said everybody's going to die, that was certainly a time where I was like,

bud, you need to throw a better opening pitch than that if you're going to say this type of stuff. Yeah, sure. Okay. Need you to do it. But I did appreciate him saving all of our attempting to. We did appreciate. Way to go, Fauci. Thank you, Dr. Fauci... Way to go, Fauci.

Thank you, Dr. Fauci. Way to go, Fauci. Boy. He made a baby first turn, though. Come on. That was amazing. That was a hell of a Wednesday. We can't thank you enough for joining us. We hope you had a good time.

Darius Butler will be leaving for the week because he's got to go film that show you guys should watch. AJ, what's the name of the show? NFL Matchup. I actually caught some of that in the hotel it was on. Appreciate you, AJ. Mario Lopez, change the channel. Darius Butler on NFL Matchup.

That's Hotel TV, baby. D-Boy, you want to do a shot to give away something or what? Let's do it. What do you want to do? You want to shoot? You want to throw? You want to golf? Been doing a lot of golfing. You have been doing a lot to give away something or what? Let's do it. What do you want to do? You want to shoot? You want to throw? You want to golf? Been doing a lot of golfing. You have been doing a lot of golfing. I golf. Fuck it.

All right. Yeah, his jumper was not what it was, I think. Whoa. Yesterday he was shooting around. He was like, I don't do that. You can't shoot anymore? Uh, you know, I shoot. You want me to?

No, I'm just saying Connor just said you can't shoot. I shoot. Stay. He'll drain it. He'll drain it for sure. You can tell me? Well, we'll see. You're shooting from up here?

No, yeah. Yeah, you should. I mean, D-Buck missed his men's league final and the team lost, so. Oh, no. People are not happy with him. No, hold on. We've got to figure out what we're giving away. We've got to figure out.

That's a long shot, bro. Connor said you haven't been shooting at all. Your men's league team lost. Yeah. So, I think if you make this, obviously, 15 people, $500. Wow. Retweet this post and say something nice to somebody in the same exact thing. Now, you obviously have to tell us the most efficient and easy way to pay you electronically,

whether it's Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, whatever it is, in that same response as well. But go ahead, D-Butt. Spread a little happiness, a little joy, joy some compliments and also get 15 people five oh that's good i thought i thought it looked good on the back yeah it did look good all right on this one 12 people 500 all you got to do is make this shot and when he does all you got to do is reach ladies and gentlemen 12 people 500 oh man what i tell you he's gonna break your scooter people. 500. Oh, man. What did I tell you? He's going to break your scooter.

10 people here. 10 people. Too late. 10 people. $500. If Darius Butler makes this shot and you treat this hoop. Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. 12 feet. Go back 12 feet. Oh, boo-hoo. This guy

making excuses already. Alright. 12 people, $500. If Darius J. Butler can make this moonshot from the stage, far hoop. Bonus ball, bonus ball. Bonus ball. Bonus ball. If you can get that from the stage. You left the stage.

Oh, no. Floor is lava. Every ball is a bonus ball if you just want to go out on the court. No, this doesn't count. Well, who shoots? That's for putting. Ten people. We got to do ten people.

Ten people. $500 if Darius Butler can drain this. Watch out, Bill. Oh, bonus ball, bonus ball. Bill might be intimidated over there. Bill, he is the intimidated. Pointing that camera at you. How many people do you think should win?

This is a tough shot. This is a tough shot. This is a tough shot. Ten people? Geez. On his eighth shot? Well, first shot, first shot. Ten people.

Five. This wasn't meant to be. But you need to put more under it, son. Every ball is going the same place. Ladies and gentlemen, ten people will win $500 on this Trenches Wednesday that had J.J. Waltz stop by, Eli Manning stop by, Bobby Carpenter stop by, A.Q. Shipley was here. If D-Buck can drain this moonshot, 10 people, $500.

Who retweeted it. Oh, buddy. All right. Thank you. You got to put more into the ball. This is a great first week. This is a great first week. This is a great first week. All right.

We'll bounce back. I don't play basketball anymore. Glass. Oh, that was close. Yeah, you got to aim right and throw it. Well, sorry. Nobody wins. Maybe tomorrow. The real winners are those who watch NFL throw it. Well, sorry, nobody wins. Maybe tomorrow.

The real winners are those who watch NFL Matchup. That's right. Set your alarms, 2.15 a.m. Saturday night. That's right. You know, the thing is, Colorado's playing Colorado State 10 p.m. Eastern. Yeah, okay. After that game ends, if there's a double overtime,

NFL Matchup should start immediately upon that game. Roll right into it. Okay? Just right into Darius Butler late night. And then we will see you back in here on Monday, right? Yep. You're the man. AQ, great work.

Diggs, great work today. Talks to the table. Fantastic job. And in the back, you boys are crushing it. There you go, boys. Bill, good photos. Mitt on the phones. And everybody that watches, you're the greatest humans on earth.

Thank you for allowing us to do this for a living. We will see you tomorrow. And we're in Boulder on Friday live. Be a friend. Bring a friend so we're not out there alone. Goodbye.