PMS 2.0 1593 - Going Campin' with Art Stapleton, Lindsay Thiry, Mike Tannenbaum, Ian Rapoport, Eric Hosmer, & AJ Hawk

19:15Pat McAfee:But I'm very happy that he's back being healthy after how terrible he looked in that softball game. because if that was the new generation where, yeah, we just go out to a softball game, look like shit, and then we actually do show up looking like shit, it's like that can't be the case. He's worked his ass off to get back healthy. If we saw where he's at at that softball game, first where he's at right now, the amount of work and pain that's gone into that. And also, what was it? Stiffness, right, Art? That was the original problem, was he had stiffness after the first surgery with scar tissue?

19:38Yeah, the scar tissue, you know, Pat, you know better than I do. AJ knows better than I do. You know, when you get into that rehab situation, they use those bars to get the scar tissue out. And man, it is painful. It is grueling. I mean, it can become a dark place when you don't feel like you're getting out and being able to see that next step. So he had that scar tissue removed again. They felt better. And I'd really think, and talking to people even yesterday here, upper management and everything else, it was psychological for Malik. I mean, he was in a rehab. You know, you got to remember, he got hurt in the first quarter of Jackson Dart's first start last year.

20:15And then he was away from the team because he's rehabbing the entire time. Surgery and everything else. That was a mental hurdle at that softball game. Everybody saw it as a physical situation. It was mental. He was with his team. You know, who's hitting home runs? They're jumping around, celebrating. They need that. Like, Malik needs that competition. He needed that adrenaline boost. And I think he came back the next week and looked at it and said, you know what? I can do this. I've got to get to that next step. I've got to get back with my guys. I think that's why it was such a huge boost.

20:45Pat McAfee:It wasn't just one run to first base? No. Or one limp to first base? No. That was a breakthrough. A lot going on. That was in an enlightenment trip down that first base line. I'll say this. If it was stiffness, we've got heels going to butt on those routes and also knee drive happening, AJ. Also a couple stall outs, which is the worst thing for your knee in the middle of those routes. I feel like he feels very good and if the way the Giants fans talk about Malik neighbors is real okay because Schrager came on our show what last year and was like Terry McLaurin pretty good Malik neighbors okay is the guy and the way you just talked about it's like nobody on this field is anywhere near as athletic as Malik neighbors it's like I'm excited to watch this guy blow up I am especially with him having to battle through some injuries excited for him to get going okay last question here Art you mentioned his name a little bit but it's not just him go ahead Ty yeah Art what are the expectations for Cam Scadabo this year?

21:38Obviously, everyone saw him at the Fanatics Goofball Fest do the backflip and not exactly land it. And maybe some people were saying, hey, what's going on here? He's not completely healthy. Why is he doing that? But how do they kind of see this year going, especially with the addition of Patrick Ricard coming over? What are the expectations for that backfield as a whole? You know John Harbaugh. You know Greg Roman is here. He's not a coordinator, but he is a senior assistant. I mean, they want to run the football first. They think Jackson Dart could be most effective in that kind of power running game.

22:10And Scadaboo, you know, all the talk about Malik yesterday, Scadaboo had a full practice yesterday. The idea of this gruesome ankle and lower leg injury from the Philly game last year is really gone. I mean, he looks 100 percent. He's the number one back on this team. Now, will they do some things on the back end? Maybe bring in a veteran later on in camp? Maybe, because Harbaugh wants to make sure that he has enough pieces in that backfield. But Scadaboo is definitely the guy. I mean, you know, we're talking to Joe Shane, general manager, before practice yesterday at a nice press conference. State of the Giants, all this stuff.

22:43And all of a sudden, you hear a guy screaming the Ric Flair woo. Hold on, Art, here you go. Going into the practice office. Played a high level.

22:50Pat McAfee:Woo! There you go, Art. We got you, buddy. Perfect. It's like we plan this kind of stuff, you know. But you guys are pros. I think Scadaboo is definitely a big part of this team, both emotionally. And we'll see how good he can be. He was great for that four-game stretch until he got hurt in Philly. And that will obviously be the situation. Can he stay healthy? What towns are in North Jersey? What is kind of your towns? Not any of my five towns. What are the towns of North Jersey? All of North Jersey, Pat. Come on, we go from Paramus to Rochelle Park to Hackensack to East Rutherford, Carlstadt.

23:33We're all over Bergen County and North Jersey.

23:35Pat McAfee:Okay, because obviously I know the South Jersey, because of not only Jersey Shore, but like a lot from West Virginia and New Jersey folks from there went to West Virginia. So I know like, you know, the Manisquan area down there on the beach and the shore, the Jersey Shore down there. Obviously, we've walked the boardwalk a couple times, got to do that. I don't know North Jersey much, though. Did you know James Gandolfini, when he was playing Tony Soprano, said that Art Stapleton was his favorite sports writer? That makes sense. That would make sense. Hey, that's true. Hey, you know what? I mean, up in the Meadowlands, they say Jimmy Hoffa's buried somewhere.

24:09I know there's got to be somebody buried down here in the Greenbrier. I'm just not sure.

24:14Pat McAfee:Well, have you tried the governor's favorite cookie? Remember that? Great chocolate cookies down there. Are you at the golf course? So I've only been down in the Greenbrier one time. Obviously, West Virginia, there's different parts of the state. Morgantown is up almost near and in between Ohio and Pennsylvania. And then Charleston's down in the south, which is obviously the capital. So there's a lot of different space. Greenbrier, the casino was good to us. I had shorts on. They gave me a rental pair of pants because I couldn't wear shorts into the casino. They gave me a rental sports coat to put over my shirt.

24:46Pat McAfee:Yeah, I got a chance to golf with John Daly. I mean, we had a good, like, 24 hours down there for sure. won at the casino, but yeah, I'd assume there's a body in there around, you know, everywhere. Yeah, exactly. It's above my pay grade though, Pat, right now. I mean, maybe you can help me out and hook me up and figure it out how to get on the course down here. But the one thing I hear though, is that outside the Greenbrier is everything as advertised inside the decor of the rooms that the players are staying in. One of the players put on social media, it's like, were camping at Grandma's from 1980.

25:20Yep, I remember that. So it's very interesting. They've kind of captured, you know, and look, the Giants, out of any franchise in the league, has always lived in their past when things have gone bad. So live in the past a little bit down here in the Greenbrier, and we'll see what happens. So a good start for the New York Giants.

25:34Pat McAfee:It is nostalgia city. I mean, as soon as you walk in, the decorations are - It feels very haunted. Yeah. What? It does. No, it feels royal. Royally haunted. Majestic. Does feel lived in. Yeah. Does feel lived in. I have to wear pants. Here, put these pants over your shorts so I could go into the casino. The casino, there was no wall. Everybody in the casino could see me standing where I was at. They saw me put the rental pants on. That was a fascinating time. Then the sport coat coming out, size 70, I think it was. It was awesome. I'm not judging anything. Please don't do that. But it's a special place down there.

26:08Pat McAfee:And the Giants, you know, maybe they win it all. Maybe. Maybe they figure it out. You're the best. We appreciate you, Art. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Art Stableton. Thank you very much Who all went down there? I was there You were there? Uh-huh Were you there, Foxy? No Oh, you were in Ireland, probably No, don't get me started Yeah I don't think I got the invite I'm pretty sure I was working back at home editing something No, yeah You guys are all out there I don't think so I don't think so I think that's what happened You were probably on vacation We were talking about those days Wait, that's weird Because when I was in Ireland You were in Hawaii, I think No, no I don't think so I think we were probably drinking ice cold beers And playing Risk all night If I had to guess It was a good time down there.

26:45Pat McAfee:It rained so bad. And we got a chance to go meet the governor. That was the first time. Yeah. And then we ate his chocolate chip cookies. I just remember JD's tour bus or whatever the hell it was. What's that? John Daly. Yeah, his tour bus? Yeah, we were on his bus or whatever. He had 18. I don't know. Was that his house? No, he had a tour bus. Thank you. You could drink. I forget what his beer choice was, but you could either drink. Miller Lite. Miller Lite. There was an 18 case of Miller Lite or chocolate milk. I knew I remember. We were on the bus. Had a great time, yeah. Had a great time. Gripping and siffits.

27:13Pat McAfee:Oh, those were – they hadn't come around to the good boys. And then someone had a house on the golf course that we went to. On the right side. Yeah. He had to go reload. Had to do it. They had a good time down there. Greenbrier's a good place. Saints trained down there for a lot. Never. I don't know if I would want to train in New Orleans ever. Too hot down in Dubai. Yeah, they got up to Greenbrier, also a hot place. Okay, let's continue to go camping, shall we? Live NFL reporter for the entire league. Cowboys camp exclusive. Covered the Rams for four years. Chargers before that. Ladies and gentlemen, Lindsay Theory.

27:46Pat McAfee:Thanks for having me, guys. Lindsay, how's it going? We appreciate the hell out of you joining us. Obviously on the Cowboys right now, you were with the Rams, so we're going to hit you on absolutely everything. Thank you for joining us. Let's start with the Cowboys. Jerry Jones says, hey, listen, if there is a wagon that's a better wagon than the wagon that we currently have, we will swap wagons so that our wagon can get us to where we need to go right now instead of the wagon of the future. So he basically said he's willing to make a move. Everybody reacted as if that was Max Crosby. That was just a shocker to me.

28:18Pat McAfee:I did not expect that. But whenever Jerry starts talking like that, he's obviously selling attention. He's selling everything. But obviously everybody thinks he's thinking big. What is kind of the thoughts? And how do you see that all working out? Yeah, I love Jerry said he's like not going to stir things up. And then he's like, I'm willing to give a top pick. We're going out there for somebody. Look, I mean, the obvious choice right now, they once had interest. were very interested in Max Crosby. Jerry made very clear that Max Crosby is happily a Raider. He's a total Raider. Jerry was very cautious on the tampering front.

28:50But this would make sense. I was with the Raiders during the draft, and I do recall him talking out there, John Spitek saying and telling me, we have a lot of guys on the edge, and they might not all be here come the start of the season. That perked my ears up. Obviously, right now, I saw Max when he was out there. He said he's happy. He's glad to be there, happy to be a Raider. But that would be kind of the first inclination of like, maybe that's where Jerry's looking again. But Jerry's made it very clear. He's open for business. He's tired of trying to win a trade for today and for tomorrow.

29:24He's watching what all these other teams are doing. And he just says he doesn't want milk toast anymore. And personally, I don't know what milk toast is. But he says he wants to win for today.

29:34Pat McAfee:Yeah, plain. I think plain, flat, boring. We could have context clue. You could kind of figure it out. Yeah, context clue. You could figure it out. But I think he could have used other, you know, more Jerry Jones-like ways of describing it. That'd be like an Egg McMuffin with no salt. Yeah. You know, like we learned that from him. And then who was the company that he had to make up? Whataburger. Yeah. Man, they said I love those Egg McMuffins. But everybody, ask anybody. Whataburger is the real burger that I love. Jerry's always working. And he keeps things, obviously, incredibly exciting. Is it the right move to make your team Super Bowl relevant or just relevant, is what everybody asks.

30:14Pat McAfee:You know, like that is always the question until they win again. I think Jerry would like to get that off his back. I think Jerry would like to win one, obviously. Go ahead, AJ. Yeah, Lindsey, as far as the defense goes there in Dallas, I know defensive coordinator Christian Parker is excited to get Caleb Downs in there, obviously first-round pick. We haven't heard a ton about that defense and about Caleb. So what do you think, I guess, from what are you hearing, what his role is going to be and how involved he will be in this defense? Yeah, they're going to try and get him out there as soon as possible.

30:40And when it comes to Christian Parker, I know Brian Schottenheimer has gone on and on about how impressed they have been with him. Obviously, he comes with the Vic Fangio tree. He has learned with Vance Joseph. And what they're really kind of emphasizing that he is taking things that he has learned from Vic, things he's learned from Vance, but he's really being who he wants to be as a DC and implementing what he thinks is best while sprinkling in from those other guys. Obviously, they're very excited about Caleb Downs and we can bring him. There's only been one day of practice, so we weren't really able to see too much of what was going on with how they're going to implement the rookie, but he's certainly in the early plans for those guys.

31:15Pat McAfee:The grass is disgusting. I'm watching that tape. Did you see it, AJ? Have you seen it? First day of camp? Yes, first day of camp, that's a tough look. First day of camp, they just got like brown dirt kind of out there on the field. I'm like, this is the Cowboys because he had a nice stage, remember, where he was talking from. Nice stage was built up. You know, he's in the middle of that thing. We're right next to a housing complex in a parking lot. You all sit on a cement place. I got a stage for me to go ahead and tell you that I'm going to go make a play. I like that. And you think of Jerry, you think everything's big.

31:45Pat McAfee:And then we look at this practice, and it's just like, that field's shit. That's day one. That's day one right there. That is not what training camp grass, NFL greens keep. Like, that is not what it looks. I was very, I was dumbfounded by how shitty the grass was. Were you not, AJ, as well? I was very. They might have some restrictions on how much water they're allowed to use. We've been in places where you can't, hey, take a two-minute shower because we're trying to conserve water. Yeah, you're right. I didn't even think about that. There is a chance that this is a water conservation. It's in California, right?

32:12Pat McAfee:I mean, because some of the clips, I'm like, geez, at least this is a high school. This is the NFL. Remember, these guys are like worth the change, worth the switch. Now, on that note, let's go do training camp on some dirt slab out there. I mean, it is. But, hey, Cowboys, this year a little grittier. That's right. A little grittier, a little bit more. John. Okay, let's pivot away from the Cowboys. Obviously, four years covering the Rams. We appreciate you for doing that. Tone has a question about them. Yeah, Lindsey, I'm going to read this because I want to get it right. Ian Rappaport said, more likely to be a discussion for next offseason when in regards to Puka Nakua and his contract and what he's going to do and maybe play out this season, not on a new contract and deal with it in the offseason.

32:53What are your thoughts on that? With your time with the Rams, what did you hear with that? And what do you think will be eventually, when will Puka's contract get done? Yeah, I would tend to think it would be more of a next offseason thing. The Rams love Puka Nakua. Sean McVay has made very clear through all of this that he is so supportive of Puka. He's been nothing but a bright light, truly, for this team since he arrived. He's got a really infectious personality. Obviously, concerns with everything that came up in the offseason with Puka. That has never impacted. Sean was adamant. Obviously, we watched what Puka did in the playoffs.

33:28It didn't impact his play on the field. We know what kind of receiver he is. They just want to make sure off the field that he is doing everything that you would expect of a guy that you're about to make the highest paid receiver in the league. So Puka has some proving to do. They very much are giving him the benefit of the doubt that he can do that. And they want him to be around for the long term. They just need to make sure that that is the most savvy and sage business decision they can make before they give him that kind of money.

33:56Pat McAfee:Puka and McVay, very tight. And I think Puka has a lot of trust in the organization. The organization has a lot of trust in Puka. And they've kind of been sidestepped along the entire way. That's a tough thing to get dropped into the limelight, be the best wide receiver in football, be single in Los Angeles with a lot of opportunity, and a guy who is upbeat, open, and friendly to everybody. So you can kind of see how there's a lot to the recipe there for maybe losing a little bit of focus on the main thing. I like that they course corrected a lot. I like that he was, I don't want to say smart enough because it's not really smart.

34:33Pat McAfee:It's like putting your ego aside type thing to say like, hey, I need to lock in a little bit here. I think he realized that. I think the Rams helped him realize that. I think that's a special relationship long term. We're talking about 10 years from now. Hopefully. That's obviously how we feel. And we love Us. It doesn't feel like Us lost his juice at all. Here's Puka talking yesterday about him and Devontae Adams. I think there's something where he felt like when he came into the wide receiver room, The physicality, I think, that we play with. Obviously, he's going into year 40 or whatever it might be.

35:03Pat McAfee:So, he didn't lose Joe. He hasn't lost his happiness, it seems like. So, we're happy about that. We'll see how the season goes. They got the Avengers over there, especially if Aaron Donald comes back. We've beaten that completely dry. So, we're going to pivot away from that. We're going to go to the other L.A. team. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Lindsey, I know that you have covered the Chargers in the past as well. From what you're hearing, what has the dynamic been like between Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel? because on the surface, that just seems like something that would never work. Harbaugh seems like he would absolutely hate McDaniel's guts, but we've seen clips coming out, and they seem pretty jovial, and they're joking with each other.

35:38What have you heard about these two? You guys, it's truly crazy when you think of these two guys. The guy who wears the same outfit every single day and the guy who just will put together the most eclectic look you think you've ever seen. Jim Harbaugh has said nothing but talk about how brilliant Mike McDaniel is. So far, so good. I mean, like you said, the styles of the two don't seem like they would go at all. But Mike McDaniel has found his way in with Justin Herbert. Obviously, that's the key to this entire offense in L.A. for the Chargers. So I think it's going to be really fun to monitor the social media videos between these two.

36:16but so far it's like the complete opposites attract apparently but uh and when you talk to jim harbaugh about mike mcdaniel just kind of waiting for these anecdotes like the weirdness taking part behind the scenes um and i'm sure there's not gonna be any shortage but so far he just goes on and on and on about how brilliant mike is well congratulations on a phenomenal

36:36Pat McAfee:career to espn as it continues to grow we appreciate you ladies and gentlemen that's ESPN NFL national reporter Lindsey Thierry. I am excited for McDaniel and Harbaugh. You had a little bit of an interesting reaction immediately to the clip that we just watched with Harbaugh and McDaniel. Do you recall what your immediate reaction was whenever you saw it, Ty? Yeah, I don't really like Mike McDaniel. I don't know why. I don't think he's funny. Everyone thinks everything's funny. We showed that video and I was like, yes! I love what we're getting. They love ball. Two guys love ball. Love ball. I'm not disputing that.

37:13Just because he loves football doesn't mean I got to like the guy, and I don't. So, you know, I would like to see Justin Herbert thrive under him, but I would also maybe like to see Harbaugh give him a wedgie and hang him on the back of a door or something.

37:27Pat McAfee:Yeah, it was a great reaction out of Ty. I appreciate it. And I think there's people that feel that way about him. But I do think he is a super genius. I think he's hilarious. He's been very kind to us whenever he stopped by a couple times. but him and Harbaugh should be a special pairing just for the season as a whole. I can't wait to follow it. Let's continue to go camping, shall we? Ladies and gentlemen, a former general manager of the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins EVP. He was founder of the 33rd team, which is? North Carolina football? No. They're not going by that anymore. Oh, they're not?

37:57Pat McAfee:No. Are you sure? It's probably smart. Did they come out and say that? People didn't love that. Are you wearing that shirt? Is that a? You know what? Until we get the full breath of what's going on down there, I'm not going to publicly, you know, just be in the – but, yes, I don't see anything besides the Nike jacket. Great. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, ESPN legend Mike Tannenbaum. Yeah, Mike. 33rd team, not the UNC Tar Heels. We appreciate you joining us, Mike. How are you doing, brother? Camp season's around. I'm assuming you are just like us. Get a little bit antsy. Yeah, great time of year.

38:32Good to be with you guys. lots of good stories already.

38:35Pat McAfee:Okay, so we just chatted about the Chargers with Harbaugh and McDaniel, obviously, their relationship. We chatted about the Rams with Puka, you know, and his contract next year. Everybody being understood there. Aaron Donald, until he signs back, I don't think there's much to say. For you, big storyline of camp. Is it Travis Kelsey looking fast? I don't know if you saw that. Travis Kelsey's looking quick. He's coming out of routes. He's shaking. He's baking. Patrick Mahomes is hitting him in stride. They look like they're all the way back. Is this a storyline for you, the storyline for you, or is there something else, Mike?

39:04Yeah, I would start, we could go to Kansas City. For them to have a chance this year, Travis Kelsey has to turn back the clock, Pat, because when you look outside, Rasheed Rice, obviously we know he's in with an injury and incarceration, and Xavier Worthy hasn't worked out. They don't have the firepower they once had, so this is going to look more like Travis Kelsey, and look, they're going to run the ball with Kenneth Walker. That's how they're going to have to win this division, because I do like the Chargers. I like the Broncos to score points. So I don't think this is the same old Kansas City Chiefs.

39:34And I've been around quarterbacks coming off of an ACL. This is his left knee. I think it's going to take some time. I think he'll be Superman again, but I don't think Patrick Mahomes will be the same quarterback from day one. So I think they can win. I think it's just going to look a little bit different, especially early in the season.

39:49Pat McAfee:You remember their last Super Bowl run was a lot of running, you know, a lot of defense, a lot of running. And I think Patrick Mahomes was willing to adapt. I think last year he was excited to run people over. I think he thought he had to run people over, and he's even admitted that he can't be doing that. So the evolution, he's so young, and he's already a Hall of Famer, and he's already in the GOAT conversation. I think they can continue to be special. And once again, I'd like to reiterate, there's a tight team over there, I believe. Let's talk about a tight team. You know, it's making a lot of big-time decisions.

40:14Pat McAfee:Let's go to Cleveland, Ohio. Go ahead, Tone. Yeah, Mike T., can you maybe try to take us inside the Cleveland Browns organization? Obviously, Andrew Barry's the GM there. He was the GM when they brought in Deshaun Watson. Maybe that wasn't his decision or not. Maybe that came from the owner, but he did do it. And then Todd Monken, as the new head coach, he tried to draft Shadur Sanders to Baltimore. Now he's the head coach here. What are they dealing with? Because they are paying Deshaun Watson a ton of money. And then they have Shadur Sanders, who is this young quarterback who's exciting and did win a couple games from last year.

40:46How do you think that's going in that situation? And who do you think potentially comes out of it? Yeah, it's a no-brainer. You've got to go with Shadur Sanders.

40:54Pat McAfee:and part of the privilege of being 230 million tannenbaum you're telling me if that guy can stand on a football field they're not going to put him out there pat one of your responsibilities is you have to admit when you're wrong and look as a gm i had plenty of practice of doing that you got to cut your losses like this guy could walk on water and lead him to a super bowl they're not going to extend them and if i'm todd munkin i gotta know what i have in shador shador physically has all the measurables you want has a good arm look last year was a disaster that wasn't his fault I'm intrigued I thought there was enough good tape you saw in Colorado that he can make all the throws he could process well I don't think he's a great athlete but I think he's a good enough athlete we got to see what we have in him because if we can win whatever it is eight to 12 games with him that could change our plan going forward there's no way Deshaun Watson is part of this organization in 2027 we got to cut our losses admit our mistake and move on we are a pro chador show i think we have been even whenever you know the stats didn't necessarily look like it as soon as he got on the field for the browns they had a spark they look they were winning games you know i don't want the browns to do classic brown stuff which is like baker mayfield won for us but we didn't we didn't like it we didn't like how it was it's like chador was winning for you guys now do you have to go back in the past because of the mistake that you made given the largest guaranteed contract in the history of sports and give him an opportunity?

42:17Pat McAfee:I would assume yes, you know, but a Mike T, who has been a general manager before and has been in these buildings, says, nope, get him that cut your losses. Get him out of there now. How much do you owe him? 90 million? Sick. Sweet. Go do it on the street somewhere. Don't do it here. I like Shador's chances. I like, we saw Shador, he looked fit. Yeah, he looked in good shape. Shador looked like he was in great shape. Obviously, he's saying he's from Cleveland. I think he wants the job. I'm pumped to see if the Cleveland Browns can find somebody. He was leading as well yesterday. There was footage that hit the internet.

42:47He stayed after practice with the rookie quarterback from Arkansas, Taylon Green, and was working with him and trying to help him out too. So maybe he's trying to take that number one role as well as far as off the field as well.

42:57Pat McAfee:Since day one, like literally before the draft, he was in town doing philanthropy stuff. So he knows the deal of how to be a pro. I think they're growing into it. We'll see the Cleveland Browns. Okay, last question here from Ty for you, Tannenbaum. Yeah, Mike, we saw that Caleb Williams showed up in better shape this year. and a lot of the conversation last year was, hey, he's just not quite good enough and that's why the Bears maybe can't get over the hump. But then we saw a lot of his late-game heroics down the stretch and into the playoffs. Do you think this year, being another year under Ben Johnson, that Caleb is going to kind of make that jump and maybe be an MVP conversation?

43:30Because it seems a lot of people seem to think that that is going to be the case. Hey, Ty, first of all, I agree with you about Mike McDaniel. I don't like him either. I can't stand his metabolism. I would give anything for Michael Daniels' metabolism. So we're totally aligned there. As it relates to Caleb Williams, I am something that breaks a little.

43:49Pat McAfee:We got one. That's Foxy. Hold on. We hate this guy, too. Foxy. This guy's a model. He's an H &M model. I look at a carb and put on weight. I would give anything for that metabolism. But look, I think to be an elite quarterback, you have to be able to throw at a much higher completion percentage. I think Caleb Williams has a chance to be a superstar. but when you're under 60%, which he was last year, that is a concern. So I work with Ben Johnson, Miami. I think he'll get there, but I would take Jordan Love and that Packer offense over the spare offense. He's got to learn how to get the ball out of his hands, hit the check down, hit the singles and doubles, and then go make plays like that, that very few people can.

44:29So I think it's a step in the right direction, but I don't think, I think there's a, they're a year away from being a year away.

44:37Pat McAfee:Come on, come on. Someone else had that line on the show all the time. A year away from being a year away, which then inevitably leads, guess what, to being a year away. Yeah, that's why it sounds like you think they're hunting some fool's gold. Well, how about some stats and facts here from Caleb that maybe you need to hear because of your little carb issue you got? How to eat and things like that. Lost some weight, so it's good. I'm excited about that. Be able to move a little bit better, be smoother. You know, all these different things. just being able to also bring that into the facility with the stream staff and things like that.

45:13Things I've done, things that work well with me and being able to adjust and be better for the season. How much did you lose? 10 to 15, something like that. How'd you do it? Yeah, eating at certain times, going to bed and not eating after seven and, you know, just eating consistently, eating well.

45:33Pat McAfee:Huh? Think about it, Tannenbaum. Yeah, so look, we know that Mike McDaniel and Caleb Williams have been hanging out on the offseason. That's what we were today. That could help. Ladies and gentlemen, that's Mike Tannenbaum. Thank you, too. Bye. I like that he just, the follow-up questions there from Chicago Media. How much weight did you lose, huh? I've been looking to do that myself. 10 to 15? How'd you do it? Well, I stopped eating after 7, you know. That's early. Good sleep. Yeah, intermittent fasting. That's a real cut there. Yeah. Because he suffers from the same thing I think I do. AJ will say he suffers from it, too, but he's just been able to do that.

46:04Pat McAfee:I love pizza. Yeah, man, I do it. Late night sweet tooth for me is problematic. I mean, it is. We were on Delta yesterday. No, it was. That was American. Whatever it was. Frontier. Whatever. They had Snickers. They had Snickers available. Yeah, right, dude. A little bit tired. Yep. This is right here staring at me. I'm going to have one. And then just like Pringles says, once you pop that thing, you can't stop it. Caleb has a similar problem. We need to shut it off, I think. That's what we need to do. Hard shut off at a certain time, no matter how tired you are, no matter how much longer you're going to be awake, no matter how much access you have.

46:44Pat McAfee:There are Reese's as well. And then, oh, my God, you put a little apple pie out there. And then, what, is there double stuff or Oreos right there? I'm sure there are. Definitely. Cinnamon Toast Crunch? Yeah. And then all of a sudden, it's 10 o 'clock, and you just had 4 ,000 calories. And it's like, whoa, my God. I'm sure I'm not going to pay you. Did you even mention your little drumsticks that you've been getting? Oh, the miniature drumsticks with the miniature Snickers. And then all of a sudden you wake up 4 a.m. and your body is trying to have a mass exodus. And it's like, what did I do? Oh, yeah.

47:20Pat McAfee:That's what happened late night last night. So I'm happy Caleb was able to address that and move on. Because he's still young enough. He didn't look fat last year, obviously. But at some point your metabolism does kind of slow down. You start hating other people. It's like if you can get a hold of that and kind of find your routine, you can do that for the rest of your life. It's a lot of commitment, though. AJ, how long have you been locked in on what you're doing right now? And I know you have cheat days, yada, yada, yada. But has this been like your whole life? Like high school you were locked in this time?

47:43Yeah, like towards the end of high school, yeah. The guy that ran EAS, I watched a thing with him, and so I started to pay attention to how I was eating, yeah. Yeah, AJ.

47:52Pat McAfee:I like going with the late-night jams instead of some sweets. There you go, some jams. That's been very helpful. I plow right through a box, four of them. Four of those things. And wait until the grapes come. Wait until the grapes are right around the corner. The grape is unbelievable. The grape jams that's coming is unbelievable. We just have strawberry and berry mix right now, Walmart and Target. The grape one coming around the corner is a late-night sweet tooth problem, I would say. Need to maybe make these things have some sort of equation, like a blow-and-go. There you go. Speaking of. Let him off.

48:31Pat McAfee:No way. He was going to see the grandparents. Well, so could have been their headstone. You know, you never know. People are very well. You can't go to the cemetery and see your grandma and grandpa anymore. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, he might have more information on all of it. He is in the middle of his training camp tour, and we appreciate him for that. Currently live with the Philadelphia Eagles, junior NFL insider for ESPN, senior NFL insider for NFL Network, Ian Rapoport. Hey, Rapoport. What's up? What's going on? Okay, you know this better than us. He did a full warm-up routine for the sobriety test.

49:06Pat McAfee:Full warm-up. I've never seen that. You want these slides on or off? I'll take them. Whatever you want. I'll take them off. Excuse me. I got it. Just remember that real quick. I mean. It's pretty amazing. Hold on, please. Yeah. No problem. I'm only using two points of contact right now. do you think that anybody that is under the influence would be able to do this one rap is the insider to ask about that pass what where do you need me to go what do you mean right down here uh listen oh my god hold on hold on please you know he said he said grandma and papa theoretically you could call i'm i don't know what was true i have not i do not have sources on this, but you could say grandma and papa about your parents like you have kids, you know, like you could theoretically, I might say to my kids, like, we're going to see grandma and papa, and it means not mine, but theirs.

50:05Pat McAfee:Yeah, and you're talking to your kids there, not the police, but I do wonder... He's talking about his four iron, though. Yeah, who knows? Yeah, because he might have left his iron in a pond. He shot like 100 or something. 35 over, yeah, but that's a four-day... It was a tough course. It was 11 over on the final round. Yeah, and then plus three was the winner, so why don't you just have a little bit on that Hey, Tony, cars forever. Love you, Tony. We're done with it. You get a driver, we're done with it all. Tony, we don't even need to see you in that particular situation. We don't need any negative thoughts about Tony Romo.

50:35No.

50:35Pat McAfee:Tony Romo in that video, Tony Romo in the booth, Tony Romo on a golf course, Tony Romo on our show, we like. Let's just get you a driver and not even have to have these conversations. It's 2026. We would like to reiterate that to everybody. It's 2026. Get yourself a driver. Live your life. Live your life. But also, let's not be stupid in this entire thing. Okay, we just talked about a lot of things happening around the NFL with all of our beat reporters, and also Tannenbaum joined us. He has a little bit of a hatred for McDaniel because McDaniel's in shape, so I don't think that's necessarily the biggest storyline.

51:06Pat McAfee:But for you, what are you? You're boots on the ground in Philadelphia. You're doing a training camp tour. What are you learning? What are the vibes over there without A.J. Brown? What's not being talked about enough maybe in Philadelphia? Well, first of all, the no A.J. Brown is certainly different. I mean, we've talked about A.J. Brown as it relates to the Philadelphia Eagles for two years. And here it's like it's just much quieter. Like there's always noise around the Eagles. We, you know, in the news world always are going to talk about them. But it's not the same. It's not like, you know, A.J.

51:37said this today. How do you react? It is for sure much quieter. But this is an interesting Eagles team. Like Tandemann was talking about the Packers offense that he likes, right? this organization wanted to be in a new direction, wanted to run the ball a little better, wanted to have better answers for a defense. So when they were looking for an offensive coordinator, they sought out this system. And they ended up with Sean Mannion, who is 34, was a backup quarterback like three years ago or so, and is really one of the up-and-coming minds in the NFL, who installed a version of that here. And they are really excited about it.

52:15It sounds like the quarterback is really excited about it. And it's just like, for the first time, a fully new system here with what they hope is a better way to answer what defenses throw at them.

52:28Pat McAfee:Well, and also everybody all in. Nobody else that was there was really making a public, hey, I'm not happy situation. So A.J. Brown finds happiness, hopefully up with Drake May in the Vrabel era of the Patriots. And in Philadelphia, everybody kind of knows exactly who they are to the team, right? We know exactly who we are. We know exactly what we are. and we just got to get back to it. I like that they're all in. I like that Jalen's all in. But Jalen knows he's taking a lot of shit right now. You know, that fall off last year, Petulo got blamed for a lot. Jalen got blamed for a lot, especially with AJ.

52:57Pat McAfee:From anything we've learned about Jalen, he's going to want to write that, right? Isn't that kind of how it goes? Let's stay in Philadelphia. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Rap Sheet, after Jalen Carter's massive deal, what kind of implications, if any, are there now with Quinion Mitchell and Cooper DeGene potentially getting extensions? Because obviously those guys have been unbelievable for them and they're going to be up here soon yeah i mean i would say this year i mean obviously jaylen carter was you know certainly the biggest there's a couple other guys theoretically they could extend this year uh moro ojama who is a interior defensive lineman really really good um you know i don't know if they dedicate that much money to one position but you know maybe someone they might take a look at um but i think those guys would be more next off season but like the Eagles have the kind of problems you always hope to have, which is a bunch of really good young players who are going to want huge salaries because they deserve it.

53:52And so, you know, if you're the Eagles and you're going to pay those guys, not this offseason, but probably probably next offseason or potentially, then it's like you have to draft well and you have to do a really good job of finding, you know, really cheap deals of guys to contribute. Like Reek Wollin, who's a really talented player, came to Philly on a one-year prove-it deal that's probably below what he should be getting. And if he becomes a big-time contributor, that's how these teams get good and stay good by finding those really good values. And if Rick Willen gets a deal here or somewhere else, that's okay.

54:30That's okay. Then they'll pay the corners they drafted, essentially.

54:33Pat McAfee:Yeah, it's an ever-changing roster for everybody. You know, trying to figure out who gets money, who doesn't get money. You give Jalen Carter that deal, which we are incredibly pumped for. Obviously, others are going to have to, you know, kind of take for it. Are they getting blamed for all this? People aren't allowed to be on TV. And is there an actual salary gap in other businesses too, or just like professional sports? That's a good question. Because that gets brought up a lot, it feels like. Listen, I don't know if you know this, but when things don't go great, it's the guys who are at the top, the high-salary guys, and also those in charge who take the blame.

55:08Now, in Philly, Jalen Hurts is the guy taking the blame no matter what. It was an offensive coordinator issue. You know, he's the one who stands up there and has to answer for it. In other businesses, the guy who stands up there with the microphone, I'm not naming any names, but those are the guys who get blamed. A lot of times it's not fair, but those are the guys that get blamed.

55:30Pat McAfee:Yeah, thank you, Rap, for breaking that down, Thot. Because you're a pretty shallow individual. He's not very tall. You know, you guys say that was a pretty deep, it felt like you were really talking deep there. I know what it said. Rap, okay. Rap, the Eagles got 10 fewer edge sacks in 2025 than they did in 2024. Obviously, Fangio won't answer any of our questions, which is outrageous, but AJ has a question about that. Yeah, Rap, obviously Jonathan Grenard, he's on the PUP. I know they paid him a bunch of money, traded for him to bring him into town. What is the timetable like? Have you heard anything about when he could possibly be back from that pec injury?

56:06Yeah, it does not sound like it is a major, major pec injury. I haven't gotten specifics there, but it doesn't seem like it's the kind of where you're like, all right, you know, he's going to be back in four months or so. I have not sensed the kind of alarm that you might. Now, I mean, you know, Jonathan Gennard's a good player, and you hope that, you know, he kind of bounces back and has the kind of year he did a couple years ago. You know, new place, new scheme, probably, you know, what they hope is a good fit for him. But, look, sacks are important, obviously. But think about where the money is in Philly.

56:40I mean, Gennard's making some money, but think about where the money is. It's that interior defensive tackle. I mean, you got Jordan Davis and you got, you know, Jalen Carter both making a ton of money. Like, these guys are going to be the ones counted on to really be the disruptors. Sacks are great, but, like, the entire front is going to be counted on to kind of make up for this and be more productive.

57:01Pat McAfee:I loved it. We put a stat up from Hembo as you were talking about. You know, hopefully he's like he is a couple years ago because last year the guy's sixth in the league, basically, and pressures, but obviously pressures and being disruptive are all such a judgmental thing. But nonetheless, him getting hurt being on POP, I think it alarmed a lot of people because that particular position, good and need. Jalen Carter gets money. You assume they're going to be able to handle it. But, you know, if the middle's pressing, you know, you can eat outside, AJ, right? You can eat outside. You got two good D tacklers.

57:30Pat McAfee:Because they're scaring you. up yeah i think it's a good setup for like rap sheet rowing back in the day exactly yeah he'll create opportunities for everybody that's right i'll take on two three cocks bingo yep you guys just need to be one cocksman i'll be a three cocksman you know and that's why you're all bulked up because you're trying to be three cocks in that day right right is that right i was getting on the caleb williams diet need that no you you when you were rowing you were fat i mean you were You were almost bringing the boat down. Remember we saw that photo? No, I was Jack. No, the glasses were trying to pop off your head.

58:03Pat McAfee:Remember that? Because they were so tight in your face. The hat was really too tight, so it made the rest of it. It was a perspective thing. Yeah, but that was Max because you were all juiced up, too. You were on all the Balco stuff. Yeah, we remember all those. Anything for the team. That's why you were three cocks. You were three cocksmen out there. And anytime you can do that, it's obviously spectacular. Yesterday, you were in a nickel city, I do believe. Go ahead, Tone. Yeah, Rap, you were up at Mills Camp holding a normal-sized umbrella. It looked huge, though, because you were holding it.

58:35So rude. So rude. Boyko looks great, too.

58:38Pat McAfee:Boyko's got a good power stance. What was the vibes up there? We saw videos of Joe Brady. It looked like he was in charge. It looked like he was having a good time. What's the vibes up there for one of the AFC favorites? First of all, I offered Boyko the umbrella, and he goes like, people can't see me with an umbrella. I'm like, people know that you're soft. He's like, no, I'm good. I like that. By the way, I like that because people do the same for me with an umbrella. And I'm like, please, are we getting water? We're going to be a little drops of water are going to be the problem here? It was cold.

59:07Pat McAfee:My shoes were wet. It was rough. Also, your makeup, your hair was done. You got a pedicure. I actually, I made it through. I talk about perseverance. I stayed to the end of practice. It's pretty good. Hey, Junior might become senior someday. You keep fighting through this adversity. We appreciate that. Joe Brady, obviously, in shorts, eating it. You know, the trainers there, no hoodies on there in Buffalo. Obviously, they respect it. Then let's cut to Ian again. Where's Ian at this camp? What does he look like? Oh, there he is. Okay, okay, yeah. Just setting the tone, Junior. I like it. I respect it.

59:41Pat McAfee:But what were the vibes up there with Joe Brady? Yeah, so it's so interesting because, you know, I'm going around. I'm trying to meet a lot of the, you know, new coaches and just, you know, kind of see what they're all about, see what's going on. This is a weird different situation because the team is already good. Like this team is good every year. And so he's not like a first year coach taking over a team where he's got to like get them to a place like they're there. They need to be like a couple plays better. So a couple of interesting things from this one. One, like a lot of juice from Joe Brady, right?

1:00:14Like I remember talking to people who worked with them at LSU. And I was like, are you surprised he's the head coach in the NFL? It's like, no, like they are not. They've thought he was head coach material, even as like a young pass game coordinator at LSU, just because he's he's pretty dynamic. Right. And so I think the players like that, they have kind of bought into the new energy. Then the other thing that and this surprised me a little bit was when they did the coaching search. You know, you you talk to coordinators who you're interviewing, but also you try to get intel on yourself. and some of the feedback the Bills got about themselves was on defense.

1:00:49They were way too predictable. And like, honestly, if you think about it, biggest plays, like their defense would sometimes, it just wasn't quite good enough. And hiring Jim Leonard, they think is going to change that. He's another really good, bright, bright young mind, liked a lot of what he was having to say. So I would say some pretty good positive vibes in not Buffalo, but Rochester. Bean, Boyko, Brady, Leonard.

1:01:14Pat McAfee:That's a young... Oh, yeah. And putting Boyko in there is hilarious. Boyko's not that young. So, Boyko, I do like the way you're talking about Boyko because we all kind of feel the same way. You know, like Boyko, one of the good ones, for sure. Certainly one of the good ones. But you know what you're getting into whenever you sign up to have a conversation. You know, you know what you're going to get into. And we respect and appreciate that. We genuinely do. Did you hear what Baker Mayfield had to say down in Tampa Bay? He spoke for three and a half minutes. We were going to have it be like our gone camping thing.

1:01:46Pat McAfee:let's go to tampa bay yeah and we'll talk we'll ask baker mayfield like hey how do you feel about your contract situation how do you feel about vita's contract situation how do you feel about the bucks last year how do you feel about the bucks coming into the season what do you think the future looks like because he answered all those in one and basically he wants vita to get paid obviously you'd like to see that he felt disrespected by what fowler would go on to report as a two-year deal obviously nowhere near the 50 million dollar a year club which is where a lot of quarterbacks are sitting out right now right and baker obviously this is his first real home home like this is his first real place that has called him home he understands what's happening behind the scenes they leave mike evans ends up leaving levante david retires he said he set a deadline they whatever maybe didn't think it was real so he he did say he was disappointed he did say he felt disrespected but he did say i'm going out i'm all ball here i'm gonna do this feels like he's thinking about maybe next stop while utilizing this year as a chance to play his best football what are what should we take from everything he said which was uh he also mentioned last year a A lot of new guys were thrown into the fire.

1:02:46Pat McAfee:So that was him trying to say we had a lot of injuries last year. We ended up playing very well. We got those guys back. He addressed everything. How should we look at what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are right now? With Vita Veya requesting a trade, Baker Mayfield feels disrespected, Levante Davids retired, and Mike Evans is a San Francisco 49er. Feels interesting down there right now. Interesting is right. First of all, I love Baker. I mean, he's the best. I'm about to finish the Netflix quarterback doc. He's a big part of it. And for those who have not seen it, you will probably like Baker Mayfield even more than you already do.

1:03:16Just based on his trash talking, like just does not give. He better come. Yeah. He better come correct. I mean. He better come correct. He's the best. That's right.

1:03:26Pat McAfee:You know, it's so, I sort of thought. That's you, AJ. You're going to talk shit on Baker. You better come correct. I'm not talking to him. Nobody should. At all? Nobody should. You didn't talk on the field? I'll say nice things. No. Does he talk on this show? No. Some people are born for that. Some people are born with that, Ian. Yeah. I'm sure AJ would pop into a fight, though, and grab and do a little face washing. He was certainly a lot of that. I'll help with teammates. You always help your teammates, yeah, but not verbally, just physically. Yeah, he actually was doing the Fauci plead to fifth on the field, actually.

1:03:59Pat McAfee:That's what AJ was doing. Not answering anything. Oh, man. I feel like I would have been. I really miss my calling as a kind of like third-party heckler, trash talker. Not the guy in the middle, but the guy right on the edge. You'd be like, that's right. Yup. Like that guy. What would you say? Would you just say, yeah, that's right? Or would, like, let's say AJ and you were, AJ was kind of getting into it. What would you say to AJ as you were on the outside? Maybe to instigate a little bit of a, I think what they would call you is a pilot fish, by the way. A little fish. Then he's going to see me.

1:04:28Then he's going to see me and pummel me. And in real life, I don't need to get, if I was like, if I had a helmet and pad, then I could get pummeled. But in real life, I don't need AJ to pummel me.

1:04:37Pat McAfee:Okay, so you're saying you'd be too good of a trash talker. He'd get so upset he'd fight you in public the next time he saw you. You'd be able to say something that would get AJ so upset that he'd remember the next time he sees you, he'd pummel you and beat you. That's how good of a trash talker you are? That's what happened at Starbucks. I feel like I'd be really good. Yeah, I mean, Schultz, he, how's this coffee? Ass. And then Schultz said, that's my dad! Grabbing my throat. Yeah, immediately. Yeah, that was fantastic. I didn't drink Starbucks for like a year. After that? Yeah. I like to quote a good grudge.

1:05:06Pat McAfee:Yeah, you guys are back. You're junior at ESPN now. You got to do what you got to do. And Schultz, he's still latte-ing out there. He's still got his own stuff cooking. But go back to the question. So Baker, yeah, yeah. He's mad. He's got a chip on his shoulder. He doesn't care who knows it. And, you know, I think the team knew that this was a risk. Like, if you're not going to come to a deal, like you knew he probably wouldn't take a two-year deal without money this year. Like, it was really just a future deal. like it wasn't really a raise for 2026. You knew there was a chance he wouldn't take it.

1:05:42I believed his deadline was real, and it certainly seems to be because he doesn't mess around. And so now you get an angry Baker Mayfield. But here's kind of, well, first of all, that's not bad. He has played well in this situation where he feels like everyone's out to get, he wants to prove it. But I've been interested that they haven't made a new contract for Vita Veya beyond this year. Nothing for Baker beyond this year. It certainly seems like in this organization, it's like we are going to go out this year, play as well as possible, and then figure it out afterward. And usually you see teams invest in the future.

1:06:20That doesn't seem like it's happened as much here as you might think.

1:06:23Pat McAfee:Yeah, I mean, move on. Let Mike Evans out of the building. You're trying to win the Super Bowl this year. That seems like the right play. But, hey, listen, Light's been a good GM, so they got a lot of faith and trust in him. I think we should probably do the same. But I... And their roster's good. They're talented. They really are. And I appreciate that they want to win the ESPN Super Bowl, you know? Yeah, they do. Like, it's this year and our year. All right. We want to win the ESPN Super Bowl. That's the big one. Let's go. ESPN, NFL Network, you know, from my understanding, from what I heard.

1:06:52Two become one. Seems to be. Symbiotic.

1:06:57Pat McAfee:Mike Foss's Towns Hall yesterday. It was nice to see you were there. I was there in spirit. I was listening from my United flight, actually United. No Snickers on that flight. I'm just saying we didn't have Snickers. Okay. And last question, we need to address this because it is a big deal. Taysom Hill is going to be an Indianapolis Colt. How's this work? You know, that was an interesting statement. I wondered if he would retire. His body's been through a lot, a lot of injuries. And I just, I don't know. Not to be sentimental, but don't you think some guys should just play their entire career with one?

1:07:38I mean, he's a perfect member of the Saints. You know, obviously not going to be back. That was cool to see. I don't know if he's going to play again. I don't know if his body can handle him playing again. But, God, he was awesome. He was like one-of-a-kind type weapon. And if this is it for his career, like, it was a lot of fun.

1:07:54Pat McAfee:Yeah, we loved watching Taysom Hill. We appreciate how athletic he is if he is retiring. But Sean Payton can certainly say, hey, Saints forever, bro. Come on. Yeah, exactly. Come on, Will. Shane's forever, dude. Keep the house down there, certainly. Denver gets real – you know, he definitely wants a house in New Orleans, but come on up to Denver. And then the Indianapolis Colts, Shane Sexton, say, shoot. Yeah. Shoot, watch this touchdown right here. Shoot, shoot, shoot. That's a good call. Hey, that's a good play. What did you think of the guys? They were great today. I mean, today was really good.

1:08:21Pat McAfee:I don't know if you saw it. Defense, good job. Taysom Hill, holy hell. He's going to throw. He's going to run. He's going to pass. He's Tyler Warren, just a little bit more athletic. We got a lot of guys. That is pass interference right there. Absolutely not. They're fighting for the ball. That's why they call it 50-50. And Taysom Hill says when I'm involved, yeah, it's 70-30. We appreciate you, Rappaport. Safe travel is on your training camp tour. Where are you at next? People can buy tickets to see where. I'm going to Pittsburgh. I got to go talk to a certain quarterback. We'll see if he'll hang out with me.

1:08:49Are you going to be there on Monday? No. Where are you going to be there on Monday? Only tomorrow. Monday I'll be, I have no idea where. A different place every day.

1:08:59Pat McAfee:You'll be at the Ravens on Monday from our understanding of your schedule that we are keeping track of better than you. Shout out to you doing that. And we will be at the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on Monday. Cannot wait to be there. First day of padded practice. Wow. Obviously, we've got a lot of friends in that building, but obviously brand new era. Excited to get eyes on the field. Excited to see Pittsburgh Steelers fans. Can't wait to get in there and feel the environment. Last year, I think we knew that they probably weren't going to win a Super Bowl fresh out of that practice. This year, from all understanding, is that there's a lot of – Hold on.

1:09:27You serious or joking?

1:09:28Pat McAfee:100 % serious. Yeah, there was no juice in that practice last year. I've never seen anything like it. I was actually kind of embarrassed for them that that is something that fans were getting to see. AJ, is that not how you felt as well? A little bit. Yeah, there was a weird kind of vibe about it. Yeah, there's no juice. There was just zero juice. That's interesting. Not even a punter or a kicker who's doing nothing in practice screaming, nope or yup, like none of that. It was just like no juice at all. I think this year it's going to be vastly different. We'll be there on Monday. Ian's coming to a city near you, and we'll be back on the other side of this three-minute break.

1:09:56Pat McAfee:Be a friend, tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. Take three.

1:10:04Good energy in. Good energy out.

1:10:12Storm. Zero sugar, 200 milligrams of caffeine, and immunity support. Storm. Energy for life. You know when you're locked in, focused, and fearless. Welcome to the WNBA. Your vision narrows. You can't look away. Every assist. Every stop. Every logo three. From beyond the logo. Every did you see that moment. You bet. What records are going to be broken this season? All of it right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN. All season long.

1:10:53Pat McAfee:football is the absolute greatest and we are so lucky that obviously we are a part of the sports world but nfl training camps taking place tell us that we're right around the corner from epic sundays and epic mondays and epic thursdays this year tuesdays and wednesdays saturdays college football is about to be oh haven't really got into the college football conversation nearly enough because it's been a lot of media days it's been a lot of corpo stuff it's been a lot of suit stuff it's been a lot of politics stuff that's aj hawk the toxic tables here ap tone and at ty schmidt we love you con man lawmakers have put a deadline on to conference commissioners to agree to a new pitch of the protect college sports act that is hopefully going to be able to get onto the floor before there is a recess for the lawmakers for one month these fuckers take a summer break Like, are they in school?

1:11:46Pat McAfee:Are they teachers? What are we? Lawmakers take a month-long recess. Okay. Sounds like we don't have enough going on anyways in our society. How long are they serving our community? They take a month-long recess. So now we, I'm sure there's a hundred other things that need to get figured out, by the way. Go take a month off. Yeah. Yeah, that's, and then on the other side, I guess it's election time. So then there's no real. So Heather Dinich told us this like last week, and I didn't really truly respect and appreciate the word she was saying in the moment enough. Pat, if this doesn't happen in the next couple of weeks, it's probably never happening because they got the month recess.

1:12:26Pat McAfee:Then they got a campaign. Then you obviously got your first hundred days. Then you got the reaction thing. So this is what two years potentially that this gets put into a blender of politics and bullshit if it doesn't get done very soon. So I didn't know the expedited timeline that we're certainly sitting on. But, AJ, it does feel like we are on a very expedited timeline. We got a bipartisan-type bill. Will the commissioners buy into this? The commissioners, Big Ten Petiti and SEC Sankey, were like, nah, there's things in there that we don't like or whatever. It's like we might not have an answer for college sports for two years if it's not done in the next four days.

1:13:00Pat McAfee:That is a crazy thing to kind of experience, I think, in real time, AJ. Yeah, it's crazy that that's actual – like that's the reality of this whole situation. When you say bipartisan, like, I would have said, like, does everyone say it's bipartisan? Like we said, there's people on all sides that have issues with it, correct? No, I think it's mostly the commissioner. I think it's mostly Petini and Sankey. Now, joining us is a man who will have a lot more information on whether or not we're going to have any type of system for college football for the foreseeable future, I guess. The authority on college sports as a whole for this particular conversation, the authority of college football from College Game Day, ladies and gentlemen, Pete Dammel.

1:13:36Pat McAfee:Yeah, Pete. It looks like you might be in Washington, D.C. right now, actually, with the way the building looks behind you. Potentially Chicago still for the Big Ten media days. Nonetheless, Protect College Sports. This has to go through like right now. Is that what we're all kind of understanding? Is that the reality of this? And how much urgency does everybody kind of understand about it at this particular point, Pete? Yeah, Pat, I think it's certainly in the crosshairs right now. But the overwhelming sense today is there's been like three straight days of like drop dead deadlines that have been blown through.

1:14:10And the Big Ten presidents and athletic directors are actually meeting about this as we speak. There's an overriding feeling of pessimism that anything is going to happen. And again, if anything happened today with the Big Ten and the SEC and the SEC presidents are meeting later today about this in about three hours. if any you know this is still to get it to the senate floor which is still like three steps away from being three steps away but right now uh the critical juncture here is if this one doesn't work at this moment and this doesn't get to the senate floor at this time it just remains very unlikely that congress is going to be an option for college sports to help fix itself and that's especially comes into play that when you get all these state-by-state laws that are coming in right eligibility things.

1:14:54And the things that really need fixing and they need congressional helping for are there in core in this bill. But there's just so much other fat and other things that have pushed in by the different agendas. And that's what happens when you bring in Congress, right? You bring in new problems. So yes, but I would say right now, as we sit here today and the Big Ten meets on this, there's an overriding feeling of pessimism that there's going to be any congressional help. And if this bill doesn't make to the floor in August, there's an overriding feeling that it the congressional help is a long shot but let's be honest pat congressional

1:15:24Pat McAfee:hope was always a long shot right this was no i saw a big circle meeting there was a bunch of people there it felt like everybody understood especially with maybe the breaking point being uh the texas tech soresby situation where everybody was kind of on the same page it's like hey maybe this is the inflection point that brings everybody actually together now you talked about congress and bringing in a bunch of fat and things that people don't agree on even though we do agree on. I think they needed Congress, right, to give an antitrust to the NCAA so the NCAA can actually rule over its leagues and over its constituents.

1:15:56Pat McAfee:But if they don't have that, each individual state can find a judge that can actually override them, especially with the money happening now. So is that the basis that everybody agrees on? Is like, hey, the NCAA needs power. It's all the other stuff. Or what do you think the Big Ten and the SEC are mostly out on? So the crux of what's in the crosshairs right now, what's ultimately going to stall this, is the language that's going to set up the system for how college football, especially, but college sports work and the finances of it. So there's about a$40 million pool. Some of it is a salary pool.

1:16:26Some of it is a retention pool. That number has gone and dwindled, but it really all reverts back, Pat, to an age-old conundrum, and that's enforcement. So basically, they were going to have to write the rules for what the future of college athletics looks like in like 48 hours with Senate input. And that's just simply an improbable road. But this comes back to something very simple. Like there was the house settlement, right? Everyone's going to spend 20 million bucks. Great. Well, now people are spending$50 million. You know, and I spoke to a few Big Ten coaches about this yesterday. Let's just say there's a salary cap, some of it's retention, some of it's, you know, incoming, right?

1:17:02And say that number's in the$40 million range. Does everyone, does every big brand in the country that's spending over$40 million expect everybody to revert back to the cap? There's simply a century of mistrust here because every rule that's ever been written in college sports, people have found ends around it. Now, this doesn't happen in professional sports, right? Like you don't hear about, you rarely hear about NFL teams averting the salary cap. Happens once or twice, strictly policed, and the punishments are punitive, Pat, right? Like they're punitive. So what has to happen here is there needs to be a paradigm going forward for how this works with enforcement that actually matters.

1:17:41And that is a tricky wicket, and that is not something that's going to get solved this week.

1:17:46Pat McAfee:There's always competitive people trying to beat systems. Like, there's always going to be that. And whenever you said in professional sports with the salary cap kind of dancing around it, the NBA certainly has had their stories. Baseball certainly had their stories. The NFL, though, it feels like we do have it pretty locked in. In college sports, is it still college sports? Or is it professional sports that are happening at colleges? I mean, that's kind of the conversation, I guess, that is trying to happen. in real time as they make the rules. But what it sounds like you're saying is we ain't got nothing for at least two years.

1:18:16Pat McAfee:That's what it sounds like. Because they got a recess like they're 12-year-olds. Okay? Did you get all your chocolate milk? And did they pack up the oranges? Did you guys get your jobs for your summer recess that you're going on? These are adults put in position. I'm just learning that they go on a summer recess. What are we doing? You're serving the country. they do not like that sports are just getting a little bit more spotlight on us not doing shit ever really is coming in here i don't like that you know pete you you need to keep a straight face because you're gonna have to go talk to these people we'll never be in that world figure it out okay we need you to do something one time now there are some disagreements amongst the sports folks i guess tone has a question for you pete yeah pete uh big 10 media days is going on right now it's the last of the power four media days and as i've digested all of these media days in the coaches talking and the commissioners talking.

1:19:12It feels like every single coach in every conference wants to go to 2014 playoff teams except for one, and that's Greg Sankey. Why is he the only one that doesn't want to go to a 2014 playoff? Well, that's an interesting question. Thank you. And look, usually when you look at the history of the playoff and how it's changed, it usually follows what Greg Sankey wants. So I think that's important and instructive here. He is open to growth. He is open to other models. Remember, he wanted to go to 16. And then Tony Petitti, his leverage kind of kept it the same. So it's an ever-changing conversation.

1:19:52I think a lot of times, especially because it's media days, Tony, it's rooted in coaches, right? Yes, for sure. Like the coaches would go to 72, right? They'd just keep going because they all want to keep their job and they want access. And I think there's a feeling on campuses and especially in coaches' offices, Tony, that if we're spending 20 million on the roster, like the cheapest Big Ten roster is basically right under 20 million this year. If we're spending that kind of money annually, we want a carrot, right? We want a carrot. And it would be hard for a Purdue Northwestern, Missouri, Mississippi State to finish 12th.

1:20:23But 24th, you can all dream and pull a couple upsets and finish 24th. So they want that carrot of hope, basically. Hope's a powerful drug, right? And they want that carrot of hope. Yeah, but the SEC's main complaint tone when you go to 24 is, and it's not a complaint, it's something they want to see the effect it would have on the regular season. And they want that quantified. And that's really hard. For all the Big Ten's dominance on the field, and you won't catch me flinching on that, the Big Ten has dominated on the field. They've dominated the biggest games. They've won the championships. They've won the CFP games.

1:21:04Like, for all their dominance on the field, the SEC is still dominating in the ratings. Like, those aren't even close. So that's a huge asset for the SEC. And if you start giving away, you know, if you start veering eyeballs to the postseason and devaluing the regular season, what's the cost of that? And that's the existential question that they're still trying to wrestle with when they look at 24th.

1:21:27Pat McAfee:Yeah, Sankey's like, yeah, we're all playing the same sport. We love the same sport. Now, our games get some eyes, every single one of them, even the lower mid-tier ones. Now, Big Ten has big brands, big names at the top that carry massive ratings as well. Let's not get crazy. That happens. But in the SEC, Sankey understands, like, tickets, ratings, interest, everything. That's his business. That is our content is what he's saying. If everything just becomes a super-duper playoff game, you know, like – It makes sense. Is everything playing for fourth place? Do we get the teddy bear coming out of halftime and wrestling Jackie Moon?

1:22:02Pat McAfee:Because I think that is potentially what he... Plus, they also, if it goes to 24, it definitely devalues the SEC championship, which I assume they make a pretty good penny on that as well. But also, I think if you add teams, it gets you out of the conversation about people not wanting to play in the SEC championship. Yeah. Because wasn't that a big thing? Like, well, if we play in the SEC championship, we have two losses and our third loss is in the SEC championship. They say they're not going to judge us, but they certainly are whenever there's three losses. If there's 24 teams, those people would automatically get in.

1:22:32Pat McAfee:And then the SEC championship maybe isn't devalued as much. Maybe people do care about it because it's still a thing. I mean, you can combat anything. It's all in theory. Nobody has a clue what's going to happen. All we know is money is going to follow football. Like, so I think in the end of the day, they're all scared of like, what's the best option for us? What's the best this? If you're good at football, money's going to follow you. That is just ratings are going to follow you. Money's going to follow you forever. and on that note it feels like money is following these rosters in a huge way ty has the last question for you here pete yeah pete you mentioned how you know i think it was in 2024 2025 when ohio state won you know they said they spent like 20 million dollars on the roster and then last year now we're hearing like a lot of teams are spending 50 when we're in this kind of period where there are no rules there are no guidelines like what's stopping one of these schools who has the ability to spend 80 to 90 million dollars on the roster and just going to their boosters and basically saying like hey we have a window right now we're like we're not going to get in trouble for this so if you guys want to you know really donate over the next two years we can put together by far the best roster in college football and go win two national championships before they kind of put the guardrails in and we're all playing on a level playing field again yeah it's a it's a Multi-Quagmire Day tie, one of your favorite kinds.

1:23:48Absolutely. What's that called?

1:23:50Pat McAfee:A quagmire, a murder of quagmires? Quagmire? Is it quagmire? Oh, maybe a herd of them. Sorry.

1:24:02Pat McAfee:That was a very front. We were just talking, Scott. That was front.

1:24:10Pat McAfee:Big pop out of Pete. I like that. Yeah, okay. We'll get into more like that type of joke. It's my one joke of the year, Pat. That's what, instead of singing that song at LSU, that's about the most you're going to get out of me. Oh my God. So if we go to, if we go back to Ty's, if we go back to Ty's question about roster and cost, it is a remarkable shift, Ty, that the vaunted$20 million roster that everybody talked about for Ohio State two years ago would now basically be the cheapest roster of the Big Ten, right? And that is a salary path that many have called unsustainable. But what you're mentioning basically is the Dodgers-Yankees theory, right?

1:24:43Can we just outspend everybody and win big and do that? Now, there are still ways you have to, quote unquote, wash this money, right? Through multimedia rights, through partners, through everything like that. So it's not as simple as direct payment. But with no real cap and no stopping to it, like, you know, people are going to just keep spending. There is no cost going down. And, you know, like the financial component of this bill flashed that, you know, the roster was to go about$40 million. Well, nobody who's spending above that really thought anybody would go backwards, right? Like, you know, Pat, you just said it, follow the money in football and in sports.

1:25:16The cost doesn't go down for these things. So what college sports leaders are going to have to do quickly now is try to figure out a way. And some of the language that they've been discussing with Congress may end up just being the language that the Big Ten and the SEC and others use to push forward. There's been a lot of conference calls with the CSC and the, you know, the big four commissioners to try to, like, you know, get the language ready for Congress. So the conversations may end up yielding productivity down the line here because everybody's kind of had to focus in on what they really want and work together.

1:25:51It just doesn't appear like that's going to go with Congress. But to your question, Ty, the cost is going to keep coming up. And I don't think there's ever been more of a through line between investment in roster and in winning, right? It doesn't guarantee it, but if you're 18th in the Big Ten in spending, there's a pretty good chance you're going to finish with a 10th in the standings.

1:26:12Pat McAfee:So what you're saying is we've happened upon a field of quagmires, but we have certainly planted seeds to reap what we show potentially in the future whenever there's a more realistic situation of getting something accomplished. Fair. Fair assessment, Pat. For the man, ladies and gentlemen, that's Pete Thamel. Peace. Because a quagmire is a soft, muddy area. Oh, sure. So a bunch of them would be considered a field, I guess. But in the situation definition, a hard, complex, or messy problem that's very tough to escape, that's just simply called quagmires. Okay. Okay. But listen, if you want to do a fun game.

1:26:52Pat McAfee:What the fuck was that? That was my phone. It sounded like a phone. Jumping off a cliff. Okay? Not used to this type of situation. Sure. Scary times. Scary times. You guys got two days. Get the wording right. Good luck. How many pages? 400. They were on late calls, though. We had sources. Very late. Says in the CSC, which is the committee. Is that the College Sports Commission? The College Sports Commission. There it is. They're the ones that would be approving NIL deals for everybody. I believe that is kind of the role. They had a late-night call that involved all the commissioners, including Pac-12 and the American.

1:27:36Pat McAfee:I believe Notre Dame was on there. Pete Pavak was on there. Yankees was on there. And I think it was with Ted Cruz and Cantwell. I believe they were all on a call. We heard late into night. We heard it was a very, very, with a lot of big names on that call, trying to get the wording of it all. Like we just need the wording to be in a position that it is what we want it to be. And from our source says they were very worried about the wording and how it was, you know, going to potentially get politicized. And I think that's what they mean by like working things in. Like, I think they all have agreed on certain things.

1:28:16Pat McAfee:It's like, yes, we could do this. But if we're going to get something through, I think there has to be a bunch of other shit, too, that clarifies or maybe does other stuff. So I don't know, man. Pete said it would be three steps away from being three steps away, though. It sounds like this is a long show. Ultimately, it kind of seems like the Big Ten and the SEC agreed on stuff after initially not being okay with it. They do not view themselves in the same universe as the Big 12 or the Americans. So this comes out, and it's like, actually, you know what? We're not okay with this because you guys aren't playing the same sport that we are.

1:28:54Pat McAfee:And I would like to say that no matter what that first round of bills would have said, I think SEC and Big Ten are letting everybody know immediately that we are not the same. Yeah. Like, no matter what would have happened there, I think Sankey and Petiti both naturally would have came to this argument. But I think they have certainly said, hey, whatever everybody's saying is good for them, let's make sure everybody knows that we get final look at this shit. Like, let's – I think they wanted to publicly have that leverage point. Yeah. so that's that makes sense i think in from their perspective it makes sense now people are going to hate that they're doing that you guys are holding up everything for the good of is this for the goose or the gander you know or what is this all for impetiti and saying you're like we've done a really good job with our conferences yeah i mean it's capitalism not communism you know yeah we've done a very good job with our conferences and how we've built it and what people think of us and what we're trying to say is let's make sure they're able to survive sankey and petiti Agreed.

1:29:51Pat McAfee:We have reached out to both of them for comment over the last few weeks. And what have we got? Crickets. Hmm. Huh. Are they? They're not doing what Fangio did, right? They're not. This is kind of what it sounds like when I'm like, so what's the deal, boys? I'm going to be like Fauci and just take the Fifth Amendment on questions. That's what they said. No, because I'm hearing Sankey talk nonstop about the SEC. He is talking nonstop, isn't he? Yeah. He sounds like you're being a little negative. There was a lot of excuses coming out of there last week. They were talking about how they've got to play nine conference games now.

1:30:25Oh, how long has the Big Ten been doing that?

1:30:26Pat McAfee:Miss Laura said that yesterday. I was a part of the mentions there. Oh, I forgot about that. Yeah. Boy, that is as good as. She knew what she was doing. Oh, my God. It did feel like she knew exactly what to do to the Big Ten folks. Our conference is so good. We beat each other up by the time we're tired. Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah, right. You try to play Northwestern in fucking December. It was awesome. But I do believe she feels as if she's a representative of the SEC. I love that part of college football. Went to an SEC school. She should be doing that. Hosted SEC Nation. Yeah. Yeah. It's like she feels.

1:31:03Pat McAfee:And I don't know what it's like for her on a regular basis with NFL Live and everything else she does. And I assume with SEC Nation there was inner. Welcome to the Thunderdome. Bingo. Yeah. There was a lot. And then there was people fighting back too. And I think she got in there a little bit too. I was like, holy fuck, I did not expect. That's the beauty of college football. Boy, that's the one if you really just want to get people going. Oh, yeah. I guess that is the one. But that's the thing is, like, there's no guarantee. We've talked about it, but, like, the way things are right now, like what SEC, like Michigan, if they wanted to, they could spend$100 million on their roster this year.

1:31:34Multiple Big Ten schools could do that. Could any SEC school round up$100 million for their football team in the next?

1:31:42Pat McAfee:I think, obviously, I think Lane could get it down there. Probably. If he needed it. Because remember, we ain't paying this coach. Yeah. And it turns out, they are. Where all the money comes? He's like, go ahead, everybody. Okay. We're going to win? I want Mike the Tiger out there to watch. Yeah. If we're going to do that. I guess Texas could do it. Texas could do it. A &M could do it. I think Kirby, I don't know what Georgia, but they've got a lot of khakis and a lot of, you know. Definitely. A lot of very wealthy people, I think, coming out of Georgia, just from who we've met, literally. I think Georgia could do it.

1:32:14Pat McAfee:But that is the game. Yeah. Ole Miss, I mean, they were able to keep Winnedad there, so I assume they got... But like Northwestern could do it. They really wanted to. They just built that new state. Exactly. Northwestern could spend$80 to$100 million on their football team next year. What's Arkansas doing? Don't they have Jerry and Walmart? Yeah, actually. It's a tough investment, though. What are you getting back? Any money? No. No, you're right. You get a good parking spot. It's a donation. Yeah, so it's like the Northwestern business people might be a little bit too smart to just do that. Yeah, man.

1:32:43Pat McAfee:We love that you guys are maybe going to win games. Are we getting any money back on this? Sick parking spot. Come on, Grady. Is it even a write-off for him? No. No. It should be. And then guess what? We're going to hit you up in about six months because we need a bigger payment next year. And guess what? The guy you paid, turns out he didn't play any transfer. Did we get anything out of him? No. No, he was really good at locking. But this next guy, this next guy is going to be legit. I'll show you the film on this guy. He's got good feeling. And we talked to his coach. Loves ball. He'd never leave us.

1:33:13Pat McAfee:Okay, turns out he doesn't want to commit to us. So we need to find this other guy. We need to get money. I think some of those super smart schools can get that money, but I think it's going to be tough to get it from the people who have that money when there's literally zero good business in it other than your school is going to do good at football, which is good for your school. But they don't care about that because academics at the end of the day matter much more at Northwestern than any of the sports programs. Yeah. The smart meatheads is who you're looking for. Exactly. Penn State's got a lot of them.

1:33:42Yeah.

1:33:42Pat McAfee:Penn State has like a bunch of the C-level people. in every business. And they went to Penn State. They all went to football games. So they all feel as if they are giving actual back to their friends, their family, their cult, no offense. But that is really what it is. That's why Pat Craft's been able to kind of rally them because they're kind of sports people. Northwestern, super smart people who maybe like sports or watch sports. Penn State's like sports people who went to a super nerdy, super successful business type school. Yeah, they're not in the Big Ten, but Notre Dame's very similar. Yeah, IU.

1:34:13Pat McAfee:Notre Dame, IU. Yes, exactly. Because Northwestern just spent how much on that stadium? A lot. I think it was like$500. And that stadium looks sick. Sick. It is maybe a nicer stadium. Chip Kelly said, hey, look at this thing. Put his hard hat on. Yeah. Actually says$862 to$870 million. Yeah, and they had somebody donate that. Kansas did the same, I believe, last year for their new stadium. And all the coaches are saying, we're playing a parking lot. We don't need a new stadium. I'll get a quarterback. I'll get an airdrusher. You okay over there, AJ? You got a fly. This little fly is starting to attack me.

1:34:47I got a salt fly gun downstairs. I wish I had it with me.

1:34:51Pat McAfee:I think you can go get that. We'd like to see you maybe bring that gun out. Where is it? Have you found the queen yet? I'm going to snatch him in my hand. Oh, I'm about to get it back in the hive. I've been letting them. Dude, you're full of shit. They're gone. All right, I'm not talking about the bees anymore with you guys. You guys are ridiculous. They're dead and gone. I'm not even going to answer anything anymore. Your bees are gone. They've left you. They're there, buddy. We need proof of life. Yeah, no, you don't. Did you know 20 years ago today, you signed your deal with the Green Bay Packers?

1:35:18Wow. There you are, go. I'm up to it today, was it? Ted, man, the late, great Ted Thompson. Good to see him, man.

1:35:24Pat McAfee:Yeah, rest in peace, Ted. Thank you for your contribution to sport and to Packers, obviously. But yeah, at 20 years ago, sport has been doing this. You were the presentation of the morning. 20 years ago, something special happened in Green Bay, and we're still getting celebrated today. the all-time leading tackler, this guy in the oversized suit with the long hair who didn't do any medical records for anybody before this moment right here out of Centerville, Ohio, would go on to become the all-time leading tackler for the team, I think that would be a good draft pick. I think people would say that's a good use to become a fifth overall pick.

1:35:56Pat McAfee:Congrats to you, AJ. Not a big haul goal. Thank you. That was seconds after he, you know, Andrew Brandt has told us the story many times. He had to go down. He had to basically pull AJ by the ear to get him out of the weight room to come up and sign his deal. Yeah, he was sweating, this guy. Vita Vea gone, Baker gone. I don't think people fully understand what I meant whenever I said Baker covered everything, but also said he was disrespected. Maybe let's go camping. Hey, let's go camping. Hey. Hey, let's go down to Tampa Bay. We got Baker with us, joining us from yesterday, but live, if you will.

1:36:29Pat McAfee:Baker, how do you feel about your contract negotiation? It stalled out before your deadline. How do you feel kind of the Buccaneers view you? How about Vita Veya? How did your team end the season last year? How do you think this season is going to go? I know I kind of asked you a lot of things. Kind of take it wherever you want to, Big. Yeah, I mean, obviously I've told you guys I've been pretty upfront and honest about my feelings about Tampa, it being home for now our family. We're raising kids here. We love it here. I wanted the deal done and set the deadline and told them it was going to be all ball after that, and I did mean that.

1:37:02And I don't know if they thought I was just going to take some of the offers that they gave. But I'm at the point of my career and understanding what I've brought to this franchise. One, I'm very, very thankful for the chance they gave me. Do not get me wrong on that. But I've also know, I really know what I've brought to this franchise leadership wise and even play wise. It's been some of the best years of my career. And I think it's only going to trend upwards. OK. Just being comfortable and feeling that. So disappointing in that regard to not have, you know, to feel disrespect a little bit.

1:37:34And that's really the disappointing part, to feel undervalued after, you know, thinking you've earned it. This is not a poor me thing. It's there's a lot of people that have it way worse off. But I can sit here and look at other quarterbacks and peers and evaluate myself based on that and put myself in certain categories that I deserve to be compensated for that. And I think I'm a franchise quarterback. I've been told I'm a franchise quarterback. It's been said publicly from ownership down here. So to not have a deal done is very disappointing. But I said the deadline was a deadline and I addressed the team to let them know I meant that it's it's all ball.

1:38:12I'm with these guys. I think all the guys that have been here know exactly who I am. The guys that are new here. I wanted to address that because they might have had a notion prior to coming here about who I am as a person. But it's it's all team. It's all about winning here now and what we're going to do. And, you know, hopefully Vita gets his back fixed and gets his deal done. I mean, he's the second longest tenured buck behind CG, and Vita deserves that. He's the anchor of our defense, and so I hope they take care of him. All right. It's disappointing, to say the least, but it's all ball here, and I know I'm going to have a good year.

1:38:44I know this team, the things that we went through last year put us in a good spot for this year depth-wise. A lot of guys have been thrown into the fire to be able to grow and learn fast. It didn't go the way we wanted, but it's a new season, and it's going to help us in the long run this year, added some new pieces. I'm excited about it. It's all ball from here. After today, I'll answer a few more questions about the contract, but after today, I'm not answering anymore because I'm not negotiating anymore.

1:39:09Pat McAfee:Hire said. Yeah, I understand. Yeah, I understand. But in some way, Baker Mayfield's always batting himself to do it again. Mario Lopez? Yeah, it is. Looks great. You can always franchise tag, but there's other options that they have. What does it do for your relationship? It's disappointing. I'm not the first one to go through it like this. It's just kind of historically how they've done negotiations, which is disappointing when you think you're a cornerstone of the franchise to be treated like that. But disappointing. I know I'm no dummy. I know the contract and salary cap, what's going on. Franchise tag isn't exactly in play for them.

1:39:44It'd be a lot of dead money. So it is what it is. and, like I said, unfortunate, but I'm excited. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, in a really good place, and I'm feeling really confident with the staff that Todd's put together that we're going to have a really, really good team.

1:40:01Pat McAfee:Hell yeah. All right, thank you, Baker. All right, well, you don't answer any more questions, send him out of here. Thank you, Baz. Baker Mayfield. Hey, baby. Kind of covered it all there. Yeah, he did. Disappointed, disrespected. It's kind of how they do it here. That's kind of a bummer that this is kind of what they do around here. He's got a Tampa Bay Buccaneers logo right above his head. He's wearing a uniform, you know. Don't really love the way this whole thing went. Felt like it was kind of a smack in the mouth. Whatever the case. They've set up him a franchise quarterback. Didn't feel like it during a negotiation.

1:40:27Pat McAfee:But we're going to have a good year this year. Sounds like, okay, Baker's going on a tear. And is that how everybody in the locker room feels? You know? It's not good if it is. Like Vita Vea saying, hey, I want to be traded. He's beloved in that locker room on the defensive side. I think the coaches love him too. You got Baker coming out and saying, it's the way this organization does stuff. Like, that's not good. That's not great. But he did say he's going to play good. And we all believe he's going to play good, AJ. Yeah, we do. I just, I wonder, okay, so we're not negotiating anymore. Is it possible that the team could send his agent another, like, hey, here's a four-year deal.

1:40:57Here's a three-year deal. Does that happen?

1:40:58Pat McAfee:Feels like he's pretty hands-on there, right? Yeah, it definitely does. But, I mean, what if his agent's like, hey, man, I'm just letting you know, they doubled him. They doubled the offer they sent you first. Like, could that possibly happen? Could this spur something like that to happen? Yeah, and then it sounds like Baker just wants to be all ball. I don't want to deal with when the money's coming, how the money's coming, why the money's coming. What an incentive is, which incentive matters more than another incentive. It's like, if he feels like he's pretty invested in those negotiations, which I respect, by the way.

1:41:26Pat McAfee:I respect and appreciate that. But it does take a lot of your mental energy, you know, to kind of figure out what you deserve, what you're okay with, how much you should give up. You know, because there's contracts, negotiations that we've been a part of where it's like, what monetarily wise is peace of mind worth? And what is working with this person versus this person worth? and it's like I think Baker just wanted to remove himself from that. Once football starts, I want to be all in on ball. Now, to your point, though, can the Bucs just present him a$50 million a year, bud, three-year deal,$150 million?

1:41:56Pat McAfee:You're good. You're in a$50 million club. It's a three-year deal. That's pretty good. You're 31 years old. You'll be 34. You'll be able to hit the market again. That could happen any time. But Baker ain't signing it. No, and I think he probably has enough confidence in himself that he thinks he could have an MVP-type season and get$60 million from someone. We might be at$80 million a quarterback here very soon. It's only a matter of time. Who knows what Nando is going to potentially get in four years when he is up, if he and the Raiders have a fantastic run. Let's pivot away from football. Let's go to baseball.

1:42:24Pat McAfee:Baseball's got a lot of storylines. Yeah, it does. Ladies and gentlemen, four-time Golden Glove World Series champ with the Royals. A man whose father was a firefighter down in Miami for like 29 years. Shout out. Shout out. Ladies and gentlemen, friend of the program, Eric Hosmer. Yeah, Hosmer. What's happening? What's happening, fellas? Big fan of the program. Yeah, we appreciate the hell out of you. I learned of you whenever you wore a for-the-brand sleeve for a batting practice back in the day, and we felt like we – I want you to know this. We felt like we arrived a little bit whenever that happened.

1:42:55Pat McAfee:That was a crazy situation for us. So we are very appreciative of you and how much love you've shown us. And on that note, baseball has become a bigger part of our program. I think you have probably seen that over the years. I'm fascinated by the drama around it right now, especially with scoops. Okay, this scoob situation is fascinating because you won with the Royals, the World Series. You were potentially the last small market team. I guess the Rangers, Nationals are in the conversation. D.C. is a big market. Texas and Dallas, big market. Royals, 2015 team you were on. Last small market team to really win the World Series.

1:43:26Pat McAfee:Now, allegedly, the Dodgers are in play for Tarek Skubal, who's obviously the best player, which is obviously a massive piece of the convo. Is baseball broken? And where do you think Skubals is headed? And why do you think this is just so, like, assumed to happen whenever one of these small market teams get a good player? It's like, well, he's only going to be – it's like a farm league almost. Is this with Terrick since the beginning, or why do you think we've gotten here, Haas? Well, I will say this, Pat. First and foremost, I'm all about respect. So first time on the program, I wasn't about to come on here with sleeves.

1:43:58Respect. You guys, man, hey, you guys put me through a lot of training room days in Boston. I would put the phone on, throw the McAfee show. My son was born that year. Same thing. These feedings throughout the night. So I've been a big fan since day one. So appreciate those words.

1:44:15Pat McAfee:Well, thank you, man. That's so cool of you. We're okay. Thank you. Thank you for saying all that. We are lucky to be a part of that. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your life. Now, let's get back to baseball. Scoob believing is a big part of this entire new negotiation that's happening, right? And especially if he goes to the Dodgers, it's going to be really loud. What do you think about baseball? You said it's fine. I agree. More interest. But it does feel like we're at a tipping point, though, or am I wrong? Yeah, I said it's fine, but it's not fine at all, Pat. I'm kind of panicking.

1:44:41I'm not going to lie about this situation because, first and foremost, we don't know what's going to happen next year. But the Scoobble situation, I mean, this is where the Tigers, honestly, I think the day that they became$10 million to$15 million apart in arbitration, that's the day they knew they were going to trade Scoobble because this is the situation. When you come up as a small market team, Max Clark, He's a young star out there. Foxy, you got to know all about him. Apparently Detroit's calling him up today. So when he gets called up today, the team has you for seven years right now is what the current CBA is.

1:45:15And usually those first four years, you got the rookie salary. And then the last three, you go to arbitration. Once the players start going to arbitration, that's when you start making big money. So what these small market teams do is that first year of arbitration, they try to lock a guy like Tarek Skubal down before that because that's when they know they're going to get expensive. And if they're not able to lock them down, that's when the GMs in the front office know, hey, okay, this is where we're going to have to get a return for our investment. So now you guys were at the Derby promoting the game, which is awesome, and you saw Junior Caminero out there.

1:45:51Allegedly, the Angels could have traded Otani to Tampa and got in return Junior Caminero. So obviously you see that set back that franchise a lot. So the Detroit Tigers cannot let Tarek Scuba walk out of that building and not get anything in return. And it's pretty obvious that they're not getting a deal done.

1:46:10Pat McAfee:That's kind of where Foxy has landed. It's like we need to get something. That's why Detroit clapped for him basically. He's not going to be here long term. At least we can get something for the city from him. And we appreciate how great you are. But the Pirates, as soon as Skeens got there, already started chanting sell the team because they knew his ass was going to be gone. I mean, they knew he was going to be gone. Maybe not, though. Who knows what the negotiations happened. All right, let's continue to talk baseball. A lot happening. Go ahead, Ty. Yeah, Haas. I mean, it does seem like the Dodgers are the leaders in the clubhouse for Scoobal, even though a team like Milwaukee could probably put together the best package.

1:46:41But when you look around the MLB, how many teams do you think can legitimately do something at the deadline to compete with the Dodgers this year in October? Or do you think it's kind of a foregone conclusion and that they're going to add Scooble and they're probably going to win a World Series that's potentially going to lead to a work stoppage. So right now, this is what's so interesting about the deadline is Detroit, they're not saying we're going to trade Scooble and we want a full return of young players. They still believe that their team has a shot this year and they have every reason to.

1:47:15They got this young Kevin McGonigal, Riley Green's a stud on the pitching side. They got Troy Melton, they got Ontario. They got arms, so they want big league ready starting pitching and young players back. So it's really interesting too, because Casey Mize, who's also balling on that rotation, he was their first pick overall in 2018. He can possibly be in a package deal with Scoobble because he's a free agent next year too. So Detroit really has to take advantage of this situation and get a big return, but they still want big league players ready as well. So it's going to be so interesting, this deadline, because again, a small market team like Milwaukee and Tampa, you know, realistically that you're never going to be able to sign a Tarek Scoobal on the free agency market for four or 500 million.

1:48:01So you're going to say, okay, I'm going to go ahead and get Tarek Scoobal at the trade deadline for half a season. It'll probably cost me what, $10 million if you prorate whatever he's making this year. And then if you go ahead and make the playoffs you get that playoff revenue in return so this is the small markets team chance to really strike and i think tampa milwaukee come into play but if they want big league ready pitching the dodgers have that best package possible because they have the young talent and they have this justin roblewski kid this young lefty who's a stud and he's doing it in the big leagues this year

1:48:33Pat McAfee:okay you talk about small market teams maybe renting scoobal for a year hold the phone let's go to pittsburgh go ahead tone yeah yeah the buckos could absolutely do that but the nl wild The ballpark race is insane right now. There's seven teams within two games, the Pirates being one of those. And I would be an idiot not to ask you about the Buccos since that's who I root for. They obviously have the starting pitching with Ashcraft and Skeens, it seems like. And then Jared Jones is coming along as well and Bubba Chandler. So they have the arms there. The bullpen has been absolutely horrendous.

1:49:01But the offense is going to get O 'Neal Cruz and maybe Connor Griffin back at the beginning of September. How do you feel about the Buccos' chances? And do you think they'll be buyers at the deadline because that hasn't happened since 2014? I mean, you hope so, because, I mean, if you need a starting pitcher to win one game, Paul Skeens is your guy. I mean, that's America's starting pitcher. Everything about him you love. And then on the position player side, Connor Griffin, this kid is a stud, man. His swing, his body, his makeup for shortstop. I mean, there really wasn't a shortstop like that size that's so young since A-Rod.

1:49:34And this kid, he's got the smooth actions, especially from the right side, just a clean swing. So this is what kind of the MLB season as players, you kind of break it down into parts, and the trade deadline is huge because you want to give your front office, you want to present your front office a case to be buyers at the deadline. And the Pittsburgh Pirates, in my opinion, have given the front office every reason to believe in this team and be buyers. So I think they should go out and get some arms, get some bullpen help, and add whatever you can.

1:50:03Pat McAfee:I think the Pittsburgh Pirates are winning it all this year. Chance. Yeah, it's going to save baseball forever. Chance. Because if the Dodgers win, baseball's done-zo. It might be. If Scoobo goes out to the Dodgers right now on a half-year rental thing, and they just – I tell you what, when your boy Jason Kendall takes over in Pittsburgh one day, I don't know when it's going to be. That's when it'll happen. Hold on. Okay, you just said that publicly. I had heard that privately as well in a couple conversations that Kendall was trying to get involved in the Pirates in a pretty big way. And I would like to say everybody knows how I feel about that.

1:50:36Pat McAfee:Yeah. More Jason Kendall, better. more jason kendall's a legend so a lot of people don't really know this but he was in kansas city he ended his career there and he stuck around kansas city and was basically a coach so jason kendall was like one of my mentors in kansas city and i was a young guy didn't have a family at the time so he'd always be like hos come on let's go get some dinner let's go let's do this and man he was the best man he was like a role model for me still is so he's a legend yeah okay jason Kendall's exactly who I thought he was. I also like the fact that they call you Hawes, because we went with that, and just assumed that was the natural nickname, and it worked, so I'm pretty pumped about that.

1:51:15Pat McAfee:Nailed it. Tell Father Hawes we appreciate his service to the community as well. That's incredible. We appreciate you, Eric. We'll talk to you soon. Appreciate you, fellas. Appreciate you having me on. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Eric Hosmer. That was a good baseball talk, AJ. We said good baseball talk. Yeah, I... Did he ever cross paths with Benito Santiago? Probably. Do we know? Haas. Another role model. Haas, you still on there? Yo, yo, I'm still there. Do you know Benito Santiago? Benito, he was with the Florida Marlins back in the day. I watched him as a fan, but he was a little older than me.

1:51:46He changed the game, didn't he, Haas? AJ's the guy. All right. Thank you. He changed the game, dude. Hey, fun fact, AJ. You're nailed. You're locked in because his daughters went to my high school about four or five years before I did. So big brain over there, AJ. You're locked in. Thank you very much. Every Eric Hosmer.

1:52:01Pat McAfee:Thank you.

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1:52:41Pat McAfee:When detectives walked into that house, they said that it was like time just stood still. It's 2010, and the McStay family is nowhere to be found. Inside the home, no clear answer where the family could have gone. Husband, wife, and two children are gone. Like, poof, disappeared. The search for the McStays quickly captures the nation. But for years, the search for answers only brings more questions. Who's ever heard of an entire family going missing? A family of four doesn't just drop off the face of the earth with no contact. Is this a family on the run? Or is the truth far more sinister? From ABC Audio in 2020, this is What Happened to the Mixed Days.

1:53:22Coming August 11th, wherever you get your podcasts. Or subscribe to 2020 True Crime Plus on Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes, early access to new episodes, and so much more.

1:53:59That was huge.

1:54:01Pat McAfee:I thought he was taller. I was, you know, because the way that bat looked in his hand. Sure, yeah. It just looked like he was spinning. It looked like he was a fucking toothpick out here. I didn't like to hear that he played Kansas City. I didn't remember that. Just at the end of his career. Yeah, it wasn't. No, he was a one bucko hat guy. But then it sounds like he did stick around in Kansas City for a bit and kind of called that home. Well, they gave him a job. He's living. So what's he trying to do? Is he trying to – He's trying to – Be the GM, maybe? GM skipped – Is this real? Has this been rumored or no?

1:54:28No, not that I've heard. but my ear's not super close to the ground.

1:54:32Pat McAfee:Hosmer brings that up, and I'm like, yeah, I've been saying that too. You said it publicly. I guess I agree. We do need Jason Kendall back in there. Maybe the owner. Baseball's cooking. The NFL is obviously absolutely scorching hot right now. Scorching hot. Baker Mayfield's disrespected. Vita Veya's got a back tweak he wants out of time. Tampa Bay, what's going on, Donner? Is it really the Saints' time down in the NFC South after a couple years of saying, we're going to suck, but that's the way it is? Panthers? They already got the injury bug, though. Well, not only the Panthers with the injury bug got an ACL down there, but I mean, how about everybody else that's currently starting their trek to the top of the Lombardi Mountain?

1:55:07Pat McAfee:You got Chopwood, Kerry Water in Philly. You got Sean McVay in L.A. You got shitty grass in L.A. with Dallas. There's so much to talk. We're back tomorrow. Goodbye. What a lead. What a lead into a break. Yes. Just what an absolute. So much hope for like 30 teams. Arizona Cardinals have no hope. I don't know. Oh, Jacoby's kind of slinging that. He is kind of spinning it right now. Michael Wilson's filthy. Yeah, so what two teams are you talking about then? The Bucs. Oh, okay. They got Baker Mayfield as quarterback. Let's remember that. Bad vibes, though. You don't want bad vibes. I mean, horrendous vibes.

1:55:42Pat McAfee:AJ, he was wildly transparent there, and that was just, hey, how you feeling about the contract? Well, thanks for asking. So, disappointed, a little disrespected, I think. And then he started talking about how whenever you compare me to different quarterbacks that I certainly am allowed to be compared to. It's just what they offered versus what I am and where I think I've earned and what they've said I am. I think just, you know, a little bit disappointing, a little bit disrespectful. It's like, whoa, okay, that does sound very negative. And the fact that he was saying it at a Tampa Bay Buccaneers press conference after he just got done with Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice, saying this team normally operates like that, it's a bummer, dude, I'm going to be honest.

1:56:21Pat McAfee:It kind of stinks how this is all things going. It does feel like bad vibes. But could it be the best Baker Mayfield because now he's hunting a bag again and hunting respect and hunting, like, you know, everything, his entire legacy it feels like. Potentially this is an entire angle by Baker to start cooking a little bit. Yeah, I mean, it's bad vibes right now, but, you know, this kind of does underscore what he said. Like, hey, I'll address all the contract stuff right now, and then I'm not talking about this shit again. So as opposed to having to answer these questions for the, you know, the entire season or the first, like, 10 weeks until he says, like, hey, I'm done.

1:56:56Let's get all the dirty laundry out there right away. This gets really bad. And then by the time the season comes, it probably blows over a little bit.

1:57:04Pat McAfee:Let's ask Coach Fangio what he thinks about Baker's response about Tampa Bay Buccaneers stuff. I'm going to be like Fauci and just take the Fifth Amendment on our questions.

1:57:15Pat McAfee:This guy. What's his problem, you think? I don't understand. He doesn't know. Maybe it is Fangio over. Could be Fangio over. Maybe we could ask a guy on Monday, see if he takes a fit.

1:57:29Did like a 400 page document on it.

1:57:31Pat McAfee:500. 500 pages. 500 pages. Sure, he's not taking a victory. Do you mind if I, I believe was the thing. Go ahead. After consulting with many doctors, having many tests run, also Joe Rogan, RFK Jr., I've come to the conclusion that my body and this not good. Now, I will be taking care of myself and everything. I have access to a lot of things, but that's the case. This guy's fucking killing people. What a wild time. Oh, yeah. I'm done with it. He agrees. What's going on over here? I don't know. This phone's just saying I'm out of here a couple different times. What's the deal? Don't want to be a part of that?

1:58:16Pat McAfee:That's a pretty big moment in our life history. I think whenever they're going to tell that story, being absolutely buried by the entire globe is certainly a part of that. That was a wild time to be alive. That was a wild time to be alive. And the good news is, it seems like we're only going to learn more and more. Yeah. Yeah, it sounds like we're going to find out about it all. Let's just keep it all. Let's make sure we remember for the future, though, everything. Right? That's on us. I don't think people are going to forget. I hope not. That's what I'm saying. That's kind of on. No, they tried it again this year with that one disease, and we're like, no, we're not doing that again.

1:58:49Pat McAfee:Okay, so that's within a couple years. We're talking. We got to remember this. I'll write a history book. That was crazy. You'll write a history book? I don't know. Is it going to be in your serious voice or is it going to be in your – What is it going to be? About what? About taking notes and never forgetting. That should be the name of it. I like that. Chopwood, carry water. Take notes, never forgetting. I didn't love that speech. The internet loved it. And for Sirianni, I'm happy for him because that is very rare for anything. It was solid. But it covered all the things. Details, work hard, buy in.

1:59:22Got to have a theme. Like every team, I would assume, has kind of a – Coach has kind of a theme going into each season of what it's going to be.

1:59:29Pat McAfee:All the same tenets. You know, it's just like how do you deliver the message, which is why books, searching, AI, other people, other coaches, because when the message is not being delivered in a manner that is worthy of paying attention to, it's probably not going to be heard. You know, so that was Chopwood, Kerry Water. He said he was sending these books to players on the team. It feels like as soon as he was reading that, Sirianni was like, yes, this is exactly what I'm looking for. And they'll buy into that. Teams have mantras. It's got to be hard. Like, what is he? He's year five there, year six there.

2:00:02And, like, majority of that team, they've been together for so long. So it's got to be hard for coaches to be like, all right, New Year, I've got to find a new message for these guys that have heard me talk. No, same message. Same message, new wording.

2:00:14Pat McAfee:Yeah, new delivery. Yeah. Yeah, that's work hard. Details. Right, right. Accountability. Yeah. That is every speech that is given in any football thing. buying in. That's where college coaches have the advantage. There's no secret. That's what's tough. There's no secret to it. It's all work, consistency. It's all the boring stuff. But how do you present it to get the guys to digest it and not just stick? All right, here we go again. Chuck Pagano with the Belgian pretzel. That was my favorite. I'm like, you must be getting so bored. So bored. Guy did a banana split, but he was Belgian, so they call it the Belgian pretzel.

2:00:49Pat McAfee:He said every time he goes to wrestle, they would expect the Belgian pretzel. you know they wanted to do it

2:00:58Pat McAfee:and then one day he didn't do it he did something different and got a win and kept people guessing some message about it you gotta take whatever play is there for you you don't have to do what you think is supposed to be done it's like I forget what the message was but all I remember just going is that was the most ridiculous tie-in I have ever fucking heard because he was trying to chant in German too I think for yeah it was it was unbelievable and now we know chuck a little bit yeah it's a show up there well that's what it is yeah trying to captivate people you know especially this generation they're on the phone we're scrolling we need 10 second increments of everything it's like you got to get up there and reach people that is a tough thing to do and you know sorry but don't and you know that you're being filmed and this is going out to the world as well a lot of times that that makes it that's a whole different dynamic for those head coaches like hey some of them walk and they're nervous to speak in front of a whole team and the coaches, but now, oh, they're going to throw this thing on the internet and they'll see how everybody responds.

2:01:54Pat McAfee:And those social media teams certainly have a good sense of feel. You heard our today. Man. They're bad, dude. It's getting bad. I think we have an epidemic here. And I don't want to... Nope, I'm not going to get into it. Positive vibes going into this season. Yeah. Positive vibes going into this season. Positive vibes. CJ Straub should have never had that happen to him. No. Somebody should have looked at that, had a little bit of an idea or a thought, like, hey, we should protect our fucking quarterback, maybe. You know who had to do it? Paul Wall, baby. Paul Wall had to come into our comment section on TikTok and say, we stand with our brother CJ Stroud.

2:02:30Especially when the next day, when he's walking down the steps and he has his uniform on, his hats on backwards, and it's like, okay, that looks like CJ Stroud. You take the video, you look at it, you're like, why did he wear this outfit? Why is he walking like that? We can't put that out.

2:02:41Pat McAfee:Yeah, bingo. Just like the Russell Wilson, that's right. It's like, you gotta watch that and just automatically know that, boy, this guy's gonna to get fucking smoked yeah absolutely fucking fried it's gonna be an air frying okay which by the way is operating in the thunderdome as we speak right now aj we're taking a trip back in time man taking a trip back in time today with an air fryer yeah well what was the name of the pizza how many sides did it have five six six sided i think it was six sided pizza it was on wednesdays in Plum High School's cafeteria. And people would sprint down to get it.

2:03:17Pat McAfee:We found them on Amazon. We got our hands on them. We got our hands on them, yeah. So we're making about 30. Mexican pizza, though. Yeah, making it. Oh, that's awesome. It was titled Mexican Pizza, but I don't know what necessarily made it Mexican pizza. But I'll tell you, Wednesdays, Mexican pizza day, move the needle. I think it's because it's salsa instead of red sauce. And Plum High School, maybe it tasted so good. Plum High Schoolers. Not me. I was always a meanderer. I didn't, I was never, you know, which I did kind of sometimes wonder why I didn't want to run like everybody else. You know, I often thought about conform.

2:03:51Pat McAfee:That's might be a bigger part of the story here. We go into Wednesdays for lunch. Anyways, people sprinting out of classrooms to get down here because the line ends up being long. And you might have to wait eight, nine, ten minutes to get your hands on some of this Mexican pizza. So we found it. We're having it. And Nick doesn't have to punch anybody or punch any books out or run and sprint or check them to get this like it is a normal Wednesday back at Plum High School. We made it, AJ. We finally made it. We did. Look at us. You arrived. You know the strip, you know basketball when you're lazy.

2:04:22Yeah, was Nick big on that, like knocking books out from behind? I think it's the first time I saw him.

2:04:26Pat McAfee:Yeah, I think the first time I was like a freshman walking in. Obviously, the whole school is under construction. Okay, Plum High School is what it is. A lot of people know me because of the soccer shit. You know what's going to happen. I'm walking in there a little bit nervous with anxiety and I legitimately think it was the first fucking set of stairs I think it was the first set of stairs it was like right in front of me boom, got punched it out, fucking Nick got his books go flying he was giving swirlies, peeing in people's lockers I'm like oh my god dude what did he do, laughing his face after he does that?

2:04:53Pat McAfee:yeah it was like out of a movie, in my head it was like a movie I don't know what happened in real life I don't know what happened in real life but I was like alright, never walking around with books you know, those books went right in the locker I never brought those things out one time not going to be dealing with that yeah right that was when they banned the backpacks it was it's what had to be done yeah oh you're standing against authority trying to take away our freedoms of having a backpack yeah i loved having that backpack it was a nice place to keep all your things and then once they took that away as everyone had to carry everything around their hands you see people carrying it i remember a couple kids had some lists in our school so people wanted backpacks to not be around because you know uh oh yeah types of things that was a big day for me when I found out from guy that I was not on his list from two years ago that was so cool to feel happy Gilmore moment that was yeah that was that actually happened AJ that was that was fucking crazy thing kid leave school obviously they go get him he goes to you know mental hospital or whatever comes back similar but clearly different you know I just go up and start talking to him.

2:05:57Pat McAfee:Like, excuse me, I just need to know. You know, I've been thinking about this. Told me I was good. That was so fun. That was such a good day. And then I want to start rattling off, like, other people's names. Like, alright, tell me about Slarmonster. He was, yeah, okay, got it. Tone Diggs, you know, yeah. Okay, he's a little younger. Okay. How about Nick? Did he? Oh, yeah. Yeah, got it. Right at the top. I only bullied my friends. Yeah, well, it didn't look like that the first time I saw it, but, I mean, that is how you have to do it. And nowadays, can't bully because, you know, you shouldn't.

2:06:32Pat McAfee:Exactly. You can't bully because you shouldn't. You can't bully because you shouldn't. You're right. That's real. I remember having some real anxiety walking in that place and then seeing that, like the first thing being like, oh, fuck. Here we go. Dude, we are in it right now. Had my shaved legs and my hair, you know, spiked up. I was right in the middle of my tanning. You know, that's beginning of school year too. I'm in the best shape that I've ever. Just look like the biggest hey, fuck this guy. Walking in, you know? Yeah, there was a lot of that. Just, oh my God, I'm going to get murdered around here.

2:07:04Pat McAfee:Plum High School, you know, I think you get through there, especially in our time. I do feel it was quite a feat. There was a lot of distractions. A lot of possibilities. A lot of opportunities. That's right. And we did it. Shout out to the Mustangs. That was your motto? What's that? We're all Mustangs here? We're all Mustangs here? that's obviously that's the one where you say players play ballers ball that was on the outside of the school that was a secondary motto yeah we didn't know that was the motto until we left and looked back and we're like you know what that's fucking where ballers ball and the players play got it i did read an article um it was sent to me in a screenshot version by drew shafino talking about and this is a very niche group of people didn't know we're talking about here club jets which is under 21 club so we had in the east hills of pittsburgh multiple under 21 clubs whenever we were teenagers.

2:07:56Pat McAfee:And I don't know if that's a normal thing. Did you guys have that? That wasn't really a thing in Iowa. Maybe a couple places. Certain bars would do teen nights or whatever, but no, not a place that was dedicated to under 21. AJ, did you guys have under 21 clubs? Yeah, they did have some. And then they got to give you the big X's on your hands if you're not 21. Yeah, no, I'm talking. So you didn't have any? There's no booze? Yeah, I was 14 going to Club Quake, which was in Monroeville. And then Club Jets was over in Harmerville. Drew Schifino, great hooper. He wrote an article about it. Somebody screenshot it.

2:08:35Pat McAfee:It was a nice trip back in time. Shout out to Pittsburgh, man. I cannot wait to get back there for training camp. Now, granted, that's late training ball part of St. Vincent University. It's not necessarily Pittsburgh. But, like, such a football community. Such a football town. and us going to training camp, I think it's going to start feeling even more real. Like, hey, we're fucking in it. Especially it sounds like this Steelers training camp, like there's going to be ample juice. First day of pads, there's going to be some popping. Anxiety, like we just talked about walking into high school and you watch Nick just bully somebody immediately.

2:09:06Pat McAfee:It's like there's going to be a little bit of juice, a little bit of anxiety. Even for 10-year vets like TJ Watt, first day of pads, always brings a little bit of extra something. Coach McCarthy's first full day of pads as a Pittsburgh Steelers coach. which obviously a lot of people back in Pittsburgh have been talking about how big of a yinzer he is, how long he's been a yinzer, and how much he loves representing the Steelers. And we mentioned it earlier, and I saw it got a little bit of run on the internet. There was no juice at that practice last year. I mean, AJ, I don't want to talk out of pocket, because obviously we like Aaron and Aaron's quarterback and everything like that, but I don't think the quarterback is necessarily the person that's bringing juice at practice.

2:09:41Pat McAfee:You know, the quarterback's got a lot of shit going on. It felt like there was no juice on the field. And I guess we kind of just, oh, they're super professional here. Like, oh, it's just kind of do your job, kind of keep it moving. But the more I thought about it, it was like, man, I don't know if I'd even be able to stand on that field. It was so hot, too. Hot, quiet. Yeah. It was like, it was just a weird. Big Mike changed practices to the morning. Yeah, because of how hot it is, actually. And he's probably heard a lot of complaints. I assume he heard from a lot of people about what would be best.

2:10:09Pat McAfee:And he obviously has his own ideas, his own system. He's won a lot of football games. But it's like that juice last year, the lack of juice was palpable most, AJ. It was a weird atmosphere. I mean, my first time ever being there. But, yeah, I remember going to Bengals camp when I was a young kid. I forget what college it was they went to now, the Georgetown College they would go to. I remember watching those guys run from drill to drill. There was a ton of juice there, it felt like, at least as a youngster for me. So, yeah, seeing that at Pittsburgh, it's also like the setting, too. Like, what a unique historical place that they go and all the people.

2:10:42Like, it is – they have a special thing going on. I would imagine Big Mike and the boys have everything really amped up.

2:10:48Pat McAfee:I think so, too. And I think they're all in. I think everybody's, like, really excited for everything that Coach McCarthy has brought. Not that – and we just talked about messaging. I mean, Coach Tomlin was there for so long. So, like, you know, he steps away at the end of last season abruptly out of nowhere seemingly. But I think a lot of Steelers fans were potentially excited for maybe a next chapter. I think he is as well. He'll do good on TV. We know that he's a great speaker, but McCarthy's come in, and just like we talked about, he's super diligent, man. Coach McCarthy is a super diligent guy.

2:11:17Pat McAfee:He was with us. It appears that's the case everywhere. And if he wins in Pittsburgh, oh, sheesh. He's already got McCarthy Avenue over in Green Bay. Sure, sure. He has that in Pittsburgh. He fucking died with a smile on his face is what he said. Oh, man. I assume that's what he would say. We don't want him to die, but I'm just saying that's what he would say. Yeah, he would, and that would be awesome. AJ, I do want to ask you, because he came out, they're not going to live tackle in camp. He said he learned a lot about his first time coaching in Green Bay, that there's a lot of live tackling. Did you see him say that?

2:11:50I did see him say that. I was a bit surprised. I think I've told you guys on the show, Mike came in and told us years. My first year in Green Bay was his first year in Green Bay, his first time as head coach. He told us a couple years. He's like, I should have been throwing in jail how I practiced you guys early when he first got there. how we used to. It was pre-lockout, so I think my first five years were before the lockout situation, so there wasn't the rules really on training camp. First practice was 8 a.m. full pads. Second practice was 6.30 p.m. full pads. Huge chunk of time. No nap time.

2:12:22Just lifting in meetings for all day long. Yeah, it was a great, for me, it was a great introduction to the NFL. I'm like, alright, this is what we're doing. And then there was never a question of whether we're wearing pads or not either. It was like, yeah, what are you talking about? It was football.

2:12:35Pat McAfee:Yeah, and I like that Mike McCarthy has been able to change. You know, because you look at him, you hear him talk, you think this guy definitely stuck in his ways, definitely whatever. And it's like I feel like he is vastly different than anything you could just expect. Mark Caboli, our correspondent on the Pittsburgh Steelers beat, he says, hey, just chill out. Jeez. Steelers catching up with the times by not tackling at camp. You don't think Mike McCarthy is a tough guy? He's a tough guy. We don't need to be taking people to the ground. here in training camp. We got an old roster. We got a lot of guys who made a lot of tackles in games.

2:13:09Pat McAfee:Let's assume they'll be able to tackle. But I saw the local people saying, if we can't tackle, we're at the fuck the first couple weeks. This is all on fucking McCarthy. I think that is what they're saying. A thousand percent. And if that does happen that will, a hundred percent will be said a million times on public radio. Public sports radio the entire day. But yeah, I mean, this is, I mean, majority of the teams I feel like do this. I don't know. You're still hitting. you're still hitting. He didn't say we're not hitting. There's still plenty of contact, but you don't have, I mean, if you were a thud and drive your feet on a ball carrier, yeah, but to say you're not going to the ground, I understand.

2:13:41Aaron was playing linebacker yesterday.

2:13:42Pat McAfee:AJ, do you think, it's because nobody's hitting, AJ, do you get excited whenever you watch a little film to maybe put that riddle right onto somebody's Adam's apple again? Do you think about that? Maybe a cobra strikes somebody, especially with all these highlights we're seeing from around camp. These boys are getting after it. They're thudding. They're throwing helmets. They're fighting. and they're scrapping. I mean, it's early, but are you getting jacked up? You know, just 20 years ago today, you signed your big deal with the Green Bay Packers. You get jacked up to go fucking Cobra strike somebody again, AJ, right now when you see these guys?

2:14:12No, I'm realistic. I understand I'm not going to be doing that with anybody at the time, but there's something about this time of year. This actually made me feel good about the Bengals. You know, the Bengals have been – they've had a slow start these last, what, two, three, four years, whatever it is. Maybe this is what they need. Maybe this is what they need, a little instigator on the defense to get the offense going.

2:14:31Pat McAfee:I'll tell you what, Davis certainly an instigator, not only here with Jamar Chase, and he said afterwards that he wants to fight every day. Shit, that's what's happening. He also just was a backpack on Gasicki as well, and there was a little bit of a sprawl and a little bit of a scrum there. Joey Burrow and Dexter Lawrence shared some words there. Davis, 35, on top again, trying to strip sack him. Not even wearing pads. They're wearing Skelly right there, I think. and he's going and taking them to the ground. I love it. And obviously, if they didn't want him to be doing that, they'd be telling him to stop.

2:15:02Pat McAfee:And then Dexter Lawrence and Joey Burrow, I can't wait to see it today. You see it every day. It's like, wow. The defense has kind of been the problem in Cincinnati. Now it feels like the defense starting day one is trying to change that narrative. Actually, we're kind of the ones around here. But if it gets a week one, two, three, four, and they're just getting 50 to 49 games, a lot of people are going to wonder why 35 are starting fights with the motherfuckers that are actually doing good. you know people are gonna people are gonna wonder that you know and i assume that's what jamar chase and everybody's wondering like who the fuck what what are we doing here you're coming after us no no you guys need to i like the attitude if it works i love it but if it doesn't there's gonna be a lot of like do you remember when oh yeah jamar chase is maybe our best player and jalen davis is trying to fight him the first day of training camp like people are gonna say that if It doesn't work.

2:15:51Pat McAfee:But I feel like I like the mentality from this defense saying, it is our job to carry this team. And maybe if they're able to piece it together, that AFC North is up for grabs, AJ. A lot of people are saying that Tone Diggs is scared of the big bad Cincinnati Bengals. That would be a wild accusation. They're saying, I'm scared. You're watching those highlights going. They're not even tackling in Pittsburgh anymore. Been a two-team division for two decades. Joe Burrow made the Super Bowl. He's won Aaron Donald. He did make the Super Bowl. He did. He did. That was that one year ago. You're not wrong.

2:16:26Pat McAfee:They're back to doing what they do, though. But a little sense of urgency would be nice because I think everyone knows, hey, if we don't win this year, then our head coach is getting shit canned. DC's probably following him. And who knows? This might just be the ticking time bomb on Joe Burrow wanting to get the fuck out of Cincinnati. No! There's a chance. God, it's not a full red emergency 911 situation. I think they're going to play good. They got a 10.5 over-under at DraftKings. Pittsburgh Steelers, 8.5. People love the Bengals this year. They are the trendy pick to win a Super Bowl. I like that they're fighting 10.5.

2:17:01Pat McAfee:That's a lot of wins. Yeah, that seems like a lot. Baltimore Ravens' new head coach, 11.5. Where the hell are the Cleveland Brats? 5.5? Who's playing QB, AJ? because did you hear what Mike Tannenbaum told us? He said, you've got to cut ties with this Deshaun Watson. I don't care how much you're paying him. Get him out of town. He's not going to be on your roster next year. Put Shador in there right now. Let's learn about what we have. How do you feel about that situation? Five and a half over under, they're getting a lot of chatter, which is very abnormal, I think, for a team with five and a half over under.

2:17:37Yeah, there is a lot of chatter. When I heard Tannenbaum say that, it did make me kind of reconsider how I've been looking at the Browns' situation. I thought, yeah, of course, Deshaun will most likely be the guy. They hope they can ride him and hope he plays well. If not, you plug Shador in there, give him some energy, and he becomes the dude. But to think that Shador could be the guy from day one, I don't know. When Tandemont said that, I'm thinking, all right, you might be on to something there. If you feel like Shador is equipped to be your guy, to be your franchise quarterback moving forward, then why not throw him in there early?

2:18:05Pat McAfee:Well, it's kind of how I feel about Nando, you know? Like we heard what Coach Kubiak said out there in Las Vegas. He said it's competition. Best player is going to play. He didn't come out and say Kirk Cousins is definitely our starter. We're going to kind of slow roll Fernando. He came out and said best player is going to play. It's going to be obvious. You'll be able to see it. That's what I believe in. I think Source is close for saying, yeah, it's a competition. They like each other. Obviously, they're getting along. Both sides want everybody to be good. But I think it's been made clear that whoever is the best player is going to play.

2:18:34Pat McAfee:So you assume that's Kirk Cousins who has the current lead because he's played a lot of NFL football and obviously was brought in there to do that. You assume Kirk is going to continue to do well. But if Fernando, who's 6 '100", number one overall pick, is slicing and dicing in practice and figuring it out and picking it all up, you do wonder when they're going to say, hey, we've got to get him reps too. We've got to get his ass out here. Because that's always the constant dilemma. Do you want them to get to the better time to get onto the field? Or do you want them to learn and become the better time sooner?

2:19:03Pat McAfee:Do you need reps? Yes. Do we want them to be bad reps so that kill their confidence when they're not ready? No. okay so finding that time i don't think anybody's ever gotten it perfectly right but you certainly say well new england got it right with tom feels like that was a perfect amount of time behind drew aaron was perfect amount of time behind brett farve you know you'd be able to say those types of situations that i have patrick mahomes behind alex smith was a good time just because it worked out but peyton manning started his first year was terrible and then obviously he becomes much better much quicker and carries a franchise to relevance and success for the first time ever so who knows how it's going to work out, but he said better players are going to play, Ty.

2:19:40Yeah, definitely. And, you know, I mean, I feel like in these situations, a lot of times in the past, they don't want to throw the rookie in there because they're worried about, like, the offensive line being shit and him just getting beaten to hell back there and losing all of his confidence. They spend a shitload of money on their offensive line. Like, I don't know if that's necessarily going to, you know, hamper. Like, I can't see if he starts that Fernando Mendoza would take 80 sacks. Now, if he doesn't know the playbook as well as Kirk Cousins, obviously you're not going to throw him out there.

2:20:06But from everything we've seen and, you know, we've talked to him plenty of times, like, I just I don't know if you get any indication that he is not prepared to start week one if he needs to.

2:20:16Pat McAfee:A lot of drama around the NFL. A lot of drama in MLB. Yeah. We got WNBA on the back half of their season. A lot of drama in that, too. A lot of drama. Maybe less drama. Maybe. We'll see. I don't know. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change your life. We're in this thing together. We're back tomorrow. We can't thank all of you. And not for allowing us to do this for a living. All of you are the greatest people on earth. All right, AJ, we appreciate you. Team on me, team on three, for the good of sport, baby. One, two, three, two. Goodbye.