PMS 2.0 1620 - THE NFL IS BACK, Patriots vs. Seahawks Preview & Picks, JJ Watt, Drew Rosenhaus, Richard Sherman, Mike Tirico, Darius Butler, & AJ Hawk

20:11JJ Watt:I mean, if I'm looking at the totality of the defensive line in the front, so I'm giving the edge to Seattle. I mean, I think that what they're able to do with that group and the way that they're able to, especially the big guys inside, taking some of those double teams on and just being stout and allowing everybody around them to fly around and make plays. I mean, two very good fronts here, but if I had to give an edge, I would give it to Seattle.

20:33Pat McAfee:Ooh. Vrabel, though, maybe their defense underappreciated last year. Hopefully. Gonzo just got a fresh check. You know, is he going to be able to eat a little bit? The offensive line for New England, though, is certainly going to be a question mark for me. No doubt. Will Campbell back for another year. He was hurt towards the end. Do you guys know that you would know this, I guess, pass rusher? You know that a tackle can't anchor. When do you find that out? Like, first play, you give him a little shot, and you're like, oh, wait a minute. This is fun. You're just kind of like a little sled right now.

21:05Pat McAfee:Because that's seemingly what was Will Campbell's problem towards the end of the season, is he couldn't anchor. And everybody's like, this guy's going to get exposed. This guy's going to get exposed. Well, if you can't anchor, you're in. I mean, the most amount of shit I think you could possibly be in is a left tackle. Do we think because he's healthy again with the experience, Will Campbell takes the next big leap? Because if he's able to protect for Drake May, I think we all assume, Drake's going to go crazy.

21:27JJ Watt:Yeah.

21:27Pat McAfee:I think that's kind of how we all expect it to go, JJ.

21:30JJ Watt:As a defensive lineman, obviously you're watching the film first. What have they struggled with in the past couple games? They have an injury. What has that affected them? But for me, in that first or second drive of the game, those first couple pass rushing situations, you're also throwing a few different things at them to test them out. So first is always a bull rush. I want to see, can you anchor? I also want you to know what I'm bringing today. I want you to have to be prepared for this coming down the barrel the entire game. So I see, okay, did he handle the bull rush well? Did he not? Because if not, I'm just going to keep going with that until it fails.

22:03JJ Watt:Then I'm going to throw a speed rush on the next one because I want to see, all right, can you handle the speed also? If I give you a fake and then go around the outside, how's the ankle? How's the knee? How are you moving today? And then you try and get some sort of lateral movement, an inside out, an underneath move. And then from there, you basically have, it's kind of like an offensive play caller's first 15. you now have your information for the rest of the day. Like, all right, how am I going to attack this guy for the rest of the game?

22:28Pat McAfee:So we can assume that they're going to be doing the same thing. The Seattle defense will be doing the same. We'll know early with Will if we really want to watch it, how he's feeling this year versus maybe the end of last year, beginning of last year.

22:39JJ Watt:Yeah, I mean, obviously he's going to be significantly healthier. He's also going to have studied his own tape and his own weaknesses and strengths and tried to improve on the weaknesses and continue growing on the strengths. So, yes, I would expect him to be improved.

22:51Pat McAfee:I think so, too. I think he's a dog. I think when everybody was watching him last year, the most amount of people were watching him, they were seeing him at like 70%. And I think that is a bit unfair, especially as a rookie in this entire thing. And that's what Vrabel was basically saying. Like, hey, we're like 320 days into this thing. Okay, we got nothing but time as we go forward. Gotta figure it out. Last quick. They ain't making excuses. Hey, they will put that red dot right on him. I mean, that'll become something real quick. Hey, this guy, first rounder, really good. Remember they said short arms?

23:20Pat McAfee:That's actually not the problem. Problem is this guy can't handle anything right here. That'll happen for the rest of his career if he doesn't put that fire out, especially with that last season. Yeah, and to your point, with the most eyes on him, it was Daniil Hunter, Will Anderson, who was it? Nick Benito, Jonathan Cooper, and then Seattle's defense. And there's probably a little bit of like, hey, the worst possible thing that could happen to you your entire career happened. In the Super Bowl, you got cooked and everybody was watching and you got killed for I don't know how many months after that game.

23:51So, like, what can go wrong? At this point, what can go wrong? What's the worst thing that could happen after that? Nothing, really. And, Will, nobody wants to hear that you were hurt. They don't care. Yeah, bingo.

23:58Pat McAfee:You're on the field. Yeah, but it's a pretty important part of my – No, we don't care. Everybody heard this.

24:03JJ Watt:The thing that stinks about being an O-lineman versus a D-lineman is I get one sack a game. I'm a hero. You give up one sack a game, you're the goat. You're the guy that screwed everything up. So you have to do it consistently for 60 straight plays. You can't have one single mental lapse or else that's all people are going to jump on. But he seems to have a good head on his shoulders. I guarantee that he's learned a lot this offseason, worked on a lot. I'm looking forward to seeing how he does tonight.

24:30Pat McAfee:Me too. That's a great thing to have going into your offseason. I mean, every rep, all you're thinking about is all anybody said about you whenever you couldn't even really stand on two legs. I mean, that's an interesting start to a career, but obviously a successful one. Last question about tonight's game comes from Con Man. Yeah, Jage, you mentioned it with Seattle with their new OC and their completely different scheme. How simple is that for Seattle? Is it, hey, this is what we ran last year. We don't really care what you like. It works. Run exactly what Kubiak is. And then on the same side as that or same kind of concept, for New England, how much better is it for all these guys on offense and defense going into the second year?

25:04A little continuity. They're not learning new schemes. Kind of coming back to what they already did and knowing what to expect really from the offense and defense.

25:12JJ Watt:Yeah, continuity is always best assuming things have been going well. because you all understand each other better. You're not installing a brand new offense or any terminology. You're not hearing a new voice and a new motivational style and everything. You are just continuing what you've already done and being much more comfortable having better conversations about it and kind of going from 101 to 201 to 301 and just continuing to work your way up. Never made it to 301 myself, so I don't even know what those classes are like. But I think for Seattle, obviously you're going to run a lot of very, very similar stuff to what you did because it's what's successful.

25:49JJ Watt:It's what these guys have proven to be great at. But you're also going to have some new little wrinkles in how different eyeballs look at it, call it, see it. And a huge piece of it is the meeting room and the discussions and who's leading the meeting and who's now speaking and talking to these guys on a day-to-day. So there are definitely advantages to it that can be, but I think if the preference is there, it's always continuity.

26:11Pat McAfee:Yeah, just another opportunity. Sam Darnold was incredible at KOC. He was incredible at Kubiak. Two guys that are considered offensive gurus. Will Flurry be the third guy that has success with Sam Darnold? Obviously, he was able to get the job done. Nobody really gives him credit for it still. But shout out Sam Darnold. On a very team-friendly quarterback, team-friendly contract as a quarterback and a starting quarterback and a Super Bowl winning veteran quarterback, what he's able to do is great for Seattle and John Schneider. He got married. Did he really? Yeah, he got married this summer. Hell yeah.

26:44Pat McAfee:Congratulations, Sam-O. Happy for him finding Lombardi, finding some love. Two rings in one ear. How about that?

26:52JJ Watt:How about that? How about that?

26:54Pat McAfee:You think he got the Super Bowl ring as a pinky ring? That'd be dope. You should have. That'd be cool. I got that thing kind of as a pinky ring. Those things are so big right now. I just have that thing hang off the side. Don't they have the ring that's an actual ring and then like a show ring as well? That's the move. And you can put it on a chain, too. I believe they do that a lot now, too. put on a I think we should melt them grill not a bad idea says champs that'd be really cool why don't you get a grill this year now that you're a number one booth for CBS

27:27JJ Watt:um cause I don't think I would look good with one

27:30Pat McAfee:your grill right now looks good anyways yeah let's not touch those bad boys

27:34JJ Watt:it's about as expensive as one alright let's pivot away from tonight Ty, has a question for you. Yeah, J.J., I don't know if you'll be able to watch this one live with the game you're calling on Sunday, but arguably the marquee matchup of the weekend, the Bills against your Houston Texans. The Texans have kind of been Josh Allen's boogeyman so far during his career. I believe he's 0-4 against them. And on the flip side, you know, C.J. Stroud is a massive year for him. A lot of people thinking that the Texans maybe win a Super Bowl last year if he just plays, you know, average during the playoffs.

28:08What's your take on this game on Sunday? And obviously it's the first game of the season, so it's not the end of the world, but how important is this one for both teams?

28:16JJ Watt:Yeah, I mean, I'll definitely be watching as much of this as I can before we get to our kickoff. I'm really looking forward to it. This game has been an awesome one. I mean, obviously as a guy who loves to watch defenses play and see Houston's defense, it's been enjoyable to watch those guys. And it's also Joe Brady's chance here, obviously as the head coach, But the interesting thing about this is everybody knows that the Bills and Josh Allen have struggled against Houston, specifically in Houston. And so as an offensive coordinator for the Bills and as a defensive coordinator for the Texans and Matt Burke, you're watching that film from the past.

28:52JJ Watt:And you're like, OK, obviously they cannot keep trying what they have been trying against us. So what is the newest wrinkle that they're going to try? What are they going to do differently? Not only are you preparing for the first game of the season, but you're also preparing for an opponent you've played before and didn't have success. So you know they're going to try something different, and you have to prepare for that. The thing with Houston's defense is they run the simplest defense in the NFL. They just have a bunch of crazy, maniacal, badass dudes out there who do it extremely well. And then every now and then they throw in these blitzes to keep you off balance.

29:25JJ Watt:but they know that they can keep it simple and play good football because they have such great technique and such great players out there. So it's not even that crazy of a schematic battle as it is just, we're just here to beat you up.

29:40Pat McAfee:I hope it happens. I hope that this season is the greatest that we've ever seen. It's going to be. And I hope that the Houston Texans take a massive step backwards. I don't know if they're going to. All right, here we go. I don't know if they're going to. I'm a little bit worried about the Houston fans showing up those Texans games. Because remember, we saw that. It was empty. It's all coming back to me now. It's all coming back to me now. Don't really get much support. I don't know if you know about this. We just signed Daniel Jones to fucking 500 million. Okay? I don't know if you know that, Jage.

30:08Pat McAfee:Do you guys have your quarterback long term? I guess you'll find that out. We got our guy up here in Indianapolis. And since D 'Amico has gotten down to Houston, it's been a real problem. This team has been a real problem. You talk about CJ. Multiple playoff appearances already in his short career. his rookie contract right now. Playoff wins, you name it. And everybody's still wondering if he's a guy. It's like, yeah, keep wondering, especially down in Houston. Get him out of there. Send C.J. Stroud out of that building. He's not a guy. And while you're at it, D 'Amico, get him the hell out of Houston too.

30:39Pat McAfee:Let's go ahead and do all of that. The AFC South looks a bit different this year. How do you feel about the Houston Texans as they sit at the AFC South champs? And are you worried a little bit about Jacksonville or maybe Salah down there in Tennessee? How do you feel about the AFC South, which might just be the best division yet.

30:56JJ Watt:That's a stretch. I would say that's a stretch. But I do significantly think that the Jacksonville Jaguars are continually underrated and under-discussed. It is pretty wild. I mean, we even saw Liam Cohen say it this offseason, kind of shine the light on it, and still they don't get some of the recognition and shine that they deserve for what they did last year. But obviously, I think the Texans are a phenomenal team. I think they are a Super Bowl contender. I think C.J. Stroud, a little bit similar to the Will Campbell conversation we were having just a little bit earlier. C.J. Stroud in the playoffs last year had everybody see one of his least impressive performances of his career.

31:36JJ Watt:And so all offseason, he's now had the opportunity to kind of go into his little bunker and work on the things that he wants to work on and just specifically focus solely on not letting that be the image that the world remembers and sees. going out there and playing better this year, knowing that this team is built for a Super Bowl run, and he is the key that unlocks the whole thing. So I'm really, really looking forward to see how he and this offense works this year because, as we all know, the defense is prepared for it.

32:07Pat McAfee:Jacksonville, 13-4 last year, won the AFC South and lost to the Bills at home in the playoffs. So obviously you take a step. Do you take the next step? We think Liam will be able to do that. Houston has won the AFC South, what, seemingly every other year for the last, like, 10 years, it seems like. Tennessee Titans do a full clean sweep of everything. Still have their quarterback in Cam Ward. And then the Indianapolis Colts, they lack their gosh. Yes, they do. GPT thinks they're going to win the Super Bowl.

32:32JJ Watt:Is Alec Pierce playing? I haven't been able to look closely. I know he has the issue.

32:36Pat McAfee:We haven't been great at predicting whether or not people are going to play. We said Aaron Donald's playing for sure, and then it turns out he didn't get on the plane. So we're not 100. And then Miles Garrett, he's all we can't wait to see. Guy hasn't even practiced. So, I mean, we don't know, but from what we saw from Alec Pierce, in a way everybody's talking about it, we will assume, which this is not a guarantee, Alec Pierce is playing. Raph Sheed also said that yesterday. Okay, so we all kind of assume that Alec Pierce is playing. He's a horrendously looking walker. Like his gait whenever he's walking.

33:09JJ Watt:That was why I asked, because I saw that. I saw the walk video.

33:12Pat McAfee:Yeah, we got sources from the Colts that told us, like, hey, don't judge his walk. He's like a very tightly wound, it's not a good walk. It's weird. It's a weird walk. Yeah. Because we were judging it. I saw him walking. I'm like, this guy's never going to play. I don't know if this guy's going to make it in the second half of the season. They're like, we still hope and think that week one is in play. I'm like, yeah, right. I'm watching him walk. I'm not an idiot. They're like, he's a terrible walker. Yeah. The guy is a horrendous walker. I mean, this is still a much better walk than C.J. Stryves.

33:42Pat McAfee:Well, C.J.'s are so lackadaisical. That's just what he was wearing, too. Alec Pierce just walks like he's thinking about how am I supposed to walk.

33:50JJ Watt:Yes.

33:51Pat McAfee:Alec Pierce also walks as if he has to take a dump.

33:53JJ Watt:I go more of two different length legs. I think that's kind of what that walk looked like.

33:58Pat McAfee:Oh, because you kind of got like the De Niro. Is he the one that had the stilettos? Yeah, that type of situation happening. But, yeah, we were judging his walking for like, what, two, three weeks on this show. Man, thank God football is happening tonight. NFL football is happening. No more of that. Yeah, I was just going back in time to when I was watching Alec Pierce walk up a hill in New England during the joint practice and going, we're done. We just paid that guy so much money. And then just a couple weeks later, he's cooking on the practice field. So he's a terrible walker, maybe the worst walker in the entire NFL.

34:28Pat McAfee:So we've got to make sure that we understand that. Tone has a question for you, JJ. Yeah, JJ, you talked about watching Texans and Bills before your game. Your game is Green Bay and Minnesota. Obviously, we know the main storylines with Kyler and KOC in their first start and the Packers without Josh Jacobs and Micah. But I assume you've just looked over this game a billion times at this point now. What are you most excited to see in this game? Maybe the difference makers in this one.

34:54JJ Watt:Yeah, you are absolutely right. I have watched the preseason snaps of both teams. I have watched last season's matchups. I have gone through every statistic that there is. I am ready to go, and I'm so excited about it. I mean, we have our NFL Today pregame show who's going to be on site in Minnesota. we get to go there in a phenomenal stadium. I think U.S. Bank Stadium is very underrated in this league. I think the Vikings are wearing their block number jerseys, which are my favorite version of their jerseys, which would be great. We've got the Green Bay Packers. I mean, come on. What more could you want?

35:25JJ Watt:Now, what I'm looking at, outside of some of the obvious things, like you said, I mean, obviously Kyler and KOC, how do they marry up versus Jonathan Gannon? I love that matchup on what does Gannon use against Kyler, having known him up close and personal recently. Flores and his blitz ability, the number one blitzing team by far, the number one pressure team by far last year. Can he get to Jordan Love, who is good against the blitz, but not good when the blitz actually lands against pressure? So he is good at diagnosing it, dissecting it, but if the blitz gets there too quickly, that's when there's issues.

35:57JJ Watt:And then I'm really looking forward to seeing what this Packers receiving core can do. Obviously, Dobbs is gone, Wicks is gone. What are these new, not new, but what is this receiving core? as these core three with Golden, Watson, and Reed, how do they perform? I mean, there's a billion things that I can go into here. The running back room, the guy who's going to be the bell cow in Lloyd has six carries in his entire career, and now he's going to be starting and expected to carry the load, and they're also going to be expected to blitz pick up against this Flores defense. So does Dallas Turner take the edge?

36:33JJ Watt:Because they used to have Neil Hunter. They used to have John Gernard. Now they've got Dallas Turner. or can he step up in this year and become everything that they want to be? Harry the Hitman is back. Harrison Smith, very excited to see how he does. There's no question the mentals are there. Is he physically ready? I would imagine. He does all those crazy stretches and everything. He does 40 dunks a day, it sounds like. So there's all sorts of – I could literally go for days. New offensive line coach for the Vikings. He's instilled this mentality, this identity. Packers offensive line, a lot of questions.

37:01JJ Watt:A couple guys, are they going to play or are they not? even in their press conferences they're talking about you know we don't know who the five are going to be for sure so i i don't know if you can tell that i'm pretty excited yeah it sounds like

37:12Pat McAfee:pretty jacked up pretty well read too i'm thankful that you're taking the job obviously very seriously nobody wants to get the starting job in the manner in which you got it but we know that you're gonna seize the opportunity and do an incredible job for all of sports so we appreciate that you talk about carrying a load a lot of people we're going to find out who's carrying what loads a lot of loads getting carried and dropped all across the board here this first week I think we kind of learned a whole new load kind of management across the NFL this year don't you think?

37:43JJ Watt:I'm trying to figure it out where is this going this is going somewhere where is this headed?

37:48Pat McAfee:we're just talking about loads

37:53Pat McAfee:just getting shot out all over the place this guy's got a big load this guy's got a big load This guy, not that big of a load. What's his problem? Well, he actually didn't have enough to him. That's what we find out here in week one about the amount of loads. And he talked about the guy carrying the load in the running back room for Green Bay. There was six carries total in his entire existence. Yeah, he's just – I mean, the Packers drafted him very highly out of USC. I think he was a second-round pick. So, like, they invested a lot in him in the same deal. Just he's super explosive, but he's been hurt nonstop the last three years.

38:25Pat McAfee:And you guys don't know who your offensive line is yet? I didn't know that. No, they do, but there's a couple guys that are a little bit banged up that they don't know if they're going to start on Sunday, but they have the best. So we'll just – we'll see. But, no, I mean, JJ hit the – the Josh Jacobs thing kind of started everything, but, like, a lot of questions need to be answered for the Packers on Sunday, for sure. There are a lot of question marks with that team.

38:46JJ Watt:And they don't have Micah. I mean, there's – you look at Micah and what they did when he's on the field versus when he's off the field, like, it's astounding. And so now you have to go out there and find a way to produce a pass rush. And yes, you can use the guys you have, or you can use stunts and games and all sorts of different ways to draw it up, which if you historically look, some of the things that Kyler has had struggles with is stunts and games on the interior of the line, kind of creating a mess in there. So you would imagine Jonathan Gannon also knowing that is probably going to implement some of that.

39:15JJ Watt:But that's exactly what KOC's job is and what he's great at. You get Kyler under center, you roll him out, you get him in the play action game, get him on the move. So a whole lot of different chess matches going on here. And it's also a good kicker game. I mean, we've got an all-pro kicker on one side and the Vikings and Riker, and we've got a rookie on the other side who dominated in the preseason games but struggled in preseason practices. So what happens when the real lights come on?

39:39Pat McAfee:Well, I assume I'm just going to act like he's going to do well because in practice he couldn't turn it up. Now, I will say I learned quickly when I became an adult, like, hey, practice matters, you know? I think Lane Kiffin gave an entire speech about how, from his experience, you don't just turn it on whenever the game is. You've got to be good in practice. And I think Adam Archuleta quotes with him and said, well, actually, I was kind of ass in practice because I was trying to figure it out. And then when the games came on, I turned it on or whatever. And I was like, okay, I think what he was trying to say is, normally those who do practice good and practice hard are the ones who play good.

40:17Pat McAfee:It's not just like the old school days. Everybody heard Allen Iverson say, we're talking about practice. Allen Iverson is an alien. That is a one-of-one type person. There is a few other people that are like that. So whenever you talk about a kicker being not good in practice, good in games, that means mentally he's there. We just need him working on it. We need him to lock in every single day. We don't need that trickling in whenever it's fourth quarter, and we got a must-make kick, and then all of a sudden it's like, well, let's be good all the time. How you do anything is how you do everything.

40:44Part of the concern is that the Packers had a different long snapper all camp with him because the incumbent, who has been there for a really long time, was injured. They cut the guy who was there and are going back to the other guy, and things have been a little rocky. So I don't know. Trey Smack was clearly very comfortable. That operation was pretty good, at least during the preseason game. So it's interesting that they cut that guy and went back to the guy that's been there for a long time.

41:11Pat McAfee:Practice matters, I think. Yeah, J.H., how were you, I guess, coming off of injury or did you ever go into a season kind of where you didn't practice much or a game where you didn't practice much and just hitting the ground running because we got, obviously, Aaron Donald. He'll probably get in there week two. We assume Myles Garrett hasn't practiced much. How were you with that? What did you need to feel before you got into that game?

41:31JJ Watt:Yeah, I personally was a need to practice because that's just what I was – the mentality that I was built on. and it probably hindered me at times because I told myself that I needed it. And there's times where, yes, you can obviously perform without needing it. So you kind of get in your own head about it. But I think Aaron and Miles are in two very different situations because Aaron's coming off of just being retired for two years and building himself back up to full-blown football shape. And I do think in his situation, if you look at the totality of the season and what you want him for over the course from now until January, February, being not taking a 20-hour flight playing a game and taking a 20-hour flight back and also being able to give him this whatever it is 11-day rest before the next game is definitely the right decision in my mind if you're looking at the long game here now miles is a different story where he obviously has the knee and hasn't been able to practice a ton and now he's going down there to play in this but at the end of the day he's miles garrett he's a phenomenal football player he knows his body better than anybody if he feels he can go out there and play and perform he is one of if not the best players in the league so i would imagine he's going to be great but there's no doubt that a 20-hour flight each way is is not the most ideal situation when you're dealing with

42:51Pat McAfee:yeah not the most desirable you know sitch whenever you uh what is it it's the altitude is the pressure it's the dehydration the of the travel not being able to move much obviously is a big deal especially when it's 17 18 hours why are katie and rhythm all of that yeah so how would you have handled it you're jj watt you're a superhuman so can i tell you what i did and i've said this multiple times hoping that people would hear it so first sergeant gartland this guy right here campaign cover uh he military 20 some years a lot of different tours he went to australia with me he's also in the mosquito bowl movie as a drill instructor which he was for eight years okay uh five years in paris island i believe three years over in uh san diego and everything like that he said hey the game is especially because we're laying in the morning we just got to wake up whenever we get there so we got to stay up until a time whenever we got to wake up and then once we wake up it's morning who cares what where we're at we just woke up after a long sleep we're having a day so the rams land at 5 0 6 a.m or whatever it's in uh two hours or so they land 50506 there if they wake up as the plane lands they just have a morning they're off right i i don't it worked for me coming back i was completely fucked i don't think we like focused on it much which could be the issue for the niners and the rams going forward for week two maybe even lingering into the beginning of week three there because they've been over there for an entire week what is your thoughts on the travel and how they kind of handled it and we're ultimately going to judge off of whoever wins even if it comes down to a last second field

44:27JJ Watt:Yeah, which is that's the funny part to me, is that this is going to turn into whoever wins the game. It's about who traveled and how they traveled. If the Rams win, everybody has to travel late. If the Niners win, you have to get there ahead of time. Nobody cares that the left guard missed the cutoff block in the B-gap and there was a blown up play in the forced fumble in the backfield. We're all just going to blame it on the flights. I personally would like the latest leaving possible. I think that unless you're going like two full weeks in advance and you're truly fully acclimating to it, I would rather just go late, bite the bullet, let's go play some ball, line it up, and then get me back home as quickly as possible.

45:06JJ Watt:I agree. Coming back is going to be the hardest thing. But luckily, they have this extra full weekend to get back on track. I would assume that the coaches are probably going to give them a decent chunk of it off just to try and get their circadian rhythm back on track. But for me personally, I'll just bite the bullet. But, like, let's get there as late as possible. Let's get as much good practice in as we can here. Get on the plane. Go play. And then let's get on.

45:29Pat McAfee:Yeah. You talk about that guard missing the pool. It's like, well, that's because he didn't get enough sleep. Yeah, exactly. Circadian rhythm. He wasn't the right one.

45:36JJ Watt:That's a big, big circadian rhythm guy.

45:38Pat McAfee:Yeah, he loves that. Well, I remember he was in bed. We remember.

45:41JJ Watt:I'm on the red light glasses lately. I don't like them because I'm watching TV that night and everything's red. I'm trying to see it. Red light glasses. Watching the gentleman on TV. or not red light, blue light blockers. Oh, yeah. Put the blue light blockers on late at night because you're not supposed to have the screens. But then everything's red. I want everything to be red. It's not enjoyable.

46:01Pat McAfee:These blue light glasses had a run there. I thought those things were fugues. No, they don't do it.

46:07JJ Watt:If you get clear, they are. If you get clear ones, they don't do anything. But apparently the amber-colored red ones actually block the blue light.

46:14Pat McAfee:Oh, yeah. Do we have the...

46:16JJ Watt:Guys, I don't know. I try everything. I do it for a little bit, and if I feel better, I keep doing it. If it sucks, I drop it. That's how it goes.

46:23Pat McAfee:I wore copper gloves because Brett Favre told me that I wasn't going to get arthritis anymore when I was cutting grass. You don't tell me. I come from a family of this. My mom found out about that thing that does the shocks to the abs. Back when I was a kid, we had a Christmas present under a tree. Who's it from? Oh, that's for mom. What is it? Oh, I heard I don't have to move and I get abs. Pop those things on. So believe me, I'm a believer in whatever makes us better. Let's go ahead and do that. The blue light one I thought was a few years back. I'm happy it's still in there. I'm happy that's still working.

46:52New lenses. Sam Levitt and Wembeeth, they're all doing it.

46:55Pat McAfee:Yeah, and they're pretty good. And you've got to remember, Sam Levitt's doing a lot. What do you mean? I think he is disrespecting how strong a body is. Just the way he's treating it. I think we need to understand that the body naturally has a little bit of grit. You don't have to put this thing in a bubble to be able to handle it. But I'll tell you what, he ran his ass off. Yes, he did. If this works for him, he should certainly do that.

47:19JJ Watt:man organic food only in college that that couldn't be further from where i was at yeah no doubt there's this place we had called fat sandwich company where they just put literally anything humanly possible on a sandwich i was pounding one of those a week i believe that

47:32Pat McAfee:started in west virginia morgantown west virginia actually if it made its way over to uh just one wisconsin i'm happy to hear that yeah we're having one theory bar yeah we were we were throwing food down 3 a.m pizzas no questions asked you should you should have seen me with the oodles and noodles I put American cheese in that thing. American cheese in there. I start whipping that together. He called me Guy Fieri. You know what I mean? The way he was whipping. Yeah, it's a little different life now.

47:57JJ Watt:7 ,000 grams of sodium going down the gullet right there, no doubt.

48:00Pat McAfee:It's a little different life now, Jage. But Jage used to be, whenever he was in his 20 % lock, 27%, he was bed, I think, 8.30, 8 p.m. Had to be. Had the bed in the facility where he'd go. Oh, I'm big on bed.

48:11JJ Watt:Yeah, big on bed. No, I'm a bed guy. I like to go to sleep at a good hour. and I like to wake up and I do like a nice morning walk in the daylight. Like to get the light in the eyeballs.

48:22Pat McAfee:Yeah, let's get these up. I got the blue light tonight and I got the sunlight in the morning. And then on Sundays, calling the number one game in the booth.

48:30JJ Watt:Yeah. You guys got to have some tricks with your travels. I mean, you guys are traveling everywhere, doing everything. You guys got to have some tricks on the plane.

48:36Pat McAfee:Right now it's just house and mucinex and everything else that's happening as the office has been struck.

48:42JJ Watt:I forgot. You're taking, what's it called, for your equilibrium. You're popping a...

48:48Pat McAfee:Dramamine? Yeah, I got Dramamine on. I was on a trampoline last night, I'll have you know, without Dramamine. That was certainly a roll of the dice, especially with how I feel. Woke up okay, so maybe everything's coming back. Jage, good luck this season. We'll see you next week.

49:01JJ Watt:See you next week, guys. Great start. Love it. Good luck, Connor. Thanks, man. Let's go Pats. Hey, good luck to Burnley, too, by the way. We've been following, and we know that's not good right now. Yep. All right. It's a good place to end it there.

49:14Pat McAfee:Jim and J.J. Wall. Up the ground. J.J. What do you mean? Well, the Premier League over there in England is up here at the top. Sure. How long? If you're in the top four or five, you make it into the Champions League to compete against the other top four or five from around the rest of Europe. If you're in the bottom three of the Premier League, you get moved down to, like, the second league. Okay? The championship. Championship, which is the second league. That's called relegation. You go down there. But if you're in the bottom three of that league, I think you go down to the— They send you to the MLS.

49:42Pat McAfee:There's another one. They go down to League 2. What? MLS is competing with Premier League up here. We got the bowling door wear. That's what we got in the MLS. Leo Messi, remember? Yeah. He's out here doing it. Remember, we did this a couple weeks ago. Football season's here, so we don't have to do this anymore. All right, we'll stop. Anyway, Burnley down at the bottom of that second one. I guess you can end up.

50:06JJ Watt:Also knocked out of the cup as well.

50:08Pat McAfee:The Carabao?

50:09JJ Watt:No. and the FA.

50:12Pat McAfee:So everybody's kind of, you know, expecting a big season out of Jage in the booth. I think he needs it. What about the other team? What's that? Espanol's off to a strong start. They're a good club. They could compete with the MLS right now. Espanol could. Burnley, no way. They come over here just get absolutely slaughtered. Let's pivot away from the NFL and from the soccer. It was a great offseason. Thank you. Let's go to professional football and college football coming to a head around a couple different players' names. The person that represents the biggest name that was going to be signed potentially to a college roster after playing in the NFL training camp.

50:46Pat McAfee:Ladies and gentlemen, icon of an agent, super suit, Drew Rosenhaus. How you doing, Drew? Great, Pat. It's really just been dealing with this saga for Daquan Wright. We thought he was going to go to LSU. He won a court case that said he could go play at LSU. Then the SEC gets involved. They threaten LSU. LSU says, Daquan, you can't play. So then we think he can go play in the NFL. Now the NFL's not sure that he can play after his dalliances with LSU. So I feel for Daquan because he left the Cleveland Browns to go to LSU, and now he may not be able to play anywhere this year. Okay, so let's talk about that a little bit because I think a part of the injunction of going back to college after leaving a pro team for the 5-for-5 as judges ruled that this particular class that was just drafted and decided to go pro as opposed to staying in college kind of got screwed by the 5-for-5 ruling, and they should get at.

51:50Pat McAfee:So then there's a state judge down there in Louisiana that says, yes, these guys are good. Daquan Wright's name was obviously a big one because he was undrafted, trying out for the Cleveland Browns. He's potentially going to leave the Browns after he gets cut, gets cut from the Browns, goes back to LSU. Then there was something added that was like they will then be eligible to go into the draft next year once again. So they'd be able to enter the draft twice, which we thought was abnormal. But it seemed like that was kind of the situation. Now that LSU or maybe some of these other colleges, even though it's all kind of revolved around LSU, are choosing not to sign these guys that were in training camps.

52:24Pat McAfee:These guys are stuck in a purgatory now for another year. How do you see it kind of shaping up? And thank you for telling their story as we kind of watch this story kind of blow by us as LSU chooses not to roster these guys because they felt the pressure from the commissioner. Where does Daquan sit? And how do you see this working out over the next couple weeks, especially with you probably having to work the phones pretty hard right now? Well, Daquan's in limbo. I don't listen objectively. I can't blame LSU. Lane Kiffin, to his credit, he fought hard to add Daquan right. But the pressure from the SEC was unrelenting.

53:03I mean, they were threatening and still are. Expulsion. They filed a lawsuit against Lane Kiffin and LSU. I believe he was served with a lawsuit. There was just too much at stake for LSU. They really wanted this to happen. And Lane, I don't want to speak for him, but, you know, what he shared with me, He feels terrible for Daquan because he's the guy that, in my opinion, has done nothing wrong. He was told by the courts he could go leave and play at LSU for a lot more money and then go back to the NFL after that. Seemed like a no-brainer. I was supportive. And then the SEC steps in, and they pull the rug from underneath him.

53:45So what's my job right now? I've reached out to the NFL, and I've asked them if they could take a look at this. My dealings with the NFL, they've always been incredibly fair and just. Let's keep in mind that Daquan never played in a game for LSU. He was never on their roster, nor did he ever sign a contract. So I'm hoping that they will, the NFL, will let him at least join a practice squad. Otherwise, he's stuck. No college will sign him. The NFL right now has not made a decision. So what does he do? He left the Browns. I mean, at a minimum, he would have been, I think, on their practice squad.

54:28And I can't fault the young man because he was just following advice from the courts and his rights. I do think that his lawyers are looking at legal action potentially against the SEC. We're keeping him out of LSU.

54:44Pat McAfee:So we get injunctions. We got state lawsuits. We got federal lawsuits being filed. We got pressure. We got expulsion. We got now potentially, you know, financial grievances by Daquan Wright to potentially look into whoever he should be going against. It sounds like you think the SEC or saying the SEC. So this is nowhere near over, hopefully. And we expect the NFL because he wasn't on a college roster. He was just cut from the Cleveland Browns. We'd assume they let him back in to at least work out for the NFL. But didn't he kind of know that this was potentially possible whenever he decided to leave the Browns or no?

55:21Pat McAfee:I would say this. When he left the Browns, Pat, there was no doubt he'd be able to play at LSU. And we were very careful during the interim period where LSU was getting heat from the SEC not to sign with LSU at that point. because we did not want to lose his eligibility to go back to the NFL. So he did not sign with LSU while all this stuff was up in the air, but the league is still trying to decide whether or not they're going to let him try out for a team or join a team. So I'm currently waiting for that right now. We thought as of yesterday he would be able to, but it is up in the air. I'm just rooting for the young man.

56:09Pat McAfee:He just wants to play football. Yeah, I understand. Very interesting situation, especially with the cash he was probably going to be able to make if he was to go back to college, which he thought was going to be possible. It does feel like the right thing in the end for ball happened as a whole here. It does feel like the SEC has set a precedent now that the Big 12 also did a couple months back with Sorsby where maybe they'll be able to regulate their own conferences since the NCAA feels as if they can't regulate anything. So maybe we have some guardrails here a little bit in place. But it certainly sucks for Daquan, who's kind of been put into purgatory.

56:41Pat McAfee:Let's pivot away from that situation. Obviously, you have relationships around the NFL, been around the NFL a long time. South Florida has a lot of questions. Go ahead, D-Bone. Yeah, I got to ask you about one of the most dynamic football players the NFL has ever seen. Tyreek Hill obviously suffered a gruesome injury last when he was playing with the Dolphins. Saw him post a video recently. What's the latest with Tyreek Hill and his health? Look at that. I mean, I'm his agent, but objectively, he looks pretty good. I sent that to a couple of NFL teams, and the reaction was, let us know when we can sign him.

57:15Yeah, Tyreek is doing amazing. You see him returning mock punts there, running routes. He is doing well. Now, his doctors have recommended, though, that he he postpone his comeback until perhaps sometime in October. So we're playing on the safe side. Pat and Darius, when I came on last time, I had mentioned to you guys we're not in a rush. We really just want him to be completely healthy. There's a ton of interest, as you can imagine, in Tyreek. But we just want to make sure that he's 100 percent good to go. So that may be a month from now, a couple weeks from now.

57:56Pat McAfee:We're not in a hurry. I'm surprised you're not hopping on a plane to go to Australia. Just let them know that the Rosenhaus against an NFL football. What does this weekend look like for you? I'm sure you're traveling to a lot of different games, shaking a lot of hands, showcasing the clients that you're all in to start this season, of course. You're going to like this schedule because it has a lot to do with you. I'm starting out tomorrow night with the UM, University of Miami, FAMU football game, do a little recruiting at the U. Then I'm going to Indiana for the Hoosiers. Hell yeah. Hoosiers.

58:29Pat McAfee:No, you nailed it. You're close. You nailed it. We're close. There's three of them at the beginning, and then you get the Hoosiers. So once you get up here, make sure you have that right. Okay, got it. Look, I'm a blue devil in a hurricane, as you can tell. But an honorary Hoosier. We're recruiting some really talented guys there. One of our NIL guys is Charlie Becker, who I think is a future NFL star. I can tell you we had the number one wide receiver in the draft last year in Carnell Tate. And I think Becker is going to be a top 10 pick. And then I'm going to figure out what NFL game to go to.

59:02No doubt. I'll be at a game Sunday, Monday, and next Thursday as well. So this is my time of the year, Pat. I love all the games. I probably go to an average of three to four games a week right now between college and the NFL.

59:14Pat McAfee:Shake those hands. Continue to work your ass off for your clients and for the game as a whole. I know that you knew that the situation was not desirable. I think you actually said that with Daquan Wright and pro guys going back to college. You're like, this is my client, though. I got to make sure we put him in the best situation that he could possibly be in. Right now, I'm eager to see how it all works out with you because, remember, not very different situations, obviously, very different situations, but same bucket. Soresby, they did not open up the draft for him. They did not open up the compensatory.

59:44Pat McAfee:Is that what it's called? Supplemental. Supplemental. They did not open the supplemental draft for him, which everybody just assumed they were going to do, the NFL was like, nah, we're actually not doing that. You're not coming to our league to kind of harbor yourself. We'll see you next year potentially. And then now with this decision that's potentially looming, the NFL has kind of stood on football business a couple different times, and it feels like Sankey's doing that with the SEC right now. Drew, we know you always stand on business, which is why we appreciate the hell out of you. Good luck this season, brother.

1:00:15Pat McAfee:Thank you. See you soon, Pat. How many billions has this guy negotiated? Over 10. Jesus Christ. Ladies and gentlemen, Drew Rosenhaus. Hey, Drew. $10 billion? Yeah. Here's the week one slate of the NFL, obviously. That feels like a big deal there. Huge. Yeah. You don't really think about the Daquan situation. You know, we kind of move along. We say, for the good a ball happened. Yeah. And it's like, well, now what does Daquan do? Well, if he's never signed, never did a contract, wasn't he just kind of cut from the Browns? Then shouldn't he still be a free agent? I think he should be able to get back in the practice.

1:00:45Yeah. No doubt, no question.

1:00:47Pat McAfee:I think so, too. But the NFL could be like, hey, we don't like what you do for the ball there. Well, and like you said, like, hey, you kind of knew that this was a possibility when you left. Which is, I mean, felt obligated to say that to Drew because Drew, whenever he came on to talk about Daquan Wright potentially going to college, was like, this is going to be the first time ever. You know, we assume he's going to get cut. And then we heard, well, he's maybe going to make the practice squad. It was like, well, was he being told he could be on the practice squad? And he said no to the practice squad to go play at LSU.

1:01:11Pat McAfee:And is the NFL not going to say, we gave you an opportunity to be here? They could do that. Yeah. I hope they don't. I hope they don't. That's a tough, tough spot to be in. Especially with how much money he was probably going to make in college. Because you could see his side. Because like he said, it was like at the time it was, hey, there are no issues. You are going to be able to play at LSU this year for way more money than you would have been able to play for in the NFL. And you get to go in the draft again, which you're undrafted. It could go up, especially with another year of Lane's offense with Sam Levitt.

1:01:39Pat McAfee:Everything good, good, good. And then everything kind of happens. And Daquan's like, so. Sorry, bow your shit out of luck. You probably didn't know Lane was going to be. bend the knee to the sec savannah bananas what's that buddy he probably didn't know lane was going to bend the knee to the sec so i would like to say i don't know if it's lane or the entirety of the lsu whatever the case we're happy that it happened i think we are happy that it happened but it does suck for daquan certainly and xavian harris who's going to get healthy we assume he'll be in a similar situation but it's like i think big precedent being set right now in front of our eyes that protect college sports act i've learned that there's a lot of things wrong with that after I said, hey, Nick Saban's behind it.

1:02:17Pat McAfee:Every single commissioner that's in a power conference and group of five conference and also Pete Bavacqua and the head of the Yankee. Everybody that I've seen that's a part of this bill, I seemingly trust with the future of sport. But I guess there's a lot of things that people don't necessarily love about that. I know that because it's been flooding my mentions since Saturday whenever I was like, hey, let's get this thing passed so we can have some guardrails. Feels like we might have some guardrails. which is the commissioners of the conferences just bullying people saying, nah, you ain't doing that.

1:02:46Pat McAfee:We can't do that. That can't be how it is. And if that's going to be for the next couple years, at least we have something. And I'm pumped about that. What did Senki lose? Three hours of his life getting absolutely grilled in Baton Rouge. Now we move forward. Let's be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. We're back on the other side. Goodbye.

1:03:04This episode is brought to you by the Hulu original series Chad Powers, starring Glenn Powell. This season, the walls are closing in on Chad's biggest secret. And with his future on the field hanging in the balance, he'll have to win back the one coach who wants nothing to do with him. Watch the new season of Chad Powers, streaming now on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply. From the lights above the stadium to the jerseys athletes wear, sports run on energy. Oil and natural gas help create thousands of everyday products. From the rubber and equipment to the synthetic fibers and uniforms and the fuel that gets teams and fans to the game behind the scenes energy transfer helps safely deliver the energy that keeps it all moving because from everyday

1:03:48JJ Watt:life to game day it takes energy visit it takes energy.com to learn more

1:03:59Pat McAfee:football i think i got it all in there and tonight we get a chance to celebrate the hell out of the NFL coming back for its biggest and best season yet. A Super Bowl rematch. Just 213 days ago, these two teams took the field and found out that the Seattle Seahawks were world champions. Since then, a lot has happened. Boy, a lot has happened. On the New England side, on field, off field. Yeah. Everywhere, a lot has happened. Okay? Everywhere. Everywhere. A lot has happened. And then whenever you go to Seattle Seahawks, they had hard knocks, had cameras inside their building. We all got a chance to learn about them, but a lot of people left that team that were obviously pivotal points, including the Super Bowl MVP.

1:04:40Pat McAfee:How will these two squads look tonight as they kick off a season that we're obviously hoping is going to be the best season yet? It is. College football has been living up to the hype, which we're very grateful for. The pro college saga seemingly coming to an end. We just wrapped that up with Drew Rosenhaus as we ended last hour. Daquan Wright, now the player who left the Cleveland Browns or got cut from the Cleveland Browns, we learned, could have potentially went to the practice squad of the Cleveland Browns, what Drew Rosenhaus just said. We did not know that was the case. But he was the one who was obviously going to go back to LSU alongside Xavier Harrison, undrafted guys who weren't going to make it to the NFL.

1:05:13Pat McAfee:LSU has said that they are not going to roster these two players. They picked up two other guys. instead that they maybe dropped off their roster for these two pro guys and then now we move forward knowing that the commissioner of the sec could potentially regulate his own rules the big 12 commissioner did the same is this going to be what college sports is for the next foreseeable future until we get some sort of bill passed in dc which is very rare to ever happen i guess football is in a beautiful state baseball actually also delivering in a huge way yeah Sports delivering in a huge way. Team USA women's basketball team about to win the FIBA World Cup.

1:05:48Pat McAfee:Shout out to them. And Ben Shelton. Hell yeah. Wow. Ben Shelton at 333 this morning served 146 mile an hour serve to beat the Carlos Alcaraz. Just a couple stats here on what Shelton did last night as an absolute beast, an absolute stallion, a super stud. who I actually bet on yesterday because Bruce came up to me and kind of challenged me a little bit. You like Ben Sheldon, huh? He's taking on Alcaraz. You like Ben Sheldon? Why don't you bet on him then? I said, I will. And I did. And I was going to go big, big on him because of how much faith I had in him. But if you look at the stats and the way tennis people are talking, he was not supposed to win this at all.

1:06:33Pat McAfee:That's his first career win over a top three ranked player. He entered 0-17. Wow. That's the first American to defeat Alcaraz at a major. Previously, he was 13-0. First lefty to defeat Alcaraz, you know, because obviously serving on this side, it's a little bit better. On this side, it's a little bit further or whatever. Alcaraz was 14-0 against lefties at majors. First American to defeat defending U.S. Open champion in five sets since 18-year-old Sampras beat Mats Weilander in 1989. You're talking about a lot of history, a lot of stats, saying that Ben Shelton, especially at 3.33 in the morning after Tiafoe's match with Schneidman.

1:07:12Pat McAfee:Big Migginton. There it is. Big Fog gets a huge win. That goes long. Then, obviously, there's only one court over there that has suites, I guess, so they can't play concurrently next to each other. They're all playing on center court, main court. So all their big matches. This thing didn't start until 11 o 'clock last night. Ended at 3.33. Congratulations to Ben Shelton, who we are massive fans of, representing the United States of America and defying all stats that said he should not beat Al Karaz at the U.S. Open. Is Shelton about to win the U.S. Open? It was like it. Is Ben Shelton about to become a big-time name in men's tennis?

1:07:48Pat McAfee:We hope so. We got a chance to meet him. I got a chance to meet him. I'm a big fan. Obviously, he's dating Trinity Rodman. She's a beast for Team USA and obviously her professional women's soccer league team out in L.A. or Seattle. Washington? I don't know if it's Washington, D.C. or Washington State. State, I believe. D.C., wrong. Okay. Okay, that's on me, 100%. Anyway, she got the biggest deal in the history of it. Oh, yeah. And I watched the PWSL on Sundays on ESPN. I think it's the NWSL. All right, let's go back to the beginning. Let's go back to the beginning. I watched the NWSL. Yeah, we know.

1:08:28Pat McAfee:On Sundays. Yes. Trini Rodman, unstoppable. I have a daughter Mackenzie she's gonna be playing in the World Cup and in the Olympics in 2039 so obviously a America Washington spirit yep, and it's the NWSL you're 100 % right. Yeah, we got her to show She started to do or yes biggest deal in the history of sports and women's sports So I'm a huge fan got to meet Trinity immediately started shit talking me Okay, so I respect that Ben Shelton same thing. So it's young sports icon couple doing great is good for society as a whole. Shout out to Ben. Hopefully we'll get a chance to chat with him. Nine-year NFL vet, Darius J.

1:09:06Pat McAfee:Butler is here. The Talks at Tables here at Boston Corner and at Ty Schmidt. One half of the hammer, done. Cowboys AP Tone is here. Tone, we're just 48 minutes away from our first boost really going live in multiple years. How do we feel about it as we sit right now? And is it only looking tastier and tastier like it is to me? Yeah, as we get closer to the game and we boost, you know, one touchdown from either JSN or AJ Brown. I believe the tailgate starts at 2 p.m. when this will go live on DraftKings, the number one sportsbook in America and the world. As these things are closer and closer, it kind of feels like you're playing in the game because you've got something vested in it.

1:09:44In this situation, it feels real good to me. It feels real good.

1:09:48Pat McAfee:I don't know how you're talking about it. Maybe you should stop doing that. Kind of in a weird way like we were talking about rap yesterday where you were talking about that. That's what bets do to me. Yeah, well, this bet also feels good until you just started talking the way you were talking. But nonetheless, we'll talk to Mike Tirico in this hour. He'll be on the call for the game. We're also joined by a man who's a college football national champion, Super Bowl champion, Ryder Cup winner, Laysha Jem and A.J. Homme. Homme, happy NFL day. How do you feel about either A.J. or JSN touching paint tonight at plus 100?

1:10:18Pat McAfee:Very grateful that we got this thing boosted to even odds. I feel good about it, A.J., but now the tone's talking the way he's talking, maybe I don't. I'm kind of with you on that one because this does feel like it is highly likely to happen. It would be great if it did. We know you've got to bet responsibly, but hearing Tone kind of get all worked up about it did make me a bit – Sorry for being passionate about the stuff we're doing. It may be a bit weird. It wasn't passion. Oh, it's sensual. It's great. You don't want to be all worked up. Those are all wrapped into one. It sounded like – because we're all going to be on top of this bet.

1:10:49Pat McAfee:It sounded like you wanted to be inside of this bet a little bit. Yeah, I want to be inside every bet I make. Well, let's be inside the – If I don't love my bet, if I don't want to be passionate with my bet, what am I doing making that bet? Well, we do need to tell people that. As we kind of set sail onto a new NFL season, and obviously there's going to be a lot of sprinkling of things across the board with our friends at DraftKings, let's remember to be responsible. And if we don't love something, we don't have to do it. Yeah, exactly. You don't have to do it if you don't love it. Now, we are doing a big team ride on this.

1:11:18Pat McAfee:So if you'd like to join us, let's do it. Be responsible, please. Don't be an asshole. Don't ruin it for the rest of us. and DraftKings is available nationwide. Joining us now, legend from Amazon's coverage. Now, from the beginning of Amazon streaming on Thursday nights, there's been a conversation of, is this the new world for the NFL? Well, Amazon has held up their end of the bargain. Very rarely has it dropped. Very rarely has it been hard to acquire. Very rarely has there ever been bad content. From the beginning, it's been phenomenal. And that's because they've signed people that obviously resume is just as good as their personality.

1:11:49Pat McAfee:Joining us now is one of the men who's kicked off Thursday nights on Amazon and a whole new era for the NFL as a whole. He's a three-time first-team All-Pro, five-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion, the host, I think we're going to see here very soon, of the Richard Sherman podcast. Ladies and gentlemen, Richard Sherman. Yeah, Sherman. Hey, what up, fellas? What up, fellas? Good to see you. Hey, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it. I love you got Lambo sitting over your shoulder. Is that a Walter Payton Man of the Year? Or that's an ESPY on the other side there? Let's check out the backdrop.

1:12:20Pat McAfee:It looks spectacular. You got it. You got it. Yeah, you got to show off the awards. You win them all, no reason to hide them. Amen. Amen. Oh, we got a PFF one, too. Ooh. Oh, okay. Rank it. PFF. Yeah, I like that. Whenever they would have Richard Sherman on the starters at the bottom, it wouldn't say, fucking ass, like it does to some of the guys. Some of the guys, it does say that, and we think to ourselves, I don't know how this guy made it to the NFL. Sherm, we understand you're a Stanford guy. We understand you're a legend. but obviously your ties to the Seattle Seahawks are going to be forever.

1:12:53Pat McAfee:We saw some clips of you talking to McDonald about life pre-Super Bowl, post-Super Bowl. What do you expect from the Seahawks team after being around them this evening? And obviously they've got some new people in some very key positions. I picked up the Seahawks as my NFC team after watching Hard Knocks. What do you expect from them tonight as we kick off a new season? I expect them to be even better than they were last year, Pat. It's crazy what they were able to do while losing Kenneth Walker, while losing Kobe Bryant, while losing Boye Mafé. I mean, they were so deep in the D-line room that you almost had to lose guys.

1:13:27You had to give them away, but you still got guys like Leonard Williams, Derrick Hall, Byron Murphy, who could have been an all-pro, wasn't even a full-time starter, Jaron Reed. I mean, the list goes on and on. Then you got Ernest Jones in the middle. You gave Witherspoon all that cash. but they are a great and sound group, and they depend on Mike McDonald's scheme and his mindset and his brain to be at the elite level. They already have the talent. They have the personnel, but his brain is what takes them over the top. His understanding of what the offense is going to do, how they're going to try to block it, and how he attacks it each and every game, every play, is what takes them over the top.

1:14:05But I think Sam Darnold is going to be the difference this year. Sam Darnold, he led the league in turnovers last year, and then he got to the playoffs and played freaking almost perfect football. So if he plays that way throughout the season, this is going to be a tough team to beat.

1:14:18Pat McAfee:Sharon, a lot of people are saying they still don't believe in Sam Darnold. Obviously, brand new OC. He's had a couple of those over the past few years and had success. They were KOC and Kubiak, both head coaches now. Pick up Flurry as the OC. You said you like Sam Darnold to be the reason why they're even better this year. What did you see from practice or camp that makes us excited about Flurry being the offense coordinator? I mean, Fleury is just a little bit more creative in the run game packages. I think the running back by committee may be a better way than what they were doing last year.

1:14:47If you remember, K-9 got a little banged up. Charbonnet had his run for a couple games, so it was kind of mixed back and forth. I think Jadarian Price is going to be outstanding in the backfield, and they're going to use him in the pass game. But I think Sam Darnold's just rapport with Rashid Shahid is going to be big. Cooper Cupp, obviously, is going to factor in. And A.J. Barner, Arroyo. Arroyo had an outstanding camp. I mean, he was looking really dominant out there. I think he's going to surprise a lot of people when he gets out there. So there are just so many different dynamics that you'll see tonight that you'll be like, wow.

1:15:19I mean, Sam, sometimes confidence is the thing in this league. As you guys all know, once you get confidence, they can't take it from you in this league. If you never get it, you never make it. But once you get it, they can't take it. And I think Sam starting to believe in himself and the staff, believe in him and in Mike and the team, and you start to play up to your potential, you become the guy that they always thought you could be.

1:15:39Pat McAfee:I don't know if for some reason my brain's telling me it was you. Were you the one that said I was telling people I was the best in the world long before I was? Muhammad Ali said it. I just repeated it. Okay, perfect. So it was Muhammad Ali and then you said it. Because in my head I saw you saying it and I remember thinking to myself, yes, that is exactly how you need to think to be great. But confidence is a powerful, powerful thing. And if you see a broken quarterback, we can assume that team's going to suck. And if you see one that's kind of floating around like Sam Darnold certainly was towards the end, that team's going to be great.

1:16:15Pat McAfee:Now, speaking of being great, how do you handle it all? Go ahead, D-Butt. Yeah, we always talk about handling adversity, but it's a whole different challenge when it comes to handling success, you know, as a player, as a team. So what are kind of some of those challenges? I saw you talking with Jules on your podcast about, you know, you not really seeing a lot of the Seattle players in the GQ magazines or in national commercials. They've just kind of been quiet right back to work. What are the challenges that kind of goes into that team following the Super Bowl run like the Seahawks? Well, I think that would be the challenge is the distractions.

1:16:47You know, guys kind of start to get just human nature. You get a little selfish. You start to worry about you, and people start telling you you're the guy and you're the reason for the success, and it should be this guy. I mean, DeMarcus Lawrence went out there and got a Super Bowl for the first time. You know, he could have easily walked away and said, hey, that's a career. But he said, hey, this is a team I've been waiting for this moment my whole life. I'm going to come back. And I think that's what they have. They have a team full of high-character, selfless guys. And you saw that this offseason.

1:17:15You didn't see them on really a magazine cover. You didn't see commercials. And those are the things you almost expect to see from Super Bowl champions. You expect to see Sam Darnold up there, you know, posing. You expect to see the offensive player of the year, Jackson Smith and Jigba, up there, you know, feeling himself. But that's not the kind of guys these are. I mean, I don't know how else to say it. They're just quiet, go about their business guys. And I think that's why they have a great chance to repeat.

1:17:37Pat McAfee:Yeah, they look like serial killers up there. You know, McDonald kind of has that similar thought because we've been watching it on Hard Knocks. You talk about distractions. This is the first team that's won a Super Bowl that has Hard Knocks following them around in training camp. And obviously trying to rebuild the culture, showcase the culture could be very distracting. You got PTZs in every single room, and they've seemingly not bothered, continued to operate, and they've won me over for sure. There was a couple different clips that showcased the greatness outside of the Offensive Player of the Year.

1:18:05Pat McAfee:AJ has a question for you, Sherm. Yeah, you mentioned JSN, Sherm. I guess how do you expect Seattle to use him tonight? How do you expect this Patriots defense to try to contain him a bit? I expect them to use him the same way they did last year. They're going to feature him. But the difference is I think Rasheed Shahid is going to factor in as well. And if you don't pay attention, if you just ignore Rasheed Shahid, you're in for a long day. Because it takes a second, as anybody knows, to gain a rapport, especially with a speedster, a guy who can just run. Where do you put the ball? When do you release it?

1:18:38And all those things. And I think they've figured that out. So if you go on to double and put all your attention on the reigning offensive player of the year, Rashid Shahid could be in for a huge day in Jadarian Price and Arroyo and all those other guys. So I think they're wary of that. I think they're going to continue to try to find one-on-ones where he can win. They're going to move him around everywhere on the field and find his openings. Obviously, New England's going to follow him with Christian Gonzalez, as they should. But I think Seattle's going to make it difficult for them to do that.

1:19:09And if they do, look out for Rashid Shahid to have a big game.

1:19:12Pat McAfee:You just mentioned there a matchup that we can obviously all look forward to. New money, new money, big titles, big titles. Go ahead, Con Man. Yeah, sure. It feels like we've got two premier matchups between JSN and Gonzo and also A.J. Brown and Witherspoon. What's kind of the different ways to guard those guys? What do you think about the way to guard A.J. Brown being a bigger receiver, more physical, versus JSN who seemingly can get open no matter where he is on the football field? How would you go about defending those guys? Because there's been debate, especially with New England. They usually, or at least Belichick would, double the number one receiver, put your best corner on the number two receiver.

1:19:49What is your kind of style if you were trying to –

1:19:52Pat McAfee:Well, Sherm only plays on one side of the field. Remember? That's the entire conversation. Right. Yeah, yeah. That was the debate for a long time. But we do have two premier wide receivers and two premier corners. What should we watch from that? I mean, you know, like you said, I mean, we've done the whole follow thing and done that. But my philosophy in general, if I'm a coach, A, dictate the pace as a defense. Like, we don't move our players for you. You move your players for us. We need to dictate where you're putting guys. If we're following you and chasing your guys, that means you're dictating how we set our defense.

1:20:27And that's never how we were in Seattle. And that's never how I would be as a defense coordinator. But, you know, there are times it makes sense if you've got an obvious guy who's killing you and you got a guy who can turn his water off, then go ahead. But I think I would go about it doubling the guy or zoning over him, clouding and making sure he has attention, but leaving your number one corner where he's comfortable. I think if you put a guy where he's comfortable, A.J. Brown, he's going to be where he's going to be. I mean, he's usually at X, and he's not going to be in a slot as much. JSN could be in the backfield, in the slide, on the outside, on the inside.

1:21:03Maybe New England uses A.J. differently, but he's a true number one just, hey, go out there and win your matchup, stand on the line, and win mano-a-mano. JSN is an incredible player and offensive player of the year, but he's going to get moved around. He's going to be in the slot. He's going to be here. He's going to be there. So you have to defend him differently. There are going to be different guys guarding JSN, and you have to allow your defense to adjust to where he is on the field if you're going to cover him.

1:21:28Pat McAfee:The Seattle Seahawks team, Super Bowl champions right now, okay? you would think celebration would be huge for them. Instead, the entire conversation has been in the division. Ty has a question for you. Yeah, sure. You mentioned how a lot of the guys' personalities and they're not really seeking the fame or being in commercials and all that kind of stuff. It's kind of changed maybe a little bit these last few days as the season's almost started. But for the last four months, it was just a foregone conclusion. Hey, the Rams are going to win the Super Bowl. They're the best team on paper. They might even go undefeated.

1:22:00Do you think that the team and like McDonald, are they hearing that kind of stuff and maybe stacking those chips on their shoulder? Are they just completely unbothered by that because they beat them three or four games last year and they are the defending Super Bowl champions? No, they hear it. They hear it loud and clear and they recognize it. You know, teams like this, when you're coming off a Super Bowl win and you're just a blue collar team, you still look for the extras. You look for the chirping, you look for the motivation, you look for the gas and the ammunition. And it's been given to them on a silver platter with all this Rams talk.

1:22:32Rams are winning it. The Rams are unbeatable. And the Rams should have won it last year. Like Seattle won it on some kind of fluke. And I think they've heard that loud and clear. And they've used it to motivate them throughout training camp and throughout the season. They're going to continue to do that. I think this team is still going to be a tough out. Obviously, the Rams are really talented, an incredible defensive line, incredible defense. But as you guys know, the game is played on grass, not paper. and we've seen incredible paper teams not go out there and win the Lombardi. So you still got to play the games.

1:23:02And I think Seattle, the way they're built, the scheme they play, the way McDonald prepares, they're just going to be a tough out.

1:23:08Pat McAfee:I love that Seattle Seahawks are my NFC team. Just picked them up a couple weeks ago. It's been fun. It's been really fun to be a part of the team. We're Super Bowl champs. We're Super Bowl champs. Now, we're really far away. It is so far up there, which I think is a piece of the lack of coverage of the Seattle Seahawks. out of sight, out of mind kind of can certainly be something. Fan bases want to talk about their fans, especially if you have a microphone in front of you, whatever the case is. But, yeah, McDonald's a psycho serial killer is using all that against them, I assume. Now, big moves were made in the secondary with the Los Angeles Rams, though.

1:23:40Pat McAfee:It might warrant the hype. Go ahead, Tone. Yeah, sure. But a lot of talk about the D-line, obviously, with Miles Garrett and Aaron Donald coming back and everything that they already had on that defensive line. But then they traded for Trent McDuffie. They also bring in Jalen Watson, both from the Chiefs. How much does that help the Rams this offseason? because, you know, that was kind of their weakness is what their perceived weakness was last year in the secondary. But how much do those moves that aren't getting talked about as much help the Rams this year? Oh, well, they're going to help tremendously.

1:24:06They're two really talented players who can play man-to-man coverage. They can play a number of things. But my question is going to be how do they adjust? You know, they played in SPAC system their entire careers. How do they adjust to this Rams system where it's going to be a lot more quarters and six and things like that? and how does that affect them? Again, they're not high turnover players. And that's something that I think you look for in corners these days. You've got to look for, hey, who's getting the ball? And I don't think offenses are as terrified of corners that aren't high turnover guys, you know, guys who pick the ball off when you put it up there.

1:24:42Guys like Derek Stingley, J.C. Horn, you put it up there, there's a chance they take the football from you and return it to their team. So I think they're fantastic additions. They can play man-to-man. They can play sticky coverage. They're going to make the windows really tight for these quarterbacks, and if that pass rush gets hot, it's going to be a deadly combination throughout the season, but it's to be seen.

1:25:01Pat McAfee:The NFC West is stupid, bro. Yeah. It is a stupid setup right now with everything going over there. And the Arizona Cardinals, I think they have a couple years because of how packed the NFC West currently is. But it's interesting. You've got offensive guru, obviously, in L.A., offensive guru in San Francisco, offensive guru in Arizona. We shall see. We assume that would be the case. And then you've got defensive guru mastermind up in Seattle. It feels like that's going to be good forever over there in the NFC West. It's going to be tough to win it. Are they going to cannibalize each other? Is that what's going to happen?

1:25:35Pat McAfee:It didn't last year. Yeah, certainly did not. Yeah, it might become a time if the Arizona Cardinals can get their shit together. Has there ever been a four-team in the playoffs situation? And is that even possible? It is possible now. It's seven. Okay. Yeah. The AFC South is probably going to get it this year. If that is the AFC South, probably, Sherm, if I had to guess, is going to do it this year. Probably the best division in all of sports right now, the AFC South. That's what they say. They had two last year. Yeah. Well, Danny Dimes signs back with the Colts, so everybody's in deep, deep shit.

1:26:07The NFC North didn't do it? No, they didn't. They did three. Yeah, I think three is the most I've seen. The West had three last year because the Niners were the seventh seed.

1:26:18Pat McAfee:Yeah. And then the AFC South this year, four. So we'll kind of blaze that trail. That would be all of them. We'll kind of blaze that trail for you guys. Jacksonville Jaguars will sneak in there. Tennessee Titans about to kind of do-si-do. Sure. Houston Texans are what they are. And then the Colts are probably going to be number one seed. Last thing I just said, I actually mean. Everything else, not that. But we have a huge conversation about to take place about you. Probably all next offseason. And it's something that is earned and warranted. Go ahead, D-Bud. Oh, yeah, sure. As a former DB who played in the same era as you, got to give you your flowers, Dominic.

1:26:53Pat was talking about, hey, play one side. But you guys, everybody tried to copy that defense. You talk about being a high turnover guy. You were that year in and year out. Just want to congratulate you on being a Hall of Fame nominee. What was your thoughts when you first got this information? And tell the people why you think you should be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Talk your shit a little bit.

1:27:13Pat McAfee:Yeah, let's hear it. Well, I appreciate that, brother. A lot of respect for your game. All low. You know, I led the decade in interceptions. So, you know, I think that's a big deal when you're playing. I gave up the least amount of touchdowns. I think that's a factor when you're playing. I think I gave up 17 in a career. I gave up – I think it was me and Revis were tied for the least amount of completion percentage. I think we gave right around 49%. You know, I mean, during the football time when you played, were you the best in the game? And I was. And so it's, you know, you hope that they feel that same way.

1:27:51And you hope that, you know, the guys you played, you know, Julio Jones, played against Larry a couple times a year, Megatron, all these great players, Antonio Brown, Odell, A.J. Green, just, you know, really fantastic, Dez Bryant, fantastic players. And you win more matchups than you lose. So you hope that, you know, that factors in. And then the quality of your team. I was able to go to two Super Bowls in Seattle, and I was a first-team All-Pro on both Super Bowl teams, and then left and went to San Francisco and was an All-Pro on that Super Bowl team. And it was the number one pass defense in the league after not being the number one pass defense over the last couple years.

1:28:32So sometimes you just hope the numbers speak. Hell yeah. Yeah, sure sounds like it.

1:28:36Pat McAfee:Now remember, Belichick was not a first-bound Hall of Famer. So let's not, you know, if it doesn't happen, let's not be completely, you know, broken because of it. But everything you just rattled off, I did not know that. I knew you were Sherm. I knew Richard Sherman changed. Also changed kind of what the corner position was, right? We got guys now down to LSU 6 '5", 6 '4". Back in the day, that was not kind of the case. I feel like you did kind of break the mold a little bit about being big, tall, let's go ahead and rangey corner. And not just you. I assume there was others at the time, but it did feel like you changed the position a bit.

1:29:11Pat McAfee:And you're a former wide receiver, right, weren't you, at Stanford, I believe, when you went to Stanford, you were a wide receiver? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I did. I did. I played it for a couple years, and then me and Ojembo saw different things, saw different visions for ourselves. I think it worked out. You know, I think it worked out. Absolutely, good coach. And everything D-Butt said about you, obviously that's another corner playing at the same time as you obviously means something. All the wide receivers you just rattled off right there, I assume they have some Sherm story. Oh, yeah. You know, and that's – you certainly made your mark on the game, and we're very grateful for the fact that you're still covering it.

1:29:46Pat McAfee:Congratulations on everything. Good luck with the – I've been nominated Hall of Fame three times. Okay, so, you know, no big deal. No big deal. Yeah, yeah. Now they left me off after the third year. That fourth year I didn't get on there, you know. I appreciate the hat tip. I definitely do not deserve it. but for you i think uh the game would not be the same without you in it so we appreciate you brother thank you for joining us good luck this season with amazon thank you so much i appreciate you guys having me it's an honor to be on the show you guys are doing a fantastic job big fan of the show all love d buds appreciate you brother yes sir hell yeah ladies and gentlemen richard sherman now i i said that and i started talking and i realized i shouldn't have been talking about it at the time was he first lanky long kind of it became like a thing I wouldn't say first, but – He and Brown are together, though, D.

1:30:33But he and Brown are together. And that fight against those guys, they were like – the Legion of Boom was like just being born. And seeing those two guys together on the court, it was a wild thing to see. Oh, yeah. You had like Camardi, Antonio Camardi. I'm sure it was guys before that time. But, yeah, for him, what they did for that whole unit, like that LLB, that Legion of Boom with him, Earl Thomas, Cam, Browner, and then Maxwell that came in after Browner left. They were just how they played with the front and that style of defense. It's kind of like a three deep, but they would kind of insert and drop people differently.

1:31:05You know, once something is successful, everybody tries to copy and mimic it, but nobody could really do it. And then what that whole defense was, with Sherm being a part of it too, a big part of it, the communication. And that's what this iteration of defense is as well. Because one thing to be good and talented, but having everybody on the same page and, you know, you hear them talking and you almost know that they know what's coming, That's very, very intimidating. And then the ball skills. You mentioned him being a former wide receiver and him talking about the high turnover plays. Even the cornerbacks that we have now, some of the highest paid corners, Gonzo, Witherspoon, Jory Porter will probably get paid soon.

1:31:39Those guys don't have a bunch of turnovers, but they're great. They're good man guys. They're a tackle. They do a ton of things. But when you have that extra edge where like a Sertan or a Stingley or a J.C. Horn where you can turn that ball over week in and week out, that does put a different type of fear into offenses week in and week out. I'll be assured, but definitely set the table for a lot of these guys that are playing the position now.

1:31:59Pat McAfee:Yeah, and we see a lot of these picks happening in his own end zone, and then he's running out to like the six and going down. Let's just stay in the end zone, okay? We don't need to be punting with our heels on the back of the end zone because we thought we were going to go 100 yards, 110 yards or whatever the case is. Chuck used to have a list, remember? Oh, yeah. If you want a list, take a knee. Hey, listen, touchback is good for these guys, okay? We've looked at your speed. We've looked at your awareness. You ain't making it. ass to 20. Okay, so get your ass down in the paint. But nonetheless, Sherman, I mean, he was a factor in every single game.

1:32:33Pat McAfee:He didn't mention Crabtree. I almost brought it up. I was almost like, Michael Crabtree? But I guess, you know, some things die hard. Yeah. Which I respect, believe me, more so than maybe anybody else. I certainly respect that. Okay, let's pivot away from Richard Sherman, probably being a first ballot Hall of Famer, but what does that mean anymore? We're not 100 % sure. We just know a man who impacted the game to a man who's impacted all of sport. This guy, whenever his voice is on it, it means it's a huge deal. Everything from you name it. If it's competition, he's called it. He knows it. And tonight, he kicks off this 2026 NFL season on NBC at 820 as the Patriots take on the Super Bowl champion Seahawks on the call.

1:33:15Pat McAfee:Ladies and gentlemen, Mike Tirico.

1:33:18Mike Tirico:Yeah, Mike!

1:33:20Pat McAfee:Hey, Mike, Syracuse, we get it. Okay, understandable. Big orange man. I don't know how the season's going to go. Now's a good time to get a big-time dub. Yes, a Syracuse person is kicking off the NFL season. That is a win in the football column. Yes, that's correct. Thank you for joining us. Obviously, a hectic day, busy day. How you doing? It is. Is Sherm done yet, given all of his accolades, or is he more? That was an interesting question, D, but I liked you saying that. Hey, Sherm, I don't know if you have this information on you or not, but if you want to say why. Yeah, sometimes you've got to set the table if you would talk this shit.

1:33:51And he did.

1:33:52Mike Tirico:I love Sherm. Sherm was a great production meeting. He was a great player. I love watching him with the Amazon crew on Thursday nights. That was a blast. Sherm brought you like Super Bowl trophy and All Pro and ESPYs and all that. I got a curtain in a hotel for you, man. Sorry. Well, thanks for closing the curtain.

1:34:11Pat McAfee:You know, if you would have kept that open, obviously, you know, TV.

1:34:13Mike Tirico:Yeah. But it's pretty out there. The water's beautiful.

1:34:17Pat McAfee:Have you been to Seattle much? I went up there for the University of Washington. I do believe. And I flew up there, Amazon game. Herb Street was calling one, and then we're on the West Coast. So I traveled and watched one game in their stadium. Incredibly loud. Awesome.

1:34:31Mike Tirico:So good.

1:34:32Pat McAfee:And beautiful scenery up there. What do you expect tonight, Mike? I like that we're showcasing our best environment to kick off the NFL season. I assume you feel the same way.

1:34:41Mike Tirico:I love it. The 12s are awesome. I mean, we've had so many good experiences here over the years. The first thing, as soon as I walk into the stadium, I'll walk into the booth. In a few hours here, I looked to the left. I looked down at the end zone that the fail Mary happened. When we had the officials' controversy, a golden tape, the bottom of the pile. And one official is going like this. It's an interception. The other one's doing touchdown. That was the most unbelievable finish that I've been a part of. So always remember that. As soon as I walk in this stadium and the 12s are loud, they have been for generations.

1:35:12Mike Tirico:And I can't wait to see how loud they are when the banners unfurled tonight.

1:35:16Pat McAfee:Is anybody on this call, on this play, on this field? Nope, that was like a double dime package. I'm actually on the sidelines watching this whole debacle come down.

1:35:27Mike Tirico:AJ, you know what I remember? So I'm doing the game with Gruden. It's a Monday night game. We're on ESPN. And we're like sorting things out. We're talking to Jerry Austin, who at the time was our replay, our official expert football rules analyst and all that stuff. And Gruden's just like, he's pissed. He's just like in the corner. He's, like, contributing, but he's, like, body language-wise. And he's like, I don't know how Mike McCarthy gets you guys back on the plane and talks to you. Because he felt like you guys got robbed of the game. And he was just thinking from a coach's perspective, like, how hard that is for that flight back in the middle of the night, back to Green Bay, short week coming up.

1:36:06Mike Tirico:I just remember John being so upset and, like, thinking, man, if I was Mike McCarthy, this would be really hard right now.

1:36:12Pat McAfee:Thank God they got the officiating deal done this offseason, right? That kind of came in pretty quickly. Very, very pumped that they got that done. Also, the evolution of what they're able to do, how they're able to do it, I think it's going to make the game better. Let's talk about the game being better. 213 days ago, Patriots played the Seahawks. You've obviously got a chance to chat with the coaches, got a chance to chat with some of the players. What are the vibes heading in here versus 213 days ago? Do the Seattle Seahawks feel like a team that understand they have to rebuild from the bottom to get back to the mountaintop?

1:36:41Pat McAfee:And for the Patriots, is there anything they can draw from last year? What is kind of what you've picked up after conversations with both sides?

1:36:48Mike Tirico:Well, they both know each other really well. And although you don't want to relitigate the Super Bowl, if you will, one, how could it not be on your mind? And two, for the guys who are playing, this is the last team they played in the game that meant something. And neither quarterback played in the preseason. So it's the first time that they're out there and they're playing against the same team that they know so well because of the Super Bowl prep, which is always as deep a prep as you're going to get. right you know it's interesting pat the patriots had this massive turnaround from four wins to 14 win the three playoff games go up against some really good defenses in the playoffs their offense wasn't as good but the patriots roster is very different you guys had the list up there before the addition subtractions there it is i mean number wise all the way through their roster they've got almost two dozen different guys on their rosters they really churn the roster And when you talk to the Patriots about it, they didn't have a great foundation of guys when Vrabel and this administration came in.

1:37:43Mike Tirico:So they need to really kind of keep the roster going to build around the players they've established. And the headline jumps out of the wide receivers, right? I mean, you add A.J. Brown and Romeo Dobbs, two guys who led their team in receptions last year. They become a little more dynamic at the wide receiver spot. Now, flip it over to Seattle, very few changes. There's 22 starters in the Super Bowl. 20 of them are back. They've got some banged-up guys in the secondary. That's the place I think we'll be watching tonight. Because in that Super Bowl, Patriots got no offense going for three quarters.

1:38:14Mike Tirico:It was a terrible three quarters of offense for New England. Will they be able to protect May and throw the ball a little bit to get the game started tonight?

1:38:22Pat McAfee:First 10 drives in the Super Bowl, this is a Hembo stat. Seattle had 19, New England zero. Yards, 297 to 78. First down, 17 to 5. And obviously, the New England Patriots, yeah, you were there for it. Oh, yeah. The New England Patriots had to take on, like, the number three defense, the number two defense, and then number one defense throughout consecutively. Houston, Denver, and obviously Seattle. And then Seattle had a similar situation because the Patriots defense ended up being a top five defense, top four defense throughout the end of the year. So it was very defensive heavy. For me, you know this sport and this league better than anybody for how long you've been covering it.

1:38:58Pat McAfee:We got a super cagey affair to start this thing early. I mean, 20 out of 22 starters back for Seattle. They could be in, you know, midseason form, carry over from the Super Bowl. We know that's a very difficult thing to do. Only the Patriots have really been able to accomplish the feat, and I guess the Chiefs were able to do it one time. But what do you think early in this game? Is it going to be jitters? Let's kind of just – let's not make any huge mistakes here early. Let's let the game kind of figure itself out. Or how do you expect this thing to start?

1:39:22Mike Tirico:Usually that's the way you think the games are going to start, especially because guys have played very little in the preseason. I think back to last year, we jumped in the deep end quick in the first kickoff game. I think these teams are both ready to go. I think it will get off to a fast start in this one. And you pointed out, Pat, I think something really interesting with the Patriots and the defenses they played in that playoff stretch. It would be real fascinating to watch the protection for Drake May because he took so many sacks. That's one thing he is focused on. They played the Chargers defense, which was pretty good, up in Foxborough in the wild card game that we had.

1:39:56Mike Tirico:And then you talked about Houston. The weather was terrible. Denver, the weather was terrible. And they just could not protect. And there was one specific pressure that the Seahawks brought over and over and over. And they just couldn't block them. And it eventually led to a defensive score. But remember this when we flip it around. The Patriots defense gave up one touchdown in that Super Bowl. There were five field goals by Myers. There was the defensive score. They got to 29 with one offensive score. So the Patriots defense, which has some changes, including adding Kevin Byard at safety, who led the league in picks last year.

1:40:31Mike Tirico:This is a pretty good defense that has a terrific back end. Gonzalez got paid. That's maybe the more fascinating thing to me as we watch this game play out, is how good does that New England defense get started against the Seattle offense?

1:40:43Pat McAfee:Over under 44 and a half, but both quarterbacks very talented. And both quarterbacks on very good contracts for their respective teams. Deebut has a question for you, Mike. Yeah, Mike, you came on talking about Sherm kind of behind the scenes in those production meetings. Do you have anything for these two quarterbacks, Sam Darnold and Drake May, I guess, kind of behind the scenes? Any good stories? I know Drake May coming off an MVP caliber season. Sam Darnold coming off a Super Bowl championship season. Great playoff run. Anything behind the scenes that we don't know about these guys? I'll go right to Sam.

1:41:12And he just he just feels different.

1:41:16Mike Tirico:Right. Right. Confidence of having won a Super Bowl. You know, all Sam heard from the early days with the Jets were doubts and doubts and doubts. And then Sam kind of bounced around and it's Carolina. It's around San Francisco. It's Minnesota. 14 win season. Then Seattle, 14 win season. Then he wins the three in the playoffs. Now he's a Super Bowl champ. Married this year. Sam Darnold's got a confidence like, you know, you can be good, but you don't feel like you can raise your voice to a certain volume because you haven't done anything in that room. Now he's won the Super Bowl. Like that banner up there, Sam Darnold's the quarterback.

1:41:55Mike Tirico:He's one of 38 people in the history of the world who's been a starting quarterback to win the Super Bowl. So he's in that velvet rope group. You know, the VIPs where you guys hang around inside the velvet ropes. Sam's there now. He's there forever. So I just feel a little more confidence from him that I belong, and this is the first time in four years he went to work to start training camp in the same place where he left at the end of last season. He would bounce around, bounce around, bounce around. Now he's back in Seattle. So I think if one thing, D-Buck, came out of our conversations, you felt good for Sam because you're a great guy, but you also felt like, okay, this guy is now QB1, and as you guys know, because so many of you lived in buildings, QB1's set a lot of the tone in the building.

1:42:39Mike Tirico:And Sam's doing that this year.

1:42:41Pat McAfee:Yeah, he's home, right? And I feel like he's found a home. And Schneider obviously loves him because he's able to win. He's talented. He obviously has a lot of toughness and grit. But the contract is a very good contract, especially with the new Baker contract coming out and everything that everybody's making. It's like what he signed for, what Geno Smith would not sign for with Seattle, from our understanding of what the deal is. It's like you can build around that. Will he be like that forever? I think so. I think there's a chance if they are very good again this year. No, no, no. Give me$60 million a year.

1:43:14$70 million. I've earned that. I mean, how many hours do we have to kick off? Yeah, right. You got to know your own thing. I mean, I guess my money right now. That's a good point.

1:43:22Pat McAfee:I guess Schneider said he was watching our show whenever Les Snead was like, now's a good time to kind of talk to Aaron Donald to get him back here. Schneider's watching now saying, shut up about Sam Donald's deal. We don't need anybody knowing. He's got my money. I want it now. We don't need to be talking about what his deal is. But that's a huge piece of this. They were able to pay a lot of their pillars because of what Sam Darnold's making. And obviously, he's making great money. Let's not get it twisted. He's great money. But in comparison to what other quarterbacks are making who have done far less than he was able to accomplish, it is a very team-friendly deal that they got the quarterback.

1:43:53Pat McAfee:Go ahead, Mike.

1:43:54Mike Tirico:Well, Pat, it allows you to do what's right on the screen there. JSN, top-paid receiver. Spoon was the top paid corner until 36 hours ago when Gonzalez got his deal done. So he slides down to number two. But it allows you to do that. And what have we seen with Kansas City? Because you mentioned it before. This century, now we're now quarter through this century here, two teams have repeated as champs, the Patriots and the Chiefs. The Chiefs continue and they have to pay Mahomes at that high number. The Bills have to pay Josh at a high number. And those guys earn it because without them and their great quarterbacks, without a great quarterback, it's really hard to win, right?

1:44:30Mike Tirico:So they've got the guy, but it becomes harder to put great pieces around them, and it really takes hitting that right sweet spot. So you nailed it. Both teams are in a quarterback salary sweet spot at the moment that allows them to do those other things. That gives them a chance to run it back and win 11 or 12 games.

1:44:46Pat McAfee:Drake May has his offensive coordinator back. The other side's new. Go ahead, Conman. Yeah, Mike, Pat's talking about Brian Fleury, new OC from the San Francisco 49ers going up to Seattle. I'm not sure if you were able to talk to him, and if you did, what were kind of the vibes? How did you feel about him? Do you think it's going to be as simple as, hey, here's Kubiak's playbook, just run it, or do you think he's going to bring in his own little player? And just so you know, we have a super boost going tonight, A.J. Brown or JSN, to score a touchdown at plus 100. So if you want to just let people know when it happens that we're 1-0 on the season, that'd be fantastic.

1:45:22Pat McAfee:There's some very happy men in the Thunderdome in India. The whole team here is on this. One or the other.

1:45:29Mike Tirico:They need one?

1:45:30Pat McAfee:Just one touchdown. Either or. Just need one. We need one. You see it right there at the top. We just need one. And this is huge for us. We haven't been in this game in a while. Start the season. I don't know if our shins are ready. So just know there will be a full volcanic eruption from us if this hits. Nonetheless, let's get back to the offense of Sam Darnold. Thank you, Mike.

1:45:49Mike Tirico:That's good. Thank you. Thank you. Do I need to shower now or am I okay?

1:45:53Pat McAfee:Well, I will. I'll get a cigarette. I'll need a shower. I'll need the whole thing if this hits. This is a big deal. And if it doesn't, just know that we are getting absolutely murdered by people. Killed. Just know that. That's part of the game.

1:46:05Mike Tirico:You know what our football coach, Fran Brown, we're 1-0. We beat New Hampshire, by the way. Big game against Cal. You know what Fran Brown says? Winners get washed.

1:46:12Pat McAfee:They get showers. Okay, yeah.

1:46:13Mike Tirico:Remember his deal? We didn't win a bunch of games, so he wouldn't take a shower. Finally won it. He said, I don't deserve so. You remember that? Running sprints. Running sprints after the game. I'm a UConn guy. I've heard Fran Brown say some stupid shit, all right? Hey, D. The post-game sprints after barely beating us. Yep, exactly. I like Fran Brown, but football coach. It doesn't sound like it. We play next year. We play October and November, D. But we go Hughes and UConn. You know, I don't know. I'm a week-by-week guy, Mike. We got Maryland this week. Loxley doesn't even know. He's playing UConn.

1:46:50He called us Toledo.

1:46:52Mike Tirico:I remember your question. I remember your question, D, but let me answer it. I didn't speak to Fleury. Collinsworth spoke to him, but we talked to the players about it and the system and the style, and he'll put his wrinkle on it. Obviously, he comes from San Francisco, which the offenses are so similar. San Francisco, the Rams, the whole division looks the same, right? They're all good. Their offenses look the same. With Fleury coming from San Francisco, maybe there's an influence there with what they've done in the run game a little bit more as time goes on. Jadari and Price will be interesting to watch.

1:47:25Mike Tirico:Running back out of Notre Dame, you know, Love got all the attention. Here's Price taking it at the end of the first round. Because of Kenneth Walker going to Kansas City in free agency, Price will be one of the guys, along with George Helani, who played a bunch of the Super Bowl while they wait for Zach Charbonnet to come back from his injury that he suffered in the playoffs. So it'll be really interesting to watch a back who didn't take a snap in the preseason, but everybody says looks really good. And how does he fit in right away against a good defense? That's one of the things we'll be watching when the game kicks tonight.

1:47:54Pat McAfee:I trust Seattle's running back, Coach. What's his name? That's what I know him from. What is his name? I love him. I want to say Coach Hampton, but I'm not 100 % sure. Everything he said in that speech, let alone this thing that he ended it with, he was like, it's... How'd you go in? Thomas Hammock. Thomas Hammock, yeah. Thomas Hammock. Hammock? I had a hammock in my first house. So, obviously, I mean, we've been doing this entire thing. put screws right in the living room, hung a hammock in between. It's a ridiculous thing. But everything he said in that one little part that we saw was perfection.

1:48:26Pat McAfee:He said, yeah, it's tag, right? They're tagging us off. Let's make sure they continue to just tag us off. We lower our shoulder right through their chest just to kind of set the tone because you've always seen that type of jousting kind of take place back and forth between a defense and an offense, especially a defense that is very good like this one. Him just wanting his guys to set the tone. We're not dancing, okay? We're hitting this thing. and then actually giving a juke to everybody. This was spectacular television. I couldn't imagine what it would be like in his room every single day. But I got faith that this guy is going to get the boys ready to roll, personally, Mike.

1:48:58Mike Tirico:And shout out to Hard Knocks, too. That show is so great. It always gets us hyped for the season, especially when we've got the team that is the subject of Hard Knocks in one of our Week 1 games. But they do such a good job, and the experience was great. I thought the best part of it was Mike McDonald. People got to know who the Super Bowl winning coach was and why he's so good. And if you remember, there was a moment there where he got in front of the team and talked about the passing of O.J. Burdance, who he got to know when he was in Baltimore. And one of the veterans goes over to him afterwards and says, Coach, that was good this morning.

1:49:36Mike Tirico:And it just showed you that his vulnerability shared in front of the team was appreciated by Leonard Williams and some of the vets on the team. And that tells me that the guy in front of the room has all the guys in the auditorium seats leading in the right direction and following him. And there's a real human connection, which is you guys know, because you lived it. I didn't, but I hear you all talk about it. Sometimes that connection is real. Sometimes that connection depends on what your record is. The connection seems real. And I think we saw that in Hard Knocks and good for Mike.

1:50:05Pat McAfee:Yeah, great for Mike. I became a Seahawks fan. They're actually my NFC team from watching Hard Knocks because of how he leads and how his team likes him. because you talk about obviously getting emotional in there and them saying, hey, we appreciate you doing that with us. This is kind of more like a family. We treat it this way. The practice rep with Hall. Yes. Hall got too close where he goes, oh, turns out I'm running the practice. And he responds back. It's like that type of – you have to have a great relationship with each other for that to be able to happen, obviously publicly with hard knock shooting there.

1:50:35Pat McAfee:It's like I really appreciate how he has come together with his team. Feels like he's a real leader of men. and then they had that leading counselor as well, like 15 guys in there. Everybody's kind of on the same page. Hard Knocks has taught me that I think the Seahawks are a problem for the next 15, 20 years. That's probably why they didn't name permanent captives. Because they got all those guys. Yeah, they would have had 12 like the Rams. The Rams got, that's actually their jersey now is just a C on it. If you make the team, you actually just get a C on it, but they got a lot of legends over there.

1:51:04Pat McAfee:Okay, last question here before we have a hard out. Obviously, you don't just have one game. Go ahead, Tone. Yeah, Mike, you got a second game this week, Sunday Night Football, Cowboys and Giants, two teams that didn't make the Super Bowl last year, but there's optimism for both teams this offseason. It feels like the Cowboys, for the first time in a long time, there's no drama around this team. It's all positive optimism, especially around the defense. What are your thoughts on this game and specifically the Cowboys and kind of their optimism going into this season?

1:51:32Mike Tirico:Look, I deserve some grief for this. I got asked by a writer who is a team under the radar that you've got your eye on this year. And I said, the Cowboys. And I'm like, yeah, right. The Cowboys are under the radar team. They never are. Right. But have you heard peep one out of Dallas? No. Anybody's contract, any contract that's getting settled 30 minutes before kickoff of week one, anybody complaining about stuff, the Pickens thing could have been an issue. It's not. He's bought into this. The whole thing. And here, it's simple. If their defense is good, then it'd be great. If their defense is good, this team can be very good because the offense was operating at a terrific level last year with Dak, the receivers, the run game, Javante back there, all of that.

1:52:15Mike Tirico:They have a really good chance. The Giants, I'm excited about. You just feel like John Harbaugh's team is never going to roll out there and not be fully prepared. It's a professional operation. It's going to be what the Giant fans have been looking for for several years. and they're going to go out there and represent that franchise, the team, in just a different way. I can't wait to get there on Friday to be in their building and watch. I've just been around Harbaugh's forever in the NFL, and I know John Harbaugh teams, they don't suck. They come out and play hard, and they've got the right guys all the time doing the right thing, and if not, they're out.

1:52:51Mike Tirico:So I can't wait to see that vibe, New York, post-9-11, two days after the 25th commemoration. That would be a very emotional day. Giants and Cowboys, OBJ back on the field for the Giants on a Sunday night in a Giants-Cowboys game, 11 years after the catch, all that stuff. It's going to be a great way to end that first Sunday. But, Pat, you said it before. This is the best day because everybody's team has a chance. Somebody's going to go from four wins to the playoffs. Every fan in the NFL can believe right now. And that's why this day, that 30 seconds before kickoff tonight, you got it. You got a chance to get all the way to Super Bowl 61.

1:53:28Mike Tirico:Yes! buy in, and we have no idea where the road's going to go. You just buckle in because this road takes us everywhere, a bunch of places we don't expect, and it's just so dang cool.

1:53:37Pat McAfee:You're the best. He'll be on the call tonight on NBC 820, starting the NFL season. We will continue digitally on YouTube, TikTok, also ESPN +, Disney +, and also oh yeah, we're live on DraftKings right now. Okay, alright. We appreciate the hell out of you, Tariko. You're the best. Good luck tonight. Thank you for your commitment to sport, brother. Genuinely, thank you.

1:53:57Mike Tirico:Right back at you, bud. Have a great week, guys. Be safe.

1:53:58Pat McAfee:Ladies and gentlemen, it's Mike Tariq. We're live right now, AJ. I believe it's supposed to be live at 157. All right. We'll check. Find out. I was live, too. I believe we need to get in there. We need to get in there. We were told 2 o 'clock, but we said we're actually off at 157. Can we maybe do that? And they said, yeah, we can do that. But did they actually do that? We shall see as we all team ride. It's in. It's there. It's live. Yeah. And we need one. Opt in. Bet now. Got to have it. Opt in. Bet now. Plus 100. max unit thank you remember being smart here okay responsibly gamble responsibly i'm trying don't be an asshole you'll ruin it for all of us you are not gonna win like a house okay you are just gonna have the game be a little bit more fun because you got some action in there that is what sports gambling is okay that's not like supposed to be no that's what it is okay everything that everybody else does, if you're going heavy and losing and everything, don't do that.

1:55:00Pat McAfee:Step away. Let's do this responsibly. Let's do this as a team. Let's fucking win tonight. Come on now. Let's win tonight. Why not? I feel great about it. At least half of it.

1:55:19It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Half of it matters. Yeah, exactly. Half of it actually matters.

1:55:24Pat McAfee:All right, let's take a break. On the other side, we'll wrap up all the headlines. We'll also continue to celebrate the fact that this is about to be the best season yet. Be your friend, tell your friend something nice. It might change your life. Remember, be responsible. Yep. Come on. It's going to be a long season. Let's not waste it all tonight. We'll see you in about five minutes or so. Goodbye.

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1:56:53Pat McAfee:Football! He is back. That's A.J. Hawk. The Talks of Tables here at Boston Corner and at Ty Schmidt. One half of the hammer. Cowboys AP Tone is here. Nine-year NFL vet Darius J. Butler is here. A couple things that we missed as we were chit-chatting. The Mac has come out and said... Yeah, it is bullshit, isn't it? So they were originally shown, I believe, the super secret clock and told that this is the actual clock. And this is why Michigan was given another deep ball, a Hail Mary, which, by the way, Western Michigan has to be able to defend. OK, Hail Mary has like a what, a point something percent chance of being completed.

1:57:31Pat McAfee:So obviously, Western Michigan's got to play better defense on our last play. We don't want that to get lost. But a super secret clock having tenths of seconds being the one that is actually the one, not the clock that we all see on TV or in the stadium, which are synced up numerous times whenever we hear refs say, can you please do this to this? Becoming a clock and becoming the judge, jury and executioner of the entire situation. The Mac originally said, OK, we got it. Then they looked into it. They're like, feels like actually the process here was kind of not done properly. feels like this is all bullshit.

1:58:07Pat McAfee:And when you look at Western Michigan, there's a chance that this team is the team of the group six or group five or whatever the case is to represent in college football playoff. Having a win over Michigan in their resume and on their schedule would certainly help them whenever the negotiations start to take place on who has that spot of the college football playoff. There's only 12 teams in there. One group of six team gets the opportunity. Will it be Western Michigan? Well, if they had a win over Michigan, that'd probably help them in their conversation. and that's what the Mac has come out and said.

1:58:37Pat McAfee:We'd like this shit to be looked at. We want people to know that we probably won that game and everybody with eyes thinks we won that game. I don't know if this is over. It feels like it's far from over, but the Mac coming out and saying, actually, when we said it was cool, it wasn't because now we've learned more and we all feel the same way that this is bullshit. How do you think this goes, AJ? And what do you think the conversation timeline looks like for this entire thing? I mean, I understand them coming out and being upset and saying everything, but you're not changing the game, right? Has this ever happened?

1:59:09Have we ever seen them give a win to a team that did not win the game technically on the field? No. The committee should. Oh, yeah, it is over.

1:59:16Pat McAfee:The committee could look at it, I guess, if it was close at the end. Oh, I think they say in there that they would like the committee to view this as a win. We would like this to be a conversation piece going forward. But I like that they've come out and said, we don't like what happened to one of our teams because everybody was saying that the MAAC called Western Michigan and said, hey, we get a lot of money for these games. So you just say everything's a hunky-dory. Because Western Michigan came out and said, we saw the review, we understand, we move on. And that kind of put a lot to bed for a lot of people.

1:59:44Pat McAfee:It's like, well, Western Michigan's okay with it, so I guess I don't need to waste any energy. Then the entire football world came out and was like, yeah, right. This is no way how we're going to do football, especially in 2026. And then the MAAC started hearing the rumblings of, oh, Western Michigan just took the money, they're happy. The MAAC school told them to do it. And Mac actually says, no, we weren't even consulted during this entire thing. And now that we've looked into it a little bit more and talked to everybody in the Mac who loves football. If you're in the Mac, by the way, you love football.

2:00:12Pat McAfee:Oh, yeah. You love football. And we all think it's just stupid. So it is. I like them coming out and saying they don't like it. Yep. I like them saying like, hey, this needs to be considered whenever it happens. But if Western Michigan goes on to lose three more games, OK, it doesn't matter. If they go on to go on a run, whenever it gets to the end of the year, we'll talk about this again, but probably never again. Yeah, it won't be. It won't be considered. Unfortunately, it is. And, look, I love the MAAC. I got two younger brothers that played in the MAAC, one at Akron, one actually at Western Michigan.

2:00:41And I think it was a decade ago when they went undefeated and they went to the Cotton Bowl or something. But this would have been the biggest win in school history to open up the season. So it does suck that they got holes. but we've kind of all been a part of it either as players or as fans. We know we got fucked either by something that wasn't called by a ref or some clock situation or some shady business, and we've been on the wrong side of that. But the sooner you move on, you know, the better it is. So hopefully they go and maybe they run the table. But, yeah, I mean, this is over. It's done.

2:01:13It's one of week two. Yeah. What are you talking about? Absolutely done. Sorry. Boo-hoo. It sucks. It happened. They should have done this on Sunday, though. They should have done this the day after the game, and I get it. Like, you know, hey, we'll wait and see. It's almost like they waited until Monday when everyone on TV was like, this is bullshit. This cannot happen. They were like, this is bullshit. This can't happen, which is how they felt after the game. They should have done this on Sunday. It's Wednesday. We're talking about the NFL tonight. We're already moving on to week two of college football.

2:01:39Better late than never. No, it sucks that it happened. But no one gives a fuck about this anymore. They don't. Other than Western Michigan, no one gives a fuck about this anymore.

2:01:48Pat McAfee:We'll see what happens with Michigan-Oklahoma this weekend. Exactly. Obviously, if Oklahoma just completely smacks Michigan around, which is possible, Kay Venables and his defense with what Bryce Underwood showed, and he did go wild, I would say. Sure. Not necessarily the best way. He's jumping out, coming down the tunnel. But there's a lot dependent upon what happens over the next few weeks for both of these teams that tell us whether or not this will be talked about again. But we just would like to say, for the sake of journalism. We're not going to talk about it. We got Texas, Ohio State this week.

2:02:23We got some good ball games this week. Patriots. It's week two. They're not going to talk about Western Michigan. When Western wins out. They're part of a problem. They fucked up. I am. When they win out, we're going to talk about it.

2:02:33Pat McAfee:Yeah, when this gets to December and Western Michigan is being talked about. Next to Memphis or Boise. Absolutely. And they play Boise. And when they boat race them, it's going to get talked about, too. Yeah, we're going to have to bring it up. Remember, this team won, actually, in a lot of our eyes. Not in the Big Ten, tenths of a second rule, super clock thing, but it will get brought up. Okay, I could be wrong. Let's put a pin in it. Let's put a pin in it. Yeah, we'll put a pin in it. We'll circle back. Potentially. We'll circle back. Potentially. We'll put a pin in it. We'll circle back. Potentially.

2:03:01Pat McAfee:And we will let people know that they did get robbed of a dub and they deserve that. Now, Memphis plays Boise, I think, this weekend, which is a huge one for the group of six, obviously. Whoever wins this will have the ice and navy also in the conversation, obviously. But Memphis, boys are huge. I saw a tape of Memphis. Coach Huff brought in Moneybag Yo, who is a Memphis legend. And Charlie Huff asked Moneybag Yo to talk to the team about what they mean to the city of Memphis and everything like that. And I believe Moneybag said, yeah, definitely, definitely. Where's my jersey? Which I loved. I liked that that's how it all went down.

2:03:42Pat McAfee:And at the end, the big takeaway for me after they brought him in, He got his jersey look clean. Obviously, hopefully he suits up. We don't know with the new injunctions if he's allowed to or not. But they broke it down. Team broke it down. And it was CFP on three. One, two, three CFP. So that is literally the only mindset. And they know this weekend potential Super Bowl for them as they take on Boise, a team that has the same exact mindset. But, yeah, this is his speech right here. Plurin' up. What do you mean to this city when they play with? I would need y 'all to turn up. I need y 'all to win.

2:04:11I got it for this. Where my jersey?

2:04:15Pat McAfee:Sweet, sweet. I like it. Hey, you got to turn up. We need you. Where's my jersey at? I was told I was getting a jersey. I love that. Memphis coming around. Charlie Huff, and then obviously the way he talks about Moneybagg. What he's done for Memphis, what the team does for Memphis, and then CFP on 3-1-2-3 CFP. I learned a lot from that entire interaction about Moneybagg, about Coach Huff, about the city of Memphis, and also that, yeah, CFP is on the minds of the Memphis squad, which has a lot of new characters in there. A lot of new team. And, uh, yeah, why not them? But if Western Michigan is the team that's potentially getting in there, and it's kind of as a loss against Michigan, and you're okay with that.

2:04:55Pat McAfee:Wow. I'm not okay with it. They run the table. They'll take it in, too. We're on the week two. You gotta win this week. Why are we fucking bitching about what happened in week one? You guys got screwed. You got hosed. It sucks. We'll all remember it. Go fucking beat the shit out of whoever you're playing this game. AJ was a part of the fail Mary. Exactly. on the field. Well, yeah. If he was on the field, you think maybe he actually... He's fucking high-pointing that and the Packers win. And that's not even a conversation. No, if it's in Buster, candy and nuts, you know. Then we'd all be... Happy Christmas.

2:05:23Yeah. Bingo. Okay, wait, thanks for

2:05:25Pat McAfee:finishing our sentence. AJ, thanks for letting us know you're at fucking Wisconsin Notre Dame at Green Bay. That's disgusting. What? I genuinely... I don't know how you don't mention that. I genuinely... What do you mean? Just that you're going, I don't know how that doesn't come up. I'm heading to Wisconsin Notre Dame at Green Bay. That should be a conversation piece. And then after it happens, when you're on a sports talk show, as we're talking about college football and this game, I don't know how it doesn't just fall out of your mouth. No one really asked me. If they asked me, I wasn't trying to hide anything.

2:05:51It came about late. Like, it was a late situation that we took the whole family and went to do it. It was awesome to be in Green Bay. Got to see a great football game. Yeah, but I don't know how – so we got to interview you every day?

2:06:01Pat McAfee:Okay, so I'll interview you every single day. How do you not mention that you were there for the fucking game? I think there was a lot happening on the show. We didn't touch on this game a whole lot. There's a lot going on. I don't want to interject my personal bias into anything. We needed it. Boots on the ground. We had to fucking somebody at the goddamn game. That makes us look much better. So now that you're at the game, can you please tell us about what you saw? Did you feel as if Luke Fickle's boy in the first half were certainly bringing it? And then the second half, did Notre Dame look like a clear-cut contender for the CFP, AJ, since you were fucking there watching the goddamn game?

2:06:36Yeah, they did. First off, both these teams look like giants. I was lucky enough to take one of my sons down the field pregame and watch these dudes. I could not believe how big everybody is, how fast everybody is. We say that every time we go to the game. On the field, Zach, he was in the game. Pregame. Yeah, just pregame for a quick minute. It was awesome. But, yeah, I would say the pick six really opened things up for Notre Dame. Obviously, that changed the game right there. But these dudes can run and tackle in space, and they are physical. Both teams, too. Like Wisconsin, their secondary, I always sat like up high, kind of like in a corner of the end zone.

2:07:09and could see the whole field beautifully. It was a thing of beauty sometimes watching these guys, their angles on defense, and just watching them execute. It was really fun to see, for real.

2:07:18Pat McAfee:Fickle coach Freeman, right? Position room at Ohio State? Yep. Okay, so I like that Freeman takes on his actual coach. Not head coach, position coach. A lot closer relationship with your position coach. Did you get a chance to catch up with both of them, now that we're learning that you were there? How are the conversations going, And how does this not come up that you were there ever with any of us? I got to text him before the game. And Luke, if anyone knows Luke, he's a very intense guy. I saw him. I could kind of see him out in the middle of the field when I was on the sideline pregame. I'm like, I'm not even going to try to get this dude's attention because I know how intense he is on game day.

2:07:55I played for that guy. So I respected his wishes. But I got to talk to Marcus quick before the game. He came over and got to dap up my son. My son felt pretty good about a nice clean dap with Marcus. And he seemed very – Marcus seemed very confident and seemed very excited about the whole game. I know you guys mentioned him running, leading the team out, people making a whole thing about it. I feel like every coach in college football kind of does the same thing.

2:08:17Pat McAfee:It's a head football coach. He's team on the field. Yeah, that happens. That's what they do. Head coaches also fly back to places with their teams. Not all. Sometimes. Oh, okay, right, yeah. Sometimes you do that. Sometimes you got to go dance. Sometimes you got to go dance. AJ, AJ, honestly, though, honestly, how do we not, you know? Classic AJ. I don't know if I'm going to be able to get to any other games this year, but if I do, I promise I will try to interject and let you know. Thank you. Yes. Hey, I was there. CJ Carr. They're calling him a Heisman candidate. Wow, it did look good coming out of his hand.

2:08:53It did. Oh, yeah. It looked great, man. I think, like I said, I don't know what everyone else in the country looks like, but I feel like Notre Dame is top tier. There's a lot of people picking them to win it all. I can understand that. People picking them, they look great. But I think Wisconsin is going to surprise some people as well.

2:09:08Pat McAfee:Okay, Wisconsin had a good first half. Uniforms were awesome, and it sounds like they have some good size out there. Fickle, from my understanding, you guys might know it better than me, I think he deferred some of his payment for his contract back to the school to use as NIL. I think he said it was up for a contract extension of some sort, something like that happened. I believe the school made a big commitment. They doubled their NIL budget year over year. So, like, last year they had, like, next to nothing, one of the lowest in the Big Ten. And they said, like, this year you will have a$25 million roster.

2:09:39So I think they did get much better overnight.

2:09:42Pat McAfee:And I think I might have read something about him either deferring payment or a contract or something. Because I remember seeing that and I tried to find it. I couldn't find, like, an article or anything. Legit or not. Yeah, right. What they were trying to say, though, is they don't have – they haven't had a – Correct. Yeah, and it was basically because, like, hey, you guys have stunk. Like, we're not just going to sink a bunch of money into this until you can kind of prove. And then I think he kind of said, like, well, like, guess what? You can't prove that we're going to be good if you don't give us any fucking money.

2:10:09Pat McAfee:So he leaves Cincinnati, right? Because he sees the writing on the wall, is what they say. And he goes to Wisconsin. He's got no assistance either. It's like, why'd you? Because he could have went anywhere, right? There was a time where Luke Fickle could have went anywhere after what they did at Cincinnati for a long time. He finds himself in Wisconsin. and maybe this is the first year where he has his team. And then I guess maybe we judge him. And a healthy quarterback. Yeah, and he looked, compared to what they've had the last couple years, their quarterback looked, he's had terrible injuries.

2:10:37Head and shoulders better than, you know. And a punter, Sean West. From ODU. How are their facilities out there in Wisconsin? Solid. Yeah? They've got to be pretty solid, right? I don't know. I honestly don't know. Madison's an awesome place to go to school. If anyone knows, Madison is a very fun college town, for sure. I mean, they were a powerhouse forever.

2:10:55Pat McAfee:That's a great punt by Sean West. Their uniforms look sweet. Yeah, they were sick. Uniforms were awesome. Green Bay looked sweet. Would have been cool to be there. Definitely. Primetime football. How's the turf, by the way? I saw LaFleur is so pissed that the game was played on the turf two weeks before he's playing on the turf. Was he really pissed? Yeah. I kind of said it tongue-in-cheek, but they don't play at home with one, so I think there's ample time. Taking care of that. Yeah, I mean, boo-hoo. They got the grow lights. They got everything involved trying to make that thing. I mean, that place is pristine.

2:11:30You know that.

2:11:31Pat McAfee:Well, you were just there the other day. We didn't know that. You get your eyes a little more, bro? Five, probably top ten pick. Unbelievable corner for Notre Dame. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he looks awesome. I got to see a lot of the Packers' new facilities as well. They got new training rooms. They are. I used to know that. They are doing it. Luckily, my buddies are still the trainers there, yes. Everything you continue to say does make it worse that you didn't say anything last couple of days. Went to Mission Barbecue as well. You want to hear about that Bill Krauss? Went to Mission Barbecue while I was there.

2:12:01I love Bill Krauss. Great lunch.

2:12:03Pat McAfee:Shout out to Bill Krauss and Mission Barbecue, by the way. And his boys, I believe, heading overseas. Yeah, so thank you to them. Shout out to Bill Krauss. So you stopped by Mission Barbecue. Had some incredible barbecue. Went by the Packers' new facilities. They're beautiful. Okay, nice to hear. Stopped by the museum. Paid your donation. watched Wisconsin and Notre Dame live in person, saw the size of these guys, saw the speed of these guys, saw a great view of everything, and I'm happy we're learning this whenever it doesn't matter anymore. That's good. Just like the Mac in Western Michigan.

2:12:35Just a little too late. No one cares anymore. I do.

2:12:39Pat McAfee:You know what we thought was maybe a little bit too late? What's that? Tampa Bay getting a deal done with Baker. They get a deal done. Wow. Oh, yeah. Since the beginning, I don't remember if it was Schefter or Junior, but one of them was saying if they were to offer him a deal that he really liked, would he say yes, even though he put this timeline in or this deadline in? And we all said probably, probably. What would it have to be? I guess allegedly they offered him a two-year deal. He wanted a four - or five-year deal. He wanted a long-term. They made it three years,$165,$110 million in new guarantees, already had$40 million in guarantees.

2:13:11Pat McAfee:So it's$150 million in guarantees. That's pretty good. Three years,$165, new money, two-time Pro Bowler. Obviously, the accolades has led Tampa Bay to back-to-back playoff appearances in the past, not last year, but the two before that. So, Baker gets a deal done. Vito Vey gets a deal done. All the drama down there in Tampa Bay that we were worried about is way behind us. And Baker, who publicly came out and said he was disappointed, and then Tampa Bay Buccaneers came out through sources, said they were disappointed. Now find common ground and happiness in a massive, massive new deal for Baker Mayfield to be their pillar guy for at least the next three years.

2:13:47Pat McAfee:I'm happy for all parties, AJ, but when Baker put that deadline in, I thought that was a line of sand, and I thought we came too far. Instead,$110 million in new guarantees can certainly make you sign in a little different tune. Yeah, Ken, I just wonder, like, would this have happened three weeks from now if they would have waited to present this offer to Baker? No. You don't think? Baker's shutting it off. He's a sorry. Two folks. Shefty was pretty hot to trot on this on Tuesday morning. He said, you know, because he has been the one who keeps bringing up, like, if they were to present something, And he said there was some sort of, like, gala that Baker and his wife were at maybe the night before.

2:14:22And he was sitting at a table with the owners. So, you know, I didn't think that something was going to get done that day. But it certainly seemed like all that, you know, iciness between them had kind of dissipated. And they were going to get something done.

2:14:37Pat McAfee:How about the Glazers and the Bakers sitting down? That's nice. Having a nice little meal. Breaking bread saying$110 million would do it. All right. See you tomorrow. and they make it happen. So they head into the season now clear mind, full hearts, can't lose. I mean, I love that for Baker, for sure. Look, the Baker, I don't know about the can't lose and all that, but the Bucs play hardball. They play hardball with Vita Vail. You've seen them play hardball with Mike Evans in the past, and he's finally moved on and gone to San Francisco. But I'm glad they got this figured out. I think Baker has earned this.

2:15:09You kind of earned that right to be a franchise quarterback. I think he has. and you can say all you want about respect or how much you love a guy as an organization, but it's not shown until it's put pen to paper and you're actually making good money at that quarterback position. So I'm glad he got his money. He earned it. Now who's next? We talked about Sam Darnold. I think he'll get his new deal. I saw some rumblings about Lamar Jackson possibly being the first$70 million a year quarterback. So now what domino does this push forward looking at this Baker deal?

2:15:39Pat McAfee:Yeah, Drake May also, he's going to need some money. Coming up. Yeah, he's going to need some money. It's going to change the way rosters are constructed. There is a way to dance around it, though. And if you have a quarterback, you need to keep him. Because if you don't have a quarterback, you got no chance. Now, let's go back to college here real quick as we talked about Memphis, Boise State. We have an update from Charles Pagano, Chuck Pagano, who lives, I believe, on the Boise campus. Memphis is fixing to get whooped. Yeah, I can see that as well. He didn't see that video. And I believe it.

2:16:10Pat McAfee:No, he did see the video. and he says, that podium has nothing but rat poison coming out of it right now. Whoa, whoa. That's what he said. Well, Coach Huff did say they don't do fun shit or they don't listen to music or something like that. But we'll see. I like that locker room. I still have that locker room. I still have that strength coach, which I don't know if we confirmed that strength coach or not. It had to be. Okay, we're going to call him that. So I'm still riding those vibes. But we did see Boise State take Oregon to the wire. Well, there was the next sentence. They should have beaten Oregon.

2:16:38Pat McAfee:You think Boise State is buying one ounce of any of this bullshit? Hell no. And that's Chuck Pagano with a Boise State hoodie on. Okay, so let's remember that that's coming from a biased opinion. But yeah, Chuck Pagano didn't like how much we like Charlie Huff in Memphis because he's going to bat for the Blue Turf Boys. I think there's something new coming out this weekend, College Game Day, about what they have going on up there in Boise. Can't wait for that conversation. But that locker room? Yeah. CFP on three? Moneybagg Yo say Boys don't need that speech I was told I'm getting a fucking jersey Yeah I think Boise State might be in for one here But with what they just did to Oregon Is Oregon ass then?

2:17:20Yeah there's a chance they're not Like if Oregon goes on and wins every single game going forward All of a sudden you look back at this and you're like Holy shit Boise State is the real deal And Boise State might end up beating Memphis And Western Michigan by 30 points apiece And then you look back here and it's like, wow, if Boise State did win this game, are they getting a bye in the college football playoff, not just sneaking in? They really are the real deal. It felt like that, at least watching.

2:17:44Pat McAfee:Oregon outgained Boise State by more than 200 yards. Fourth down, Oregon was 0 for 3. Boise State 2 for 3. Oregon had turnover. Boise State didn't. Who's the bigger school? Who's the smaller school? Penalties, 10 for 90. Oregon, geez, Louise. First down's tied. Final score, Oregon 34. Boise State 27. came down to the final, literally final couple seconds of that particular game. Congrats to Oregon getting a huge win. Could be something you look down the road where it was like, we got a wake-up call there from Boise State, or Boise State's much better than anybody could have ever imagined. Two years ago, these two teams played.

2:18:18It was 37-34, and I believe it was week two. But Oregon then went on to go 13-0 and win the Big Ten championship. And Boise played Penn State in the playoffs. So, you know, maybe it's a history repeats itself situation.

2:18:32Pat McAfee:Ashton Gentry, that's how we kind of learned of him. They have the Lord on their side, too. What's that? Boy, he stayed as the Lord on their side. Their coach is one of the biggest God-fearing men I've ever seen. They put the fear of God into their opponents, probably through him, I would guess. So, you know, when you're playing with 12 guys and one of them is the Lord, that's quite the advantage. What do you mean by that? It wouldn't have lost it. Yeah, what do you mean? Well, sometimes God gives his toughest challenges to his strongest soldiers. People say that a lot. So I'm saying if you hear Boise State's head coach give any interview or talk to anyone, he will say first and foremost, like thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, I love you for being my Savior.

2:19:10Yeah, all that kind of stuff. So they have Jesus on their side. What about halftime speeches? Any fiery halftime speeches?

2:19:18Pat McAfee:We heard a couple. We heard Lane Kiffins. Yeah, we did. I can't believe that got out. How did that get out? I don't know. I don't like it, though. Who was recording that? Guy's shooting his feet. We're going to be able to tell by the size of your shoe who you are. Is that guy gone? Probably. He's probably pissed that's out. I think he probably, yeah. Yeah, definitely. It seems like it is a staffer because he was wearing the pants that staffers were wearing and shoes were wearing. It might have been Knox. It might have been Knox. Look like, I don't know, I'm just looking at the feet. It's hard to judge.

2:19:51Pat McAfee:That's the answer. Kind of wobble-bodied. I don't know. We're trying to figure out what's on the other side of this camera, you know, because that's the person that leaked. It does look like the feet, the way they're standing. I don't know. That person will be identified. You think so? Oh, yeah. Yeah, and probably get a raise. No, not a raise. Probably fired for leaking this type of stuff. But nonetheless, I think if Lane Kiffin's coaching like this behind closed doors to these boys with the amount of talent they have, it seems like they got a little bit of a hard edge. What's he going to say next week?

2:20:19Pat McAfee:They're trying to kick you guys out of the fucking SEC. Oh, my. And he uses all of it. Stanford Steve told me, yes, I'm happy this got brought up in my brain. Thank you. Should have remembered this a long time ago. Stanford Steve said first time he'd ever seen this. When the LSU boys come out to practice, there's like 10 interns holding signs. They're all quotes about how bad LSU is. Like your ass. That's sweet. So they have to walk through these signs as they get to practice. It's just like the interns are just holding them up on like game day type. Was that poster board? Yeah. Holding big posters with quotes about them as they're coming out to practice that are obviously your ass, you suck, you steal, you cheat, you blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, then when you get out there.

2:21:01Pat McAfee:So when you talk about drawing upon something, I think Lane is definitely doing that. Yeah, fool, fool. And then you hear the halftime speech. It's like, everybody hates you. This is your chance to tell them to go fuck yourself. He got up there, bro. Yeah, he did. He got up there. Oh, yeah. He got pipes. In that speech, yeah. I didn't expect that from Lane. I don't think anybody did. I think that's why it went so big. It's like, did we know Lane Kiffin, the 6 a.m. yoga, I'm going to fuck with everybody guy, was talking to his team like this? Up 31 to 3. I don't think many people were expecting that.

2:21:35Pat McAfee:Once I saw it, I didn't know he had that in him. Yeah. I heard. I thought he was super fun. Yeah. Shooting hoops. Yep. Heads will roll for that shit getting out. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. They're going to be able to tell who it was. Yeah. All right, everybody, take the phone out. Shoot that. Take a picture. Yep. See where we're standing to. Are we sure it wasn't Lane? I don't think. That felt like it was far away. Holding the phone? Yeah. Or was it his phone you're saying? I think it was. What are you talking about? Hey, make this seem like you're recording it. You know what? Dan Lanning had that one speech against Colorado.

2:22:08Pat McAfee:Yeah. It was leaked. He didn't like that. No, he didn't. Remember, he was not happy about that. But when Kirby's speeches get leaked, there's not even video. Because people are so fucking scared. They keep putting it in their fucking pocket. Hey, I'll tell you what Kirby said. So what all these guys say to their teams seem to be pretty heavy-handed. Yeah, they know how to fire them up. You remember that old musk ship? Yes. Punch the whiteboard? Yeah. He's back. One of my favorites. Awesome. And you go from that all the way to, like, eastern Michigan hammer and bricks. Exactly. That was sweet. Summerall's was awesome, too.

2:22:41They've done that before. I didn't hear Summerall's. Yeah, he stood on business. He said, basically, it was during halftime, he said, like, take him to the deep end and drown him. and if they don't drown, then choke them out.

2:22:49Pat McAfee:I like that. Yeah, it was sweet. Yeah, I like that a lot. See, these are the types of things I like to be heard. This is football. Yeah, exactly. This is football. Now, this is in the moment. This is not for real life out there. This is in the moment, about to go play a very physical sport against somebody else. There are certainly people that say, we respect our opponents, nameless, faceless opponents. I very rarely see them with trophies. Everybody else you see is like, fuck these guys. Okay, that is normally the kind of attitude that I'm used to. And I think a lot of people that win probably have that way.

2:23:20Pat McAfee:But they don't mean it in like a super, you know, personal way. No, in between the lines. It's just, hey, fuck these guys. It's a violent game. I was rich rod at halftime. Yeah. Yeah, I'd say. I'd say we're ready for a war. Yeah, Mike Barwis gave the speech beforehand. Very reminiscent. When I saw that Memphis locker room, I saw the West Virginia locker room. Okay, I saw a coach that I assume a lot of the players say, fuck this guy. Right? because you heard him say, I'm really hard on you guys. That's him immediately saying, I'm a fucking asshole to you guys. But you know why? It's because we win.

2:23:51Pat McAfee:The accountability, the attention to detail, the strive for perfection, the bop, bop, everything. That's how Rich Rod coached. I don't know how he is now. I assume same. But that person has to be, can be, I guess. Doesn't have to be, but every version of it I've seen kind of have to be an asshole on everything because you're asking for, like, very unusual outcomes. So Mike Barwis would normally do the – here he is right here. Turn this up. Wait, who's this? Mike Barwis. The race with West Virginia, we lay you in the fucking race. Okay, that's good. That's basically – Unintelligible. That's basically what it was, yeah.

2:24:29Pat McAfee:So when we were playing UConn, Barwis was given one of those right before we went out there. And obviously your strength coach is who you spend a lot of time with. So they're the ones that are actually setting the culture. I mean, that is what the strength coach's job is, which is why we assume that Memphis guy was the strength coach. But when I saw that Memphis locker room, everything in there, from the coach even saying, you guys, you know what I'm like. Yeah, and everybody in there, yeah, yeah, we certainly do. And then the strength coach getting in there and everybody ready to go to war, it's like, I think I see some dogs in that locker room right there.

2:25:02Pat McAfee:Because if you're rallying against your head coach or for your head coach, it doesn't matter. However you go out there and win, however you get your team motivated to go play the best is literally all that matters at the end. You know? And like a lot of these things that happen where coaches are, they said this and then it wasn't real. It's like, what if that coach was literally just trying to motivate their team, didn't give a fuck about how anybody else responded? Like, I don't care about how you think. I don't care how media thinks. I don't care how the fans think. All I'm doing right now is trying to get that locker room to play the best possible football that they can play.

2:25:31Pat McAfee:That is all I'm trying to do. It's an interesting way how you go about doing that, but it does feel like the accountability people are a lot more successful than the people that don't really hard on them. Especially for – I mean, it's the same in the NFL, too, when you're dealing with full-grown adults and men, families and shit like that, being a pro. But, like, in college, you know, you're dealing with 17 to 21, 22-year-olds, so it's even more important. Hey, you played for Trestle, right? Yep. He seemed kind of reserved, I guess, on the outside. How was he behind closed doors with those locker rooms?

2:26:00I've never seen anybody like him in my life that's, like, legit did not really ever have to raise his voice but everybody from top to bottom respected him never wanted to disappoint him he um he was actually very funny like coach Trestle was very funny in team meetings and things like that but pre-game not not like crazy rah-rah speeches but like very passionate you could tell how much the guy cared like so yeah I've never seen anybody able to be able to command a room like coach Trestle without with just very confident in who he is and he was the same dude every single day accountability coach though right I mean obviously Huge, huge accountability guy.

2:26:34He's not letting you slide with anything. And he'll go about it in his way, embarrassing you in front of the team if somebody does something wrong.

2:26:41Pat McAfee:Yeah, and he went into the Buckeyes, super-duper Ohio State people. Yeah, he got his name in the stadium. Wow, that's awesome. Yeah, with the sweater. His sweater was covered. It was sick. Congratulations to Coach Trestle, who obviously we all have respect for and appreciation for. Was there ever any heat between he and Ohio State with the way everything kind of ended? Not on – at least not his side. I mean, he's the classiest guy alive, so he never showed it. And even privately, he's never said anything about it, but I'm sure he has to still be pissed off at how it all went down. Well, Ohio State's back on top, potentially.

2:27:13Pat McAfee:They have won a national championship. He's in the stadium. Welcome back. I like whenever that type of stuff happens. You know, it's good to see everybody. Just like the Pat White thing this past weekend, I'm happy he got to experience that. Like, I'm really happy he got to experience it. Yeah, me too. Yeah. He didn't have a lot of those, like, moments where he was like, hey. Is he on staff now? Yeah. I don't – he's coaching. Him and his brother started Blueprint Academy down in Daphne, Alabama, where he was coaching, like, quarterbacks, high school quarterbacks and stuff like that. He was kind of getting back into it, trying to do sports.

2:27:46Pat McAfee:Then he coaches at Alcorn State, I believe, with Ryan Stanchek. He did a couple years. So, I think he enjoys coaching. I think he enjoys being around it. Who knows what he does for the rest of his life. Maybe it is coaching is the right avenue, right angle, whatever the case is. I'm just happy he got a chance to experience like a – thank you, man. Thanks for doing this. And his family was able to see it too. It's cool that his – I assume his kids and his family were there and got to see him like, wow, you are a big deal. Like you did unbelievable things. Yeah, the highlights rolling. You know, maybe his kids saw a different play than they had seen before because somebody else is making the highlight.

2:28:18Pat McAfee:But you got to remember, as soon as we were done, it was a Big 12 era. Okay? Let's not remember this at all. Gino and Tavon and them go crazy, obviously. They win the Orange Bowl. That's a huge thing to celebrate upon. So Pat White's era at West Virginia kind of gets, kind of got buried. I mean, not kind of, definitely got buried. Moved to the back of the building. We're talking about right now. We're in the Big 12. This is a big deal. This is who we are. It's not about the past, even though this guy put everybody on the map, rebuilt this entire university and this stadium and what this school is and what this university is.

2:28:52Pat McAfee:And all these guys are probably committing to West Virginia because of this guy. but we're trying to build a brand new brand because we're Big 12 now, blah, blah, blah. So it was nice, I think, personally, for Pat White to be able to hear from West Virginia like, hey, thanks, man. Because it really wasn't... Since we left, it was not like that. So I saw him get a little emotional. I ain't never seen that before. Sorry, he had a couple tears in his face. It's cool. Great moment. I'm like, hell yeah, bro. I'm happy you got a chance to feel that because it was real. Because we all were thanking him every fucking day.

2:29:24Pat McAfee:Me, personally. Hey, bro. there's no way I'm supposed to be in these situations. So thank you, dude. I really appreciate you. I left out Noel Devine, who came in for Pats last year after Steve Slayton left earlier whenever I was talking about our team. And then a couple people brought up some other West Virginia legends. Pat was before, we were before a lot of the guys that were part of the Big 12 brand, which is what everybody was trying to push there at West Virginia for a while. A lot of pride in what they did too. Bruce, Bruce Irvin, absolute dog. Obviously, Tavon Austin, crazy. Geno Smith put up cartoon numbers, video game numbers.

2:29:58Stedman Bailey, absolutely outrageous.

2:30:01Pat McAfee:What's that? Dan Moses was our era. I'm talking about the Big 12 era right now. But Dan Moses back in the pre-pat, he was only there for our freshman year, I do believe, and then he left. So Steve Slayton was there for three years. Renaud was there for all four years. He was outrageous. Hell yeah. He was unbelievable. Unbelievable. Wide receiver and returner. Yeah, wide receiver, running back, and returner. He would go play running back in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans and returner. He was hand cleaning like 500 or something, too. Squat. When he would squat, that thing would. Bending. Yeah, it would go like around his back.

2:30:37Pat McAfee:And he was so explosive. He could do a backflip standing there, jump up, and then like just turn in the air. And then he would just land back down. Like in dancing. Maybe the best dancer of all time. I mean, Darius Renaud was a special athlete. We were very lucky to have him on. The whole team, we were lucky to be there. And I'm happy Pat got a chance to celebrate that. Now, there's a kid wearing five this year. Last one, right? Yeah, he's the last one. Okay. So, literally, during the announcement of Pat White having five retired, his first thing was, can Jaden still wear it? Yeah, okay. Because we got a guy here.

2:31:08His name is Jaden?

2:31:09Pat McAfee:I think so. I think so. I might be wrong. That's crazy. I know. I know. Can we look that up? Who's number five for West Virginia right now? We should look that up. I think he's a good player. I hope it's Jaden. Is there a lawsuit happening there? The LSU situation? I think that was all a big... Okay, good. It's just like kind of what the SEC conference is doing at LSU, just public shaming. Yeah, yeah. Into, are you sure? Into be quiet. Are you sure? Are you sure? What's the kid's name? Jaden Bray. Yeah, his name is Jaden. Yeah, number five. Last number five for West Virginia here. Makes sense.

2:31:41Pat McAfee:Jaden Bray. I think he had a tug. I think he had a tug this week. I think he's a good player, from my understanding. Take no, LSU. What? Show some respect. Heisman winner. Guy won the Heisman. Bro, they - See that stat line he put up against Florida? Yeah, he's unbelievable. Yeah. He was the guy, Kirk Kirksey said, Jaden, this is the guy that everybody's gonna love. I don't like the way that all unfolded. There's no way Jaden Daniels knew that that was all gonna be happening. Bad timing. There's no way that he knew - He was in camp. I assume that was supposed to stay private. I assume that was supposed to be something like, hey, we could do this if you guys don't blah, blah, blah.

2:32:19Pat McAfee:And then they go, we're going to do this. We're going to sue you then. Stop using us for marketing if you're not going to show us any respect or whatever. And they go, is that right? Okay. Look who this guy thinks he is. And then they turn the entire fan base against him pretty quick. I mean, LSU turned on him pretty quick. We were at the game where they rolled through all the teams that have LSU players. That'd be cool to experience. Every fucking team basically is up there with an LSU guy. When they put the Washington Manors up there and Jayden's name up there, I know the internet said it was a boo.

2:32:49Pat McAfee:there was certainly an absence of sound where we were at, where there was sound for everybody else. There was cheers for everybody else. Yeah, there was definitely an absence of sound. I think everybody's kind of caught in an interesting spot where, you know, how they feel. It's a tough spot. Time heals all. Yeah, time heals all. But the first guy, I think, back in the 50s, number 20, that guy retired. Burrow, it will be retired. So now you're going to be compared to especially Burrow and what he did with that season, which was arguably the greatest college season of all time. And then being at the university that has the special number seven jersey, you have all these guys, Patrick Peterson, Matthew, Leonard Fournette, who's worn number seven, and, you know, that's kind of passed down.

2:33:29And then you're like, hey, I don't want anybody wearing my socks. It's a tough spot. Have you heard about Whit Weeks? I saw the game day. Yeah. Yep.

2:33:37Pat McAfee:He's Cooper DeGene for the All Everything DB team of the number seven, I believe. Is that real? First ever, yeah. Oh, shit. Yeah. I tried to say it in like six different ways on the air because I did get that piece of intel, but I didn't want to just openly say, first white dude to everywhere seven at LSU, Whit Weeks. Wow. Trailblazer. Yeah, because I said against all odds, from my understanding, that Whit Weeks got that number seven. I got to see a picture with all of them. Yeah, that'd be cool. Yeah, I do believe that is a part of the story. Jess Sims told me before show started, she said, Pat, this might be something you might like.

2:34:12Pat McAfee:I believe Whit Weeks is the only white guy to everywhere number seven at LSU. I was like, really? She was like, yes. I was like, that is something. That is something that I was certainly like. I could not get it confirmed. That's a tough thing to confirm with people. Probably true. Maybe. And he's fucking everywhere. Yeah, he's unbelievable. I mean, he is literally everywhere, that guy. He's a hell of a football player. So, Sam Levitt. Go ahead, Bruce. Bruce has an answer. Will Campbell got a seven patch and was considered the number seven, but he did not actually wear number seven. And that's what they're doing with 18 this year, where the center, right, is where it has an 18 patch on LSU, but he obviously can't wear the number 18.

2:34:53I'll say 18. Is that another special? Yeah, it's another one. You can wear whatever you want. At O-line, I guess they're saying you can't wear 18. So he has like a patch probably similar to the seven.

2:35:03Pat McAfee:I thought there was no rules on any of the numbers anywhere. The offensive linemen are the only ones that aren't allowed to have fun. I like that. Just add it on. 50 to 70s. Offensive linemen, you guys are fucking boring. Don't want to hear from you. Wear your fucking shitty-ass number. Okay? The D lineman across from you, he can wear one. He can wear four. He can wear whatever he wants. You fat shows, though, you wear the numbers you've always worn. Okay? That's how it has to be. Will Campbell. Shout out. At Pivots. And that would also mean what weeks is the only one to still wear it, though.

2:35:33Yes. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. That's sweet.

2:35:35Pat McAfee:Yeah, so good stat there. Even though there is a little asterisk for a left tackle for the New England Patriots. Hell yeah. This leads us to tonight. Let's make our picks. Ladies and gentlemen, my pick for tonight is that A.J. Brown or Jackson Smith and Jigba will score a touchdown. That is my pick for this evening. It has boosted to plus 100 on DraftKings, the best sports book on earth right now. If you're of age, we would obviously love you to come join us and gamble or trade responsibly. Don't be an asshole. Don't ruin it for all of us. DraftKings available in all 50 states. Shout out to them.

2:36:11Pat McAfee:Shout out to sports. And do it with sports, people. DraftKings has been in sports since the beginning. So if you're going to be doing sports stuff, do it with sports, people. We don't need to be doing it with Wall Street folks, do we? Yeah, that's right. Everybody's trying to get out of it. Everybody's trying to dance their way out of half the big. I'm not. I got my pick. Me too. Tone, we'll start with you. One half of the hammer. Done. Cowboys AP Tone. Not saying you have to bet on it, but if you were to pick this game, we know the first couple weeks, very difficult to pick. Yeah. Because we don't know who's going to show up where.

2:36:39Pat McAfee:We honestly, genuinely don't know who's hot right now, who might start cold. Are both teams hot? What does that tell? Over, under are going to be interesting because usually cagey affairs early. Tough to bet early on which team's going to win or which team's going to cover in the season. Who would you take if you had to take one tone? I'm a trenches guy, and the defense for the Patriots is very, very good in the trenches. And then for Seahawks, they return 91 % of the snaps from their front seven and 100 % of their snaps from their offensive line. So I lean towards the Seattle Seahawks tonight minus the three.

2:37:11Pat McAfee:Okay. Seahawks minus three for Tone Diggs. Let's go to the toxic table. At Ty Schmidt, Seahawks minus three or Patriots getting a field goal in the Pacific Northwest? Yeah, I was kind of hung up on this one, didn't really know, and then Mike Tirico told us that 20 of the 22 starters for the Seahawks return, I feel like the Kenneth Walker being gone kind of took a lot. And then, listen, I know, new offensive coordinator, all that kind of stuff. But, boy, I'm kind of in the same boat as you in terms of drinking the Kool-Aid of the Seahawks after hard knocks and everything. Big night for them. Fans are going to be crazy.

2:37:46So I'm going to lean towards the Seahawks as well.

2:37:50Pat McAfee:Okay, so two for the Seahawks minus three. We will go to the other half of the toxic table. Boston Connor in your Patriots jersey, hat, and underwear. Who will you be taking this evening? Yeah, this one was tough for me, too. I mean, it's one of those things where you look at the game, you're not really sure. but I love Patriots plus three. It feels like, yeah, we didn't return all those stars because our team got much better. And the two guys that didn't come back of those 22 are two of the, what, top five, six, seven players Seattle had in Tariq Willen and Kenneth Walker. A little banged up with no Trevion Henderson.

2:38:22Seahawks have injuries too, though. So that kind of washes itself out. Feels like a big redemption for the Patriots. Hey, you got killed in the Super Bowl. It was ugly. Let's go out there and kind of show them what we're made of. Expect Pop Douglas to have a nice little night tonight, too. Normally we're talking about him in the slot for New England.

2:38:39Pat McAfee:Okay, so there's a stat here for you. Certainly a stat. I don't know if you like it or not. Highest outright win percentage as an underdog during the Super Bowl era. Tomlin, a little bit above.500. Mike Vrabel alongside George Allen are sitting at.500. Don Shula, slightly under. 29-29 win loss. Obviously, if you're an underdog, you're being projected to have a worse team than the other team. Winning half of those whenever you're out coaching the other side. Seemingly a good thing, Con Man. Yeah, absolutely a good thing. And if we remember that stat from before, the one 1971 I'll leave out, but the only other kind of Super Bowl rematch we've had in recent memory, it was the team that lost the Super Bowl, that one right there, Broncos, Seahawks.

2:39:17So feel good about that as well.

2:39:19Pat McAfee:Okay, D-Butt, you've heard a lot from Conor. Obviously, we've even seen some stats here. Tie and tone like the Seahawks, potentially because of hard knocks, but who can blame them? They're my NFC team. Who do you like tonight? Man, this is tough. I've honestly been going back and forth. Head coach, got to give the lean to Mike McDonald on that one. Offense, quarterback, got to go Patriots. Defense, slight lean to Seattle. So that's the difference maker for me. I'm going to go Seattle minus three at home on Banner Night. Okay, Banner Night has three people saying they're going to have a happy. I don't love that.

2:39:56Don't love that. Yeah, you're starting to kind of see what's happening here. 61%, I believe, is on the Patriots, though. So maybe that's okay. Okay. So maybe we see it a little different.

2:40:03Pat McAfee:We've been watching hard knocks. Yeah, certainly. Yeah. And Connor, if they weren't playing the Patriots, I think because of hard knocks would potentially be riding Seattle as well. Not saying that we could be brainwashed into thinking things, but boy, hard knocks has certainly done a number on this particular Thunderdome and our respect for the Seattle Seahawks. AJ, who do you like? How do you like it tonight to start the season? Yeah, this one from the, from the jump, I have not really been waffling like I have at times and I'm taking the Seahawks minus three at home. I, maybe I am, biased because of the hard knocks and everything I've seen, but no, I love what the Seahawks are all about.

2:40:35Give me them tonight.

2:40:36Pat McAfee:I'll ride with my NFC team tonight as well. That's your team. I get it. I don't love what we just did here, though. Me neither. I was not expecting that to happen. Me neither. I thought I was looking at Patriots, Patriots. I literally thought I was staring down Patriots over there. I was so happy that I was going to be able to say, for the first time this year, just like you, coastal elitist, you know, fucking by East Coast, by Zala, la, la, la, la. Give me the Seahawks. I mean the last game the last game we watched it was just that's 213 days ago that's a long time ago for sure but that's the last memory you have of football is Seattle just dominating New England 57 % on Seattle now actually son of a bitch a lot of people felt like they were going to the Super Bowl too a lot of people did Seattle was going to beat the shit out of them they did everyone was on Seattle alright do we want this to be world peace again or do we want this to be about tonight's game world peace world peace always world peace yeah Oh!

2:41:32Both received a score. I still need to put that ticket. Okay, here we go. There it is. You did it, man. No one's been able to do that.

2:41:40Pat McAfee:Okay, well, that wasn't for world peace, obviously, because somebody jumped in right before. Golly, I thought I was going to solve the world's problems. The bet is more important. Yeah, football. Today, he is right. Yeah, war is good for some things. No, it is not. Sorry world No it sounds like AI is going to kill us Within the next 10 years anyway Let's lock the bed in tonight I watched the social dilemma And they had just somebody Who happened to be associated with Google's Back end Algorithm thing And was like hey we're watching you whenever you pause on something We don't know why but it's been wired To basically say a success Would be for you to stop and look at something So even if you don't click on something if you just slowed down on a new ad okay you just accidentally they get a sense that you looked at a new ad gotcha or a new tweet or a new post got me this morning algos gonna bang boom boom boom boom boom boom me with that because they are being the algos being taught just keep them here however you can keep them here let's keep them here win win win win win now we're hearing from the people that are like wiring or uh coding these things saying, yeah, we all kind of know we're fucked, but maybe 10 years from now, they take over all society.

2:42:59Pat McAfee:That's what I read this morning. Yes. You can't trust those other bastards who are doing the same thing, which is why we need to push it forward and kind of just keep the course. Evan Hubinger at Evan Hubb, Jacob is correct here. We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans. I personally think it's burning 10 % within the next decade. I believe Anthropic is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for super intelligence and are clearly not on track to. Let's take that down. That one's different than artificial intelligence. Super intelligence is the next one.

2:43:32So I don't worry about that shit. But how would they do it? No, don't want to hear it. I want to know. Nick? Maybe they shut down. AJ? Who got answers? Maybe they shut down a football game. Maybe shut the grid down. Shut the grids down, all of that. They could do that, but they're not going to physically be able to manufacture enough robots to come kill us, are they? They're going to probably just starve us and bleed us out. What I'm saying is, okay, and there's a guy fighting a chimp.

2:43:55Pat McAfee:Have you heard about this? We got a guy fighting a chimp, AJ. Your thoughts, quickly? I would never do that, but no. Where is that happening? I think it's happening on the internet. Yeah, it's a weekend. If I had to guess. Better wear a cup. That's going to be tough. It's before Zufo boxing ass. Is that a Paul production? I don't know if it's a Paul production. I don't think it's an MVP fight, but I do believe there are many different promotions that would certainly say, yeah, if you want to fight a chimp, you can do that. I'd watch that one. Strong arms. I'll watch. Don't you think? The thing's probably a baby.

2:44:21They probably got like a seven-month-old chimp. He's not fighting a four-year-old. I thought I saw a full-grown chimpanzee. And you have to feed it drugs. Oh, yeah. How do you get it to want to kill you? You need to feed it drugs? What do you mean it's a chimp? He's going to kill you. Oh, so you just think all chimps want to kill humans at all times?

2:44:36Pat McAfee:No, I think you walk up and punch it in the face, it's going to go, oh, okay. Yeah, but what if this is a soft chimp? Survival instinct. I don't think there are soft chimps. Happy Punch is the one who reported one no amateur fighter. Cole Johnson announced he's fighting a full-grown chimpanzee live on September 11th. This fucking guy's going to die. No, that's not. No, that's not the one he's fighting, but it'll look like that. Yeah, actually, I do believe the chimpanzee community is keeping which chimp kind of private away from fighter Cole Johnson so he can't study the tendencies of said chimpanzee.

2:45:08Pat McAfee:You immediately said a cup? What is that all about? You know that because they're going to rip your meat off. We know eventually, but I don't know. This isn't happening in America, is it? That's got to be against the rules. Hey, there's no way they're going to let him just rip a meat off. Is he going to wear a muzzle? Like, are they going to let him bite him? That's the thing. There's no holes barred. There's a fight to the death. Sin City Street Fight. Please tell me where to sign up because I want to go first. Very similar to a Sin City Street Fight, yes. In this business. Is there a chance that Cole is able to – MMA prospect reveals – can you go back to that headline, please, right there?

2:45:41Pat McAfee:MMA prospect reveals plan to fight another animal with a sword after he takes on a chimpanzee. Nice. This guy's crazy. He's got plans for after fight? Okay. Good luck, buddy. Stay focused. Yeah, he needs to focus on right now. I went and checked out his Instagram. He's a pretty good athlete. He could do some flippies and stuff. So I'm not saying he's going to win, but it's going to be interesting. He got some flippies to him, huh? All right, we'll see if the flippies are the thing that will help him against a chimp and fucking Z. If he gets the back of the chimp, you know, I guess he's going to.

2:46:15That won't matter. Are they prepared for the outcome? Like, what if 10 seconds in, this chimp comes in and, like, rips his windpipe? That's ideal. Like fucking Rambo. Like, what are they going to do?

2:46:25Pat McAfee:I've seen him doing flippies right now on the small screen. He can do flippies. Look at him. And he's a chimpanzee himself. Jeez. You know what? Try that against the chimp. See what it does. Might help. Holy shit. That move right there. Dude, that's like a shooting star running. I mean, this guy's got real jumpies. You think the chimp's going to drop down and tap out if he sees that? There's a chance a chimp does get mind blown. And then he's going to fuck, just grab his throat, just do it until his head pops off. Well, the interesting thing is he can grab throat with one hand, and then foot can also grab leg.

2:46:59Pat McAfee:Exactly. So he can actually, like, stretch him while he's doing it, and then maybe bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Yeah, cut him in half. Mortal Kombat fatality, just rip his head off and his whole fucking spine comes out with it. But AJ said he's not going for the windpipe or the head. He's going for gold. Yeah, you think about that move. he's fully exposed yeah you're right so he's got he's got one here he's got this here and then aj saying he's going yeah that's what mcgregor's going to start his last fight what's that that little flippy thing isn't that what mcgregor tried to start his last fight no he was going for a run and super duper tore his aco he's recovering i'll have you know he's got one more fight on his belt april that was a fascinating thing wasn't that just kind of came and went yeah part of the off season.

2:47:38So many things.

2:47:40Pat McAfee:Hold on. We got Ben and Garcia, right? Yeah, Saturday. Oh, yeah. Saturday night, that's happening. Zoof, what? Right in the middle of the closed. Yeah, it's a tough Saturday night to be. It's going to be tough to turn off Ohio State, Texas. Yeah, got the Seahawks. My hands will be tied. I'll check in on Sunday morning. You got Seahawks Bowl this week? Yes, I do. Pretty early. Washington, Washington State normally happens November-ish, I believe, and it happened last week. I liked it. Iowa State is always right around this time. Okay. And what do we know about Iowa State right now? They lost basically everyone on their roster.

2:48:13Their new coach came onto the basketball court during the Iowa-Iowa State game and basically said, like, fuck Iowa. So I don't know if they will. Kirk's not really that kind of guy, but I think if given the opportunity, they may run it up and try to beat the shit out of them a little bit. Still going to split reps with the quarterbacks. I don't love that it's a night game. I don't, but Kinnick is very tough to play at night. So that is certainly in the favor of the Hawks.

2:48:36Pat McAfee:Iowa State did not cover against Southeast Missouri State last week, which we certainly like. Your super dog pick. 30-and-a-half was the spread. 28 was the inevitable. Iowa did cover. They were 31-and-a-half point favorites, and they won by 40. What was the score of that game? 40-nothing. Nobody has scored on the Hawkeyes. Will the Hawkeyes potentially pitch a shutout for the entirety of the college football season?

2:48:59JJ Watt:Could.

2:48:59Pat McAfee:That's just one of many storylines we will follow. That's right. Tonight, Patriots-Seahawks kick off an NFL season. We'll be back tomorrow. We are starting our team ride. Yes. Come on. Tonight. It's a tailgate happening on DraftKings. Hell yeah. We need, wide receiver, one to show up one time in the end zone for one of these teams. That's it. If you're of age and agree to gamble responsibly, please come join us on the best sports book on earth, DraftKings. Also, tailgate happening at DraftKings right now. I believe, obviously, this is a super boost. There's multiple other mystery boosts that are happening on DraftKings.

2:49:39Pat McAfee:I appreciate whenever they just pop these things up for you to enjoy. I took advantage of a tennis one last night and bet on Benjamin Shelton to go ahead and have a win over Carlos Alcaraz. He did. I boosted the odds, I think, by 30 % or 25%, I think, before doing it. Nice payout there. I appreciate that they have these things available. the tailgate, which is the hours leading up to a game, obviously. DraftKings will have a bunch of these. A bunch of these. Both tonight and Saturday morning, I believe, before college football kicks off. Shout to DraftKings. Once again, if you're of age and agree to gamble responsibly, come join us.

2:50:13Pat McAfee:Team ride tonight. Either JSN or AJ Brown, touch paint. Tomorrow, we'll be back reacting to an NFL game. Hell yeah. And then we got another one. Woo! Good one, too. And? Another. And? Another. And? Another. And? Another. And? Another. And that can go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Until February 14th. That's right. In Los Angeles as we crown a new Super Bowl champ or a back-to-back Super Bowl champ. Oh. And the Seattle Seahawks. We can't thank all of you. And not for allowing us to do this for a living.

2:50:51Pat McAfee:We made it through the offseason. We did it. Congrats to us. And congrats to you. Now let's have the biggest and best season yet. Great work this week, D. You too, brother. Change my pick to Patriots plus three. Oh. Holy fucking bets. I just saw it. That's off. I just saw Craig May. That's a huge move. AJ, you want to change? Two-minute drive. Nope. What anyone else does has no effect on my bet. Love that. Well, when somebody else does something that's really cool and could be a big part of a conversation, let's go ahead and say it. Like, if you go to fucking Wisconsin-Notre Dame at Green Bay and we talk about it and you're a part of the conversation, let's get that in there somehow.

2:51:39Okay?

2:51:39Pat McAfee:Okay. Noted. I'm very coachable. Thank you.

2:51:47Pat McAfee:Be your friend, tell a friend something nice and I'll change your life. AJ, thank you for being coachable. Thank you. AJ, anything you can say to these beautiful people? I mean, we are here, aren't we? Like, this is it. This is what we've been waiting all this time. This is why I've been lifting all those weights. So, yeah, let's enjoy this. Let's enjoy the season. Enjoy the night, actually. That's why you run all them sprints. Hell yeah. Yeah. These are the good old days. We're in it right now. This one, great old day. Let's hope so. Be your friend. Tell your friend something nice. It might change your life.

2:52:15Pat McAfee:We're in this thing together. Team on me. Team on three. Football's back, baby. One, two, three. Team, goodbye. You matched on Hinge. You're vibing. Then her energy completely changes. What do you do? I'm Raven Smith, and I wrote and read a real love story about this exact sitch. Listen to the free audiobook now. Can you hear that? It's the calm, sugar, white, sandy beaches of St. Pete Clearwater. and if you listen closely you'll hear the mmms coming from the epic restaurants the cheers from sun-soaked music festivals and the beat of our legendary nightlife scene before you hit play on your next song text the group chat it's time to plan a trip to St.

2:53:03Pete Clearwater learn more at visitspc.com