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The Pat McAfee Show
PMS 2.0 1337 - Jamal Crawford, Heather Dinich, Washington Commanders GM Adam Peters, Darius Butler, & AJ Hawk
02:34:26
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- [00:00]
Pat McAfee
Sports, sports. Hello beautiful people and welcome to our humble abode, the Thunderdome on This sports Tuesday, May 6, 2025. This program starts now. Sports are happening all around us and we're so incredibly lucky that we get to chit chat about it every single day. Last night in the NBA, two massive upsets. Certainly one that nobody on earth could have seen. And another led by Joker, who's now a coach. Aaron Gordon in Murray going into oklahom and doing their thing. But the Knicks upset the Celtics, which has everybody in Boston wondering what the hell's going on. They obviously missed 45 three point shots, which is the most in the history of the NBA. And they took 63 point shots, which is also most in the NBA history. Whenever you talk about doing bad and staying consistent with the bad thing, the Boston Celtics did that last night, they will not sweep the New York Knicks. In fact, they might be in a heap of trouble. Yeah, we'll talk to Jamal Crawford, the crossover joining us in about 15 minutes or so to get his take on the NBA. Where it's at, where it's going and who should we be looking forward to winning all of these series? Couple more massive NBA games tonight. The NHL happened last night. These Panthers are a bunch of dirty players. We need to get them suspended. We need the thing to get tightened up. We'll chit chat about that today. And then obviously the NFL is always happening. We have general manager of the Washington Commanders, Adam Peters joining us in the next hour. Cannot wait to chit chat with him. The turnaround that they've had in Washington is obviously desirable by every shitty franchise in every single professional sport. You go from being hated by your fans, you go from being disrespected by the world to new ownership to all of a sudden having a guy. Now you're getting a new stadium, which they had talked about for a long time. You're getting the NFL draft. You make some massive trades to bring some stars in and you might be a team that's on super bowl watch in a matter of two years. It's amazing what a couple good decisions in an organization at positions of power can do. And that's not just in the football world. You get rid of some bums that are in a position of power, the gatekeeping positions, and you bring in some superst. Truly phenomenal what can happen to a team in a building. And obviously Jaden Daniels has been everything you could have expected in a rookie quarterback. Great and then some. Love what the Washington Commanders have done. Don't know if the commanders are going to be their name forever. Still feels hard getting it out of my mouth. Washington football team was certainly a name and then obviously they were formerly known as the team that only the merch has seen in public by their fans. The toxic tables here at Boston. Connor and at Ty Schmidt, con man. Rough night last night for the city of Boston.
- [02:38]
Boston Connor
Yeah, it wasn't good. Not at all. Especially because it was fun for a little bit. Obviously you had raw last night that. Did we all watch that as well. That was tough. But the Celtics were up 20. Let's not act like they didn't kind of show up and show out for a little bit. They had a hack a shack situation going on in the second quarter. That was very fun. Everyone was thinking in Boston, okay, Joe Missoula in his bag following a big guy. Knicks can't get their offense going early. This is great. And then the second half, it was a completely different story. I think the third quarter, they cut it to nine at the end. And then in the fourth. Yeah, Jalen Brunson, who everyone mentions is the clutch player of the year, he did come in in the clutch and to be fair, I thought there was going to be a lot more foul hunting by him. There wasn't. He was just playing great basketball. That's a massive three over Al Horford and you know, to go up by six. The Celtics did come back a little bit. Huge three from Derrick White here to go up one. And even here after giving up a 20 point lead, I think Celtics fans are still thinking, okay, weathered the storm. Gritty, gritty comeback, if you will, after being up 20. But the Celtics will still get it done. Nope. The Knicks continue to answer. OG was fantastic. He also had 29 points along with Jalen Brunson 29 points. But it was a great battle. It ends up going to overtime. Jalen misses this buzzer beater attempt. Celtics go down. I believe they chuck a three. They miss that. And then over time, the Knicks kind of took over. It was good, personally. When the game is done, okay, gentleman, sweep is on. They had their fun. Now all the pressure of the sweep is off. Now we're kind of the underdogs. You know, everyone's looking at the Boston Celtics as the. This massive titan, this Goliath of basketball, which they are bridges. I don't know if he hurt his face or if he was doing some sort of fun celebration there. Whatever the. Whatever the case, that was the last bucket for from the Knicks there to go up by six. Celtics again, let's Keep chucking threes. Gotta love it. That one goes in. That was actually Jaylen Brown with a minute and 10 left in overtime. That was his first three of the game. He finished one for 10. That was the story between Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Huck one off the backboard driving to the lane. So you can't hate on it because at least he was driving to the lane again. What are we doing here? At the end of the game? A lot of people saying. A lot of people saying, well, he got doubled. A lot of people saying that might have been a foul by Towns. It was. Some people were saying, hey, he was going up with the ball here. Towns fouling before they started the gather. And then just a brilliant inbounds play after calling a timeout before the first attempt at the inbounds. It was tough for the Celtics, but I think Celtics fans still have a lot of faith.
- [05:28]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, I think you should. Obviously, there's no way in hell you guys go 15 to 60 from 3. And this is the same conversation about Joe Mazzola that happens every single time the Boston Celtics lose. Now, obviously, they've gone on to win championships with entire mindset, so it's hard to bury Joe Missoula and call him a bird brain, maybe for this particular style. But whenever the Celtics miss their threes, they're not a winning team. Golden State warriors were the same exact way. If they got ice cold in a game, they were going to lose that game. I would assume the bucket's going to look a little bigger for the Boston Celtics. I assume that water's going to find its level, and I think the Celtics probably win the next game, maybe by 50. But with that being said, Knicks fans are riding high. Stephen A. Smith was. I don't want to say joy. He was glee. I mean, it was full glee out there. Because all the Knicks fans on TV yesterday who obviously have forced Knicks conversations onto our televisions every single day of our lives, yesterday they were saying, the only way I can beat Celtics is they need God. They need to start praying. Every single one, not just Stephen A. Every Knicks fan that you run into was like, yeah, we need God's help in this particular one. Well, maybe God was just telling him he can't make a three this this evening. And that's why the Celtics weren't able to get to dub. But congrats to this Knicks team. They continue to fight. They continue to be incredibly toug. And this Jalen Brunson guy is so fun to watch. Undersized, but he's seemingly tougher than everybody else on the court. Obviously OG does his thing and Kat, welcome to your Knicks moment, I guess is what this is currently. And now we got a ballgame. Now we got a series. Everybody was assuming this was going to be a sweep. Even the ESPN odds, the odds were better for the Celtics to get a sweep than the Knicks to win the series. Which is wild. Yeah, they'll win four straight. The Knicks won't even get a dub. What about the Knicks in six? Better odds than if the Celtics or worse odds than the Celtics winning in four. Wonderful game. I love that the NBA has this type of thing. This is the best of seven series though. Conversation in a nutshell. You steal one on the road for game one. Can you back it up? The better team normally wins whenever there's seven attempts at it. Just like the Indiana Pacers went into Cleveland, stole one from the number one seed Cleveland Cavaliers. Will they be able to do it again? Will they be able to do enough? We'll see. Out of the New York Knicks 1/2 of the Hammer Cowboys. AP Tone had something.
- [07:32]
Ty Schmidt
Yeah, you want to talk about the odds? Even though the Knicks got game one last night in the Garden in the Boston TD Garden, Celtics still minus 370 to win the series. So even though they got game one, there's still not a lot of hope in the betting markets for the Knicks to win the series.
- [07:45]
Pat McAfee
Oh yeah. Let's go to nine year NFL vet Darius Jay Butler. Before the show I said I didn't want to have Connor talking about that game. Just like I didn't want to have Bruce talk about that game whenever we showed the original highlights because, you know, personal feelings start getting in there. Weren't able to kind of roll through that entire thing. And obviously he's had that championship trophy Larry O. Sitting on the desk for the entire year rubbing it in people's faces. They were 20 and 4 in their last 24 playoff games. Now they're 20 and 5. To say they've been on a heater in the playoffs would be an understatement. This Boston Celtics team, they have been dominant. They look like the Yukon Huskies back in March Madness the last couple years even though they lost it this year. Congrats to golden down in Florida. He just signed a massive deal after winning the national championship, but they have been dominant. Is this a good thing for for the Boston Celtics to have this happen in game one, especially with everybody dancing on their face?
- [08:34]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah, if you're going to lose, definitely. Obviously better to lose it early, lose one early. But I'm sure they hate losing at home. And we talked about the threes. But defense, even with the warriors when they were on their great run, like they hung their hat on defense. And the same thing with the Celtics, like you said, do they go 15 for 60 again? Probably not. Like third quarter. The wildest stat I saw from last Night's game was 19 of their 20 field goal attempts in the third quarter were three point.
- [08:59]
Pat McAfee
Jesus.
- [09:00]
Darius J. Butler
Like that.
- [09:00]
Pat McAfee
That.
- [09:00]
Darius J. Butler
That is insane. Regardless of what your style of play is. 19, like, get to the basket. Watching in the fourth quarter. I know con man put a tweet out about, yeah, this, this Himbo stat right here. Never seen anything like. It was unbelievable watching it. Get to the cup, get to the bucket. If you're J.C. tatum, you're Jaylen Brown. Get to the bucket. You got smaller defenders. You saw it in the other game, taking advantage of size. You got to do that. You got to win. But like con man said, you figured out. I think they still figure it out over this series. I still think they get it done. Game two, they're already 10 point favorites. I know that doesn't matter to the guys in the locker room or the coaches on the bench, but 10 point favorites at home, you would expect them to bounce back and try to hold serve at home court.
- [09:38]
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
- [09:38]
Boston Connor
Still feel great about it. I assume most Celtics fans do. It's just some of those things, like seeing that shot chart. The most frustrating part is there was always some matchup on the floor where it was a bigger guy for the Celtics on a smaller guy for the Knicks. And normally it doesn't happen that often, but when Brunson is on the court, it's like, hey, Tatum and Jalen Brown are getting this matchup. And then they're just deciding, hey, let's just chuck it. Wendy said this morning. Of their 63s, 32 of them came in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, which is even more frustrating because the Knicks are so good in transition in the entire thing. The real worry is Porzingis left the game after the first half with a vicious tummy ache. I don't know if he was pooping. Yeah, I don't know if it was attic or basement, but it was not good. And then Sam Houser rolled his ankle after coming in having a couple tough shots and then found a guy shooting a three. So there are some worries there with Porzingis, but yeah, still all the confidence in the world.
- [10:39]
Pat McAfee
We'll talk to Jamal Crawford. Jay crossover, who played 20 years in the NBA here in about five minutes or so to get his thoughts. Not only in the Boston Celtics losing to the Knicks, Bruce Brown, who's a Knicks fan, says, we also missed 17 free throws. So everybody's talking about the 45 missed threes. We missed 17 free throws. That's probably never going to happen again. Still get the dub. Way to fight through, Bruce. Hell yeah. No, I, I mean, I, I know that the Celtics won't be that bricks committed throughout the rest of the series.
- [11:06]
AJ Hawk
But we played nowhere near our best basketball either.
- [11:08]
Pat McAfee
Cat got the third foul. He was out for the entire second quarter and played terrible in the third quarter. We, we can play better as well. What I'm hanging my hat on going.
- [11:18]
Adam Peters
Forward here is that I don't think.
- [11:20]
Pat McAfee
Jay Tatum can score on OG Anunoby. I don't know if anybody actually can. And you know Brunson, if we're within 10 in the fourth quarter, he's captain Clutch. He is the best closer in basketball and he will get the job done. While Jay Tatum disappears. 07. Don't look now. Pacers might be the hottest team in basketball. Might be the most dominant team in basketball. Let's go to the West. Last night was another massive upset. If you look at what the spread was beforehand, this Oklahoma City team was being talked about all year. This is the team. This is the team. This is the team. SGA doesn't get enough respect. This team doesn't get enough credit because they're from a small market. Oklahoma City is the team. Well, they just ran into Coach Joker and the boys and down the stretch, him losing his mind. Nija, Nija, do this. And remember he said just the other night after game one, after the last game of the last series, he said, I think the media is just paying attention to me coaching more on the sideline. I don't think so, Joker. I think you're being much more of a coach, much more involved, much more empowered after the coach Malone firing and the general manager firing. I love everything I'm seeing out of Denver. And I do wonder if there's a chance that maybe those players were done with Malone.
- [12:28]
AJ Hawk
I think you might be right.
- [12:29]
Pat McAfee
And I do wonder if there was a chance those players were done with the building, with what GM was doing. Hey, we're a great team. We've won a championship. Maybe they didn't like the way things were going. So the owner decides to get rid of coach and gm. I wonder if there was a players meeting that's like, hey, they did what we want. Now it's on us. Because how they've looked and how they've executed and how they've been playing, this Denver Nuggets team looks like they can win a ship. We talked to some basketball people. Q. Rich says, you fire your coach and GM a week and a half before the playoffs, you're basically saying, this year we're not going to win. What if they said a complete opposite? What if there was a chance that there was conference with Joker and Gordon and Murray and Braun and the boys over there and Russell Westbrook, who hocked up a sweet three at the end, maybe could have won that three. Perfect form, great confidence, maybe he makes that fall. But what if there was a chatter with the team and Joker and the boys said, we're good, we got this. We know what we got to do. We have enough maturity on this team. We have enough championship pedigree. They go into Oklahoma City and at the end, the foul and free throw and then foul and then free throw game. I hate. Okay, the final two minutes of this game took 6 minutes and 48 seconds. In the video that the NBA posted, it was down to 20 seconds with 20 seconds left, with 5 minutes left on that video. And that's because the fouling and the free throws and the fouling, they were able to foul. Chad Holmgren, he misses. They get down the other end, Aaron Gordon drops a three in their eyeball. And all of a sudden they go from losing game one in Oklahoma City with just seconds left to stealing one in Oklahoma City because the way they played the game. D. Bunch, I love this Nuggets team, and I like the fact that the players might have been challenged by the fact that we're moving on from the coach and gm. This is your team now. Joker's obviously taking control.
- [14:08]
Darius J. Butler
I love how much ownership they're taking. If you run it back to the top Fox with Joker on the sideline. The first thing I look at as a former player, obviously football, not basketball, but as a former player is on the sideline, him talking to the guys, looking like the coach, the players around, how bought in are there, how. How locked in are they to what he's saying? Like, that's what I look at. Because we know a lot of guys can get this moment, and it's like, okay, it's for the cameras or it's the time to be a leader. It's time to say some shit on the sideline. But you can tell it's legit just based on how the guys around him are looking at him, you know the respect they have for him because he goes out there, he puts it on the line. All regular season. He'll put up 40 plus minutes. And he was dominant again last night. 42 points, 22 boards and six assists. Like it's only three other guys in this league who've ever put up numbers like that. Shaq, Wilt and Giannis. And usually when you're on a list like that, it's some pretty elite shit. But it wasn't just him, it was a full effort. And I always talk about championship pedigree, talk about with the warriors, talk about it with the Celtics. And you got to talk about it here with this squad too. You go into a hostile environment where okc obviously they dominated all year long. Sga probably be the MVP this year. And those clips like we talked about Tatum and Brown not taking advantage of those matchups. If you go back to those Nuggets clips, anytime Joker got a switch when it wasn't a big body only Harkenstein's probably the guy that can match up with them physically. He was backing guys down and putting them in the bucket after absolutely dominating. Not only scoring, rebounding the ball and obviously getting other guys involved. And you talk about Captain Clutch, I know it's Brunson right now, but Aaron Gordon, yeah, on this playoff run, we had to dunk tip back at the rim a couple games ago. And then obviously the big time three here to seal this one after Chet missed those free throws. Aaron Gordon actually knocked down two huge free throws down the stretch too. So just an all around effort by this squad.
- [15:49]
Pat McAfee
I love this Nuggets.
- [15:51]
Darius J. Butler
Oh yeah.
- [15:51]
Pat McAfee
Oh yeah. I like that. I mean, I don't know anything about basketball. I don't know anything about it, but you fire the coach and the GM that close to the playoffs and the players all buy in and continue to go, it's like feels like the players might have been a part of this whole, hey, we don't, we're done with this, we got this. We're the ones that are on the court and watching them have success after doing that. And obviously we're a player led show and we're always gonna see things through the players eyes. But like what Russell Westbrook has brought to that team, obviously awesome. I mean obviously incredible. What a perfect spot for Russell Westbrook. You're like the fourth, fifth, sixth, maybe even seventh guy on that team at any given point doesn't need to have any pressure on him. But whenever we need energy, whenever we need defense, whenever we need A spark. Russell Westbrook comes in. Perfect, perfect role for him. Joker just being able to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Seemingly playing against children all the time. Awesome. And then you've got obviously Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray. These guys have been there, done that, and have had success. And they're all bought in. And the fact that they were able to steal one with the free throw game at the end of it, I assume only makes them believe, even firmer. What a shot. Even firmer. That what they did was right and they are the right group for the job. I'm excited to watch this Nuggets team and I think they're a problem. I think they are an absolute problem. Last night I was flying home watching the run of that Nuggets Oklahoma City game as I was flying home from Omaha, Nebraska. Great to see the Cornhuskers there. Great to see the people there. Great chance to chit chat with Gunther. We got a fight on Saturday in St. Louis. But as I was flying home, I was watching the run of the games. You know, it's hard for me to sleep, so I'm able to keep up. And it's just like Joker just controls that thing, you know, anytime he wants, he can control that thing. He just takes it over on the court, on the sideline, on the bench. And if he's got somebody smaller than him, he's backing that ass up and he's moving you 10. There's nothing Caruso can do there unless Caruso takes effect fall. And that was supposed to be the big meat. That was going to be a problem for him. It's like Joker was laughing in this guy's face basically the entire game. I understand that this Oklahoma City team is damn good. I understand this Oklahoma City team has had an incredible year, but man, it's hard. Whenever we get this playoff time, it's prime time where I see this loaded team and with a more invested Joker playing, it's like, this team is going to be tough out. It's a tough out, Judd. All of a sudden I like the Nuggets to. I'm not saying it because I like the Pacers, but well, out of the West.
- [18:15]
Darius J. Butler
I expect. Obviously we expect. I expect this to be a 6, 7. Yeah. I mean, I expect we expect OKC to bounce back and respond. But this is because like you said, coming into it, I think before we went live, you were like, this wasn't a big upset to me because outside looking in, you're looking at, hey, Joker is probably the best player in the NBA.
- [18:33]
Pat McAfee
So he's I don't think that's probably anymore. Right. He is the best player in my opinion.
- [18:37]
Darius J. Butler
He's the best player in the NBA. But you know, SGA will win the MVP this year.
- [18:41]
Pat McAfee
Most valuable players.
- [18:42]
Boston Connor
Yeah.
- [18:43]
Pat McAfee
Most best player.
- [18:44]
Darius J. Butler
We've had that conversation.
- [18:45]
Boston Connor
Joker could win it.
- [18:46]
Darius J. Butler
As an outside fan looking in, it's like, why? Why is he a nine point underdog? The team that he's on. But OKC has been dominant. I think Greeny called them possibly one of the best teams ever.
- [18:56]
Boston Connor
Oh yeah, he did.
- [18:57]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah. Yeah. So we'll see. I expect him to bounce back. And this is their opportunity to kind of make a real name for themselves on the global stage.
- [19:04]
Ty Schmidt
Nuggets, if you do like them, they are not just to win the championship, but just to win this series. Up 1 0. They are plus 260 to win this series.
- [19:11]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is a man who played in the NBA for 20 years. He's a three time sixth man of the year, formerly an eighth overall pick in the year 2000. Still young man. Still young man. That feels like a long time ago.
- [19:23]
Boston Connor
Could still play.
- [19:24]
Pat McAfee
Why?
- [19:25]
AJ Hawk
2K quarter century.
- [19:26]
Pat McAfee
That's a long time ago. This guy's still got it though. I'm watching highlights of him playing pickup basketball. I believe he's coaching at this point. Obviously he's a Michigan alum. Ladies and gentlemen, Seattle guy, Jamal Crawford.
- [19:35]
Boston Connor
Yeah.
- [19:36]
Pat McAfee
Mr. Crossover, thank you for joining us. How you doing, brother?
- [19:39]
Jamal Crawford
I'm great. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
- [19:42]
Pat McAfee
Okay, so I'm a football stooge, doofus. Okay. Watch obviously the NBA more so in the playoffs. And I watch the Pacers throughout the entire season. I try to keep track of everything going on, but not as dialed in until playoff time comes when every game but the Pacers games are on prime time. So with that being said, Joker in this team, and we've talked about it ad nauseum because I think it's a big deal you fire your coach and GM that close to the playoffs. Is that a sentiment of players are done with these guys and they want to move on by themselves. Is that a sentiment of we're going to mail it in for this year? Why do you think that decision was made and do you think it has empowered Joker and the boys more so than ever before? Because I feel like that's what we're seeing from a Joker who's more animated, more vocal, feels like he's taking on a bigger leadership role publicly. Is that from the firing. And do you think that was the purpose of the firings that happened? Mr. Crossover?
- [20:40]
Jamal Crawford
I think Joker's always been that leader. I think we see it more now. And he may step up his leadership more vocally and publicly because it is a younger coach and David Adelman. But you got to give props to Mike Malone as well because he set the tone for this team and he helped make this team a championship team. And sometimes when you're a championship level team, when this time of season comes around, that's when you dig in. You're like, okay, it's time. So I'm not saying that's why he got fired, but it could be a rallying cry they're using to kind of bolt together because right now they look dangerous. And Joker is the best player in the world for sure.
- [21:10]
Pat McAfee
Okay, so you agree with our sentiment? He's the best player in the world. Feels like he can take over at any time. Legitimately feels like he can take over at any time. His assists are wonderful, obviously can pull boards, he could shoot threes. He can back it down. He could do it all. And it feels like the boys around him know exactly what he wants from them. And you know, the NHL, we were talking to Biz from the Spitting Chiclets podcast and TNT's coverage and they were talking about these coaches getting six and a half, seven million a year in biz was like coaches in the NHL, like you can only do so much because it's such a read and react type sport. So coaching matters, but not, not really as much as people might think in maybe some other sports. When it comes to basketball. And I'm saying Joker is currently coaching that team. Is that potentially true? And how much does coaching matter? Especially in these playoff games in these.
- [21:57]
Jamal Crawford
Big spots, Coaching matters so much because that's, that's when you can, you can show the difference. Great players want to be coached. Yeah, most of the time they can figure out the problem 99% of times. But I said a couple years ago, Joker wasn't playing against the player he's playing against anyway. He's playing against your coach. He's so smart. The way he sees the game, he sees the game in reverse. And you can see OKC's plan was to make him a score. And that's probably the best way to try to play him because he's a naturally unselfish. But now you throw that out the window because he goes gets 40, 26 assists. There's nothing he can't do on the court. And I'm gonna take it a step further, Pat. I think he's the one guy in this era who's blended the old school of the 90s and this new generation. He could play bully ball, he could shoot threes, he can play on the perimeter, he can do anything on the court. And he does it with such ease that it's just. He's one of the best players I've ever seen in my life.
- [22:45]
Pat McAfee
And humility, too crossover. It's like he's such a humble guy, almost too humble in my eyes. I think we need a little bit more Sauls, a little bit more moxie out of that man. And I think we're seeing that right now. And it's not in, like, a flashy way. It's in, like a leadership way. If I'm not going to talk, who will talk on this team? And they all rally around him. D. But mentioned it whenever he was speaking to the team on the sideline. We showed the video a couple times because he's so demonstrative, and it's so awesome to watch Joker do this. Everybody in that huddle is looking at him. Everybody in the huddle is paying attention. It's not like, oh, fuck this guy. It's like, no. What do you have to say, Joker? We got massive respect. And it's because they've been to the mountaintop together before, or you think it's because everybody in there knows that they got the best player in the world on their team?
- [23:29]
Jamal Crawford
I think it's both. And the word you said, humility. He's not somebody just going to talk because he got lips. He's not going to just keep talking and talking. Once he hears. He's going to talk when he has something to say and when he means it. And when he talks, he has everybody's full attention. He's. He's been the best player for a while now. I think now he reminds all of us that, yeah, I'm the best player. And the coldest part is it's not like he's trying to be. He's not campaigning for it. He's just doing it and leading his team.
- [23:53]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Who's the new face of the league? Who's the new face of the league? It's like, well, there's this big, big Serbian guy. Might be the face, but he ain't gonna be the voice. And now he's starting to talk a lot more. He's not just talking because he has lips. Love that line. Gonna start using it and acting like it's Mine. D. Bud has a question for you, Mr. Crossover.
- [24:10]
Darius J. Butler
Yes, sir. Jamal. So you were three time six man of the year. So I want to ask you about that. We talk. We know the star players in the big, you know, faces of the league, per se. But who's that biggest X factor, you think, left in the playoffs? I know every team kind of has their own guy, whether it's Russ or Derek Wright.
- [24:27]
Jamal Crawford
White.
- [24:27]
Darius J. Butler
I'm sorry, whoever that is. Who's the biggest X factor in your opinion, left in the dance?
- [24:32]
Jamal Crawford
Man, I'm gonna say Westbrook. Think about this. Three years ago, people tried to cancel Westbrook. Oh, he's, you know, a vampire in the locker room. He's this, he's that. In all accounts I've ever talked to all his teammates, they love him. He's one of their favorite teammates. He brings life. He's not the perfect player. He's a Hall of Famer and he got moxie and he got heart and he, he just. The big moments, the bigger the moments, the better Russ is. And he's bringing a whole different swagger. He's that one X factor you can't prepare for. He'll get an offensive rebound. He had a big three. The Clippers try to go under, make him a shooter. He has three threes in that game and takes him out and then hangs on the rim like he's playing in summer league to get a technical to send a message like Russ. Is that so? We love to see him do well.
- [25:12]
Pat McAfee
I absolutely love watching Russ just because, you know, so what? He might not have the most pure jump shot. So what? He might fight a fan. So what? He might be a little fiery. He is the same person all the time, every time, every single time, dog. Like he could play football. Obviously this is a guy that can play football in the NFL if he chose to. And you talk about sending a message right there, him timing that up with the ref and just saying, yeah, so what now What? We're up 30. I don't give a. Give a damn. Especially when the story was that Steve Ballmer flew all a bunch of Los Angeles Clippers fans into Denver. So even more so, I assume they love him in that locker room. I assume Russell Westbrook is beloved there. And what a perfect role for him, a perfect spot for him. Hopefully he does get a chance to get his flowers here in the Mile High city. Let's talk about the other massive upset from last night, Boston. Connor has a question for you.
- [26:07]
Boston Connor
Yeah. Jay Cross, big Celtics fan here. And obviously, obviously, the discourse today is all about how The Celtics took 63s, how they missed 45 of them. My question is, do you think that Game 2 here, the Celtics should take 70, 80 threes? Because personally, it feels as though that's the only way that the Celtics are one going to get their mojo back is to maybe go, I don't know, 60 of 80 from three point land and score 200 points in game two.
- [26:36]
Jamal Crawford
The one thing about coach Mozilla we know is he's not running, you know, from the chimney, he's running up the chimney. So if he's like, we didn't take enough and it's proven, he doesn't, he doesn't care. I think they make more threes, but I think you got to give the Knicks credit as well. The balance they had, we know Brunson can take it over, but when OG is rolling, when cats rolling, when Mikhail's rolling, Josh Hart, you get four or five guys in double figures. I think that's the blueprint for the Knicks to be successful. And then when they bring their defense to the table, that's like adding another star player because they get easy points in transition. But the Celtics, I think, will fare better this next game. And I think you're right, he's going for 73 this next game for sure.
- [27:12]
Pat McAfee
That would be awesome. What do you think about this Celtics team? Obviously, in years past, before they won a championship, when Joe was just beginning as the head coach, he's this young guy. Is he equipped for the job? There's a lot of OGs talking shit about him. They were a three point shooting team. I mean, that's just what it was. They were hucking up threes. Hucking up threes, hucking up threes. I think it's because they saw Golden State win a bunch while doing it. Three points is better than two points. But if the shots weren't fallen, everybody would say Joe Missoula has no other answer. Joe Missoula needs to have an answer. Joe Missoula needs to have an answer. They've won a championship now, so I don't think you can question Joe Missoula's legitimacy. But this does seemingly be. This does seemingly show up as the Achilles heel for Joe Missoula Celtics team. If they can't get a three to fall, it's over for them. Is that an accurate assessment of the Celtics team? And do you think that that'll. Do you think water will find its level in the next game? Do you think they'll start making them again and. Or do you think there's a chance you kind of get cold for a little bit. If you're Boston, you can get cold.
- [28:05]
Jamal Crawford
I think both things can be true. You can get cold. But I think with them, it's their pace. The way to play the Celtics is this way. If you play them and it's close and they start going one on one and they lose their ball movement and they lose their pace, and then now the shots aren't as open, their role players aren't as comfortable. That's your best chance to beat them. But if they're playing with their pace and they're hitting their threes, they're like Tyson, they're the knockout puncher. They can knock you out. They have enough firepower, but they have to keep their pace. They have to keep their ball movement. If they slow down to any point and they're not making threes, that's when they struggle. But I think they own it, and he's proved it. I think they go all in and shoot even more threes, and I think they'll pick their pace up to get easier, quality looks.
- [28:41]
Pat McAfee
What do you think about the Knicks? Jalen Brunson's an absolute dog. Obviously, we all enjoy the way he plays. I mean, I love the way he plays. That three he hit, obviously, to win the last series against Detroit. I was in New York City that night. The entire place erupt. The whole city erupted. Obviously, that game was in Detroit, but like the whole. Everybody hit the streets, Knicks jerseys everywhere. And everybody, everybody is Jalen Brunson. What do you think of this Knicks team, Pat?
- [29:07]
Jamal Crawford
What's crazy about that is Rick Brunson was my og. He was my vet. So I used to shoot with Jalen in Chicago in like the practical city when he was 8 years old. And then maybe a month ago, my wife, we were watching the game, the Knicks game. She's like, oh, they got your number on them. We're 11. I said, no, I'm old news. That's Jalen Brunson. Now it's his town. He's unbelievable. The way he plays, his pace. He gives them confidence. He's like that point guard. He's like a quarterback because he's always surveying. He knows when and why and how and the way he plays. Playing off of two feet, playing off of physicality. He can always get to a spot. And he's confident enough and prepared enough that he knows if you're cheating just enough, I'll find that shooter over there. So they're dangerous. They're dangerous. And that's why this series can be really good against. Against the Celtics as well.
- [29:48]
Pat McAfee
Detroit plays vastly different than Boston. Does this make life easier for Jalen or harder for Jalen, the way the Celtics play? Because it felt like when I was watching them play Detroit, I mean, they were just trying to. They were super physical team. I mean, I think everybody is a little bit more physical nowadays than maybe a couple years back. But Detroit had four hands on Jalen, and he was still making magic happen seemingly every possession. The way Boston plays, does that help Jalen play better, or do you think game one is not necessarily the same as the rest of the series is going to go?
- [30:19]
Jamal Crawford
The series will go a little bit different, but I think he's more comfortable because like you said, Detroit came with a youth, a youthfulness, a young energy. They came with a, you know, you're going to make tough shots. Who cares? Their coach had already prepared them for that. He's a great player. He's going to make tough shots. Don't get discouraged. Boston's a little bit different because their best defender is Drew Holiday. He's just coming back. You know what I mean? So it's not the exact same, and he's an unbelievable defender in one the more underrated players. But I think Brunson's more comfortable playing against the Celtics team, at least on offense, where that pressure and the physicality isn't quite the same as it was with Detroit.
- [30:50]
Pat McAfee
Great celebration. Yeah. He does the European three, though. You know, we remember that from Inglorious Bastards. You know, I actually know that. What's that?
- [31:00]
Jamal Crawford
I didn't know that. I didn't know that. You educate me right now.
- [31:03]
Pat McAfee
Have you ever seen. Have you ever seen Inglourious Bastards?
- [31:06]
Jamal Crawford
I have not.
- [31:07]
Pat McAfee
Okay. Good movie, actually, for the time we're in right now, actually a pretty good movie to potentially watch. Brad Pitt is absolute dog in there. Anyways, it's during, you know, World War II. You got some Nazis around, you know, and we maybe infiltrated a world that they had a bar that they had. And the American counts to three and goes, 1, 2, 3. And gives it away that he's not European because yours one is the thumb, you know, then two, then three. Yeah. So it actually, it was a tell. And all hell broke loose.
- [31:38]
Boston Connor
Yeah.
- [31:38]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Because of that. So. Yeah, good movie. Good movie, right?
- [31:42]
Ty Schmidt
Z German.
- [31:43]
Boston Connor
Tarantino.
- [31:44]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. It's not just Z German, I believe Z Europeans there hit the. The 1, 2, 3. So Jalen doing that.
- [31:50]
AJ Hawk
I love it.
- [31:50]
Pat McAfee
It's a great.
- [31:51]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah, you can't you can't do that, Celly, everywhere either. You gotta. That's not a bi. Coastal Celly. Just, just.
- [31:58]
Boston Connor
What are you talking about?
- [31:59]
Darius J. Butler
I wanna put some awareness out there for everybody.
- [32:01]
Pat McAfee
What are you talking about?
- [32:01]
Darius J. Butler
Everything you see on tv, you just can't do it everywhere.
- [32:03]
Jamal Crawford
Like you can't do it everywhere.
- [32:05]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah, it may not be cool in la, maybe cool in New York, you know?
- [32:09]
Pat McAfee
What are you talking about? When I was 14 years old, I went and played soccer at Chula Vista, California.
- [32:14]
Darius J. Butler
Just like in Glory's back, all hell could break loose. So you don't want that on you.
- [32:18]
Pat McAfee
Okay. They told me not to wear a couple different colors whenever I walked outside the hotel when I was 14 years old, 15 years old over in Chula Vista, California, I only had two colors in my bag. They said, yeah, don't wear that one out there. Don't wear that one out there. I said, what the hell does that mean? What the hell does that mean? What am I supposed to wear? I don't have any other clothes. You guys going to buy me clothes? Oh, you're staying in a hotel? It appears tar soft. You're saying this potentially.
- [32:37]
Darius J. Butler
Potentially.
- [32:38]
Pat McAfee
I didn't know that. Where should we not be doing the Jaylen Bunson celebration?
- [32:41]
Darius J. Butler
I think you good in New York, but you're good on the east coast. You're good on the east coast. I say overall I move a little different.
- [32:48]
Pat McAfee
Oh, so over there in Seattle where, where crossovers. Different.
- [32:52]
Darius J. Butler
Different politics over this.
- [32:53]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, okay. All right. All right, Sounds good. Thank you for the heads up. Yeah, thank you for the heads up. I appreciate that.
- [32:58]
Jamal Crawford
This is my coaching sweatshirt. I'm safe with my sweatshirt right here. This is my coaching sweatshirt. Hey, we all, my kids, we all.
- [33:03]
Pat McAfee
Want to be safe and respect the area that we're in. Okay. Whether it's a German, German bar down there, you know, or the west coast. It sounds like we need to go ahead and keep the mask on. Fuck it, mask off. Actually, let's talk about the games tonight and the rest of the NBA playoffs. Go ahead, Tone digging.
- [33:19]
Ty Schmidt
Yeah, Jamal. The Pacers went into Cleveland as huge underdogs and I think they looked like the better team and got the win in game one. And then for game two they were ten point dogs to Cleveland. The line has dropped three and a half points because you know, Darius Garland, DeAndre Hunter, Evan Mobley, they all weren't at shoot around this morning. We don't know what their status is for Game 2, but Cleveland still huge. Dogs. Dog or sorry, Cleveland still huge. Favorites. Favorites to win the series. Do you think Cleveland should be favorite still to win the series? How do you feel about it as a whole?
- [33:49]
Jamal Crawford
Man, I think the Pacers that they're. They're coming some swagger and the way they're playing it up. And Carlisle coach Carlisle doesn't get enough credit as well. Championship coach, the way he has them playing. He has their pace still the same. He had six guys in double figures and almost another two off the bench and double. That's almost eight guys in double figures. I don't care who you are. That's tough to win. He's giving them a certain fearlessness to empower them to be themselves so they have a puncher's chance. I don't know, like you said, the other guy status with the Cavs, but right now I think I may pick Andy in this series.
- [34:20]
Pat McAfee
I like to hear that. Wow. I like to hear nobody's doing that, you know? Nobody's doing that.
- [34:26]
Jamal Crawford
Yeah, I know. Hey, I said. I said the T Wolves to beat the Lakers. I think I was one of. One of one to say that as well. And so you know, I'm going with Indy in this series.
- [34:34]
Pat McAfee
All right. On that note, I'm going with Indy as well. Can't wait to watch them tonight. Tyrese Halliburton is mine. Must watch. Okay. This is old school point guard. Not scared to put others over. Not scared to add a little flare as well as the spread has dropped to seven and a half. Cavaliers only favored by seven. Half was eight and a half, I believe this morning. I believe it was nine and a half yesterday or two days ago. So that thing is slowly moving towards Terence Crawford's opinion of how this game could go. You said you picked Timberwolves over Lakers. Are the Timberwolves able to go? Ty has a question for you.
- [35:04]
AJ Hawk
Yeah, Jamal, speaking of the T W, I mean, we've seen who Ant Ant man has eliminated so far in his career. Players, teams like the list just keeps getting longer and longer. Very impressive. And now the. The media, you know, kind of like last year, they're kind of positioning him as one of, if not the face of the NBA moving forward. Do you like the T Wolves in this series against the warriors or do you think Steph and company are going to give them all they can handle?
- [35:29]
Jamal Crawford
I think Steph and company will give them all they can handle because we're talking about ant man, you know, resume and who he's knocked out and what it could do for him to get to that championship round and Win a championship. What about on the other side with Curry's, you know, resume? What that would add to it. That would put him at five championships. That would put, you know, him in a whole nother ballpark. We would really have to look at him differently. So I think he's playing and leading with that kind of energy as well. They already had, you know, a dust up with Draymond and Ant man in the season at some point. You already know Ant Man's a fearless, you know, dog. Draymond's the same thing. Jimmy Butler, same thing. So it's going to be a good one. This one I can't pick. I need to. I need to watch a game and see how they, you know, position themselves first in that one.
- [36:11]
Pat McAfee
Jamal, I just called you Terrence at one point there. I apologize, you know, too much of.
- [36:14]
Jamal Crawford
My algorithm in the ring with Canelo in September. So I was, you know, I was going to let that go.
- [36:18]
Boston Connor
A lot of sweet signs.
- [36:20]
Pat McAfee
September 12th, Allegiant Stadium. I mean, it's going to be a big one. I 100% apologize. And before we go, did you know after last night's shooting performance by Boston that this is legitimately how every Boston male has been acting this morning?
- [36:38]
Adam Peters
15 to 16, 45 misses.
- [36:45]
Pat McAfee
Maybe we throw our hat in the ring.
- [36:49]
Jamal Crawford
No cool. Why not? I couldn't know the middle. Yeah.
- [36:59]
Pat McAfee
Hey, I won.
- [37:02]
Boston Connor
I'm available, Joe.
- [37:04]
Pat McAfee
Okay, so whenever you see that, obviously, con man, good shooting. Good shooting. But can you tell me. So they go 15 of 60. Okay. Last night, shooting a three. And we obviously have NBA threes here. And we shoot a lot. We shoot a lot here. NBA guys in warmups, never missing. Right? Like, we. We see the clips in the back, never missing. What changes? Is it the pressure from the defense? You just get a little tight. You get a little doubt. What do you think it is that maybe turns a guy or a team into a poor shooting team? Is it just tightness? Is it just not feeling it? And then how come in warm ups, not a ball touches the. It's splash, splash, splash for everybody.
- [37:41]
Jamal Crawford
Yeah, the popcorn's not popping at that moment. It's just still early. People are getting to their seats.
- [37:45]
Pat McAfee
Seats.
- [37:45]
Jamal Crawford
They're still comfortable, but the pressure. The pressure is different. It's one thing for us to watch it, it's one thing to tweet about it or Instagram it, but when you're in that, that mode and 20, 000 people in the stadium, the whole world are watching these games, that shot feels like a boulder at times. So it's not as casual or as easy. What I used to do, Pat, before big games, is I was go play the music I used to listen to in high school to relax me. It gave me a certain fearlessness. I think some Celtics need to go back to high school and watch some stuff. And then. And then it'll. It'll reset the brain.
- [38:14]
Pat McAfee
All right, you got drafted in 2000. Were you straight out? No. You went to college. What was high school music that you were listening to?
- [38:21]
Jamal Crawford
Oh, Tupac, dmx, Jay Z, Nas, all the. All the golden era.
- [38:26]
Pat McAfee
So you're telling me you're sitting out there and it's you dancing while warming up? We're vibing out there.
- [38:39]
Jamal Crawford
Oh, yeah, I'm vibing. I'm all the way vibing. I'm doing the same thing. I'm dribbling to the beat. I'm doing all the same thing.
- [38:45]
Pat McAfee
You still got. Still got the handles. Everybody's saying you're a little older now. Everybody's wondering, hey, I'm not 45.
- [38:51]
Jamal Crawford
I'm 40 fly. Yeah, I still got the handles.
- [38:55]
Pat McAfee
All right, all right. Well, you cut out whenever we make noise, so we haven't been able to, like, really talk our shit to you, but we want to let you know you made us much better today, and we appreciate the hell out of you joining us. Boss man. Man.
- [39:08]
Jamal Crawford
Hey, I appreciate y' all. Can I give a shout out to my son Eric? It's his birthday today. Shout out to my guy. Yes, sir. 27 training kids doing his thing. And shout out to my team. Steven, Jordan, J.J. titan, Owen, Luke, Shay, Carter. Those boys are one of the best country.
- [39:25]
Pat McAfee
Hell, yeah. Happy you didn't forget any names. Or maybe you did. That's on you. Ladies and gentlemen, Jamal Crawford. Hey, that's a. That's a very aggressive take. Whenever you're on TV or on a microphone, when you start giving a shout out to a group of people, and all of a sudden you get in the middle, you're like, oh, no. Let's start looking around the room. Let's start looking around the room in our mind. Let's not forget anybody in there. Because all it takes, it's maybe worst case scenario, you forget one person and the fact that he's got that shout out to his team. Shout out to the coach. Shout out to his kid Eric. Happy birthday to him. And shouts. Crossover being an absolute dog stuff.
- [39:58]
Darius J. Butler
Yes.
- [39:58]
Pat McAfee
He'll post some clips on his social media every once in a while. He's like, I'm 40 fly for good reason. He's still. There's levels to this shit.
- [40:04]
Darius J. Butler
Yes.
- [40:04]
Pat McAfee
And there always will be. And it feels like his takes on the NBA are always so like logical. And I, I appreciate every time he comes through.
- [40:12]
Darius J. Butler
I mean he played for so long and at a high, high level. I forget what crazy stat. He has one of the oldest players to drop like 50.
- [40:19]
AJ Hawk
Yeah.
- [40:20]
Boston Connor
Yeah. He's like one of the first players ever to have four different 50 point games of four different teams.
- [40:26]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah. So he's, he's been around, he's been around the sweet science back basketball for a long time.
- [40:30]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. He's not Terence Crawford. He is Jamal Crawford. Both of them certainly high level performers. Crawford, great name, great name, great name in there. He said to us one time whenever we asked him about Tyrese Haliburton, how people say he's maybe a liability on defensive side. Mr. Crossover said, they call me a liability too, but just gotta put buckets up on the other side. And that kind of leads to the Luca conversation. I mean there's a lot of offseason convos that are about to happen for the NBA or the Lakers that going to be able to get it done. Who are they going to have to get in there? Where's Kevin Durant going? Where's Giannis going?
- [41:02]
Darius J. Butler
I mean, how the Celtics going to look?
- [41:04]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Next year if the Celtics don't. Could you imagine they get swept by the New York Knicks.
- [41:10]
Jamal Crawford
Wow.
- [41:11]
Boston Connor
I don't think we can play that game for sure.
- [41:15]
Pat McAfee
Well, maybe if they sign you. They won't.
- [41:16]
Boston Connor
I, I would agree with you. And look, I'm a cheap commodity. I could buy up on Wednesday night. I'll be back here on Thursday. I just need to get you put me in the corner.
- [41:26]
Pat McAfee
I mean, splash, splash, splash, splash. Did I see a euro there?
- [41:31]
Boston Connor
Look, there's a little sauce there. I didn't want to reveal all my tricks, but I did want to see kind of show my handling in the paint. Even though it wouldn't really make sense if we're not, we're not really driving to the paint. But I just want to show that I can still do that.
- [41:44]
Pat McAfee
But on that note, Hembo sent me a stat of possessions in the paint here. This is from Genius. Ball was not touched in paint. Okay. This is when the ball is not touched in paint. Celtics on 59 of 102 possessions, the ball did not go into the paint. That's 58% of the time they had the ball. For the Knicks, it was only 40% or whatever. Obviously that's a 20% swing on when the ball is getting closer to the bucket, which you would assume physics says easier shots, easier shots, but they're only worth two.
- [42:16]
Darius J. Butler
Only worth two.
- [42:17]
Pat McAfee
Everybody seemingly forgets they're only worth two. Those ones outside, those ones are worth more points. So if you shoot those, you have the odds on to have more points than the other team. Is that not what we're trying to do here?
- [42:29]
Boston Connor
No, I completely agree. You can also kick it out, you know, when the defense does collapse. But Bruce brought up Towns being in foul trouble early. Like the whole reason, granted, his third foul was definitely not a foul, but the whole reason he got two quick fouls is because they were driving to the lane and then them stopping. I mean, it is what it is. Live by the sword.
- [42:46]
Pat McAfee
Sword.
- [42:46]
Boston Connor
Dab of the sword, I trust. Missoula, I genuinely do think this is still a Celtics in five situation. We can rattle off four straight, but if you're making $300 million, just going to need you to make two or three more shots here. A pop if possible.
- [43:02]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. But 17 missed free throws for the Knicks.
- [43:04]
Boston Connor
It's a good point.
- [43:05]
Pat McAfee
Okay, so there's a chance they're only getting better too, over there. Let's pivot away from the NBA. And we appreciate the NBA. Okay. Legit. Appreciate everything you guys are doing right now. Great. Last night was electrifying. That flight home for me after Raw is normally pretty, you know, just trying to figure out what life is, trying to figure out what the show's going to be, getting a chance to catch up on those two games. I was like, thank you, Association. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Joining us now from the world of college football is. I'm going to read what Google says. ESPN's foremost college football playoff inside.
- [43:38]
Boston Connor
There you go.
- [43:38]
Pat McAfee
Ladies and gentlemen, writer, analyst, insider for ESPN for college football, friend of the program, Heather Dinich. How you doing, Heather?
- [43:48]
H
I'm good. Thanks for having me on.
- [43:50]
Pat McAfee
Thank you for taking such a late request and doing this in your car. Nice car, by the way. Hey, nice leather there, Heather. You nice leather there, Heather. You earned it. You've earned it. So let's dive in here pretty quickly because we know we're taking time out of your day. We thank you for doing. There's been some college football news that have kind of rattled out over the last couple days. First and foremost in Michigan, Shrone Moore self imposed two game suspension. They're doing that for games three and game four. Obviously they play Oklahoma game two, which is where coach Sharon Moore coached Or played, I believe maybe got his coaching career and obviously a much better team than maybe weeks three in week four. He is doing this because he deleted all his messages with Connor Stallions. And anytime there is a self imposed punishment, there's usually punishment coming from somebody else as well. How did we get to this point? I thought we were past all of this, Heather.
- [44:44]
H
Oh no. This is the soap opera that won't end, Pat. And it was one of the most interesting stories of the season when it broke, what was it, two seasons ago. And you know, to be honest with you, I would expect Michigan to do exactly what it did when this all happened, which is Michigan versus everybody. You remember how that turned out? Well, they went and they beat everybody. This is a different Michigan team than the one that won the national title though that year. They had so many guys come back and veteran guys. But I mean even without this, you would expect more from Michigan this season. But yes, it's, it's huge news. It's devastating for the program that they're continuing to have to deal with this. But at the end of the day, they're still beating Ohio State a couple of years in a row now and if they can do it again, that's it.
- [45:38]
Pat McAfee
Jeez. Yeah, the people of Ohio State obviously still thinking about that. Even though they won a national championship. They're still thinking about that. Let's talk about a national championship now. Texas obviously looking to win one of those. It has now been reported that they're potentially have a $40 million roster. Is this just what it is for college ball now? Because last year whenever we heard Ohio state had a 20 million dollar roster, we were all mind blown because it was the first time we had really heard a number in this new college football world. And then there was a bunch of other schools that were like, yeah, Ohio State has 20 million, definitely talk about them. While they had potentially a bigger roster or more expensive roster than anybody. Is this accurate and is this what it costs to play ball now at a high level in college ball?
- [46:21]
H
Heather, I can't tell you if it's accurate. I'm not going to pretend to say that I've seen any paperwork that breaks down specifically how much every player is getting paid at Texas. But to answer your question, yes, it costs money to win a national title. Millions and millions of dollars. But the thing that I don't think people realize about this is that programs even as wealthy as Texas, Ohio State, Alabama, the list goes on with the blue bloods. I don't think that this is Sustainable. Once you've got the NCAA house settlement in terms of this pending salary cap with about $20.5 million, how much longer? Also, I've talked to athletic directors who say there's booster fatigue over this. So at some point it feels like Wall street where a bubble is going to burst. But yes, this is the cost of doing business in college football to win a national title.
- [47:19]
Pat McAfee
Got Arch Manning at the helm. You got Sark, who was on a run last year until Jack Sawyer said give me that and took it the other way. The Texas people are okay with winning the national championship. Everybody's okay giving money unless it doesn't work. If it doesn't work, then you're going to get a little gun shy. And to your point about booster fatigue, every coach is telling every booster that if they give this money for this particular player, what do you get in return? You get a parking spot. You get a chance to maybe come to the game and we're going to wish well. What happens if you don't win? Well, that rich person is probably going to decide to spend their money on other things like cars with sweet, impeccable tan leather like Heather Dennis has. That money could go a lot of different places. So you got to win whenever you got it. Hopefully Sark is able to do that. Let's talk about the College Football Playoff where everybody's trying to get to ap. Tone has a question for you, Heather.
- [48:06]
Ty Schmidt
Yeah, Heather. In the first year of the 12 team playoff last year, the highest ranked conference championships got got the buys. Conference champion, sorry, got the buys. There was talk of potentially just the highest four ranked teams getting buys moving forward. Are we anywhere closer to that? Is there going to be any changes as far as the seating goes for this next upcoming playoff year?
- [48:27]
H
They're still trying to figure that out. What's amazing is that all of my sources have told me that within the room everyone agrees that the seeding should change and it has to be unanimous in order to change it for the this fall. But they're not ready to vote on it because there's politics involved. Right. They also have to figure out what the cowards going to look like in 2026 and beyond. Tell me how you really feel, Pat. Tell me how you really feel.
- [48:55]
Pat McAfee
That's how I feel this. I feel that there's too many cowards in the world today. You know, I feel like there's too many people that feel one thing, say something differently behind closed doors are on the right side of things. Publicly. I don't want to take the heat for it. As somebody who has taken a lot of shots to the shins for a lot of things and said a lot of things that a lot of other people have said, I feel like you are the cowards. Whenever you know that something needs to be changed, you have the power to make a change and you refuse to do so because you're scared of a little bit of a blowback. That's why you're put in those positions, Heather. That's why you are put in those seats to make the tough decisions. That's your job. And I hated hearing what you just said right there. Everybody behind closed doors says this is the right. But then they come up publicly and they're scared to do it. It's like, I don't like that. Not just sports. That happens in the world, obviously, as we all know. Heather.
- [49:45]
H
Well, it does. And they might still do it. They have another meeting coming up in June, so they're going to continue to talk about it. The question is, do they tie it in to 2026 and beyond? I think that when you talk about the next iteration of the playoff, if I had to guess, I would say it's probably going to go to 14 teams. Does it have automatic qualifiers? All the nitty gritty things are what they're trying to figure out. But the reality is Even, even in 2026 and beyond with 14 teams, you still have to seed the teams. So I'm having a hard time understanding why you can't change it for this fall and keep it that way. And to be clear, so your audience knows what it would be to change would be the top four teams in the ranking. Get the top four seeds doesn't mean you have to be a conference champion. So that means if you have Alabama And Georgia at 1 and 2, they get the 1 and 2 seeds.
- [50:44]
Pat McAfee
And conference championships still mean something. You can still get in the tournament. You just don't get, you know, a buy and then a home playoff game. That's a. I think they had a year one. It was good.
- [50:56]
Ty Schmidt
Yeah.
- [50:57]
Jamal Crawford
Yeah.
- [50:57]
Pat McAfee
I think you talk about fatigue. I think there was maybe some fatigue on when the games were how different deep the games went. I think people viewing habits were getting used to the College Football Playoff and how it went. But there was what there was pretty lopsided first round, then lopsided second round. I think the seating would help all of that. And I think we're all on the right side of it. So don't be cowards in there. Okay. You have a chance to make this better for all of us. Now, speaking about getting better for all of us, I think we see some glaring weaknesses in ball as a whole. Connor has a question for you.
- [51:26]
Boston Connor
Yeah, Heather. During the playoff it got pretty loud about the transfer window being open and players having to decide if they wanted to continue playing with, you know, their team that was in the playoff or go to a different school. And then we know there's also a, you know, April window that is open. Is there talks about possibly just one transfer portal window to avoid all these things, especially when it comes to kids looking for more money multiple times within a four month period.
- [51:53]
H
Yes, there's talk about that. And the ideal situation from coaches that I've talked to is one transfer portal and athletic directors. I talked to Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork about this actually just a couple of weeks ago and he said the ideal window, 10 day window, he thought would probably be in May. He said maybe you do another one later for spring sports, but May would be good for the fall sports. And he said that going back to the College Football Playoff, the thing that needs to be changed the most and reevaluated right now is the college football calendar. And making one 10 day transfer portal window is at the top of a lot of people's list.
- [52:31]
Pat McAfee
I think that would make everybody's life easier, including the players, you know, just scattering from school to school to school after a semester that's not good for anybody. So hopefully they're able to get the job done with the coaches would rather the April one obviously instead of the December one. And then in basketball, I think they would rather a different time for theirs as well. That's a college sports problem that they're having at the time. We assume it'll get fixed once again. Don't be cowards. Don't be cowards. You're in those positions to make decisions. Not everybody's going to love every move. But for the betterment of the game, for the betterment of the athletes, for the betterment of the sport, you're going to have to make a tough decision sometime. Coward. Now speaking of tough decisions, there was one that was made by a defensive coordinator. D. Butt has the last question for you here.
- [53:18]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah, we got the opportunity to watch firsthand kind of boots on the ground. Ohio State dominate the playoffs and go on a run to be the national championships, national champions. And the big reason was Jim Knowles. I saw you posted earlier, you got a chance to talk to him about his move to Penn State. What kind of went in is that?
- [53:36]
H
I Did. I sat down with Jim in his office at Penn State last month, and he told me that it boiled down to the timing of Ohio State's contract extension offer. He said had Ohio State. State offered him a contract extension before the national championship game, he would not have considered other options. But that didn't happen. And so everything happened quickly. After the national championship game, the door opened to explore other opportunities. He reached out to Penn State, where he's from, you know, Philly. He grew up a Penn State fan. A lot of it made sense. And $3.1 million also helped help seal the deal. So Penn State got a huge hire. I would call it maybe the best coordinator hire of the off season. And it'll be interesting to see how much his knowledge of Ohio State helps the Nittany Lions this fall.
- [54:32]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, and obviously he wasn't able to beat Michigan there, so, you know, that's. That's a problem Penn State has. He came over from where, Oklahoma State. Right. As soon as he got to Ohio State, Ohio State's defense got a lot better. Everybody thought the defense was the problem. He comes in, they inevitably become a national champion. Allegedly, he had a deal done, like, a year before, then he wanted a new deal, obviously, because of how great we're doing. They were kind of, what, dragging their feet. And he said, these jobs are getting filled quick. I need to think about me. Wasn't even allowed to go to the parade.
- [55:01]
Ty Schmidt
No, he was not.
- [55:02]
Pat McAfee
Wasn't even allowed to go to the parade.
- [55:03]
Boston Connor
He was trying to leave.
- [55:04]
Pat McAfee
He was. Well, they turned his back on a Buckeye one. Ohio State of Ohio. Yeah.
- [55:10]
Darius J. Butler
No booster fatigue, Penn State, huh?
- [55:12]
Pat McAfee
None at all. Penn State's never going to have booster fatigue until they get a national championship. They are on the hunt. They can pay anybody anything, from what I've been told. So if I had a kid who was a dog, I would at least give a call up to Penn State. You guys got how many millions? All of them. Okay, sweet. I think they're going to be a problem. Ohio State's office could be a problem. Texas going to be a problem. Oregon's going to be a problem. In West Virginia's back. Heather. That's what I'm hearing. You hearing the same thing.
- [55:35]
Darius J. Butler
Think.
- [55:37]
H
Is that true?
- [55:39]
Pat McAfee
Okay, Heather. All right. We got the throwback jerseys. We just announced. They look clean. That's your golden blue right there, D. Okay.
- [55:48]
Boston Connor
How many wins?
- [55:49]
Darius J. Butler
What year is that from?
- [55:50]
Pat McAfee
1965.
- [55:51]
Darius J. Butler
Okay, that's. Let me see the helmet again.
- [55:55]
Pat McAfee
Kind of look like the Green Bay Packers. Like yeah, they're alternate jerseys.
- [55:58]
Boston Connor
Yeah, those poopy ones.
- [55:59]
Pat McAfee
Heather. Indiana going to be okay. They have to refill as well.
- [56:03]
H
You know, I think that Illinois is going to be this year's Indiana. If I'm being honest with you, I. I really like what B has coming back. They've got a quarterback, they've got 18 starters, they've got all their stars back on the offensive line, and they don't play Oregon, Michigan or Penn State. I think that's right. So they have that schedule like, like Indiana had last year. So look out for the Illini.
- [56:26]
Pat McAfee
Oh, Indiana had that Iowa schedule and now Illinois's got the Iowa schedule. That's awesome. Awesome. I can't wait for college ball. We appreciate you taking time. Enjoy the offseason. Ladies and gentlemen, Heather Dinaich.
- [56:37]
Boston Connor
Thank you, Heather.
- [56:42]
Pat McAfee
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- [57:43]
Darius J. Butler
This episode is brought to you by State Farm. You might say all kinds of stuff when things go wrong, but these are the words you really need to to remember.
- [57:50]
Pat McAfee
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
- [57:53]
Darius J. Butler
They've got options to fit your unique insurance needs, meaning you can talk to your agent to choose the coverage you need. Have coverage options to protect the things you value most, File a claim right on the State Farm mobile app and.
- [58:06]
Pat McAfee
Even reach a real person when you need to talk to someone.
- [58:09]
Darius J. Butler
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
- [58:16]
Pat McAfee
Sports are happening all around us. The NBA and the NHL have been showing up every single night. We can't thank them enough for what they're doing this evening in the NBA. We got the Pacers taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland the second game of that series. The Cleveland Cavaliers were supposed to beat the hell out of the Pacers and Tyrese Halliburton and the boys went into Cleveland and stole Game one in dominating fashion. Will they be able to do it again? We shall see. Then you have the Golden State warriors taking on Ant man and the Timber Timberwolves late night 9:30 on TNT and TruTV. Steph Curry is playing an electrifying style of basketball again. Jimmy Butler has added something special for the Steve Kerr team. Draymond Green still exists and Ant man interacting with them is going to be must watch from beginning to end. Shout out to the NBA showing up tonight. Then the NHL have a couple big time game ones. The Carolina Hurricane will travel to Washington to take on Alexander Ovechkin, the greatest goal scorer in the history of hockey. Tom Wilson, the greatest menace in the history of hockey in the Washington Capitals. How will that game fare? We shall see. 7:00 clock tonight on ESPN and the Edmonton Oilers who Ryan Whitney is pulling for take on the Golden Knights of Las Vegas at 9:30 on ESPN tonight. Tonight is packed with playoff sports and we're so incredibly lucky that we get a chance to chit chat about it every single day. The NFL obviously always happening. Adam Peters, the general manager of the Washington Commanders will join us in about 17 minutes or so. Can't wait to catch up with him. He had a great draft. He got a guy in the fourth round that ran a 43440 and people are considering the greatest returner in all of college ball and also a man who won a humanitarian of a State of Virginia award. I I have no idea how Jalen Lane was still available at pick 128 but I can't wait to chat with Adam Peters about how surprised he was that that was the case. What he did at the combine, the human he is, the amount of yards he put up and the fact that they are loading up for Jaden Daniels. This feels like a home run draft for Adam Peters and that was in the fourth round. I can't wait to hear what he thinks about the offensive tackle they took in the first round, the DB they took in the second round and then how they cleaned it up and then also the big time trade to kind of solidify not only the offensive line but some weapons for Jaden Daniels as he enters season two after a historic rookie season. Man, the Washington Commanders were Literally worried about poop pipes persons. A couple years ago.
- [60:41]
Boston Connor
Yeah, now they got it all.
- [60:43]
Pat McAfee
Every other day the Washington Commanders had a new hit piece being released from some publication trying to take down their building, their culture, their ownership, their players, their everything. Even the cheerleaders at one point were a part of a lot of these entire conversation. Not good at all. None of it was good. A lot of it was very serious. A lot of terribleness. And then Schneider sells the team, the Josh Harris, Magic Johnson and team and all of a sudden the Washington Commanders become a favorite in the NFC East, a favorite in the NFC as a whole and a favorite of ours to watch play. And whenever they build that new stadium with the renderings that are kind of being placed out there in Washington D.C. at the old stomping grounds RFK. That place is going to be glorious. Think of the concert center about the happen. Everything that's going to take place in the country's capital with that beautiful stadium coming to town. If you look back a few years ago, there was no chance anybody was going to okay any public money going to the Washington football team or to the Washington Commanders under previous ownership. What a turnaround. Cannot wait to hear from Adam Peterson what it's been like on inside the building. Feeling that all happen. Obviously Dan Quinn's the right head coaching candidate. Cliff Kingsbury has been a great offensive a coordinator for him, a tone setter. Adam Peters, seemingly a genius, you know, and he used to work for John lynch over there at the ners. Got a text from John lynch. Actually it said take care of my guy Peters today. Can't wait to watch the conversation. I told John lynch immediately need you back on the show. He said, let's do it. We'll see whenever that happens. But whenever you think about a guy who comes from the Pats, then he's with the Broncos, Then he was with the ners, now he's with the Commanders. Seen a lot of good ball, seen a lot of good moves. He's seemingly making a bunch of them. Can't wait to catch up with him here in a matter of moments. Talks tables here at Boston Connor and at Ty Schmidt. Ty, you think Connor's going to get signed from that video he put on social media of him shooting some threes after The Boston Celtics go 15 of 60 last night from three point land in game one against the New York Knicks?
- [62:27]
AJ Hawk
There's certainly a chance, but I think probably less, less so for hitting the threes and finishing through contact with the Euro. Step on the finish there. I mean that's what they need. You know, they got plenty of guys, guys on their team, on their bench. They can go out there and chuck threes and miss them.
- [62:41]
Pat McAfee
Chuck threes? He's not chucking threes, but that's what he's making.
- [62:44]
AJ Hawk
That's what I'm saying, though.
- [62:45]
Pat McAfee
I don't even think he hit the rim. He hit the rim on one of these.
- [62:47]
AJ Hawk
We mentioned it. They're not going to miss 45 threes again. That's not going to happen.
- [62:52]
Pat McAfee
That's what they need.
- [62:53]
AJ Hawk
That's what they need. They need a guy who's going to Euro step, finish through contact, gets the foul line, make his free throws. That's what they need if they want to, you know, win this series. And that's what this guy can provide. So I don't know. I mean, the balls in Brad Stevens, Joe Missoula's court, they've seen the footage, so we'll. We'll see. Do they want to win another championship?
- [63:10]
Pat McAfee
Do they? How about how terrible they played and it went to overtime?
- [63:14]
Boston Connor
Oh, yeah.
- [63:14]
Pat McAfee
That's why you guys got a fuel like Joe Missoula last night was probably doing jiu jitsu till about 4am just choking head off of people and snapping bats. I assume with leg locks and everything he had going on, he got it out of him. He. He probably whipped himself, you know, whatever all that stuff is Joe Mazzulla does to keep himself, yourself locked in. And it's like we played the absolute worst, historically worst game that our style of basketball has ever played.
- [63:37]
Boston Connor
Yes.
- [63:37]
Pat McAfee
Most misses in the history of shooting threes. Most attempts in history of shooting threes. We're the worst of all time at our style of basketball. And it got to overtime and it was a very close game. It was tied 100, 100. For what seemingly was 20 minutes. Oh, yeah, Me and Michael Cole are obviously sitting at commentary desk. A lot is happening in Monday Night Raw. Last night's Monday Night Raw was crazy. There was a World Heavyweight Championship match on Monday Night Raw on Netflix. And what a match it was then. Obviously all hell breaks loose at the end. CM Punk's back, by the way, with a chair. Great to see him.
- [64:10]
AJ Hawk
Unbelievable.
- [64:10]
Pat McAfee
Kind of do his Jey uso. Sammy and CM Punk standing tall together staring down this Paul Heyman, Seth Freakin Rollins, Braun Breaker group that I think is up to no good. But we had the score of the game on the ESPN app on a phone in between us, and we looked over there. He's a Knicks fan and it was 100, 100. A lot of things happened in the ring. We look over 100, 100. So we were thinking that maybe the phone was frozen. Refresh, refresh, refresh. No. State of the Hondo stated a hundo. This game was tight. Obviously gets to overtime and inevitably the New York Knicks get a massive win over the Boston Celtics. And the shooting charts have been obviously talked about today. The strategy has been talked about today, but not a lot of people have been chit and chatting about the fact that this New York Knicks team is just filled with dogs. They got dogs all over the place. And to go into Boston, God, and, and get a win is a feed in of itself. And to beat this particular Boston team and force this Boston team to shoot so terribly, you know, is. Is obviously something they're going to hope and pray for going forward.
- [65:12]
Boston Connor
Yeah, it should be a good series. I have already blocked Michael Cole. His number rather. I don't want to hear from him again. It was pretty annoying after the game last night. But to your point, the worst thing that could happen is for them to stop doing this. Like, I wasn't kidding when I asked Jamal Crawford, hey, should we shoot 73 next game? Like double, triple down, personally, and I don't know how everybody feels because every year in the playoffs it seems like now people will just start burying Joe Missoula for fun. I trust him with my life. So both fighting and coaching, both fighting, both coaching, running, basically anything that Joe Missoula does, I trust him to get the job done. So I, I want, and I hope that he does come out and say, like, oh yeah, we're going to, we're going to shoot 75 times. And hopefully it'll be one of those press conferences after game two, like, oh, no one's going to ask me about the adjustments I made. And then he stands up and walks off like he did last year. Year in the playoffs.
- [66:08]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, I, I appreciate the way the Celtics team is covered, not talked about all year.
- [66:13]
Boston Connor
Yes.
- [66:14]
Pat McAfee
Then we get to the playoffs. Well, they should just beat everybody. Wait a minute, they didn't. Oh, this team sucks. This team's terrible. It's like the mass holes have had a lot in the sports world to be arrogant about. The mass holes in sports have had a lot to talk about. The mass holes in sports have had a lot of shade thrown their way for the amount of success that they've had. But they just keep stacking chips on the shoulders of these Boston Celtics. They're in irrelevant conversation all season even though they're damn good Remember, the Cleveland Cavaliers this year were the team in the East. Not saying they're not. Still could be in tonight's game against the Pacers. I don't think it goes the same way as the first game, but doesn't matter. Pacers stole one in Cleveland. But then we get to the playoffs and it's like, well, this team isn't who we thought they were. It was like, well, what do we think they were? Well, we thought they were the best team in the league. Well, why didn't you talk about them all season then? And it's like, well, because they're the. Why would we talk about it?
- [67:07]
Boston Connor
Yeah, we'll talk about them during the playoffs.
- [67:08]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. And then whenever they. It's. It's a very fascinating kind of social conversation about the Boston Celtics, legitimately. Tatum's a guy. He's about to be a gold medalist, you know, not again.
- [67:21]
Boston Connor
I mean, he is.
- [67:22]
Pat McAfee
I know he's an Olympic gold medalist, but he wasn't really.
- [67:24]
Darius J. Butler
He'll go back.
- [67:25]
Pat McAfee
I don't know, but he really wasn't used. He's a national. He's a world champion. He's an mvp Brown also. It's like they have all these guys and none of these guys are talked about every single day in the lexicon of the NBA. It's the complete opposite of that, actually. So I. I'm pumped to see what Joe Missoula does to bounce back from this loss. And I'm also excited to see if the Knicks can continue to hang in there, because that feels like that's what the Knicks do is they kind of get you dirty. They're not scared to fight you, and they'll get a big time win. So congrats to them last night. One half of the Hammer done. Cowboys AP Tone is here. Nine year NFL that Darius J. Butler is here. That's cool. Sweatsuit.
- [68:00]
Darius J. Butler
Thank you.
- [68:00]
Pat McAfee
Always.
- [68:00]
Darius J. Butler
Is that swooshy or is that cool kind of swooshy? Like, swooshy would make it.
- [68:06]
Pat McAfee
Like if you're a rub your legs, we'd hear you coming.
- [68:10]
Darius J. Butler
Windbreaker. Kind of. Kind of a hybrid.
- [68:13]
Pat McAfee
Weather's turning out here. It's beautiful.
- [68:15]
Boston Connor
Yes, it is.
- [68:15]
Pat McAfee
Weather is turning out here. Felt like as I was going in for landing this morning, there might have been a little bit of a wind gust or the pilots were just deciding to get us down to earth as fast. As fast as possible.
- [68:24]
AJ Hawk
Sure.
- [68:24]
Pat McAfee
It was a. When I could feel the lean on the plane, I'm like, oh, we're getting down quick or whatever. And then obviously when I'm like, I opened the door just to see if there's any panic up there, no panic at all. I guess there was massive amount of wind shears, turbulence from I guess a couple thousand feet level. So we're trying to get down through it and out of it. I could have got a heads up beforehand, but I did have the doors closed. We're going. The weather is starting to really change. It's about to become beautiful time. I think it's gonna be 80 degrees on Sunday here in Indiana. It's beautiful. I hope the rest of the Midwest is experiencing that because when the sun's out, you can't help but be happy. When there's this many sports on. Can't help but be happy when there's this much shit to kind of enjoy life with. You can't help but be happy. Joining us now is a man who might be happy being a journalist, an insider, and maybe he got us a little bit more information. He's a college football national champion, a Super bowl champion, a Ryder cup winner, ladies and gentlemen, in an attic in Ohio. AJ Haw.
- [69:24]
Adam Peters
Celtics gonna shoot 100 threes next game. You know that.
- [69:26]
Pat McAfee
Agreed. And they're probably gonna make 80 of them. Quick math. 220, 400 points.
- [69:32]
Boston Connor
Yep, yep.
- [69:33]
Ty Schmidt
2400.
- [69:34]
Boston Connor
Probably no.
- [69:35]
Pat McAfee
240 points.
- [69:37]
Boston Connor
Count for 30.
- [69:38]
Pat McAfee
240 points. What was, what was it?
- [69:42]
Adam Peters
What's that? Oh, the ring situation.
- [69:44]
Boston Connor
Yeah.
- [69:45]
Adam Peters
Shocking. You know, no update from, from this situation. I'm not gonna lie.
- [69:49]
Pat McAfee
You know he went left over right hand on purpose. We know he did. Did you tell him that? Did you say, hey, we know you did that on purpose whenever you were taking the photos. We know that you knew people were going to see this. Is this an aura ring or is there something you didn't press at all on this overnight like we all thought your homework assignment was going to be?
- [70:07]
Adam Peters
No, surprisingly enough, I did not press him on this last night. Didn't. Didn't come back and really try to dig to get to the bottom of.
- [70:14]
Pat McAfee
It, not respect it. Well, whenever you get that answer, let us know. The world will wait a baited breath. Did you guys play catch down there? Not of footballs, but if anything, was there any throwing of anything by Aaron Rodgers? How's the arm look?
- [70:25]
Adam Peters
I mean, I didn't see him really throw anything, but, you know, he, he has that, that lightning quick release. And like I said, he does look good physically. He's definitely in shape. In shape, taking care of himself.
- [70:34]
Pat McAfee
Oh, is he jacked up so is he super jocked like he was last year? We saw a super jocked.
- [70:38]
Boston Connor
Some people said, yeah, you know, fought.
- [70:41]
Ty Schmidt
Nobody said that.
- [70:42]
Boston Connor
So I saw people say Aaron Rodgers looks fought.
- [70:45]
Pat McAfee
They're saying he looked out of shape. Yeah, well, A.J. was right there next to him.
- [70:49]
Adam Peters
He does not. No, he, you know, and how he especially like off season there, he's always tan now. He's in great shape right now.
- [70:55]
Pat McAfee
Okay, what were the conversations like? Did you talk ball or were you guys just talking how horse betting the entire time?
- [71:02]
Adam Peters
I mean, mainly horse betting and everything else, but not, not a whole lot of ball. I mean, obviously it's a, it's a fun, lively group, but yeah, not a ton of ball being talked.
- [71:09]
Pat McAfee
What did Money Team Ed have to say in his little bow tie? Do you say, hey, we're making a decision sooner. What are we doing here? We can sell some sponsorships, we can make some magic happen.
- [71:18]
Adam Peters
Yeah, I tell you what, Ed, Ed is awesome. Ed is great at what he does.
- [71:21]
Jamal Crawford
I.
- [71:21]
Adam Peters
What? Honestly, I sit there and pepper Ed with questions about, like I said, are you like representing high school players? And that whole situation with agents in college and high school and dealing with parents, like, that was very, very interesting for me to hear how these agents and how parents.
- [71:36]
Pat McAfee
That's what you should be asking about good high school kids.
- [71:39]
Boston Connor
Yeah, you asshole, aj.
- [71:41]
Adam Peters
Yeah, of course.
- [71:42]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. I mean, I appreciate you doing that legitimately. Let's talk some NFL stuff here before Adam Peters joins us. Michael Strahan, legend and Eli Manning, legend, legend. Are both kind of vying for an ownership stake of the Giants, but separately, they both, I assume, been approached by different money groups and I assume Mara has made it pretty public that he is willing to give up the 10% stake that the NFL owners voted to approve where you can get basically like financial funds, money investing in the team. So the NFL owners were never going to allow people to just get these slush funds of money coming and buy a team because some of these funds have billions, if not damn near trillions of dollars in it. All these rich people put all their money together, there's a bunch of them and they just buy shit up. So they kind of own everything. Now, is it a part of the problem of society? Potentially? Is it a reality of society? Yes. So the NFL voted that, yeah, you can actually take some the of these funds money, only 10%, so they can't be in control. So every ownership group basically looked at it and like, so I can just get like 600 some million dollars right now from A fund and nothing changes in my life. And they're like, absolutely, oh, we want to vote that through or no. And everybody, yes, we would like to vote that through because you're able to get just a massive amount of cash without giving up any of the control, without losing anything. And if this continues to be a cash wagon, the funds are going to get their money back and you're going to make it even more money because the way the NFL is headed, so you're just basically giving yourself a 600, 700 million dollar bonus just by allowing these funds to do this investment. Now two different funds have decided to maybe try to sweeten the pot for Mara. Look, you love Eli Manning. He's our guy. And then on the other side, look, you love Michael Strahan. He's our guy. I think Peyton was tied to a couple in Denver that were trying to make it in there. There. This might be the new move in. Darius, myself and AJ Would like, and the boys would like to let you know if you need a face for any of your funds that are hundreds of millions of dollars to get a percentage of a team, we would love to be a part of it. Yes. Yeah, we certainly say yeah. Well, I don't know what else Eli or Strahan are doing.
- [73:56]
Boston Connor
Go team.
- [73:57]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. But if you need us to do that, we will certainly sign up for it. And now we find out who Mara likes more. Oh, does he like Strahan more or does he like Eli Manning? AJ Hawk, I think we know.
- [74:08]
Adam Peters
Why can't we put them both in the same fun, Put them both together. Why don't we do that? Well, what's wrong with this?
- [74:12]
Pat McAfee
That would have made sense. That would have made sense to get them both and, you know, maybe David Tyree gets, gets lumped alongside. Maybe they start building up a team.
- [74:20]
Boston Connor
Brandon Jacobs.
- [74:20]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, Brandon Jacobs. Maybe Ahmad Bradshaw put him in there. We need him. Lt certainly get on a group. Yeah. So I, I don't love, love that they're on different groups. I wish they were on the same side like what you were saying, but I think this is just going to become new status quo here in the NFL. These funds are going to be trying to get a percentage of the team and you have to win over the ownership of the team to get that because they're the ones picking. The numbers are probably pretty much, this is what the number is. This is what the number is. So now it's just like, how do you sweeten the pot? How do you get the ownership to say, you know, yes, and how do you become the one that gets the percentage of the team versus anybody else at Eli Manning? Maybe that'll help, huh? You like what? Eli. Eli. Remember, he didn't want to be a charger. He loved this place. He said, let me be a Giant. And then Strangan spends his entire historic career over there and represents the Giants. But he was, wasn't he, with the Eagles?
- [75:13]
Boston Connor
Yeah, he was doing that with the Eagles.
- [75:15]
Pat McAfee
Oh, no.
- [75:16]
I
I mean.
- [75:19]
Pat McAfee
Good Morning America or a $100,000 pyramid. He host as well. Great show. He does a great job. He's all over everything.
- [75:25]
Darius J. Butler
Oh, yeah, yeah.
- [75:26]
Pat McAfee
You would want Giants ownership out there publicly. Eli Manning does the Manning cast, though.
- [75:30]
Darius J. Butler
Pretty visible, too.
- [75:31]
Pat McAfee
I like players getting ownership, though.
- [75:33]
Darius J. Butler
I love Richard Seymour. I think he's a part of the ownership group with Las Vegas alongside Brady. I love players getting into. Into the Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady with the Bills. So a lot of players. Who's that? I'm sorry.
- [75:46]
Pat McAfee
Soccer player. Josie Altador.
- [75:48]
Darius J. Butler
Oh, okay.
- [75:48]
Boston Connor
MLM legend.
- [75:49]
Pat McAfee
Super business.
- [75:50]
Darius J. Butler
Okay. Just learned something new. So. Yeah, I love. I love these guys getting into it as well.
- [75:54]
Pat McAfee
What do you mean, just learn something new?
- [75:55]
Boston Connor
He's freaking lying.
- [75:56]
Darius J. Butler
I didn't know who. I didn't know who he was. I'm glad.
- [75:58]
Pat McAfee
What's his name?
- [75:59]
Darius J. Butler
Joseph Alador.
- [76:01]
Pat McAfee
Close.
- [76:01]
Ty Schmidt
One of the best US Strikers of all.
- [76:03]
Boston Connor
Say one more time, Josie out to door. And don't get it wrong again.
- [76:08]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, cuz you'll be out the door.
- [76:12]
Darius J. Butler
Who you play for?
- [76:13]
Pat McAfee
America.
- [76:14]
Ty Schmidt
U.S. national team.
- [76:16]
Boston Connor
The New York Red Bulls.
- [76:17]
Pat McAfee
I'm going to be honest though. Josie out the door was a pillar of the United States soccer team for a long time. Played a long time. I believe he played in the mls. He's like part owner of a lot of things. I have no idea where this guy got his money, but I am a massive fan of whatever he's doing.
- [76:33]
Darius J. Butler
Connection.
- [76:35]
Pat McAfee
There's something here in Indianapolis, they're like, josie out the door is part owner here. I'm like, this guy own everything. How does he have the bit? I don't know. How has he been able to do it? But Josie's business sense, I think 10, 20 years from now, probably going to be looked back on and be like.
- [76:48]
Darius J. Butler
This guy to golfer. Sorry, what does he golf at all?
- [76:52]
AJ Hawk
I would assume so.
- [76:54]
Darius J. Butler
Rubbing shoulders. Rubbing elbows.
- [76:55]
Pat McAfee
Hey, you guys need a network.
- [76:57]
Ty Schmidt
You guys need some great years at.
- [76:58]
I
Sunderland as well in the Premier League.
- [77:00]
Darius J. Butler
Oh, okay.
- [77:01]
Pat McAfee
So he had Sunderland money. Okay, I'll tell you what, that's Sunderland money.
- [77:05]
Ty Schmidt
He's an investor in the new TGL league, so.
- [77:07]
Pat McAfee
Bingo. That's what I'm saying, Bill is the TGL league. I think some training academy that's here in Indianapolis.
- [77:13]
Darius J. Butler
He makes sense now.
- [77:14]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, Josie. Out the doors everywhere. He's got his fingerprints on everything. He's like soccer's Magic Johnson. Yeah, he is. Have you heard the news about Concave Gumpy? What do you got? You haven't heard?
- [77:26]
Boston Connor
Okay, here we go. Oh, is it canceled?
- [77:33]
Adam Peters
Don't do it up there.
- [77:35]
Pat McAfee
That's right. Is it? It's not cancer cancel yet.
- [77:39]
Boston Connor
Oh, no.
- [77:40]
Pat McAfee
He's got new boots. We have send them back. We've had some heartbreak within the comp.
- [77:46]
Ty Schmidt
Oh, no.
- [77:48]
Pat McAfee
We've had some heartbreak within the comp. We've had some. There's been some injuries to some key players. Have you heard about these guys?
- [77:55]
Ty Schmidt
I haven't heard a damn thing.
- [77:56]
Pat McAfee
Oh, man. Late night text last night saying, hey, bang, bang. Probably down and out Gourd. Not. Gordo's never going to get hurt. Okay. Meat was just draining pots, so it can't be him. Meat will never get hurt as well. I think I know. That's all it matters.
- [78:10]
Boston Connor
Oh, no, no.
- [78:11]
Pat McAfee
It's stabber ragged. No, not Zach. A guy you know very well.
- [78:17]
Boston Connor
Cameron.
- [78:19]
Pat McAfee
Cameron's out.
- [78:20]
AJ Hawk
You can't play without the captain.
- [78:21]
Pat McAfee
I know. I was canceled talking to this guy all day. Don't want to tell me. Yeah, I think he thinks he's maybe going to be able to battle through, but I think there is some real worry about Cameron's availability.
- [78:31]
Ty Schmidt
You guys did it without him last year.
- [78:33]
Pat McAfee
No, we did not. He actually.
- [78:35]
Ty Schmidt
He got hurt and we lost.
- [78:37]
Pat McAfee
We lost when he got hurt. Jeff Cameron was our guy. A lot of attention on Meat for good reason. He was unbelievable. Hoff, obviously fantastic. Gordo doing his thing. The arena boys were certainly magnificent for Conceifa. Legit loved watching them play. It was a great time hanging out with him. But Jeff Cameron was the heart and soul of that entire team. He was playing with a torn mcl last year. Wasn't able to kick the ball with the inside of his foot. Had to literally kick with the outside of his foot the entire time. Then whenever we needed a goal, we needed one, he said, ah, screw it. Hits it with the inside of his foot, scores. Rips his entire knee for the good of Conceifa. Crashes onto the turf, gets carried off the field, tore his knee.
- [79:20]
Boston Connor
People clapping.
- [79:20]
Pat McAfee
Score. He got to stand up. He should have.
- [79:22]
Boston Connor
Yeah.
- [79:22]
Pat McAfee
The guy knew he was going to tear his knee to score a goal for us. Didn't play again, we lose Captain America.
- [79:28]
Ty Schmidt
Good news.
- [79:28]
Pat McAfee
You heard?
- [79:28]
Ty Schmidt
Gump's got his boots. He'll step right in.
- [79:30]
Adam Peters
Yeah.
- [79:31]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Gumps is certainly a leader. And Gumps is certainly a very important part of Concave. His vibes, his energy, his attitude, I would say, certainly helps. But I don't love that we're potentially missing Jeff Cameron. He's not the only one, brother. He's not the only one. No, no, no, no, no, no.
- [79:48]
Boston Connor
Yeah, if it was the. Those two, Breck and Jeff.
- [79:50]
Pat McAfee
Call it. No. Yeah, Breck will be there. Give Steve Nash a call. That's the guy you need. Steve said he was willing to play.
- [79:57]
Darius J. Butler
There was.
- [79:57]
Pat McAfee
After two bottles of wine, this tall.
- [79:59]
Ty Schmidt
Guy'S playing this year.
- [80:00]
Pat McAfee
Knight is playing. Yeah, he's back. All right, ladies and gentlemen, pivot away from concave Red Boots. Red Boots will be out there. Let's. Let's pivot away from conc. Okay. Which is a brand that is going through, a team that is going through some changes right now. Now, obviously, we have some adversity. We will have to get through it, get past it. We'll be stronger on the other side. There's a team in Washington that had adversity. I mean, I don't think there's ever been a professional team that has had more adversity. Their ownership was hated by everybody. Seemingly, their team had been completely left behind by their own fan base. Everybody thought that this place was a dump. And not only just a dump, as the way they were operating, but their stadium was actually dumping dumps on people as their pipes were bursting. And there was no chance of a new stadium being built because nobody wanted to do business with these people. Then comes the sale of a team. Then comes new ownership. Then comes new everything. And all of a sudden, this team is hot to trot. New stadium coming, new team coming. And the new general manager that had been tasked with building this entire thing up started with the Patriots, then he went to the Broncos, then he was with the Niners. Now the general manager of the Washington Commanders, ladies and gentlemen, Adam Peters.
- [81:16]
I
Hey, what's up, guys? What's going on?
- [81:18]
Pat McAfee
Hey, I. I heard that you caught the tail end of our conceifa conversation there. We got some very, very, very important, crucial parts of our team injured here just about a month before a tournament. So we're going to have to make some good decisions. Any help you can send our way, we will certainly take it. Josh.
- [81:38]
I
I think. I think you guys got to learn about Leeds United football team going into the Premier League.
- [81:44]
Pat McAfee
Is that your big, big deal? Are you, are you a football guy? A football guy? Do you pay attention?
- [81:49]
Jamal Crawford
Yeah.
- [81:49]
Pat McAfee
Awesome.
- [81:50]
I
It's awesome. And Leeds, we just got promoted, so I'm proud investor of Leeds United football team. We're going to be playing against Josh Harris's Crystal palace, so it's going to.
- [82:00]
Pat McAfee
Be a lot of fun. Okay, well, good luck to your team and J.J. watts Watts Burnley team does what it did the last time it got promoted. That'll be an easy win for you guys. And then they'll be dropping right back down into the second league. I said Josh there, and you just mentioned Josh Harris. Let's talk about that. Whenever he comes in, he's tasked with flipping a brand back into something that is likable for the fans, for the city, for the league, you name it. What has it been like to be within that building while you guys are going through this, like, resurgence of relevancy and almost a resurgence of affability for the program? How have you maintained focus on building a team while also understanding that this isn't just about football, it's about the entirety of the operation?
- [82:41]
I
Yeah, I think that was one of the biggest reasons why I really, really wanted to have this job. And the fact that this is a cornerstone franchise, the NFL, a place where, you know, growing up, this, this was a team you were watching, hearing about D.C. in the area and our RFK and then coming in, Josh being the owner and us having. And him having that vision of bringing this back, being a steward of this DMV area and just really was appealing to me. So I really, really wanted to get this job. And so far it's been awesome. I mean, being a part of this, being just around everything that's happening, all the excitement, the stadium, the draft, now just really feel really grateful and thankful that I'm here.
- [83:24]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, it feels like there's a positive momentum behind everything that you're doing. That all begins and ends with how great Jaden Daniels was in his first year. And how did that kind of feel knowing that you got the guy immediately? Almost what week into the season did you know that Jaden Daniels was going to be the cornerstone of a cornerstone franchise for probably the next couple decades here?
- [83:49]
I
Wow. I think it was just a process of everything. From the moment he got in here, the moment we flew him in for interviewing for him after we drafted him, and he wanted to go through the playbook while he was here, and he's doing like drop backs on the plane back to flying back to la. And just every step of the way, you could see the humility that he had, the work ethic that he had, just the way he connected with his teammates. Out the fields are right over here, like out on the grass. And the way he went about everything. He earned everything he had. And so it was just kind of a step by step process, but you could feel it right away what a special person he was.
- [84:27]
Pat McAfee
Okay, in first round this year, draft, you go with a big guy out of Oregon, offensive tackle Josh Connerly Jr. There was a letter from Cliff Kingsbury that you showcased on draft night that he showed up and said, hey, take the big guy from Oregon, okay? We need to protect him. You couple that alongside a trade that you made. Take this off season with Tunsil. Felt like, was this a focal point for you? We need to solidify the people in front of our superstar, Jaden Daniels, or was this a situation where you couldn't believe he was available?
- [84:59]
I
I think it was both, really. I think in the off season when. When we had the opportunity to get Tunsil, which, you know, it doesn't come around that often to get a blue chip left tackle, one of the best left tackles in the league, so we felt that was an opportunity that we didn't want to pass up. And for the reasons you're talking about, like, we want to protect Jaden, and really, he's. He's the cornerstone of our franchise. We want to make sure we're protecting him. And then. So we got that done, and then we really wanted Connerly. And that letter is cool because, you know, Cliff, he watched.
- [85:31]
Pat McAfee
He's.
- [85:32]
I
He's a tireless worker. It's unbelievable how much he works. And as he's doing draft prep, he's also watching college teams for different plays and different. Different, like, scheme and just different things you can learn from them so we can implement into what we do. And he watched a lot of Oregon, so he said, I. I watched every single snap of Oregon. And, like, he usually just watches, like, the skill guys, the quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends, running backs. And so he left that note on my desk. He came by to say, what's up? And just wrote that down, left it on my desk. Was like, all right, well, if Cliff wants this guy, I'm good.
- [86:06]
Pat McAfee
How about Josh Carnelly, no matter what. What? You know, draft day, seemingly from Cliff Kingsbury to you. I thought there was a chance. He wrote like, 30 different letters, though.
- [86:15]
Darius J. Butler
Just in case, you know?
- [86:16]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Make sure this, make sure this, make sure this. So you Would have a letter for it. I appreciate the fact that it's all hands on deck over there, and it feels like your culture is a great one. Were you worried that Cliff was going to leave, or did you know that Cliff had it good right now? And maybe another year with Jaden in that offense could be some. Something special under Dan Quinn as opposed to taking on all the challenges of becoming a head coach again. Feel like a lot of people wanted Cliff to be their head coach this offseason.
- [86:43]
I
Yeah, and rightfully so.
- [86:44]
Darius J. Butler
He's.
- [86:44]
I
He's a great coach and he's a great person. But I think what's cool about here is what the culture DQ has created where people want to be here, people want to stay here, they're having fun working, they're having fun playing. So it makes it an easy decision. If it's not your perfect role that you want to move up to, whether it's head coach or something else, you have a great home here. And really, that's how I felt when I was in San Francisco under John lynch, where I really loved being there. But if there was the great opportunity came like it did with Washington, then I could take it. But if not, then, you know, I'm really, really happy here. And that's the culture that DQ has created within the staff here.
- [87:20]
Pat McAfee
I love that lynch sent me a text today saying, hey, be good to Adam Peters. He's my guy. So he's obviously still watching and probably learning a little bit bit from everything that you're doing. And you guys did some business. D butt has a question for you.
- [87:32]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah. Talking about that business you did with John lynch and The San Francisco 49ers trade for Deebo Sam, and you were talking about Cliff and his offense and the Oregon offense, and it kind of blends well with what Deebo does. Getting that ball in his hands early, he's a nightmare. I know for DBs when he has that ball in space. I believe you guys led the league. And hurry up, offense plays last year. So what went into that trade? Great. Getting Debo from San Fran.
- [87:56]
I
Yeah, that was really cool. It was actually at the combine, I was hanging out with with lynch at lunch, and we started talking about it, and, you know, obviously there's a lot of talks that go into it, but knowing Debo from when we drafted him to just the competitor that he is on the field, he's one of the best competitors on the field that I've ever seen in my life, and just he can put a team on his back and will you to win. So understanding what type of person he was, understanding that at work with, with, with John and you know, he's going to be awesome to deal with and, and then understanding our offense, which is, you know, getting, getting the ball out of Jaden's hands quickly and he's really good at that. And, and getting the ball in space and moving fast, that's going to present a lot of problems for defenses.
- [88:38]
Pat McAfee
Debo is a slant. God. I mean, you got. Terry McLaren obviously could go out there. You bring in Debo, you got the running back. You obviously you got a lot. I mean, feels like Jaden Daniels is being set up to succeed and I feel like that's the right thing to do with a young quarterback, especially whenever he showcased an ability to maybe be a top five guy already. Go ahead, A.J.
- [89:00]
Adam Peters
Yeah, Adam, everything we hear from, from going on in the front office there that you're like a real collaborative effort. Everyone, you kind of take everyone's opinion. And I know you, I guess you put together what a research and development team, like an analytics squad that I hear about that kind of help you evaluate players, especially draftable guys. Like, can you talk about what that team is and how many people you truly are listening to going into a draft?
- [89:22]
I
Yeah, we're listening to everybody in the building, AJ and the R D team especially. It's really cool because it feels like there's 14 people in this one little office. It's like a big think tank and they're all really smart and they're all really passionate. And like a cool story this, this year was when we drafted Trey Amos, who's. Who was like an R D darling. We call him analytics, we call him R D. But when we drafted him, you could hear like a roar from like two doors down because we drafted him and that he fell to us, which was really awesome. But he, I mean, all his metrics were incredible. But listening to them and being they're. They're passionate about whether we're making a trade, whether we're making a draft pick, whether we're signing a free agent and. But then there's also the coaching aspect and of course the scouting aspect and, and everybody working together in unison and collaborating. It's been really cool. And we're just getting started. I think we're going to get better and better as the years go on.
- [90:14]
Pat McAfee
Can we Talk about your fourth round pick? Jalen Lane, 434-Humanitarian Award in Virginia. A lot of people are saying maybe the best returner in the sport. How do you get a 4, 3, 4. Guy one at pick 128. I didn't even know that was possible in the NFL. I legitimately had no idea. How excited were you to make this pick? And obviously it's a fourth rounder and that the odds of a fourth rounder becoming megastar superstar, obviously a little bit more difficult. But I didn't know you could find four, three, four humanitarians at pick 128, brother. I legitimately had no idea.
- [90:49]
I
Yeah, that's a really cool stat, the humanitarian award. The cool thing about that one is on Saturdays before the draft, we get everybody in the room, all the scouts, the coordinators, R and D. And we do this thing. We actually took it from San Francisco. They call it the commander's caucus, which is a weird name, but we kind of did that.
- [91:10]
Pat McAfee
Love a good caucus, dude. Love a good caucus.
- [91:14]
I
So. So with Jalen, he was. He was. Everybody gets a chance to vote on who is their favorite player that they want to draft on day three. It's really. Day three is a scout, so it's awesome. Like, everybody is involved. It's really cool. So we went around the room and he had by far the most votes of anybody in the room. So for there you have the buy in from the R D, the buy in from the coaches who also voted. You had the buy in from all of our scouts, and it's just a matter of. All right, well, hopefully he'll get to us because you really have buy in from everybody in the building. So he was our number one returner in the draft. Larry Izzo was one of the people that voted for him. So. So it all worked out really well. He fell to us, which we were really excited about, and that was an easy pick. He's awesome. And he's, you know, I just. He just had his birthday the other day. He's getting married this summer. He's like, he's incredible. So I can't wait. He's coming here Thursday, so I can't wait to meet him in person. Our coaches worked him out down there. Just really one of those ones where you really want to happen and it did. And you feel really good about those.
- [92:13]
Pat McAfee
Well, happy birthday, Jalen. I have no idea how you got a lot of people slid into in the draft and it was talked about 4, 3, 4, humanitarian, best returner and fallen.
- [92:22]
I
That is the best way to put it right there.
- [92:24]
Pat McAfee
I don't know how that. I didn't know that story. I didn't know that till this morning. Adam. I was mind blown as. As we were looking into this guy because the Washington commander's PR people, good people, sent us over a list of shit that has happened this offseason with you guys. We start reading through it and it's like, Jalen Lane, 4, 3, 4, pick 128. I'm like, 4, 3, 4, 1, 28. Then we start looking into it, like, must have had some problems or something. Must have been. You're like, no, I actually won a humanitarian one. It's like, what? How is that even. How did that happen? How did he.
- [92:52]
Darius J. Butler
40 inch vert.
- [92:53]
Pat McAfee
Unbelievable.
- [92:54]
Darius J. Butler
11 foot bright. Tested.
- [92:55]
I
He tested incredibly. He's a real. He's a special athlete. He's all those things. You can see it on the field too.
- [93:01]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, the R d department's like 4, 3, 4, 40 inch vert. Humanitarian. I know we don't normally deal with the humanitarian stuff, but feels like there is a chance he could be. Yeah. Walt's Payton, man of the year, returner. I mean, especially with this new kickoff that they have, the hybrid kickoff. Dynamic hybrid kickoff. I mean, it's good for you, dude. Good for you. Feels like you're swinging a hot bat over there right now. Feels like life is good right now. Con man has a question for you.
- [93:28]
Boston Connor
Yeah, Adam clips are coming out now from the draft and this one was actually from the Eagles YouTube team, I believe. And it was basically how I run. Been calling you to try and trade up. And I don't know if it was your idea or if this came from R D, but how. He basically hung up and said, you know, Mr. Peters is going to be charging an in division tax when it comes to trading up. Was that a real conversation? What were you charging Howie? Was this, you know, like a late round pick, an extra one, or were you asking for like, hey, you're going to need to give us like a Jalen Carter if you want to come up here.
- [94:01]
I
Year I was. That was actually me busting his chops and over on TV for. Because he did that to me. And so that part they left out. But my first time talking to Howie, he was trying to trade me a player last off season. It was like the first phone call we had, he's like, yeah, well, we can do this or that. But you know, because you're in division, there's a tax you're going to have to pay a little more. And so that was just me throwing it back at him. And we were just joking around about it, but it's actually really fun. He's a great guy. He's A great gm, obviously, and he's awesome to deal with. We've done two deals already together and probably do more, but, yeah, it was just us back and forth, having fun.
- [94:40]
Pat McAfee
How often do you think about the NFC east and how difficult it is? Obviously, it has the super bowl champion in it now, so you have to think about the super bowl champion. But that division is no cakewalk. And the Philadelphia Eagles, seemingly built for the next five years, at least at all the key positions that you need to have a win. How often are you thinking about the Eagles and when you do business with these people, how often do you think, like. Like, I can't give them the piece that gives them the edge over us. Is that a natural thought, or are you just thinking about your team and how you can get better when you're doing stuff?
- [95:11]
I
Yeah, I mean, you're always thinking about that. You're always thinking about how to beat every team in your division, every team in your conference, like, every single second and every single day. Like, that's. That's what I stay up at night thinking about. But in terms of those trades, those are risks that you have to take. Now, do I think, you know, you can't be scared making those trades if you think they're gonna. You know, you're worried about the press clippings and all that. You're trying to make the best decision for your own team. And if you didn't think. You think that's the best decision for your own team to help win, then. Then do it. But if it's something. If you, like you're scared about it, you probably won't make the right decision.
- [95:45]
Pat McAfee
How has the press been over there? They gotta love you guys. I mean it. Yeah. Obviously, you've been around the league a long time, so you know what the Washington team has been like for a long time. And I think everybody in the NFL was hoping for a little bit of positive change. Obviously, the fans were looking for a positive change. I assume the media was looking for a positive change. You guys kind of brought that. Is it kind of like a. I assume it's a very positive experience right now over there in Washington.
- [96:12]
I
Yeah, they're great.
- [96:13]
Pat McAfee
They're.
- [96:14]
I
They. First of all, they work extremely hard.
- [96:16]
Pat McAfee
They're. They're.
- [96:16]
I
They're diligent. They ask great questions. They're really respectful. They're awesome to work with. So I think, you know, coming in and having Josh here and then myself and DQ coming in, I think they've been really, really respectful for us. Respectful to us. And you know, it's been awesome to work with them, so I have no issues there. And it's been. It's been positive so far, you know, and I know it's not always going to be that way, but they've been awesome.
- [96:44]
Pat McAfee
Well, you keep bringing greatness to the city. I think people are going to be pumped about it. On that note, Ty has a question for you.
- [96:49]
AJ Hawk
Yeah, Adam. Pat mentioned swinging a hot bat earlier. It was announced yesterday that the draft's going to be in Washington, D.C. in 2027. And I didn't grow up a Commander's fan. I don't think any of us did. But getting a new stadium on the side of rfk, obviously people who have been lifelong commanders, fans are going crazy about that. Because you've been in the league for so long, did you ever imagine that there would be a time, especially when you're running the team, that Washington would basically become like, the epicenter of the NFL world like you guys kind of have been this offseason?
- [97:22]
I
It's so cool. Like, I. I can't even put into words, like, just being a part of that, being at. When we did, when we announced the RFK and. And being in the audience there, being able to be a part of that and being around John Riggins, Doug Williams, Daryl Green, I mean, just all the greats here, Joe Gibbs, and it was just fantastic to be there. And just like, I had to step back and really think about it. And I thank Josh. I was like, gosh, this is. This is why I came here, for things like this. And then announcing the. Announcing the draft here, which will be awesome. I won't be able to participate in it at all because I'll just be right here, which kind of sucks, but it'll be really cool for the whole DMV and just. Just our nation's capital as an epicenter of football. I think there's nothing better than that.
- [98:07]
Pat McAfee
Commander's fans gonna show up for that, right? Yeah, definitely.
- [98:10]
I
Oh, yeah, in droves from everywhere. Green Bay, Steve, Virginia, Maryland. That's gonna be awesome, Adam.
- [98:16]
Pat McAfee
Green Bay was packed out. Detroit, packed out. Pittsburgh next year, gonna be packed out. That's a big area there, isn't it? It's gonna be something.
- [98:25]
Boston Connor
And if it's cold, oh, there's a little wet.
- [98:28]
I
We're gonna be all right. I think we're gonna be all right. Whatever the record is, we're going to break it. Our fans.
- [98:33]
Pat McAfee
Oh, oh, oh, oh. I like the confidence. I forgot it's a brand new Washington team over There. Brand new. How do you. Whenever you say it, do you say, go, Commanders? Do you say, we are Commanders? Bam. What do you say whenever you stand up?
- [98:47]
I
Who are we?
- [98:48]
Pat McAfee
The Commanders.
- [98:50]
I
Fight for Old D.C. oh, fight for Old D.C. to the commanders.
- [98:54]
Pat McAfee
Okay. Do you like the name?
- [98:57]
I
Well, the. It.
- [98:58]
Darius J. Butler
Oh, you got us.
- [98:59]
Pat McAfee
Can't say it.
- [99:00]
I
No, honestly, I mean, we've embraced it. We've. We've, like. Our players have embraced it. We've embraced it. What a commander is. We've defined what a commander is. So I think everybody's all in on it. So we're pumped, and we're gonna. We're gonna keep going with it until they tell us not to.
- [99:15]
Pat McAfee
Well, and if you win with it, I mean, if you've embraced the culture, embrace the name, and you win with it, I think everybody else will buy in as well. I think that's all anybody cares about. And it feels like Jaden's going to be leading you boys to a lot of that. Now let's talk about what the building has done. You said you thank Josh for everything that's possible and why you came to Washington. It feels like the players are thanking Josh as well. Tone has a question for you.
- [99:35]
Ty Schmidt
Yeah, Adam, Pat referenced the kind of the one sheet that your PR sent over, and one of the main things on Here is the 2023 NFLPA report card grades versus the 2024 NFLPA report card grades. I assume that is a big deal for you guys. How involved. Involved are you in that? And I assume the 2025 grades are going to continue. Just go in the correct direction.
- [99:56]
Darius J. Butler
I hate it. Families.
- [99:57]
I
Yeah. I think what's funny about that is Josh came out and it was a great, great line. He said, I'm not an F minus guy, and he put his money where his mouth is, and he invested a ton of money in this place. And we. Again, the fields are over here. There's an Astroturf field out here. When I got here, I couldn't leave it. Now it's a grass field that our guys were practicing on today. And practice.
- [100:19]
Pat McAfee
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. You guys had an Astroturf.
- [100:23]
I
Astroturf. Astroturf. Like, scuff your elbows. You played on it. I played on it.
- [100:28]
Pat McAfee
Cement with rock.
- [100:30]
I
AJ Played on it. Maybe. Maybe you and AJ didn't play on it, but.
- [100:33]
Pat McAfee
Oh, yeah, in high school, maybe.
- [100:34]
I
But it was. It was still here last year. I couldn't believe it. I thought it was like I saw it on a stock photo on Google. I thought it was like a photo from, like 20 years ago. It was like a photo from last week.
- [100:45]
Jamal Crawford
Week.
- [100:45]
I
And it's unbelievable.
- [100:46]
Jamal Crawford
I was like, what is this thing?
- [100:48]
I
And then. But to Josh's credit, I said, josh, we got to get rid of this thing.
- [100:52]
Jamal Crawford
This.
- [100:52]
I
This is. This is terrible. And he said, do it. And. And that's what he said about everything. And from our kitchen to our locker room to our meeting rooms to our stadium to the locker room at the stadium, everything that we've asked for, he's. He's done it. He said, will this be good for the players? And we said, yeah, and this is why. And he said, go ahead and do it. So I can't take credit for that dq. Like, we, both of us worked really hard on it, but it was really Josh saying, okay, go do it. And we're not even done. We're building a new locker room right now. There's a ton of construction going on. They're gonna get a new locker room. So those grades that were on the right hand side there, they should be going up to that locker room. F, hopefully will not be an F anymore based on what we're spending. And the rest of it is gonna be really good. And just the human capital that we have in here, I think is our. Our biggest asset. The people that are working here, you know, the scouts, the. The operations people, the coaches, the. The chefs, like, you name it, the trainers, pr. You guys know, the PR guys are. They're incredible. So that's what we have that I don't think other buildings have. We're never going to have all the bells and whistles that some places have, but combined with newer things for the, The. For the players, with all the people that we have, it's going to a great place to be.
- [102:08]
Pat McAfee
New stadium coming, new locker room coming. Feels like you do have all the bells and whistles that everybody else has. If you. If you have good food, good locker room, good stadium. Yes. I think you're going to get thumbs up basically with everybody, and you're not giving yourself any credit there. Yeah. Good equipment, guys. Good training, guys. Humans. You're not giving yourself enough credit there, though, because it wasn't F minus in the block. Yeah, correct. It moved to an F. If you see it wasn't F minus. I think it was the humans that were potentially in charge. We shouldn't give them an F minus. We like these people, right? We like them. They're trying at least. Yeah, Just an F. Just an F. All right. Sounds good. F minus.
- [102:53]
Darius J. Butler
That's Tough.
- [102:54]
Pat McAfee
So I don't know. I haven't.
- [102:55]
I
I've seen that before.
- [102:56]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. I didn't fill out any of these report cards ever. These came post, I think my career, and I wasn't asked. I do like that F minus is an option. Yeah. Like an F isn't bad enough, is it? F minus. We need the lowest form of F that you could possibly get. And then there's just. Is there an ineptitude option down there that's like worse than F minus?
- [103:16]
Darius J. Butler
It's much, much worse than F minus. And that first one, the first column, that treatment of family, there's something you don't really think about coming into league. I know I got drafted by the Patriot Patriots and, like, that was a huge thing with the Patriots. As far as the treatment of the family. Post game, it'll be a private area for all the family. Have some food, mingle with all the different players. That was always awesome. Colts were awesome as well with the family, but yeah, that's. That's a big deal. But F my. Oh, damn.
- [103:39]
Pat McAfee
Three F minuses out of 11. Five total Fs out of 11 in 2023. I think there was a chance that the players hated everything.
- [103:47]
Boston Connor
Yeah.
- [103:47]
Pat McAfee
Hey, hey, why don't you vote on the training staff? F not. We hate everybody, dude. F down, F minus. Hey, but an F. Strength coaches, though, awesome.
- [103:58]
I
They're. They're only eight, right? That first year.
- [104:00]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. I think that tells me that strength coaches are telling the players, listen, this is a hole.
- [104:08]
Boston Connor
We know, okay?
- [104:09]
Pat McAfee
This is what this is.
- [104:11]
Adam Peters
But it's ours.
- [104:11]
Pat McAfee
But it's ours. Okay? We got to get through here. That is. That feels like the only way that that could be an A. There is the strength coaches. Go. Listen, I know the locker room's trash. I know the training room's trash. I know the training staff bunch of assholes. I know the treatment of families worse ever. But we got the next hour to get better in here. Let's go ahead and do it. I'm on your side, not on this team side. Shout out to the strength coach. Rallying there and sticking around. AJ has the last question for you. Adam, we appreciate your time on this glorious Tuesday.
- [104:42]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah.
- [104:43]
Adam Peters
Adam, Pat mentioned that you. You worked for the Patriots, Broncos, and Niners before you got to Washington, I guess. How long ago did you start envisioning yourself as a GM and start building your whole plan? Because you've. You've had a lot of success before you got there, and I believe you're part of three super bowl rings already. Was it something that you all. Was always your goal to be the GM and kind of how does that influence you and what you're doing now?
- [105:04]
I
Yeah, I think it really didn't, like, become a reality or a possibility until I got to San Francisco. But starting in New England, getting a great foundation there. Darius knows about that. I think I left right when he was coming in. I missed him. I was. That was my one draft where I was in between teams. I was on a beach in Santa Cruz watching the draft on my phone and the best draft I've ever had. And then what a great pick by. By the Patriots there. But hell yeah, then getting to Denver and understanding how. How there you can work differently and still win, which is awesome. Working with John Elway, working with Matt Russell and then Gary Kubiak came in and then being in San Francisco with Kyle and John and the ownership there, with Jed and the York family, understanding, okay, this is how a team should be run. And starting to really formulate my mind around that and trying to bring all the great things of all those three places to here as much as possible. We're just getting started, but really just understanding it's the people that make make the place and getting great people around here. And so that was really what we tried to do when we came in here and first hire was getting dq and that was, you know, the best hire we could make. And he's been even better than expected and getting better every day. And then our staff around that. And so not. It's not myself, it's everybody. It's the people that are around me that really make this place. And it's been. It's been so much fun and it's a lot of hard work, but it's been awesome and really excited for what's coming.
- [106:29]
Pat McAfee
I assume it's very fulfilling to see it kind of all work and see a city come back to life and a football fan base feel like they're a part of the actual conversation of winning again, as opposed to the conversation of being a dump again. You mentioned DQ there being a massive piece of it all as well. And we saw him obviously go from Seattle down to Atlanta. 28, three happens. He has massive success, then goes over to Dallas. He puts the backwards hat on. He is the dc. He has magic. How. How important was it to get a guy who maybe had head coaching experience before as the head coach? And how much do you think all the experience that DQ has had around the league before he got there has helped him? Because everybody sings his praises and whenever he's miked up, it's must watch. This guy is an electric factory. It feels like. Has he always been that way or do you think he's kind of changed along the way and now is the perfect time for him to be the head coach of your team?
- [107:20]
I
Yeah, I think we'll want to. Like, when we went through the hiring process, I knew a lot about DQ from Kyle and everybody on Kyle's staff, because they were all came from Atlanta. So understanding the type of person that he was, the type of human being that he was, and then in the interview process, seeing he had done everything once and how prepared he was for the next role and how ready he was for his next chance. And so those things made us all really excited about him as a head coach. And then the way he connects with our players, the way he connects with our coaches, the way he develops players and coaches, the plan that he has, you know, authenticity that he has, like free agency. Last year, he made it easy for us because everybody wanted to come play here. And it wasn't because of me, it wasn't because of the Astroturf. It was because of dq. And so he made our jobs easy. Players from all around the league, either who played for him or heard about him, understood what type of person he was, what type of coach he was. And, you know, that really, really was a big deal in getting all the guys that we got in last year, because as you guys said, like, this wasn't a day destination. And so people had to really, like, kind of take a chance on us. And they did because of dq. And it's been fantastic.
- [108:29]
Boston Connor
Yeah. And it feels like now you guys are competing for a Super bowl every year. There was one thing that we heard about going into or during this offseason was that there's now a new Sean Taylor memorial being revealed. Is that. Is that real? I know his younger brother, I believe, signed with you guys as an undress drafted free agent, but is that something that's being considered? Because that was part of the old regime. Before that was one of those things that was typical Washington before, you know, Josh bought the team and you got in there.
- [109:00]
I
Yeah, I'm not sure what we're doing on that with. With the memorial. I think, you know, hopefully we'll do something really nice for Sean. He's a special player, special human for, and a big person, a big, you know, part of our history here. And we have Gabe, it was coming in. He's a tryout player. He'll be in here on Thursday for our rookie minicamp. Trying out for the team. But, you know, I know with our ownership group, they're always going to do things right. So whatever they do, it's going to be first class and can't wait to see what they do.
- [109:29]
Pat McAfee
Hey, Adam, feels like you're a first class man. Everybody that knows you sings your praises and obviously what you're doing over there in Washington is awesome. You're making people from other. Other teams, not even in football, maybe just other professional sports teams, think that the impossible is possible quickly, especially if you get the right people in charge. You're one of those people. We appreciate the hell out of you. Congrats on all the quick success and can't wait to see how far you take this team.
- [109:54]
I
Thanks, guys. It's awesome being on here. Appreciate you having me. A lot better than last time when we had the fake milk hyper on.
- [110:01]
Pat McAfee
Whoa, Mad Mel. All right, brother. Ladies and gentlemen.
- [110:05]
I
Threw a curveball on me on that one. This is awesome, guys. Thank you. It's an honor to be on here.
- [110:10]
Pat McAfee
You're the man, ladies and gentlemen. Adam. Peter. What's up, guys? It's Fred Warner, linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers. I'm living the long weekend life every day during my off season, and Abram's got my fits taken care of. I can't hype their premium heavyweight tees enough. You know I'm all about quality. Their oversized fit is the one I'm always reaching for. Trust me on the crop tee, it's not as short as you think and looks solid with any pair of jeans. Shop Abercrombie's new arrivals in store and online. If you want tools that stand the test of time without testing your wallet, Harbor Freight is the place for you. Expert engineers design and rigorously test Harbor Freight tools to bring you top quality. Whether your next project is big or small. Harbor Freight carries a wide selection, from hand tools to power tools to automotive tools and welding equipment. And with prices lower than other top brands, but with the same top quality, you're getting more for your money at Harbor Freight. There are over 1,500 Harbor Freight stores in the U.S. so come see for yourself. Whatever you do, do it for less at Harbor Freight. Who is this? Talking to me right now? What the hell? He's on the phone. What is this? What is this? It's a. It's not actually Mel Kuiper. So what is it? It's off the call. What was that? It was a fake Mel Kiper. Can anybody give me a Heads up. That's.
- [111:44]
Boston Connor
Yeah. You kidding me?
- [111:45]
Pat McAfee
My first draft. That was when Belichick booked him, I think. Right. Bellich booked him live on set while O was doing some ridiculous. Yeah, right. And then talking about just. So probably. Nobody gave him a heads up. Nobody gave him a heads up. Hey, here's the phone number to call him. He calls him blind, has no idea what to happen. Hey, how's Jaden Daniels pick? When did you know? Okay, we got some questions around the table. Boom. Adam, you know, I thought.
- [112:13]
AJ Hawk
I don't remember what I asked him.
- [112:14]
Pat McAfee
Must have been.
- [112:15]
AJ Hawk
Must have been something pretty outlandish.
- [112:17]
Boston Connor
Well, the team, I mean, they were the two overall. It was like still the old Washington.
- [112:22]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. You had a lot to pull from. Yeah, yeah. Matt Bell had a of lot lot to pull from.
- [112:26]
Boston Connor
Poo pipes, all that stuff.
- [112:28]
Pat McAfee
I mean, the amount of things that we could have said.
- [112:30]
Boston Connor
I want to go back and listen to his question.
- [112:33]
Darius J. Butler
Get booked by Bill, too. That's the last thing you expected?
- [112:36]
Pat McAfee
Bill Belichick booked me on the show. And then all of a sudden, two seconds later, I'm FaceTiming with a. What is this? What is this thing that is yelling at me, telling me that I'm. I'm a horrible gm.
- [112:46]
Boston Connor
Thought it was like Lambo or Patricia, like, with Bill, maybe.
- [112:50]
Pat McAfee
Oh, the. The first thing Mad Mel said to Mike McCarthy in the Airbnb that we were in, just, hey, Coach Mike, I don't know how much, you know, there's going to be a Mad Mel Kuiper character that's going to be a part of tonight's show. What do you mean Mel Kuiper's going to be on? No, it's a Mad Mel character. All right. Yeah, sounds good. What do you mean? And then Ty's there, and we go, Ty, will you give him some Matt Mel real quick? And Ty go. He goes, well, obviously, McCarthy, you're with us because you weren't able to get the job done in the biggest games when you were Dallas. He goes, oh, geez.
- [113:22]
Boston Connor
Come on.
- [113:23]
Pat McAfee
Come on. Yeah, yeah.
- [113:32]
Adam Peters
Perfect.
- [113:34]
Pat McAfee
Ah, it was awesome.
- [113:35]
Boston Connor
So good.
- [113:36]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Melchiver had his own little mad situation this year, certainly a little bit. How come he didn't come on our show?
- [113:43]
AJ Hawk
He's talking with GMs, you know, he's talking with a number of different people. He's. He's literally on the phone for, you know, 23 hours a day.
- [113:50]
Pat McAfee
He's able to find time for everybody else's show. I've literally seen him on everybody else's show. Yeah, I'd assume he hates our guts. And I'll tell you what, Mel, I hate you too.
- [114:03]
Adam Peters
Has he ever talked to Mad Mel? Ever talked to Mad Mel?
- [114:06]
Pat McAfee
Oh, yeah, because we assumed that he hated us. Because Mad Mel is. Before we get to espn, then we get to ESPN and we hear, no. Mel Kuiper's a big fan of Mad Mel. Even leaves like a voice memo. I think Mad Mel even got a voice memo. It's like, sweets, we can have him on. We've sent out, we've lobbed a thousand requests at least I would say a hundred requests to Mel Kuiper to join our show. And every single time. Ah, sorry, pumpkin pie. We gotta do this. It's like. I understand. All right. You hate us. I hate you too. I thought you embarrassed yourself on the draft, brother. I think you did what this one's supposed to do on the draft. So, I mean, that's how that's going to go. Can't wait to meet him in person someday. He did try to ruin my draft day as well. After I got drafted, saying I was just going to carry bags for Adam Vinatieri. It was a different position, doofus. You had no idea. And I'm sure that your hit rate is obviously much higher than my particular. Their situation. But he was the one saying, 50 years. The NFL doesn't know how to evaluate quarterbacks.
- [115:05]
Darius J. Butler
That's what he wanted to ban cover, too. Too. So maybe.
- [115:09]
Boston Connor
Right.
- [115:09]
Pat McAfee
This guy knows ball. I understand that doesn't like our show. Who does? I guess people that are watching. We'll continue this thing digitally. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. Okay, so now we're just on digital. Now we can cut loose a little bit. Yep. Okay. I don't. I don't hate Mel Kuiper, but I had to send that out there to let him know you're a feeler.
- [115:30]
Boston Connor
Yeah.
- [115:30]
Pat McAfee
What the. I send that out there to let him know. I send that out there to let him know. Like, hey, we see what you're doing. You're on everybody's show. Literally on everybody's show. Somehow he finds time to be on everybody's show. Even shows that aren't ESPN shows. He's on everybody's show. Our show. Oh. Ooh. Ah.
- [115:49]
Boston Connor
Doesn't make sense.
- [115:50]
Pat McAfee
If you were him, would you come on, though? I guess not.
- [115:52]
Boston Connor
Definitely no chance. Why not?
- [115:55]
Pat McAfee
That's good mixed reaction here. Yeah.
- [115:57]
Adam Peters
Yeah, you would.
- [115:57]
Boston Connor
I definitely would. Because I feel like in, you know, like 10 years, maybe even 15, like, if mad Mel is still exists, that Keeps Mel Kuiper alive longer. Like as much as.
- [116:09]
AJ Hawk
I don't think he sees it that way.
- [116:11]
Boston Connor
I know, I know. As much as you can. As much as you can look at it. Complete opposite.
- [116:16]
Pat McAfee
Wasn't. He said positive things about M. He.
- [116:19]
AJ Hawk
He left me a voicemail I talked to on the phone for like 45 minutes. Cuz I was, I was assuming.
- [116:24]
Pat McAfee
Did you talk back to him like mag.
- [116:25]
AJ Hawk
No, I didn't, I didn't. I mean, he grilled me about like my entire life pretty much. I was thinking like, this guy's just trying to gather information so he could, you know, set up some sort of hit Matos, have me killed or something like that. But he said he was like, make sure Pat. No, I don't hit. I just.
- [116:41]
Pat McAfee
You.
- [116:41]
AJ Hawk
I'm busy. I called gms. Like he did the whole, the whole spiel. But, but I think if, if I had to guess because Field Yates told us, he was like, oh, Mel loves it. He loves it. I was like, no, he doesn't. Like, I know he doesn't.
- [116:55]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, it's pretty apparent he does.
- [116:56]
AJ Hawk
That's horseshit.
- [116:57]
Pat McAfee
But I do appreciate the fact that he tells people that he loves because he probably feels obligated.
- [117:00]
AJ Hawk
Either that or I think a bunch of people around him like, you should love this. Like, this is hilarious. Did you see this clip? And eventually it's just like, oh, yeah, I love it. Yeah, it's hilarious.
- [117:09]
Adam Peters
You're not insulting him. You're not insulting Mel ever, are you?
- [117:12]
Pat McAfee
Just.
- [117:12]
Adam Peters
You're just over exaggerating his voice maybe.
- [117:15]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, but some people can see that as insulting satire. Like, there's been what we've come across, like five people that do impressions of me, you know, like in real life, I. I got a great impression of you. I'm like, sweet. I would like to hear it. I would like to hear it. Then they do it. I'm like, oh, thank you for doing that, man. You take time out of your life, then we walk away. And I go, that is not what I sound like, right? And then normally it's a no. And I think I'm pretty tough too, because I got like seven different. You know, there's cadences and everything. I assume you could do my natural yinzer loud yelling thing if you really wanted to, which is what you have picked to do for Mad Mel. So there's a chance he's like, I have much more depth than what you are doing as Mel Kuiper. And that might be why some people get impersonated, get upset. It's like, that's not who I am. I'm, I'm much more than that. So I think deep down he lays his head down, down. I think he hates our guts. I think he hates our guts.
- [118:09]
Boston Connor
I disagree.
- [118:10]
Pat McAfee
You disagree?
- [118:11]
Boston Connor
Yeah, I do.
- [118:12]
Pat McAfee
You think he's always busy?
- [118:14]
Boston Connor
No, I think that he's, you know, kind of an older man, and if he has the choice of doing interviews, he probably doesn't want to. And I think maybe the other shows he goes on, he might owe some people who are either on those shows or who are helping, you know, get those shows up off the ground. So he's like, you know what? I'll go do this as a favor. I don't think he owes any anybody.
- [118:35]
Pat McAfee
We kind of owe him, I guess. How much?
- [118:37]
AJ Hawk
He's certainly living in, like, 1995. Like, that's no bullshit. He doesn't have a cell phone. Like, he has a landline until draft season, and then he uses his daughter's cell phone for, you know.
- [118:47]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, that sounds fake, too. That sounds like the people that tell me they're not looking at their Twitter or looking at their Instagram. It's like, you're lying if you feel the need to come out and say you're not looking at your shit. That means you've been looking at your. And you know that your shit's not good right now. So, you know, that is, that is one of those things. I think they're, whatever. Mel Kuiper had a tough draft.
- [119:07]
AJ Hawk
He certainly did that.
- [119:08]
Boston Connor
Probably.
- [119:08]
Darius J. Butler
Probably the worst to some, Some people love it.
- [119:12]
Ty Schmidt
A lot of Colorado fans did.
- [119:13]
Pat McAfee
Oh, yeah. They were appreciative of him doing it.
- [119:15]
Ty Schmidt
Oh, yeah.
- [119:16]
Pat McAfee
Okay. So I, I did not know that Colorado, I thought Colorado fans were potentially like, can we just quick Dallas down a little?
- [119:22]
Ty Schmidt
No, they were right there with, with him attacking everybody on the Internet.
- [119:25]
Pat McAfee
Okay. I like it. And we'll see how it all works out legitimately. We will see how everything works out. That's why judging the draft immediately after draft is kind of obviously an absurd thing to do, because you have no clue who any of these guys are going to be. Did anybody think Mr. Irrelevant was going to be the starting quarterback for San Francisco 49ers? No. Nobody has a clue. All these guys could be hall of Famers. All these guys could be busts. There is just a hope that some players are going to make it in each and every draft for every single team. But I, I, I learned about some draft guy who just didn't hit on anybody, just missed every Single this year? No, no, no. Like in the history, like the worst, the worst ever drafter, this guy. And like his percentage of players making the team the year they were draft was like lower than anybody in history. But I think it is all a crap. I legitimately think it's all such a. Situations are situational, such a lucky draw type thing. And I'm happy I don't have to do it. I'm happy I don't have to draft any of these guys and put billions of dollars at risk on the heads of 21, 22 year olds. Becoming professionals and acting like professionals. I mean that's tough.
- [120:29]
Ty Schmidt
It's very much a crapshoot. You, you could watch all the tape and tape could be great and you do all the interviews and the nose are all great and you can talk to their, their family, their coaches, their custodians, whatever, and everything would be great. And then, you know, get to the NFL and things just don't work out. So yeah, I mean it is a crapshoot. But no, to your point. I actually just saw today. So there's a Colorado fan who's suing the NFL for $100 million for emotional distress during the draft for what happened.
- [120:55]
Pat McAfee
So I like that. Future earnings, the whole thing. I can't even go to work anymore.
- [121:00]
Adam Peters
Yeah, I think that one stands up. I think that stands up.
- [121:05]
Pat McAfee
Feels like there's a lot of lawsuits that wouldn't stand up in actual, actual court. But morally, people can take the high ground now for sure. With that being said, the Quinn Ewers fall is interesting. Quinn Ewers dropping all the way to the seventh round. I don't think any of us.
- [121:18]
Jamal Crawford
No, no.
- [121:19]
Darius J. Butler
7.
- [121:20]
AJ Hawk
He's just come on top five pick before the, for last college football season.
- [121:24]
Pat McAfee
Like and he had a good year, right?
- [121:25]
Adam Peters
Like he had a good year too, this last year.
- [121:27]
Pat McAfee
Like.
- [121:28]
Adam Peters
Yeah, I don't know.
- [121:28]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. Shador dropping obviously massive story because he's going to be top five quarterback. He ends up in the fifth round. Excited to see him go to work. He's been in the community of Cleveland already. Oh yeah. He's been in schools, schools doing stuff, training stuff I love. He's acting like the guy now. He's deep down on the, the, you know, the depth chart or whatever. He's under Dylan Gabriel who's drafted higher than him to the Cleveland Browns out of Oregon in this draft class. But he's acting like a guy in the NFL. He understands what it's like to be a guy. I hope he goes in There works his ass off and, you know, I hope he has a great career. Career. Who knows if it's going to happen, but I hope he does have a great career. He's still a fifth round pick. Okay, fifth round, 144. Obviously not a guarantee you're going to make the team and anything like that. Quinn, your seventh round is insane to think about. And his draft party with all those animals that have been hunted and killed behind him. So bummed out whenever he finally got drafted, it wasn't like a celebration at all. There was tears. Obviously, this is not how he assumed it would go, but it's like there's a lot of falling stars in this draft and nobody's talked about Quinn being one of them. I genuinely am wondering how Quinn's career goes. He can throw the rock. Sarkeesian's offense is like an NFL offense. The guy's been there, has played in big moments, seemingly tough. He was battling through a lot of injuries whenever he was playing. He's been a superstar since he's 18 years old. Old. He's been a millionaire since he's been 18 years old. Him dropping was a conversation that nobody really had because Shadora conversation carried everything.
- [122:59]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah, his drop is insane, and we've obviously all experienced it. But whenever I talk to young guys, you know, chasing that dream, like just always telling me, you just got to lock in, control what you can control because everybody's journey is so different. You look at Cam Ward's journey from high school to being the number one pick and all the things that he had to climb and persevere, and then Quinn is on the complete opposite side of that. He was like the perfect prospect coming out of high school and then to drop in the seventh round and go to the Dolphins. But you just got to stick to it. You just got to continue to control what you can control. Getting there. Obviously, Chador Quinn, you're not going to get a lump sum of the reps. You know, you'll have a handful of reps. You know, obviously you got to get mental reps and soak up everything in these meet rooms and from these coaches. And an opportunity will present itself and you got to take advantage of it. The lower you're drafted, the less opportunities you'll have. But yeah, this seventh round slide was absolutely wild to watch.
- [123:53]
Pat McAfee
I don't think I expected it. Maybe they did. I'm not 100% sure. And to watch any of these guys play next year, if they make the team and they're starting, you should go to Our friends at se the greatest ticket buying platform on planet Earth. And the boom. Over 30 million downloads. SeatGeek is still the number one ranked ticketing app. Congratulations. Congrats to them. Now, each tick is rated on a scale from 1 to 10. So look for green dots, which means good score. Red dots mean bad score. What they're searching for, is this a good ticket at a good price or is there some ticket better? In the Internet world, can you potentially find a better location of a ticket at a better price somewhere else? SeatGeek will tell you that's why SeatGeek is rated number one, because they're looking out for you. They'll never catfish you. And right now, if you use code PAT3.0, you'll get $30 off tickets. That's code PAT30. That works for all event types. NBA, NHL concerts, comedy, Broadway, maybe next year's NFL games, you name it, you can get $30 off right now. Whether you're returning or a new customer, some restrictions do apply. Obviously if the ticket is less than $30, they're not going to be able to give you $30 off. But use our friends at SeatGeek and use the code PAT30 to get $30 off. Off. Pacers, Cavaliers tonight. Seems like there are some tickets available if anybody wants to make the drive over. Sure.
- [125:11]
Boston Connor
No. But I did get my tickets from seeking for Friday's game in Indy. Can't wait.
- [125:16]
Pat McAfee
I. I think this is going to be a great series.
- [125:18]
Darius J. Butler
I do too.
- [125:19]
Pat McAfee
They were battling. That was a great basketball game the other night.
- [125:21]
Boston Connor
Fantastic.
- [125:22]
Pat McAfee
Both all the stars showed up. Obviously the Cavaliers have an injury that popped up out of nowhere, but all the stars showed up, big shots were being made. It feels like, you know, the herd is about to get thinned and the teams that are left, good ball playing teams. We had great games last night. I think that's going to continue tonight. Ant man taking on Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler, Ant Man. Just in of itself is going to be a great thought of how that whole thing goes. And then let alone Steph Curry playing like five years ago. Steph Curry right now. This game's going to be electrifying. Yeah.
- [125:54]
Boston Connor
Jimmy in Minnesota. Jimmy when he went over his career, did not mention Minnesota. He was in Minnesota when he did the whole entire scrimmage with the second team leaves. Practice goes on. SportsCenter does a hit while the team is still practicing, talking about how he just beat the shit out of everybody on that team. Granted, that was Karl Anthony Townsend's T Wolves. He Is no longer there. But yeah, Jimmy does not like Minnesota and I believe believe Minnesota does not like Jimmy Butler. I think those fans still have an.
- [126:24]
Pat McAfee
Accident and that's right where Jimmy Butler likes to be in that kind of where he likes to be. So him and Ant man should be a great battle. I'm excited for that. Let's do a couple NFL news topics that have happened. Justin Tucker has been released by the Ravens. Now the Ravens draft loop out of Arizona. He has a massive leg. This kid can kick the hell out of a football. The Baltimore Ravens special teams coordinator Randy. Randy Brown, Mayor. Randy Brown, formerly a mayor, now special teams, senior, special teams corps. I forget his actual title, whatever the case.
- [126:57]
Darius J. Butler
Former mayor.
- [126:57]
Pat McAfee
Former mayor, yeah. Now he special teams coordinator, assistant head coach, whatever. Very high title. He's been around a long time. He was the one that was in charge of setting up the combine, finding the kickers, doing the workouts. So I think he very hands on with all these kickers. Now, they said it's strictly a football decision. And Justin Tucker certainly had his worst year he has had since entering the NFL last year. But there's also a lot of noise off the field. Anytime there's that much noise off the field and you potentially become a distraction, especially with something as serious as what was being talked about and you're not performing at the level that they've expected you to or paid you to at a kicker and punter position that can't. You're. You're setting yourself up to lose your job. I mean, that's just how it is. Justin Tucker will go down as one of the greatest kickers in the history of the NFL. Obviously, people will say top two, not two. Some people will say he's been a Pro Bowler, he's been an All Pro. He has the highest career field goal percentage in NFL history. Damn near 90% of the kicks. Every time he walked on the field, you knew the ball was going to go through the upright. Except for this year. Had his worst year, had a down year. They're paying him a lot of money, a lot of allegations arise. Then you become a headache, a distraction starts taking place. Can this person solve on team? Is he worth it? They make move on from Justin Tucker and have a rookie kicker going into a year where they're hoping to win a Super bowl. And we'll see how that move turns out for them. And I think that was a big one. I, I don't think a lot of people saw that coming just here in the middle of May. A.J. hawk.
- [128:20]
Adam Peters
Yeah, I know they keep saying it's a football decision, but. Yeah, you're right. This past year was weird. Just watching him kick. You weren't. He was so automatic before this season. But we know, like, when you have a great kicker, a lot of times you take that for granted. Great kicker, great. A great punter. Teams do take it for granted. So a lot of pressure on the young rookie coming in because they've had the dude who legit and up until this season feels like he can't miss. So, yeah, it's. It's a weird situation. I wonder if someone's going to sign Justin Tucker and win. That could possibly be.
- [128:45]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know that. It got real loud there about the massage. Yeah, serious. Those are allegations, obviously. I don't. I don't think.
- [128:54]
Adam Peters
Are there any, like, is it. Is there any criminal things going on or is it all, like, litigation, all, you know, money?
- [129:00]
Pat McAfee
I. I don't know. We have not seen. We didn't see any civil lawsuits or criminal lawsuits or filed. We don't. We don't think we saw.
- [129:06]
Boston Connor
I thought we looked it up before and there wasn't any yet, per se. But the good thing for Ravens fans in general, like, who they repl. Who's the legendary puncher they replaced with stout?
- [129:17]
Pat McAfee
Sam Cook.
- [129:18]
Boston Connor
Sam Cook, yeah. Like, they replaced him kind of seem seemingly.
- [129:22]
Pat McAfee
And if John Harbaugh, special teams guy, Randy Brown, special teams guy. They. They look into it very, very seriously. They take it very seriously. I assume this Loop guy's a guy. Yeah. I saw a video of him hitting from 75 in warmups. I think that's far. Huge.
- [129:35]
Ty Schmidt
It's far.
- [129:36]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. And you're never going to get a 75 yard attempt unless you're Janikowski and Lane Kiffin's your coach and he just kind of sends you out there for it. But what that shows is like when the weather turns, which is going to. In the AFC north, need a strong leg to be able to combat the wind. This kid has that. He hits a pure ball, which means he can combat the wind. I think they've done a lot of research. They'll work with him mightily over there, too, because they have a system on how it goes, how you stand, how you start, how you do it. And yeah, I mean, you. You change your kicker out of a Super bowl team. That is a big. That's a big. That's a big.
- [130:12]
Boston Connor
That's.
- [130:12]
Pat McAfee
That's a big move here now. But to your point, will somebody sign Tuck I wonder. I legitimately wonder. Okay, let's go to Jim Harbaugh. Him talking about Justin Herbert. We chit chatted about the first time we heard Harbaugh speak after becoming the Chargers head coach. And all he basically could say was, well, we got the golden goose. We got the guy, we got the quarterback that everybody wants. How could you not want this job? We got Justin Herbert. He even told stories about walking around and seeing Justin Herbert for the first time and going, oh my God, that's it. He's the guy. This is the one. He sang his praises as loud as he possibly could from every hill that he could potentially sing and scream from. Now he said on Rich Eisen show that he woke up in the middle of the night thinking to himself, I got to get Justin Herbert to the hall of Fame. Could you imagine? This guy doesn't go to the hall of Fame. It's going to be 100% my fault if he doesn't make it to the hall of Fame. What that means he's got to win a Super Bowl.
- [131:05]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah.
- [131:05]
Pat McAfee
To get to the hall of Fame, you got to win a Super Bowl. You got to be able to, to be a leader of a team. You got to have sustained greatness. And Harbaugh said he woke up in the middle of the night. I believe, and that was his first thought. And I believe him too. I think that is probably 100% true out of Coach Harbaugh.
- [131:19]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah, most, most coaches, most people I see this put it, put about, I wouldn't believe it, but I believe Jim saying that. And I, you know, he is great. He looks like a quarterback you would build in the lab. At this point in his career. A lot of people are looking at him like, hey, will he ever get over that hump? Will he ever win the big games? You have a coach who has built championship teams, championship level teams wherever he's been. So I got all the faith in the world in gym and you know how high I've been on Justin Herbert since entering the league. Just going to be how, how do they continue to build around him offensively? I made some great moves in the draft this year. Made some great moves in the draft last year as well. Got some peace in the offseason. So I'm excited about this year. Obviously it's a tough, tough division, not only with the players, but you look at the coaches in that division, it's going to be a tough, tough road ahead. But you got a quarterback like Justin Herbert, you're in a good spot.
- [132:06]
Boston Connor
I think, yeah, Like Harbaugh and Herbert are one for one. It feels like as far as seasons together, they were, they went back to the playoffs. It felt like with Staley, it was always an up and down. Harbaugh kind of brought in that supreme leader type thing that we talk about in an organization and kind of took over. And like even just thinking about them going back to the beginning of the year, Herbert didn't even know Harbaugh was going to slap the shit out of him before the game.
- [132:30]
Pat McAfee
Oh, yeah, first game.
- [132:30]
Boston Connor
That was awesome. He didn't know what was even going on. Harbaugh walks over, starts slapping his pads. Herbert's got no idea what is happening. They obviously end up hugging. And I think Harbaugh had to explain to him like, hey, no, I'm just going to slap the shit out of you and then let's go do this thing. But even just Harbaugh on the sidelines watching Herbert, do you remember that mic'd up where I forget if it was him running a touchdown in or throwing a ball. And it was just Harbaugh saying over.
- [132:56]
Pat McAfee
And over again, beast.
- [132:57]
Boston Connor
He's a beast. And he kept saying that. I forget if we, if we have it or not, but just watching them two work together, like, I assume they're on their way to having massive success together. And they took another wide receiver, I believe too. Yeah, Harris, the kid from Ole Miss. Yeah. So it's, it's going to be incredible. And yeah, they grabbed Hampton in the first round and they signed Nash who Nash has only had a thousand yard season. Yeah. Like they're not just basically getting wide receivers to say, all right, Herbert, go throw it 40 times. Like, they got an unbelievable line and running backs for him. I would be pumped if I was charged.
- [133:36]
Pat McAfee
I woke up in the middle of the night sweating, babe, I gotta get Justin Herbert. Hall of Fame. Can we talk about this tomorrow? No, I actually need to go start drawing some stuff up.
- [133:52]
Ty Schmidt
Tomorrow waits for no.
- [133:53]
Pat McAfee
1. 2, 3am Hardball. What a coach, man. What a coach. Just loves ball.
- [133:59]
AJ Hawk
Yeah.
- [133:59]
Pat McAfee
Loves his players, loves his team. What a great signing by the Chargers. Do they have what it takes to win? You talk about that division?
- [134:07]
Ty Schmidt
Division, maybe another weapon.
- [134:08]
Pat McAfee
Get Andy Reid.
- [134:09]
Boston Connor
Tough division.
- [134:10]
Pat McAfee
Sean Payton, Pete Carroll.
- [134:12]
Adam Peters
Yes. Yeah, they do. They get hot at the right time and they're healthy.
- [134:15]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, true.
- [134:16]
Adam Peters
What do you have? Justin Herbert, like, Debut said, Justin Herbert is a quarterback you would build in a lab. Like his, his demeanor, everything about it. I, I would assume that they are sitting there thinking, hey, we have Justin Herbert in The prime of his career. We have to find a way to get a couple super bowl rings.
- [134:30]
Pat McAfee
What did Ortiz say the other day? I hate Justin Herbert. He's smarter than you. He's more attractive than you. He's taller than you, he's more athletic than you. He's more humble than you. He's more charming than you are. He can throw a ball better, he can run faster than you are. He is literally everything you want, top to bottom. They got their franchise guy. They're in a tough division. Harbaugh is a winner. It's all the guy does.
- [134:52]
Darius J. Butler
We just, we just had Adam on, but the turnaround and the investment from the top, we were in that building. Like, we, we felt the vibes in the building with everybody around it. We've seen what they put into it. We were around the strength coach. He had great vibes as well. So, yeah, like, I'm all in on the Chargers. I think they can do some special things. Now, obviously, that team right there, been in the same division with the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady over there in Vegas now and then Denver with Sean Payton. What he's doing with Bo, Nick. So it will be an uphill battle, but going into a season, if you got a head coach and a quarterback like they have over there, you got a chance.
- [135:23]
Pat McAfee
I ran into a Raiders fan yesterday, Curtis, who worked for the wwe. He goes, you, you like the Raiders. I'm like, Tom Brady, brother. Like, what am I going to say? Tom Brady's making bad decisions? No, not going to say that. I, I think you should just assume that the right decisions are being made with Tom Brady kind of at the helm. And the fact that he is so hands on, I think is probably why all the other owners are like, so this guy's commentating in our building and he's running another team. How's this going to work? And it's Tom Brady. It's Tom Brady. And I think my thoughts were he's gonna be hands off. Just like Strahan and Eli here are going in on the Giants. I assume they're not going to be in the next, you know, hard knocks off season of the Giants, saying, this is what you need to do. This is what you need to do. Because, you know, minority stake ownership is kind of, you know, kind of, hey, your money's going to be seen, but you aren't, you know, in this entirety, Tom Brady becoming like, yep. Doing a sit down interviews, being the one who's hiring things. I know Tom Brady's different than everybody else, but it's like, I didn't expect him to be this much of an owner. I don't think whenever he got in the gig. I don't know Tom Brady personally, though, and I guess what everybody says is, Tom's not going anything half ass. Like, if he's going to do it, he's going to do it. It's like, I didn't know the NFL operated that way. And I like the fact that Davis. I like the fact that Mark Davis was just like, yeah, you got the keys.
- [136:41]
Ty Schmidt
Smart move.
- [136:42]
Pat McAfee
You do whatever the hell you need to do. I don't know how many other owners would do that.
- [136:45]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah, that's the part. Part the Davis and the ownership part. I. I expected Tom to at least want to be hands on And. And Eli coming to New York like, hey, Johnny, I beat this guy twice. You see what he's doing over there? Let me help you find maybe your next. Oh, boy, he's drafted. Jackson Dart. But, you know, the future of the franchise here. So I'm excited about either one of these guys getting into that ownership position, and I'm definitely rooting for Tom Brady to actually turn things around. You got your quarterback there with Gino. You locked him up. You got Pete Carroll, who, you know, we don't expect him to be there long term, but I expect him to at least get that ship started in the right direction.
- [137:19]
AJ Hawk
Yeah, I mean, that was like his first big decision. You know, they could have. They could have went out and got like, the young hotshot, you know, play caller guru or whatever. Like, they needed a guy like Pete Carroll. And I think a lot of people forget how good of a coach he is because of the way things ended in Seattle and then him taking a year off. Like, that's what they needed to do to kind of reset the franchise. So so far, you know, I think you.
- [137:39]
Pat McAfee
You.
- [137:39]
AJ Hawk
You could argue, and then even the quarterback, you know, maybe they didn't like who was in the draft. So it's like, all right, let's go out and trade for Geno. Like, I think as of right now, if I'm a Raiders fan, I'm a thousand times more confident going into this year than I was last year.
- [137:52]
Pat McAfee
Me, too. And I think every move you make, you just got to be like, yeah, Tom Brady. Yeah.
- [137:55]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah.
- [137:56]
Pat McAfee
Does Tom like it? Yeah. All right. I like it. This is what Tom thinks we need to do. Yep. All right. That's what I think we need to do. And how could you not think that one way? What if they start losing again, though? Probably I don't know.
- [138:07]
Adam Peters
Does Tom get the blame? Does Tom get the blame if they lose?
- [138:09]
Pat McAfee
Yeah, like, Pete Carol's over there, Chip Kelly's. They got a lot of winners over there, man. Gino Smith's over there.
- [138:14]
AJ Hawk
I mean, Tom McMahon.
- [138:15]
Pat McAfee
Tom McMahon special teams coordinator.
- [138:17]
Boston Connor
Tom Brady ain't getting fired, so I don't think he's getting the blame. And looking at, I mean, from the public.
- [138:21]
Adam Peters
From the public.
- [138:22]
Ty Schmidt
No, he won't get out. No, it'll be Pete.
- [138:24]
Boston Connor
Because how much of the general public you think, like, truly believes that Tom Brady's doing everything?
- [138:31]
Pat McAfee
Well, that's what I'm saying. Like, I think from what we have heard.
- [138:34]
Boston Connor
Yes.
- [138:35]
Pat McAfee
Is Tom. Is day to day.
- [138:37]
Adam Peters
Tom's in a good spot. Then if they win, Tom's gonna get a lot of credit.
- [138:44]
Pat McAfee
Yeah.
- [138:45]
AJ Hawk
Point at Mark Davis and just say, look at this goofball.
- [138:48]
Pat McAfee
This is why we can't remember where that backpack sat down in the hobby. Yeah. Because right way up his back they're saying he's like on the phone. I don't want. I don't know if it's with strength coach, but they're saying, like he's on phone with coaches, like, hey, what are we thinking today? What are the minds at? What are we trying to do? Okay, we'll talk to you later. And then like just making the rounds. It's like this guy is the acting owner of the Las Vegas Raiders seven Super Bowl.
- [139:13]
Darius J. Butler
That's insane. Went to 10, won seven. And then to go to Tampa and then bring, you know, because the. It was, you know, we forever debate, you know, was it Bill? Was it Tom? And then for him to go there.
- [139:24]
Pat McAfee
And then he brought in spytech, he.
- [139:26]
Darius J. Butler
Brought his spy tech, but he brought in that. That winning way, that Patriot way, that Brady way, whatever it may have been. So. Yeah. So now if he goes to the Raiders, like AJ Said, he is at a great spot. If it goes good, everybody point in time. If it goes bad, you guys aren't doing it his way.
- [139:40]
Pat McAfee
The Art of Winning by Bill Belichick. I believe it is available today. You can go buy that. Get the inside tips of his life through football.
- [139:48]
Darius J. Butler
The real one.
- [139:50]
Pat McAfee
I got two of them here.
- [139:52]
Boston Connor
Margaret, the blue one, who miss He Thatcher.
- [139:56]
Ty Schmidt
Yeah, he right. Cuz it was Doug's mom.
- [139:59]
AJ Hawk
Oh, you remember King Queens.
- [140:01]
Boston Connor
He's the one on the. Yeah, yep.
- [140:03]
Pat McAfee
The Art of Winning by Bill Belichick. Which one's which?
- [140:09]
Boston Connor
I know you want me to tell.
- [140:10]
Pat McAfee
You this one here is for Jonathan, Raj, Robert, Roger.
- [140:16]
Boston Connor
Okay, Raj Belichick.
- [140:21]
Pat McAfee
Yep. This one is. This one's Uncharted here by Margaret Heffernan. Good book, Margaret Heffernan. If you want to know the art of winning, you read Uncharted by Margaret Heffernan. Or you say, wow, you got me. That was a good one. And then you buy it again. The Art of Winning with Bill Belichick as actually Bill Belichick. Here's chapter three. Firing and hiring. That's a big decision. That's a big decision. How do you keep your culture well? You got a hire well and you got a fire well. Legit. Here's from Susie Welch. The lessons in this book are for anyone who wants to understand what it takes to win in business and in life. Bill's right. Winning is an art, but he turns it into an art. Art anyone can learn.
- [141:06]
H
Whoa.
- [141:07]
Pat McAfee
Okay.
- [141:08]
Ty Schmidt
I like that.
- [141:08]
Pat McAfee
You, too can be a winning artist.
- [141:10]
AJ Hawk
Love that.
- [141:11]
Pat McAfee
Read. Boom. The Art of Winning by Bill Belichick.
- [141:14]
Boston Connor
Available now.
- [141:16]
Pat McAfee
Available now.
- [141:17]
Adam Peters
I hope he did the audio book. I'll listen to it.
- [141:19]
Darius J. Butler
I was literally just thinking that.
- [141:20]
Boston Connor
Yeah, definitely audible.
- [141:22]
Adam Peters
I'm sure he would sit down for 15 hours and do that.
- [141:25]
Boston Connor
Yeah, for sure.
- [141:25]
Pat McAfee
The beauty of accepting this is put in. All right, tell me when to stop. We're going to read a random page of the Art of Winning from Bill Belichick.
- [141:34]
Adam Peters
Yes.
- [141:34]
Boston Connor
Stop.
- [141:35]
Pat McAfee
Stop. Chapter 11. Communication. Boom.
- [141:39]
Adam Peters
All right.
- [141:40]
Pat McAfee
I admit that at times I have been uncooperative with the media.
- [141:44]
Boston Connor
Oh, you got to read it like Bill.
- [141:45]
Pat McAfee
Hands up. Nope, not doing that. In 29 years of press conferences as a head coach, there have been some moments I'd like to have back. I was not good at ignoring questions from reporters that were phrased in a way that was intended to get a specific reaction. In this, I am not unique. I can pretty much guarantee that you've had a boss whose idea of constructive feedback was to pull you aside and ask you something like, did you think it was a good idea to. Or I'm confused by your decision to some passive aggressive stuff that they think is a slick way to get their point across without seeming like the bad guy. I've been a little curt with an unsuspecting reporter just trying to do his job. There have been times when I've been asked a question, and I've just ignored it altogether. To be clear, that's better than the alternative, which would have led to my being fined. The media gets annoyed by being stonewalled. But plenty of people, normal people, fans, business people, other coaches, players over the years have reached out and Told me how much they appreciated how I handled some of those situations. That's chapter 11, communication. I'll you tell you what. He's just getting started.
- [142:50]
Boston Connor
I like it.
- [142:51]
Pat McAfee
That's a good book.
- [142:52]
Boston Connor
And fans did love it.
- [142:53]
Darius J. Butler
That next.
- [142:53]
Adam Peters
So he's saying he. He was right in how he handled the media.
- [142:55]
Pat McAfee
Yeah. He said, I'll tell you what, Some people might not like that. I get a lot of messages from telling people. That's right. Don't give them. Leave them for nothing. You want to do another page? Yeah.
- [143:07]
Boston Connor
Yes, please.
- [143:08]
Pat McAfee
Tell me when to stop.
- [143:09]
Darius J. Butler
The page stops. Tom Brady, too.
- [143:13]
Pat McAfee
Looking forward.
- [143:14]
AJ Hawk
Oh, not nice.
- [143:15]
Pat McAfee
Will help you see what matters in the present. It's true. Never even thought of that. That page.
- [143:23]
AJ Hawk
Stunned. Will you read a different one?
- [143:24]
Pat McAfee
That's two pages. I just read two pages.
- [143:26]
Boston Connor
All right.
- [143:27]
AJ Hawk
I don't like that gimmick.
- [143:28]
Boston Connor
Let's go. Let's go. Another one.
- [143:31]
Pat McAfee
That's a lot of words.
- [143:33]
Boston Connor
Go towards the front.
- [143:34]
Ty Schmidt
Go towards the front.
- [143:35]
Adam Peters
Any pictures.
- [143:37]
Darius J. Butler
Oh, any Tom Brady stories.
- [143:40]
Pat McAfee
How they applied to the week, the opponent or that year's team. If we had hadn't constantly reinforced the meaning of the messages, then they would have been just wallpaper that faded into the background by whatever was on people's phones on the way into their locker or desk. So we made it clear, do your job, work hard, be attentive. That's how you win.
- [144:00]
Boston Connor
Love that. Hell, yeah.
- [144:02]
Pat McAfee
I'll tell you what. This one right here. Work hard. The most important thing that a human can have. I've tried to realize and I've tried to understand why. I just hate some people. You know, there were some people I meet, and deep down in my loins, I hate them. And I'm like, why do I hate this person? A lot of people seemingly like this person. I think it all stems from whether or not I think the other person has a good work ethic or not. If they're lazy and don't have a work ethic, what I've learned about me is I'm not going to like them. And I don't know why that's the case. I don't know what it is about me and what it is about them. But I think hard work is the most important trait that you can have. I think having a work ethic is the most important thing that you can instill upon the next generation. I think understanding that it's going to take a lot of work to accomplish anything is something that needs to be understood by everybody in this fairytale world that we're in where everybody thinks everything just comes at the snap of a finger. I think working hard is the most important thing in life legitimately, obviously caring and loving those around you and being respectful and being nice and yada yada, yada. But when it comes to, like, accomplishing things, I think work ethic is the only thing that matters. And, boy, I've done a little self scout. I hate people that don't have a work ethic and I need to be better with them because it's not their fault. It's not their fault they're lazy. It's not their fault they have no drive. It's not their fault that they think everybody else will handle everything for them. It's kind of how they're raised usually. It's kind of how their life has been. So maybe you can work a work ethic into somebody, but, boy, I don't have time for it mostly. And I will quickly make that decision and just see you later. Got no time for this bum. And then I'll move forward. And then I realized quickly, have to work with this bum. Well, I just burned the bridge with the bum. Well, you're gonna have to rebuild that thing. You need to go on Fortnite with your little fucking thing and build a bridge back up. Yeah, you need to do that old thing. I like that. Working hard is starting to be promoted by more people. Like, I think there for a bit, like, it wasn't something that was talked about. Now I think, like, people are starting to reiterate the fact, like, hey, everything is going to take work. Everything in life is going to take a lot of work. You just need to sign up for it, get used to it, and fucking do the thing. The audiobook is available for purchase and download on Audible. It is also available on Amazon.com and other platforms like Channel Chirp Books. Bill Belichick narrated his own audiobook, the Art of Winning Lessons from My Life in Football. All right, let's listen to that for the next 10 years.
- [146:30]
Boston Connor
Okay? Boom.
- [146:32]
Adam Peters
I'll get it.
- [146:32]
Pat McAfee
Let's get after it. Is there any Tom Brady?
- [146:34]
Darius J. Butler
I speed him up. They put him at 1.2.
- [146:36]
Pat McAfee
No, Robert.
- [146:37]
AJ Hawk
Crap.
- [146:38]
Boston Connor
No, no. Bobby.
- [146:39]
Pat McAfee
Do you guys do 2x?
- [146:40]
Boston Connor
No, no, I do like 1.1.25.
- [146:43]
Ty Schmidt
Yeah.125 on videos.
- [146:45]
Boston Connor
I'll do 2x.
- [146:47]
Pat McAfee
To my mom, Jeanette and my dad, Steve, for their love and support. To Bill Edwards, my godfather and my father's college and NFL coach. My father's book, Football Scouting Methods, was dedicated to Bill Edwards. But the dedication page was left out. The Belichick family is forever indebted to Bill Edwards and his wife, Dorothy for inspiring three generations of coaches. To my grandparents, Leslie and Irene Martin. Run. And John and Mary Belichick, for the sacrifices they made for their children, grandchildren and future generations. To my children, Amanda, Stephen and Brian, your love and inspiration power our journey. I have watched you grow as parents and as coaches. Oh, yeah, that was this page. I don't know. What's this page?
- [147:31]
Adam Peters
That's all forward acknowledgment.
- [147:34]
Pat McAfee
I don't know. It's all by itself. It's only. I don't know books well enough. Whatever this page is.
- [147:38]
AJ Hawk
Well, I can't say. Is that publisher information or.
- [147:40]
Pat McAfee
No, publisher. Information's here, I believe. Copyright, Collected Poems, interior design was done by Ruth Lee Mui.
- [147:48]
AJ Hawk
Oh.
- [147:49]
Darius J. Butler
Who's the publisher?
- [147:51]
AJ Hawk
Simon and Schuster.
- [147:53]
Pat McAfee
Avid reader. An imprint of Simon and Schuster. Boom, llc.
- [147:57]
AJ Hawk
They run this.
- [147:58]
Pat McAfee
They do a lot of books. Simon and Schuster do the books. They do this. They do. Do the books.
- [148:03]
AJ Hawk
Yes, they do.
- [148:04]
Pat McAfee
Art of Winning, available now. Now, Bill Belichick, Go get it now. That interview was not what he thought it was going to be.
- [148:11]
Darius J. Butler
Ambush.
- [148:12]
Ty Schmidt
So they said.
- [148:13]
AJ Hawk
It's not what CBS is saying.
- [148:15]
Boston Connor
Yeah, I don't know about that.
- [148:16]
Pat McAfee
CBS goes, we tried. Yeah, we certainly tried. And Bill goes, I was told we're talking book and ball. Yeah.
- [148:24]
Boston Connor
Who told you that?
- [148:25]
Pat McAfee
That's why I wore the Navy. That's why I wore the Navy sweats. Book and ball. This is a hole in it. You see it? Him just sitting there on that chair with that ripped sweater, his hair the way it is. I'm here talking about book and ball.
- [148:40]
Adam Peters
That is awesome. The whole situation. Like, of course you wrote a book. They can ask you about anything. Like they're going to.
- [148:48]
Pat McAfee
Had no idea.
- [148:49]
Ty Schmidt
He was told.
- [148:49]
Pat McAfee
He sat down. Book and ball. Not what his PR was told, is what we're heard. He's potentially looking for new pr. We'll see how that goes. Bill Belichick, still the greatest football coach of all time. Never forget it. Okay. Some people were forgetting it. It feels like. Well.
- [149:02]
Boston Connor
Oh, not just so.
- [149:04]
Pat McAfee
A lot of people were forgetting it. We need to not forget it. Greatest football coach of all time. And if you want to learn the art of winning, Bingo. It's available now.
- [149:14]
Adam Peters
Can't wait.
- [149:16]
Pat McAfee
Are you audiobooking it with Bill?
- [149:17]
Darius J. Butler
Yeah, obviously. I read once.
- [149:19]
Pat McAfee
For sure.
- [149:20]
Darius J. Butler
Well, I read Marcus book. Now I gotta listen.
- [149:24]
Boston Connor
Which also helped Marcus.
- [149:25]
Darius J. Butler
Good.
- [149:26]
Pat McAfee
Margaret Heffernan, is she with Schusty as well, is she with the Schusties?
- [149:31]
Jamal Crawford
Gotta be.
- [149:31]
AJ Hawk
There's a good chance at all.
- [149:34]
Boston Connor
Heffernan Publishing, you said Blackrock owns it all.
- [149:37]
Adam Peters
You know, I'm sure they own everything. I mean, Simon and Schuster is the book version of that.
- [149:42]
Pat McAfee
Who's been bopping in this thing? These pages are sticking together.
- [149:47]
AJ Hawk
Press. I'm not Press.
- [149:50]
Darius J. Butler
So she's good. Good.
- [149:53]
Pat McAfee
Avid reader Press. An imprint of Simon sns. So Simon and Schusty just kind of mixed up the books. You get Margaret and Bill.
- [150:02]
AJ Hawk
Makes sense. Two for one.
- [150:04]
Boston Connor
Lucky.
- [150:04]
Pat McAfee
I wonder if the audiobook would be Margaret reading Bill. What if Bill read Margaret's all Margaret's fans. I can't wait to get to your audiobook. Let me tell you about. Let's get to a break. Break. We'll be back tomorrow. We're off tomorrow. Big meeting day tomorrow for the entire program. Then we'll be back Thursday and Friday and then backlash is Saturday in St. Louis. AJ let's enjoy the hell out of this life tonight. Two NHL games, two NBA games. Life is amazing in the sports world. We can never forget it. I believe it's a unifier. The greatest unifier in the world. I will always believe that. And I will always choose to celebrate the shit out of sports. Sports. Even the sports we might not know enough about. For instance, baseball's happening. Is Aaron Judge the greatest right handed hitter at all time?
- [150:49]
AJ Hawk
Stats would indicate yes, he is. No one has really ever done what he's doing, which is crazy. And then, you know, the Yanks just go out there. They trade for, you know, the best, best closer in baseball. Guy can't fucking pitch in the big city, you know, so Yankees need to start winning and not waste what judges do.
- [151:04]
Pat McAfee
Okay. And on that note, I heard Paul Skeens had quite an outing against the Cubs the other day. Not that great. I heard the Cubs had his number there for a second.
- [151:11]
AJ Hawk
Yeah, he only, he only gave up three earned runs, but he did give up three big flies, which is going to happen sometimes when you're throwing the ball as hard as he is. And then he may have been thrown off as well by ushers in the stands, you know, getting in big time fights with Pirates fans, beating the out of each other.
- [151:25]
Pat McAfee
I heard there was a belt that was taken off in public and started.
- [151:31]
AJ Hawk
Yeah, Usher got spit on. He said, okay, you know what? The Pirates suck. I'm not letting the this happened. He took his belt off and started what?
- [151:39]
Boston Connor
What he's smacking in public?
- [151:41]
AJ Hawk
Yeah.
- [151:41]
Pat McAfee
On camera on the Concord.
- [151:43]
Darius J. Butler
Can't be spitting on people.
- [151:44]
Pat McAfee
Well, the Pittsburgh Pirates, they spit on her face. Oh, Buddy's back.
- [151:49]
AJ Hawk
He is.
- [151:49]
Pat McAfee
He is old Buddy that fell in the. In the outfield.
- [151:52]
AJ Hawk
Yeah.
- [151:52]
Pat McAfee
He's alive. He also walked, I believe.
- [151:55]
AJ Hawk
Yeah, pretty good.
- [151:56]
Pat McAfee
He broke his.
- [151:57]
AJ Hawk
Broke his neck.
- [151:58]
Darius J. Butler
Oh.
- [151:58]
Pat McAfee
His back, I believe, his shoulder and fractured skull. Right.
- [152:02]
AJ Hawk
Yeah. So he's car.
- [152:04]
Pat McAfee
He's alive, but he was able to walk.
- [152:05]
Darius J. Butler
He's got to be young.
- [152:07]
Ty Schmidt
How old is 21?
- [152:08]
AJ Hawk
20. Just graduated college, I think.
- [152:10]
Pat McAfee
Jack Yinzer. Yeah. Happy to hear he's okay. But a lot of things happen around the Pirates just continue to get worse. There's no fans in the stands the other day.
- [152:17]
Ty Schmidt
Well, they suck.
- [152:18]
AJ Hawk
Yeah, they're bad.
- [152:19]
Jamal Crawford
Oh, man.
- [152:19]
Pat McAfee
When are they going to sell the damn team? Never. And on that note, let's get the hell out of here. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change your life. We're in this thing together. Team on me. We'll see you on Thursday. Team on three. One, two, three. Team goodbye. Hey, I'm Brad Milke. You may know me as the host of ABC Audio's daily news podcast. Start here. But I'd like to add aspiring true crime expert to my resume. And here's how I'm gonna make it happen. Every week, I'm gonna unpack the biggest.
- [152:48]
Ty Schmidt
True crime story that everyone is talking about.
- [152:52]
Pat McAfee
ABC's got some unique access here, so I'll talk to the reporters and producers who have followed these cases for months, sometimes years. We'll bring you the latest developments and the larger context on the true crime.
- [153:04]
Ty Schmidt
Stories you've been hearing about.
- [153:06]
Pat McAfee
Follow the crime scene for special access to the people who know these stories best. Rapper Sean Diddy Combs was a kingmaker. He had wealth, fame and power. What's up?
- [153:20]
Darius J. Butler
Welcome to New York.
- [153:22]
Pat McAfee
Until it all came crashing down.
- [153:24]
Ty Schmidt
Federal investigators raiding two homes owned by.
- [153:27]
Pat McAfee
Hip hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs. I'm Brian Buckmire, an ABC News legal contributor. As Diddy heads to trial, we trace his remarkable rise and fall. And what could be next? Listen to Bad Rap the Case Against Diddy, a new series from ABC Audio. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.