GMFB Thursday Hour 1: Bo Nix & Sam Darnold Struggling, Giants = Playoff Team? Packers S Xavier McKinney joins

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Welcome inside Good Morning Football, presented by Old Trapper Beef Jerky, Thursday, October 15th. Jamie Erdahl, Manti Teo, Kyle Brandt, and his baseman, Isaac Rochelle, back at the breakfast table in a minute.

We feel good.

It's been far too long, Isaac. We were talking last time you were on the show.

Exactly.

Golf clap, golf clap. It had been before the Super Bowl since we've last hung with you. As much as football's changed, it's also the same. We're still talking Broncos, Seahawks. Some people still wanted that to be the Super Bowl match. Well, we got it tonight for Thursday night football. So that means we got to know about the news and notes from around the league before we get to our convo.

Let's kick things off with our NFL Network insider, Ian Rappaport. Wrap sheet, updates before the game. Seahawks, Broncos, I just said. What do we need to know?

A couple big-name players had their status updated very, very recently. We'll start with the do-it-all corner for the Denver Broncos. Patrick Sertani is still dealing with an ankle injury. Remember, missed last week. It's kind of a non-contact, weird ankle injury.

Was not long-term. Expect to keep him out a couple weeks. This is the second game.

There's a chance he is back the following week, but we know for sure that he is out tonight against the Seahawks. Riley Moss, questionable, his partner in crime there. Another standout Broncos defender not going to be on the field. Talanoa Hufanga, he is dealing with an ankle injury himself. This is a multi-week injury, so really not a surprise that he is out this game. And if you watched him last week, he is literally everywhere blitzing, covering. This is a big loss for this Denver Broncos defense. On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks are going to have Jackson Smith and Jigba JSN. He tweaked his ankle a little bit right at the end of last week against the 49ers.

Didn't miss much.

Was able to come back and play. But was limited in practice early in this week. Full participant on Wednesday. He is off the injury report to one of the best receivers in the NFL. Good to go for tonight's game.

All right, Rap Sheet, thank you so much.

I'm distracted by Manti doing the Tongan.

What is that?

There's Tongan. He's Tongan.

He just hears it and it's like a nervous tick. He's like, yeah, tell him. We got to talk quarterbacks because Bo Nix has found success early in his career. Kind of the opposite story that we saw Sam Darnold go through.

And these are the two quarterbacks we're talking about.

Here are the coaches discussing both Bo Nix and Sam Darnold.

I'd say it's really impressive the command he has over their offense and their operation. And he's got That playmaking ability is still there. We saw that at our game. He's a really good quarterback and can make you pay kind of now and he can make you pay later. But he also does a great job of getting him in and out of plays and handling tempo and managing all the things that they do operationally, which is really impressive.

For Sam, you have to say career-changing because he's a Super Bowl-winning quarterback on a fantastic team. His confidence is entirely different. where he's going, he's decisive. Nothing surprises you like, you know, in our league.

That was really well said by Sean Payton. Honest assessment of Sam Darnold. Kyle, we're watching these guys and many more tonight ahead of Seahawks-Francos.

What catches your eye at first pass?

Well, I'm looking at Bo Nix. This is a big game for Denver. Big game for Denver. And Bo Nix has not played well. He has not played like himself. He's a likable, promising young quarterback, but he just hasn't looked like himself on the field. And yet, in a media session this week, he thinks that's something that seems to be kind of made up.

Go ahead.

I think playing good and playing bad, it's a narrative, and I think it's honestly kind of something we make up. I don't think necessarily I'm playing any different than what I'm normally playing.

Okay, let's just start with a little bit of accountability and a little bit of reality. A narrative would be something like Bo Nix was carried by the Broncos defense over the last two plus years. That's a narrative. But we need to deal with some facts here. The Broncos offense is worse than the Chargers, who are terrible. Fact.

Fact.

Bo Nix's QBR is worse than Malik Willis. Fact. Bo Nix's yards per game is worse than Drew Locke. Fact. Bo Nix's completion percentage is worse than Cam Ward. Fact. Jalen Waddle was brought in to be this flashy new weapon. It's hard to find him out there. The play caller got put in timeout. A notable AFC quarterback from Bo Nix's own draft class was playing terrible the first month of the season and now seemed to pull out and find his game again.

Fact.

And worst of all, if you're Bo Nix and you're the Broncos, that beast in red in your own division seems to have risen and is undefeated. And one of those wins was a shellacking of the Broncos in which Bo Nix did nothing. Those are not narratives. These are the facts and they are undisputed. So go have a game tonight, Bo. I'm rooting for you. You're a positive figure.

You're a promising young quarterback. But the first step in solving a problem is admitting that you have one. You're not playing like yourself. You don't look like yourself. That's not a narrative. These are facts. Go change them.

It's unbelievable.

I feel like I need to take notes on how to talk to my children. Like if my daughter comes to me and is like, this is made up. Scotty, it is fact.

This happened.

You woke up last night and you wouldn't go back to sleep.

That's a fact.

That's not a narrative.

It just is what it is.

So I love that.

I love the direct. That's great.

I think another narrative that's starting to develop, and I was a Sam Darnold apologetic, but Sam Darnold, he's becoming.

A little bit of a turnover machine.

Every single game this year that he's played start to finish, he's turned the ball over. It's becoming an issue. Last year, I was all in on Sam Darnold.

You were fighting people with swords.

Bro, we were having discussions up there in the control room.

He was, boy. Now I know.

Now I know what you guys really feel. You know, whatever.

But, yeah, Sam Darnold, last year I was all in on this guy, and this year it's becoming a problem. And what I'm seeing is it becomes a ball distribution issue, a target distribution issue. When you look at their team, you look at the Seahawks, you could go ask some random guy, hey, who do you think Sam Darnold's going to throw the ball to?

Everybody's going to say JSN.

I don't blame them.

JSN's a beast.

He's the best wide receiver in the NFL. But at the end of the day, the difference between the targets of JSN, the percentage difference between him and the next guy, A.J. Barner, is the biggest difference in the league. It is so incredibly obvious. And when you have Charbonnet out and you have Price out, and they're going to have to develop this offense and throw the ball.

You need to distribute the ball more.

So, when I think about this game and what I'm watching for, I'm watching for Sam Darnold to have– get to the second and third progression, potentially, depending on what the defense shows, and have a statement game. We can't keep turning the ball over because guys like me who get on TV and hype you up, Sam, we need you to not turn the ball over. I think that's– I want a clean game by Sam Darnold.

Hmm.

Yeah, I think this is a quarterback conversation.

You know, I'm going to go back to the Denver Broncos, just like how Kyle did. And, you know, one of the biggest narratives was that offense and was Davis Webb as offensive coordinator being the play caller just the first time in Sean Payton's career that he's kind of given away those responsibilities. And now he got him back last week. Well, you watch him last week and it looked like kind of the same story. So for me, it was like trying to figure out. What is the issue with this Denver Broncos offense? And after some research, you're looking at a few different factors. And what I found is the Broncos are a lot like the Houston Texans. There's multiple parties that.

Are responsible for this thing. Number one, the offensive line.

The offensive line last year and four years before this year was one of the best offensive lines in the National Football League when it came to the run game and when it came.

To protecting their quarterback. The biggest difference this.

Year is They're not running the ball really well, and they're not protecting Bo Nix. And that last part is huge because Bo Nix, to KB's point, Bo Nix, when under pressure, is one of the worst quarterbacks in the National Football League. Bo Nix is off target when under pressure a lot. Pass yards per throw, when under pressure, he.

Is dead last.

Pass TD to interception ratio, nine touchdowns, 15 interceptions.

That's 31st. So what do I want to see out of this game?

Number one, I want to hopefully see a jump in production now that Sean Payton is game two as the offensive play caller. But number two... Offensive line, block. Block in the run game, protect that quarterback because that Seattle Seahawks defense, they're not missing anybody in that secondary. You're going to see Devin Weatherspoon come through the B gap on the nickel blitz. You're going to see a lot of those D linemen get pressure. And when they do get pressure, Bo Nix, stand in that heat.

And take it.

Deliver the football to those weapons. You have Jalen Waddle, you have Cortland Sutton. You have a whole bunch of weapons at your disposal that.

You can get this ball to. Get the ball out of your hands and make some plays.

That is what I'm looking forward to, Jamie, is how can they make this next step week two under Sean Payne as their offensive play caller.

We started this conversation by listening to both head coaches, Mike McDonald and Sean Payton. And I always like watching coaches at the podium because I think over an 18-plus week experience, body language changes, their tone of voice changes, the T-shirt changes even.

Yeah.

And it's an interesting study.

Kyle, a welfare check on your Super Bowl selection because I'm pretty sure you used your one-wish willow box.

To have the Seahawks repeat.

I thought watching Mike McDonald speak at the podium this week, he seems a little perturbed.

He seems annoyed.

I'm not going to call him tense, but he just has like a tone in his voice that he's not here for how the season is going right now for the Seahawks.

What do you make of your Super Bowl selection?

Well, I think he's really pissed about the Niners game. I mean, not because of some sort of controversy. I just think he was really mad that they lost, and it's fine. That's how those guys should be. They know what time it is in the West. Like, the West is, we're going to do this thing again in a few months, and I think the Rams might be there. I know Seattle and San Francisco will be. So it's like one of those things, it's like a schoolyard fight or something where you lose to the guy and you have to sit next to him in class for the rest of the season. It's like, I think he was very mad about that. But how do I feel about Seattle?

I mean.

I feel fine. You know what? I don't even feel terrible about the Broncos. The Broncos are 3-2, and they've lost to two very good teams. This guy's not falling. These teams are fine. One of them is going to lose tonight. Even if the Broncos are 3-3 and they lose to Seattle. It's not one of those teams you scratch off. I mean, unless Knicks just completely bottoms out.

But Seattle, I feel absolutely fine. Yes, the Washington game was very strange. Very strange. But you're also not going to go 15-2 in a season. You're going to lose some of those random games, all right? They beat New England. They beat the Chargers. They don't really have any really impressive wins yet, but they look like Seattle. The defense, for the most part, is good. I trust the coach. Incredibly, I trust the quarterback. We can't do this thing where one year after Sam Darnold is inspiring documentaries and movies and screenplays and stuff about his comeback career, that now we're like, nah, Sam Darnold doesn't have it.

No, no, no.

Sam Darnold's going to be fine. Jackson Smith and Jigba drop a huge cap. Catch against San Francisco is like the weirdest drop of his life if he catches that they win. So I feel fine about Seattle. I really do. And candidly, I think they'll probably win tonight.

That's a shocking drop. It's a good point. He's so talented.

And how can you not reel that in? But that's why we watch it all the way to the end. I can imagine in your time playing for Sean Payton, that version of Sean Payton I think was a little alarming because he's almost like jovial and happy talking about Tim Darnold. But I have to imagine the way the Broncos have been playing, maybe a little tougher in the locker room right now.

Yeah.

You know, I can only imagine what those conversations are like. I can only imagine what those practices have been like, especially I don't know if during his tenure as the head coach for the New Orleans Saints, if he ever had a bad offense.

Right.

And so this is kind of new territory for Sean to be.

In a situation where.

The point of conversation for the Denver Broncos is the offense, right?

It's like, what's going on?

Why isn't this offense looking like a Sean Payton offense I've been used to seeing now? Now that he's back as a play caller, I'm looking forward to seeing how he starts to utilize this run game. There's one thing about Sean Payton is, yes, you see a throw. You see all of that by Drew Brees with Bo Nix, all of that stuff. Sean loves that two-headed monster at running back. And that's something that they're missing. And that's something that kind of stills the offense and keeps them kind of at bay and calm. Because they don't have that, I think a lot of that pressure is now on Bo Nix, Jamie. And Bo doesn't really perform well under that type of pressure. It hasn't shown that he's been able to perform well under that pressure. So if they

can get J.K.

Dobbins and R.J.

Harvey going, hopefully that lightens up the load for Bo Nix and he can go back to that rookier Bo Nix that we saw.

We got to protect our house. We got to protect our pride. We got to protect our babies. Let's get some soul in here, baby. Look, look at the Bears fans leaving.

Hey, focus on the field.

Focus on the game.

I'm with you, D.

I'm with you.

Let's go.

That's a W.

That's E1. That's E1. That's a W.

I just think we were prepared. You know, one thing my trainer, he told.

Me, he said... What did he say?

Yeah, just pain.

It was pain everywhere. He just told us to be prepared.

I believe.

Me too. I believe.

Me too.

I believe.

Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard what the Lord got.

For the Cleveland Browns.

Come on. We got to believe. I am so happy and grateful. That the Lord has blessed me to play in some snow. Oh my gosh, like this is really an NFL film moment. The snow starts pouring down. My feet start getting heavy because I'm squishing through the snow.

I know I'm better than this. I know. I'm just praying for the Lord to deliver me from pick sixes.

This is something I've been doing since I've been four years old. Now I just get to do it in the greatest city in the world. I'm going to be saying it with my son. It's the greatest city in the world. Yeah, that's a Hamilton reference if y'all don't know.

A 10-year reunion. Silas sisters.

I'm not sure that anybody doesn't know that that's a Hamilton reference, but we appreciate Jameis Winston walking us through that and the rest of the memories as he tries to pull.

What did my trainer say to me again? Let's go for two here.

Two topics.

We'll start with the New York Giants.

And the positive is that in the last couple weeks, Jameis Winston has become the first New York Giants quarterback to throw for three or more touchdowns in back-to-back games since Eli Manning did it back in 2016. The flip side of that is that for some reason with Jameis Winston, we know and he is aware.

Of it, too, that it can come with a negative.

My take on the Jameis Winston experience is that I am.

Called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

Right.

No, the Bible says a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years a day.

Right.

Yesterday feels like a thousand years ago.

Right. That's how relevant it is.

So today I'm focused on being one percent better today.

Stop giggling.

You can't.

I mean, it's unreal.

Yeah, it is.

I love Jameis.

Let's go.

Giants are undefeated with Jameis Winston as a starting quarterback. So how do they win the NFC East with the Jameis Winston experience playing on the theater?

Yeah, I mean, you understand what the strengths of Jameis are and what the weaknesses are. And how you win is this. You use him for belief, not relief. Belief side is you use them for that juice. You use them for that leadership. You use them as that glue for your football team. And that's what they've been using him for the past couple games. And it's been working.

You do not use Jameis for relief. You don't say, Jameis, I need you to go in this game and throw for 400 yards and five touchdowns.

That is to relieve.

You of some issues that you may have gotten yourself into. Do not do that for Jameis. It's not necessarily a losing recipe, but it's definitely a risky one.

And we've seen that throughout his career.

Right now, you win with Jameis because you use more of the Greg.

Roman type of approach.

They have two offensive play callers over there in New York.

You have Matt Nagy and Greg Roman.

I think you lean a little bit more towards the Greg Roman with the run game with Skadaboo and a play-action pass game with Isaiah Legley and Malik Neighbors.

That is the recipe.

I think if they were able to do that, Isaac, they can win this NFC East. They can win this division as long as they use Jameis for what he's great at.

Really?

A belief? Not relief.

Manta, I want to agree with you.

But when I think of relief, I think of two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

I think of.

Showing up when you need to, which we just saw him do. I'm going to be honest. I'm done with the whole the body of work with James Winston. He's getting better, which is rare, by the way, for a vet in the NFL to get better at. At this point in their career, it's rare. It doesn't happen all the time. He's doing that. He comes out in these interviews.

He says, I want to get 1% better, and it becomes a meme, and it's a joke, and it's, oh, my God, let's laugh at Jameis, not with Jameis. But he's doing it, right? He is getting 1% better. I look at him throughout this season. Look, you can look at his stats at the beginning, and this is not just a repeat stats.

Show, but.

He came in as a starter. He played awful, right?

Then the next week, he got a little bit better.

He got a little bit better.

It's difficult as a quarterback when you're a backup and the starter is Jackson Dart and you get a new OC and Nagy. You get a new head coach and hardball, and they're building everything around Jackson Dart. They're spending their entire offseason for Jackson Dart. No one's expecting Jameis Winston to play. And then all of a sudden, Jameis Winston gets thrown in. He's not going to play well right away.

No quarterback in the NFL that's a backup in that situation would play well immediately. It's not their system. Now you look at them three weeks later, and he's playing well.

He's doing it.

So the whole Jameis Winston, he's been a laughingstock. He's been a meme for years. It's eat a dub, you know, yada, yada, yada. No, Jameis Winston is serious. He's giving them an opportunity. He is being a relief quarterback when he needs to be. I'm super happy to watch him play, continuing. And last thing I'll say, it's like his whole career, he's been trying to prove people wrong.

I feel like this is his.

Moment to prove himself right and just be the best version of himself for this football team. It's inspiring, and I love watching it. So I'm all in on Jameis, Kyle. Dude, that's very optimistic and uplifting. I really appreciate where you're coming from. That's all the good vibes coming from you.

And I'm trying... to soak them up because I am jaded as hell on this topic. If you are the light, I am the darkness. Because I do agree with you. I don't need to see him meeting the Ws anymore. I don't care about that. It's just nonsense, internet BS, and we'll all laugh about it when he retires. The problem is that I have watched Jameis throw 116 interceptions in the NFL. I'm talking about the football, not the nonsense.

It's like this isn't young Bo Nix who's working through some tough times. This isn't even Sam Darnold who we've seen for years and he finally overcame it. The dossier we have from Jameis, like the big folder that we sit down and untwist it and open it, it's like, boom, it's 3,000 pages. And most of them are like really electric and sloppy and fine, but it's just so much like losing football. And he's like the poor man's Brett Favre.

It's just like he is who he is. And it's very, very rare for a quarterback at this stage to completely change who he's been. I mean, we had five years in Tampa, four years in New Orleans, a year in Cleveland, two years in New York. I can count on one hand the amount of quarterbacks who are in his stage of their career who genuinely changed their game, really. Like, Rich Gannon won MVP at a very late age because he was playing under John Gruden and all these great, wonderful things, and he changed his game. I get it.

I just, Jameis is going to have to become a different player than he was. At some point, like Jameis can't give us that four interception game that we know is coming. It's just, we have all the tape that is coming. I think players can change. I think they can evolve. But this is like, would be the biggest change of all time. A massive metamorphosis. The good news is, and I'm going to try to keep this optimistic because that was inspired by Isaac. I think they have to finish 7-5. But just get into the numbers. I think the Giants have to finish from right on up 7-5 to win the division. That would put them at 10-6-1.

That probably wins the East because the other teams just look like morons right now and it's just a terrible division. If you can go 7-5... You're going to win it. Listen, Jameis never started a playoff game. He's never. It's like all these years of playing and all those interceptions, it's just not his thing. So I'm very doubtful, very jaded, and it has nothing to do with what I'm seeing right now. It's what I've been seeing since 2015 and even further back at Florida State. So tell me I'm wrong, guys, but you choose to believe in the Jameis story can be the greatest thing ever, or you're like, yeah, I know.

Yeah, Kyle, again, I really want this to work for Jameis. But this is my question for you. Can the Giants just around Jameis, right?

So just picture this.

Defense is playing really well, gets to a point where they need to get. The run game with Scadaboo gets to a point where it needs to get. Can they build up a team around Jameis enough to give him an opportunity to be a manageable quarterback to get them to that point to win the division?

Yeah, no, I think they definitely get that, right, Isaac? And I think that's what has made them successful so far is because within that context, within that system, with that run game and Cam Scadabou, I remember seeing Cam Scadabou with the giant logo, like, hanging from his helmet, right?

Like, that was so, that was gangster.

It's football.

Yes.

And then you see Isaiah Lakely, who came over from Baltimore, and he's having one of the best years of his career. Malik Nabors telling, you know, coach, just give me the football. They have that system right now surrounding Jameis. As long as they keep Jameis within those confines again, I think they have that opportunity, Jane.

I agree with you. Here's the thing, though.

And perhaps, Kyle, we don't have to get the four-touchdown experience. Because in the past, when we've been delivered that from Jameis, it's because Jameis is in for somebody that's hurt. And that is still the case. But now, usually we were uncomfortable with the guy that comes after Jameis, and that's why he had to stay in the games in which he's thrown four picks.

Mm-hmm. J.J.

McCarthy sitting there with the Giants blue jersey on. Where are we at with the J.J. McCarthy thing, Kyle? And how do you feel about the fact that he would be the next man up if indeed we do do the roller coaster dip with the Jameis Winston experience?

We're so far away from that because they win or they tie. And their first place team. I think you go with Jameis. I thought J.J. would start very quickly after he got there. I thought it would be like a week and a half and we'll see what we got. Otherwise, why do you make that move? But they're winning. So I don't think that they will make that move unless and when Jameis all of a sudden has a full Jameis game and they're like, oh, yeah. You know what it is, guys? It's like... And, Isaac, you relate to this. Like, it's a little bit like Kirk Cousins right now. Yeah. Like, nobody trusts him because we've seen Kirk Cousins for years, the primetime thing, everything. Like, you just, like, they start winning,

and you're like, yeah, but. It's very similar to the two of them, and it's happening in real time.

Isaac's return to GMFB has allowed him to be like the Santa Claus character and Kyle's a Scrooge.

And that's okay. Like we all need different avenues to drive down.

Speaking of the holidays that are upon us, Ben Johnson made a cameo in the Hallmark Channel's third installment of the NFL theme series, Holiday Touchdown. And everybody saw it on Wednesday. So we're like, coach, coach, coach, did you go to the premiere? That seems like definitely an event that you would attend.

Did you attend the Holiday Touchdown premiere yesterday?

Yeah. Not a chance.

What can we expect when it does stream this weekend?

I have no idea. I have no idea.

It sounded like a couple of our guys made it out there.

So it was good. It was good.

I need to see that man at a, at a premiere now, Kyle, I just need.

To Ben, Ben coach, coach, coach over here. What are you wearing?

And then he just gives everybody that look and he goes, not a chance. And he just walks off Kyle, your, your take.

On your coach.

I wonder if if they had beaten the Packers last week, does he go to that? Because Ben Johnson is in shutdown mode this week. I mean, if you've seen like there's all these reports of like closed practices, different procedural stuff like that was a tear. I think it was the worst game of the Ben Johnson regime last week.

I really do. So not only is he not going to that this week, I wonder if they had won in the 27 to 13 over the Packers. Is he showing up to that thing and taking pictures? We'll never know. But like there was no bleeping way in hell he was going to ever go this week after what happened in Green Bay.

OK, so now that we have that cleared up, just the state of the nation on Ben Johnson.

Let's open this up to all 32. Amante, take your pick.

If you were going to have a holiday party, let's say we had a GMFB and we invited everybody and you were going to play a Hallmark movie at this party, what coach would you like to most see appear on your screen for the Hallmark movie?

Well, when you think about a Hallmark movie, it's like good vibes, really jolly.

Festive. Somebody who is happy all the time.

And I would have to say I would love to see Dave Canales. Dave Canales, if he appeared on Hallmark.

Handsome dude. Handsome dude. I've never seen this guy mad. I've never seen him yell at a player.

When you think about Hallmark, there's like these feel-good stories. He's also been the author of a lot of feel-good stories with Bryce Young, his quarterback. That's one of the best stories in National Football League.

Talk about a resurgence in his career.

The Panthers, even Rico Dowdle last year, his career. So if there was anybody in a Hallmark movie, it would have to be my man over there in Carolina, Dave Canales, Isaac.

I like it.

That fit really well. Like that first shot of him kind of.

Yeah.

I was like, okay.

I see it.

Okay, I got a better pick at it. I mean, I almost want to just let it ride.

And the snow is falling on his face.

There's a love story happening. I have a better person. I'm going to go Mike McCarthy. And I know Hallmark is happy jolly. I was actually trying to find a comparison. I was researching, who is Mike McCarthy for a Hallmark movie? And this is what I got back. It said he looks like the bad guy in a Hallmark movie that's trying to shut down the city's only Christmas tree farm to open up a luxury strip mall. Can you not picture Mike McCarthy on a bulldozer bulldozing down the Christmas tree farm to open up a luxury strip mall?

I don't know.

He looks, it fits. And the whole Pittsburgh, him and Aaron Rodgers kind of beefing on the sideline and like, He's pissed at Aaron.

Aaron's pissed at everybody. Like, it just fits. Look at him. He looks like he should be on the bulldozer.

Cackling.

Well, I was going to choose who I thought would be the most awkward to be in a Hallmark movie, who wouldn't want to be any part of it, who wouldn't want to do any acting. And yet, I would have said Mike McCarthy. Like, that would be the guy who doesn't fit, uncomfortable in his own skin. So that answer was already taken. So I zagged. And then I thought...

Who would actually be really good in one of these movies? Like, I think actually could act and could emote. And a lot of times in these movies, Jamie, back me up, where you have the never had time for love career woman in the city who's the big time publicist who goes into the village in Vermont and finds the guy working the pumpkin patch. A lot of times that woman...

Her dad is like the heart of the movie. There's a dad figure and he's just like, I just want to see a smile again, sweetheart. I miss your smile. And eventually her heart melts and he tells her, go get him. You know, she runs off and finds the hunk. You know who I think would be great as that dad? Todd Munkin. I think Munkin could absolutely nail that role.

I think Munkin is an emotional guy. I think he's likable. I think he's charismatic. I think he's the right age. I think he's good with lines and quotes and dialogue. And I just think he's he's one of those people you root for. And his little daughter, you know, he used to rate push her on the swings when she was in pigtails and he'd be there at her softball games.

And now she's lost her sparkle. She's lost her glow in the big cities, eating her up. And he's like, I want you to go find your smile again, sweetheart. And man, did she find it as well as those big pectorals in the pumpkin patch. And he's so happy for her and he's there. He gives away the bride at the wedding and all that. I think Todd Munkin would crush this role.

And there also has to be, like, a football layer to this, Kyle. So let's just say she's estranged from this dad. And then she sees this guy that she meets, but he's also, like, a high school football coach, too. And he works at the Pumpkin Patch. Like, he's got both jobs. And then she watches it. He's, like, on the board drawing up plays. And she's, like, trauma bonded because she was, like, the daughter of a high school football coach. And then, really, it's just, like, that's who she really needs to love again.

Okay?

Like, it's her dad. And then the dad list. And then he becomes the assistant coach or something like that.

Like, it's all working, and they get married in the middle of the football field, and she goes back.

To her high school town.

Jamie, I love that.

That's getting started.

I love that. And I love that you came up with that off the top of your head. Good morning, football. Whiteboard Wednesday is a no AI segment. It is all coming from our own brains and our own ingenuity. That's always been that way, will always be that way. It is us. It is not the machines.

Yes.

And I spend time at 2X speed watching all the Hallmark films.

2X.

My mom lives with us.

It's baseball and it's Hallmark on at our house at all times.

Look at those guys go.

I'm telling you.

Todd Munkin is like, I've missed you.

Go find your guy.

And I'm going to be his assistant coach.

Todd Munkin, we're going to get him a lozenge in that film.

We'll be right back. We'll be right back.

Bajan looking, fires it over the middle, ball deflected, intercepted in the deep secondary. Intercepted by Xavier McKinney. Snap to Bajan. Bajan waits, fires it over the middle, intercepted. Intercepted by X marks the spot. Xavier McKinney and it's Green Bay football.

Second interception of the day for McKinney.

So good to watch.

Our next guest is the definition of a center field sniper. This past Sunday, he turned Lambeau Field into his personal no-fly zone, racking up two interceptions in the 31-7 beatdown of the Chicago Bears. Please welcome Packers All-Pro Safety friend of our show, Xavier McKinnon.

Come on, Xavier.

How you doing?

Let's go, ladies.

Let's go.

Xavier, awesome to see you.

Your teammate, that game was so fun to watch for you guys, probably fantastic to play in. Your teammate, Javon Bullard, said after the win over Chicago that sometimes big bro got to show up on little bro, and then you also stunned them somehow as well.

Two big picks for you.

Did last year's playoff loss to the Bears carry over whatsoever in this game, or was that just like new fuel to that fire?

I think every year we play them, it's new fuel, but obviously, you know, we still kind of were able to remember what happened the last time we played them. It didn't really happen how we wanted it to happen, but usually every time we play the Bears, it's always new fuel, and we know that, you know, they're always going to give us, you know, their best.

Shot, and we're going to give them ours as well, so... It's a hell of a rivalry and it's a fun game to play in every time.

Yeah, it's a new year, new result.

But for some reason with you, brother, and that defense is the same thing in regards to the turnovers. Your defense had five total turnovers against your biggest rival. When you guys are in that zone and you're getting one and your team is, is there like some sort of competition on the sideline where you're like, man, I'm going to get the next one? Is that a conversation that's being had with you guys on the sideline before you take the field?

Most definitely.

I think once we got that ball rolling, especially after that first one, I know me for sure. I came to the sideline saying I was going to get another one and get the guys to be able to get more turnover. So we definitely like to compete with each other as far as, you know, picking the ball off, getting punch outs, just being ball hungry and ball aware every time, making sure everybody's, you know, able to, to, you know, have the instinct to go get that ball.

You know, Xavier, it's a crazy time in which the Bears head coach is openly just talking all kinds of noise about you guys and bleep the Packers this and bleep the Packers this. What's your personal take on that?

I really don't have too much of a crazy take on it, to be honest.

But we are aware of what.

Gets said and how they say it. And we try to put all that stuff in the bank and use it as our fuel to the fire, to be honest with you. But we also understand it's a rivalry and it's a part of sports, man. I think we should be able to... things like that should come back into the game where, you know, people can trash talk and say whatever and not be taken, you know, personally, but be taken as, you know, just wanting to be competitive.

So we respect it.

But we always know that, you know, when you say things, you know, we keep it in the bank and it adds fuel to the fire.

I think that's a really good answer, and I think we all kind of like some of that coming back into the game. We also like this. So, Xavier, this is what we give away as a show. This is a scepter for the angriest runner in the league. We give it away every week. We've done it for years. We gave it to J-Love last year, but this week...

Marshawn Lloyd was incredible. He ran the hell over a Bears defensive back who does not need to be named. Here's the run right here. Did you see this? Do you remember this from the day? Have you seen it on tape?

I remember seeing it.

I was looking up at the jumbotron and when I saw it, everybody got turned. That was a hell of a run. Marshawn's been doing an incredible job ever since he got back of making sure that he's Being that aggressive runner, he definitely showed it on that round for sure.

I don't even know if my castmates here on the show have seen this. Yeah, dude, for real. Look at the pictures from yesterday. The scepter shows up, you guys are wrapping up practice, and 32 gets it. Do you remember this? Tell us about it.

For sure. We definitely remember it.

We were playing a little bit in the team meeting. And after practice, obviously, Matt was able to award him with it.

And everybody was hyped for him, man.

Awesome.

We're excited for him, hyped for him.

Obviously, he's been having a great, great year so far on his comeback. And we're excited to see what more he can put out there on tape.

Yeah, that's unbelievable.

That replay in slow motion of Marshawn Lloyd doing that gives me nightmares. But either way, so Marshawn Lloyd, Christian Watson, Jordan Love, Matthew Gould, and the offense was rolling.

I mean, it was fun to watch, honestly.

And I know for you guys on the defense, it gives you a lot of confidence.

You get excited when your offense is rolling.

Can you just talk about what this feels like for your offense to be performing the way that they did?

Yeah, man, whenever you get an offense that can put up a whole bunch of points, a high-power offensive, explosive offense, it makes our job easier as a defense. When you can go out there offensively and have possession of the ball and be able to put up a lot of points, it gives us more ops to go out there and be able to get those turnovers. I think that generates turnovers as well when you're able to put up a lot of points because then– The defense, I mean, the opponent's offense gets pretty one-dimensional as far as now they can't run as much.

Now they've got to throw.

Now there's going to be more ops down the field. So I think the more that they do that, that helps us out defensively. And then obviously it's vice versa. When we go out there and get turnovers, it allows them to be able to get the ball back and put up more points. So I think if we keep working together, man, I think the sky's the limit for our team.

Well, Xavier, you just mentioned in that scenario where offense gets one-dimensional and they start to have to go pass heavy, that also must be an exciting piece of news for someone like Michael Parsons. He's been out since tearing his ACL since last December, yet your defensive unit still has 14 sacks in five weeks of football. How scary can your defense be once he returns?

I think extremely scary.

Like I said, I think the sky's the limit for not only our team, but for our defense, obviously. missing a key piece like Micah, man, and what he brings to our defense and to our team, that motor, that violence, the ability to be able to get back there at lightning speed, to sack the quarterback, strip sacks, all of that.

So he makes a tremendous impact, and we're waiting for him to come back, man, because we know when he's out there on that field, that ball gets thrown a little bit faster, the ball come out a little bit quicker, so We understand that and we definitely, you know, wait for his return.

That's really cool to see one player have such an effect on an opposing team's offense and they feel more rushed because he's on the field.

Xavier, we love having you on GMFB. We always have.

And we want to extend an early congratulations to you as we have learned that you are about to become a first-time father.

So, first of all, congratulations.

Yeah.

Let's go.

Your partner Alicia is due in a few short weeks with a baby boy. And we at the table, all being parents have decided that we would like to bestow a gift upon you of advice. And oftentimes people will say, don't just give people unsolicited advice.

But here we are doing it on live television. So Manti, you're up first.

Well, I'll start off.

I'm going to just leave the baby advice to my other three, my, my sister and my brothers.

I would say this, bro. Um, Don't forget to love your partner.

I think when baby comes, all that attention goes on baby and all of that stuff. Don't forget to support her the best way you can. I know you have your full-time job, but she also has probably one of the biggest jobs in raising baby to be a really good boy.

Don't forget to give her that love and affection. It will go a long way. That would be my advice.

Okay, I appreciate that.

My advice, Xavier, we're all going to talk about helping Alicia because it is what it is. But my biggest advice is you have resources.

Set stuff up, right? Whatever it may be, have a checklist.

If you have a cleaner that comes twice a week, three times a week to clean up the house and that's taken care of, food service, whatever it may be, set stuff up for Alicia so she doesn't have to think about it.

Implant it. Don't ask her about it. Just do it.

And make her feel very supported in that way. And it'll help you out a lot. But be proactive. Take the initiative.

Okay, appreciate that.

All right, Xavier, this is an easy one. This is gonna cost you 30 bucks. All right, so the baby's got these wet wipes, right? You use them to change the diaper, you wipe them down. There's a baby wipe warmer. It's this little thing you put them in this like little baby oven and it makes the baby wipes warm on the baby's bottom and they love it. Cost 30 bucks, you'll thank me.

And then there is the diaper pail that eliminates smell from literally everything.

And it self-ties.

And it also, if you spend an extra $ 5, you get the one that rips the bag for you.

It's blue. And then just use.

Your arm, your wingspan that we learned about at the combine. Keep that sucker away from you. Take it out all the way to the trash can. Don't just, like, leave it outside the steps. The mailman would hate you for it. The Amazon guy would hate you for it. Xavier, we're so happy for you. Put it in your neighbor's trash can.

We love that.

Yeah, that's true, too.

Love on that, baby boy.

I appreciate it.

Yeah, absolutely.

We wish you and Alicia, of course, the best of happiness.

Congratulations. Go, Pat, go.

Go, Alicia, go.

Go, baby, go.

GMFB Thursday Hour 1: Bo Nix & Sam Darnold Struggling, Giants = Playoff Team? Packers S Xavier McKinney joins

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