GMFB Thursday Hour 1: McCarthy Starting, Tommy Tremble, and Patriots-Bears History

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Good Morning Football.

That's right. That's the name of the program. Thank you for watching, everybody. It's Good Morning Football, presented by Old Trapper Beef Jerky, Thursday, October 22nd. Jamie Erdl, Manti Teo, Willie Colon. Thursday, October 22nd, Week 7. Week 7. Everybody operating as we expected they would be at Week 7, guys?

Some of them.

No!

Not at all.

It's all up in the air.

Oh, Willie, I love the honesty. We're going to play a game later on in GMFB called Willie or Won't Team. And the beauty of Willie Colon being in studio is that we get the highly editable freedom of what Willie does when you celebrate and in defeat. So stay tuned for.

That, everybody.

Love it. Love it.

Exactly.

It's a whole spectrum. It's a huge spectrum of emotions. We got a lot of stuff out of you.

Ian Rappaport is going to join us now, our NFL Network Insider. Rappaport, good morning to you. I know, busy day for you guys in the NFL, the business of the NFL world. Everybody descended on Manhattan yesterday, but yet our attention is still turned on a New York adjacent team, and that is the Giants making a change at quarterback.

What's the latest?

J.J.

McCarthy, the former Minnesota Vikings first-rounder, is going to make his first start with the New York Giants this weekend against the Houston Texans, which is good news and bad news for J.J.

McCarthy.

It is something that when the New York Giants made that highly publicized trade for him with the Minnesota Vikings, no doubt this is something they anticipated that he would play sooner rather than later. A little bit of a rollercoaster with Jameis Winston.

He knows it.

He has discussed it.

When it went.

To the downside last week, McCarthy came in, had really a historic fourth quarter, more yards than anyone in throw in the fourth quarter this entire season. The Giants want to see more, and when John Harbaugh had a couple days to make the decision, this is what he landed on to give the former first-rounder a little bit of runway to show what he can do and see where he fits into the Giants' immediate future. and uh future now for mccarthy the fact that he has to go face a nasty houston texas defense one of the best pass rushes in the nfl is maybe not the greatest of news but you're in the nfl you're gonna have to play good good teams anyway why not he is going to be out there this week and it's going

to be fascinating to see how it all goes.

Yeah, this is a truly defining matchup for both of these teams as the Texans are trying to build something at 2-4. And the Giants, as we always mention, are part of this NFC East conversation that is one of the most fascinating in the NFL right now. Ian, thank you so much. We'll talk to you in a little bit.

Now, J.J.

McCarthy, as Rabshid just mentioned, he's been in New York for a couple weeks now. He's been practicing with the team, but he finally made this appearance last week. And he was throwing the ball all around the yard for the Giants. So it kind of forced John Harbaugh's hand to make this decision. But we need to understand, what has it been like for J.J. recently in New Jersey getting used to his new roster?

Just being around a new group of guys, new system, new coaching staff, just a new culture. Everything about this place, you know, it feels very fitting for me. You know, just being, you know, in a makeshift locker room, being in this system where, you know, they use... the quarterback's legs, and a multitude of things, but the personalities, the culture of just grinding every single day to get better, and everyone helping each other to progress towards one goal. It's been fantastic. A lot of successful buildings have similar qualities, and this building definitely has that, but it's got its own little makeshift of New York Giant football.

All right, Willie, you're around the Jets a lot, which means I have to imagine you pay close attention to what the Giants are doing as well. And who's around the organization in terms of guys fitting in? So what do you make of this decision now that the Giants are going to move forth? This is not a throwaway season either. Like, they're going with J.J. McCarthy.

Yeah, I mean, I respect the decision, and I like the decision. He was a spark, but he's not the solution. I think right now he has to prove that he can be the heartbeat for this offense through all four quarters, especially down against a Texas defense that you know that can get after the quarterback. But it makes sense for the Giants, and this is what people have to understand.

This offense was built for Jackson Dart, who's an athletic quarterback. And so when you have an athletic quarterback, you know you want to be able to run your RPOs and you want to have quarterback design runs. Well, this fits J.J. McCarthy's skill set. And that's the thing with Jameis. Jameis just couldn't provide that. It wasn't an experience with Jameis Winston.

It was an up-and-down experience. Nevertheless, man, if you look at the division and where the Giants sit right now, this thing is wide open for the takers. So they want to start building this momentum, and they want to do it with J.J. McCarthy because of his athleticism. And since the Giants have been struggling to run the ball right now, he adds that extra layer that can really balance out this offense. And listen, he's not a quarterback that's afraid to throw it and run it And you know he wants to push it down the field. So I think this is a big plus for the Giants, and I support the move.

Yeah, you hit on it, Willie.

Kyle said when this trade first went down that there's Jackson Dart and then there's Daxon Jart.

And that's who.

JJ McCarthy is. He's basically the same size. He has the same skill set. And so it makes sense. Do I like the move? Yes, I do like the move. Did we expect the move to happen? Yes, we did expect the move to happen. I mean, we talked about last week, Jamie, the Jameis experience and what that comes with, right?

The experience. Yeah, so we knew that eventually that this transition would occur.

I thought that it happened a little soon.

I thought that based on how Jameis was playing before this week, I mean, Jameis against the Commanders threw for three touchdowns, zero interceptions, right? So- I'm looking at the commanders. I'm looking what Jameis had done, not only on the football field, but you start to see guys rally around Jameis, right?

You start to see people respond to Jameis. I mean, I remember Darnell Mooney dropped the pass, and the first person to go over to Darnell Mooney against the commanders was Jameis. And Jameis says, don't even worry about it.

We're going to be fine.

That means something to a locker room. And I just think that when you're John Harbaugh and you make this type of decision this soon, it may send a message to the rest of the locker room that. There might not, you know, you hear a lot in football with coaches saying, I need 110% maximum effort. Well, the reality is for an athlete, for anybody, you can only give 100. Where does the extra 10 come from? Well, the extra 10 comes from a thing called loyalty. An extra 10 comes from a thing, an experience with a player that I feel indebted to my head coach because in a situation where you could have made a business decision, in a situation where my actions could have rendered a benching or could have rendered a decision that was made for my

backup to now be the starter, you showed some trust.

And faith in me.

And you showed that, hey, man, I got your back. That's where, in my opinion, that extra 10 comes from. And it's that extra 10 that there are a lot of teams that don't have it. There are some teams that do. And it's those teams that do, Willie, that... are always in the playoffs, right? It's those that play to the maximum effort, but because they have a coach that they love and they'll run through a brick wall for, that's where that statement comes from.

That's those teams that.

Are often talked about in January and February. So do I like the decision?

Yes.

I just think that Jameis deserved one more week. And if in the first quarter he starts messing up, then make that decision and pull him and put J.J.

McCarthy in there.

I just thought it was a little bit too soon. Yeah, John Hallbaugh came here to win. This is where we're at right now. I understand what you're saying, but you go back to that Commanders game. In the first three quarters, James Winston had a 50-something completion rate. Fourth quarter is when he took off. He had over 70% completion rate, and he was able to pepper the ball around. And I do understand the rapport he's built with Isaiah Likely and neighbors. and some of the guys on the team.

It looks like that's happening. But credit also J.J. McCarthy because after practice, he has sat with Isaiah Likely, talked about the offense, have thrown balls after practice with Nick Namers and Isaiah Likely.

So he's trying to build.

The rapport with them in real time and to kind of expedite that. But when you talk about what the Giants need to do better right now, they need to run the ball.

I mean, flat out.

And the office line has been all over the place. And John Hallbark says, listen, I got this defense that's really good against the pass right now. I know that we have guys that can get after the quarterback. If we can just stabilize the offense, grind it out, own the time of possession with a quarterback.

That can run the ball, it benefits us. So he's in the winning business.

And I think if you're the Giants right now, if you're focused on winning, what you're trying to do in this division, because the current state of the Cowboys and Eagles and Commanders, man, go take this thing.

There's a window.

So he should try and attack the window. And it's a smart move by John Harbaugh.

And I oftentimes roll my eyes at people who say the Jameis Winston experience in a snarky way because I think he's provided a lot of serviceable football for a lot of different teams, and he also provides us fantastic entertainment. Now, set that aside. I also think we've been waiting for this Texans defense, specifically the pass rush, to truly dominate somebody.

And frankly, I think if someone was going to get rushed, if someone was going to start to make reckless decisions— It was probably going to be more Jameis than it is J.J. in this opportunity, especially if you are able to get by a Daniil Hunter or Will Anderson Jr.

J.J.

Is more likely to do that. But I also think, William, and I'm interested to know this, I think there are certain buildings in the NFL that might welcome those quirkier personalities than others. And perhaps a John Harbaugh-led Giants team, because Jameis is already there, JJ does the meditation thing at the goalpost before the games like JJ McCarthy is known for these things. So do you find maybe that JJ feels more comfortable amongst this group of people and he can play a little looser?

I think that's just who he is. I think he's one of those Zen-type quarterbacks. And I think for a young guy who left Minnesota in the fashion he left, people were questioning his maturity. He didn't handle the competition with Kyler very well. He got injured his first year, had a torn meniscus. His whole career in Minnesota was up and down, so still a lot. undiscovered with J.J.

McCarthy. He gets a fresh chop out of you.

Some guys need that.

And I think Harbaugh also understands, hey, kid, just do your job. I'll take care of the headlines. I'll put out the small fires. Just go do your job. And for a young quarterback, like I've covered in.

The New York media market, you win. No matter how you win, you win, they're going to love you.

So if he's able to provide a winning attitude, stability, and show some moxie, which we know he has, He'll be fine. But I the whole character to make up man is still undiscovered.

He's yelling. He's still young quarterback. So we I think he still figured himself out. Well, I think they also got the insider news.

The Giants did because his college hedge head coach was a.

Brother of his current head coach.

Right.

And you're looking at how the Giants.

Yes.

You look at how the Giants run their offense.

It is more like what he did.

At Michigan where it's let's focus on the run game and let's get you out on a play action pass, which, you know, Kevin O'Connell. I love I think he's one of the brightest minds offensively. His offense was more so spread them out. Let's read defenses and get the ball to your wide receiver. So for JJ McCarthy, I think this is a great new start for him, an opportunity to go in and really take control of a locker room and take control of a franchise that needs somebody like him until Jackson dark comes back right and so like you said in beginning Willie the fact that he has the same type of skill set the same.

Build all of that stuff.

It helps with the carryover and the transition if Jackson's on top of.

That if he plays well, this is good for Jackson dark.

Yeah, you can't get comfortable. I was saying he can never replace him, but It's good to have some competition. Well, J.J.

McCarthy couldn't find his roots with the Minnesota Vikings. The same cannot be said for the two quarterbacks that are playing tonight. Let's bring in Ian Rappaport once again for some injury updates ahead of Bears Patriots. Rappaport will start, of course, with the Bears side of things. Caleb Williams looked great in his injury return last week, but what about one of his guys coming out of the backfield?

Well, hold on a second.

We're doing an injury update in the Bears for the first time in a month and a little bit, and we are not talking about Kale Boyd.

Not on the injury report. This is good news. I just want to point it out.

He has recovered very nicely despite having a game just four days after the previous one with a hamstring injury. So all good there.

No issues. Kyle Menungai. A little bit of a different story.

He really has been a key cog in these Chicago Bears running attack.

He is going to be out.

Tonight dealing with a thumb and toe injury. It's really the toe injury that's more of a thing than the thumb injury. It was just the thumb. He would be playing in his turf toe. It was believed to be about three or maybe four weeks.

This is the third game.

For Kyle Menungai, so he is out, but potentially he is nearing a return.

Otherwise, the Chicago Bears, I would say, got some pretty good news.

I mentioned Caleb Williams, Jonah Jackson, dealing with a little bit of a hip-slash-groin thing.

He is okay. He is good to go.

So I would say, and then we'll get to some of the other ones, Elijah Veritaker for the Patriots, a really good guard.

He is out with a hamstring.

Tyreek Stevenson, hip, questionable.

We'll see there.

But mostly good news for both of these teams, I would say, tonight.

All right, Ian. Thank you very much. Are you sure you don't want to say anything about Caleb?

You good?

I'm good, man.

Let's go.

Fingers crossed.

He's like, get me off camera before something happens. As I mentioned, the two quarterbacks in this game, Drake May and Caleb Williams, they'll forever be linked as they were the first and third overall picks in the 2024 NFL draft. This will be the second time that these two play, and May holds that one win in the series so far.

But apparently, these two, as we send pictures from them at the Combine and whatnot, they go back even further than the draft.

I've kind of grown up with Drake throughout the years.

We've been in the same class for a while.

We've been to so many camps. We've Probably one of the closer guys that I am closer to in my class and just overall on another team, if anybody. And so being able to watch him kind of grow up and be around each other, it's been fun. But his mobility and things like that, it's always been a weapon for him.

Him in the pocket, I don't know if I could do some of the things he can do. He's special in the way he can move and kind of escape and evade pressure and throwing on the run is pretty cool to watch. So I don't know if I'm that you know, shifty in the pocket. He can do some cool things, and he's got, you know, crazy arm talent, and it's.

Fun to watch.

That tracks. Caleb Williams goes to high school in D.C. Drake May is a Carolina kid, so I'm sure there's East Coast quarterback camps that these two were attending in the summers throughout their quarterbacking career, Manti. So you look at their history, their friendship, but also the current state of both of these teams, and what do you think about this head-to-head tonight?

Well, I went back, Jamie, at the last time they played each other, the New England Patriots won 19 to 3. Caleb Williams threw 16 for 30, no touchdowns. Drake May went one touchdown, one interception.

Yeah.

So you're talking about a very, very young Drake May, a very, very young Caleb Williams. and a whole new outfit for both teams. Like the teams that they were back then definitely ain't what they are now. And I think you could say the same thing within a season with the New England Patriot offense. The first three weeks, I mean, we're all trying to figure out what the heck is going on with this offense is that Drake may.

Lose that it factor.

The first three weeks, the offense averaged 12 points per game. The last three weeks, 33 points. Almost three times the amount of points. Jake made it through for one passing touchdown in weeks one through three. He's thrown for 10 ever since. They've had seven turnovers in weeks one through three. The last three, only two. So I'm looking at the matchup between that offense and that defense because there's one thing that also isn't the same is.

That Bears defense.

Last week, I thought they had their best outing in a very, very long time. Obviously, Kyler Gordon came back, but they held Bijon Robinson to the fewest scrimmage yards in the game this season. They held him to two receptions for negative eight yards.

Not eight yards, negative eight yards.

That five sacks and three takeaways. And this Patriot offense is going to be the hardest task for them so far, maybe this season, until they get to their divisional opponents in the Bears and the Vikings and all of that. But that is what I'm going to be looking for, Willie, is how does this Bears defense that showed how great they could be last week fair against an offense like the Patriots that the past three weeks has been on a tear.

Yeah, I'm not looking for that. I'm looking for....

Why you shoot me down? Right off the rip, bro.

Vantage is just doing the biggest television lift on the planet where he's like, and Willie, let me make this fantastic point and I'm going to tee you up. And Willie's like, oh, cute.

Boom!

No!

It's about the ice, man. It's about Caleb Williams. Nobody cares about.

That, man.

This man came off an injury and landed in Atlanta and went 10 for 10 in the first quarter. And what's awesome about Caleb Williams, especially coming off the year he had last year, we knew he was Houdini, right? We knew he could make every throw on the field. But he couldn't make his layups and free throws. Now he's making his layups and free throws and his offense looks different because he's matured.

He's now the adult in the room.

On top of the skill set and arm talent that everybody has fallen in love with. So, But going into this game, man, you want to see if he can continue that. You don't want it to be like a blip off the grid.

So to speak. You want this to look like something he can do week in and week out.

And I love the fact that right now you're watching him mature. developed, and on top of that, he's commanding an offense from in the pocket.

Yes, we know he has all the athleticism.

To do X, Y, Z, but it seems like there's a calm with him. So, I want to see Caleb Williams continue to do what he did Sunday against this Patriot team that is really hot.

Yeah, I don't want to see that.

There is nothing worse as a basketball player than to be known as the guy that can't hit your free throws and your layups. There's nothing more insulting. You don't want to be that guy.

Follow him.

I was standing in line.

Follow him.

Yeah, exactly.

That guy. Make him inbound the ball. Coming up on GMFB, Carolina Panthers currently sit atop the NFC South, and part of their success has to do with our next guest. It's Panthers tight end, Golden Domer himself. Tommy Tremble coming on GMFB, stopping by the breakfast table ahead of their divisional matchup against the Bucs, talking all things Panthers. They cannot be denied a topic at the breakfast table. Let's go, GMFB, hour one on a Thursday. Get in here, Tremble.

Keep pounding.

Let's go. Good morning, football.

We're back at GMFB on a Thursday. Jamie, Manti, Willie, and Kyle Brandt in Paris, France. What a sentence to say. KB, you did the travel. You're amongst the people. It's St. Steelers Sunday morning on NFL Network, week seven. How are you doing, my friend?

Bonjour, everybody back in California.

I am in France. It's wonderful. About 30 feet right over.

There, there's a gentleman making crips. We have a camera operator named Jean-Claude.

And I wanna introduce you to my friend, the.

Ark of the Throne.

Uh-huh.

The Arctic Triumph, a lot of history. Not all of it great, but some of it good. Napoleon ordered that to be built to honor his military. He died like 30 years before they were finished, never saw it. End of World War I, 1919 on Bastille Day, the Allied forces and French troops marched through there in victory. And today, we use it as a backdrop to talk about Drake versus Caleb.

We've come a long way. It's been through a lot.

But I am in France.

We are on the air. I'm thrilled to see you. I have a beret, and I think it kind of works for me. I really do. I may be wearing this stateside. Thank you.

Commit to the beret. As the GMFP viewers should know, you did not have that on in the commercial break. That was slid on impeccably, so right before your appearance here. Kyle, it's well done. We want to hear more about your thoughts on Patriots-Bears in a couple minutes, though, because you got Saints-Steelers this weekend. That's another conversation. We got a guest on GMFP next Who doesn't care about the Saints? Whatsoever.

Because he just put up a stellar performance in Philadelphia. He plays for the Panthers. He had two TDs last weekend. He's called the heart and soul of this squad by his teammates. Please welcome inside GMFB Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble.

All right.

Let's go.

Tommy, thank you for not showing up with the beret. We appreciate you and respect what you're bringing to GMFB. Tommy, you recently mentioned that the NFL is truly becoming a tight end heavy league, and you proved that on Sunday. Two huge TDs against the Eagles. What's working right now with you and Bryce Young?

Honestly, it's just Bryce being able to play at such a high level, especially consistently through the season. It's a lot of fun playing with him, man. To me, I think he's playing on MVP level. And so him being able to do what he does, it makes our job a lot easier.

Yes, we have a delay here. I'm in a place called France. It's a weird show this morning, my friend. But I love that you're on.

And I love that you're here to talk about you making highlights in the end zone dancing. You had a little bit of a chirp, as they call it, with Cooper DeGene.

There was some extracurriculars.

There was talking.

Tell us about that. And does that get you going in the middle of the game?

You know, tensions are high during the game. I ended up getting, I think, a personal foul because of it.

And I shouldn't have done it.

You know, whatever hurts a team isn't good to really do that. But it comes with the game of football, man. You know, like I said, tensions are high. People's emotions are up and down. And so it was a fun game for us. And I'm glad we were able to squeeze out the win from it.

Tommy, you and Chuba Hubbard are like the backbone of what the Panthers have now become in this current day, 2026 NFL success that you built. Chuba calls you his grind brother. You guys entered the lead together in 2021. There were some challenging years in Charlotte. How does it feel right now together to be playing meaningful football?

It's fun, it's fun.

Me and Chuba have been together for going on six years now. And he's a guy who's earned every bit of respect he's gotten in the league. And that's from the stuff people don't see. Chuba's been staying after practice for at least an hour every single day. He goes home after meetings for about 10, 15 minutes. He comes back for another three, four hours. He's a guy who lives in the facility. And he's a dude who he kind of taught me like, if we stay and put the extra work in, good stuff happens from that. And we've been going on probably six years of doing that consistently now. And that's my guy, man. I'm happy for all the success he's having. I mean, like I said, he's earned it.

Well, Tommy, you're my guy because we went to the same school. But Bryce has been having a historic start to the season, throwing for over 200 yards in all five games. You've been very vocal about this. Should your QB1 be strongly considered for the MVP?

Like I said earlier this year, it's hard to have success week in and week out in the NFL. You know, defenses are scheming up situations to kind of shut you down because he's obviously making a lot of big plays. And he's shown that he can consistently keep making plays even when he's schemed up. And so it's a lot of fun seeing him go out there, have fun, and just make amazing plays, man. So I'm excited for him.

I think he should be considered for it. And maybe it's just because he's my teammate. But, man, it's fun watching him ball out.

Let's talk about your head coach, Dave Canales. What makes him so awesome to play for? He seems like a hell of a coach.

He's a guy who's very personable, someone that you can approach in the building. Sometimes you would say head coaches, they're kind of hard to go up to and talk to, but he's a guy that you can talk to.

He listens.

He's a guy that you can have a conversation with about football. He has meetings with the players about, hey, did you guys like this game?

Did you like this?

And it's It's something that's very personal and it's new to me. And all the guys in the building, they love it, man.

They love it.

They enjoy going to war with them every single day.

Well, Tommy, you have a big showdown this week at home against the NFC South team in the Tampa Bay Bucks, whose defense is led by a man named Todd Bowles. When you watch them, I know it's just Thursday, but when you watch that defense, what type of problems can they cause for an offense?

Yeah, I mean, they're a solid team, man. I mean, the record doesn't show it, but they're NFL players. And Todd Bowles, he's a great defensive mind, and he's a guy that can give you problems at any given week. And so as long as we follow kind of our coach's game plan, our scheme, I think we'll end up okay. But, I mean, they're a great team overall, man.

Don't let the record fool you.

Tommy, so many guys that play in the NFL, they put those pads on, they put their jersey on for the first time. They are fulfilling a lifelong dream. Not many of those guys get to play for the team, and the team was a game that they first attended as a child. Is it true that your very first NFL game you ever went to was a Panthers game?

What were the details here? What year? How old were you? Where were the seats? What do we got?

Yeah, it was funny.

I was 15 at the time in 2015. And my dad's friend, he was a D-line coach for Seattle.

And they had an away game here. And I'm originally from Atlanta, Georgia.

So the closest game that they had that year was in Carolina. So my first ever NFL game, I was able to come here. I watched them play Seattle. And like I said, it was kind of full circle moment. That was my first and only NFL game I ever went to. And to actually on draft day get drafted here, go to the same gate that I remember like yesterday going through as a kid and to be able to play in that same stadium going on six years now, man, it's it's amazing. And I can't believe that I was able to have a moment like that.

That's fantastic. Tommy, congratulations on all the success, both in the early parts of your career, but also it's so fun to watch the Panthers right now in 2026. Good luck this weekend. Stay healthy, and we'll talk to you again on GMFB.

Good to see you, brother. Thank you, guys. You have a good one.

Absolutely.

Get to those meetings. We got them off the clock, Panthers. You can't catch us slipping.

You got 60 seconds.

Get to the tight end room. Tommy Trumbull, everybody. This Monday, we've got a game to play. It's Eagles-Cowboys. Three-hour good morning football special coming to you from Stateside Live. Join us, please. There's tickets available on social media. Come hang with us. Cowboys-Eagles. Kyle, Jamie, Manti, Seth freaking Rollins, and Michael Irvin. Those guys get the full-name treatment. We just get the first name. We're on a first-name basis on GMFB. But it'll be a good hang, and the spot is adjacent to the stadium, so... That'll be a good time. And what's even better is that we get a Kyle Brandt gifted to us back in the continental United States after he spends like 100 hours in Paris, France. So, KB, take it away.

Jamie, I'm thrilled to take it away. I'm here in Paris.

Look at these cars that just pulled up. I don't even know what they're doing. This is a real live set here. There's a lot of people around. You see the Arc de Triomphe?

They're doing some kind of fun photo shoot there.

I don't even know if they're a no there. Hey, you guys, NFL Network, they're great. So anyway, I did the beret thing, right? But I'm not just going to keep doing all these French things. I'm not going to call for a baguette or something.

Oh, wait, yes, I am.

Hold on.

You guys have to see over here, too.

Dude, come on.

Look at this guy.

Want to.

See the top of the Eiffel Tower? Look, step back. There it is right there.

Wow.

Look, that's the top of the Eiffel over there. This is kind of like my French scepter. You know, guys, I like using a prop. Anyway, so many people around here. most of them tourists and you know when tourists see a tv camera they go crazy so they're kind of moving in right now like beautiful locusts hello everybody i'm getting a little nervous but i don't know that's why you send me here jamie how's everybody doing back in inglewood has the sun come up yet.

Nope it still hasn't and i know it's mid-afternoon there which means you are just a champagne from champagne france or something like that it's a beautiful stick of crusty bread The old-fashioned, the old-timer cars are departing behind you, so that's good. We've already seen five Instagram photo shoots go on behind you. Kyle, I know there's a lot to talk about with St.

Steelers.

How do you think Aaron Rodgers will respond to being now the third international game he's going to play in in three years this weekend?

Oh, he's so pissed, I bet. I love being here. I bet Rodgers is so mad about it. Super grumpy, cantankerous.

Like, you know, you get into your 40s and you play football for a living.

It's pretty incredible.

You want to do it as close to home as possible. I've told you guys the story before. This isn't necessarily positive with the Paris game, but what the hell? Rodgers has once said, I used to look for the bye week when the schedule came out. Now I look for the Thursday nighter. And then probably after that, he looks for the international game. I got to sit with him a couple of years ago when he was with the Jets.

and he was just about to go to London, and he was not excited.

But you know what?

He's playing really well now, and the Steelers are winning, so maybe he is more excited. I don't even know if he's ever been to France.

I'm not sure.

But if he comes by me, I'll have a baguette for him because I got all kinds of other French stuff like in my dentist office treasure chest over there.

You guys are going to love it.

Oh, great. We can't wait. Well, you know, he played in Dublin last year and he was quite excited to land and get the Guinness on tap. So I wonder what he will abide in Paris, France. Kyle, last thoughts. The fact that we can't let you go without talking about the game that's going to be played in the middle of the night where you are Friday morning. But for us, it's Thursday night. But it's Bears Patriots. You got something special for us?

Yeah, I think I have a 2 a.m.

Kickoff.

I think that's where that goes. That's going to be fun. So I'll get through that. And the next segment, hey, there's like a sneaky, cool history between the Bears and Patriots. They don't play that often. But I have some really, really cool moments that have happened over the years. Does anybody remember Mitch Trubisky to Kevin White?

You're going to remember. We're going to do it in the very next segment. I got a baguette.

I got more.

Fun.

I love you, Paris.

I may go get a crepe during a commercial break. We have a football game here, an NFL game, and we will go to commercial.

But we will come back.

The best, sneakiest, most fun moments ever in Bears pages before they kick off. in the middle of the night with a godforsaken kickoff time for me but i'll be up i'll have some cronenberg and maybe some brie and i'll be watching drake versus caleb don't go anywhere good morning football from paris good morning football.

You've heard about it. The international series rolls on as Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers head to France to take on the New Orleans Saints in the first regular season game to be played in Paris. You can catch that game right here on NFL Network with kickoff at 9.30 a.m.

Eastern.

Steelers-States, everybody.

All right. That's the game that we played right here in Paris, France.

I'm in front of the Arc de Triomphe.

I've been working on my pronunciation all morning, but I'm also very excited for Thursday night. in what will be a 2 a.m. kickoff here in France, we have Patriots Bears. Pats Bears, May, Caleb, all of that. And, you know, they don't play very much, the Patriots and Bears, but when they do, really fun, exciting things tend to happen.

So what I have for you, my friends, without.

Further ado, would you mind taking my baguette, is my personal favorite Patriots Bears moments in history.

Let's get right to it.

Roll the video tape. We're going to start in 2002. This is a young Tom Brady. Only his second year as the primary starter.

And this was a huge comeback.

They're losing 27 to 6 to the Bears. You see Mike Brown there, number 30, and Kevin Faulkner scoring touchdowns. Brady had already kind of developed a reputation for comebacks. But 27-6, could he come back against what was a very good Bears defense on the up-and-coming? Yes, he could. A 21-point comeback for Brady ties for his third largest ever, and it ended with a touchdown to David Patton.

Let's hear it.

From the Chicago 20.

Brady gets away from Colvin and to the end zone.

Caught by Patton. And a touchdown.

I have got to see that again to see if those.

Feet were in. David Patton, one, two, dotted the I, touchdown.

Patriots win, and I just want to let everyone know ahead of time, most of these are going to be pretty favorable to the Patriots. If you know about these two teams in the 21st century, wildly different results. But let's go to 1988. That's not the 21st century. Maybe this will be better. 1988, the Chicago Bears decide to trade Doug Flutie to the Patriots, back to the Boston College fans. They trade him in 1987, the year before, and then Flutie comes back to play against the Chicago Bears again.

Roll the videotape. Look at those beautiful reds. That's Flutie.

Now, here's what's crazy about this game. Six completed passes for Flutie.

Six.

Four touchdown passes. It's never happened in the modern era. It's never happened since they have that few completions and that many touchdowns. Only completed six passes.

The Bears quarterbacks that day.

Jim McMahon, Mike Tomczak, and Jim Harbaugh all played touchdowns.

None of them could do what Doug Flutie did.

Look at him.

I'm seeing Hall of Famers out there. I see Richard Dent. I see Dan Hampton. This is only a few years after the 85 Bears. That's Irving Fryer just going through the secondary. This is Ditka's Bears.

And Doug Flutie had a day.

What a special, special figure there. at home in the reds bears patriots again it's a lot of patriot stuff here but patriots are really good how about this one this is maybe my favorite one on the list 2018 kind of similar to tonight the patriots are four and two the bears are three and two and the bears are down 14 this is the mitch trubisky bears.

Kind of not maybe going anywhere but.

Maybe trying to build something and after they score one touchdown they have to do a hail mary and Mitch Trubisky throws it to Kevin White, and you are really going to love what this play is all about if you've forgotten, because this is incredible.

Roll it. Desperation mode for Chicago.

Rush coming.

Trubisky steps up.

Trubisky uncorks.

Deep ball on the way.

It is caught!

But he couldn't get in!

Stopped at the one. The Bears will fall short.

They needed 55 yards.

They got 54. It's just absolutely incredible. He can't get in.

That is Kevin White, much beleaguered Kevin White. It took a lot of crap. They drafted him seventh overall. Trubisky, obviously, second overall. He catches, and I want you to look for who the safety is for the Patriots. That's Josh Gordon, the wide receiver, number 10, who falls down there. You see Patrick Chong. You see Devin McCourty. And Trubisky uncorks a beautiful Hail Mary, super high. but about two yards short, and Kevin White's trying to make the play of his life a career-defining play.

That's Jason McCourty, too. Jason's in there with him. Look at that, number 30.

Both the McCourty's and Josh Gordon hold them back, and the Bears lose so dramatic Week 7, 2018. But let's go to another one, another one involving two first-ballot Hall of.

Famers, 2006.

It is the Patriots and the Bears. And Tom Brady decides to run. And he decides to run over the middle where number 54 out of New Mexico for the Chicago Bears, one of the greatest middle linebackers of all time, is waiting for him.

And what happens?

Something that Brian Norlaker gets asked about every day of his life since the day it happened, which was right here. 39.

Right snap to Tom.

Back to throw. The rush.

He steps up into the pocket, strikes the run with it. Avoids one man. Dives for a first down.

Guess who he avoided?

Well, what's this?

Erlacher.

Got Erlacher going against Tom Brady in the open field. You know, Tom Brady had just enough swivel in his hips. It's so funny, and it's so rough for Erlacher. I joked about it, but we saw Erlacher on Radio Row last year. Every single radio show, every TV show, they ask about it.

You have one of the greatest tacklers ever versus, I don't know, maybe the worst running quarterback ever. Sorry, Tom, but and he just gives him this nasty, stanky leg and leaves him grabbing air in a huge moment of the game in which the Bears were contending.

We're trying to beat Brady. You know, Brady knew it, too, because he doesn't do that for.

Just a basic scramble. I'm laughing at this sitting here in Paris. The French people are learning, hopefully behind me. But lastly, I said this has been really rough for the Bears. You know, the palate cleanser is coming. You know you're going to get some nice, beautiful champagne now because we go to the 85 season, January of 1986.

But hold on a second.

Bears-Patriots, do you remember that the Patriots were winning Super Bowl XX?

Early on, McMahon and Payton had a fumble.

The Patriots recovered it, and the Patriots were beating the 1985 Bears.

Look at this.

They try to give the ball to Sweetness. Sweetness fumbles, and they recover it. And they're thinking upset at this point. The Bears have been destroying everybody in the playoffs. They stuff them right here. But, hey, Patriots 3-0, feeling pretty good about themselves.

And then what happened? 46-10 with the Patriots' only score coming later.

The Bears had done the Super Bowl shuffle. They had called their shot. We got the late Matt Sui running with the neck roll into the secondary. We miss you, Matt Sui, wherever you are. And we, of course, have Coach Ditka with the sweater. Tony Easton, get the hell off the field. I tried to give the Bears fans something.

This is the number one memory in Bears Patriots. Granted, it was 40 years ago, over 40 years ago, and there's Refrigerator Perry scoring the somewhat controversial touchdown, although I don't have a problem with it.

That's the list. That's it.

All the way from Hail Marys to Kevin White to Doug Flutie to William Perry to Brady juking Urlacher. and pick sixes in the Superdome in the mid-80s, a beautiful time to be alive.

And what they add to it tonight, guys, as.

They lift up Coach Dicker, what will Ben Johnson, what will Mike Vrabel have for us tonight?

It's always something kind of cool when Bears Patriots get after it. What a world in the NFL, where.

I'm talking about a Super Bowl played in New Orleans in 1986 while standing in front of the Arc de Triomphe, which was ordered to be built by Napoleon. What a wildlife and what a time. Morgan Moore football after this.

I'm so happy here in France.

Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon, and.

Welcome to opening day in this bizarre television experiment.

And I'm Tony Kornheiser, and if we can have a TV show, you can have a TV show.

It's content in sports. We know we know it.

You know it better than your show and your show and your show.

Players know.

No, no. Winning is never enough. I've had enough. I've had enough.

I'm done.

I'm done. I'm out.

Are there any unwritten rules of PTI?

Just one.

Don't touch the talent.

I'm with that.

Hey, watch out!

Yell at each other, love each other. That's the magic.

I never have to worry about you guys having a hidden agenda.

That's what makes y'all show great.

25 years of Pardon the Interruption, and I am so excited for it. PTI is one of my favorite TV shows. Not sports TV shows, TV shows. I mean, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, The Wire, Pardon the Interruption. I remember vividly the first time I saw it. It was in the early 2000s. I was living in L.A. at the time, just out of college, and I remember just thinking... This is ridiculous. They have a clock on the screen? Like, they're listing the topics?

This is distracting.

This will never work. This is nuts.

And here we are 25 years later. I'm saying it's one of my favorite TV shows all time. Eric Ridehome, his vision, Mark Shapiro, and then just the irascible chemistry. of Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser. I sit around and have had debates over the years about who's your boy, Tony or Mike? Personally, it's Mike by a nose for me, but I love Tony as well. The Halloween costumes, the April Fool's pranks, Tony Reale, an incredible part of it.

I would wait to see that boy to tell them what they messed up. I still watch it. I still love it. The mailbox, mail time, more mail. I mean, I'm quoting this show. Again, I would quote Walter White or something like that, and it's 25 years later, It makes me feel a little old, but it also makes me feel a little whimsical and nostalgic. It is a great, great show with two great personalities, and I'm very happy for both Tony, Mike, and everybody involved in this show.

Willie.

Yeah, I'm with you, KB. I fell in love with PTI, too. What's interesting, you look at these two gentlemen, they look like it'd.

Be DAs or senators, right?

Yeah.

We talk about sports, but they hit all the topics with heart and enthusiasm. So I've always been a fan of Michael Wilbon. He's been a pillar in the sports media for a long time.

I went to school in D.C. and I remember thinking that studio is not so too far from where I'm taking sports journalism classes. And I used to watch the topics on the side to make sure I was up on like what was important and also what I probably needed to be educated on. And the fact that the Tony Reale success story comes full circle with PTI is fantastic.

It's really well put. Thank you for contextualizing it, Kyle. Watch the special today at 5 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. 25 years of PTI. We look up to those guys a lot. Kyle, you got 30 seconds to take us off the air from Paris. I got to know about that baguette, man. I got to know. Is that like someone goes to Sparrow's in New York City pizza slice, or is that like an authentic, organic baguette happening for you?

Not at all, Jamie.

No.

Okay.

No, you know, in the U.S., you'd go, and you'd go to Costco, and you'd buy 10 of them. Like, this was fresh-baked this morning at this, uh, Pantisserie, or however the.

Hell you say it. I'm sorry.

I do respect French people, but it's incredible. If it'd be horrible, I'd just use that as a prop. I'm going to finish this thing by the time I'm done. I'm going to get another one for the second hour, and then I'm going to get a crepe.

Arc de Triomphe! Uh, we have... NFL football here. It's Steelers.

It's Saints. It's Baguettes.

It's all the wonderful things France has to offer. And by the way, it's really calm around here, Jamie. I feel totally safe. That should probably be said.

GMFB Thursday Hour 1: McCarthy Starting, Tommy Tremble, and Patriots-Bears History

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