GMFB Thursday Hour 2: Maye-Williams, NFC North Outlook, and Seahawks Defense

0:04 Good Morning Football is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeartRadio.

0:27 Welcome to the NFL Week 7 Reunion Special.

0:32 He's ejected for spitting at another player. Old rivals.

0:40 They hate each other.

0:42 Familiar faces.

0:44 They accepted me with open arms, and, you know, I appreciate them for that.

0:47 When you're talking about the AFC North, there's history. It's a nasty brand of football.

0:50 It's going to be ugly. I'm excited to go to work with y'all today.

0:54 It's going to go home, and I'm not going home.

0:57 The reunion is here.

1:01 It's complicated. We meet again. It is week seven and it is underway tonight in Chicago with Patriots Bears. Kyle Brandt did an excellent recap of the history with those two teams. We'll get into that and much more this hour on Good Morning Football presented by Old Trapper Beef Jerky Thursday, October 22nd. Jamie Urdahl, Manti Teo, Willie Colon in Los Angeles. It is 6 a.m. in Los Angeles.

1:21 Kyle Brandt is holding a large stick of bread in another country. Kyle, what time is it? How are you and what's going on?

1:28 Bonjour, bienvenue, les poissons, les poissons. I'm here in Paris, guys, in front of the Arc de Triomphe. I do have a baguette. I'm very, very excited for St.

1:40 Steelers.

1:40 The NFL is here. But, Jamie, you said it. I mean, I did the thing. I got the baguette. I think I've done the beret. I think we don't need any more French props. It's not like I need like a croissant or something.

1:50 Oh, yes, I do.

1:51 Here we go.

1:52 Hold on.

1:53 Beautiful, flaky, buttery. They just rain croissants here in France. And guys, I don't want to be too braggy or anything, but my celebrity really meets me here.

2:06 You will not believe what happened.

2:07 Someone came up to me during commercial break and asked for a picture, and I was like.

2:10 Oh, sure, of course. they were asking me to take a picture of them in front of the Arc de Triomphe. I was like, sure, go ahead. I took a family photo for them.

2:19 And by the way, speaking of celebrities, this is how you know.

2:22 The NFL's here.

2:23 I come down the elevator this morning in my hotel here in Paris.

2:26 The door opens. Huge celebrity. I'm not joking.

2:29 You want to see who it was? This is how you know the NFL is here. Bring up the pic. Bring up the pic of my celebrity picture I got out in front of the elevator lobby. Nice.

2:36 Yeah!

2:37 That's Steely McBeam, baby!

2:41 That's the Steelers mascot who is sitting there outside the elevator and was really happy to take a picture with me as I was with him.

2:47 Yeah.

2:48 You know, I love Sourdough Sam. I love a couple of the other guys. I love Rampage the Ram. But Steely McBeam is here. He's my guy. And I'm just thrilled to be here in France, if you can tell. What's more exciting is once I go from the baguette to the croissant, really all that's left is the champagne.

3:03 Not sparkling wine, mind you. Champagne from the Champagne district outside of Paris here. I'm having a great time and thrilled to talk to you guys.

3:11 Kyle, I'm just really proud of you and the professionalism with which you have been delivering your reports because we just dared to drop you in the Nashville adjacent of people who take the photo outside the wings, the wall with the wings, and they stand in line to do that. People are showing up and Kyle's doing a live television shot.

3:28 And Kyle, you have not once tried to talk into your piece of bread as your microphone instead of your actual microphone. So you know what? Shout out to you because I have to imagine those carbohydrates hit differently in Paris.

3:39 They do, and there's a lot of people here, Jamie. I'm trying to think of the American equivalent. It'd be like if a French reporter came and, like, stood in front of the Alamo or something.

3:48 You know what I mean?

3:49 Like, it's so spot-on that I'm here in the Octotriumph, and the people are just very comfortable getting in the shot.

3:57 And so... It's going to be a hell of a morning. Let's talk some football. Great to see you all. This thing is so buttery, so buttery you could just die.

4:03 Thanks a lot, KB. We're starving over here.

4:05 This is the guy who's like, I'm off the chip basket once we hit week one. I'm all fit, and I'm doing all my Peloton classes, whatnot, and here he is just eating a huge stick of bread.

4:15 Fantastic.

4:15 Let's do it on Thursday.

4:16 Let's do it.

4:17 Kyle's going to be involved in it.

4:18 J.J.

4:18 McCarthy is going to start for the New York Giants this week. Of course, you saw how we performed last week in the fourth quarter, so John Harbaugh was forced to make a decision. We heard last hour how he has been a part of this team, what it's like getting used to new guys, and now he has the ultimate preparation to make his first start wearing the Giants uniform.

4:37 I believe just experience does wonders. Being able to be in that same situation where you might have made a mistake the last time This time, you're just going to react better and make a more well-rounded response decision in that situation. And just being around great talent and great coaches, absolutely love everyone.

4:59 On the offensive side of the ball.

5:01 And the defensive side of the ball does a tremendous job of just giving us opportunities and always making sure we stay in the game and fight to the last seconds of each game.

5:12 All right, we now know it's J.J. McCarthy with a start and not Jameis Winston. But with this decision that the Giants have made and the change at quarterback, who do you think this says more about?

5:21 J.J.

5:21 McCarthy moving forward, Willie, or what Jameis Winston put on tape previously?

5:26 I'm going to say Jameis Winston, to be honest with you. I think it's right now he understands... In this league, you can be asked to be a locker room leader, operate an office, but sometimes the organization is going to say, hey, man, we want to go in a different direction. And that's what the Giants are doing right now. I also think for Jameis Winston, he's been very accountable. He goes, I put myself in this position. I could have been played a lot better. I could have been more efficient. And so we wouldn't have to lean on J.J. But I don't necessarily think this is about Jameis because we know who Jameis is. I think from an organizational standpoint, they still have to figure out who J.J.

5:57 McCarthy is.

5:58 So I think this is why they're making a move now. This is the window to put J.J. out there, see if he can go down to Texas and lead this team to victory. It's hard to digest the playbook and the facet where he's going to get everything right now. They're going to have a couple plays in which he can operate with, and they're going to see what his rapport is with some of the assets they have on the outside. So I think this is more about J.J., not so much about Jameis, but Jameis has been accountable and very honest about his play thus far.

6:23 Yeah, well, you just said that the New York Giants has opportunity for them to see what JJ McCarthy has to bring and what he has to offer. I also think this is a trust level that you're not just gonna hand the keys over to somebody that you don't know enough about and trust enough to put them out and put your team in a better situation to win football games. I think this is more about JJ McCarthy.

6:44 One of the hardest situations to be in is the backup quarterback because at any time you need to.

6:49 Be ready to be a starting quarterback.

6:51 So imagine preparing yourself to be the starter and nine times out of 10, you're never going to see the field. But that one time out of 10, when your number is caught, you need to be able to be ready to perform. So When Jason McCarthy goes into this game with 11 minutes left in the football game in the fourth quarter, and he's able to go for 243 passing yards, a touchdown. He threw an interception, but then added some 26 rushing yards to it. I think if you're John Harbaugh, you're.

7:13 Like, okay, cool. I've seen enough.

7:18 I've seen not only what he's been able to do in the football field, but obviously what he's been doing in the locker room, what he's been doing in the film room.

7:25 And that type of performance just doesn't happen.

7:27 You just don't show up and put your number card and put up those types of numbers. That is something that the late nights, the film study, the extra because he just got into the building like less than three weeks ago. And for him to come into that situation and perform that way, I think it speaks volumes, KB, about JJ McCarthy.

7:46 Yeah, well, this decision speaks way more about Jameis though. What it says is we've seen a decade of Jameis Winston playing football. It's not a serious option, guys. We can compartmentalize Jameis' fun personality that he's developed and curated over the years, but it's not a serious option. It hasn't been for years, can't be for years. It's not someone you're like, we're going to ride Jameis and see.

8:06 How this works.

8:07 You know how it's going to work. We have a lot of information about Jameis. The JJ thing is the mystery door. It's an old game show where you're like, well, you can have 50 bucks or you can take what's behind the mystery door. And John Harbaugh says, never mind 50 bucks.

8:22 Let's go for it. Let's see the mystery door. Now, here's the problem.

8:25 The mystery door sometimes is like a filthy mop or something disgusting that you don't want. The mystery door can burn you. JJ might not be good, but we don't know. He might be really good. We know what Jameis is going to be. You know, all three of you know, everybody here in Paris knows, someone in France who hasn't seen a lick of football, they'll still know what Jameis Winston is all about.

8:46 We don't really know, J.J. I think J.J.

8:48 Would have started without that fourth quarter last week.

8:50 I do. I think that's the reason they traded for him. They're like, we can't go with Jameis all year. Come on, what are we doing?

8:55 It's J.J., and maybe he catches on to something, and maybe it works.

8:59 We don't know. It might not, but we do know with Jameis.

9:02 We know that Jameis Winston would be an excellent Parisian correspondent with Kyle Brandt in this moment. So we know the future of what Jameis looks like in football and on television. Let's look ahead to tonight's game. It's Drake May and it's Caleb Williams. And they are two of a handful of faces from that draft class a couple years ago. The first and the third overall pick for the Bears and the Patriots respectively. Now over the last two or more seasons, you've seen a lot of football between these two guys. The good, the bad, the successes, the losses. But Kyle, I'll start with you. Since that 2024 draft, who have you learned more about? Drake May or Caleb Williams?

9:40 Ooh, that's a tough one. I think Drake may. I think we knew a little bit more about Caleb at the draft.

9:47 Just, you know, Caleb was.

9:48 The number one pick. We talked about him at nauseam. And Drake was obviously really relevant in a first-run pick himself. But, I mean, listen, Drake's been to a Super Bowl. Drake's been down in the gutters to start this year. And I really, I feel like I've learned that I know why these two guys are so chummy and why they appear to be really close off.

10:03 The field, which is cool. It's just like, they're like the same person.

10:07 You know same draft class did generally the same pick more or less they each of them came into the league with like a weird coach and then got rid of that coach and got a coach who's like perfect for them and maybe one of the best coaches in the league look at these two guys just mucking it up and being funny i get it they're like the same person similar skill set you know caleb's probably a little more talented drake's been to higher heights he's been to the super bowl but I feel like we're going to see these guys for the next 12 years play each other. I know why they like each other, because they see themselves in each other. And, I mean, I can't remember the time I was this excited about a

10:42 Thursday night game.

10:43 This is a great matchup.

10:45 It's kind of similar records, very similar quarterbacks. Mike Vrabel won coach of the year last year when Ben Johnson could have.

10:52 It's just a very good game.

10:53 But if you put me to it, I would say I've learned slightly more about Drake just because we knew a lot about Kalem.

10:58 I'm going to say I'm going to go Caleb on this one. And the reason why I'm going to go Caleb is, you know, in college, he played for the University of Southern California, obviously played Notre Dame all the time. And when you watch him in college, especially leading up to the draft, there's all the extracurriculars with the fingernails, with the stuff that happened at the combine.

11:15 The book comes out. His dad has some comments.

11:17 And so there is this narrative about Caleb that maybe football isn't his main thing.

11:21 Well, things that you've learned.

11:23 About Caleb Williams is this guy's a ball player. This guy loves to play football. This guy is somebody that when it comes down to it, you can say whatever you want about the car.

11:31 You can say.

11:31 Whatever you want about his, how emotional he is. He's emotional about football and he's a really good dang football player.

11:37 Yes.

11:37 That's from, from the skillset part. We've seen this all before.

11:41 It's his mental, the mental aspect to Caleb Williams that I think we've all learned more about his ability to compartmentalize information, his ability to be resilient. Like he's not a soft dude. He's a dude that has a head coach in Ben Johnson that. openly kind of criticized him when he first got to.

11:58 The Chicago Bears.

11:59 But what he has become and who he has become as a football player and as a leader of the Chicago Bears, I think I've learned more about Caleb Williams in the past, what, two, three years than I did when I saw him playing at the University of Southern Cal.

12:13 Yeah, I'm with KB. It's definitely Drake May for me.

12:15 You're talking about how he started the season, especially coming off last season being an MVP candidate and going to this season. One, having a couple questions. Is the shoulder healthy? Can he rebound? How is he going to deal with A.J.

12:26 Brown?

12:26 What's that chemistry going to look like? Can he go into year two with Josh McDaniels and elevate this offense? Can he be everything they need him to be in a year where their expectations are still high for this ball club, still dealing with the offensive line that had.

12:38 To come together and figure themselves out?

12:40 He's been forced to deal with a lot in real time and not only be a stabilizer but an operator, not a structure around him. With all that said, the fact that he struggled early this season and figured it out in real time, when you turn on the tape, man, it seems as of right now he's leaning more on his, hey, hey, a ball player's mindset. If I see it, I'm going to let it rip. If I can run, I'm going to run. Whatever needs to be done on the football field to win a game, I'm willing to do it.

13:04 So as of right now, it's Drake.

13:05 May for me.

13:06 That game starts week seven. Kyle, if you thought that last question was a doozy, prepare yourself for this one because I know you rolled deep with the Disney crew, all right? Kyle's in Paris ahead of Steelers-Saints in this game, of course, the first ever to be played in France. It's Pittsburgh's third international game in franchise history, while New Orleans will be playing in their fourth international game. Of course, every organization is getting more and more comfortable playing in this international series, but here comes Steelers-Saints on NFL Network Sunday morning. There's some fantastic movies based in France over time, but since we are of the Disney lore here, a couple classics that we are going to pit against each

13:42 other for Throwdown Thursday. Better movie set in France, Kyle? Ratatouille or Beauty and the Beast?

13:51 There goes the baker with his tray like always.

13:55 The same old bread and rolls to sell. I'm not supposed to sing, but that's Disney. We're Disney now. Isn't that all in family?

14:00 It's Beauty and the Beast. Respect to Remy. Respect to Ratatouille. Respect to Patton Oswalt.

14:05 It's Beauty and the damn Beast. Incredible characters. You got Angela Lansbury singing Tale as Old as Time.

14:12 It's wonderful.

14:13 You got Lumiere. You got all these fantastic guys. And you got my man. My number one overall pick. Gaston with the big old pythons with the ponytail.

14:23 He's fighting. He's spitting.

14:25 He drops a song in this movie called Kill the Beast. He's like, we're going to storm the castle. And that terrifying beast thing, I'm going to kill it.

14:32 And then guess what? He kills it.

14:34 He kills the beast. It's amazing what he does. As a boy, he ate two dozen eggs. As an adult, he eats three dozen eggs. He's built like Tao. He's got championships like Cologne. It's all kinds of big time stuff from Gaston. He's like my favorite Frenchman ever. Napoleon, Joan of Arc, Tony Parker, Gaston is my guy.

14:54 He's my day one, and it's Beauty and the Beast.

14:56 I know KB was going to go with Beauty and the Beast because he did the Be Our Guest song in the middle of this show.

15:01 He, he, he, ha, ha, ha.

15:03 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

15:04 That's from Beauty and the Beast, so I knew exactly where the Uso was going with that. Ratatouille is a movie that when it's on, I need to watch it.

15:11 That's one of my top five.

15:13 Remy the Mouse.

15:15 That is my favorite movie of all time in the top five.

15:21 I could watch it. It's very entertaining.

15:23 What a great depiction of what it is to chase after a passion of yours. Remy the Mouse wanting to be like Gusteau and then going there. And he cooks up for Ego, who's this critic of Ratatouille. And so it's all right.

15:39 Thank you, thank you, KB.

15:41 One of my all-time favorite movies, Ratatouille over Beauty and the Beast.

15:45 Yeah, I'm going Beauty and the Beast.

15:47 My daughter loves Beauty and the Beast.

15:49 You showed her Beauty and the Beast? Yeah, why not? It's a cartoon. Why wouldn't I?

15:53 It's old school cartoons. What? Old school.

15:56 You threw me off there.

15:56 I thought you'd go Ratatouille.

15:58 Why?

15:58 Because it's a cooking movie? Here we go again.

16:01 I thought we got over this.

16:04 What is going on right here? It doesn't feel like this is an issue anymore.

16:09 No, it doesn't. Beauty and the Beast for me. I love the Beast. I can't even think. My daughter loves Belle.

16:17 Oh, yes.

16:17 It's really about the kids, so I support Beauty and the Beast. I see you, man.

16:21 Shout out Jerry Arbach, too. Kyle, can you, I mean, Jerry as Lumiere, right?

16:28 Yeah.

16:28 My favorite. That's my, that's a great call back.

16:32 Yes.

16:32 Yes.

16:33 Great.

16:33 Kyle, thank you.

16:34 Fantastic, Jamie.

16:35 And by the way, Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Picture.

16:39 That's a real deal.

16:40 That's a legitimate thing back when there was only a handful of nominees.

16:44 It's not all aged well, to your point. None of it does.

16:47 I'm not sure why there's like three blonde, voluptuous women following Gaston around, but.

16:51 They made things differently back then. They wouldn't be doing that now. But you know what? It's still a classic.

16:55 Also, I just love how, like, the premise is that we just openly insult Bell's desire to, like, read books. And he's just like, no, be my wife. But, you know, education is important, everybody.

17:05 Yeah, she's a nerd.

17:06 Yeah.

17:08 Let's bring in Ian Rappaport. You got a take on Ratatouille or Beauty and the Beast rap sheet without insulting whether or not you're a food guy?

17:15 Uh, no.

17:16 The only thing I know about Beauty and the Beast is my son Max was in a play at his school and he sang the Gaston song, which was in front of the whole school and crushed it, which was just amazing. So whenever I think of that, that's what I think of.

17:31 Yeah.

17:32 Way to go, Max. He's got musical theater in his future. Do we have Lamar Jackson in our future rap sheet?

17:37 I would say that remains to be seen. It's been a curious situation, as it always is for Lamar Jackson. Dealing with an ankle injury that has kept him out the last two weeks was originally described to me as a two- to three-week injury. We're in that third week now, so he is nearing a return. The fact that he was a limited participant yesterday is a good sign. It's a very good sign. But it might not be everything.

17:57 As Jameson Hensley told us yesterday, Lamar was spotted limping into the facility, an indication that even though he practiced, he is not nearly... at 100%, and generally over the last several years, we have seen Lamar Jackson isn't quite on the field unless he is 100%. So though he practiced on a limited basis, one, we'll see if he practices today more. Two, we'll see how he bounces back and if he's able to be a full participant at some point this week. If he's able to be full by tomorrow, then he probably is playing. If not, then it might be another week for Lamar Jackson.

18:28 Meanwhile, for Baker Mayfield, it.

18:30 Is also a little bit of a touch-and-go situation, but seems to be more positive. Baker, who's coming back from a dislocated thumb, was a full participant yesterday.

18:40 He has been trying to throw. He's been trying to get out there.

18:42 The next day is important because if he's not swollen, if he's not sore, if he can go out and throw today, then he's probably able to play on Sunday. Todd Bowles says he's going to make a decision by tomorrow, which is Friday. But things are pointing in the right direction, it seems, for Baker Mays.

18:57 Ian, thank you very much. There was some disconcerting news that emerged from the Tennessee Titans during the week. A player was released, and the reason why was only revealed after the fact. So can you give us the facts surrounding the situation and Jordan Elliott, the player mentioned?

19:13 Jordan Elliott cut by the Tennessee Titans after there was a fight between him and his teammate J.C.

19:21 Latham.

19:21 He went to his car. He tried to go find his gun. And at that point, a teammate stepped in. John Franklin Myers stepped in, de-escalated the situation.

19:30 And that was that.

19:31 But it was simply too much. cannot do that. He was cut from the team. And the NFL is investigating, as they generally do in these situations, and we'll see what.

19:39 They come up with.

19:40 But that is not all, because Robert Sala, the head coach, was on the podium yesterday and essentially defended Jordan Elliott, saying, among other things, he is a good man. This was a call for help. It was a terrible, terrible lapse in judgment. But he's a good husband. He is a good father. This is not him. And then he praised the league for basically pausing the situation and understanding. that this is a guy who, as Salah said, has never committed a crime and never pulled a gun in his life, but he did this time, which was a terrible lapse in judgment. We will see where this goes. Clearly, Salah supporting the player and wanting him to be in the building rather than cast aside after his lapse in judgment.

20:21 That is the situation surrounding Elliott, a rare and unique situation in the NFL.

20:26 Yeah, it's very black and white where the rules amongst the NFL is like no guns on the premises, obviously. And that was the basis for the release and not so much the behavior or the history of the player. Sala also added that any other team could call him if they need a run stopping D tackle because he would stand up for that guy. It's an incredible piece of press conference availability and anyone who's interested in it.

20:48 should go listen to Robert Sala. Rap Sheet, thank you so much. Coming up on our show, we're going to play a little game based off of Willie's colorful performance in agony and defeat and in victory as well. Willie or won't he? Derrick Henry is one of the topics we got to play on GMFB. next man time plus.

21:07 We will continue to get you ready for tonight's.

21:09 Game in chicago nobody covers the bears like our girls let's go we can't wait she'll talk nfc north specifically tonight's matchup can't wait to see you stay good morning football on a thursday let's go.

21:20 Get her a baguette.

21:30 Good morning football.

21:33 Rejoice. We just had an Ian Rappaport injury information discussion, and Caleb Williams was not a part of it. It feels great. The quarterback for the Bears didn't miss a beat after being out for three weeks with a hamstring injury, and tonight he takes on the Patriots. And with that, Stacey Dales, get in here for GMFB. Great to see you this morning, Stacey. How are you?

21:52 Good morning, guys.

21:53 I went and grabbed a baguette, James, on your teeth.

21:57 Yeah, it's just in the warming oven. So let's get the information before we get. Stacey, the Bears offense has been keeping the ball away from opposing defenses at a historic rate. This is great for Caleb. This is great for Ben Johnson, who gets to draw him up any which way. So how can they keep this thing going against the Patriots?

22:12 Yeah, you can say what you want about time of possession. I've, over the years covering football, had these debates, how important is time of possession and maintaining the football and keeping it away from the other team. It's very important, particularly to Ben Johnson. So much so that in his victory speech after the Atlanta game this past weekend, he brought it up. He lauded his team. Hey, guys, we had the football for over 40 minutes against the Falcons. They averaged 36 and change with the football. And what's more interesting about it is they average 73 offensive snaps per game versus 50 defensive snaps. And in simple terms, as Mike Vrabel said, you got to flip the field. And that is going to be the objective. Uniquely, though, with

22:54 these two teams, you guys, there's nobody that wants to run the football more than the Chicago Bears than the New England Patriots.

23:02 These are one and.

23:02 Two in terms of rush yards per attempt. It is the mission for both teams. But you can't run the football if you're the Patriots if you don't have it. And so, as Mike Frabel said again, we've got to flip the switch against these Chicago Bears. They understand how lethal Caleb Williams is. Guys, he was perfect in the pocket when not under duress. I'll be anxious to see here on a short week what Mike Vrabel dials up against Caleb Williams tonight. But certainly a big part of it is if you want to be really manageable on third down, you've got to be able to run the football.

23:34 And to be able to run the football, you've got to have the football. So they've got to figure out how to get off the field against this team. And more importantly, possess the football against the Chicago Bears on the road tonight.

23:43 Let's say she hit it about the Chicago Bear offense. They're sustaining drives. They're converting on third down. They're scoring a whole bunch of points. It's a different story for the Vikings offense right now. Although they're coming off of by, they're taking on the Colts. Kyler Murray, he seemingly is hitting his stride after a rough start to the season.

23:59 How can the offense keep supporting their great defense?

24:02 The offense can keep supporting its great defense if they get healthy, Manti. They have not been healthy. They have not been at full strength. We saw Justin Jefferson go. We didn't see Jordan Addison go. Hawkinson's had the banged-up situation, I think the concussion. But they're coming off a bye, and they're getting at full strength. And what's unique about this system for Kyler Murray is they see incremental growth.

24:22 They see incremental growth after a conversation I had with front office personnel this week. In terms of what they're doing with them, they are heavy play action. They have the seventh-highest play action rate in the NFL this season. That means hard action under center. That means getting the ball like you just saw right there on the screen across the middle. When Kyler Murray came into the league, guys, out of a college system, with all due respect, it was shotgun, gun run. Let's throw it down outside the hashes, outside the numbers. And now you're seeing an offense where he's under center. There's more quarterback keepers like that one you just saw on the screen. And all of a sudden now you have the ability to use that athleticism.

25:03 They are, again, Kevin O'Connell seeing that incremental growth week to week. So they like the trajectory. They are 5-0, one of three undefeated teams. And one of the exciting offenses and certainly one of the best defenses in football, if not the best under Brian Flores.

25:20 Stace, Willie here. Let's talk about the Colts.

25:24 They fired a GM, Chris Ballard. It seems like dark days for the Indianapolis Colts.

25:31 What's the mood in the building?

25:32 Willie i thought you were going to ask me about brian flores and.

25:35 The defense because that sounds a hell of.

25:37 A lot more fun that's the noise the quarterbacks make when they have to face a brian flores defense yeah.

25:44 Um i'll just tell you this willie and company that uh it's been a hard week in indianapolis ed dodds takes over the assistant general manager as the uh you know, basically the leader of pro personnel. And so he'll handle, you know, inactives, he'll handle roster moves, he'll handle the trade deadline, all of the things that go with the general manager's position. And we understand, you know, 10 years together alongside Chris Ballard, but Carly Ursae Gordon had made a difficult decision this week, but a necessary decision they feel like in the building. And I would tell you the mood, Willie and guys, is bummed out because all the players on this roster know that Chris Ballard was responsible for their entry onto this team. However, Carly Orsay

26:30 Gordon said at the start of this season, the sense of urgency is at an all-time high. And you guys see her down there on the sideline. She is highly involved in the operation. She has close relationships with everybody in the operation, including Chris Ballard and including Ed Dodds, and had to make a difficult decision they felt was necessary for a franchise that did not win a division title in the Chris Ballard era. Chris Ballard is a stand-up guy and had a lot of opportunities over the years.

26:59 Certainly the quarterback situation, Andrew Luck's situation was a real pivotal turning point. They've never really been able to sort out that quarterback position as we see Daniel Jones in it right now. But things are changing. The ship is changing there in Indianapolis. And I just can't wait to see this game tonight, you guys. I am so excited.

27:19 I don't mean to change the script here on you, but We got Drake May and Caleb Williams.

27:23 Totally.

27:24 And the conversation that I had with a source with the Patriots today about Drake May, remember they started off one and two last year. They are just fine. They have won three in a row. This is a mature, they see a more mature quarterback in Drake May. They think he can beat you at the line of scrimmage with his head and his brain, his legs, his ability to throw downfield, his patience, his discipline in his third season.

27:48 Caleb Williams in his third season coming off of a single game historic mark with 83 completion rate you can't dial it up better for thursday night football it's going to be a circus in chicago it.

28:00 Really will stacy thank you so much for all that context good information ahead of sunday games but also tonight as you said as a chicagoan i can imagine that you have plenty of neighbors and friends who are excited about patriots bears thursday night football it all starts week seven stacy thank you so much we'll talk to you soon thanks thanks Of the more than 25,000 players in NFL history, only 240 have crossed the goal line for a touchdown in a Super Bowl. Former Cowboys wide receiver and Hall of Famer Drew Pearson's pride in being part of this exclusive group of players is on full display during his entertaining reflection of scoring the first touchdown in Super Bowl X.

28:43 My name is Drew Pearson with the Dallas Cowboys. and I scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl.

29:02 You know, as a kid growing up watching Super Bowls and the NFL, I wasn't a Cowboy fan.

29:08 I was born in New Jersey, so I was a Giant and.

29:11 Jet fan, but I became a Cowboy fan as soon as they paid me. The reason I was having success because I'm with the Dallas Cowboys, I'm coached by Tom Landry, my quarterback, Roger Staubach, all right? If Stevie Wonder could get out there on the field, Roger Staubach could make him a Hall of Famer, okay?

29:32 The world's championship of professional football is called the Super Bowl, as the Cowboys take on the Steelers in Super Bowl 10.

29:41 Coach landry told us before we left dallas that hey you know you want to make a name for yourself do it in this situation in the super bowl time that's what uh i was trying to do knowing what that would lead to.

29:54 Dallas cowboys have the ball the pittsburgh steeler 29 yard line they're attacking from your right to your left.

30:01 It was firepower, 49, near G.O., wing, short motion. Roger talks to me. You know, he's talking directly to me. This is your play, Drew.

30:11 You know, you got to make it happen. Texas put out four. Here is Staubach, back to throw.

30:16 He's looking.

30:16 He fires down the middle, completing the 15-yard line.

30:20 Well, I caught the ball, and I saw Andy Russell. And I said, this is six. He ain't catching me today.

30:27 Touchdown, Dallas Cowboys! Drew Pearson.

30:31 Man, you talk about a feeling of elation. Oh, man, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know whether to spike the ball, throw it.

30:37 In the stands, eat it, or what.

30:39 Wide open, pulled.

30:41 That pass over the middle.

30:43 Broke to his left, went into the score.

30:46 And you dream about these kind of things, you know?

30:48 The night before a game, you're catching a touchdown pass, you're gonna do this, you're gonna do that. But then the moment happens, it's all spontaneous. Just to be part of that. You know, it's the Super Bowl. You scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl. I scored, what, 50 touchdowns in my career in the NFL, but.

31:10 Super Bowl touchdown.

31:12 It means a lot. I think it's a fraternity. We should have a ceremony every year.

31:17 If I had known that, I would ask for more money.

31:27 What I love about the legend of the 88 for the Cowboys, Michael Irvin said this in an interview recently, like he never wanted to be retired or in the rafters because the more the guys wear it, the more they reference back to the greats that had done it before them. So you can't watch CeeDee Lamb play without thinking of Irv, without thinking of Drew. So what great way to tell that story. And we appreciate being able to do so every week on GMFB ahead of the Super Bowl to be played at SoFi Stadium on February 14th, 2027.

31:52 This Monday, though, we get to hang out with another Cowboys 88 and Michael Irvin as we head to Philadelphia. Great place to invite Irv to come hang out. Special three-hour good morning football from Stateside Live. Join us ahead of kickoff, hours ahead of kickoff, but we know we'll have friends there. Cowboys Eagles, week seven, that'll wrap up.

32:09 We start at 8 a.m. Eastern. Come hang out with us. KB, Manti will be there, Seth Rollins as well. And the game will be played that night, 8 p.m.

32:17 Eastern.

32:17 Lots of ways to watch, but come hang with us. GMFB Roadshow Special. We'll be right back. time for a segment in honor of willie cologne's performance and buzz off yesterday there's willie in the flesh today that's fine yesterday willie was on one and now we're gonna have a little topic where if you agree with it you say willie and we're gonna show willie celebrating yesterday there he is hey hey hey with the shoulders and won't he he's keeled over and stressed So, Willie or Woney, we're going to play. Here we go.

32:58 The topics.

32:59 We've got two of them. Ravens running back, Derrick Henry, leads the league with 139 offensive touches through the first six weeks. This at 32 years old.

33:07 Oh, my gosh.

33:08 If he ends the season. What is up with your noise effects today?

33:12 This is part of it.

33:13 Whoa, it's guttural.

33:14 I can't communicate. I make noises.

33:17 If Derrick Henry ends the season leading this category, Derrick would become the first player to do so, to lead the NFL in touches at age 32 or older since the Hall of Famer. Clark Hinkle did it for Green Bay Packers at 41. We have the footage. It's been unearthed and clarified, but we did not inject color into it.

33:36 Look at him go. Yo, Hinkle was built. Hinkle had 137 touches over 11 games that year for the 10-1 Packers with wins over the likes of the Cleveland Rams, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Chicago Cardinals. I'd be doing a disservice to this footage if I didn't allow Kyle to speak about 1941 game play.

33:54 Yeah, Jamie, there's all kinds of color missing from this game back then. But anyway, yeah, with respect to Clark Hinkle, different game, different sport, different everything.

34:05 And will he or won't he? It's funny, I think will he means something different here in France, but I'm going to say.

34:12 Willie because it would be just another thing that Derrick Henry accomplishes with his human body that's unthinkable. And it will be part of his Hall of Fame discussion. It should be part of his Rushmore discussion. I'm hoping he doesn't. But I got Willie leading the NFL in offensive touches.

34:28 That'd be really cool.

34:29 I'm going to go Woney.

34:30 And the reason why I'm going to go Woney is I think a lot of it has to do with Lamar Jackson not playing for the past few weeks. And, you know, when Lamar Jackson comes back into the football game, he's going to take some of those opportunities from him. But as long as Tyler Huntley is a quarterback, I think you lean heavily on Derrick Henry and handling the ball, allow Tyler Huntley to get a little bit comfortable. So I'm going to say, won't he? He's not going to leave and touch us.

34:51 What you got, Willie?

34:51 Yeah, I'm going to say, won't he? He's the current leader, but that doesn't mean he's going to finish.

34:55 There, right?

34:55 I know right now he has 130 rushing attempts and nine receptions. But think about the other backs like Jameer Gibbons and Bijan Robinson. They're able to get touches through the run game and passing game. Correct.

35:04 So I'm going to say, won't he?

35:06 That's a good point. The Jameer Gibbs part of this and the youth of it all plays into it as well.

35:10 It's a lot of mileage for a 32-year-old back.

35:12 It is.

35:12 It is.

35:13 But the fact that he is of that age and we're even in week seven and it's happening is great. Kyle, well done. Way to participate in Willie or won't he? Moving on. The Seahawks have had some legendary defenses over the years, but the latest iteration is doing something never done before. It's actually pretty surprising. The Seahawks have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 35 games, which includes the playoffs.

35:38 Just stop them at the line of scrimmage, no explosive runs, no nothing. In fact, the last player to top the century mark in rushing against Seattle's defensive unit was James Cook.

35:49 In Week 8.

35:51 The 2024 season when he had 111 rushing yards against the Seahawks. So keep all this in mind when you consider the fact that Seattle will now be facing and trying to contain their former running back in the form of Kenneth Walker III on Sunday night. Walker currently averages 133 rushing yards per game this season. So Kyle, will he or won't he? Kenneth Walker III will eclipse 100 rushing yards against his former team.

36:20 Oh, he's a big, fat willy. Absolutely willy, yes. I don't care how many times they have to feed him.

36:26 He may actually do our first two topics. By the time Kenneth Walker is done, he has more touches than Derrick Henry, and he has more than 100 yards against Seattle. Listen, I'd be very fascinated if we could go back and have a candid truth serum-type conversation with the Seattle Seahawks front.

36:40 Office about would they do things differently, okay?

36:43 I know they like their choices, and they drafted a young guy, Jadarian Price, who.

36:46 Got hurt, all that blah, blah, blah. Walker looks amazing.

36:49 Amazing if they could go back would he be in a Seahawks jersey with a big fat extension I don't know they can't go back but they can wrap him up and they can bring him down good luck I think he will get 100 yards but it's an awesome streak when you said the last guy to do it Jamie I thought you're gonna say Clark Hinkle no it's a really really impressive streak but I think it'll.

37:05 Be broken What a great question. I'm going to say won't he? I don't think he's going to eclipse 100. And the reason why is because there's a lot of different changes for Seattle Seahawks defense, but a lot of them, and matter of fact, majority of them are in the secondary, not in their front seven. Their front seven is still.

37:20 What it is.

37:21 I also do think that the Kansas City Chiefs O-line isn't as strong as I would want them to be to go against their front. So as much as I would want Kenneth Walker to go against his O-team and to prove that they shouldn't have let him go, I'm going to always choose the defense.

37:35 I'm going to go won't he, will he?

37:36 Yeah, I'm going Willie.

37:38 What are you talking about? You're telling me Kenneth Walker?

37:39 You just want to see the shoulder shimmy, don't you?

37:42 Maybe. Yeah.

37:43 No, you're telling me he's going back to Seattle with 35 games of defensive history on the line? You're telling me he doesn't want to be the guy to break the streak?

37:51 Come on now. It's personal. Hey, now he wants to get busy in Seattle.

37:54 He wants to show his ex-girlfriend, man, I'm still out here glazed up and rocked up, baby.

37:58 So, yeah.

38:00 And that offensive line must know it too as well.

38:02 You play for a back like that. So this is personal.

38:06 And K-9 feels like he won the Super Bowl MVP. He should be the face of the franchise and let him walk out the door.

38:13 All right. Will he or won't he? You know what I know will happen? That if I tee Kyle up in Paris, France holding a baguette and a croissant and to talk about footage from 1941, he'll do it.

38:26 Absolutely i'll do it decidedly slower game back then decidedly less athletic but you still got to respect these guys they they traveled in trains to the game they had salt pills at halftime and i love that they're doing this a lot of history in this game a lot of history here in paris as.

38:40 Well We're going to Super Bowl 61. The question is, are you? You have a chance to do it. Enter for a chance to win four tickets to Super Bowl 61 and a three-night vacation to the Disney Resort to watch Super Bowl champion cavalcade. Scan this QR code right now on your screen.

38:58 Go ahead.

38:58 It's right here. Open your phone up.

39:01 Go, go.

39:01 Or you can visit ESPN.com slash S-B-L-X-I to learn more. There's the crew that you'll see on TV. There's the crew that you see on all the other TVs in your house because you have kids and you have Disney Plus. And that's your opportunity to enter this contest. Moving on. Patriots corner Charles Woods has a unique nickname, one that he earned by a request at halftime. Here's his head coach to explain more.

39:25 The story, I don't know what it was.

39:29 What?

39:29 He was like, Coach, I get a Jolly Rancher. And I was like, are you serious? I'm like, yes, at halftime. It was like I was coaching one of the kids' teams in ninth grade, nine-year-old football. I was like, yeah, sure, have a Jolly Rancher. Then we won the game, and then I joked about it when we got a game ball.

39:46 We called him Jolly Rancher JR now for short. And so then last week I said, I'm ready to go. I got your great Jolly Ranchers. Put one in, and the next play he got an interception. I was like, this is crazy.

40:01 This tracks. I mean, we all potty train our kids. You're like, here's an M & M. Like, good job. You have to come prepared, you know? Like, Grable knows what's up. It's the grape Jolly Ranchers, Willie. Choking hazard, but, you know.

40:13 Yeah, Jolly Ranchers for sure.

40:15 Choking hazard. Green apples.

40:16 Yes.

40:16 I was about to say, the green is the goat.

40:18 Green apples. Yes. The best flavor.

40:20 KB, what's the candy du jour in Paris, France today, besides the stick of carbohydrates that you're eating? I know they don't have, I don't know what, Jolly Ranchers. What do you got?

40:29 Great question.

40:31 We haven't talked about grape Jolly Ranchers since Jamarcus Russell. It's been a while since they've been part of the conversation. We have chocolate croissants. I have all kinds of wonderful stuff here. You know what I've liked in some of the ambiance is that they've been some drive-bys of the French police.

40:46 And they'll go like. I feel like they're always chasing Jason Bourne.

40:51 Yes.

40:51 Like, he's trying to find out about Treadstone and Black Briar, and they're always finding Bourne. And Bourne will escape him somehow. I know that they're all chasing Jason Bourne as I stand up here in front of the Octi Triumph ahead of Steelers Saints.

41:04 But it's been a wonderful time, guys. I'm very excited. I'm going to be on a bunch of other shows over the.

41:08 Next two days.

41:08 I'll be back here with you tomorrow.

41:11 If you have any requests, anything I can do, anything I can get, anything I can get my hands on to be part of tomorrow's show.

41:16 Uh-huh.

41:17 Speak it now tweet it later whatever you guys got my number i'd love to bring it to the air.

41:20 My request is to stick with one pronunciation of arc de triomphe i've heard 17 and um i just i want you to practice overnight in your mirror kyle because you have some friends there that you've made actually kyle you you were saying that you were taking pictures of others at the arc de triomphe uh but now people are coming up to you because you're famous.

41:41 Talk about it.

41:42 Do they know who you are, KB?

41:43 Yeah, there's some Saints fans here.

41:45 Yes.

41:45 Oh, you captured that?

41:46 Yes.

41:47 It's my pleasure. My pleasure for the people. Right in the middle of the shot. Just walk on in. Mi casa, su casa. I'll try, Jamie. I took Spanish. I can do Biblioteca and Zapateria all the time.

41:57 Arc de Triumph.

41:58 I'm working on it.

41:59 I need you to angry run straight across that Triumph.

42:02 There.

42:02 Go underneath that arc. Go on, buddy.

42:06 Ah!

42:08 I'll get hit by a car.