The Inner Circle

Aaron Donald & Matt Ryan on Dak Prescott, Jalen Carter, and what players Wish they can say postgame

• Aaron Donald, Matt Ryan, Todd France and Zach Klein

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Episode 2: Spit, Fines & Real Talk with Aaron Donald and Matt Ryan

Week 1 delivered chaos—Dak Prescott vs. Jalen Carter, New York Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll hedging on QB1, Titans running back Derrick Henry flattening defenders, and Aaron Rodgers gets revenge.  But the biggest headline in this episode is the debut of our new segment: Real Talk.

This is where Aaron Donald and Matt Ryan stop translating for the cameras and say what players actually mean. When Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. gave his measured postgame support for kicker Younghoe Koo after missing at the buzzer to force overtime, AD cut through the noise: “Shit, you got one job to do, man. Kick the damn ball and make the field goal. If you can’t do it, they gotta find somebody else.” Matt backed him up, adding, “I like Younghoe… but when I drive it down there, you’ve got to knock it through.” The honesty doesn’t stop there:

  • Jalen Carter Spitting on Dak Prescott: Aaron Donald calls spitting the “ultimate disrespect” and admits, “I’d have lost my damn cool.”
  • Dak vs. the critics: Matt Ryan says, “The Cowboys might have 99 problems—but Dak ain’t one.”
  • Fines exposed: Super-agent Todd France takes listeners inside the NFL fine and appeal process—letters, emails, hearings, and why “no flag doesn’t mean no fine.”
  • QB1 questions: What does it really mean when a coach won’t commit after Week 1? Matt and AD explain what players already know in the locker room.
  • Finishing games: AD on the Ravens’ collapse, “Pick this shit up and finish. You controlled the game the whole damn time.”
  • New segments with teeth: 99 Problems, Two-Minute Drill, Hot Mic, and the headline-making Real Talk.

AD, what did he think he really wanted to say to those Buffalo Bill fans? I should have grabbed him by his fucking neck after doing some shit like that. I was a little nice by just pushing his ass back. I should have choked him out. That's what he really wanted to say. Shit. You my teammate then smacked me, mother, get your ass here. But he did good, he did good, just pushing his ass back. Hey, how we doing everybody? Zach Klein, Aaron Donald, Matt Ryan, Todd France coming up on episode two of the Inner Circle podcast. We have every corner covered of the Dak Prescott, Jalen Carter spitting situation. We got reaction from our two MVPs plus our own Todd France, of course, taking us inside and laying out how the NFL finds work plus Message it sends when your head coach doesn't commit to a week two starting quarterback immediately following a week one loss. We got some new segments on the pod this week. AD number 99. He has 99 problems, but this player is not one of them. We got our two minute drill with Matty Ice, Matt Ryan with some rapid questions and we're going to debut something called, what are you saying? Todd, what are you saying to get your guys going that are off to a slow start? Matt and AD, what are you saying to your teammates when something unfolds on the sidelines? And then we're going to drop some soundbites from some players out there where they say something pretty vanilla, but then AD and Matt chime in to let us know what those players or coaches really want to say. It's called Real Talk. We have all of this and more. want you to like, comment, share, subscribe, let us know what you're feeling. Thank you for joining us on episode two of The Inner Circle. Matt, let's begin with you, my man. You were off in Lambeau Field, the CBS crew, NFL today. Live from Green Bay doesn't get any better than that. How was the experience? It was awesome, man. There is no place like Lambeau in the NFL, right? You feel the history when you get there, walking out of the tunnel, seeing the stadium. It's just one of the great places in the NFL. It's one of the great places in American sports. And to kick off the season there, I thought our crew did an amazing job. It's not an easy task putting that show on with all of the moving parts that are there. They did an amazing job, and it was a ton of fun. How about you guys? How was the weekend? Hold on, Matt, was the Lambo leap as big as you thought it was, as high as you thought it would be, or any issues? God, I was worried about the Achilles. I was like, God. Yes. pants were a little tight. The dress shoes are not easy to jump in. I was worried about splitting the pants. The picture was awesome, man. The fans, I gotta be honest, man. The fans, you know, that's what makes doing those things live so much fun, right? Is you get the genuine reaction of the people. that are getting ready to go to the game and never in my life did I think I'd do a Lambo leap getting braced by the Packers fans. But shout out to everybody who came out, it was awesome. I just have one thing for future just in terms of thinking and thinking big, Matt, like if you're going to be going to a stadiums and doing that type of stuff, like when you jumped up, your coat was open. I would have been a perfect opportunity to have the Inner Circle podcast logo right inside that jacket in a customized situation. just. tailor about getting one of those inner circle things on the inside, inside part of the jacket. Good call. Look at you, man. That's the agent in you. It never, it never leaves. never these creative, creative. Matt, you were there for the debut of Micah Parsons in Green Bay at Lambeau Field. 30 plays, played about 45 % of the snaps. What did he look like in person? Was the speed there and was Micah, Micah? Michael was Micah. Micah was ready to play. I think it was the perfect case scenario if you're a Green Bay Packer fan or if you're the Green Bay Packers, right? You get in front, you play with the lead, you don't have to play him more than what'd you say, 30-some snaps. You know, he hadn't practiced much during training camp. I think the ability to ease him into it and not over-stimulate him week one, they're playing Thursday night, right? They've got short turnaround, he was dealing with some of those back issues. I don't think he could have had a better start. If you're the Green Bay Packers and really if you're Micah Parsons to kind of cap it off. I was in that stadium when he sacked Jared Goff. I mean to hear that place explode and just kind of the energy that was coming in there and really to see his teammates too like to see their sideline going nuts. The guys on the field going nuts. It was special but that defense in general Micah played great. Their Green Bay Packers defense played lights out. What'd you think, AD? Ah man, you said it. think Micah, looked explosive. He looked fast. He looked juiced up. He had some good rushes. Obviously, he's relentless in his rush, right? He's gonna find a way to get through there and hock him down, I think they did a great job with not overwhelming him, getting him in there, getting his engine moving a little bit, seeing what he feel like, because he looked fast as hell. Looked at explosive, he was hustling, man. So I'm excited. I'm excited about, you know... this season with him, obviously Green Bay looked really good as an overall team, defense looks solid. So continue to build with that defensive front, week on and week off, he's gonna just continue to grow, continue to get better, man. So I think some teams is in trouble with that Green Bay team, honestly. was so cool to see his emotion when he was the last player introduced pregame and he had so much respect for what the Green Bay Packer organization did to welcome him in, change up that pregame routine, but then say, all right, we did this, it's time to move on and let's go back to what we normally do to honor the players, whether it's Jordan Love coming out last, et cetera. So a cool moment for Micah and that has a loaded division to say the least. The Packers look legit, man. They could definitely represent and be a threat to the Eagles when coming out of the What was everybody's reaction to Dak Prescott and Jaylen Carter? Who wants to start? AD, you start. ha ha! Listen, I'm gonna say this. I'm a Jalen Carter's fan. I think he's hell of a football player. Still a young guy, got some growing up to do. I'm gonna say this. As a guy, he's one of the guys on the team that they need on the field to have success to get to what they're trying to get to again, And he gonna learn this as he played, as he get a little bit more mature because I got kicked out of a game before. I made silly mistakes. I never spit on nobody. I maybe threatened a few guys that I will spit on them, but never spit on them, right? So what I would say is that's like the ultimate disrespect, you know? I think Dak was poised. I'm surprised because if I was Dak and somebody spit on me, fuck football, I'm going to jail because I'm losing it. I'm putting my hands on it. I'm going to try to kill somebody because that's the ultimate disrespect. But, you know, I watched the game. I seen that they said Dak spit on the ground or whatever the case may be. They probably were saying some words. but to walk on somebody and spit on them, you could have did anything else. You could have smacked them in his face. You could have grabbed them, said, don't do no shit like that to me again. Don't disrespect me. And that'd be that. to do that and get kicked out the game early, think that's just a young mistake, right? Early in the game, first game of the season, your team needs you and you let your team down. So find a way to make this right, get back on the field, be productive. But I will say, I would have lost my damn cool. That's what I'm gonna say. would have lost my cool if somebody spit on me. AD, I think you're spot on because like, he doesn't yet understand his value to the organization, right? There's four or five players on that team that you need out there every week. You've got Saquon, you've got Jalen Hertz, you've got AJ Brown. Right behind that is Jalen Carter, in my opinion. And he's that big of a game changer. So it seems like a little bit immature of kind of not understanding. who he is and what he means, not only to that football team on the field, but just his presence alone, how that changes a game plan for Dallas going against them, right? You just took so much off the plate of everybody else on that offensive line for the Dallas Cowboys. And so, you know, I think he's got some growing up to do, but I do think like the one hard part with football is that it's such, there's such high emotion, there's such this sense of being right on the edge. Right on the edge of losing it and trying to keep your cool. But the interesting part of this one was the game hadn't even started, right? Like we hadn't even had a scrap of back and forth or anything like that. And I get there's that buildup, that lead up is the first game of the year. He's just itching, ready to go. But, you know, kind of having that poise to keep your cool about you and understand the value that you have to the organization, to that team, I think is going to be really important. I want to say this though. I want to give a shout out to Jalen Hurts I thought Jalen's comments after the game were very measured, shows kind of his leadership and what he's all about. It was no nonsense, right? He was like, we expect better than that. However, we're going to have our teammates back and we're going to need him moving forward. I thought he was outstanding after the game talking about it. I'm watching it just like everyone else is. I was obviously shocked. I was super proud of him from a composure perspective, like we're all talking about. No reaction. I've always, listen, I'm always a guy who says you never bet against Dak. Like he just doesn't get rattled and everyone wants to talk about the poise in the actual situation. Like you said, the game hadn't started. There was an injury that happens. Everyone's so amped up, but forget the poise in the moment. What does he go do? He leads him down on the drive, stays in complete control, and then goes and puts points on the board. I I loved it. I it doesn't surprise me at all. I'm obviously biased, but he's a guy who just doesn't get rattled. And he stayed locked in and kept his team together. And the results were the results. AD, we're going to get to it later. There's 99 problems segment, but the Cowboys might have 99 problems, but Dak ain't one, man. He is not one. And people like to get on him, right? People like to, you know, and that's part of playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and having the star on your helmet. But when he's healthy, man, all he does is produce. And I think a lot of the arrows that get slung his way are misguided. does the fine process work? Is the league calling you as the agent of a player? Does it come from the general manager? And then what does the player do as an appeals process? Walk us through what happens when someone in the league is facing a fine from the National Football League. Yeah, so fines are interesting and AD, I'm sure remembers being fine. Matt, I don't remember if you've ever been fined or not, but it's a little more rare for the quarterback. you know, they'll get an email and or a letter in the locker. I just get copied on an email and it comes from the league and they spell it all out, like in the violation, what the rule is, what the exact play was and what the amount is. And then you have an opportunity to appeal it. And obviously there's fines for uniforms. You can have too much white showing in your sock or the jersey can be untucked. It could be on field play, know, a late hit, taunting, that type of stuff. And then obviously there's these types of things that are kind of the in-between type of thing, which is spitting on your opponent and that type of stuff, which obviously is a large fine. And everyone wants to talk about, there a suspension or not? You who knows what goes on with that? But you do appeal these things. We write a letter to the commissioner's office, set up an appeal date. They have a hearing officer. from the league on, they have a representative from the NFL Players Association on, the agent is on and the player's on. We have access to the tape, so if it's a on-field play, we're kind of assessing it, looking at it, and then Aaron will walk the appeals officer through the play, and then if we have anything to add to it, then we'll add to it, and then you wait for a decision to come out in terms of what it is. can either be reduced, it can be completely rescinded, or they can say, we're gonna keep it as is. If it's a uniform violation for the most part, Recently, you have a chance to like watch a video, don't do it again type thing and they'll reduce a certain percentage of the fine. But yeah, it's a real process. AD, how many times you get fined? Shit, I don't know a lot. know 2016, I got fined a bunch. So I got fined a lot, man. I couldn't even count, but I got a lot of calls, a lot of letters. We gotta appeal this, we gotta do this. And it's like, shit, you gotta sit there and please your case and be like, well, this what I was trying to do. I wasn't trying to land on, I'm not trying to land, or you know, you're trying to find a way to get out of it some way somehow. But I don't know, I got fined a lot of my career. I wouldn't lie about that, so. the rules are so specific. like, you know, when you take that extra step, you're trying to explain yourself away at exactly what was happening as opposed to what the rule says. And the other thing is, or no flag doesn't limit you from being fined. There could be no flag on a play and you could still get fined. Like the year I got fined in San Fran, my case was I was more of the peacemaker and somebody attacked me and I was just trying to protect my teammates. And then they're like, well, why you take your hammer off and smash it to the ground? I was just a little frustrated and mad. So it's a lot of shit you got to try to clean up. You felt like that was the best way to keep the peace, slamming the helmet into the ground, right? damn blackout moment. It was just a silly young moment on me, man. And you sometimes emotions take over. I got fined one time. I got fined. We were playing the Buffalo Bills my last year in Atlanta up there. I was running in for a touchdown, which I thought was a touchdown. I kind of dove, went in for the touchdown. Zach's laughing because he remembers his game at the end of it. And it was a tight ball game. I think we were in the fourth quarter, tight ball game. we had scored. I scored this touchdown. I thought we had gotten close and it was a one score game or whatever. And as I was diving in, can't remember if it was Micah Hyde or Jordan Poirier, but they tried to hit me. And they came in and torpedoed. And so I slid underneath. I got up, spiked the ball. I don't even remember what I said. I didn't say anything that bad. But I got flagged for taunting. They had just changed the taunting rules or whatever that you couldn't show anybody up. And so I'm walking to the sideline. I'm like, this is bullshit. What are we doing? I got flagged just for saying whatever at this point. Turns out it wasn't a touchdown. I was down at the one. There was a 15 yard penalty after four taunting. We then don't score. We lose this game. It's terrible. And I got the FedEx on Wednesday with the fine, which I think we argued on whatever and I had to pay the full freight anyhow. So that was my one fine story. And that's good. One time though in your whole career. That's pretty impressive, man. That's not bad at all. AD in 2016. That's what that was. Golly! Interesting stuff out of New York where the head coach Brian Dable said after the 21-6 loss to the commanders that Russell Wilson, he would not commit to him at the moment going into Week 2. as a starter. he did say the following days that yes, Russ will be the starter. But in that moment, guys, on that Sunday after the game, he did not commit to QB one. What kind of message does that send? AD, you tell me because I've always viewed it from the quarterback perspective, but what's the rest of the team perspective? So I just, in the locker room, it's one of them things that we don't got a QB one that's solidified, that's like a Matt Ryan or Matthew Stafford, right? When you know who you going to war with, you know who's going to be there no matter what it is, you got that quarterback, that guy that's going to be there. It's like one of them situations where we still trying to figure it out kind of thing. So that's what I'm thinking. I know you got a way better perspective as a quarterback mindset into this than I do. But as a teammate, I'm just thinking like, shit, we still trying to figure shit out it seem like. See, I feel like the guys already know. You know what I mean? Just because he didn't answer it or whatever, the guys already know. You draft Jackson Dart where they did. You have Russell Wilson where he's at in his career. Everybody thinks that the coach is talking to the team through the media, but give the players some credit here, some respect. These guys know what's going on in the building, and they understand that Russ's lease is probably short when you draft a guy in the first round. You know, I think sometimes this kind of stuff gets overblown from a media perspective. well, he didn't commit to him week two. Well, none of these players are committed to him. They all kind of have an understanding that, you know, week four five or six, whenever that is, there's a time where Jackson Dart is coming in. And whether that's week two, three or four. after the loss to say, yes, he's our quarterback moving forward and then maybe make the change during the week. But when you throw it out there that especially in New York, that there's a possibility that Russ won't start. Now, he did again, he put a stamp on that the next day, but I just thought it was unnecessary in that moment to make a decision when you knew he was going to make the move the following week. Yeah, I mean, I hear that. I just don't think I don't think it matters that much in the locker room. Like, I don't think it matters to the guys that much that we're committed to this and it becomes a bigger story. I get you have to answer answer questions about that. But like, I don't think it's changing anybody's mindset in that locker room. Yeah, because they know they pretty much know the ins and out of everything outside media. It make everything gonna get blown up bigger than what it is anyway. And then like, is it a panic in there? But obviously the guys know what's going on. They there every single day. They having conversation with the players and the coaches. So what? It's kind of crazy, Zach's media, Zach in the media world, literally lives in like a whole different world. Like in his mind, he literally brainwashes himself to think it's bigger than what it really is compared to what you guys are saying. when the head coach of an NFL team says, we're not really sure that. early on from Todd France. You'll get fined for that too, AD. You're not allowed to do that anymore. Shit, damn, pick them up. we all can agree on that Derrick Henry is a freaking monster. What a performance against the Bills, a buck 69 and two TDs. And we were kicking around. would you rather do? Would you rather tackle Derrick Henry or would you rather be tackled by Aaron Donald? I think it'd be a great question for all our listeners out there, those watching wherever you get this podcast, weigh in, let us know. mean, to me, I... Like I was just asking. that's the correct answer. the only person on here who has been tackled by Aaron Donald, let me tell you, that is not fun. However, I was used to getting tackled by big guys like him. I was not used to tackling large human beings like Derrick Henry. I would not want any part of that, man. If you're free safety, having come up. I mean, that poor kid for the bills, Chris Collinsworth kept talking about it when he just... He just tossed him going in on the first touchdown, just that stiff arm to the left. And I think Collins was, I think his words were, that's embarrassing. That's embarrassing for that, that a grown man just threw him to the ground. I would want no part of having to tackle Derrick Henry. And AD, you've done it? I played against Derrick Henry when he was his rookie year. Every other year we played him, I think he was hurt. So I really never got to play him like in his prime as the guy, right? I played him when he was still young. So I never got the experience, you know, really going against him in his prime. So I'm always going to say I'd rather tackle somebody than get hit, right? But that's just me, right? Hey, real quick. also, you're also enormous, right? And strong, like you, like you, you would match up well with him one-on-one. The rest of us got no chance. I would want to see Zach Klein and Todd France tackle Derrick Henry and have to get tackled by we can probably make this happen get tackled by AD out on football field just to see what the reaction is. I don't think y'all can tackle Derrick Henry I think Aaron and I have too deep of a relationship So I think it would be better if he sat he tackled Zack, you know Just because I don't think he would I think it would be more of a real tackle He would not totally tackle me So we'll just go ahead and have Zack be the one that gets crushed by Aaron and then same thing with Derrick Derrick's not gonna run me over But I think in truck you for sure I have a glass jaw, so that would not look good, man. He knocked me out pretty fast for sure. You did sign Todd Derrick to what, know, the largest average contract for someone over 30 at that position, what, two years and 30 million? So that came right before the season. Everybody thinks that deals are usually done in the off season or right before the trading deadline. Is that rare to do an extension right before the season with guys or is there an ever moving? goalpost, so to speak, when it comes to opportunities to lock in guys for contracts throughout the season, and there's no set time where a deal for an extension has to be done. Yeah, know what? Deadline spur action. It's always that way, whether it's a draft pick and time to report to training camp or there's a franchise tag deadline and July 15th is the date at four o'clock. Somehow the deals get done right before that. It's the same sort of thing here, but it's also risk versus reward, right? Some teams do have policies they don't want to negotiate in season. Sometimes the player doesn't want to negotiate in season. So then ultimately game one, you know, like Dak last year, like, yeah, that becomes a sort of a deadline. There's no hard and fast rules like in the CBA that you can or can't do it. But from a team perspective, a lot of teams want to get ahead of the market. If we can lock him in now before the end of the season, he's now either a free agent or he's one year closer to his contract or the smart teams forecast the market. They look ahead to see what players coming up. If I'm doing Aaron Donald's contract right now and the last deal that was done at defensive tackle is so-and-so. a year ago, I'd much rather try to beat that number and make them the highest paid as opposed to waiting another year, having another great season, TJ Watt gets done. Now the market's even higher and now I got to go even higher for Aaron Donald. So the teams try to get ahead of the market and they forecast it and they're smart. Agents obviously look at it that way also to see what makes sense, but then it becomes a risk reward. of that's true, right, Todd? That you may not want to do the contract as a player at this time, even though it's for the team or whatever. You may want to wait and take a chance on yourself knowing one of these other guys is up a year before you are. 100 % and that's a smart agent. You're going to look ahead and forecast that market and be smart with it. again, then you're going have to weigh the risk and reward because as an agent, we can always get caught up in spreadsheets and numbers and percentages and all that stuff. But also you're messing with someone's life. This is the real decision. Are they going to be set up financially for the whole life? And so you just got to look at the whole picture and make sure the player is really well educated and understands what the situation is and then make the best decision. I don't talk to me vengeful, Matt. I don't know so much about you. The AD, I know you got some revenge built in some of the, past history for you, but you look at what Aaron Rogers did against his old team, completing 73 % of his passes guys, what four touchdowns, uh no interceptions. Is there a moment for you, Matt and AD where it was a revenge moment, a game, an opponent, a coach that doubted you, that lifted you up to some unbelievable performance? You're like, yep, don't mess with me. Well, mine was with the 49ers. We went on like a losing streak with the 49ers, like six in a row, seven in a row, something crazy. In 21, 22 season a year, we won a Super Bowl. it was like a rival for me. I hated the Niners. I still hate the Niners because of this, but, you know, we was good in the playoffs and it was one of them situations where we had opportunity to play them in the NFC Championship. And I kept telling everybody. I don't want to go to the Super Bowl if we don't see the 49ers again and get the opportunity to beat this team to get to the Super Bowl. It wouldn't feel the same because this team got our number. They've been beating us consistently. So it was just like a real hate factor with me. I like, got to see this team. We got to beat this team to be able to go to the Super Bowl. We see them in the NFC championship. We found a way to beat them to go to the Super Bowl. And I was like, you know, for me, I was like, you should, I was saying a bunch of stuff after the game, decided joyful, but it was like, that was my revenge game, man. I was like. I needed that, I needed that to be able to get to the Super Bowl, to be able to accomplish what we did that season, to make it that much sweeter. So that's my little revenge story. I never had anything quite like Aaron, where it's your week one of the season starting against. In India, I never had the opportunity to play against Atlanta, and I played for Atlanta for so long. But I remember kind of like AD in 2016, the year we went to the Super Bowl, we played Seattle, out in Seattle, probably like week five or six, something like that, in October. And we lost at the end of the game. But there was, in my opinion, a missed pass interference call on Julio Jones at the end of the game, right? We had this opportunity to throw it down the field. He basically gets tackled. There's no flag. was ridiculous. But I remember being in that locker room after the game and being like, we're going to see these guys again at the end of the year, at some point in the playoffs. And they know and we know who the better football team is. And then we got the chance to go play against them in, I guess, the divisional round of the playoffs and took care of business at home. So there's, I think from the player's perspective, there's Oftentimes a lot of stuff that's like that, right? Things that happen during the season, you get another chat at them at the end of the year. You talked about a divisional opponent that you're seeing all the time. Those are where those rivalries really build up. But Aaron's comments after the game were interesting. I thought it was very interesting listening to him talk after the game. So let's do a segment. What are you saying? Right. And so you look at Malik Nabers and, and the Giants head coach get into some conversation that's been blowing up on the sideline. So Matt, like, what are you saying to the head coach or, know, what are you saying to Malik as the quarterback of the franchise? What are you saying to your O line? Like what, what, what, are you, what's going through your head to understand what went down? Well, first of all, this stuff happens all the time, right? Like all of the time. So I think oftentimes we see a head coach or somebody or a star player like that, and there's some kind of back and forth. Like that's almost in between every series. And I'm sure it was the same for AD, right? Like there's somebody who's going off on something. And as a quarterback, it's always like, I hear you. But right now, I need you to get back to focused on whatever is next. Same thing with the head coach, right? You might be pissed off about a decision I made, an interception I throw, something we missed on the offensive side of the ball and you're hot. And really, it's that calming reassurance, at least for me, that was always like, hey, I hear you. We'll solve that problem tomorrow when we watch the film. We'll address it. We'll hopefully be better moving forward. Right now, we've got to get back to the task at hand. And that's the next series, the next drive, the next play, because inevitably, Malik Nabers is going to get one on one and I'm going have to throw it over the top and I need you locked in, ready to go, ready to make that play when the time presents itself. And the same thing for dayball, right? Like if you're a quarterback and something's going like that, hey, I need you to lock back into what we're going on on defense, what the situations are coming up. It's just about getting back to what's in front of you, dealing with the issues the following day. So it's just another blown up media situation because it happens all the time. Well, it happened in New York, right? And so New York is kind of a different animal. Malik Nabers is a star player. There's a lot going on with the Giants. think anytime you have that quarterback narrative of Russell Wilson and Jaxon Dart on the side, people are trying to figure out, this what he's frustrated with? He's frustrated with Russell Wilson. There's just so many storylines that are to it. yeah, the fact of the matter is, you know, guys come off hot after every series, right? And there's a back and forth. Like, I remember multiple times, whether it's a Roddy White or Tony Gonzalez or even Harry Douglas, right? These, Julio was a little quieter for the most part, but like those three guys, man, they would get running hot. Roddy would be like screaming at me, like, give me the ball, like whatever, you know, whatever. You know, but it was always coming from a place of wanting to compete and wanting to make plays and coming from the right spot. And when guys are coming from the right spot, I have no problem with people getting heated. we talked about Malik and Deboll but AD, I'm watching this game on Sunday night and Baltimore is up 15 with about four minutes to go. And next thing you know, it's slipping away from you, right? It's slipping away from you. You have kind of a lucky touchdown pass that gets tipped and gets caught. Derrick Henry fumbles. What are you saying to the guys on the sidelines, specifically on the defensive side for the Ravens at that point of the game? So like I'm not a big rah rah guy, but I'm up and down. I'll be up and down and silent telling these guys to stay locked in, keep competing, right? Cause they, they control the game for the most part through the whole game. And then, you know, they got to finish. You got to find ways to finish. That's the, that's, that's the part of the NFL, right? You got to play four quarters of football. So telling these guys to continue to compete, find a way to win. Let's pick this shit to fuck up. That's what I'm saying. looking at all these guys in the loud, as I'm walking down, looking at everybody in their eyes, letting them know what we gotta do to try and continue to compete, to finish this game. We're not losing this game. We control the game the whole damn time to give up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter with four minutes left. That's a hurt piece. That's one of them games that's gonna be in your mind that coming through next week, you gotta come with a revenge. This shit ain't gonna happen again. It's week one. You have your little problems in week one, but to lose that way. I'm interested to see how they come out next week. They better come with some revenge, a little chip on their shoulder with a little bit more attitude, a little bit more grit. They're trying to find a way to finish the game, man, because they look good, they play good through the whole game, man. They end it like that. That's a hard piece, so. All Matt, what are you saying to the Detroit Lions who finished what number one in the NFL a year ago in total offense, led the league and scoring with 70 total touchdowns, but only had one in their season debut? What are you saying to Detroit's offense? Yeah, listen, I think if I were in Jared golf shoes, right, playing quarterback for the Detroit Lions, I think you go with the approach of, this was just one, right? It was one performance out of 17 that we're going to have in the regular season. And we've got to get that out of our system as quickly as possible. That's not up to our standard. We've got to get back onto the practice field and get working. And that's probably what I'm saying to the team. But I'm also behind closed doors going and having a conversation. with Johnny Morton, their new offensive coordinator, right? know, Ben Johnson leaves, know, Jared had so much success with Ben Johnson and you have a new play caller coming in. And I think that's one of the opportunities as a veteran quarterback, you have to, right? It's your responsibility to go back in there on Monday and have a closed door conversation with him about what needs to be different, right? And what I need from you in certain situations. And also what can I do for you to help us? know, get into position to go be successful because there's so much continuity at the skill positions for the Detroit Lions. So I think your messaging is twofold and that's part of playing quarterback, right? It's being something in front of the guys and letting them know we're going to be all right. This is just one performance. It's not up to our standard. But then there's also, you know, the battles that you have to fight, you know, behind closed doors and going in there and really get it, you know. getting on the same page with your offensive coordinator. So if it was me and I was Jared Goff, I'd have that two pronged approach. So Todd, Jemarie Gibbs started off a little slow during the game. What are you saying to him to get him going, keep his confidence up, to let him know that obviously it's week one going into a new week. What you telling him? mean, in a conversation I'd be having with him or any client really is it's week one. like Matt said, I'll kind of echo what he said. It's seven, there's 17 weeks. There's no reason to panic or anything like that. Clearly it's a team effort. He's a monster. He's a beast. He's one of the best, if not the best in the league at his position. So nothing to really worry about. I'm sure he's going to come back more motivated, more fired up than, than even before. Not sure that's the guy I want to fire up and motivate and let a spark under someone's going to pay for it. He's, he's a star and he's going to. You can't keep stars down. I Michael Jordan, Lebron, whoever have down games, off games, things happen. It's not a one man show either. It's an entire team. It's an entire offense to Matt's point. What is the play calling? What is the offensive line doing? All that kind of stuff. I think they'll come back together, regroup and come out uh strong. But from a player standpoint, just be there for them, be supportive, keep boosting their confidence and making sure they're not beating themselves up. I feel like all you guys like are who you are because you have such high expectations, because you work so hard. That's awesome and that'll never change. And that's what makes you who you are. But to keep it in check also to not beat yourself up too much, I think is very important. And so I would just be a very supportive agent to any of my guys for any game. I don't care if it's an offensive lineman that had a rough game or if it's a special teams guy or a skills position guy. Doesn't matter. You gotta be there for your guy for sure. As a follow up here, Todd, how different is it position by position, right? Or is it really just individual case scenario of like the person that you're dealing with, but like wide receivers, are they more difficult than running backs or quarterbacks or linemen? What's the pecking order here? I think it's personality of the person. I don't think that you can sit here and say, wide receivers are more this, versus an O-line man or this. I think all of you guys have such high expectations, period, of yourselves and what you want and what you hope for. And there's different levels. I think you said it earlier, that Julio was really quiet. You have guys and clients that are a little bit more quiet, a little bit more reserved. You have some that are a little bit more outspoken and are mad, and whether it's mad at themselves, whether it's mad at a coach or whether it's whatever it is, everyone's got different mindsets. I don't think you can prioritize it by position, but I definitely think personality wise, it's a different across the board, just like you on offense. mean, as a quarterback or AD on defense, I'm sure you had to keep your guys going and teammates going and how you'd encourage the other defensive end or how you're encouraging your center as opposed to your tackle. It wasn't because it's centers versus tackles, it's this guy versus that guy. All right, time for a new segment here on the Inner Circle. It's something called Hot Mic. I'm gonna play a clip from something that happened the previous weekend and I want your first reaction to it. First up, New York Jets head coach, Aaron Glenn. He doesn't name names, but sends a message following the 34-32 loss to the Steelers. not be on the field if you continue to lose games. Seven penalties, yes, but Xavier Gibson coughed up the football on a kick return in the second half. A Glenn's message strong, but definitely a clear shot at Mr. Gibson. Letting his guys know what so you set a standard as a head coach you set the standard right you bring he's a new head coach in there He's setting a standard what he want or they expect out of his players and you can't make turnovers Obviously, you got to be disciplined. You got to do the right things You got to be less penalized team to win games as you know, Matt So just being outright just letting everybody know what the standards gonna be and if you can't stay live up to this standard You ain't gonna be on this field playing with us because we trying to do something and accomplish something that ain't been down here in a while. So if you can't live up to what we trying to do and what we built in here, then you ain't gonna be on that field with us. So when I was in Indianapolis, we practice against the Lions in training camp and our offense was going against the Lions defense. And I got to see Aaron Glenn coach on the field firsthand and hear kind of how he communicates with his guys. It is my guess that that press conference right there was the watered down version of what the Monday morning meeting looked like. And so I don't think anybody's going to have any confusion of what is. you know, expected of them when they go on the field, just given his personality type and what I've seen on the practice field. And I think he's spot on for doing it, right? You're trying to change a culture ah with the New York Jets and create a sense of accountability ah to not only, you know, your unit, but the entire football team, to the entire organization. And I think, you know, when you have strong messaging like that and consistent messaging, I think players respond to that like, I don't think guys are afraid to be coached hard. They just want to be coached consistently. No matter what you're like, no matter what your personality type is, I just want the same person every time I'm showing up into the building. And I think they're going to get that with Aaron Glenn. Second up here on Mike. Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan following their 20 to 12 loss to Denver was asked afterwards why he did not challenge a call in the third quarter when one of his receivers made an unbelievable grab on the sidelines. I want you to listen to the question and then Callahan's response. Callahan would later say his interpretation of the rule was wrong. He messed up. He owned it. But guys, how does a head coach not know the rules? He had me second guessing for a minute. I'm like, wait, ain't it a body part first or shit? They gotta be a little bit more aware of situational football, but damn. What you think, Matt? Well, listen, I think in the heat of the moment, right, as a head coach, you've got a lot going on down on the sideline, but there's one person in the building that their responsibility is the review, right? And it's to understand exactly what they're looking for in all of these situations. So I appreciate Brian Callahan going out and saying, you know, I've got to be better. I've got to do it. And maybe not understanding it in that situation. But to me, the responsibility falls on the person whose job it is to relay whether we're challenging it or not to the coach, right? It's, know, Brian Callahan's not looking at it. And I understand, yes, should we know the rules better? All of that. But the person whose job is to tell you when or when to not review absolutely needs to know what he's looking for and what the rules are. So my issue becomes with whoever the spotter was for that play. So they all fumbled the ball on that one. That's right. That's right. This is something I'm looking forward to. It's something we're calling Real Talk where we're going to play a soundbite from the weekend that was and for the most part, they are politically correct comments from an NFL player or coach. And I want AD and Matt to respond what the player or head coach really wants to say. This has got AD written all over it. So first up, Falcons quarterback Michael Pennex Jr., the new leader of this team, he is QB1. Here he is following the three point loss opening weekend to a division rival in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When his kicker, Youngway Koo, had a 44 yarder at the buzzer to force overtime. Koo missed nine field goals a year ago, including three in one game to the Saints, had a chance to force OT in week one. This is what Michael Pennex had to say afterwards about his kicker. What did you really want to say? Real talk. Who wants to start? Shit, you got one job to do, man. It's to kick the ball and make the damn field goal. That's what you practice, that's what you out there doing early, while we out here sweating, doing all this football, running around, hitting. Your job is to be prepared when your name is called to go out and make a field goal. So if you can't do it, they gotta figure somebody out to do it, man. Because in this league, man, you can't afford... They had penalized and miss out on scoring opportunities like that because you can lose games. To be a playoff contending team and be the last team standing, you need trusting your guys, man, and shit. His job was to make the fucking field goal so make it. Well, I feel like AD said it pretty well right there. Yeah, I think Mike was saying, listen, I like Youngway. He's my friend. He's a good guy. But he's got to kick it through the field goal when I get him down to that part of the field. All right? We drove it down. We gave him an opportunity. When you're out there, you got to knock it through. And then also probably what AD said. All right. Next up here on Real Talk, Lamar Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback. He was shoved by a Buffalo Bills fan who slapped Jackson on the helmet following a celebration guys in the end zone. So the two time MVP was asked about the incident after the game on Sunday. Here's Lamar. And then I want AD to say what Lamar really wanted to say. Listen, thought Lamar handled it probably as best one could, right? AD, what did he think he really wanted to say to those Buffalo Bill fans? I should have grabbed him by his fucking neck after doing some shit like that. I was a little nice by just pushing his ass back. I should have choked him out. That's what he really wanted to say. Shit. You my teammate then smacked me, mother, get your ass here. But he did good, he did good, just pushing his ass back. That's what he really wanted to say though. I don't think we need anything else. That's perfect. was ejected from the stadium that night and has since been suspended by the NFL indefinitely from every single stadium in the league. He can no longer see a football game. And finally here, it was a rough start for Miami Dolphin quarterback, Tua Tug of Iola, 114 yards, a touchdown, two picks. He was asked after the game about his turnovers coming in bunches and if he was pressing. All right. So to it doesn't think he's he's pressing guys. He was very calm, but he was obviously irked by the question and his response. You can tell by his tone, but per Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald and his Twitter account, said today was the seventh time to has committed at least three turnovers in a game since 2020 that according to ESPN research, these the only quarterback to do it more in the same time span is Trevor Lawrence. Tua has lost a fumble and thrown multiple interceptions four times and he's done it twice in his last three games. you could tell he was a little irked about being asked if he's being pressed one week into the season where, quote unquote, some of his bunches came from the final few games of twenty twenty four. How would you really want to answer that question if you were to a match? Well, Zach, going back to our days sitting in that conference room in Flowery Branch or in Mercedes-Benz stadiums, I would have liked to said to you, Zach, I don't know if you know, but this shit is hard, all right? This shit's hard. It's hard to play quarterback in the NFL. And about last season, last season, last season's in the past, man. That has no bearing on what happened today. So, I mean, I get to being frustrated with questions like that. If you're going back. you know, to the end of 2024, if you're talking about, you know, what I did in the last game, the last, that has nothing to do with today, man. Zero to do with today. And, you know, I thought to his credit, I thought he handled it pretty well and did what he needed to do as the leader of that football team. They got more issues than just him turning the football over though. They've got a lot of issues in Miami right now that need to get rectified. So that should lead us into 99 problems, but maybe Tua isn't one. AD, what's your debut of 99 problems, but something's not a major issue to Aaron number 99 Donald. a Hill on 80 before you even do that. I got my 99 problems for Aaron. 99 problems. But Aaron doing those shoulder shrug things on his Instagram. That is not one. Although for me and Zach and probably Matt, that would be difficult. I mean, I don't know how I was watching it. And I think I tore my rotator cuff watching you. So I just I don't know. It unbelievable. But and then you talked about the grip strength. I didn't even think about that part. I mean, that's that's brutal. Anyways, that's my 99 problems, but shoulder shrugs for AD, not one. Sorry, go ahead. I didn't mean to interrupt you. just another day in the office, you know how that is, but I think that... know. We have no idea. Actually, we have no clue what you're talking about. the Browns have 99 problems, but Miles Garrett is not one. A dominant performance, first game of the year. Four TFLs, two sacks, five pressure, three quarterback hits, and one of them was a big hit. And five tackles just to put the cherry on top. think he had a dominant performance, showed out. He gonna have a big year, man. It was fun to watch. And another guy, think. You know, the Bills have 99 problems, but Ed Oliver's not one. I think six tackles, three TFLs. A big force fumble to get them back in the game on our guy, Derrick Henry, and three quarterback pressures, man. I think these guys started the season off right. Obviously, one of them was a loss, and one of them helped his team get over the hump and win. So I'm excited about what this season looking like from the defensive side of the ball with these guys hunting again after the quarterback. I'll put a little cap on the back of it. The Browns defense is not a problem. It's a problem for offenses that are going against it. they are very good. mean, would they hold Cincinnati to, I think, seven yards of total offense in the second half of that game? Seven yards. You got Jamar Chase. You got Joe Burrow. You got all of these guys, T. Higgins. Seven yards. It's ridiculous how good they are on defense. If they can have any semblance of offense, I think they're going to surprise people this season. We're going to do a new little segment here. A little no huddle, a little hurry up offense, a little two minute drill. I'm going to set the timer on my iPhone right here. And we're going to go around the horn. The order is going to be Aaron, your first, Zach, your second. All right. Todd, your third. We're going to get through as many of these questions as we can in two minutes. Let me set this timer. Press go and I will start with Aaron. All right, here we go. Better week one performance on the defensive side of the ball. The Green Bay Packers in a win or the Cleveland Browns in a loss. I gotta go Cleveland Browns with a loss though, because it was a dominant performance with that defense, man. dominant performance. All Zach, whose seat is hotter, Russell Wilson or Mike McDaniel? Mike McDaniel, you talk so much smack in a very fun and unique way. Haven't won a playoff game. This is the year. Mike McDaniel definitely in the hot seat. All right, Todd, here we go. Which client is a... Yes. Which, look at you calling a timeout in the middle of this. All right, which client is a bigger diva? Aaron Donald or Matt Ryan? Ooh, tough. was going to go back with C, none of the above. I'm going to go with, um, Matt Ryan only because I'm a, I'm afraid if I, if I said Aaron, I don't know what the hell he'd do to me. So I'm just going with Matt. I feel safer with that decision. Basically go ahead. AD, we're back to you. Top NFC West threat to the Los Angeles Rams. Cardinals, think the Cardinals are gonna be sneaky. Cardinals. right, Zach, here we go. Most impressive team that lost in week one. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, they had it. It was there. Lamar's unstoppable. Maybe another MVP performance. You got to go Ravens. All right, Todd, both Aaron and I call you at the same time. Whose call are you answering? Well, let's just say I was on with Aaron first and you called, I'm just merging you in and I'm gonna talk to both of you at the same time and I'm gonna say, hey, Matt, what's up? And we'll all have a three, yes, a three way. Yeah, yes, the most innocent three way we can have, All right, one more. We've got, I think 10 seconds. AD, more likely to start 0 and 2 to their regular season. The Chiefs, who play the Eagles this week, or the Lions, who play the Bears. the chiefs for sure. The chiefs. That's easy. All right, there's the horn. That's the buzzer. We are done with the two minute drill. We're going to see if we we can. So how many questions did we get in? We got to see if we can beat it next week. Okay. can't remember how many we got through, but kind of fun, kind of different. That's awesome. leads us to what we might be looking forward to in week two of the season, Matt. mean, that Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl rematch. If Mahomes loses, he'd be 0-2 for the first time in his career to start up the year. Is that the game you're looking forward to this week? Yeah, I think so. listen, I was up in Green Bay and doing the post game after the Detroit Packers game. One of our research guys, Brian Coyle, sent me a text as we're doing the show. And he says, the last time the Chiefs were in last place of the AFC West was week six of 2021. And so the other three teams won in week one. And they're sitting there in last place. and they got to go against Philly who dominated them in the Super Bowl last year. It's kind of hard to wrap your head around the fact that there's a real chance the Chiefs start the regular season 0-2 and the history of teams that start 0-2 going to the playoffs, there aren't many of them, right? It's an uphill battle from this point moving forward. you know, I think there's blood in the water uh in the AFC and it's going to be interesting to see this game on Sunday. You know, obviously I'm watching my Rams, see if them guys continue to get better, but I'm just watching, you know, good football. A lot of good play from these great defensive players, from your Michael Parsons, your Miles Garrett, your versus. So just watching as a fan, hoping these guys continue to turn it up and kill it. I'll I ever look forward to the same thing rinse and repeat. I just want guys to be healthy and productive and have great games. And like I said, stay healthy. right. Fun show gentlemen again, please like subscribe, comment below. We'll get back in touch with you for next week, week three of the NFL season. Also the third ever episode of the Inner Circle podcast, Todd France, Matt Ryan, Aaron Donald Much love, guys. We'll see you next week.