Did Stephen A. Go Too Far on Lane Johnson? | Mac Daddy

Mac Daddy welcome FOX Senior NFL Writer Armando Salguero and a mental health expert to tackle Stephen A Smith’s “First Take” on Philadelphia Eagles Tackle Lane Johnson, who left the game for mental health reasons.

The conversation is wide-ranging and provocative.

Football (on the field) was also discussed as we dissect NO D in Big D, the 49ers at Seattle, other big games and the NY franchises.

It’s the perfect way to start the weekend!

Transcript

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SPEAKER_08 0:02

All right, welcome everyone. Another edition of MacDaddy presented by our friends at Volition. A reminder for you uh YouTube fans, you can subscribe to our channel. Doesn't cost you a damn cent, okay? So check us out on YouTube. Of course, we're always on Spotify, Apple, all the places where you get your podcasts, both audio and video. I am your host, Patrick Macrino. He is my co-host, Mr. Rich, Big Daddy Salgado, coming to you with the old NFL shirt jersey on, and one of the legends of the NFL uh in the reportage department, uh Armando Salguero, who's been covering the NFL for well over 30 years, coming from Cuba to good old Miami, played at the went to the U. He knows everything down there, what's going on in South Florida, not to mention the NFL. How many Super Bowls, Armando, have you been at? Is it 34 or 35? I lost count.

SPEAKER_06 0:54

I lost count too. I think it's uh 34. I'm working on 35 this year, but honestly, when you said one of the legends of the NFL, I was thinking, is there somebody else on the show that I should be talking about?

SPEAKER_08 1:06

No, that's you. That is you. Uh, we appreciate you being here. Uh Lauren Emery, of course, our man who keeps the show on the rails. And we've ever a special guest because Andrew, who's our man, our tech man behind the scenes, who makes all this happen. He makes it happen for us every day. Look, he's got the cat in the back. Show me your shot again, please, because I want to see that kitty cat one more time. Because I'm a good cat guy. I love cats. Oh, we had a cat named Charlotte. Charlotte the cat, um, who lived for 20. What's your cat's name, Andrew? What's your cat's name, Andrew? He doesn't even turn his own mic on.

SPEAKER_09 1:44

I don't even turn my own mic on. It's Dillikan. My son named it. Dillikan. Yeah, he was my son was into Gilligan's Island. Okay, when he was but what he couldn't pronounce Gilligan, it came out with a D. So Dillikan. Dillikan. Dilligan, which is really kind of funny.

SPEAKER_08 2:00

Your your wife Marina is here with us, and she can actually join us, yeah, which I'm very happy about because she's a mental health specialist. But you just reminded me of, I'm just gonna tell this very quickly, because my cat, Charlotte, okay, was one of the only, I think, two times in my life that I saw my dad, who passed away a number of years ago, cry. And it was when I was playing in the Davis Cup in India, of all places, playing doubles with Richie Renaberg. We ended up winning the match. We were getting um uh abused by the fans there. They knew all our background. This was way before social media. They knew about our girlfriends, so they were yelling at us about our girlfriends and so on. Anyway, when we won the match that night, my dad said, Son, I need to come and talk to you. I need to come to your room because he had flown to India. My dad never missed a Davis Cup match. That was whether I was a captain, John was a player, John, my brother, the greatest Davis Cup player of all time, representing the country. Anyway, he says, I want to let you know that our you we had to put down Charlotte the cat today. And he waited until after the match was over to tell me, because we had I had grown up with the cat for 20 years and she lived to be 20. And she was my mom's best friend late in life. And I said to my mom, who we were then living in New York City uh in their apartment together, I said, Mom, you got to get another cat. And she said, I will never get another cat. There's only one Charlotte. Okay, so there's only one Dilligan, Marina, and that's that cat right there that's with you. So let me let me bring you in first, Marina, because we appreciate you doing this. We're gonna get to what's going on on the field with Armando and Big Daddy and Lauren and everyone. But the mental health issue, now today, at this Friday, right, is mental health day for the entire country. And I just sent my twin daughters off to school. They're 17. They're trying to get into college right now. And they said, Oh, uh, one of them was wearing jeans, and the other one said to her, hey, how come you have your jeans though? We got the bounce, we got the bouncy bubble today. And I said, Well, there's a bouncy bubble at school? And they said, Yeah, they're they put up a whole thing outside at the school for mental health day. So this ties into what's been a big story in the in the news the last couple of days with uh Mr. Stephen A. Smith uh putting the proverbial foot in his mouth, uh discussing mental health, and one of uh Big Daddy's longtime clients, uh the Eagles guard, who was um you know, said he was stepping away, big lane. Well, what is he been Big Daddy like 14 years in the NFL, right? All pro guard guy's a phenomenal player, right?

SPEAKER_03 4:32

All pro tackle. Yep, yep. One of the right tackle tackle.

SPEAKER_08 4:36

Right tackle for the Eagles, one of the best in the game. So he decided after four games that he was we was walking away from the team. Uh Stephen A was sort of trying to make light of it. Uh again, put his foot in his mouth, but Stephen A being Stephen A figures away how to make you know the story somewhat about him, does an apology. Most people were like, okay, they're good with the apology. But Maureen, I want to ask you this. When you see something like this happen in the world of big time sports or just in the world of uh uh you know people getting attention, what does this mean to you, someone that works on this issue day after day in your job?

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Extremely important, and I'm so glad that these days we are uh paying attention to mental health specifically. Okay, so uh the second um thing kind of about this issue is first thing first, we have to understand that Stephen A. Smith is an entertainer, he's in the entertainment business, he's specifically on the show, and um did he offend uh people with his um uh remark? Yes, a lot of people got offended, but did he do it maliciously? I do not in my personal professional opinion, I don't think he did it maliciously. We all know that uh Stephen A. Smith has this blubber mouth. He says something, then backpaddles, thinks about it, and uh apologizes for it later. Um why he did that, we can all speculate. Uh maybe because uh Lane Johnson is his favorite player, maybe he loves Eagles and uh he was hurt, you know, uh hearing that he's quitting after four games. Um what what I heard when I watched that clip of Stephen A. Smith making that remark, I felt like he was saying not um the mental health specifically is the problem. What I heard that he was saying that the player did not give a good enough excuse that he used mental health as just something to just get out of the game. That's my opinion. That's that's what I saw. Was his apology afterwards um sincere? We can all speculate about it left and right, and we will never know the truth. But in my opinion, what I think happened, it's it's it's all about entertainment. We all know who Stephen A. Smith is, and we all know why he's on that show. He's a main antagonist. And a lot of times he would speak say something like that, and then you know, uh so so if people don't like him, if people don't like what he says, why is he on the show then? So it that's my opinion. So what do we think about that?

SPEAKER_08 7:54

Uh good question. Uh I'm gonna I'm gonna pass it over to you to Armando with all your years in the league. I mean, you could talk about how this is affecting um our um the Eagles on the field and off the field, because I know you know you know very well what's going on on the field. Offensive line has got all sorts of problems, but what do you think about what this means overall for the for the franchise right now?

SPEAKER_06 8:18

Well, obviously, uh they have they they were in trouble once they lost Lane Johnson, and I know that he hasn't played all year long because of his personal issues and and and the things that he is going through, which by the way, we have not gotten and we don't know and may never know the details of, and frankly, I'm fine with that because uh it's a private matter, but beyond that, they went and they traded Cam Jurgens, who was their starting left guard playing out of position, not playing as well as he could because he's not a guard, he's a center, and so he wasn't playing as well as he would want, and they decided well, we can do without you two, and he's gone, and their starting center is injured this week. So they've got the right tackle that is gonna go to the Hall of Fame someday is gone. The left guy who is playing out of position because he's a center is gone, and the center is injured. Other than that, they're great. It's it's the Eagles offensive line right now.

SPEAKER_08 9:33

Yeah, but by the way, before before I get to you, Big Daddy, Armando, is that a picture of you on your shirt? Can you can I get a close-up, please, of Armando's shirt? Is that that's next level right there? Is that you on that, like being the reporter guy?

SPEAKER_06 9:49

Uh no, that's a bear, I think. It's Paddington.

SPEAKER_08 9:53

It's Paddington. Okay, all right. That's that's good too. I like that too.

SPEAKER_05 9:58

But you feel like I've never been likened to a bear, but I'll take it. He's calling you a teddy bear.

SPEAKER_08 10:06

Let's let's go to our big teddy bear. That's Big Daddy. Now you represent this uh gentleman for many years. I know you know him well. Uh what do you make of how first of all, do you have any idea how he's doing? Because we obviously wish him all the best. We want him to be uh, you know, to be healthy and to be happy. So do you have any idea how he's doing and what precipitated this decision by him?

SPEAKER_03 10:30

I don't. I I have reached out. Uh, you know, I wanted to say I hope everything's okay. And obviously, he is a Hall of Famer first ballad, and he is probably one of the best right tackles to ever play the game. And I'm not being biased or I'm not trying to uh make it bigger than it is, that's just a fact. He is the guy, and uh I wish him nothing but the best. I mean, I've been dealing with him since he was at when he came out of Oklahoma. That's 14 years, and you know, just incredible, hardworking guy that put in the extra work to be as great as he is. I mean, he was like playing in Philly, training in LA with our own Jay Glazer, you know, they were doing the MMA training and all that. And you know, Jay is obviously a big proponent of the mental health awareness uh movement and everything right now as we speak, and uh, we got to get him on to talk about that. But uh listen, Lane deserves everything that he gets, and I respect a guy like him. If he walks away, there's a reason everyone's trying to get at, but that's his personal reason. It's his body. He's the guy that goes out there every day and smashes people, and he does it at a high level. So if the guy has to stop doing it and tells everybody he's he's he's leaving the game, let him leave peacefully.

SPEAKER_08 12:06

Yeah, great point, Ben. Very well said. Before I get to you, Lauren, I just want to follow up quickly with Marina, because I know she's gotta go and do her job, which is uh I'm sorry, guys.

SPEAKER_09 12:16

Yeah, she just got a call from a patient, so she had to take over. But I I'm happy to answer any question. I'll I'll step in. I'm not as good looking, but I'm here.

SPEAKER_08 12:23

Well, no, you're damn good looking. But what I want to let me let me say this because what something she said, she said a few things that I thought were very interesting, and I think it kind of brings up what this issue to me is about. Forgetting about Stephen A. Smith and all that stuff, which is she said that you know, Stephen A is an entertainer, he's you know, he's on the air, you know, nonstop all the time. So there's gonna be times, you know, uh from his perspective, he's gonna say something uh that he shouldn't have said, he owned it. But the point is, is that we all of us, like in the sports world, you know, there's still that there's even though we talk about mental health and we can and we can do that, we should, there's still a little bit of that stigma, I think, that came up here, which is hey, you know, the guy quit. He's a quitter, he quit on the team. You know, that's obviously the football mentality, too, right? More than any other sport, which is you gotta suck it up, you gotta play hurt. I mean, even now I turn on all the shows, guys, and I hear constantly, oh, this guy, I mean, he gets hit, he gets killed, and he just comes right back up. I mean, he'll he'll play through pain. You know, what was the guy who who put the thing on his chest, you know, played the receiver play last week? So this stuff happens all the time, and it still comes through, I think. And and it's it sounded like Andrew to me, that was a little bit what Marina was getting at without actually taking that jump. Would you agree?

SPEAKER_09 13:41

I would. Um what I took from what Marina was saying was that yes, he's it he's an entertainer, but also his personality is just to to kind of say what's on his mind. He wasn't insulting mental mental health people, or at least that that was Marina's take. He wasn't trying to do it. He wasn't trying to, but he did. But he did. It wasn't anything malicious, it was just how it was perceived. Uh so did he mean to do that? Probably most likely not. It was just you know, uh a miss you know, a misspeak in the moment, and he he realized it after the fact. So there was nothing malicious there, and uh you know, I I believe that. I don't think he's I I don't know him, I don't know the man. I don't, but I don't think he's a malicious person. I think he just misspoke.

SPEAKER_08 14:31

I know that Lauren's got some strong, strong comment on thoughts on this, Lauren. So what what did you take away from how this whole last 48 hours went down?

SPEAKER_07 14:41

Well, you you know that I don't have to be so kind about Stephen A. I I was pretty it's 2026, and that's how he perceives an offensive lineman. You know, that I think it exacerbates a problem, right? Rich, you played offensive line for all these years. And basically the offensive lineman is the kind of forgotten man, and to Patrick's point, tough it out, just no one thinks about how they're feeling or how they're doing. It's just a man behind a helmet, right? And so I I think you you you you take that same line of work and you put that into a policeman or a first responder, and those guys are supposed to be you know tough and the the code of honor and all that stuff. And and what about their actual feelings, right? Armando, you're covering all these guys that that work in the league and they basically have to mask their feelings. And and that's what I think is the problem. I think he's exacerbated a problem, but he's done us all a favor because right in the middle of mental health month, you brought up the word stigma. Their whole point is to break the stigma, right? So here we are, we're all grown men, and and and we need to be able to feel like we can talk about how we feel. So, my my uh, you know, again, I don't know how he grew up or whatever. I grew up with someone that was bipolar, right? So I guess I'm just a little more sensitive to stuff like that, and and so that's why I don't want to let him off the hook. So I I appreciate that we have this platform, and I appreciate working with guys like Rich, who I know give a shit about people, and guys like you, Patrick, because you played the sport where people talk to themselves, right? They're all alone, and it's probably the hardest sport there is because you're you're literally just by yourself in that bubble. So again, I'm gonna throw it back to you. I mean, what's that like, you know, when you hear people talk about this thing where you it you've been surrounded by it for decades?

SPEAKER_08 16:29

Yeah, well, I mean, tennis is tough, and then it's not the physicality of getting you know injured in the same way, obviously as a football player. So that that's a whole nother dynamic. But definitely, you know, and I tell parents and kids at our academy this all the time when you're a tennis player, you you you better get used to losing a lot, like all the time, because that's part of the deal. And so you have to keep that in perspective, which is not always easy. I've been very proud of the my fellow tennis players, Armando, in the last couple years, that they've many of them have been willing to speak out, you know, about the issues that they're facing, whether it's mental health issues, the grind of the tour, you know, 10, 11 months a year, uh, the online abuse. This was an issue with Coco Goff just this past week, but playing over in Asia. Um, and she got she caught a bunch of abuse, people accusing her of being a racist, etc., which is horrendous. She's a wonderful young person. Um, so I see this in my sport a lot, and obviously through your years, Armando, covering the NFL. Um, how have you seen the dynamics change over the years for players willing, you know, there's there's less they do in the preseason, right? I mean, they're trying to protect the players to some extent. But what I I guess my question is, what did what advice, if any, would you give Roger Goodell right now to deal with this issue and to deal with what the NFL has to deal with? Um, and having a uh, you know, one of your best players in the league say, I'm done after four games.

SPEAKER_06 17:55

Right. Well, let me let me address that for a second because the narrative is that Lane Johnson quit on his team during the season. And what I would say to you is the more accurate portrayal of that is people are saying that because they don't realize that the season is not the beginning and end of things, the season is part of things. The season for NFL players, in fact, begins around March, April, when they report for their conditioning programs. That's when they begin to prepare for the season. And as early as that and before that, Lane Johnson was thinking about retiring. And God bless him, he's played what 13 years? Uh you're you're entitled, my man. It's a rough league. You play a tough position, and you've played it for a long, long time. And yet at that point, he decided I'm going to tough it out for one more year. I'm going to make the attempt to go for one more year. And so from April until this week, he was trying to make it go. He was trying, he didn't quit when he thought he should to retire. He made a go of it and decided, you know what? I can't do it. But that doesn't mean he quit this this week. He's been trying to go for months.

SPEAKER_05 19:36

Right.

SPEAKER_06 19:37

For months when he was thinking about retirement. So to call him a quitter, uh because after four games that he didn't he wasn't able to participate in, uh, all of them, you know, he's not playing. You gotta look, you gotta stretch your vision a little bit because this is a guy that's been trying for a long time to make it work.

SPEAKER_08 20:01

You know, the interesting thing too, because I'm obviously um Armando, I'm following the tennis all year. So Novak Djokovic, 39 years old, right? We we all have been wondering how long is this guy gonna play? He's the all-time greatest. He he wins a tournament in Beijing and he just lost today in the next tournament in Shanghai, lost to Herkash, 6'3, 6'4. So if he said right now, I'm done, like I've I put, I've done my time similar to what Lane did, none of us would be surprised, right? We wouldn't say we would we say he's a quitter. I mean, of course that will be say we can't say that about this, this uh this this friend of yours, Big Daddy. And it's it's different, isn't it? If he if he had blown out his knee in game three, no one would be saying anything. He just said, I'm injured, I'm out for the season. You know what? I've had it, I'm gonna retire, I've had a great career. What say you to that aspect of this? That because it's not a physical injury, and maybe it's it's it's it's it's handled a little bit differently in the public sphere.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

Well, you gotta look at it this way. You know, he is uh a prominent figure on that team, and he's done it at such a high level that I think my opinion is that people should just let him be, let him walk away. It takes a lot, excuse me. It it I I can imagine how difficult it must have been for him to really come out and say, I can no longer do this, and I can't do it at the level that I want to do it at. So for him to recognize that there's not many people that would probably have the guts to do what he did. Because remember, he's done it at such a high level, and for him to say this and do it at the time that he did it, kudos to him. He's more of a man now. He was then because that is a big, big deal.

SPEAKER_08 22:05

Well said. Yeah, let's go, Armando, to what's uh first of all, what happened on the field last night is Dallas got uh embarrassed at home against the 0-4 bucks coming into that one. Uh but I gotta tell you this, and I've been saying this, and I'm no football expert like you guys are, but I laugh my ass off when I turn, you know, I turn on ESPN this morning and oh, Dallas disaster, oh, Dallas debacle. I mean, of course we know, like Marina was saying, the entertainment side of it, right? But I look at this and I look at your Miami Dolphins, who stink, right? But play the Chiefs tough for three quarters, okay? I mean, these are professional freaking football players, right? Tampa Bay last year was what at eight and one at some point in the season, right? Before the wheels fell off. Baker Mayfield, we know, is hurt. But my point is this: I don't know about you. I wasn't that surprised that Dallas lost because Dallas isn't that great. They have a terrible defense. Now you got Philly going to London to play Jacksonville, who I love, by the way. I think they're awesome. Um, and and the Eagles are in this spot where, as you rightly pointed out, Armando, you know, the offensive line is a debacle. You got the my Giants, well, I'll call them Big Daddy's Giants, because I like the Jets, but they stink too. But tell me what this means for the NFC East overall. The changes that the Eagles are having to deal with. Dallas going down last night. I mean, who knows? In three weeks, Washington could be in first place. What say you, Armando?

SPEAKER_06 23:26

Well, let me do an uh impersonation of John Harbaugh, who coaches the New York Giants uh this morning after watching last night. Um, John Harbaugh.

SPEAKER_05 23:42

I love it.

SPEAKER_06 23:46

John Harbaugh this morning, right? Um, the Giants are three and one and they lead the NFC East. And raise your hand if you pick the Dallas Cowboys to go to the Super Bowl. Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_08 24:00

Okay, well, it still could happen.

SPEAKER_06 24:02

And raise your other hand if you're a little pissed off that the Dallas Cowboys have soiled themselves uh a couple of times already in their three losses. And what I mean by soiling themselves is it's almost like they uh they didn't come out prepared last night. Uh you know, they had the one drive to start the game, and then they went into a coma, and then decided with like eight minutes to play in the game, oh my gosh, we could lose this game. Let's let's do something about this. And so these, you know, Todd Bowles, God bless him. I love him. He's a good man. Uh he opened the he opened the door for them instead of kicking a field goal with up two scores to make it a three-score game. He tried for for the touchdown and they failed, and then the cowboys went on like a 98-yard drive. The point is this. Um, and oh, by the way, after they got within like eight points, they dropped a potential pick six. The Cowboys did. The point is this: the Cowboys don't look prepared. They don't, there's not an urgency to them. I don't think that it's a talent problem in Dallas. I think it's a coaching problem in Dallas, and I think it's a coaching problem on both sides of the ball. Schottenheimer, Brian Schottenheimer, their head coach, should be better. Christian Parker, their defensive coordinator. He's had a couple of you know blown moments uh this year that have cost games. Uh, one of them was was pretty much illustrated by Mike Tomlin, the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, um, on Sunday night football.

SPEAKER_08 25:54

Uh I like the way you just dropped that in, Armando, because I was about to ask you that because I I read your piece on that. And and for all for what everyone's um saying, I mean, Mike Tomlin's pretty damn good on TV, he's fun, uh, knows his stuff. Um, so you think that's inevitable? That's gonna happen by the I mean they usually don't make changes, old Jerry, mid-season. I think it's only happened once, but what do you think the future holds for Mike Tomlin as an as an NFL coach?

SPEAKER_06 26:24

Well, um, so he really likes what he's doing, right? Uh, it's gonna be his choice because he will, based on what I can see, he's gonna have uh suitors at the end of the season. Um, because every year we have like five or six openings, and you know, he's he's up there. The guy also, we talk about Hall of Fame. We're gonna be talking about him in the Hall of Fame someday. Um, so it's gonna be his choice. I'm not, I can't tell you he's gonna be the Dallas Cowboys coach. That's that's the show business part of this that we were talking about earlier, but I can say to you that he would be better than what they've got because what they've got is an ill-prepared team, an ill-prepared defense, and a team with a good amount of talent that is underperforming and is under 500. That's not acceptable for Jerry Jones.

SPEAKER_08 27:23

And and Laura, big daddy's been big, yeah, Bill, Big Daddy's been saying this all all year about the Giants and about and about Harbaugh, what a difference he makes. And so you you start thinking about what if Harbaugh-like guy was a coach of Dallas? And that's it sounds like that's what Armando's getting out with with Mike Tomlin, but a lot of those great all-time coaches, you know, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Cower, you know, that that got were got suited over when they first left the NFL. But you know, it's a pretty good gig. I know I've been doing it for 30 years, doing the TV gig. You know, you come in, you do your thing, you don't have the 24-7 stress that these coaches have in the NFL. So I guess, you know, who knows, right? He might just say they might offer him so much money, Lauren, meaning Mike Tomlin, that he says, you know, this is a great gig. I'm just gonna keep doing this. This TV thing is pretty good.

SPEAKER_07 28:10

Yeah, you see, yeah, I see your point. And I've and I've seen how people receive you. So I understand it's a pretty good gig. Uh, I I do think it's an interesting prospect of him going there. And as as Big Daddy's been saying all along, it coaching really does matter in the NFL. And you you see it uh across the board with with a lot of different teams. Um, and and Armando brought up the coaching blunders in Dallas. I think nothing uh encapsulates that more than those seven seconds against Baltimore. I mean, that's all you really need to know. You you just need seven seconds to basically say Dallas is mismanaged, they don't know what they're doing. And I think when you brought up Jimmy Johnson, I think the one thing that made him special in Dallas is that he was willing, he kind of had a friendship with Jerry Jones. So he wasn't afraid to sort of say, fuck you, like I'm gonna do it my way, stay out of my lane. And the problem is everybody since then is in Jerry's lane. And and Rich, I know I know you you know his son well, and I know you know the team well, but what are they doing in Dallas? There's no D in big D.

SPEAKER_03 29:12

Well, um you know, you and I spoke about this, and okay, so uh I have a younger brother, Jimmy, who is the defensive coordinator at uh Louisiana Lafayette. He interviewed there last year. He didn't get the job. So the one thing I do know, you know, you got uh the defense coordinator Parker there now. He got hyped up to get that job. And what I mean by that is, and you guys know this all too well, when Jay Glazer, when Adam Schefter, when Peter Schrager all go on and say this guy's better than sliced bread, all these owners and GMs pay attention and they bring the guy along. But did you do your homework? He was at Philadelphia, excuse me, where he coached DBs and he had four studs in front of him. That makes him a defensive coordinator. Think about it. I could coach having those four studs that they had uh in Philadelphia with Brandon Graham and crew. That's the problem with a lot of these coaching hires. There's guys that, you know, they get passed over for whatever the reason, and a lot of it has to do with hype. Hype, hype, hype. Doesn't mean they're qualified to do the job. So that might be the issue in Dallas. I really, you know, and again, I'm not a I'm not a coach, but I've been around the game long enough, and uh in my business, I do have some coaching clients and GMs as clients, and I hear and I see. But again, the wrong guy, I think that that there they have issues because they're there's coaching issues. They've got talent there.

SPEAKER_08 31:09

They've got talent there. Armando, there's always a lot of hype, hype, hype about the Cowboys. We know that. There's also hype, hype, hype about the Buffalo Bills, which I raised my hand as I predicted they'd be in the Super Bowl. So they got a wake-up call, um, losing to New England. Now it's what I said was gonna be the Super Bowl, Bills, Rams, right, coming up. What do the Bills need to do and how much? I mean, I'm hearing a lot of you experts say, you know, Josh Allen doing Josh Allen things positively and also negatively, right? A little bit that's costing them. What do you think about their prospects moving forward after seeing them for four games?

SPEAKER_06 31:47

The Bills have one great enemy, Patrick, and it's the Buffalo Bills. Um, you know, they won a game this year where they had five turnovers. That is unheard of practically in the NFL. You turn the ball over five times, you're gonna lose. You're gonna go home and and you know, be a very upset person, and they won the game. And so that masks uh problems, and they haven't solved those problems. So they need to find a way to have better ball security, to you know, kind of you know cross their T's, dot their I's, or dot their T's and cross their I's, whatever, and and figure that out because they they are also a supremely talented team. They are also a team that is coached by you know a young coach from Pembroke Pines, Florida, by the way. And uh Josh Allen is part of it. The reason that they lost that playoff game last year in Denver was Josh Allen. And uh those fans they shudder when you tell them that, but it's true. I mean, he he melted down uh when when it was the big moment, and so they have to clean that stuff up. The Rams uh Sean McVay is arguably a top five coach, maybe the best coach in the NFL, and they have that going for them. Um it's early, and they have they have been on the struggle bus. They had the Australia thing that was that was bad for them. Uh McVay raised his hand and said that was on me because I set the schedule. They still have a lot of talent and they have a lot of talent injured. Uh Aaron Donald didn't play last week. Miles Garrett, who was the biggest name to change teams in the entire NFL in the offseason. He hasn't played a down for them because uh you know he's been on the IR. So that's not the whole Rams team that you've seen yet together. Hukanakua missed the first you know few games. So that's a team in transition.

SPEAKER_08 34:16

Are you surprised, um, Armando with what you've seen from the Chiefs so far? Because they look like the Chiefs of old.

SPEAKER_06 34:23

Yeah, they do. And Travis Kelty uh offers winning. I assume Big Daddy went because it's Big Daddy.

SPEAKER_05 34:38

Oh my god, what an upset! That is the biggest thing.

SPEAKER_08 34:42

First time ever.

SPEAKER_05 34:44

Oh my lord, that that is that ruins my day, big daddy. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_06 34:52

Uh how could that happen, man? Wow. Anyway, Travis Kelsey's playing like you know, he's seven years younger. He's he's great. Patrick Mahomes playing like he's got something to prove, and he does. They had a dynasty going into last year, and the dynasty seemed to have collapsed. Um, guess what? They don't agree with that narrative. They think that there's still a dynasty, and they're kind of sort of proving it on the field. And and let's hearken back to the last dynasty we saw in the NFL, which was the New England Patriots. You know what? They had some down years, they didn't go to the Super Bowl every year, they didn't go to the AFC Championship game every year. They had a couple of years where they didn't there was one year, granted, Brady was hurt, they didn't make the playoffs. But uh it's a you know, it's a it's a ebb and flow. They need to get their their wide receiver room straightened out because a lot of injuries there. And if you are the Kansas City Chiefs and you are one of the teams that is being talked about with a reunion with Tyreek Hill, uh something's wrong with your wide receiver room.

SPEAKER_08 36:08

All right, Lauren, what other what other games am I missing from this weekend that you're looking forward to?

SPEAKER_07 36:13

Well, you know the one I'm gonna say. And Armando, uh, I think it's Kenneth Walker Jr. I I think that's why the Chiefs, in me personally, I say that's why the Chiefs are back, not because of the old guys, but because of the guy they brought in. But uh the the game of the week to me is San Francisco at Seattle. That is going to be epic. Can't wait for that game. That's the one I'm circling. Armando, what are your thoughts on that game?

SPEAKER_06 36:39

Uh that is going to be epic, Lauren. It's uh no, look, uh that whole division is you know a murderer's row. Uh if we move the Arizona Cardinals to the kids' table. Um, so that whole division is I, you know, they're all three playoff teams. They're gonna beat each other up and make each other better and worse. And by better, I mean they're gonna raise each other's level of competition. And by worse, I mean teams come out of playing those teams not, you know, not happy and limping oftentimes.

SPEAKER_07 37:23

Yeah, that's a hard-hitting league, and it's gonna be a battle of attrition. I can't this weekend B Mac is going to be again strap on the you know, strap on the helmet. It's gonna be a lot of contact. I it's gonna be the kind of football you like, and I and I think everyone's gonna enjoy that. I also again now I'm gonna flip. I gotta get, you know, that's my team. I'm a I'm a niner guy. You got Cleveland coming into town, they're three and one. What do you think? What are you looking for from your Jets this weekend?

SPEAKER_08 37:52

Well, Cleveland's been one of the big surprises this year, and um Deshaun Watson actually getting it done. Uh, I'm not feeling particularly confident if I'm being honest about my J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets, and Armando will understand why, having covered the Dolphins in that division for so many years. Um, but you know, I'm I'm I'm gonna be like I'm gonna pull like a Big Daddy and be, you know, cautiously optimistic and say, you know, the Jets can win this, keep the scores, you know, keep it down. I mean, it's gonna be an ugly game, and that's probably the only way the Jets can win it. Uh, I'll pass it on to you, Big Daddy, for your big blue at three and one, their chances to go to four and one. And then I want you to, because we've got to let Armando go, but I want to know your one college game because you always give us a little college, and I know this is a big one, UGA and Bama, a weather permitte and that'll take place. But give me a little big blue and then give me the one college game you got your eyes on.

SPEAKER_03 38:48

Well, big blue. Uh um, listen, I think that's a trap game for them. I mean, they're three and one. Washington is still Washington, and I believe Jalen Daniels is coming back. So I'm cautiously optimistic, as you would say about me. I uh great they go four and one, but uh, you know, that's gonna be a wait and see game. Uh I I really uh I'll be interested, I'll be paying close attention to that uh game. And then obviously, I am gonna see your J E T S Jets Jets Jess on Sunday as I will be there uh against the Browns. And that game, man, you know, obviously being in a New Yorker and having the ties that I do there, you you cheer for them. But I think uh Deshaun Watson's woken up. I don't think he's there yet, but he's playing a lot better. So I think the uh the optimism in Cleveland is at its highest right now. And they're probably looking at chops saying, you know, they're looking at chops going, all right, we're going into the Jets, you know. Uh we should walk away with a big win there. So it's gonna be uh it's gonna be curious to see how that whole thing comes about. And then college games, look, um I I I have my eye on that big Georgia-Alabama game as well, you know, because the one that comes out of there is really gonna really put uh a high stamp on where they're ranked after that after this weekend. And you know, that's like an NFO game, if you think about it. How many NFO games how many NFO guys are gonna come out of that, you know, from both those teams?

SPEAKER_08 40:35

Probably double digits total. Yeah, yeah. Well, well, hopefully they'll get hopefully they'll get that in. And Armando, let me finish with this with you. We appreciate you coming on. Uh, you're you're a you guy, University of Miami. They're looking pretty good this year. What do you make of their prospects to actually win it all? Because they were pretty close last year.

SPEAKER_06 40:55

Yeah, I mean, they were seven points shy of winning the national championship, or at least uh you know, being right there. Mario Cristobal has done a great job at the University of Miami. Um it what can I tell you? There, I'm not gonna say the U is back because Mario hates that, and I hate that they haven't won a national championship, and that's the standard at the University of Miami. They won five of them uh from 1980, whatever it was, number 1982 to 2001, and it's been a little bit of a drought ever since. They're good again, they're not back, and when they're back, um, you know, raise your hand if you're going to celebrate and and run down the street, you know, kind of like whooping it up.

SPEAKER_08 41:48

Uh, wondering if I should raise your hands. Armando's going streaking. Yeah, they they they they they just better be careful, Armando, because you know, my Stanford Cardinals in that ACC now. They're all they're only like a 37-point dog against Notre Dame this weekend. I mean, Stanford, please, I'm begging you, be but go to the Ivy League. Stop trying to be a national football team. It ain't gonna happen. It's okay. We love you, be swimming, tennis, you know, water polo. We get it. We dominated all those sports, but football, forget about it. It's over.

SPEAKER_06 42:21

Stanford kicks people's ass in the SAT. They really do.

SPEAKER_08 42:26

You got that right except for me. I got in because I could hit that little tennis ball. We appreciate all of you joining us. Armando, thank you so much for being with us. Lauren and I, we're we've been talking to some of your cohorts over there at Outkick. So you never know. We could have some news for you there, too. We'd we love to see you. We appreciate you being on. Rich Big Daddy Salgado. I would come to the jet game with you Sunday, but I gotta go up with one of my 17-year-old twin daughters who's going up to visit her boyfriend up in college up in Dartmouth. So I'm, you know, dad's gotta be, you know, around in the vicinity if you know what I'm talking about. You know what I'm saying? Gotta keep my eyes on my.

SPEAKER_03 43:07

Should I come with you to scare him a little bit more? Or you know what?

SPEAKER_08 43:11

I mean a little muscle right there. Uh, we want to thank Volition, our presenting sponsor. We want to thank Fire Department Coffee. We want to thank Dos Hombres for getting it done as always, and we want to invite you all to subscribe to our channel at YouTube. It is F-R-E-E, right, Lauren? It's free, right? You're supposed to answer me, Lauren. Say yes, but Patrick, it is. It's free. Sign up, subscribe.

SPEAKER_07 43:41

Oh, sorry. I it's it's honestly, I'm blaming the Zoom, not me. It's it's the Zoom is a little wonky right now. In closing, I just want to say thank you for being you, P Mac. And and I love I love the fact that we can have these kind of conversations. Because without you, Rich, who has a big heart, and P Mac who who had who could talk about anything, gives a shit about people, we couldn't do this. So I really appreciate it. Armando, thank you for joining us for this.

SPEAKER_08 44:05

All the best. Hello. Have a great weekend, everyone. Enjoy week number five of the NFL season.

SPEAKER_00 44:16

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SPEAKER_05 45:36

Oh good.