0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. NFL: The Insiders is a great day for joint practices like we had here in Los Angeles as well in Foxboro.
0:08Another day of training camp practices in Glendale and in Buffalo and another hour of the insiders coming your way right now on NFL Network.
0:16Hey everybody welcome to the insiders Patrick Claiborne here in the NFL LA newsroom fun day of joint practices where we got
0:22to see some some competition friendly and not so friendly we'll get to that but we start with a competition for a quarterback.
0:29Which is what's new today coming into the NFL LA newsroom the Vikings have named the winner of the quarterback competition between Kyler Murray and JJ McCarthy.
0:37It is Kyler head coach Kevin O'Connell says the timing allows them to provide clarity and move forward towards the season for more.
0:44Let's get to NFL Network insider Ian Rappaport. The Minnesota Vikings made clear earlier today what had become evident if you've tracked their practices the last several days.
0:52Kyler Murray is going to be their starting quarterback coach Kevin O'Connell informed the team earlier today and to be real.
0:59This was something that has been in the works since Kyler signed as a big ticket free agent in March.
1:05He picked the Vikings they picked him for this very reason and in explaining the decision what Kevin O'Connell said.
1:11It's the what this could be that jumps out the potential the athleticism the playmaking ability the reason that they wanted Kyler
1:17Murray in the first place has played out during the preseason practices and the reality is his superpower comes when plays break down in games.
1:25That is what they're looking forward to seeing JJ McCarthy former first rounder.
1:29Now he heads to the bench. He will buy this time.
1:32He will try to quietly develop and see when he gets his opportunity in Minnesota.
1:36His story is not fully written, but whatever the outcome is going to be it's going to start on the bench watching Kyler Murray as the starter.
1:44Kyler will be starting that game against the Green Bay Packers in Minnesota.
1:48The Steelers are the ones who play host to the Packers Thursday for their preseason opener going to be the final preseason
1:55opener for Aaron Rodgers on a roster the quarterback offering his view of preseason in general this week.
2:00Oh, it's a preseason. It's not real football. So if I do great, if not great.
2:05And if you don't play, what do you what do you do during the game like to help will and Drew?
2:11I like to be on the headset and calm everybody down.
2:14Usually the first game is a little hectic on the headset.
2:18So I like to be the voice of reason occasional dad joke or one liner.
2:22Just keep everybody settled in a little bit. Well, we don't like the preseason games without joint practice that goes on that
2:29we got to see a few starting today the Colts and the Patriots and Foxborough the Buccaneers.
2:34The Patriots and Jets in Florham Park, the Titans and the 49ers in Santa Clara and there at the Woodland Hills facility.
2:40The Cowboys and the Rams were moments ago. Steve Weiss was the veteran navigator of Los Angeles able to get back to us here in studio.
2:48Thanks for coming in, Steve. So you got to see some of the most talented wide receiver groups in all of football.
2:55Oh my, oh my good. The practice was so star study.
2:58But you know, on one side, you've got CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
3:02The other side, Puka Nakua and Devante Adams. But first off, just a couple things about this practice that the coaches decided.
3:08No one on one work. This was all teamwork.
3:11So after this loosening up, both sides got after it.
3:14One versus two, one versus ones. But let's start with Dallas and CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
3:19It was tough sledding early on against this Rams defense, especially a corner.
3:23But you're seeing CeeDee Lamb right there. He was, they were moving him all over the place.
3:28Pre-snap in the slot out wide. These are things that Dak Prescott was countering or some things they had planned based on the Rams defensive formations.
3:36Remember, this is the first time these guys have practiced against somebody other than themselves.
3:40George Pickens, you saw the contested catches, Patrick. And as the practice moved along, again, Dallas' offense had some tough sledding.
3:47You saw these guys do some work in the red zone.
3:50The potential of this tandem is insane. Now let's move it over to the Rams.
3:54That's Puka Nakua and Devontae Adams. Nakua actually left practice early with the trainer, but I just received a text that said
4:01it is not serious if it was a precautionary measure and they would have kept him on the field if this was a game.
4:08That is good news because we did not get an immediate update on what exactly happened, if there was an injury or not.
4:15But he did leave with the trainers. But again, Nakua was having a very good practice.
4:20One thing we saw with the Rams, again, multiple tight ends doing work across the middle of the field.
4:25The Rams though did throw three interceptions to the same player and that was the middle linebacker, Justin Barron.
4:31He had himself a day for the Cowboys. Yeah, the Cowboys have been looking for help in the middle linebacker for a few seasons now.
4:38And you want to talk about defense, both of these teams adding especially on the defensive line, especially the team in Los
4:45Angeles, which has had some very notable additions. Hey, Miles Garrett didn't practice today.
4:49They said he had a little swelling on his knee, but again, some self-preservation stuff going on with the Rams.
4:55But let's not forget what they already have up front.
4:58They've got Puna Ford. They've got Kobe Turner. They've got Braden Fisk.
5:02They've got Byron Young. And boy, did they show up early on in this practice today on the inside running drills.
5:08The Cowboys, it was tough sledding. As those four and some other players rotating in really stood firm, would not allow themselves to get moved off that ball.
5:16But Miles Garrett comes back. That's one thing. Oh yeah, there's that Aaron Donald guy who still could be coming back.
5:23Sean McVay, the head coach, had nothing new on that front.
5:26But he would like to hear something sooner rather than later.
5:29But it wasn't just the Rams defront that looked good.
5:32Quinnen Williams next to Kenny Clark for those Dallas Cowboys.
5:35We know Quinnen Williams is signed that three-year $105.9 million extension.
5:38And he ain't resting on that money, Patrick. He was out there doing work today.
5:43You could see that defensive front with Rashawn Gary and some players that the Cowboys have added.
5:48That's how you protect the two smaller speedy linebackers.
5:51The Marvian Overshone and Dee Winters. Those guys are making plays all over the field in the run game because they've got some help up front.
5:58And again, that's the way you make counters from smaller linebackers by keeping people off of them.
6:03And that's the hypothetical path forward to a victory for the Cowboys victories.
6:07Getting Christian Parker's defense just okay. And rookie Caleb Downs too.
6:11I gotta say, he's as good as advertised if you hear a lot of good stuff about him.
6:16Also better than advertised. Steve White making the trip from Woodland Hills to get back with us here.
6:21Thank you, Steve. For that effort again, not the only marquee joint practice of the day.
6:26That one in the NFC. What about on the AFC side?
6:29The Colts and the Patriots at work in Foxborough.
6:32Judy Batista and Maurice Jones Drew there to see it all.
6:35MJD, this was a pretty intense practice. The joint practice between the Patriots and Colts.
6:40And the Patriots gave the fans what they wanted right out of the gate in one on ones.
6:45Drake May to AJ Brown being covered by Sauce Gardner.
6:48Completion. Crowd went crazy. And they went from there.
6:51A really good day, I thought, for the Patriots offense.
6:54Oh, no, awesome. No question. It was an action packed day on both fields.
6:58I mean, you were hearing the Patriots fans cheer for the defense, cheer for the offense.
7:03Drake May and the offense look very efficient this early in camp.
7:06I know they've only been in it for a couple of weeks, but there didn't seem like as many kinks that needed to be worked out.
7:14On the other field, though, the Colts were working through some things offensively.
7:18Daniel Jones looked really good. There was some times where he just couldn't get the ball out because of the protection broke down.
7:25Jonathan Taylor ran very well, had a big run in the red zone.
7:29Ty Warren, Tyler Warren had a great catch, contested catch over the middle of the field.
7:34So there was a lot of energy going back and forth.
7:37One little fist of cups broke out, but they broke that up very quickly.
7:41That was a special team deal. Both teams got what they wanted after talking to both coaches or coaches on both sides.
7:48This was exactly what they wanted. A lot of really good reps.
7:51They were going fast. Mike Vrabel was on the offensive side coaching up the offense on the other field.
7:57It was Shane Steichen and his guys. They were getting after it.
8:00They were getting some hurry up tempo in. So a lot of reps, a lot of skill on skill.
8:06And I think both teams got a lot better today.
8:09Mike Vrabel said it before the practice started that Drake May, for example, is not playing in the Thursday preseason game, nor will Daniel Jones.
8:16So this was really the chance for the ones to go at it.
8:20Let's talk more about Daniel Jones, who I thought looked if you did not know that he had had a major injury,
8:27you would not know from how he looks. He's moving well.
8:30He was throwing on the run. He was moving around the pocket really well.
8:34I don't know if you would say he's ahead of schedule, but he just looked on schedule.
8:39He looked really good for the first week of the season.
8:43Oh, yeah. A lot of people said, hey, he's a guy that they're looking forward to.
8:47He needs working to get back to 100%, but he looks really good right now.
8:52Okay. That's it. Here from Patriots. Thanks to Judy and Maurice.
8:55The Buffalo Bills back at work ahead of their preseason home opener on Saturday.
8:59A first for new head coach Joe Brady. A first for new Highmark Stadium.
9:04Mike Garofalo and Kyle Brandt look back on the day's work from the day.
9:08From Orchard Park. What a day in Orchard Park, New York.
9:11Got to see the new stadium. Got to see the new head coach.
9:15Got to see the same quarterback. He looks great though.
9:18He looks great. DJ Moore looks great. Yeah. And I think the headline is Joe Brady of all the conversations we had
9:24today, Mike, about the new head coach. We talked to one player who described him in a very interesting way.
9:30He said, Joe Brady is a Florida guy and the Florida players show up differently.
9:35They have a different way about them. Joe Brady also coached at LSU.
9:39They show up differently. So he shows up a little bit like the players.
9:43Like I'm from Florida. I went to Everglades High School.
9:46That's as Florida as it comes. I've coached at LSU in the SEC.
9:50I'm not just your normal NFL widget coach. I have some presence to him and you can feel that around the players.
9:56It's a different environment from Sean McDermott who wanted everything to be done a particular way.
10:01A little bit of Tom Coughlin when I was here in the way that they were describing Sean McDermott, which I don't
10:08know that we talked enough about during his tenure.
10:10Because it worked. It did work. And there's a reason why he wants these things done a certain way because he feels
10:17like that that reflects itself in the play of the team.
10:20So Joe Brady, the challenge is to loosen things up a little bit.
10:24He told us he's encouraging the players to celebrate during practice because he wants that to happen on game day as well.
10:31Wants to make this a little bit more fun, but you also have to have the discipline and it's not like he's ignoring those details.
10:38He wants to make sure the finer details are being worked on here in training camp, whether it's how you're carrying the
10:45ball, whether it's this decision you're making in crunch time, all that kind of stuff.
10:49Now the offensive players already know him. It's about translating it to the defensive side of the ball because he's worked with the offense as a coordinator.
10:57So that's going to be a little bit of a challenge for him.
11:01He's got Jim Leonard as his defensive coordinator, hearing some early good returns there.
11:05So overall, I mean, there's no reason why this team shouldn't hit the ground running, right?
11:10I think they will. And they have, I mean, listen, it's camp 17.
11:14Josh Allen's always going to be here, but there's newness now and that's exciting.
11:18We'll see him week one against a very, very good Texas team.
11:22Back to the homes and the chiefs back at practice, but perhaps not back on to the field in a game situation until the season starts.
11:29Andy Reed saying he may sit out the whole cheese preseason, but the recovery continues to be ahead of most schedules.
11:36And during a chat with Stacy Dales and Brian Baldinger yesterday, Packers star edge defender, Micah Parsons said week six, the most
11:42optimistic return date for him after his reconstructive knee surgery.
11:45The Packers fell from sixth in scoring defense to 25th in their time without Micah Parsons.
11:50Joined now by Jeff Chedia as Jeff Mahomes and Parsons, both former all pros, both candidates for comeback player of the year,
11:56where it could be a lot of guys that fall into that category.
12:00So let's go through some of your candidates for comeback player of the year.
12:05Well, you got to start with Patrick Mahomes here, Patrick, just because of the narrative around him.
12:10This was one of the biggest injuries that the league has seen.
12:13Everybody's watching what he's doing throughout the preseason and be honest with you.
12:17I'll talk about is he declining? Is this team declining?
12:20So I think the motivation for Patrick Mahomes is there and he talked about some good signs here.
12:25He's forgetting that the knee has been repaired when he's running around in practice.
12:30He's seeing a lot of positive footwork improvement there.
12:32And so he's feeling pretty good about where he's at.
12:35So that gives me a lot of confidence in what he's doing.
12:39And for number two here, I'll stick with the quarterbacks and I'll go to Jane Daniels in Washington because you look about it.
12:46You look at a new offensive coordinator coming in here with David Blau, a new system for him to work in.
12:52Blau is very excited by what he's seen as far as accuracy and the comfort level in this offense.
12:58And Stefan Diggs coming in there. The recent free agent signing is big for third downs.
13:02I expect Jane Daniels to get back to what he looked like a couple of years ago.
13:07And then finally, I'll go off script here with the guy who's not signed yet.
13:12Aaron Donald, because there's too much smoke here, Patrick, for what's happening.
13:15He's been working out. Yes. Sean McVay says there's a process here.
13:19He wants to go through to see what's going to happen, but he can't be on this field doing this stuff and
13:26seeing guys like Myles Garrett in the locker room and Kobe Turner and Byron Young and not thinking about coming back.
13:32This guy's got three defensive players a year honors been gone for two years.
13:36He comes back. There's no way he's not winning this award.
13:39Yeah. It's funny to think of both Aaron Donald and Patrick Mahomes as candidates for comeback player of the year, just a
13:46ho-hum, another award for all of these guys looking forward to it.
13:49Thank you to Jeff Judea checking out this comeback player of the year race.
13:54When we come back joint practices provide an opportunity to see how your team can match up with another, maybe a chance
14:00to take a few swings at somebody who isn't a teammate.
14:03We got updates from joint practices all around the league coming up on the inside.
14:08So you know the feeling you make a pick in your fantasy draft in the entire room groans because they wanted that
14:15player or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in prime time.
14:21There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league.
14:24I'm JJ Zacharyson host of the late round fantasy football podcast.
14:27I heart radio app. I heart. We're back on the insiders preseason football available to you this week on NFL network.
14:34The Packers Steelers Thursday at 7 PM. The Cardinals Raiders after that Thursday at eight Buccaneers and Jets Friday at seven o'clock.
14:40That game available to you on NFL network. We get to see the Cardinals and the Raiders on ESPN on Thursday.
14:46Let's look to where they were working today. Jacoby Brissett and the Arizona Cardinals in action.
14:51They had some solid debut for their rookie quarterback, Carson Beck, the hall of fame game last week.
14:57They got a trip to Las Vegas coming up on that Thursday for more on the Cardinals.
15:02Let's get to our hall of fame quarterback, Kurt Warner and Ian Rappaport in Glendale.
15:06Here after Cardinals practice here with, with Kurt Warner and I think the whole country saw the kind of performance that Carson
15:13Beck put on the field during the hall of fame game.
15:16It was pretty electric considering the stage. It was, there's a lot to like from the rookie, but one thing is clear
15:23from talking to people here in Arizona, it's not a quarterback competition.
15:26It is Jacoby Brissett shop. Just don't want to throw Carson Beck in early, although he is a prospect they really like that said for Michael floors team.
15:34There's some positive signs from what we saw. I think a lot of positive signs, you know, when we got a chance
15:41to talk to him today, he was talking about the operation.
15:44I wanted to see my guys operate in the offense the way that it's supposed to be operated.
15:50And that's what he took from the game. He wasn't too high.
15:53You know, he, he wasn't blowing any smoke about anybody in particular.
15:57He just said, this is part of our process is we want to operate the offense, new offense for all these guys.
16:03But you're right. Everybody watching that game was like, Oh, do they have their quarterback of the future?
16:09And you know, the future is when I think that's the real question is how good can this team be?
16:15We're great last year. Expectations aren't necessarily high, but that to me is when Carson Beck's plays is going to be determined by where this football team is.
16:23Jacoby Brissett is showing he can be a starter, right?
16:26But the team has got to come along with them.
16:29It's going to be a fun journey to watch how this plays out, but they are definitely excited about their young quarterback.
16:36Yeah. And there are plenty of name, uh, name brand talents on this team.
16:40You know, you talk about the Marvin Harrisons and, uh, Mike Wilson.
16:43And then, you know, on, on defense, you got, you got plenty of, of studs in there and plenty of guys we've
16:50heard of the Buddha Bakers of the world. How good this team is, is going to be determined by the players who
16:56have very quietly under the radar, just continue to develop and continue to advance and how well those guys play.
17:02And we will see time will tell if they're able to go from a pretty talented team to one that can really win some games on the field.
17:11I will tell you this courage. We get it, get ready to send it back to you, Patrick inside this building.
17:17They believe this team is much better than the outside world thinks.
17:21We will see if on the field, that's how it plays out pretty well in their debut.
17:26Thank you to Kurt and Ian. Here's a look at the joint practice schedule that we had, uh, that started today all around the league in LA.
17:34We talked about the Cowboys and the Rams, the Titans and the 49ers, but also the Buccaneers and the jets at work
17:40today in Florham park and get to see both of their quarterbacks, Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, having their discussion before the work got going.
17:47Here's the head coaches, Todd Bowles and Aaron Glenn after their joint practice.
17:51We've got some real good work. I thought it started out real well, a few minor dust ups and fractions, but nobody
17:58really did anything when we got those infractions. We came up here to play football and get some work in.
18:04They did too. I thought we got some good work done.
18:07We got to see what the mistakes are on tape and kind of move forward from there.
18:12Good hard practice, which I knew would be against a team that's been to the playoffs a number of years against a
18:19team that has a scheme from a defensive standpoint, has a scheme that's difficult to deal with.
18:24And, um, and those guys been in that scheme for a long time with Todd, um, offensively, obviously they have a new, uh, new scheme there.
18:32Uh, I thought I guys did a really good job there.
18:35Um, but there was more work to do. And listen, I, I like everything about how practice was today.
18:40Obviously there are going to be some dust ups that happens in every joint practice.
18:45Uh, but I thought the guys, the guys did a really good job of man, forgetting about it, going to the next play and continue practicing.
18:53That's the one thing we're trying to do is get to, uh, two days of good work with these guys.
18:59Most of all, dust ups, as the coaches said, they're in Florham park.
19:03The joint practice with the most reported fights today, the one in Santa Clara as tempers flared early on, but there was a lot of cohesion.
19:10There's was a carnel Tate and D bowl Samuel working together and things a bit better between former coworkers, Kyle Shanahan and Robert Sala.
19:17Overall, just feeling it, you know, that this offense we went against today is one of the top five offenses in football.
19:24So there's a lot of back and forth and it was just encouraging.
19:28Um, you're not going to win every one on one, but, uh, but at the same time, there's, uh, there's definitely things that we can learn from.
19:36As you guys know, coach, I respect a ton.
19:39Um, I mean, when it starts with his defense, you know how sound it's going to be.
19:44And Sal is not going to put something, something in that he doesn't believe is sound versus everything.
19:49Um, so it's going to be very disciplined. It takes a little bit of time to get the guys that elite at it.
19:56So he's going to do it over and over again.
19:59And I can see they're already way ahead of schedule.
20:02Um, they've really competed today and, um, they definitely have a real good coach.
20:06Brock's a really good player. So I expect him to have good plays.
20:10So I noticed all the bad plays and I didn't notice many bad plays today.
20:14So I think he had a hell of a day.
20:17This is what's new today coming into the NFL LA newsroom.
20:21We heard earlier today from Steve Weich that Puka Nakua left practice.
20:24NFL network insider Ian Rappaport says it was minor soreness and his groin.
20:28The team was just being cautious. And that's why Puka Nakua did not return to that joint practice against the Dallas Cowboys.
20:35Kevin O'Connell naming their starting quarterback for week one against the Packers.
20:38That will be Kyler Murray. He says that the step was to get things done and move on and be prepared.
20:45Step one from Kevin O'Connell now complete. In my opinion, he's got the skill set, uh, and the abilities, you know, not
20:51only just from a standpoint of accuracy, but, uh, his ability to affect the game with his athleticism.
20:56Uh, but he's also proven to be, uh, smart, you know, very hardworking and able to take in a lot of information and churn that out.
21:04Now we really want to give him the opportunity to really start building a comfort level, uh, not only with the system, but with the guys.
21:12Uh, in no way, uh, does this diminish anything, uh, that JJ has demonstrated.
21:16Uh, there's been, uh, real, real strong, solid evidence of growth.
21:19Nothing changes as far as JJ being an incredibly important member of our quarterback room and our team.
21:25Back at work, the Buffalo bills ahead of their preseason matchup to open up their brand new stadium to the preseason.
21:31Joining ITC and Kyle Brandt earlier today, they're now ninth year quarterback, Josh Allen.
21:35Here he is your favorite fireball Eagle number 17, Josh Allen.
21:38Hello. Go Eagles. Go Eagles. Uh, how's life? What's up, dude?
21:42It's good to see you. It's good to see you too.
21:45It's good to have our conversations back, man. It's been a while.
21:49It's really good. And what our conversations usually start and end with our movies.
21:53Let's get caught up. Have you seen the Odyssey?
21:55I have not seen it yet. You haven't seen it?
21:58I haven't. I'm waiting for my wife. Oh, okay.
22:01And apparently you got to watch it in the IMAX 70 mil, right?
22:05Yes. I don't know where we're going to be able to do that here in Buffalo, but we'll figure it out.
22:11There's not a ton of IMAX in Western New York.
22:14I don't know, but we'll, we'll figure it out.
22:17Have you seen Obsession? No. I've been in camp.
22:20I've been in camp. It's been out for a while.
22:23You got to see it though. The young people when you see Obsession and like the film bros, you got to see Odyssey.
22:29Like you'll love both of them. Okay. And I'd be fascinated on Haley's opinion about Obsession because the young female lead is like unbelievable.
22:37So you got to catch up though at some point.
22:40Bi-week, that type of thing. Done. Football wise, you still play professional football.
22:43I've seen you practice a lot over the years.
22:46I don't think I've ever seen you have more fun.
22:49Why? I think this group that we have, it's, it's freaking awesome.
22:53Is it? I mean, everyone's melon or meshing and gelling together.
22:56A couple of additions that we got, obviously DJ Moore.
22:59He's been awesome to throw to, you know, the conversations I've been able to have with our head coach and feeling really
23:06comfortable in the offensive system of what's going in right now.
23:09So I'm just very confident in what we're doing right now and just going out there and having as much fun as possible.
23:16It shows. What do you think you're so great at recall throughout your career?
23:20What do you think is the most fun moment you have ever had in a bills uniform?
23:25Take your time. One moment. Take your time. Like what's the last year we did your favorite highlight.
23:30What do you think is your most fun moment?
23:33I think it was my second year. We clinched the playoffs in Pittsburgh.
23:37We got home and just the, the, the ride out from the airport with thousands of fans at two or three in the morning, it's freezing outside.
23:45That moment was pretty special. That was like the, Oh, this, this town cares moment.
23:49You know, that was, that was a special moment.
23:52I'll never forget it. I got video saved on my phone still.
23:56So that was a good one. Was that one of those where you get back and there's like 30 feet of snow on your car.
24:03Cause I know you've had those. There's those, those are the not so fun moments.
24:08Um, but honestly, whether there was snow, sleet, rain, sunshine, whatever, the fans are going to be there.
24:13And, uh, we've got the best, best, uh, fans over here in Western New York.
24:17You really do. I love them in my own way, but least fun moments.
24:22You've always been great at facing the music, whatever happens, whatever happens in a loss or playoff loss, we've seen you do it really, really well.
24:29You're good at it. It's tough. Last year seemed different after the loss of Denver.
24:34We've seen you after some tough losses. We've never really seen you like that, that emotional.
24:39I'm his full tears. It was really, really strong reaction.
24:42Why was that one different? Um, again, throughout life, you kind of have these moments and I walked up there and was expressing how I felt.
24:49I feel like I wear my heart on my sleeve, especially when I'm out on the football field.
24:55And that was just one of those moments where I'm not going to hide it.
24:59Like I'm, I'm hurt. I'm upset. Um, I knew that I didn't play very, very well and into my potential.
25:05Um, and when you're sitting there and you're going over plays, things that you wish you could have done differently, like it
25:12just kind of weighs on you and that one weighed on me.
25:15And that's still feeling it's kind of stuck in that pit of my stomach right now.
25:20Um, but the great thing about this game, we get to suit it up and do it again.
25:25And now you do with a new head coach.
25:28So there's been a lot talked about your relationship.
25:31You guys are really tight. You've been through a lot together.
25:34You and Joe Brady. I talked to him earlier in the day and I was like, so let me go the other way.
25:41Do you and Josh argue? And he was like, yeah, all the time.
25:45Do you have the same reaction? And how does that go?
25:48Uh, yeah, I mean, argues a loose term. We definitely have our disagreements.
25:52Yeah. Um, you know, had a play in practice today.
25:55He's like, I don't know about that. He's like, dude, you missed the missed inside.
25:59I was like, you're right. I did miss inside.
26:02You know, it's like, he holds me accountable. I hold him accountable.
26:06Um, but at the end of the day, he's, he's our head coach, you know, and as players, we, we have to do what the head coach wants.
26:14This is his team. This is his, uh, identity.
26:17And this is his trajectory of what, what he wants this team to be.
26:21And, um, it's my job to be an extension of him as well as, you know, a leader of this team as,
26:27as well as the offensive play caller. And when I'm out on the field, I have to understand why he's calling certain
26:34things, what, what, what to do, what not to do.
26:37Um, but ultimately be an extension of him. You know, there's, I think there's this mistruth about him that he's, he's happy, go lucky fun.
26:44He's like, he's a bro. I'm like, hold on a second.
26:48From a fan perspective, he came up under Sean Payton who came up under Bill Parcells.
26:52Like that is accountability and that is like cracking skulls when you need to.
26:57Right. Yeah. And he is an absolute workhorse. I mean, he spends so much time in the building, you know, watching film,
27:03uh, finding new plays, finding new concepts. Like it, he doesn't sleep all that much.
27:08Um, he's, he's laid off the caffeine a little bit this year, but I'm, I'm assuming once we get into the full
27:14swing in the season, he'll start getting those fast switches down and start talking really fast.
27:19But, um, yeah, he's, uh, he's been awesome so far in camp and you know, the guys are really buying into what he's saying.
27:26And, um, it's been great to see. He's got an awesome vibe to talk to.
27:31It's just from my perspective, sharp left turn. Where do you keep the MVP trophy?
27:35Where is that? In honesty, we did a little bit of renovation right now.
27:39Let's go. It's, it's in a box in the basement and that's hand, hand to God truth.
27:44Is that going to come out of the box or it stays there?
27:48I don't know. We'll see. Okay. Well, I have a question about another item.
27:52You've told me before that you have a special bottle of bourbon saved to drink after winning the Superbowl is the bourbon bottle still out.
28:00No. Yeah, of course. Yes. Yeah. The bourbon, the bourbon still out.
28:03It's not in a box. No, not in a box.
28:06All right. So you're a producer now produced me, produced me an image of this.
28:11When you're having that bourbon, when that day comes, where are you?
28:14Who are you with? Is it with teammates? Was it family?
28:18Is it by yourself? Like how is that bourbon, the most important bourbon drink of your life going to go?
28:24Well, I hope that whole bottle is gone with how many people I'm sharing it with.
28:28I hope everyone gets a nice little taster and there's a quite a few people down in the basement.
28:34Um, but yeah, I mean, I, hopefully I'm not drinking a lot of it by myself.
28:39All right. Bring everybody over. Exactly. This is, this is this part of the interview and you know, you're so good at
28:45this, but every interview with you inevitably leads to, is this going to be the year?
28:50And it's challenging just to come up to new ways to ask about it respectfully.
28:55What is that like for you to have to always answer that and to always know that it's coming?
29:00Yeah. I know you see it coming. Yeah. Listen, like I'm, we're doing everything we can here in, uh, in Buffalo.
29:07Um, we're working really hard right now. Those questions, I understand that they're being, being asked.
29:11And the only thing I can say is, you know, we'll find out, you know, this is, this is the great part of the game.
29:19We're going to put our pads on. We're going to go play on that field that we've been playing since we were little kids.
29:26Um, and at the end of the day, like I, I've, I kind of switched last year or two years ago.
29:32Like I'm not focusing so much on the results as far as the process and just enjoying what I'm doing and loving
29:39the game and playing it for the right reasons.
29:42And, um, you know, if I do my job to the best of my abilities, um, and, and get the, the surrounding
29:48team around me, um, they've, they feel like they're playing the same way and we accomplished that goal.
29:53It's going to feel fantastic. Um, but it's going to take everybody to do it.
29:58Um, and I'm just, uh, I'm looking forward to the season.
30:01It's a huge shift. You said a couple of years ago, you kind of altered the way you're thinking.
30:07And I think it's really healthy and constructive. Where did that come from?
30:11Was that, was that Haley or was that just internal?
30:14Like, how did you shift gears like that? Yeah.
30:16I think a big part of it was my wife and just understanding, like, listen, like there's gonna be ups and downs in life.
30:24And, um, I'm the big proponent on it's it'll happen when it happens.
30:27Um, and I'm going to trust God's timing when it does.
30:31So I'm just gonna keep having fun and playing the game, uh, the way that I know how to play it.
30:37Obviously I want to go out there and play my best each and every time I set foot on the field.
30:43Um, but when we get it done, it'll, it'll feel pretty dang good.
30:47Another vision. You're an exec producer. Now, if you don't know, Josh is going to do big things in media.
30:53Some things that are out there, some things that are not out there.
30:57Um, your daughter, God bless her. I want you to move forward to the year 2044.
31:02Okay. Okay. So young Harper is 18 years old.
31:04She comes to you and she's looking over your career and she's online and she's reading about some stuff that she might've missed when she was younger.
31:12And she says, dad, tell me about the 2026 team.
31:15What was that team about? Well, hopefully she's sitting there saying this picture of you holding me on the field under the confetti is pretty cool.
31:23So that's, that's the vision that I have. Um, you know, and, and what I'll tell her is we worked really hard
31:30and this is a team that loved, loved each other and, uh, accomplished something so great.
31:35And that's, uh, that's sometimes what it takes. It takes a lot of sacrifice from those around you, everybody in the building
31:41here, outside, all of our wives and girlfriends making sacrifices for us to come out here and do what we do.
31:47Um, but hopefully that she can see that there was a lot of love on the scene and, um, um, hopefully we can set what we accomplish.
31:55That's a beautiful, beautiful answer. I would like a picture of her on the, on the float too.
32:01On the, I mean, I imagine that just side to side this Josh.
32:05Um, he's not seen the Odyssey. He's not seen obsession.
32:08I was shocked, but you've got big things going on in life right now.
32:12You can't be running off. Yeah. The, the TV shows and movies have slowed down just a bit.
32:17It's fine. Um, I am on the third season of house of the dragon.
32:21Did you get to the finale? I have not gotten to the finale yet.
32:25You got something waiting for you. I'm like, uh, episode five right now.
32:29So I got a couple more. Um, I watched the Hawk with Will Ferrell and which I thought it was great.
32:36Okay, good. That was great. I think that it was, uh, I thought Jimmy Tatro plays a fantastic role on that.
32:42I've heard of this. I've not seen that. It's, it's, it's really good.
32:46It's well, it's, it's funny. It's great. There's sometimes things out there that, oh, allegedly a lot of people don't like, but are actually really great.
32:54You know what I mean? Yeah. Hey, sometimes it just takes one, right?
32:57It takes the right audience, but, um, yeah, I appreciate you.
33:01You're the man. You're the man. That's Josh Allen.
33:03He is a fireball Eagle and he's a Buffalo bill.
33:06Number 17. Thanks to Kyle and Josh. Hey folks, ESPN fantasy.
33:10Now the official fantasy game of the NFL knew this season, knockout leagues where each week, the lowest scoring team eliminated until
33:16only one is left standing down with the ESPN fantasy app for free today.
33:20Sign up to play the number one fantasy game.
33:23Now time for rank you very much joining us now in the newsroom.
33:27It's Adam. Hey man. Oh my gosh. So good to be here.
33:30Glad I could be here with you. Yes. So, uh, listen, there, there's a lot of things going on and we had
33:37a game in the books, Patrick and all what a game it was.
33:41And already people are overreacting to some performances. There's been some injuries that have us worried, but we start in Minnesota where
33:47the Vikings have named Kyler Murray as their starting quarterback, a move that has a lot of people reacting like this.
33:54And, um, oh, there he is. There he is.
33:56Oh, we needed him. There he is. He's back.
33:59He's back. Hold it. Hold it. Listen, I applaud this move.
34:02Look, we have no shortage. Hey, no. Oh, sorry.
34:05Sorry. We have many jokes that can be made, but we can't overlook the work that Kevin O'Connell is done with quarterbacks
34:12around the league with Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones and JJ McCarthy.
34:15Maybe not. Don't, don't hold JJ McCarthy against him.
34:18Even Christopher Nolan made tenants. So not everything is going to be what we can't talk.
34:22Move out. It takes. Listen, we're not, I guess not everybody can talk movies, but give Kyler the rest of the preseason to work as the starter.
34:30And we might have a guy who leads you to a fantasy football championship this year, or else he joins the Savannah bananas.
34:37And I'm fine with either one of those outcomes.
34:40Staying in the NFC North. We got some bad news this week when Luther burden, the third suffered a groin injury, an
34:47injury that not only caused panic with the bears fans, but fantasy enthusiasts in general.
34:51And it's weird, almost off putting to see so many non bears fans have an opinion on this.
34:56This many people haven't weighed in on Chicago business.
34:59This crazy since all of you wanted to be involved in the ketchup on a hot dog debate.
35:04All right. Hit me with it. What is ketchup on a hot dog?
35:08If it's your hot dog, do what you want to do.
35:12I'm not putting it on mine, but food is about freedom.
35:15So have a hot dog. All right. You always, I can't lord on other people's food.
35:20That's weird. All right. You're right. All right. But we get it.
35:23Many of you are expecting Luther burden, the third to take over for DJ more this season.
35:28And if I, and if I could digress for a minute, I love DJ more in Buffalo.
35:33He is going to be the best receiver. Josh Allen has ever had that.
35:38I said what I said, and he's, he's way too low in your fantasy rankings, but Buffalo, it's not too late to change those jerseys.
35:45I'm going to tell you the same thing. I would have told Steve Harwell in 1994.
35:50It's not too late to stop this. Yes. Shrek wouldn't have been the same, but still this uniform looks like if diet Pepsi replaced Dr.
35:57Pepper is the title sponsor in that football throwing contest during college championship games.
36:01Like what does that football Ville with Brian Bosworth?
36:04That's exactly what the Jersey looks like. Don't do this.
36:07We're going to have the Broncos and Seahawks. Don't sully it with this.
36:11No, please. No. And then I finished though with a quick word on our friend Carson back who looked great the other night.
36:18And I saw an alert on a, on our ESPN app that said he should be on your fantasy radar.
36:24He shouldn't now. You know why? Because home leagues play with one quarterback.
36:28And we said last week, this quarterback pool is pretty deep.
36:31So here's what I'm saying. Those articles are about dynasty super flex leagues and the rules in those leagues impact just a small group of people.
36:39Dare I say 1%. There is no reason for the average fantasy player to be worried about that league at all.
36:45It doesn't concern you to simplify this further. If there is a league that you never had intention of joining, you don't
36:51need to be concerned about the rules in that league.
36:54This is especially true for people who are horrible in their own leagues and are just otherwise an afterthought.
37:00You don't need to get yourself worked up about a league that you have no business or talent to be in.
37:06They're doing fine without, without you. So please scurry back to obscurity.
37:10And what was I talking about? Quarterbacks. If you want more hot takes on quarterbacks, be sure to join us in the
37:16next couple of days because NFL fantasy live returns August 17th.
37:20You, me, Cynthia. It's going to be a ton.
37:22That's going to be great. Except for the person that rank was just talking about.
37:27And who's just an afterthought in all fantasy leagues.
37:30We got more coming up here on the insiders.
37:32As we look to the future of the NFL and to the past as USA gets involved with some vets and service members.
37:39That's next. And Lance Briggs on the inside. You know, the feeling you make a pick in your fantasy draft in the
37:46entire room groans because they wanted that player or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right
37:52before he goes off in prime time. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league.
37:57I'm JJ Zachary, host of the late round fantasy football podcast.
38:01Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off.
38:07We've got data driven analysis, historical trends, and the strategies that separate winners from the rest.
38:12And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft. All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers, and the mailbag.
38:19We've got data driven quick hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy.
38:23Listen to the late round fantasy football podcast on the I heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
38:30We're back here on the insiders. These are the most probably pro bowl seasons by off ball linebackers in the last 30
38:36years by hall of fame eligible players. You look at all, they're all in the hall of fame, except for one Lance Briggs was seven.
38:44The same as junior say out Patrick Willis, Luke Kinkley, who just went in Zach Thomas, Lance Briggs.
38:49Now joining us on the insiders. Lance just wanted to set the tone because you know, we, we support players who deserve
38:55to be places being in places here on the insiders.
38:58Thanks for joining us. You've got the, uh, the USAA salute to service bootcamp.
39:03Can you tell us about that? Well, you know, it's, uh, it's number one, it's, it's a, it's an awesome partnership where,
39:09you know, that, um, that the NFL has, you know, with the military and, and it's a, it's a, it's a, it's
39:16a thank you, but it's also in the Walter Payton center.
39:19It's a great opportunity for a lot of the, the, uh, military members to come in and compete in some, uh, NFL
39:26combine style, uh, drills, you know, so you get to see what, who, who in the military could, could, could cut it
39:32in, uh, in, in football or in pro football in the, in the NFL.
39:36And what's it like for you personally to be able to, to take these, uh, men and women through this bootcamp?
39:43Well, it's, it's near and dear to me. You know, uh, I wouldn't be here with, without the military.
39:48And I, when I say that, um, my, my mother and my father literally met serving, you know, um, um, in the army.
39:55So, um, yes, they, they absolutely give me my comforts every day and I get up and I eat my eggs because,
40:02you know, somebody is, is sacrificing, um, um, overseas and protecting our walls, but my mother and father literally met in the
40:08army and, um, and I was created because of it.
40:11Let's get to your Chicago bears where the, the expectations are pretty high because of what they were able to accomplish, especially late in games, uh, last year.
40:20How do you feel they go about duplicating the success that they had in 2025?
40:24Well, you know, you gotta, uh, last year we had to keep an, uh, an AED machine around for the heart, you
40:31know, cause they were shocking us every week, you know, this year, you know, let's, let's, let's, let's, uh, win games more
40:37decisively, you know, so that, uh, we're not at the edge of our seat every game.
40:42It was, that was exciting. We love that. But, uh, I think the expectation now with this team, with this coach, um,
40:48and, and the moves that they've made, um, it's, it's, it's, it's gotta be greater than, than 11 wins.
40:54And Lance, you were part of a team that was able to take the ball away a considerable amount last year, uh,
41:01taking the ball away, uh, to almost an historical sense.
41:04Is that something that's going to be year in, year out tough to duplicate or can they have that similar success forcing
41:10turnovers with Dennis Allen's defense this year? Well, if you understand, you know, where the, the, the, the bread and butter is,
41:17and that's on the offense, you know, you look around on the offense and there's, you know, every position, there's something that
41:23you can argue the, why they're, they're supposed to be successful this year.
41:27So get the ball back to them. That puts a, a, a, a premium on taking the ball away, you know, winning
41:34on third down, being able to stop the run, because, uh, I think the only way that you can slow this team
41:40down is by keeping your offense off the ball.
41:43That means that you would have to be able to be able to run the ball successfully against the bears.
41:49And, uh, being able to, to run the ball, something they did.
41:53Uh, to a very extreme extent, especially down the stretch, uh, last year, what's the biggest you think hurdle, uh, for this
41:59team to duplicate that success in 2026? Health, health, health.
42:02I think for a lot of teams, when you, you find these teams that have these great runs, um, health also always comes into play.
42:10You know, you can stay healthy for the majority of the year, have your, uh, your by week come at the right
42:16time, you know, be able to rest those guys and other, an additional week or two and have them on the field.
42:23Um, you find a lot of success. Now you have a year where, you know, listen, things are going great.
42:29You're leading the NFC, NFC North. You're leading the NFC altogether.
42:32You have playoffs locked up and you lose a player like Caleb Williams.
42:36You know, that's, that's too big of a loss to carry over.
42:39And that happens for a lot of these teams.
42:42So for me, health, health is, uh, is the key.
42:45You know, the talent is there. Health is the key.
42:48And that will be the key and the goal for most of the folks in that area.
42:53Lance, uh, thank you for the work that you're doing with the USA.
42:57And thanks for joining us here on this edition of the insiders.
43:01You got it. Thanks for having me. The bills looking forward to the opening of new high marks stadium for its very
43:07first preseason game coming up this weekend. But before that, Mike Garofalo and Kyle Brandt take us on a tour of the Buffalo Bills new stadium.
43:15You were in the concourse. I'm here with Mike just to get some perspective.
43:19Like here's the field right here. This is the brand new grass field.
43:23And here is a wonderfully unobstructed view of it.
43:26You can see everything, right? It's a nice intimate little stadium, but Mike and I want to show you the personal details.
43:32It's not just some generic stadium. Mike, it's the personal touches.
43:35This is the ESPN cribs right here. Thank you for joining us.
43:39So hopefully you're old enough to get that. Soak the shocker.
43:42Welcome to my house. Yeah. So we going to the table.
43:46Yeah, let's show the table. Yeah. Okay. You might say magic happens, Mike.
43:49You might say this didn't pass inspection. No, no, no.
43:52This is intentional right here. This is the broken table and homage to everything that's going to be happening outside the building.
43:59The beer pong. And if the cups were that big, I'd be a world champion beer pong player right here.
44:05So we've got the table right here. Your thoughts on it's still low enough to like people are going to get up there.
44:12Yeah. So a couple of thoughts. The first thing I tried to do is, you know, obviously climate.
44:17So I jumped up here and you can because I wonder if at some point during the season, there'll be bills fans
44:24who actually try to climb up on this table for real.
44:27I'm not coincidence. I liked it right back there.
44:30Like just feet away. There's like 800 labats. Let me check that out.
44:34Hold on. Go ahead, Mike. You know, Mike's looking.
44:36I like that. There's also a warning here. And if you read the fine prints of the warning, it says, remember, Bill's mafia is forever.
44:44Tail bones are not. It's Mike. What do you got?
44:47Nothing. It's 425 somewhere. Come on. Let's go. Get me in there.
44:50Mike's going to be halfway in the bag, but this is again, you can make a stadium.
44:55It's just it's cement. The seats. It's a field.
44:58We get it. It's the personal touches. It's the giant table monument.
45:02You could call it to all those maniacs. We call Bill's mafia.
45:05And it's a really great looking stadium so far intimate as hell.
45:09I'm really into it. Thanks to Kyle and Mike G.
45:12You want an unobstructed view of the preseason and the NFL.
45:15Check out ESPN and the NFL network. Here is a week one preseason schedule after the Panthers and the Cardinals gave us a great preseason opener last Thursday.
45:23Looking forward to that. Inside training camp has its season finale coming up tomorrow on NFL network will be live at the
45:30Bucks Jets joint practice live with the Chiefs Falcons and Broncos.
45:33And we will conclude our live camp coverage, the vast network of flights, interviews, camera setups and collaboration that make it all possible.
45:40We enjoy bringing that to you here on NFL network.
45:43And we will, of course, be here to put a bow on all of that tomorrow on the insiders at seven o'clock Eastern.
45:50Have all that for you for all of us here in Inglewood.
45:54I'm Patrick Claiborne. Great show. Great finale to ITC coming up tomorrow.
45:57Thanks for watching insiders. We'll see you tomorrow right here.
46:00Good night. The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted.
46:05There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league.
46:08I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the award winning late round podcast.
46:11Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off.
46:18Listen to the late round fantasy football podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
46:24This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.