9-8-22 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

Hey, hey! We are mere hours away from the NFL season kicking off and you are already blowing up our Twitter and Facebook pages.

We're asking you to fill in the blank. It's our first serious, you know how serious we get here on the show. It's time to get serious about football. It's our first serious question that we need you to respond to and so far we've heard from fan bases all over the country, which is what I love about football. We can be talking about a game in Florida.

You can be listening in the Pacific Northwest and still be interested and vice versa. It matters. All the games matter. The teams are all relevant and there's no such thing as a cream puff.

Let's just ask the Colts against the Jaguars or those teams that are over until they take out a team that's gunning for the playoffs. It's so good week in and week out and we're just getting started. So fill in the blank.

In 2022, the key to success for my team is what? On Twitter, A Law Radio. On our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We're just kicking off hour number two and we're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.

Do you need to know what it takes for a home to fit your budget and your family? Rocket can. We start with the bills at the home of the Super Bowl champion Rams in the stadium where the Rams won that championship and will raise the banner before the game, which is something that Josh Allen is double research about. That'll be an interesting feeling for sure. And I've talked to a few people that have played and coached in this game before and just really the unanimous thing that they were talking about was it feels like playoff atmosphere. So we got to understand that going in, not get too high, not get too low, understand the flow of the game and just try to put our best foot forward and try to win the game. It's just another game we understand.

There's gonna be a lot of people watching. It's an anticipated wait to the NFL season. We're excited for it and I know the Rams are excited for it. OK, when athletes say it's just another game and then they tell us after the fact that it's not just another game.

Alright, we're really excited. We are spending a few minutes in LA with, well, he was part of a Bills Mafia event on Wednesday night, but he is officially Bills beat inside on reporter Sal Capaccio. We're always excited to have him and this time joining us from the Pacific time zone. Sal, when Josh Allen says it's just another game, do you believe him? I think he tries his hardest to make it just another game. I believe that, but I also think he knows it's not just another game, right? It's the game. It's the opening of the NFL season. It's not going to make or break the season, but it's definitely not treated like a Sunday in early November at the Jets. Let's just say it that way. Yes, let's say it that way. Good point. What's been like so far in LA with Bills Mafia and the build up to the kickoff?

I mean, you know what it is. It's crazy with this fan base. They travel so well.

They always do. There's transplants everywhere. This is the destination city and game for a lot of people. It's either LA or Miami I think this year. Most of the road cities for this schedule this year are in the Northeast. It's going to places like Baltimore or Cincinnati or Chicago. It's going to find cities, but you know, Bills Mafia getting a chance to go out to LA or down to Miami. That's like, okay, let's do that. So make LA the first game of the year.

Give people a chance to kind of rev that up and think about it, what it's like to go out to SoFi. First time maybe seeing that stadium for so many people, including myself. There's a lot of people out here, lots and lots of Bills fans, and we're estimating, my personal estimation is probably over 10,000 Bills fans in the stadium Thursday night.

Yeah, I think it's going to be pretty crazy. There were a lot of people on my flight. I'll tell you this. I didn't even fly out. I normally fly out. I chartered with the team because I'm the radio sideline reporter.

I didn't do that on this trip. I came out a day early because my family came out. My wife and my son are here. They're going to the game. People are making a week out of it like we are, and that's what they're doing. There's a big Bills Mafia event down in Hermosa Beach tonight.

I was a part of that, raising some money, some charity stuff, and just seeing some people doing some radio work. It's just insane. It was just absolutely incredible tonight.

Why? Why is the excitement so high, Sal? Well, this is the most anticipated season in a quarter century, 25 years, since this team went to a Super Bowl in the early 90s, 90 through 93. It's been a long, long time, and we know that they came very close last year to beating the Chiefs and then hosting the AC Championship game. Many of us, including me, believe if they do that, they probably get to the Super Bowl. No disrespect to the Bengals who did win in Kansas City. I understand that, but people think that the Bills would have been that team representing the AFC if that was the case. The expectation is high.

You have the pull-up. You have the play on the blank, and look at our play on the blank here in Buffalo is if this team doesn't...what the bar is is winning the Super Bowl. If they don't win a Lombardi, it is not a successful season in a lot of ways.

Now, you could look back. There's a lot of factors, injuries, things like that, but this is it, Amy. This is the best roster in the NFL, I believe, and many people do, with maybe the best quarterback, if not certainly close to it, in the NFL. They have a terrific coaching staff, a terrific front office. They sign a guy that's going to walk into the Hall of Fame five years after his career retires to close out games and get to the quarterback, and you don't make a move like that unless you're doing it to get over the hump to finally win a Lombardi and bring a championship home. And that's what this is all about this year for this team. Would you say that same standard applied before 2020 kicked off and then 2021, or is this really the culmination of what they've done over the past several seasons?

No, it definitely wasn't before 2020. That was like, people thought that that could be a really good team, and you know, hey, you're playing with house money, right? I mean, there's a team that just broke in the playoffs throughout a couple years before that, and for them to get to the AFC Championship game in 2020 was really, it was remarkable. It was awesome, and you know, they were one of the best teams in the AFC, but it was also a season.

I remember the pandemic. There weren't fans in the stands. It felt different. You know, then everybody said, okay, okay, they go to 2021, and you know, everybody knew that they could get there, and we might take a break here or a break there, and it was still Kansas City the team to beat.

I think once they got to Kansas City and they lost the way they lost was viewed as a disappointment, right? 13 seconds, you should have closed the game out, but going into the season, it was not the same as the way it is now. Now it's like, you've gotten there. You've reached the AFC Championship game in 13 seconds before an AFC Championship game. There's no excuse now. You've been there twice.

You've got to get over the hump, and then you went and got Von Miller and Josh Allen in his fifth year. You know, this is it. There's no more taking a step back. There's no more falling short.

Now it's finally getting over the hump and doing it. We're spending a few minutes with Bill's sideline reporter, Sal Cappaccio, the Bills Radio Network from LA, from the LA area, where it is party time for Bills fans. He says potentially 10,000 of Bills Mafia will be in the stadium come Thursday night for kickoff against the Rams.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. I cannot be a bigger Von Miller fan in the country than me. Unabashedly a fan of Von Miller. We saw what he did when he joined the Rams, and so that's an interesting dynamic. What has he brought to the table this far in terms of not just personality and leadership, but also his skills?

Yeah, look, I mean, it's the whole package, right? You're talking about a guy that on the field is obviously going to walk into Canton five years after he retires. You know, he's a guy that can still play at a really high level. Everybody talks about the age and 33, and he got him for six years.

Well, look, I did a little research. After the age of 33, Bruce Smith still had 79 sacks in his career. Reggie White still had over 60 sacks. I think Julius Peppers had over 50.

If you're a really good player at that position, you can play a long, long time, well into your 30s, and you can play at a high level. Peyton Manning once called Von Miller the greatest athlete he's ever played with, so that's going to take care of itself. I'm not worried about the, you know, and Bills fans shouldn't be worried. Nobody should be thinking about the contract and what his age is. Like, he's going to play, and he's still going to be really, really good. The Bills are going to find a way to, you know, incorporate him in their defense, what they actually generally like to do, rotate defensive linemen. There's no way they can keep him off the field for 35% of the plays, because that's what they normally do. If you play 65%, that's a lot with a Bills defense.

They're not going to do that. They're going to play him a little bit more, but they're also going to not play him 90 to 95%, you know? So they're going to try and have to figure that mix out, but I think more than anything, it is that personality, it's that leadership, it's that cachet he brings. Here's a guy that, he's won two Super Bowls, he's been a Super Bowl MVP. He outright says, I want to be the first player to ever win three Super Bowls with three different franchises.

Now look, Matt Millen did that, but he wasn't active for, I think, his last one when he played with Washington in the 90s. But he knows, and Vonn, you know what I love about Vonn? You love Vonn, but I love him too, and I never got to know him until this year, but one of the reasons I love him is he's a student of the game. He knows his place. He'll tell you about Bruce Smith and Reggie White.

He'll tell you about, you know, what's gone on before him. He knows his legacy and what it means, and he cares a lot about that. And he thinks, and to him, part of that legacy, a big part, is what he does for the younger people that come after him.

It's not what he does. And for him to pull along Greg Russo and AJ Epenessa and Boogie Basham and what he can do and to elevate the rest of the guys around him, it truly does mean a ton to him, and that's why he's so respected in that locker room for the way he's fit in to be a mentor and a leader and put that selfishness and that ego aside that a lot of times guys might have. We know there are a bazillion strengths we could list for the Bills roster, and it may be one of the strongest rosters in the NFL, certainly in the AFC. What are a couple weaknesses, maybe an Achilles heel for this team to start out? Well, it could be their new offensive coordinator, right? And I don't mean that Ken Dorsey is going to be a bad offensive coordinator, but we don't know. He's new, and Josh has never had a new offensive coordinator. Josh Allen has gone four years with Brian Dable, and Ken Dorsey was his quarterback's coach for the last three years. Well, now you're elevating Ken Dorsey, and look, Thursday night's going to be the first time he's going to ever call plays in an NFL game, a real NFL game, not preseason. And what does that look like? What happens when he only has 30 seconds to make an adjustment, to make a call, to get the play in and out?

How does that dynamic work? And the whole quarterback room has turned over. You know, you have Brian Dable, assistant quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney, and Davis Webb, and Mitch Trubisky all gone now.

Now you have Ken Dorsey, and Joe Brady, and Case Keenum, and Matt Barkley, and that's a great room in itself, we think, and everybody talks well about it, but it's a change. So I think that could be something that, if it's not working early in the season, maybe that's why. Maybe it's an adjustment that, hey, Josh has never had to make this adjustment, now he has. And then the other one, obviously, is Tredavious White's injury. He tore his ACL on Thanksgiving night. And there's been a really good battle at that spot for his starting spot. Now, Dane Jackson will start at one corner spot. He's a third year player. He's not super experienced, but the Bills really like him. He filled in well when Tredavious went out last year, and I think he'll be fine. But opposite him, it's first round pick Kyar Elam, and sixth round pick Christian Benford of Villanova, who's had a fantastic camp and preseason. But you think, okay, well, shouldn't the first round pick win that job? And I would think you would think that would be the case, but that's not been the case. It's not because Elam's been bad, necessarily, but even thinking about two rookies who now have to go against Allen Robinson and Cooper Cupp in a Tyree kill a few weeks from now, and what does that look like as the season goes on? Could that spot be somewhere where teams could take advantage of that?

So there are a few. I mean, the roster may be loaded, but just every now and then you could see where there could be a couple of weaknesses. Sal Cappaccio is with us from L.A., getting set for kickoff on Thursday night against the Rams. He'll be part of Bills Radio, WGR 550 Sports Radio in Buffalo.

But man, that fan base is passionate and really is Western New York, as I know from my first commercial job that I had in Rochester, New York. And I was told, I think I've shared this story with you before, but I was told no matter what else you screw up on, Amy, do not screw up on Bills Radio because I was running the board for Bills games on Sundays. Do not screw up on that. Anything else we can overlook, but do not mess up Bills Radio or the people get very upset. I will tell you, Amy, don't worry because this is my ninth year as the Bills Radio Network sideline reporter. I screw up on Bills Radio all the time. So you're all good.

It's fine. When you see this, how do the Bills combat what they're going to see in Aaron Donald? Because depending upon who you talk to, of course, there can be better defensive players, but we know he is a wrecking ball and he's got so much experience, not to mention the confidence that comes with a Super Bowl ring.

Well, you know, I think X's and O's, I can't give you the secret potion on how to combat it because there is none, right? I mean, X's and O's, if there was one, he wouldn't be Aaron Donald, who everybody recognizes as maybe the best player in the entire NFL, regardless of position, which is insane to say for an offensive tackle. But that's how good he is.

But let me just throw this out there for people to think about. The Bills offensive line coach is Aaron Cromer. Aaron Cromer was the LA Rams offensive line coach for what, two, three years, just a couple years ago. He went against Aaron Donald almost every single day in practice. They also had Von Miller on their defense.

Von Miller lined up next to Aaron Donald for half the season last year. Yes, they at least have some guys in the building who may have a little insight into maybe some things that could challenge Aaron Donald a little bit more. I'm not saying that to beat them like that's that's asking too much. But hey, when you have the offensive line coach, Aaron Cromer, who went against them every day and he might have seen him and said, look, there's some things that if you do, maybe we can have a little more success. But you can't do this. You can't do that.

He's going to he's going to wreck that. You have Von Miller, who you could say you could tap into him and say, what gave you guys some trouble while you were there? What did teams do against you where you said, you know what? Those are the things that we struggled a little bit against.

I think those are the kinds of things you have to lean on when it comes to him. But I mean, he's he's so fantastic. You also have a very good center in Mitch Morse. Ryan Bates is one guard.

And then who's on the other side? Roger Staffold. Roger Staffold is a guard who played for the L.A. Rams. So they have a little bit of, I think, intel and insight into this Rams team simply from the personnel and the coaches that are around.

But obviously, you still got to go out and execute. The guy is fantastic. And he can be a game wrecker. Two years ago, the Rams went to the Bills. The Bills were up twenty five points. The Rams came back and took the lead. If the Bills didn't score in the end, it would have been, I believe, the worst comeback loss the Bills ever had. The biggest lonely they ever had in that game. The reason the Rams came back almost strictly because of Aaron Donald on defense. He completely dominated the football game in the second half.

Aaron Cromer was on the team on the Rams for that game. And I would think that Sean McDermott and other coaches would say, what did you guys do in that second half to help you against us and maybe use that to a little bit of their advantage? Before I let you go, Sal, who would you say are the top teams that will push the Bills in the AFC? It's a stacked conference. So where do you see the top competition for Buffalo? Well, I'm picking the Bills to win the conference, but I'm picking them to beat the Chargers in the AFC Championship. I like the Chargers as West Division champs. I think Justin Herbert could win the MVP even over Josh because I think that Josh might not have to put up the same numbers that Justin Herbert might playing in that division where Josh maybe can let the defense kind of do their thing a little bit more often.

But I love Justin Herbert. I love what the Chargers have. I think that's a huge competitor. No way I can rule out the Chiefs.

I mean, I was on the field with 13 seconds. I know exactly what that can be like. You can't rule them out. Cincinnati is, of course, the defending AFC champion. I also like the Baltimore Ravens. They're getting healthy, getting guys back. They have a dynamic quarterback, of course, and Lamar Jackson.

I love John Harbaugh, what they do in Baltimore, the front office, the coaching staff. I think they could be a team to be reckoned with. So I think those are probably the top teams to deal with. But man, it is a loaded, loaded conference. And, you know, it's going to be a gauntlet.

It's going to be hard to get through it. There's no doubt about that. I think one thing that does help the Bills, though, is the West is going to beat itself up. They're all going to play each other six times. The Bills only have one game against the West. That's against the Kansas City Chiefs. So that might give them a little track to get that number one seed maybe because everybody else is giving each other losses while they're playing Miami and New England and the Jets. And maybe that helps them get that extra win or two that the others don't have. And then those teams have to come to Buffalo in the playoffs, which could be huge.

Sidestepping the West. That is a big deal. Great point by Sal Capaccio. Are you excited? Super excited, Amy. I've never been to SoFi Stadium. It's my first time. I've been to almost every NFL stadium.

It's the one I haven't been to. So I'm super excited to see what that's like, be down in that field. Super excited to be a part of the pageantry, really. I've been looking forward to this. I work in the NFL. I'm on the sidelines for NFL games every Sunday. I'm living a dream here being able to do that.

But to be a part of that pageantry, what's that like? That's going to be super cool. And I've got to be honest, I'm looking forward to Ozzy Osbourne at halftime. I'm sorry.

I grew up with Ozzy. So I'm going to be listening and watching that. Nice.

All right. Well, for everything that we just got from Sal and a whole lot more, make sure you find him on Twitter at SalSports, and he will be on the sidelines for kickoff to the NFL season at SoFi Stadium. Bill's beat and sideline reporter. He also has the extra point show, which comes up 10A Eastern to noon on our affiliate in Buffalo WGRAM550. I hope that your family has a great time too, Sal.

Thank you so much for a few minutes. Well, we already saw the Angels play. My son saw Mike Trout in a home run earlier today. So it's already been a nice week. Let's keep it rolling.

We're going to have a great NFL season. And you know, I always appreciate being on with you, Amy. Have a great night. It's great to talk to you. Thank you, Sal.

That's a lot of fun. I'm so excited for the Bills fans who are flocking to LA. Now, this is not an easy task. The banner that will be raised, the fans there at SoFi Stadium. And just a few months removed from Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald and Sean McVay and others winning the Super Bowl title.

This is the first game, though, and it's quite a doozy to set the tone for week one in the NFL. All right. You can find us on Twitter After Hours CBS, also on our Facebook page. Dozens of responses already to fill in the blank.

In 2022, the key to success for my team is what? And I'm really pleased that many of you are digging or diving a little deeper in than just QB, QB, QB, QB. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

There should be a video camera in your car or in your place of business right now because every single one of us just bebop. Hi, Amy. Hi. I'm great. Thank you.

What? You got to do a higher voice, Martin. Come on, you can do it. Hey, guys, I don't. Hey, Amy. Thanks for taking my call, Amy. Hey, dear. How are you doing? I'm good. How are you? Hello, Amy. Hi. How are you doing? What's going on, Amy? Hey, homie. Hey, homie. I have two words to say.

Amy's taking your calls at 855-212-4CBS. Hello. I don't know who you root for or what gets you to the TV or the stadium or the radio every week. I just know that we are a nation that is crazy about our football or as I have to identify it to my friends who are in Cuba or in Ecuador or even friends of mine who are outside of this country and are much more used to football.

My friends in Denmark who, when I say football, they, of course, believe I'm talking about soccer. So it's Football Day Americano. We in this country are nutso about our football and, yes, college football for sure. But even college football and the popularity, it really doesn't hold a candle to the NFL over the course of a season. And the NFL is not only a cash cow, it is the league that every other league wants to be when it grows up. And we're hyped about it because as I was talking about, I think on the last show, but also as Jay and I were planning for the season, this is his second football season with after hours, but really his first one in which he's got some experience under his belt.

So he's not flying in like blind with deer in the headlights. I mean, he had been on the job, what, two weeks before the NFL kicked off last year. Right.

Been on the job two weeks. Still, not that he didn't know what he was doing, but still was learning. And actually, I tell producers that you have to go through everything full cycle a year and the calendar year for sports to kind of understand the ebbs and flows. But now he goes into an NFL season recognizing, first of all, there's no COVID protocols, which is fantastic, but recognizing what's required and we're able to kind of boost our level of coverage and add some of the elements that we want to that we couldn't do last year because I didn't want to overwhelm him and wanted to make sure that what we did, we did well, as opposed to spreading ourselves too thin with just the two of us. I mean, there's just so many adjustments behind the scenes when we change producers or when a producer jumps into a new job.

So all that to say, we feel like we're in a really good spot. And I know that over the course of this month of September, then on into October, which is literally insanity in sports. It's the busiest month of the year. It's the only month of the entire calendar when all four major team sports are operating at the same time.

And then you throw in MLS and college football. And of course, it's even completely nutso outside of the NFL. But it's just it's a different sense of urgency. It's a different buzz.

It's a different energy. It's a different electricity around the NFL. And to that end, we've already heard from dozens of you filling in the blank as we're now on the eve of kickoff for 2022. So find me on Twitter, a law radio or on our Facebook page, and we're going to dive into some of your answers coming up here as we not only mix in an AFC QB news and an NFC QB news. But we also want to make sure that we, as I promised you, that we would share your responses if you were the first to to weigh in from from any particular fan base in 2022.

The key to success for my NFL team is what? On Twitter, on Facebook, our phone number 855-212-4227, because we're getting serious about the 2022 NFL season. And also, both Jay and I have completed our fantasy football drafts. I did mine on Wednesday evening. Oh, my gosh. It freaked me out because so this is me.

I have to tell you the story. I'm on my bike. I'm trying to shake out the cobwebs and get a little exercise before we did our our final show prep. But Jay knew I had my fantasy football draft and I could have sworn it said draft starts at 815 Eastern Time. Great.

OK, I'm ready to go. Get in my workout, get some dinner, do my draft. But I didn't know what position I was drafting and I'd seen nothing. I couldn't get into the draft room.

I had no idea. So I kept checking. I kept refreshing the home page. And finally, this thing pops up that in bright, bold letters, your draft is taking place. It didn't say your draft is starting soon. It said your draft is underway. And I'm like, my draft is underway. It's still 35 minutes until until it said we were supposed to start. So and I don't have the app on my phone. Right. So I'm on the bike with my phone, freaking out of my phone. I get off the bike, I grab my laptop, I get back on the bike, I open up my laptop, I log in. The league is just going to put you on auto draft.

Oh, my gosh. That's what I thought was going to happen. So I ended up drafting ninth in 14 team league, which I don't love, but I I'm OK with my team. I think I'm OK with my team. I actually ended up drafting one player that I have a hard time rooting for anyway. Another player that makes me roll my eyes nonstop.

I'll give you three guesses. But I believe that I have a team that can compete. So this is the most I'll ever pay for any type of a fantasy football league. It's 100 bucks.

I already paid it. I'm in. I've got my team. I just want to win something. I need to win something.

Just something. The consolation bracket. I don't think you win any money for the consolation bracket.

In this particular league, you win money for first, second and third. So come on. You guys have to root for me. My team name as well as my roster. I'll get to at the top of the hour. All right. We've got everything we need to sail through these next two and a half hours.

I hope you enjoyed Sal Capaccio from Los Angeles. And we're going to get to our first half of QB news. AFC or NFCJ, which we going first? Let's go AFC since we were just talking bills.

All right. So we'll go AFC with no bills because we've covered the bills extensively now. But the rest of the AFC that wants to be sure that it kind of gets a leg up early because it's a monster. It's a bear.

It's a gauntlet, which is the word that we got from Sal Capaccio. After hours on CBS Sports Radio, you are listening to the After Hours podcast. Touchdown Kansas City. No, Herbert keeps it in. Touchdown Chargers. Herbert with his second of the day.

Here's the snap. Josh going to keep it himself and run it again inside the five into the end zone. Touchdown Buffalo. Josh Allen nine yard touchdown run.

The bills respond and then some. It's time for QB news on After Hours. Buckle up. Strap in.

Away we go. AFC version of QB news as we head up toward the top of the hour because we just finished talking Buffalo Bills, as they are the first AFC team on the field in Los Angeles come Thursday night. So let's stay in the AFC East, shall we? Last year, yes, the Bills won the division, but the Patriots also returned to the playoffs with the rookie quarterback Matt Jones at the helm. And this year he's a team captain for Bill Belichick in the past. Really cool. I think I have a lot of work to do.

I want to become an even better leader and I think we have great guys around us that make everything better. A lot of mixed emotions in New England about the Patriots and their offense and no actual coordinator and two guys who've never called plays before. Platooning potentially. We'll see what Belichick's got up his sleeve as the Patriots get started in week number one. But more people I think have higher expectations for the Miami Dolphins in the AFC East.

The Dolphins have loaded up with a lot of weapons around to Tango Veloa. How comfortable is he now in what will be his third season in the NFL? I wouldn't say I feel most comfortable with where I'm at. I think I feel most comfortable with where we're at as a team. I think I feel very comfortable with how the offense is operating right now, how the defense is playing defense.

You know, I think we all feel, you know, pretty confident in our gameplay where we're at, you know, leading up to our season opener. The season opener happens to be the Dolphins with the Patriots in town and Belichick changed up the strategy. Had the Patriots travel on Tuesday to try to get acclimated to both the heat and the humidity in advance of kickoff on Sunday at one o'clock.

We don't have time for that. Florida time. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Some news from the AFC East regarding the Jets. Their second year QB, Zach Wilson, will be out for a month, which means Joe Flacco is the starter. And, of course, Wilson is missing out and bummed about it.

Of course that was a goal. I mean, if it was up to me, I would try and still play right now. But, you know, listening to my doctors and whatever clearance that they can give me, kind of going week by week, staying in touch with them, that's what I'm going to go off. Yeah, it's frustrating, of course. I mean, you want to be healthy as much as possible. And, you know, when the injury happened, I was just pissed to myself. You know, preseason game, all that kind of stuff, you know.

You've got to be able to stay healthy, so it's frustrating. Lots of buzz around Zach Wilson, mostly created by Robert Sala, who is his wingman, believing that he's made a major jump into year number two, but he obviously has to be on the field. And that's not going to happen until at least week four, according to Sala, which will be a road game against the Steelers. So the Jets open the season with Flacco at quarterback. And you've heard this, hosting the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium. This is the team that drafted Flacco.

And, of course, won a Super Bowl with Flacco. And now, instead, it's Lamar Jackson, who is in his final year as their quarterback, at least final year of his rookie contract. And he doesn't have a contract passed this year. And he is laying down the law come contract talks before the season kicks off.

As of right now, you know, we're still talking. You know, the week's not over yet, but soon, soon, probably be a deadline, probably be cut off after this week. Kickoff, I would not be talking about a contract.

I'm thinking straight Jets around kickoff time. As far as a deadline, in your book? The end of this week, the end of this week, Friday. Friday is what Lamar Jackson is saying, but I don't know that that's any different than what we knew was coming. There was going to be a deadline. There was going to be a cutoff. And right now, it appears that he's the holdup. Because the Ravens say they're ready to do business when their quarterback is ready to do business.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. And being a champion. Neither one of those things is going to happen for me. I'm never going to be a champion.

I'm never going to be a billionaire. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. We'll stay in the AFC North because, of course, we've got quarterback intrigue there. Not so much with Lamar.

That's down the road. But how about with the brand new QB for the Steelers, post Ben Roplisberger, who did endorse Mitch Trubisky on his brand new podcast. So Trubisky and the rookie Kenny Pickett reacting to the depth chart to begin the season. They let us know last week, so we had a heads up. I was kind of anticipating that and just excited for the opportunity. And now we prepare. Get ready to go. I had a really good camp.

I came in here. A lot of experience. Showed I could lead the team. Showed I've been playing really well. Throwing the football really well. So now we go out there and execute on the field.

We found out previously. Just kind of expecting it to be that way. Mitch has done a great job. I was running with the twos and threes all camp. Just felt like I was doing a great job of getting better. That's what I'm continuing to do now.

Getting in the regular season. A little different than college with the scheduling of film study. That's something I've been trying to iron out early in my career here.

But I have some previous experience with it. So I'll be with Coach Tomlin. Just trying to learn as much as I can. They all moved their units. Kenny Pickett just happened to be moving his unit.

They moved their units. With the second and third team. And you hear him talk about getting the experience. And he played well in the preseason. There are a lot of people who are excited about the future with Pickett. But for now, it's Mitch Trubisky who brings that experience. And who brings a year of sitting behind Josh Allen. It's put up and shut up time. Really watching and absorbing great coaching in Buffalo. Steelers will open up.

Are you ready? Open up on the road at Cincinnati. The AFC champion, Cincinnati Bengals.

They put a better offensive line in front of Joe Burrow. And I've already seen some of you Bengals fans pointing at that as the key to success for your team. Your Bengals in 2022.

The Cleveland Browns will open up in Carolina. So not an interconference matchup. Not a divisional matchup.

Nope. This is the scheduling gods handing us a gift. The Browns with Jacoby Brissett as their starter on the road at Carolina to face Baker Mayfield in the opener. Nick Chubb though, he is all about Jacoby.

And of course those two have to work together in the backfield. He's been amazing. He's awesome. He's a great vet. He knows pretty much any questions we have. And he's a great leader and he directs us around like he's been here for a long time.

And I'm excited to play with him. Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, those two guys instrumental for the Browns offensive success. But even more so with Jacoby Brissett.

But a strong endorsement there from Chubb as the Browns will kick off the season in Carolina. You guys remember the poll we did? Which team has more wins in 2022? Two-thirds of you said Carolina.

I wonder if you would change that now. We'll hear from Baker Mayfield an hour from now. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. So Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans are sitting on back-to-back playoff appearances. Both of them losses. Last year to Cincinnati.

The year before that in 2020 it was Baltimore. Tannehill may be dead man walking with Malik Willis hanging him. Hanging out on the sidelines waiting in the wings. But his voice is dripping with excitement. I have a burning fire inside of me. Fire, fire, fire. There's no question about that. But at this point it's a new season.

What happened last year doesn't matter. But no doubt there's a passion and fire burning. It's about as passionate and fire-breathing and fire-burning as what we get from Bill Belichick. Burning fire inside of me. I believe him. I have a burning fire inside of me too.

So do Beavis and Butthead. Alright Ryan Tannehill, let's see what you got. Derrick Henry of course is your BFF forever. AFC West is loaded.

It's stacked. Last year the Raiders made the playoffs as a wildcard. But this year they've got Devante Adams. Devante and Derrick together again. College roommates and now a formidable duo in the NFL. Derrick's one of the most consistent, disciplined people that I've been around.

So a lot of what I see now or basically all of what I see now is what I saw. You know just at a lower level at Fresno obviously. So you know he's been the same way. The same things if we don't hit on a route in practice. He wants to you know as soon as we have a down period or during special teams.

He wants to try to re-hit the same thing. We've been doing that you know 10 years ago. So it's a lot of the same you know just obviously at a much higher level now. And you know much more responsibilities on him obviously now than what it was then.

But same guys like I said very consistent dude. And you got to love that out of your quarterback just knowing what to expect every day. It's going to be the first time people see us do it together right in the NFL. But for us we've been doing this for the last 13 years.

You know whether it was in college or we still train together in the Bay Area. We've been doing it for you know months here at the facility right. And so to us it's back to normal that feeling. But I think for everyone else the excitement of it. You know like I'm sure I'll throw him a ball and he'll get a catch or whatever. And everyone will be like oh my gosh here we go. And it's like to us it will just be the next play you know. Just because we know how much football there is to play and all that kind of stuff.

I love this. I'm excited to see what those two do on the NFL stage. Raiders at the Chargers with Justin Herbert. I desperately wanted him for my fantasy team quarterback.

But he was gone by the time I decided to draft a QB. By the way you still have to contend with the Chiefs in the AFC West. And Patrick Mahomes knows it's going to look different. Of course there's still Travis Kelce but no Tyreek Hill.

They've changed their receiving core. So you fantasy football owners he's got a message for you. I think there's going to be a different player every single game that has the big game. It's not going to be just necessarily Tyreek and Travis every single week.

Where it's like one or the other is having a big game or both. It's going to be every single week it's going to be someone different. So I'm sorry to all you fantasy football guys. But it's going to come from everywhere so you're going to have to choose the right guy every week. I'm sure he just meant guys and girls. He just meant everyone.

He meant you as a group. Guys you fantasy football guys. Well on that note I promise the big reveal of my fantasy football team and why I don't like it.

Okay I like it. I just don't like my quarterback. Well I like him.

I just I don't ever need to hear from him really. But we're going to hear from him next hour. So that should give it away as an NFC QB. We love our quarterbacks.

We're obsessed with our quarterbacks here in the good old US of A. As the NFL gets set to kick off this time tomorrow you guys. 24 hours from now we will be talking about Bills and Rams and SoFi Stadium and the season being underway. And of course we'll also be looking at the matchups in week number one. If you're wondering about the Chiefs. Well the Chiefs they are in a nationally televised game at the Cardinals.

It's 4.25 Eastern Time but it's 1.25 Pacific Time on CBS. And then of course we've got Monday Night Football which features a reunion between Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. The teammates that are still there. There are not as many of them that are still there. It's a lot of turnover as the Broncos will head into Seattle. And is it Lumen Stadium now? Halfway through it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.