8-3-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

Hey, Rob Bradford here. I have set out on a mission with my good friends at FanDuel to prove what I have known for some time. Baseball isn't boring. Now I have a daily podcast to prove it with some of the most notable people in the baseball world, screaming baseball isn't boring for the mountaintops, or at least agreeing to come on our show.

Players, managers, GMs, and yes, even the commissioner of baseball, Rob Manfred. It has been a constant wave of baseball to both powerful voices. So join the revolution, subscribe and soak in baseball isn't boring. Listen on your Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You'll be glad you did. We're being a little tongue in cheek. It's not really a football feeding frenzy, but we do have QB news this hour, and we do have preseason football this day. This day on Planet Earth, August 3rd, 2023, the kickoff to the NFL preseason with none other than the Jets and the Browns.

I can't imagine two teams you'd rather see more in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. Not a long commute, obvi, for the Browns to get to Canton. Did they bust it? Do you think they bust it or everyone takes their own individual cars? I would say they bust it. You grab your own ride.

Commute on your own. It's preseason. Meet you there. See you in Canton. So yeah, we'll get Aaron Rodgers on the sidelines. I'd be really shocked if he actually took a snap, but we'll get Aaron Rodgers on the sidelines. We'll get Deshaun Watson as well. We'll have lots of interviews. It'll sound like football, and there'll be all the pomp and circumstance, the fanfare leading up to it on NBC. And then most of America will likely lose interest, I don't know, four series in if we even last that long. That's generous. But it does begin today.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. By the way, I do enjoy seeing Leo Messi in pink. Every time I look up, there's more of Leo and his incredible goals from Wednesday night. He's just, he's messing with them all. Messi messing with the MLS.

He's messying with the MLS. So whether we're talking Messi, whether we're talking quarterbacks, a whole lot of football, plus some baseball, too. Because looking around the American League, I love the way that these races are shaping up for the final two months of the regular season. Between the trade deadline moves that were made or not made, and the fact that you've got the top two teams in the East and the top two teams in the West with the exact same number of wins. Orioles and Rays both sitting on 66, Highway 66 if you will, while the Rangers and the Astros are at 62 wins apiece. And while the AL Central is embarrassing, it's really an embarrassment to humanity or something like that. It is only a two game separation between the top teams in the division. So we're looking at some pretty incredible races in the American League down the stretch. Not so much for the National League East.

The Braves are galloping, they're gallivanting out of sight in the East. The League is now 12 games. 12. They've got to have a magic number that's somewhere like 12. In the neighborhood of 12. Jay, any way that we can Google the magic number for the Braves? He's trying to look it up.

I'd be really impressed if you could find one. I mean, a raise for Jay, for producer Jay, if he can find the magic number. 46. 46. Alright, so right now they have played, let's see, they've played 106 games. Still 56 to go.

No way. There's no way that their magic number is 46 with 56 games to go. That's really high. This is as of, it's a Twitter account at ATL magic number, Braves magic number. They update it every day. I mean, I'm just looking at it for the first time now, but it says a satisfying win, this was from last night. Braves bats bounce back to even series. Magic numbers for division, 46 for playoffs, 45 for home field, 54.

Actually, that was from August 1st, excuse me, so a couple days ago. Interesting. Alright, well, I haven't done the math, but they have a 12 game lead in the division with 50, what do we say, 56 games to go? Right, because they played, the Braves themselves have played 106. So they got 56 games to go, and yet their magic number is 46 with a 12 game lead?

Wow. I suppose if they lost every game between now and then. Well, I remember, what was it, 2007, the Mets in the NL East had a 7 or 8 game lead with about 13 or 14 games to go, and they lost that. So, anything can happen.

I was there. You're accurate in saying anything can happen, but it is unlikely to happen in this division. Oh, yeah. The Braves are so good. They are. They're stacked. And now they are 32 games above.

32 games above. Making quick work of the Angels on not just Tuesday, but again on Wednesday. He hits a high fly ball to deep left field, cracking it deep and into the seats. A two run home run by Austin Riley, and the Braves open it up on the Angels.

It's 8 to 1. And Olson smashes one deep to right to the Chop House out of the ballpark. And they do go back to back for the 13th time this year.

That was a laser beam into the Chop House. And for man is 37th home run of the year. 9 to 1 Atlanta. Bombs away for these Atlanta Braves. They hammer the Angels and boy did Lucas Giolito take it on the.

Well, he just he took it on the shins like mobsters is a whack him on the shins and run. The captain, that's for sure. Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Ronald Acuna, they all go deep and Giolito just he got torched. He didn't even last four innings in his first start for the Angels yet is after he was traded there before the deadline. Max Fried about to reenter the Braves rotation as well. He returns on Friday. So as you hear there on Braves radio, they they're doing just fine. Welcome in.

The water is fine in August in Atlanta. It's totally fine. I don't know that it matters. Again, the teams behind them are going to have to do some battle, probably for wildcards. But the the wild finish to the well, Jay, you tell me we have an OK, so we don't have it.

All right. So we'll get to the wild finish between the Phillies and the Marlins. But if you're watching this game, it was also a little bit cray, just a lot of back and forth where you had the games. Sorry, you had a bottom of the ninth home run for the Marlins to tie the game at five and force extra innings. Then you get two runs by the Phillies in the top of the 10th. But you also get two runs by the the Marlins in the bottom of the 10th. They go into the 11th where once again, the Phillies put a run on the board only to see the Marlins answer.

So, yeah, this was a wild one. And I suppose if you're into those games where because of the pitch clock, now they're, I don't know, two and a half hours, this probably wasn't your game. The 0-1 pitch. Here's a swing and a blooper. Left field! Base hit! The Marlins win it in the bottom of the 12th.

They have done it. Down 5-0. They storm all the way back. A little magic in Miami on a Wednesday. Sanchez the hero!

Oh my goodness! Jesus Sanchez with the bases loaded single. That's in the 12th inning, right? But the Marlins were down 5-0 about halfway through this game and had to fight and scratch and claw their way back. So pretty painful one for the Philadelphia Phillies. And if you, again, if you watched it, you know that Trey Turner had a, we'll call it an embarrassing error.

It was it was fairly embarrassing. It was a bit of a hop that went right up and over his glove. Actually, Jay, it didn't look like he touched it at all.

I don't know. Did you see the play? You saw the play, right?

You brought my attention to it. Didn't look like he touched it at all. And so he kind of took the blame himself. This was in the 11th. They had two outs at that point. And so by having this error on what could have been the third out, what should have been the third out, the Marlins still had life. Pretty disappointed. Just feel like obviously I'm the reason why we lost that game. So just, you know, frustrated. But I only know one thing and that's just keep working.

So that's what I'm going to do. Yeah. As I look up, it's it's again there on Sports Center. Just saw it multiple times where he didn't get in front of it. He tried to to grab it. He kind of went down to one knee and tried to backhand it. And the ball just went up and over his glove.

One of those kind of seeing eye bounces. And for that reason, the inning was extended. The Marlins come all the way back in the 12th. But we're talking wild card competition here at this point, though it's a good one for the Marlins. And you could certainly blame Trey Turner if you're watching it. And you see that that could have been the third out the end of the game, except they allowed the Marlins to come back from a five nothing deficit. It's not solely on Trey Turner. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio.

This is kind of funny, actually. Josh Bell got traded on Tuesday, got four hits with his new club on Wednesday and now is feeling a bit weary. Definitely a long day. You know, had a 440 wake up call this morning and headed off to the airport. I was able to sleep a little bit just on the flight. And then I got here, got activated, got in the cage, got some work in. Took BP, was able to nap just before the game. Probably got like a 40 minute nap in.

And that made the difference. And then the poor guy, his first game with his new team goes more than four hours. So Rob Manfred stewing over this one, right? Because even with that stupid runner on second base and extra innings, it's a back and forth affair between the Phillies and Marlins. And poor Josh Bell, all he wants is a nap. And instead, now he was incredible. He goes four for five, a couple of RBI in his debut with the Marlins, came over from the Guardians on Tuesday.

But yeah, instead of getting one of those quick two hour and ten minute games, a pitcher's duel of sorts, instead he has to sit there through more than four hours. Here's the final tally. 25 hits, 11 walks. Stop it. Just stop it.

That's where the length comes in. Right? 25 hits, 11 walks. And there were so many pitching changes that I lost count. But it's definitely more than a dozen. Yeah, so that's behind the Braves in the NL East.

It's not super competitive right now anyway, though there is a long way to go. Back to the American League where it's a lot more interesting. Corey Seeger returning for the Texas Rangers, goes two for four with three RBI.

And along with him, so he provides the pop. Dane Dunning has a career high 11 strikeouts, pitches deep into the eighth inning. And so the Rangers win. What about the Houston Astros? One to two. And McCormick hits it high in the air, pretty deep down the left field line, giving it a look.

Kwon, and you can kiss that one goodbye. A two run home run into the Landry's Crawford boxes for Chaz McCormick. And the Astros have tied the game at two. McCormick's 14th of the year. This is right-hander Nick Sandlin, sidearmer, and McCormick hits his first pitch high in the air, pretty deep to left center.

Kwon is back, looking up, and that ball is gone. And off the archway for McCormick's second home run of the game. And the Astros lead it three to two.

McCormick's driven in all three. Chaz, you know, he drove in all the runs. I mean, you've got to have some guys hot in there, especially when you're leaving, you know, runners on base, because we had opportunities to blow that game open many times. Well, you could say that again, Dusty Baker.

One for ten with runners in scoring position. Something that just reacquired Justin Verlander. On the same day that Romer Valdez throws a no-hitter. This race is going to be fun. I'm excited to see the Rangers put up a fight against the World Series champions, the Astros. Right now, they're not quite dead even, but they are sitting at the same number of wins, 62. Just one more loss for the Astros, so they're a half game back.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Jack Flaherty will start tonight for the Orioles. This is going to be fun.

I know his record is just about.500 and his ERA is roughly 4.5, but that was with the Cardinals. This is a fresh start. The Orioles have more run support, a lot of good energy going, and he's looking forward to it. These guys have been playing unbelievable for them to be in first place and to be playing the way they have all year. It's special. You know, it's just really lucky to come in here and join these guys.

I'm just looking forward to starting whenever that is and just getting after everything. When I saw after I came in after the game, I was fired up. I think he's really going to help this rotation. He's done the ball really good for as long as he's been in the league, so I'm excited to pitch alongside of him.

Kyle Bradish with a bit of the reaction from the Orioles clubhouse to that Jack Flaherty acquisition. So, yes, is slated to start later on tonight. Aren't we supposed to see Max Scherzer with the Rangers tonight as well? Afternoon.

Oh, afternoon. All right, so a lot happening with the Orioles, with the Rangers, new acquisitions. Have you heard when Verlander might make another start for the Astros? Okay, so we haven't heard that yet. We were kind of searching around for it, weren't sure whether or not that would come up this week. I could imagine it would be this weekend, though, if not. Actually, you know what? I think I might have heard that they're playing the Yankees this week. Oh, that's right. Yeah, actually, our Yankees insider was talking about how coming up this weekend, it's the Yankees and Astros.

Oh, from the category of you can't make this bleep up. Are you kidding me? The Yankees are already struggling, scuffling. Their offense is a mess. They lose Domingo Hermon to the restricted list because he is now entering alcohol treatment. So Yankees concern for him, of course. This is just a couple of months after he pitches a perfect game. They get Nestor Cortez back in the rotation, so maybe it fills the void, but it does not fix the problems with their offense. And as if to add insult to injury, this weekend they play the Astros. Their nemesis in the postseason going back now several years, and they're going to have to face Justin Bertlander.

Are you kidding me? You got to think that a lot of the Yankees are ticked off that the Mets are sending him back to the Astros, no doubt. As if the Yankees are going to make the playoffs.

I mean, there's a big question mark there. But if they do, they could end up as a wild card. They likely would end up as a wild card and could face the Rangers again. I'm sorry, the Rangers, not the Rangers, the Astros, could face the Astros again. Yeah, so it's, I'm sure, just a lot of eye-rolling in the Yankees clubhouse.

Are you kidding me? We thought he was done. We were done facing him, except for a Subway series or a possible World Series, ha ha. The Mets turn around and ship him back to Houston right before the Yankees have to face him in a regular season series.

A four-game series at that, just what the doctor ordered. Do you feel like they must think that the Mets are doing it on purpose? I'm sure they're not thrilled with the Mets front office.

No, absolutely not. A little New York gamesmanship, maybe? We'll send him back to Houston, we'll take one of their top prospects, and we'll stick it to the Yankees all at the same time. That'll teach you Yankees for making jokes about how bad the Mets are right now in that high payroll. That'll show.

That's kind of goofy. Yeah, if you missed my conversation with Pete Caldera, he's with the Bergen record in the USA Today Network, has covered the Yankees for 20 years, and we talked to him about the state of the team right now, whether or not Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman keep their jobs if the season continues to go the way it has. The offense is a mess, though at least their bullpen is good. Bullpen's good.

They got a win from Garrett Cole against the Rays last night. But yeah, I asked him about Domingo Herrmann as well as about Justin Verlander returning to the AL, and certainly about the East division race, and it's worth noting that even the Yankees would be first place in the AL Central if division lines were different, but they're not. Ifs and buts. You know what happens when you fixate on ifs and buts and what ifs.

Oh, what ifs. It's right in front of us. I'm not going to tell you what Pete said. You have to go listen to what he said about Aaron Boone, and could this be the end of Aaron Boone in pinstripes?

Yeah, tomorrow's must win. On Twitter, ALawRadio, on our Facebook page as well, we might be, in fact I'll just go ahead and claim it, we're the only show in the entire United States of America running a Tom Brady poll right now, but do you know why? Well, I'll tell you. Coming up, it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast.

So here's the deal. I'm officially coming on board at Birmingham City Football Club. And maybe you're asking, what do you know about English football, Tom? Well, let's just say I got a lot to learn. But I do know a few things about winning, and I think they might translate pretty well. I know success starts with the work put in when the world isn't watching.

I know that a team is nothing without the city that shows up and stands. Betting 101, increasing one's bankroll. Take $200, deposit it at BetUS. Watch it grow to $450.

Now that is science. Sign up today at BetUS.com or call 1-800-79-BET-US. Be like me, bet for free! Most importantly, I know I like being the underdog. The road's been long for Birmingham, but these fans have never stopped believing. We've got a song that says, no matter what, you keep right on to the end of the road. And I'll be on that road with you. I'll see you at St. Andrews soon. It's time to get to work. Let's go.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. See, there's a reason why we have a Tom Brady poll in the middle of the summertime, the dog days of summer, when Tom Brady is not actually at training camp. Because he's tweeting during our show from across the pond.

It was kind of funny, actually. I discovered it. I came across this video that announced his partnership now with Birmingham City. And I said to producer Jay, wait, do you think it's a timed tweet by Tom Brady?

Or is he across the pond? And so then, as we're looking, he and JJ Watt start going back and forth on Twitter. Yes, it was definitely live. This was not a previously timed or canned video. They were hanging out online. They were.

Do you think they were sliding into each other's DMs? I'm kidding. I don't know where JJ Watt was, though, is the question.

Yeah, I don't either. But these two guys now enjoying the off-season I guess not the off-season, enjoying training camp when they don't have to be there. Both now retired and looking forward to other ventures. And for JJ Watt, first he told us he was working at CBS. And then obviously he decided CBS would be a better paycheck.

And so he moved on to the broadcast realm. Are you going to play it? I was thinking of a tweet I saw yesterday from JJ Watt.

No, you don't have to play it. But what do you say in his tweet? Today I woke up and had breakfast with my wife and son. Took a boat across the lake for lunch. Got a light workout in. Played a few holes of golf. And I'm about to enjoy dinner on the back patio. Might finish the day off with some s'mores around a bonfire. It's glorious. That was a response to what's it like not being at training camp right now. So he's doing all right. Yeah, that sounds glorious. I'll take that for a day in August.

Quite the day. All right, so the reason we're asking you about Tom Brady, the reason that we are the only sports show in the United States of America with a Tom Brady poll right now is because I started thinking he's got all these business ventures, right? The Las Vegas Aces who are reigning WNBA champions.

The Las Vegas Raiders. Now Birmingham City. He's got his production company. He's got his podcast.

Soon he'll be going into broadcasting with Fox in 2024. But I want to know if you're going to miss him on the football field this season. I am in the minority.

I voted yes. How many of you are going to miss Tom Brady on the football season? It's amazing how many fans are so thrilled to see him gone because he's no longer beating their teams, right?

Who are they going to hate now, you know? Brady has definitely been one of those guys that has had the last word and the last laugh for years and years, right? And fans have a healthy fear when Tom Brady's teams come to town. Right, exactly. Plus the rings.

I mean the rings are shiny from any angle. We want to know if you'll miss him on the football field. It does add a little extra drama when it's Tom Brady regardless of the uniform. So yeah, take that poll on Twitter. After our CBS, I retweeted.

It's also on our Facebook page. And yeah, some of you are downright snotty about it. Oh, he's not going away. Just like Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning? Eli Manning?

Have they stopped being relevant at any point? No. Hey guys, check it out.

Just made my first take-top. Peyton Manning freaking shows up at Green Bay Packers camp so that he can work with Jordan Love. This is the question that Jay and I were discussing earlier. Is there any team out there that can say to Peyton Manning, or to Tom Brady for that matter, Hey, we're kind of busy here. Can you? I'm learning to practice here, Peyton. Buzz off? What are you doing at our training camp?

Can you go away? It is funny how they just let him work in the huddle with Jordan Love and let him teach him like that. Forget everything we've been teaching you for the last few months in mini camps. Just listen to Peyton.

He's got you for this one day. He's Peyton Manning. Yeah.

No, I'm being serious. Sort of. Is there any place Peyton Manning can't go? Is he like the Tom Cruise of the NFL? He really is very versatile.

Think of any sports. He's not just limited to that. He does the pizza. He can go anywhere for food. He can go anywhere for maybe a fashion show I wouldn't see Peyton at. I could see Eli at one. Maybe.

Like fashion week in New York City or something. I don't think I'd see Peyton there. But would they tell him to leave? I don't think so.

No. Peyton can go anywhere he wants. He shows up in college football. He shows up in college basketball.

Anything to do, of course, with Tennessee, the volunteers. Didn't we see him not that long ago talking about, I think he was in New Orleans, talking about Derek Carr. Obviously his family is from there. His dad there.

So you've got that. Plus he just shows up randomly at all these different training camps. Maybe he's scouting for his upcoming season of the Monday Night Mannings. Trying to see the talent.

Or maybe for his new season of quarterbacks on Netflix. True. Good point. Okay. Yeah. And actually, maybe I just, I thought I heard this while I was gone.

They do have the quarterbacks picked out for the upcoming season, but do we know who they are? Have you seen any of the series? I watched the first episode. Yeah, I've been sort of borrowing someone's Netflix. I know that's against the law. I kind of forgot you have my Netflix.

What are you doing? Oh, I lied. Great. Now the secret's out. The FCC is coming after us or something. I don't know.

Anyway. Honestly, Netflix might have heard that. They might have heard that. They might be monitoring. They might have AI software that pinpoints any time Netflix is used. They probably do.

Do you think they bugged our studio and they know? Yeah, I think I just blew it for the both of us. Great. Okay.

Well, we'll see if it works when I try to get back on it myself. So it's Marcus Mariota, Kirk Cousins, and Patrick Mahomes, the subject of season one of quarterback. Have you figured out season two? I feel like I remember that they did announce some names, but I could be wrong. I think I heard Mahomes is coming back for season two. I know that Jalen Hurts denied it.

And I have a list here of other quarterbacks who have definitely said no. So we know it won't be. Wait until they see how popular. The season one is really popular. I guess they don't want the cameras around them at all times.

They kind of just want to do their own thing. I don't know. But here's the quarterbacks who definitely won't be. Joe Burrow, Justin Fields, Sam Howell, Jalen Hurts. Sam Howell. Sam Howell?

He doesn't want to do it. Okay. Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Geno Smith, and Tua.

Those guys definitely will not be on it. Huh. At least Derek Carr.

It does. I would take some Derek Carr. He's fiery. Daniel Jones? No, he's not fiery. Inside the life of Daniel Jones? I'm interested. Actually, I feel like Kirk Cousins has been a bit of a revelation.

I've really enjoyed seeing him on quarterback. But I won't be anymore because I'm no longer borrowing anyone's password. Thanks, Jay.

Well, we hope it works. We're about to get shut down. Our show's about to get shut down.

They're violating FCC regulations. How about Trevor Lawrence season two? Ooh, I would do that. Yeah, who else would you want to see? I'd take Trevor Lawrence. Well, Mahomes, he is interesting.

So him being on it again, I don't mind if there was going to be one of the three again. Justin Herbert, no. Russell Wilson, definitely no. We've got way too much of Russell Wilson out there. Carr would be okay. I think I'd like to see Justin Herbert for sure.

Except that Herbert doesn't talk much. Trevor Lawrence, okay. Josh Allen? Josh Allen could be cool.

Maybe a Kenny Pickett might be interesting. Alright, I like it. Alright, so some suggestions for quarterbacks.

Some suggestions for Peyton Manning. No, please don't do that to us. No, no. Well, we're going to see him on Hard Knocks, though. That's plenty.

I mean, that's more than plenty. I'm not borrowing anyone's HBO password, that's for sure. Nor am I borrowing anyone's Netflix password. I don't know what you're talking about. On Twitter, ALawRadio, take our poll.

Facebook too. Coming up, the NFC version of QB news. Because it's that time of the year again. Hall of Fame game tonight. In Canton, it's all happening.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Touchdown 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.

Alright, let's do this thing, shall we? We were just talking about how Peyton Manning goes wherever Peyton Manning pleases. And most recently, he was at Green Bay Packers camp.

Huh. Maybe Jordan Love is one of the subjects of the next season of quarterback. Anyway, Jordan talked about working with Peyton at Green Bay Packers practice. It was awesome seeing Peyton. That was the first thing I saw when I walked into the indoor for practice just to see him standing there. So it was awesome. Yeah, we talked for a good amount of time for practice and obviously talked to the whole team. We were able to ask him questions, things like that, just pick his brain.

But it was awesome having him here. He doesn't even announce that he's going to be there. Nobody knows. He just shows up. He takes the back door in and that's it.

Who's going to tell him to leave, really? That's the question. So what advice did Peyton give Jordan Love?

He had a lot of really good gems just in terms of taking notes, how you watch film. You know, when you're at home by yourself, are you writing down questions, things that you can, you know, come back, ask your coaches later. How are you asking to be coached? Like, are you guys that, you know, wants to be coached really hard? Are you guys that kind of just wants to be able to do your own thing?

And, you know, it all matters. He said that when he was a player, that was his biggest thing was he wanted to be coached really hard. He always wanted to be told what he was doing wrong and things like that.

I love this. And also one of my favorite bits they do on Monday Night Mannings is when Peyton says, Oh, well, I talked to this quarterback. I talked to this quarterback. And Eli rolls his eyes and laughs because Peyton always has to put that out there. Oh, I talked to this guy.

I talked to this guy. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Yeah, a lot of excitement and certainly a lot of intrigue around Jordan Love taking over as the starting quarterback for the Packers. But they lost to the Detroit Lions and Jared Goff at the end of last regular season because that game was flexed to Sunday Night Football. So here we've got the Lions who were actually in the spotlight.

There are a lot of analysts and experts looking at the Lions as a team to beat an NFC North contender this season. Yeah, exactly. Dan Campbell calls it the hype train. So Jared Goff, what about dealing with the higher expectations? To be honest, I don't think anything's changed, and I'm glad Dan brought it up when he did right away. Like, hey, guys, things are different for us externally, but it doesn't change who we are and whatnot. And to be honest, it feels like training camp felt last year. Like, you know, there's ups and downs. You're working through things.

You're trying to get better. And externally, sure, people are more excited. But for us, what we did last year has no credence to what we do this year. I've always thought this league is about runs. It's about getting on win streaks and hopefully not losing streaks. But some teams do, as we've seen. And because we were on a win streak last year, basically at the end of the year, it doesn't mean we're going to start on a win streak this year. So finding our way into that momentum will be the goal this year. What did they do, win eight of nine? I think to wrap up the season, something along those lines.

Did not make the playoffs, but they were sure the Packers weren't going to make it either. Who says we can't get flexed? See what I'm saying? Yeah, I'm all about it. I'm excited. He says people are excited. Count me among the people who are excited. They're not going back in the dumpers again.

Is that where we'll find the Chicago Bears? Actually, Justin Fields, who is healthy now, that's good news. He says, look at the other side of the ball because that defense is going to make a difference. I know because our offense is, you know, not doing what we need to do to drive the ball. I mean, it was tough out there today, you know, defense did the thing. I feel like the first three days we got them, but I mean, they definitely bounced back, you know, today. And I think yesterday was all right with us. But I mean, how I know they're going to be good is just going against them.

Yeah, that's a bummer. Although it does theoretically make you better if you're Justin Fields from the Bears offense. So that's the NFC North. Now, the NFC South is wide open. All new coaches, all new quarterbacks over the past season and a half, really. In the case of the Carolina Panthers, about seven different quarterbacks in the last two seasons, not to mention two different head coaches. Bryce Young going through his first practices as QB one and the overall number one draft pick to the Panthers.

But he has to adapt from college and Alabama to now Panthers in the NFL. It's a different operation for sure. You know, you go from, you know, signals and boards and no huddles. And then, you know, now, you know, you hear it in your helmet and then, you know, you're giving out, you're spitting out, you know, all the play calls.

You're making sure that you have command of the huddle, command of the offense, you know, taking ownership in how you break the huddle and making sure everything's lined up. And, you know, when you're in a new system, I mean, you know, that's different. That's definitely an adjustment. And, you know, there's obviously there's rules changes. There's rule changes, there are dynamic changes that are different from the NCAA to the NFL level. And then, you know, of course, just the day-to-day stuff.

Just the day-to-day stuff. Generally, you'll hear from veteran QBs that it takes two, sometimes three seasons for a rookie QB or a young QB to get fully acclimated, not just to the speed, which a lot of players tell me is the toughest jump from college to the NFL, but because the game is so much more complicated and because there's so much more happening and also because the defenders are, they're amazing. I mean, yeah, you've got a lot of amazing defenders at Alabama, but not an entire NFL team full of them. The defense is so much faster and stronger and up in your grill in the NFL. Oh, and of course, they love to teach rookie quarterbacks a lesson, so beware.

Man, I did not know that. Also in the NFC South, you've got a veteran receiver in Mike Evans who really had a connection with Tom Brady the last couple years, but it's either going to be Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask throwing him the ball in 23. They've both been having a really good camp, and we're all learning a new offense, and it's going to be much harder on quarterbacks, but they're making some really good plays.

They're both really mobile. They've both got really great arm talent, really good young players, so they're doing well right now, so I'm looking forward to seeing who gets the job. Every single time the Buccaneers come up on this show or in Jay and I's personal conversation, he repeats ferociously, Baker Mayfield is not getting this job. Baker Mayfield is losing this job. He is sure that Kyle Trask is going to be the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and actually Todd Bowles says that he's handling the scrambling fairly well. He's not Randall Cunningham, but he can get out the pocket some. I don't expect him to run down the field and beat Lamar Jackson, but he can use his legs when he needs to use them to get out of trouble. I like the two references, Randall Cunningham and Lamar Jackson. Does that mean that Baker Mayfield is not doing particularly well when it comes to scrambling out of the pocket? We also know that Baker Mayfield is not Lamar Jackson.

I'm not even sure I need to say that. After hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio, Michael Thomas got a new QB himself in Derek Carr, and guess what, he actually helped to recruit Derek to New Orleans. We just had real honest conversations, just letting him know that if he came to play, we would put the honest on us as an offense to get him to where he wants to go and allow him to chase his dream. Ultimately, he wants to win the Super Bowl and he wants to be Hall of Famer and be that top quarterback in this league, so he has to have the right support and cast to be able to do that. I just told him how close our group was as a receiver group, how much talent we have, and if we plug him in, how much success we could create. I know he was kind of talking to a couple of other teams, but I probably said some other stuff to him, but it worked. He has been cleared to practice, referring to Michael Thomas here, which is good because I want to see what he can do with the Saints being fully healthy, and he's really only said I'm trending in the right direction.

That was the quote from Michael Thomas, kind of going one day at a time. He's been gone for nearly two full seasons, and a lot has changed with the Saints, the coach, the quarterback, since he was gone, making those comments on NFL Network. So yeah, a lot of changes inside the NFC South. That includes the Atlanta Falcons, who did hand over the reins to Desmond Ritter late. But obviously he's going into his first full season as a starter, and I'm not sure if you all saw the comments from owner Arthur Blank, but he said publicly this week that he believes in Desmond as the future of the franchise, the future of the franchise at quarterback. I'm sure that was a confidence boost for the young QB. That's comforting for me, obviously knowing that Mr. Blank and everyone in the organization believes in me and my skill set.

And then at the end of the day for myself, it's about putting a higher expectation, even what they have for myself, and going out and trying to exceed that and be better. Hey, Jay, do you remember who the backup quarterback in Atlanta is now? Oh, my gosh. Seriously, it's this kind of stuff that I have to get back into football mode before I can remember, because I don't use this info on a daily basis.

But, yeah, I was reading it last night, and I was like, oh, I forgot he went there. What's it start with? A T. No, I won't get it.

For the sake of time, tell me. Taylor Heinecke. Wow, that's where he went. I forgot.

Totally forgot, yeah. And so I was reading it yesterday in this Desmond Ritter story and was like, oh, my gosh, that's jarring. Could you imagine Taylor Heinecke takes over for Desmond Ritter? You can't keep that guy down.

Yes, you said. It's after hours, CBS Sports Radio. Hey, talking about Washington, Taylor Heinecke's former team, Sam Howell is now the QB one. Everyone loves him, too.

I mean, they're raving about him in the nation's capital. But does he feel pressure knowing that a lot of what happens with the team this year depends on how he plays? I'm not too worried about, like, making other people happy. Obviously, I want to make my teammates feel like they can trust me and are confident in me. But it starts from me being very confident in my own abilities and having very high standards for myself and just holding myself to that high standard. And I think my teammates see that. And I just try to come in here every day and just try to do my best and try to give my teammates everything I got. And I think they've been able to see that so far. And I play with some really good guys, especially my skill guys on offense management, talented guys. And they hear from me all the time. All I'm trying to do is just try to help them, try to get the ball in their hands and try to do it. I'm going to give this team, this organization everything I got.

And I just try to come in here and prove it every day. New York Giants in that same division. Eagles in the division with Jalen Hurts. You've got Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, Sam Howell, and Daniel Jones. Three of whom have gotten paid. And then there's Sam Howell.

Interesting. Who is the most hyped right now? Do we have time for Isaiah? Isaiah Hodgins. He knew a different Daniel Jones before he joined the Giants. He's a tall, strong quarterback. We used to always talk about him and comparing to Josh Allen and stuff. We definitely knew he had the physical traits and stuff.

And coming here, I was able to see the mental side and his preparation and work ethic and stuff. He's the full package. I think he's a great quarterback. I'll ride and die about him.

How about that? That's a strong endorsement of DJ. Hodgins a wide receiver for the Giants now as they're trying to put weapons around Daniel Jones. I kind of feel like he's a mini-me of Eli Manning. Or maybe he just plays one in front of the microphones. Stumbles down at the 15.

He could not get there. That's just mean. We had to wrap up our show with Daniel Jones' most embarrassing moment on Westwood 1 on Monday Night Football. All right, we'll talk to you tonight. Enjoy the preseason game. It's after hours, CBS Sports Radio. Boom!