August 29, 2025 • 9 mins
Mitch Lyons joins the show to react to the blockbuster Micah Parsons trade and looks ahead to the Michigan State Football season as they kickoff Friday night.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Corners really aren't very good. Safeties are good now. Their
pass rush is much better than it was a year
ago because they've traded for Michael Parsons. Interested to get
the perspective of NFL vets, including Mitch Lyons, who joins
as Mitch Lions Wealth dot com mondays with Mitch seven eighteen.
We'll get to the Michigan State Western game that the
(00:20):
matchup is later on today at Spartan Stadium. But Mitch,
we appreciate it on this Friday morning. You're pulling double
duty for us this week. I hope you don't mind
love talking football with you. Want your thoughts. Initially when
you heard Micah Parsons was traded from Dallas to green Bay.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Thanks for having me, shep, and my initial thoughts were,
what are you doing? Jerry Jones? Are you nuts? So?
I don't know, man, I mean unbelievable. You know, it's
a once in a generation type player and he's twenty
six years old in the prime and you're going to
let him walk. It's unbelievable. And yes, you get two
first round picks, which you know Green Bay's as good
as they hope to be now an't going to be
(00:59):
the high of picks and what are you hoping to
get with those picks? And Micah Parsons you had him.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I don't get it how much from if you're a
player on that team, and I know you're not in
their locker room, but you've been in those locker rooms.
If you're a player on that team and you see
your best player traded, what's the immediate thought?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Are we trying to win or not? I mean, that's it.
I mean, you just traded your best player. How committed
to winning? Does that come across in the locker room?
Not very? I mean that's just as a team, it's
a it's a gut punch because you just took your
best player off the field defensively and not not what
you know. So yeah, it's not it's not good. I
mean it's well, it be interesting to see the Cowboys
(01:40):
season how it unfolds.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Give me the reasons why you think Green Bay now
becomes the favorite in the NFC North.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I don't know that they're the favorite. I still like
the Lions, but you know, obviously having that kind of
an impact player who listen to his quarterbacks, and there's
people that can get after the quarterback that's what makes
this league goes around. That's what people are going to
pay the most money for. That's what the league is
built on. His passing game. And then having a guy
with his caliber, you know, to put pressure on those
opposing quarterbacks is huge across the defense, not just at
(02:08):
that position. You help every single position on the on
the field by being able to put pressure on So
I think it obviously Elvi said defense clearly, are they
the favorite? I mean, I don't know about that. I
mean they obviously, you know, struggle to win games in
the division last year. Does that change overnight with one
player We'll find out. And the other thing is is
he has not played football in a while here, you know,
(02:29):
and that's a little I know he's in great Jap's
as incredible physical speci and then but that that's a
you know, as I look at that first week game,
that's a little different when you start having people banging
against you and whatnot and you're not used to it.
You know, the chance of maybe an injury, a little
muscle pull something like that is higher in that situation.
So that's something to watch for too.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Nflve Mitch Lyons joining us here on exs and bros.
Follow him on Mitch Lyonswealth dot com and of course
you can follow him on Twitter. M Line's eighty five
as well. But call Mitchellonswealth dot com eight sixty six
eighty five steel fourth time that the edge rusher position
has been reset in this twenty twenty five season. If
(03:12):
you go from Max Crosby, Miles Garrett, TJ. Watt, Trey
Hendrickson was not an extension, it was just an add on.
And now the one hundred and eighty eight million dollars
with one hundred and thirty six guaranteed from Michael Parsons.
To your point, it's about throwing the football and getting
after the guys who do throw the football. What do
you think that means for Aiden Hutchinson.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Oh, nobody's got a bigger smile on his face in
Aiden Hutchinson today, Right every time that every time that
bargets raised. I mean, that guy is in for a
huge payday and I'm sure he's excited about it. You know,
the guy that probably doesn't have a big smile on
his face as Taylor Decker, but you've got to face
him a couple times. But yeah, no, a listen Aidan's
(03:52):
going to get paid. Everybody knows that. That's what's comical
to me about Jerry Jones is it's like, Okay, you
offered him forty you're saying in private negotiations with the player,
which is also unheard of. You know, generally players like
to have some representation with them. I think that's fair
and the players Union would agree with that. But so
you're going to pay him forty and instead he's getting
forty seven. So forty seven is going to be a
(04:12):
deal in two years when guys are making Layden's making
fifty five or the next guy's making sixty. So I
just I can't understand it, but it is what it is,
So here we go. But Jerry Jones, that is best
was always a surprise and always in the news, not
always for the right reasons, I guess, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
And of course the forty seven includes the one year
that Dallas has owed to him this year, so there's
that involvement too. I don't know if this is the
new standard and if Aden Hutchinson goes over that, but
you're right. I mean, no one's got a bigger smile
on their face than Hutchinson and his representatives let me
dive into college football. Michigan State begins their season tonight.
(04:49):
They do so against Western Michigan fifteen to two, old
time against the Broncos who went six and seven a
year ago and have thirty three transfers. What is your
expect for Michigan State this year?
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Well, the expectation is that we're going to be better
on the line. Now. Whether it happens or not, we're
going to find out. And I'm really looking forward to
watching that. The line of scrimmage is where it's at,
and we were woeful to put it bluntly on both
sides of the ball last year at those at those
critical positions. So that's the first thing I'm looking for.
Can we move the ball or we knock can people
off football? Establishing a run game? Are you giving child's
(05:24):
time to sit back there in the pocket and survey
the field or is he going to be running for
his life? So that's the first thing. But the other
thing is is college football? I mean you touch start
talking thirty three transfers. Who knows what each team is
going to look like each year?
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Right?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
This is crazy like Pro football with crazy free agency
is what this is. And so year to year. Who knows,
Westbreak could come in and you know, maybe they've got
an unbelievable team because it's a total different team than
last year. And the same thing can be said of
most college teams because there's so much turnover. So the
early season for the Spartans is critical. They've got to
start off, you know, with some positive wins and then
(05:59):
get moment I'm.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Going, what's the most challenging thing for coaches in the
first game of a year?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Do you think, ooh boy, in this day and age,
I think just trying to make sure all these all
this change that's happened in year to year. He's getting
guys to gel, you know, getting getting guys syncd up.
You never really know when you know, as I say,
when the bullets are flying in the war zone on
the on the field there, how guys are going to react.
And some of these guys haven't been in haven't been
(06:27):
in Sparns Stadium having maybe they're younger players that are
just now getting their first start. So that's the biggest
thing is trying to get guys gent and make sure
we're all on the same page and then cut down
and try to limit the mental errors for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You know, it's interesting because Jonathan Smith is got a
team that not many people are paying attention to. I
mean people are looking at Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon
in the Big Ten primarily. All right, how does he
use that to his advantage, if at all, to try
and I don't want to say sneak up on people,
because you don't do that in football. You get a
(06:59):
whole week to look at film and recognize it. Okay,
maybe sneak up on fans, but not sneaking up on
coaches and other players. Right, how do you take advantage
of that if if you're he and his staff.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Well, I think you know it is what it is, right,
you're not taking very serious because quite frankly, you weren't
a very serious team last year. You know, you had
a lot of weaknesses. So I mean you got to
have that ship on your shoulder as a competitor. Number one. Hey,
I don't want to be disrespected, So I think that
that's there. You know, maybe maybe they feel like they're
better than they are, but you are what you are
until you prove otherwise, Right, Dennis Green, we are who
(07:34):
you know, they are who we thought they were, you know,
that that's the thing until you prove us differently, Michigan, stay,
you are who we thought you were, You are who
you were last year until you prove otherwise. And you
know so that as a competitor, though, man, you want
to prove that, right? Do you want to go out
and show that, Hey, I'm not the seventh best or
tenth best guy at my position in the league.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
I'm the best?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
You know? So you better have that. And if you don't
have that as a as an athlete, you know who,
the whole team's in trouble. But I think you definitely
can use it as an advantage. I don't know that
you're preaching it, you know, maybe in the locker room saying,
look O, they're disrespecting this. Bottom line is they have goals,
they have standards they want to live up to, and
that's what Jonathan's got to hold them to.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah, Aiden Childs has got to lead an offense that
ranked one hundred and tenth overall last year in total
yards and one hundred and twenty third out of one
hundred and thirty three team in points per game. Too
many picks that from a year ago, But in fairness
to him, all eleven game in the first nine games,
(08:32):
not that that should matter a whole lot. Protecting the
football is going to be vital for them this year.
What else do you think is most important for them
to be successful?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Well, I mean, again, turnovers happen. It's such at that
position when you're throwing them all away a lot of
times because you're under duress. I mean, you've better protect
them better. You've got to and you've got to establish
a run and you can't put it all on him, right, Yeah,
I mean those numbers you just said, you're not going
to be a very good program. If you're one hundred
and twenty third Division one, that's that's you know, if
you're not running the ball, if you're not protecting the quarterback,
(09:05):
all it all runs together. Obviously, the quarterbacks the lightning rod,
and people are going to look to that when he's
throwing picks, but oftentimes the film reveals another story. You know,
the receiver didn't run his route exactly right, or you know,
somebody missed the block, somebody got in the quarterbacks face
as he's throwing it. That kind of thing. So that's
why they get paid the big dollars. But he's got
to be better. He knows that, but they've got to
(09:26):
be better around him. And then, protecting the football is
number one. Number one in football. You hand the ball over,
you lose more times than you don't.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Right. Well, for what it's worth, Western allowed thirty one
points per game last year, among the worst in college football.
They do have. Of the thirty three transfers, fifteen coming
on the defensive side of the ball. I know you'll
be there. I know you've been rooting them on. We'll
be rooting them on from Afar as well. Mitch, have
a great weekend. All the best to you and your
family on this holiday weekend. And good luck to the
Spartans tonight.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah. Good Happy holidays everybody, and God bless America. Take care.
Corners really aren't very good. Safeties are good now. Their
pass rush is much better than it was a year
ago because they've traded for Michael Parsons. Interested to get
the perspective of NFL vets, including Mitch Lyons, who joins
as Mitch Lions Wealth dot com mondays with Mitch seven eighteen.
We'll get to the Michigan State Western game that the
(00:20):
matchup is later on today at Spartan Stadium. But Mitch,
we appreciate it on this Friday morning. You're pulling double
duty for us this week. I hope you don't mind
love talking football with you. Want your thoughts. Initially when
you heard Micah Parsons was traded from Dallas to green Bay.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Thanks for having me, shep, and my initial thoughts were,
what are you doing? Jerry Jones? Are you nuts? So?
I don't know, man, I mean unbelievable. You know, it's
a once in a generation type player and he's twenty
six years old in the prime and you're going to
let him walk. It's unbelievable. And yes, you get two
first round picks, which you know Green Bay's as good
as they hope to be now an't going to be
(00:59):
the high of picks and what are you hoping to
get with those picks? And Micah Parsons you had him.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
I don't get it how much from if you're a
player on that team, and I know you're not in
their locker room, but you've been in those locker rooms.
If you're a player on that team and you see
your best player traded, what's the immediate thought?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Are we trying to win or not? I mean, that's it.
I mean, you just traded your best player. How committed
to winning? Does that come across in the locker room?
Not very? I mean that's just as a team, it's
a it's a gut punch because you just took your
best player off the field defensively and not not what
you know. So yeah, it's not it's not good. I
mean it's well, it be interesting to see the Cowboys
(01:40):
season how it unfolds.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Give me the reasons why you think Green Bay now
becomes the favorite in the NFC North.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I don't know that they're the favorite. I still like
the Lions, but you know, obviously having that kind of
an impact player who listen to his quarterbacks, and there's
people that can get after the quarterback that's what makes
this league goes around. That's what people are going to
pay the most money for. That's what the league is
built on. His passing game. And then having a guy
with his caliber, you know, to put pressure on those
opposing quarterbacks is huge across the defense, not just at
(02:08):
that position. You help every single position on the on
the field by being able to put pressure on So
I think it obviously Elvi said defense clearly, are they
the favorite? I mean, I don't know about that. I
mean they obviously, you know, struggle to win games in
the division last year. Does that change overnight with one
player We'll find out. And the other thing is is
he has not played football in a while here, you know,
(02:29):
and that's a little I know he's in great Jap's
as incredible physical speci and then but that that's a
you know, as I look at that first week game,
that's a little different when you start having people banging
against you and whatnot and you're not used to it.
You know, the chance of maybe an injury, a little
muscle pull something like that is higher in that situation.
So that's something to watch for too.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Nflve Mitch Lyons joining us here on exs and bros.
Follow him on Mitch Lyonswealth dot com and of course
you can follow him on Twitter. M Line's eighty five
as well. But call Mitchellonswealth dot com eight sixty six
eighty five steel fourth time that the edge rusher position
has been reset in this twenty twenty five season. If
(03:12):
you go from Max Crosby, Miles Garrett, TJ. Watt, Trey
Hendrickson was not an extension, it was just an add on.
And now the one hundred and eighty eight million dollars
with one hundred and thirty six guaranteed from Michael Parsons.
To your point, it's about throwing the football and getting
after the guys who do throw the football. What do
you think that means for Aiden Hutchinson.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Oh, nobody's got a bigger smile on his face in
Aiden Hutchinson today, Right every time that every time that
bargets raised. I mean, that guy is in for a
huge payday and I'm sure he's excited about it. You know,
the guy that probably doesn't have a big smile on
his face as Taylor Decker, but you've got to face
him a couple times. But yeah, no, a listen Aidan's
(03:52):
going to get paid. Everybody knows that. That's what's comical
to me about Jerry Jones is it's like, Okay, you
offered him forty you're saying in private negotiations with the player,
which is also unheard of. You know, generally players like
to have some representation with them. I think that's fair
and the players Union would agree with that. But so
you're going to pay him forty and instead he's getting
forty seven. So forty seven is going to be a
(04:12):
deal in two years when guys are making Layden's making
fifty five or the next guy's making sixty. So I
just I can't understand it, but it is what it is,
So here we go. But Jerry Jones, that is best
was always a surprise and always in the news, not
always for the right reasons, I guess, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
And of course the forty seven includes the one year
that Dallas has owed to him this year, so there's
that involvement too. I don't know if this is the
new standard and if Aden Hutchinson goes over that, but
you're right. I mean, no one's got a bigger smile
on their face than Hutchinson and his representatives let me
dive into college football. Michigan State begins their season tonight.
(04:49):
They do so against Western Michigan fifteen to two, old
time against the Broncos who went six and seven a
year ago and have thirty three transfers. What is your
expect for Michigan State this year?
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Well, the expectation is that we're going to be better
on the line. Now. Whether it happens or not, we're
going to find out. And I'm really looking forward to
watching that. The line of scrimmage is where it's at,
and we were woeful to put it bluntly on both
sides of the ball last year at those at those
critical positions. So that's the first thing I'm looking for.
Can we move the ball or we knock can people
off football? Establishing a run game? Are you giving child's
(05:24):
time to sit back there in the pocket and survey
the field or is he going to be running for
his life? So that's the first thing. But the other
thing is is college football? I mean you touch start
talking thirty three transfers. Who knows what each team is
going to look like each year?
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Right?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
This is crazy like Pro football with crazy free agency
is what this is. And so year to year. Who knows,
Westbreak could come in and you know, maybe they've got
an unbelievable team because it's a total different team than
last year. And the same thing can be said of
most college teams because there's so much turnover. So the
early season for the Spartans is critical. They've got to
start off, you know, with some positive wins and then
(05:59):
get moment I'm.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Going, what's the most challenging thing for coaches in the
first game of a year?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Do you think, ooh boy, in this day and age,
I think just trying to make sure all these all
this change that's happened in year to year. He's getting
guys to gel, you know, getting getting guys syncd up.
You never really know when you know, as I say,
when the bullets are flying in the war zone on
the on the field there, how guys are going to react.
And some of these guys haven't been in haven't been
(06:27):
in Sparns Stadium having maybe they're younger players that are
just now getting their first start. So that's the biggest
thing is trying to get guys gent and make sure
we're all on the same page and then cut down
and try to limit the mental errors for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You know, it's interesting because Jonathan Smith is got a
team that not many people are paying attention to. I
mean people are looking at Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon
in the Big Ten primarily. All right, how does he
use that to his advantage, if at all, to try
and I don't want to say sneak up on people,
because you don't do that in football. You get a
(06:59):
whole week to look at film and recognize it. Okay,
maybe sneak up on fans, but not sneaking up on
coaches and other players. Right, how do you take advantage
of that if if you're he and his staff.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Well, I think you know it is what it is, right,
you're not taking very serious because quite frankly, you weren't
a very serious team last year. You know, you had
a lot of weaknesses. So I mean you got to
have that ship on your shoulder as a competitor. Number one. Hey,
I don't want to be disrespected, So I think that
that's there. You know, maybe maybe they feel like they're
better than they are, but you are what you are
until you prove otherwise, Right, Dennis Green, we are who
(07:34):
you know, they are who we thought they were, you know,
that that's the thing until you prove us differently, Michigan, stay,
you are who we thought you were, You are who
you were last year until you prove otherwise. And you
know so that as a competitor, though, man, you want
to prove that, right? Do you want to go out
and show that, Hey, I'm not the seventh best or
tenth best guy at my position in the league.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
I'm the best?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
You know? So you better have that. And if you don't
have that as a as an athlete, you know who,
the whole team's in trouble. But I think you definitely
can use it as an advantage. I don't know that
you're preaching it, you know, maybe in the locker room saying,
look O, they're disrespecting this. Bottom line is they have goals,
they have standards they want to live up to, and
that's what Jonathan's got to hold them to.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah, Aiden Childs has got to lead an offense that
ranked one hundred and tenth overall last year in total
yards and one hundred and twenty third out of one
hundred and thirty three team in points per game. Too
many picks that from a year ago, But in fairness
to him, all eleven game in the first nine games,
(08:32):
not that that should matter a whole lot. Protecting the
football is going to be vital for them this year.
What else do you think is most important for them
to be successful?
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Well, I mean, again, turnovers happen. It's such at that
position when you're throwing them all away a lot of
times because you're under duress. I mean, you've better protect
them better. You've got to and you've got to establish
a run and you can't put it all on him, right, Yeah,
I mean those numbers you just said, you're not going
to be a very good program. If you're one hundred
and twenty third Division one, that's that's you know, if
you're not running the ball, if you're not protecting the quarterback,
(09:05):
all it all runs together. Obviously, the quarterbacks the lightning rod,
and people are going to look to that when he's
throwing picks, but oftentimes the film reveals another story. You know,
the receiver didn't run his route exactly right, or you know,
somebody missed the block, somebody got in the quarterbacks face
as he's throwing it. That kind of thing. So that's
why they get paid the big dollars. But he's got
to be better. He knows that, but they've got to
(09:26):
be better around him. And then, protecting the football is
number one. Number one in football. You hand the ball over,
you lose more times than you don't.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Right. Well, for what it's worth, Western allowed thirty one
points per game last year, among the worst in college football.
They do have. Of the thirty three transfers, fifteen coming
on the defensive side of the ball. I know you'll
be there. I know you've been rooting them on. We'll
be rooting them on from Afar as well. Mitch, have
a great weekend. All the best to you and your
family on this holiday weekend. And good luck to the
Spartans tonight.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah. Good Happy holidays everybody, and God bless America. Take care.
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