September 1, 2026 • 37 mins
Jason Smith and Mike Harmon celebrated Jalen Brunson’s 30th birthday. The guys debated if Aaron Donald would be irrelevant for the Rams by the end of the season. NFL Insider Jason La Canfora joined the show to chat about all the big goings on. And who had the biggest sports weekend?
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight,
10 p.m.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
To 2 a.m.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Eastern, 7 to 11 p.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio.
Find your local station for the Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon at foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every night
on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Hello, welcome inside. Happy Monday. Jason Smith Show with my
best friend, Mike Harmon.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Well-dressed hobo.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for the show.
Just search Jason Smith Show within YouTube. Again, that's Jason
Smith Show. Hit the subscribe button, then tap the thumbs
up icon. Comment away, agree or disagree. Let us know
what you think. Again, just search Jason Smith Show on
YouTube and subscribe. We have a lot of big NFL
to get to. It's a big weekend, cut-down day, people
(00:57):
signing waivers. However, we have a very important birthday to
get to here. Alex, tie your shirt. When the King
of New York turns 30, we say happy birthday, Jalen Brunson.
Look at him. He's the King of New York. He's
30 years old. Happy birthday.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So is that the tipping point? Was that as good
as it gets? It doesn't matter. We won. It's a
forever championship.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Steve Desegar already told him he needs to lead every
update with wishing Jalen Brunson a happy birthday. Our bosses
called down and said, make sure you do that. I said, okay,
I'll make sure to tell Steve Desegar that.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
We're all good to go. Other celebrities celebrating a birthday today.
77 years old. Richard Gere. No, they're all irrelevant. Wrestler
Jeff Hardy. No, there's one birthday today. It's Jalen Brunson.
There is one birthday. Sarah Ramirez of Grey's Anatomy. Doesn't matter.
There was one birthday yesterday. Mikal Bridges, happy birthday. There's
one birthday. Sauce Gardner's 26. Doesn't matter. Where does he play?
He's got a cheese head in the picture that they
(01:55):
used for him here. One birthday today. Bunch of YouTubers.
Larry Hankin. One birthday. A neighbor from Friends. He's 86.
None of these matter. The King of New York. James Coburn.
The King of New York.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
What?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
He'd be, what, 110? James Coburn? He'd be, uh.
He was always... He'd be 98. I will say this.
Every movie James Coburn was in, he was always so menacing.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
You didn't know what... Even when he was a good guy,
you didn't know what something bad was going to come.
But I'm a good guy. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Scary, man.
Something crazy is going to happen here. Look at that guy.
Keep an eye on him. I'll give you a little
bit of James Coburn. It's Jalen Brunson's birthday today. That's it.
You want to do a Chris Tucker impression?
Speaker 4 (02:35):
No.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
He's 55 today. No, it doesn't matter. Do you understand?
I wasn't in a movie for like 20 years.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
No.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
No, no, no, no, no. One birthday. Jalen Brunson. August 31st.
He's 30 years old. Well, it's only appropriate that we
celebrate his birthday because that damn Danhausen shirt finally showed up.
After two months and a couple of days.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah, your Danhausen uncursed Knicks t-shirt with his picture on
the back. Yeah, the Knicks won 79 days ago.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
79 days ago. And the t-shirt just got here. Well,
there you go.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
My OG Anunobi finals jersey. It will be here by 2028.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Do not worry. You said it is a forever title.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Yes, it is.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Forever shipping on a t-shirt, too. But there it is.
When I get it, I get it. When I get it,
I get it. This day.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Who knew someone could have tapped me on the shoulder
and said, Jason, hey, today is August 31st, 1996.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, that's great. What do I care? What do I
care about this?
Speaker 1 (03:25):
I want to let you know, the guy who is
going to lead the Knicks... to an NBA championship was
born today.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Really? Yes.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Wait a minute.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Is there a new thing in the NBA where they
can play when they're like seven or eight years old?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
No.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
No, no. What's it going to happen? Okay, when he's
like 22, 23?
Speaker 5 (03:42):
No.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
It's going to be close to 30. So I got
to wait 30 years.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Okay. All right. What happened? I'm like the lanterns. I've
got to wait.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
I've got to wait 30 years to name the next
Green Lantern. I've got to hang out and wait. Okay,
I'm just going to wait a minute.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Is that how long I'm going to wait for a
good episode? I wonder if... Yeah, something has to happen.
Watch the first couple of those.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Although I've been working on my Kyle Chandler impression.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Oh, have you?
Speaker 1 (04:11):
You would think that I would have one after Friday
Night Lights. No, I would have thought you'd have one
perfected by now. But I wonder if on August 31st, 1996,
I felt a great disturbance in the force.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Like, ugh.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Something has just happened. I don't know what it is.
Something has just happened. I don't know what. Maybe later on,
something has just happened. Hit you back and rewind as
a teenager. Now here it is. But as a teenager,
the wind blowing might have given you a disturbance in
the force. There it is. You know, in those prime years.
A champion was just born. A champion, I tell you.
(04:42):
The champion of champions. He was just born. You're like
a New York prophet. In the book of Knicks. All right. Now,
before you get to the NFL, can I give you
my Kyle Chandler? Oh, please. Yeah, no. Everybody, you know,
if you're watching Lanterns, maybe you watched Friday Night Lights.
(05:02):
Maybe you were watching, what was that, early edition way
back in the day?
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Well, I mean, Friday Night Lights, he's had a big career.
He's been around a long time. But do you think
I would have a Kyle Chandler?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Fun box, baby.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
I love Friday Night Lights so much. One of my
favorite TV shows of all time. You would think I
would have a Kyle Chandler impression like 15 years ago,
but it just hit me last night at the end.
And I kept doing it. And Zoe said, Dad, stop that.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Stop it. So today I woke up. I just smiled.
So Zoe feels like tight shirt and I have low
these many years. Just stop. I just smiled at her.
And she just goes, don't do it, Dad. Don't do it.
There you go. All right, here we go. Dude, you
got a dart in your neck. It's a quick one.
It's a quick one. Yeah, it's a quick one. And
it is from Lanterns. Okay. So it is Kyle Chandler
(05:45):
from Lanterns. 2026 Kyle Chandler. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Here we go. Hiya, Junior.
Hal Jordan. There you go. That's it. Not terrible. Hiya, Junior.
Hal Jordan. No, that's pretty good. That's a pretty good one.
Not bad. Walking around the house going, Hiya, Junior. Hiya, Junior.
Hal Jordan. See, I want to extend my watching of
(06:07):
the DC universe with this. Yeah, yeah. They're making it
really hard.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Yeah, no, no.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Because I've given everything a shot. I've watched the black
and white versions of all those films.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Yeah, no, no.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
The extended versions of all those films. Too many. I've
watched Gal Gadot again. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the first
couple episodes of this. Yeah, the first episode was really good.
Not bringing me. The last two were really boring.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
They're really boring.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
They're really boring. They're really boring. I might go see
that Wile E. Coyote movie again. Al Jordan. Al Jordan.
Al Jordan. Al Jordan. Al Jordan.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Al Jordan.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
See, it gets better the more I say it. Like,
it's just like, bust it right out. But, Al Jordan. Hey,
your ring's at 5%, buddy. Al Jordan. See, now he's
got a new obsession. Take that one, Caliendo.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Well, he's got a Kyle Chandler lanterns impression. I'm very
close to my Brad Childress. So, cut down day in
the NFL. Yep. Over the weekend, we saw the waiver
priority today. Many new players changing places. We'll have more
on that. But obviously, the big news of the weekend,
Aaron Donald has returned.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Returned to the Rams.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
One year, $ 20 million, which is way more than I
thought he was going to get.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Well, remember, they had still owed him money, so they
had to do some writing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll do this.
But let me tell you this. And, boy, this is
going to be a hot take.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Aaron Donald will be largely irrelevant for the Rams this year.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Really?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
He will be for a couple of reasons. That's a
bold proclamation, buddy. He will be largely irrelevant, right?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Now, obviously, I can feel the Frankenstein with the pitchforks.
Here's why he will be irrelevant, right? If he does
come back, we said, what's the smartest thing? Slow play it,
play him in the middle of the season to the
end because the guy's 35 and he's been out of
the league for two years. Do you really think he's
going to make it through a whole season? Okay, do
you really think that's going to happen, right? So if
(07:58):
you're going to do it, you're going to slow play it,
let him train, let him come back, let him hit
his peak somewhere in December, right? Let him come back sometime,
let him practice, come back, but now, but you're paying
him $ 20 million, he's going to come back now. The guy, again,
has been retired for two years. He was the best
defensive player in the NFL. The last 15 years in
the NFL, the list of best defensive players is two
(08:19):
people long. It was Darrell Rivas, and then it was
Aaron Donald. Aaron Donald, for the better part of a decade,
the guy was the best defensive player in the NFL.
But just ask Michael Jordan when you're away from the
game for a couple years and you're coming back when
you're 35 years old. How is that going to go?
Donald was great, but he's not NFL trained. He's coming
back now. He's going to try to play all year.
The likelihood of injury is never greater than it is
(08:42):
when a guy older tries to come back and tries
to play in the NFL again. Like all of these
things are going to happen. How long is he going
to be good for until he runs out of steam?
That's the other part why I say he's going to
be irrelevant is that if you wanted to save him
for the end of the year, if you wanted him
to come back midway through, because.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
How many games are you really going to have him for?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Really?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
He's not going to play 17 games and be great
and be the top. No, yes, he's going to play
on reputation. He will have a little bit of a
peak sometime in his third or fourth game, and then
very quickly it's going to be, wow, Aaron Donald has disappeared.
And Miles Garrett will still be getting sack after sack
because he's the best player in the NFL defensive-wise. He's
going to have 20 sacks. It doesn't matter who he's
got around him. It doesn't matter if Aaron Donald's next
(09:22):
to him. I'm sure it will be a little bit
easier for him in the beginning because, wow, what are
we going to do? But overall, how much do you
really think Aaron Donald has? And I know people are
going to blow past that and go, but he was
the best. He's coming back.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, I get it. the name aaron donald is great
i could say the name wayne gretzky wow it's great
but he's not coming back to play because he's 70
okay it's not happening he.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Can still score 25 goals in today's game the the
bottom line is that again looking at the back of
a guy's football card and saying he's going to be
great out of the nfl for two years playing a
very physical position now you're asking him to come back
you're going to ask him to play all season and
you're going to hope he doesn't get hurt.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Like, those things, none of that is going to shake
well and suddenly here's Aaron Donald. You need more safeguards
that are in place for it, and right now it
doesn't look like that's going to happen. So, yeah, he's
going to wind up being irrelevant by the end of
the season for the Rams unless they change how they're
going to deploy him, how they're going to use him,
keep him fresh. Again, if he was only getting paid
(10:21):
a couple million dollars a year, I'd say, okay, well,
he's only going to play a couple of downs.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
But $ 20 million.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
You're going to be out there every down, right? This
is not, eh, you'll be a situational guy. No, you're
going to be out there a lot. And so that's
what's going to happen. And again, by the time we
get to the middle of the season, we're not going
to talk about Aaron Donald. We'll be talking about other things.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
It's going to be, boy, whatever happened.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
And teams are going to go, oh, we can handle
him now. Again, 35, out of the game for a
couple of years. How much is he really going to
have left? I'm just going by... How everybody who has
tried to leave a sport and then come back after
a couple years has tried to do it. Even the
best who have ever done it. Michael Jordan, he was
away for a couple years, had to come back with
the Wizards. The guys didn't even like him. Rip Hamilton
(11:01):
wouldn't even say good things about him when he was
playing there. And Michael Jordan found it a lot tougher.
This is going to be the same kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
He was the best. He was great. He retired.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
He's gone for two years. The first Monday night game
two years ago, he's sleeping on his couch, right? When
the Rams were defending their Super Bowl title, and his
wife put a picture of him sleeping on his couch.
He will be largely irrelevant for the Rams by the
end of the season.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, I think there's just the way to ramp it up,
and obviously making the trip to Australia is the report, right?
83-84 quarterback pressures the last time out, pro football focus
with that. You remember at its height, right? And it's
a couple years later, could tell me he's in the
best shape of his life, all of that fun stuff
(11:44):
that we do time and again. I kind of look
at it from the, and he's going to want to, right?
And he's going to want to show I'm still the biggest,
baddest guy in the neighborhood. I'm going to tie it
to one of the baseball stories that we're watching nationally
and certainly here where we reside in Los Angeles. You
don't need to mention people. No Pete Coral Armstrong.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
That's later.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
That's later. Okay. It's the Shohei Otani. Just because you
want to pitch again doesn't mean you should.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
And we saw the setback. They had to push his start.
You got issues with his arm now. You talk about
his knee, all of that. You need him in your lineup.
With Aaron Donald, you've got to be smart about this.
And yes, now you've committed a bunch of money to him.
That's all fine and good. You need him in January.
You need him for that run back to SoFi for
(12:35):
another Super Bowl appearance, which means... You've got to be
judicious about his usage. To your point earlier, it's the,
all right, here's some snaps. Here's some situational. You can't
be beholden like the dope is in Cleveland to starting
a quarterback because you paid him a lot of money. No,
you've got to say, okay, what's reasonable in September and
(12:57):
October in terms of his snaps? You were already the
favorite for the Super Bowl before he showed up. You
were so much a prohibited favorite. The odds didn't move
a ton. when he showed up, right? I think it
went from plus 550 to plus 500. We're not seeing
a giant jolt here. So early on, be judicious in
(13:17):
his usage, situational rushing the passer, and those interior downs
and everything you need to do. You got Miles Garrett,
you got a defense with all of those reinforcements you
brought in the back seven. To make things hum that
you don't need to do that.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
The weak part last year was the cornerbacks. What'd you do?
You went out and added a bunch of guys who've
been to the top of the mountain. So for Aaron Donald,
as much as he may want to play a bunch
of snaps to show he's the baddest guy, you let
him stew. Here, you don't get to do that because
we need you here. We don't need you tapping at
(13:56):
your peak in week eight. Nobody cares.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
If they change things, it could go differently. But the
way it's come out, here's the money, here's the plan.
What do you really think he's going to have left
week 17? It's like an MLB team that thinks, look
at our starting pitchers. They're all great, right? And it's
great at the end of May when they're all pitching well,
but what happens at the end of August? Oh, boy,
these guys are blowing past their limits for innings. None
(14:20):
of them are going to have anything left for October,
which is what you're playing for. Does no one see that?
No one understand that? That's kind of what I'm looking
at with the Rams. If you're going to use them
like this... What do you think he's going to have
left in December?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Yeah, I think it's a stated plan and I think
we'll find really fast. We need to pull this back
because the last thing you need is him in a
heap on the side and trying to figure it out saying, well,
I mean, he was a bonus ad at 20 million.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Come on.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Exit out about a fresca, exit swollen dough on the
Jason Smith Show with my best friend, Mike Harmon. Happy birthday,
Jalen Brunson. Coming up next, we got more on the
big waiver day in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Look at me. He's the king of New York. What
surprising team has an arrow going up next to their
offense after the preseason? What surprise team could be in
the power top 10 offense? of our next NFL Insiders
latest list. All that and more straight ahead. Jason and Mike,
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m.
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Hey, it's Covino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
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(15:53):
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Speaker 1 (15:58):
Fox Sports Radio, the Jason Smith Show with my best friend,
Mike Harmon.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Stream us live wherever you happen to be in the
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Speaker 1 (16:06):
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Speaker 2 (16:22):
So you can lock it in and rip the knob off.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Big goings on in the NFL this weekend. Looking forward,
the preseason is over. Joining us now on the hotline,
longtime NFL insider. Check him out on Sports Illustrated. Big
play on Twitter at Jason Lock and 4. It is
Jason Lock and 4. J-Law, what's happening, man?
Speaker 2 (16:42):
How are you?
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Oh, we're less than what? Two weeks away, man. Well, geez,
we're only about 10 days away because of Australia, right? So,
let's go.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
I mean, all of a sudden, like, I kind of
felt like after last week, okay, wow, there's a long
time now until the NFL starts.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Now I feel like, oh, in a week, it's going
to be a week. So now it's going faster.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
That's how it works, I guess. I do think this
week feels weird, though, because... I learned about this, and
I talked to some people about it yesterday. Having this
much time between nominal cuts, right? Because there's nothing final
about these cuts. They're really initial cuts. But the cut-down
date being two weeks away, I still feel like there's
(17:24):
some teams that are kind of pushing off reality, and
it's like five teams have four quarterbacks, and another six
or seven have three quarterbacks. You know what I mean?
How long is that really going to be able to
last and work? we might see another round of, you know,
trades and some trickle-down effect, you know, coming maybe even
(17:50):
over Labor Day weekend. Because let's be real, that's when
people are used to this happening. And a lot of
these teams are going to, you know, break practice on
Thursday afternoon and not practice again until Tuesday. And that's
going to give these GMs a lot of time on
their hands. And again, some of them are sitting on
rosters that, I just don't know that the numbers are
really going to work at some of these position groups
the way they have it currently.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
So you think the Steelers could add another couple of
quarterbacks and get to six or seven?
Speaker 2 (18:16):
I mean, I'd like to see that.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
I think at some point half the quarterbacks in the
league will be in the AFC North. They did cut
Josh Johnson, and that had to be tough. But Cleveland's
got four, and Pittsburgh's got four, and Baltimore's got three,
including a kid, Joe Pagano, who played at Maine and
UConn and was a camp arm. And when he got signed,
(18:39):
everybody was talking about Diego Pavia. And this kid made
the team. Like, Skyler Thompson went on IR right before
the first preseason game. This kid really wasn't going to
play more than maybe the fourth quarter of that game
before Thompson got hurt. And now he's on the team.
It's pretty wild.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
So we talked about Aaron Donald a few minutes ago and,
you know, coming out of retirement, the big story this weekend.
And Jay, if the Rams are going to use him
two years away at 35 and have him play right
away at the beginning of the season, I mean, they
gave him $ 20 million. They want him to play. Like,
what's he going to have left at the end of
the year? Like, I just look at this and go, boy,
(19:18):
the Rams, I feel like they're playing this all wrong
with trying to get the most out of Aaron Donald
when they want him, which is going to be end
of the.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Season in the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Yeah, I think they're going to be pretty smart about this.
And I know that the way the contract's structured, he's
going to want to play certain games and there's going
to be incentives. But, you know, look, if he retires again,
they have ways to stuff money in his pocket and whatever. Like,
I think they will be smart about it. I don't
know that he's playing in this game in Australia. Like,
(19:47):
I don't know that that's a foregone conclusion. I think
they'll have him on pitch count. And the first five
weeks of the season, their schedule is nuts. I mean,
they're in like seven different time zones. So I think,
I mean, I talked to Sean about this. quite a
bit before camp, like, and they knew it was basically
(20:10):
going to happen. Then I, I, I think they will
be smart. And, and I think there will be a plan.
And at times they're going to have to say no
to him in probably ways. They haven't ever said no
to him before, but I think everybody understands that this
is January or bust February or bust. So I, I,
(20:33):
I wouldn't get, I wouldn't get too concerned. Like I, I, I, I,
Certainly not beforehand. If we're sitting here in November and
they're barely 500 and he's playing 60 snaps a game, then,
you know, that's a different scenario.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
It's funny. If it played to form fourth quarter in
blowout situations, trying to keep him off the field in
obvious potential sack operation would be pretty funny. Sit down, Aaron.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
Yeah, I'm just... Hey, I think I know they've had
a lot of conversations, and this is all about the
long view. I mean, he's not patting stats. He's not
chasing numbers. I mean, this guy was about to go
into the Hall of Fame. He was about to go
in first ballot in, what, another couple of years. So, no,
I think everybody's really comfortable with this situation. You know,
(21:24):
and he's never had a guy. I mean, how are
you going to triple team him with Miles Garrett on
the field? Like, I just, you know, like, so I
don't know that some of these snaps are going to
be as just absolutely physically grueling and demanding as they
were before. Because, I mean, unless you want to put
10 men in the box, I don't know how you're
going to triple him, right? And triple Miles Garrett. Like,
(21:44):
I don't know how that's going to happen.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Jason Lock and for our guest, Jason Smith, Mike Harmon,
live from the Fox Sports Radio Studios. All right, so
Aaron Donald, we covered that. What I've waited to talk
to you now for basically the last five days, Mike
Tomlin to the Jets. You've had a bit on it
last week. You know, a lot of people talking about it. Yeah,
thanks for saving that. I'm coming out with that after
you came on with us last Monday, but that's okay. So, hey,
(22:07):
the Tomlin thing, Woody Johnson wants to make a run
at him, all this stuff going on over the course
of the past week. Where do things sit right now
with the Jets and Tomlin, his coaching future?
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Well, I mean, I, I think things are just sitting
for now, but I mean, he, he's, he's in Rockefeller
center quite a bit. He's been around there. You know, Woody,
I'm told has been around the city quite a bit.
Woody's been, Woody tends to talk to people around the
league and they tend to tell you when Woody talks
to them. And he, he like, it's not going to
(22:43):
work with like, they're just not a good football team, right?
They're not going to be a good football team. They're
not built to be a good football team. They've got
very much a stopgap quarterback. Who's been going hard in
the wrong direction. Like it's all set up a certain way.
And so there was, we just had a year where
there was what 10 head coaching changes or something like that.
So the math should be in Woody's favor. Like how
(23:04):
many one and downs could you possibly have? And I mean,
they haven't had a real coach there since like Parcells,
haven't they? I mean, you literally have to go back
25 years, like to have them not have a guy who's,
you know, more hope and prayers than a proven commodity.
I think everyone in the league, And by that, I
(23:26):
mean Park Avenue would be all about this. They'd have
a renewed coaching rivalry in the Big Apple with Gina
Harbaugh and Tom. I mean, not that they're in the
same division or anything like they used to be, but
for those franchises to be where they are, which we
got press conferences where Adam Gase looks like his eyes
are going to pop out of his head, right? And
what's his face on the other side? Ben McAdoo can't
(23:49):
find a suit that fits him for the opening day. Like,
you know what I mean? Press conference, like that stuff happened.
And to go to, you know, Harbaugh and Tomlin and
for the Jets to be in prime time, because they've
got Mike Tomlin and I don't know, Lamar Jackson in 2027. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Hang on.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
You buried the lead right there.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Mike Tomlin, Lamar Jackson in 2027.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
I mean, Lamar Jackson's on a one-year deal basically. And,
You know, he's got an $ 85 million cap hit. He's
got no trade and a no tag. And I'm old
enough to remember him asking for a trade before and
having to sit through a collusion case to finally get paid.
They haven't made any progress signing him, and he's his
own agent. So when the season starts, Lamar Jackson's not
(24:32):
going to be negotiating a contract. And then when the
season's over, Lamar Jackson can call a shot. So they
haven't given Lamar Jackson what he wants yet. I'm not
sure that's absolutely going to happen. And the Jets are
sitting there with three first-round picks. And if you're Mike
Tomlin and you think you've got the pieces on defense
and a few pieces on offense, and you can go
get Lamar Jackson, there's a lot of things that could
(24:55):
come together that would obviously make that franchise more invigorated
and more viable. then it's been a long time. Now,
that's a lot for Woody, right? Because I just told you,
Woody can't get anybody to take his damn coaching job forever.
But he's literally got a home field advantage there with
Tomlin being where he is and located where he is.
(25:19):
And there's a lot of ways to run through back
channels and this or that. I think Woody Johnson will
be at the head of the class to get an
audience with Mike Tomlin whenever the appropriate time is. And
I think he would give Mike Tomlin whatever he wanted
to come there. Doesn't mean that Mike Tomlin wants to
coach anywhere at that time, and especially doesn't mean he
(25:41):
necessarily wants to go from the Roonies to, you know, Woody.
But there's a lot of people in the league who
aren't really whispering about this. They're talking about it.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Jason, you just made my guy's head explode. He started
the day celebrating Jalen Brunson's 30th birthday. Now he's thinking
about stacking Tomlin and Lamar Jackson. It's a different world
than it was 30 seconds ago.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
It would be... I mean, it would just be a
jolt of electricity, wouldn't it? I mean, it would be...
it would be pretty wild. And look, if you're the
Ravens and you could say, well, three first round picks,
if you work more, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I mean,
those are going to be hot. You know what I mean?
Like they're definitely high first round picks this year. You know,
you're getting, you're getting a bunch of them at once.
(26:26):
You're getting one from the jets. That should be top five.
And look, maybe the jets keep something this year and
trade future, you know, picks or whatever, but nope. The
Lamar Jackson thing, it blows my mind. Like nobody talks
about it. It's like, the past didn't happen, you know,
another completely sideways attempt to extend him, um, being a
(26:50):
year behind everybody else. And, um, you know, he's going
to play for 50 million bucks this year and then
he's going to be able to call shots. And, uh,
there's something holding them back or this would have been
done already. Like there's, there's obviously another disconnect between how
he values himself and how that franchise values him. And, um,
(27:11):
you know, Tom Brady left, uh, new England and Russell
Wilson left Seattle and bleep happened in this week.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Well, let me ask you the, the, your latest power
rankings up. You see them on fansided.com. Um, there's one
surprise in the top 10 and we're talking a lot
about the AFC North. You think things can break right
for the Cincinnati Bengals?
Speaker 4 (27:34):
I do. I do. Um, I like the way the
schedule sets up. They've got a ton of 1 p.m. games.
That's been where Joe Burrow's done his best work. And
we know how much Joe Burrow's struggled early in the season,
but Joe Burrow, 1 p.m. starts early in the season,
have worked well for them. They dodged a bullet there
with the Jamar Chase thing, but it looks like they're
(27:54):
going to go into the season as healthy as they've been.
I think the running back suits them well. I think
it's a solid offensive line. I think Dexter Lawrence gives
them a chance to have a good, at least average
defensive line. I don't love the linebackers and, you know,
maybe they have to add on the back end, but
(28:16):
part of the reason I'm buying them is that like,
you could convince me that like, Mike Brown's not done spending.
Like you could convince me that at this point, you know,
Mike Brown needs to go get a corner or a
safety at the deadline and add salary that he might
actually do it because I just saw him trade a
10th overall pick for Dexter Lawrence and Dexter Lawrence. I
can't be there forever. And all those receivers certainly aren't
(28:38):
going to be there more than beyond this year. Yeah.
I'm buying the Bengals. I mean, if the defense is
even like 18th, 19th best in the league and the
offense stays healthy, I think they're winning that division.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
He's on X at Jason Lock and 4. That is
at Jason Lock and 4. Check him out as well
at Sports Illustrated, Casino.com, everywhere, everything you need to know NFL-wise.
He's got it for you, Jay. As always, buddy, appreciate it.
We'll talk to you next week when we'll preview the
regular season.
Speaker 4 (29:11):
Thank you, guys. Look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
See you, Jason. Thanks a bunch, man.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Now that's today's Brunson's birthday, Tomlin and Lamar Jackson next
year with the Jets.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
All of a sudden, it's Christmas. You were getting all
misty-eyed as he's talking about the Lamar Jackson situation and
the contract that hasn't been signed. We know there's been
acrimonious back and forth with them in the past. But
that's the thing. The Tomlin thing's been out there. My
whole thing is like, yeah, that's awesome. That's great. But
why would Mike Tomlin want this job? It comes back
that to me.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
But then he just slides in, you know, Mike Tomlin
head coach, you know, with Lamar Jackson, a quarterback next week.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Hang on, hang on. Go back, go back, go back,
go back, go.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Back, go back, go back.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Go back, go back, go back. Look at him. He's
the king. But you had all those draft picks. Like,
we talk about the build and where it is, and
there's a million ways they can screw it up in
the interim. Well, it's the Jets. Which is why he
kept saying Woody Johnson, Woody Johnson. It's the Jets, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
It's like trying to get to the end of the
video game on the first try. There's so many ways
this can kill you. Yeah, no, I know, I know,
I know. Look out for the quicksand.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
It's always there.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Pacific.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Fox Sports Radio, Jason Smith Show with my best friend,
Mike Harmon. Be sure to check out our YouTube channel
for the show. Just search Jason Smith Show within YouTube. Again,
Jason Smith Show. Hit the subscribe button, then tap the
thumbs up icon. Comment away whether you agree or disagree.
Let us know what you think. Again, just search Jason
Smith Show on YouTube and subscribe. So you want to
(30:38):
know who had the best football weekend, bar none. This person.
The best weekend of everybody. Yeah, and there's guys who
had big weekends.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Because we were talking about, you know, the preseason Hall
of Famers.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
No, there's guys with big weekends.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Oh, yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
No, no.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
There's guys.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Guys who won jobs. Guys who are, look, you're talking
about guys winning backup quarterback jobs coming in undrafted. Kickers
who were changing locations. Did Pavia go back to school yet?
I think he's actually going to play at LSU. I
think Lane Kiffin... Come on back, man.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
I got you.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
I got you. We're all good. But I mean, the
number of teams carrying three or four quarterbacks, man, how
great is that? Oh, yeah, yeah. What a time to
be alive.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
We're going to carry four quarterbacks. And I agree with
Jason Locke and Fora. These teams are carrying four quarterbacks.
For now, someone's going to be dealt. The Steelers will
deal Mason Rudolph. That's going to happen.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Well, the.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Browns for now figured out a way.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Oh yeah, Dylan Gable, that was a great game you had.
You're injured. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're injured.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
So you'll see teams figuring things out. Just make sure
you limp with the same leg.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
There is nobody in football who had a better weekend
than Bill Belichick.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Nobody had a better weekend. What did I tell you?
I told you Friday night. Take that eight and a half.
Would this have been the same game in the United States?
Speaker 4 (32:01):
Maybe.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Would it have been different if it wasn't a rainy field?
Speaker 4 (32:04):
Maybe.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
But it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Because in a game that was really sloppy, it wasn't
a lot of fun, but it was football and it counted.
North Carolina wins the game in Dublin over TCU. TCU
an eight and a half point favorite. Again, first game
in a foreign country in the rain. Okay, things could
have been different, but it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
They won. He had the biggest week.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Because you already saw during the game where he's blowing
off the sideline reporter going to talk to him at halftime.
If he keeps winning, right? He had a big win
this week, right? This was one you were thinking, okay,
we talked about Belichick. It's a bowl or buyout season
for him at North Carolina. If he starts winning early,
You wait and see how the Bill Belichick middle finger
(32:45):
revenge tour goes, how he treats the media, how he
treats people surrounding the team, how he remembers everybody who
said or did this last year or all of this
during all the controversy, when it was at the end
with the Patriots, the beginning of his relationship with Jordan Hudson,
all of these things. You think Belichick was difficult to
(33:05):
deal with and rude before? Wait till you see what
happens if he starts winning with North Carolina. 2-0, 3-0, 4-0,
not talking to this guy, not talking to this guy,
blank this guy, blank you. Patriots can't come to any
of our games. You wait till you see suddenly, I'm waiting,
I'm waiting. They keep winning. He is going to go
on the biggest middle finger tour you have possibly seen.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Every week, different place. We're here, we're winning, we're doing this.
And it's going to be ugly.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
It's not like he has a team that is made
up of big-time stars and five-star recruits. But Belichick, this
would be a typical Patriots way to build a team where, boy,
how are they winning? The culture is there. He's got
everybody working together. The team is greater than the sum
of its parts. Then he started getting star players. He
started winning big with the Patriots. But if he starts
(33:51):
doing that with North Carolina, you thought he was difficult
to deal with before, and the things he said were
out of line, you wait and see out there. When
he's feeling powerful again, and he's feeling, I'm Bill Belichick again, yeah,
you'll see how this goes.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
Yeah, it's fun, right? The over-under now up to 5.5.
It was 4.5 on Friday. I told you to.
Get in and bang the table. I think those were
my last words as we exited the airwaves on Friday night. Look,
that defensive line was swarming. So that's something in the
Belichick mold where you're like, okay, that could be something.
(34:24):
And it's not just, all right, here's an overmatched TCU team.
A lot of changeover, of course. But they went in
and they owned the line of scrimmage. They were able
to run the football effectively. You've got a bulldozer of
a back to get you your short yardage gains and
to just run through guys. Check, check. Looking like a
(34:46):
little bit of Ben Jarvis, Green Ellis. You want to
go back in the day. Oh, the law firm, sure.
But the law firm was getting it done. But that
was the thing that I got most excited about. You
got the hard count where they were able to close
it out. And you saw the little fist pump on
the sideline. Look, there's just been so much in the background, right?
What's going on with his son? The D.C. wasn't available. Illness,
(35:08):
whatever swirling there. You got the Lombardi situation. And eventually
someone's going to ask him directly, what happened to Jordan?
Because she wasn't around. Yeah, no. Again, I'm stunned.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
I can't believe it's been almost a full year without
a Jordan Hudson headline. A full year. So I think
some of the, I don't want to talk to the reporters, is.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
All right, I'm not taking any of the nonsense questions
because I know there's going to be a bunch about
the background stuff. Eventually, he's got to get in front
of a podium for that. But to your point, yeah,
I think part of what always fueled him in New
England was the poison pens and the vitriol that people
were putting out there. I'm sure there was a virtual
billboard or a full-on... hey, let's cut things out like
(35:54):
we're the Joker in 1989's classic Tim Burton film, Batman,
where he's making his own collages and stuff of the
negativity that surrounded the program. Look, Rome wasn't built in
a day. They took over a program that wasn't very good.
You change out in this current age of college football,
the number of players that have been displaced and replaced
(36:16):
in these two years, yeah, it's a building block. But
that was a pretty big win for them on Saturday.
And now you get old Mo on your side. Schedule's there.
I can't wait for a battle between... him and Dabo
on the 19th.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
His press conferences where he doesn't give credit to anybody,
doesn't answer questions, like he'll be back to being the best,
except now he's in the IDGAF part of his career
where it's going to be even crazier than it was before.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Do you think he gets a hug this time, though? No, no, no, no.
Like everybody going, oh, look at that. Like Popovich did
the last five years, no matter how big a jerk
he was. Like, oh, it's just Popovich.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Popovich is going to look like Tony Dungy compared to
what Belichick's going to do.
Speaker 4 (36:58):
Right?
Speaker 2 (36:58):
That's how that's going to go.
Thanks for listening to the Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight,
10 p.m.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
To 2 a.m.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Eastern, 7 to 11 p.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio.
Find your local station for the Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon at foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every night
on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Hello, welcome inside. Happy Monday. Jason Smith Show with my
best friend, Mike Harmon.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
Well-dressed hobo.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for the show.
Just search Jason Smith Show within YouTube. Again, that's Jason
Smith Show. Hit the subscribe button, then tap the thumbs
up icon. Comment away, agree or disagree. Let us know
what you think. Again, just search Jason Smith Show on
YouTube and subscribe. We have a lot of big NFL
to get to. It's a big weekend, cut-down day, people
(00:57):
signing waivers. However, we have a very important birthday to
get to here. Alex, tie your shirt. When the King
of New York turns 30, we say happy birthday, Jalen Brunson.
Look at him. He's the King of New York. He's
30 years old. Happy birthday.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So is that the tipping point? Was that as good
as it gets? It doesn't matter. We won. It's a
forever championship.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Steve Desegar already told him he needs to lead every
update with wishing Jalen Brunson a happy birthday. Our bosses
called down and said, make sure you do that. I said, okay,
I'll make sure to tell Steve Desegar that.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
We're all good to go. Other celebrities celebrating a birthday today.
77 years old. Richard Gere. No, they're all irrelevant. Wrestler
Jeff Hardy. No, there's one birthday today. It's Jalen Brunson.
There is one birthday. Sarah Ramirez of Grey's Anatomy. Doesn't matter.
There was one birthday yesterday. Mikal Bridges, happy birthday. There's
one birthday. Sauce Gardner's 26. Doesn't matter. Where does he play?
He's got a cheese head in the picture that they
(01:55):
used for him here. One birthday today. Bunch of YouTubers.
Larry Hankin. One birthday. A neighbor from Friends. He's 86.
None of these matter. The King of New York. James Coburn.
The King of New York.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
What?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
He'd be, what, 110? James Coburn? He'd be, uh.
He was always... He'd be 98. I will say this.
Every movie James Coburn was in, he was always so menacing.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
You didn't know what... Even when he was a good guy,
you didn't know what something bad was going to come.
But I'm a good guy. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Scary, man.
Something crazy is going to happen here. Look at that guy.
Keep an eye on him. I'll give you a little
bit of James Coburn. It's Jalen Brunson's birthday today. That's it.
You want to do a Chris Tucker impression?
Speaker 4 (02:35):
No.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
He's 55 today. No, it doesn't matter. Do you understand?
I wasn't in a movie for like 20 years.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
No.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
No, no, no, no, no. One birthday. Jalen Brunson. August 31st.
He's 30 years old. Well, it's only appropriate that we
celebrate his birthday because that damn Danhausen shirt finally showed up.
After two months and a couple of days.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah, your Danhausen uncursed Knicks t-shirt with his picture on
the back. Yeah, the Knicks won 79 days ago.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
79 days ago. And the t-shirt just got here. Well,
there you go.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
My OG Anunobi finals jersey. It will be here by 2028.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Do not worry. You said it is a forever title.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
Yes, it is.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Forever shipping on a t-shirt, too. But there it is.
When I get it, I get it. When I get it,
I get it. This day.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Who knew someone could have tapped me on the shoulder
and said, Jason, hey, today is August 31st, 1996.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, that's great. What do I care? What do I
care about this?
Speaker 1 (03:25):
I want to let you know, the guy who is
going to lead the Knicks... to an NBA championship was
born today.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Really? Yes.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Wait a minute.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Is there a new thing in the NBA where they
can play when they're like seven or eight years old?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
No.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
No, no. What's it going to happen? Okay, when he's
like 22, 23?
Speaker 5 (03:42):
No.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
It's going to be close to 30. So I got
to wait 30 years.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Okay. All right. What happened? I'm like the lanterns. I've
got to wait.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
I've got to wait 30 years to name the next
Green Lantern. I've got to hang out and wait. Okay,
I'm just going to wait a minute.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Is that how long I'm going to wait for a
good episode? I wonder if... Yeah, something has to happen.
Watch the first couple of those.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Although I've been working on my Kyle Chandler impression.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Oh, have you?
Speaker 1 (04:11):
You would think that I would have one after Friday
Night Lights. No, I would have thought you'd have one
perfected by now. But I wonder if on August 31st, 1996,
I felt a great disturbance in the force.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Like, ugh.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Something has just happened. I don't know what it is.
Something has just happened. I don't know what. Maybe later on,
something has just happened. Hit you back and rewind as
a teenager. Now here it is. But as a teenager,
the wind blowing might have given you a disturbance in
the force. There it is. You know, in those prime years.
A champion was just born. A champion, I tell you.
(04:42):
The champion of champions. He was just born. You're like
a New York prophet. In the book of Knicks. All right. Now,
before you get to the NFL, can I give you
my Kyle Chandler? Oh, please. Yeah, no. Everybody, you know,
if you're watching Lanterns, maybe you watched Friday Night Lights.
(05:02):
Maybe you were watching, what was that, early edition way
back in the day?
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Well, I mean, Friday Night Lights, he's had a big career.
He's been around a long time. But do you think
I would have a Kyle Chandler?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Fun box, baby.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
I love Friday Night Lights so much. One of my
favorite TV shows of all time. You would think I
would have a Kyle Chandler impression like 15 years ago,
but it just hit me last night at the end.
And I kept doing it. And Zoe said, Dad, stop that.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Stop it. So today I woke up. I just smiled.
So Zoe feels like tight shirt and I have low
these many years. Just stop. I just smiled at her.
And she just goes, don't do it, Dad. Don't do it.
There you go. All right, here we go. Dude, you
got a dart in your neck. It's a quick one.
It's a quick one. Yeah, it's a quick one. And
it is from Lanterns. Okay. So it is Kyle Chandler
(05:45):
from Lanterns. 2026 Kyle Chandler. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Here we go. Hiya, Junior.
Hal Jordan. There you go. That's it. Not terrible. Hiya, Junior.
Hal Jordan. No, that's pretty good. That's a pretty good one.
Not bad. Walking around the house going, Hiya, Junior. Hiya, Junior.
Hal Jordan. See, I want to extend my watching of
(06:07):
the DC universe with this. Yeah, yeah. They're making it
really hard.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Yeah, no, no.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Because I've given everything a shot. I've watched the black
and white versions of all those films.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Yeah, no, no.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
The extended versions of all those films. Too many. I've
watched Gal Gadot again. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the first
couple episodes of this. Yeah, the first episode was really good.
Not bringing me. The last two were really boring.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
They're really boring.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
They're really boring. They're really boring. I might go see
that Wile E. Coyote movie again. Al Jordan. Al Jordan.
Al Jordan. Al Jordan. Al Jordan.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Al Jordan.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
See, it gets better the more I say it. Like,
it's just like, bust it right out. But, Al Jordan. Hey,
your ring's at 5%, buddy. Al Jordan. See, now he's
got a new obsession. Take that one, Caliendo.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Well, he's got a Kyle Chandler lanterns impression. I'm very
close to my Brad Childress. So, cut down day in
the NFL. Yep. Over the weekend, we saw the waiver
priority today. Many new players changing places. We'll have more
on that. But obviously, the big news of the weekend,
Aaron Donald has returned.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Returned to the Rams.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
One year, $ 20 million, which is way more than I
thought he was going to get.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Well, remember, they had still owed him money, so they
had to do some writing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll do this.
But let me tell you this. And, boy, this is
going to be a hot take.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Aaron Donald will be largely irrelevant for the Rams this year.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Really?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
He will be for a couple of reasons. That's a
bold proclamation, buddy. He will be largely irrelevant, right?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Now, obviously, I can feel the Frankenstein with the pitchforks.
Here's why he will be irrelevant, right? If he does
come back, we said, what's the smartest thing? Slow play it,
play him in the middle of the season to the
end because the guy's 35 and he's been out of
the league for two years. Do you really think he's
going to make it through a whole season? Okay, do
you really think that's going to happen, right? So if
(07:58):
you're going to do it, you're going to slow play it,
let him train, let him come back, let him hit
his peak somewhere in December, right? Let him come back sometime,
let him practice, come back, but now, but you're paying
him $ 20 million, he's going to come back now. The guy, again,
has been retired for two years. He was the best
defensive player in the NFL. The last 15 years in
the NFL, the list of best defensive players is two
(08:19):
people long. It was Darrell Rivas, and then it was
Aaron Donald. Aaron Donald, for the better part of a decade,
the guy was the best defensive player in the NFL.
But just ask Michael Jordan when you're away from the
game for a couple years and you're coming back when
you're 35 years old. How is that going to go?
Donald was great, but he's not NFL trained. He's coming
back now. He's going to try to play all year.
The likelihood of injury is never greater than it is
(08:42):
when a guy older tries to come back and tries
to play in the NFL again. Like all of these
things are going to happen. How long is he going
to be good for until he runs out of steam?
That's the other part why I say he's going to
be irrelevant is that if you wanted to save him
for the end of the year, if you wanted him
to come back midway through, because.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
How many games are you really going to have him for?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Really?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
He's not going to play 17 games and be great
and be the top. No, yes, he's going to play
on reputation. He will have a little bit of a
peak sometime in his third or fourth game, and then
very quickly it's going to be, wow, Aaron Donald has disappeared.
And Miles Garrett will still be getting sack after sack
because he's the best player in the NFL defensive-wise. He's
going to have 20 sacks. It doesn't matter who he's
got around him. It doesn't matter if Aaron Donald's next
(09:22):
to him. I'm sure it will be a little bit
easier for him in the beginning because, wow, what are
we going to do? But overall, how much do you
really think Aaron Donald has? And I know people are
going to blow past that and go, but he was
the best. He's coming back.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yeah, I get it. the name aaron donald is great
i could say the name wayne gretzky wow it's great
but he's not coming back to play because he's 70
okay it's not happening he.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Can still score 25 goals in today's game the the
bottom line is that again looking at the back of
a guy's football card and saying he's going to be
great out of the nfl for two years playing a
very physical position now you're asking him to come back
you're going to ask him to play all season and
you're going to hope he doesn't get hurt.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Like, those things, none of that is going to shake
well and suddenly here's Aaron Donald. You need more safeguards
that are in place for it, and right now it
doesn't look like that's going to happen. So, yeah, he's
going to wind up being irrelevant by the end of
the season for the Rams unless they change how they're
going to deploy him, how they're going to use him,
keep him fresh. Again, if he was only getting paid
(10:21):
a couple million dollars a year, I'd say, okay, well,
he's only going to play a couple of downs.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
But $ 20 million.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
You're going to be out there every down, right? This
is not, eh, you'll be a situational guy. No, you're
going to be out there a lot. And so that's
what's going to happen. And again, by the time we
get to the middle of the season, we're not going
to talk about Aaron Donald. We'll be talking about other things.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
It's going to be, boy, whatever happened.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
And teams are going to go, oh, we can handle
him now. Again, 35, out of the game for a
couple of years. How much is he really going to
have left? I'm just going by... How everybody who has
tried to leave a sport and then come back after
a couple years has tried to do it. Even the
best who have ever done it. Michael Jordan, he was
away for a couple years, had to come back with
the Wizards. The guys didn't even like him. Rip Hamilton
(11:01):
wouldn't even say good things about him when he was
playing there. And Michael Jordan found it a lot tougher.
This is going to be the same kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
He was the best. He was great. He retired.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
He's gone for two years. The first Monday night game
two years ago, he's sleeping on his couch, right? When
the Rams were defending their Super Bowl title, and his
wife put a picture of him sleeping on his couch.
He will be largely irrelevant for the Rams by the
end of the season.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, I think there's just the way to ramp it up,
and obviously making the trip to Australia is the report, right?
83-84 quarterback pressures the last time out, pro football focus
with that. You remember at its height, right? And it's
a couple years later, could tell me he's in the
best shape of his life, all of that fun stuff
(11:44):
that we do time and again. I kind of look
at it from the, and he's going to want to, right?
And he's going to want to show I'm still the biggest,
baddest guy in the neighborhood. I'm going to tie it
to one of the baseball stories that we're watching nationally
and certainly here where we reside in Los Angeles. You
don't need to mention people. No Pete Coral Armstrong.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
That's later.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
That's later. Okay. It's the Shohei Otani. Just because you
want to pitch again doesn't mean you should.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
And we saw the setback. They had to push his start.
You got issues with his arm now. You talk about
his knee, all of that. You need him in your lineup.
With Aaron Donald, you've got to be smart about this.
And yes, now you've committed a bunch of money to him.
That's all fine and good. You need him in January.
You need him for that run back to SoFi for
(12:35):
another Super Bowl appearance, which means... You've got to be
judicious about his usage. To your point earlier, it's the,
all right, here's some snaps. Here's some situational. You can't
be beholden like the dope is in Cleveland to starting
a quarterback because you paid him a lot of money. No,
you've got to say, okay, what's reasonable in September and
(12:57):
October in terms of his snaps? You were already the
favorite for the Super Bowl before he showed up. You
were so much a prohibited favorite. The odds didn't move
a ton. when he showed up, right? I think it
went from plus 550 to plus 500. We're not seeing
a giant jolt here. So early on, be judicious in
(13:17):
his usage, situational rushing the passer, and those interior downs
and everything you need to do. You got Miles Garrett,
you got a defense with all of those reinforcements you
brought in the back seven. To make things hum that
you don't need to do that.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
The weak part last year was the cornerbacks. What'd you do?
You went out and added a bunch of guys who've
been to the top of the mountain. So for Aaron Donald,
as much as he may want to play a bunch
of snaps to show he's the baddest guy, you let
him stew. Here, you don't get to do that because
we need you here. We don't need you tapping at
(13:56):
your peak in week eight. Nobody cares.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
If they change things, it could go differently. But the
way it's come out, here's the money, here's the plan.
What do you really think he's going to have left
week 17? It's like an MLB team that thinks, look
at our starting pitchers. They're all great, right? And it's
great at the end of May when they're all pitching well,
but what happens at the end of August? Oh, boy,
these guys are blowing past their limits for innings. None
(14:20):
of them are going to have anything left for October,
which is what you're playing for. Does no one see that?
No one understand that? That's kind of what I'm looking
at with the Rams. If you're going to use them
like this... What do you think he's going to have
left in December?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Yeah, I think it's a stated plan and I think
we'll find really fast. We need to pull this back
because the last thing you need is him in a
heap on the side and trying to figure it out saying, well,
I mean, he was a bonus ad at 20 million.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
Come on.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Exit out about a fresca, exit swollen dough on the
Jason Smith Show with my best friend, Mike Harmon. Happy birthday,
Jalen Brunson. Coming up next, we got more on the
big waiver day in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Look at me. He's the king of New York. What
surprising team has an arrow going up next to their
offense after the preseason? What surprise team could be in
the power top 10 offense? of our next NFL Insiders
latest list. All that and more straight ahead. Jason and Mike,
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m.
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Hey, it's Covino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Now, in addition to hearing us live weekdays from 5
to 7 p.m. Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio, we're excited to announce a brand new YouTube
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watch Covino and Rich live on YouTube every day all
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again go to YouTube search Covino and Rich FSR check
(15:53):
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and comment away.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Fox Sports Radio, the Jason Smith Show with my best friend,
Mike Harmon.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Stream us live wherever you happen to be in the
iHeart app.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Catch us all of our Fox Sports Radio shows live
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Speaker 2 (16:22):
So you can lock it in and rip the knob off.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Big goings on in the NFL this weekend. Looking forward,
the preseason is over. Joining us now on the hotline,
longtime NFL insider. Check him out on Sports Illustrated. Big
play on Twitter at Jason Lock and 4. It is
Jason Lock and 4. J-Law, what's happening, man?
Speaker 2 (16:42):
How are you?
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Oh, we're less than what? Two weeks away, man. Well, geez,
we're only about 10 days away because of Australia, right? So,
let's go.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
I mean, all of a sudden, like, I kind of
felt like after last week, okay, wow, there's a long
time now until the NFL starts.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Now I feel like, oh, in a week, it's going
to be a week. So now it's going faster.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
That's how it works, I guess. I do think this
week feels weird, though, because... I learned about this, and
I talked to some people about it yesterday. Having this
much time between nominal cuts, right? Because there's nothing final
about these cuts. They're really initial cuts. But the cut-down
date being two weeks away, I still feel like there's
(17:24):
some teams that are kind of pushing off reality, and
it's like five teams have four quarterbacks, and another six
or seven have three quarterbacks. You know what I mean?
How long is that really going to be able to
last and work? we might see another round of, you know,
trades and some trickle-down effect, you know, coming maybe even
(17:50):
over Labor Day weekend. Because let's be real, that's when
people are used to this happening. And a lot of
these teams are going to, you know, break practice on
Thursday afternoon and not practice again until Tuesday. And that's
going to give these GMs a lot of time on
their hands. And again, some of them are sitting on
rosters that, I just don't know that the numbers are
really going to work at some of these position groups
the way they have it currently.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
So you think the Steelers could add another couple of
quarterbacks and get to six or seven?
Speaker 2 (18:16):
I mean, I'd like to see that.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
I think at some point half the quarterbacks in the
league will be in the AFC North. They did cut
Josh Johnson, and that had to be tough. But Cleveland's
got four, and Pittsburgh's got four, and Baltimore's got three,
including a kid, Joe Pagano, who played at Maine and
UConn and was a camp arm. And when he got signed,
(18:39):
everybody was talking about Diego Pavia. And this kid made
the team. Like, Skyler Thompson went on IR right before
the first preseason game. This kid really wasn't going to
play more than maybe the fourth quarter of that game
before Thompson got hurt. And now he's on the team.
It's pretty wild.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
So we talked about Aaron Donald a few minutes ago and,
you know, coming out of retirement, the big story this weekend.
And Jay, if the Rams are going to use him
two years away at 35 and have him play right
away at the beginning of the season, I mean, they
gave him $ 20 million. They want him to play. Like,
what's he going to have left at the end of
the year? Like, I just look at this and go, boy,
(19:18):
the Rams, I feel like they're playing this all wrong
with trying to get the most out of Aaron Donald
when they want him, which is going to be end
of the.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Season in the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Yeah, I think they're going to be pretty smart about this.
And I know that the way the contract's structured, he's
going to want to play certain games and there's going
to be incentives. But, you know, look, if he retires again,
they have ways to stuff money in his pocket and whatever. Like,
I think they will be smart about it. I don't
know that he's playing in this game in Australia. Like,
(19:47):
I don't know that that's a foregone conclusion. I think
they'll have him on pitch count. And the first five
weeks of the season, their schedule is nuts. I mean,
they're in like seven different time zones. So I think,
I mean, I talked to Sean about this. quite a
bit before camp, like, and they knew it was basically
(20:10):
going to happen. Then I, I, I think they will
be smart. And, and I think there will be a plan.
And at times they're going to have to say no
to him in probably ways. They haven't ever said no
to him before, but I think everybody understands that this
is January or bust February or bust. So I, I,
(20:33):
I wouldn't get, I wouldn't get too concerned. Like I, I, I, I,
Certainly not beforehand. If we're sitting here in November and
they're barely 500 and he's playing 60 snaps a game, then,
you know, that's a different scenario.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
It's funny. If it played to form fourth quarter in
blowout situations, trying to keep him off the field in
obvious potential sack operation would be pretty funny. Sit down, Aaron.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
Yeah, I'm just... Hey, I think I know they've had
a lot of conversations, and this is all about the
long view. I mean, he's not patting stats. He's not
chasing numbers. I mean, this guy was about to go
into the Hall of Fame. He was about to go
in first ballot in, what, another couple of years. So, no,
I think everybody's really comfortable with this situation. You know,
(21:24):
and he's never had a guy. I mean, how are
you going to triple team him with Miles Garrett on
the field? Like, I just, you know, like, so I
don't know that some of these snaps are going to
be as just absolutely physically grueling and demanding as they
were before. Because, I mean, unless you want to put
10 men in the box, I don't know how you're
going to triple him, right? And triple Miles Garrett. Like,
(21:44):
I don't know how that's going to happen.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Jason Lock and for our guest, Jason Smith, Mike Harmon,
live from the Fox Sports Radio Studios. All right, so
Aaron Donald, we covered that. What I've waited to talk
to you now for basically the last five days, Mike
Tomlin to the Jets. You've had a bit on it
last week. You know, a lot of people talking about it. Yeah,
thanks for saving that. I'm coming out with that after
you came on with us last Monday, but that's okay. So, hey,
(22:07):
the Tomlin thing, Woody Johnson wants to make a run
at him, all this stuff going on over the course
of the past week. Where do things sit right now
with the Jets and Tomlin, his coaching future?
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Well, I mean, I, I think things are just sitting
for now, but I mean, he, he's, he's in Rockefeller
center quite a bit. He's been around there. You know, Woody,
I'm told has been around the city quite a bit.
Woody's been, Woody tends to talk to people around the
league and they tend to tell you when Woody talks
to them. And he, he like, it's not going to
(22:43):
work with like, they're just not a good football team, right?
They're not going to be a good football team. They're
not built to be a good football team. They've got
very much a stopgap quarterback. Who's been going hard in
the wrong direction. Like it's all set up a certain way.
And so there was, we just had a year where
there was what 10 head coaching changes or something like that.
So the math should be in Woody's favor. Like how
(23:04):
many one and downs could you possibly have? And I mean,
they haven't had a real coach there since like Parcells,
haven't they? I mean, you literally have to go back
25 years, like to have them not have a guy who's,
you know, more hope and prayers than a proven commodity.
I think everyone in the league, And by that, I
(23:26):
mean Park Avenue would be all about this. They'd have
a renewed coaching rivalry in the Big Apple with Gina
Harbaugh and Tom. I mean, not that they're in the
same division or anything like they used to be, but
for those franchises to be where they are, which we
got press conferences where Adam Gase looks like his eyes
are going to pop out of his head, right? And
what's his face on the other side? Ben McAdoo can't
(23:49):
find a suit that fits him for the opening day. Like,
you know what I mean? Press conference, like that stuff happened.
And to go to, you know, Harbaugh and Tomlin and
for the Jets to be in prime time, because they've
got Mike Tomlin and I don't know, Lamar Jackson in 2027. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Hang on.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
You buried the lead right there.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Mike Tomlin, Lamar Jackson in 2027.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
I mean, Lamar Jackson's on a one-year deal basically. And,
You know, he's got an $ 85 million cap hit. He's
got no trade and a no tag. And I'm old
enough to remember him asking for a trade before and
having to sit through a collusion case to finally get paid.
They haven't made any progress signing him, and he's his
own agent. So when the season starts, Lamar Jackson's not
(24:32):
going to be negotiating a contract. And then when the
season's over, Lamar Jackson can call a shot. So they
haven't given Lamar Jackson what he wants yet. I'm not
sure that's absolutely going to happen. And the Jets are
sitting there with three first-round picks. And if you're Mike
Tomlin and you think you've got the pieces on defense
and a few pieces on offense, and you can go
get Lamar Jackson, there's a lot of things that could
(24:55):
come together that would obviously make that franchise more invigorated
and more viable. then it's been a long time. Now,
that's a lot for Woody, right? Because I just told you,
Woody can't get anybody to take his damn coaching job forever.
But he's literally got a home field advantage there with
Tomlin being where he is and located where he is.
(25:19):
And there's a lot of ways to run through back
channels and this or that. I think Woody Johnson will
be at the head of the class to get an
audience with Mike Tomlin whenever the appropriate time is. And
I think he would give Mike Tomlin whatever he wanted
to come there. Doesn't mean that Mike Tomlin wants to
coach anywhere at that time, and especially doesn't mean he
(25:41):
necessarily wants to go from the Roonies to, you know, Woody.
But there's a lot of people in the league who
aren't really whispering about this. They're talking about it.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Jason, you just made my guy's head explode. He started
the day celebrating Jalen Brunson's 30th birthday. Now he's thinking
about stacking Tomlin and Lamar Jackson. It's a different world
than it was 30 seconds ago.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
It would be... I mean, it would just be a
jolt of electricity, wouldn't it? I mean, it would be...
it would be pretty wild. And look, if you're the
Ravens and you could say, well, three first round picks,
if you work more, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I mean,
those are going to be hot. You know what I mean?
Like they're definitely high first round picks this year. You know,
you're getting, you're getting a bunch of them at once.
(26:26):
You're getting one from the jets. That should be top five.
And look, maybe the jets keep something this year and
trade future, you know, picks or whatever, but nope. The
Lamar Jackson thing, it blows my mind. Like nobody talks
about it. It's like, the past didn't happen, you know,
another completely sideways attempt to extend him, um, being a
(26:50):
year behind everybody else. And, um, you know, he's going
to play for 50 million bucks this year and then
he's going to be able to call shots. And, uh,
there's something holding them back or this would have been
done already. Like there's, there's obviously another disconnect between how
he values himself and how that franchise values him. And, um,
(27:11):
you know, Tom Brady left, uh, new England and Russell
Wilson left Seattle and bleep happened in this week.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Well, let me ask you the, the, your latest power
rankings up. You see them on fansided.com. Um, there's one
surprise in the top 10 and we're talking a lot
about the AFC North. You think things can break right
for the Cincinnati Bengals?
Speaker 4 (27:34):
I do. I do. Um, I like the way the
schedule sets up. They've got a ton of 1 p.m. games.
That's been where Joe Burrow's done his best work. And
we know how much Joe Burrow's struggled early in the season,
but Joe Burrow, 1 p.m. starts early in the season,
have worked well for them. They dodged a bullet there
with the Jamar Chase thing, but it looks like they're
(27:54):
going to go into the season as healthy as they've been.
I think the running back suits them well. I think
it's a solid offensive line. I think Dexter Lawrence gives
them a chance to have a good, at least average
defensive line. I don't love the linebackers and, you know,
maybe they have to add on the back end, but
(28:16):
part of the reason I'm buying them is that like,
you could convince me that like, Mike Brown's not done spending.
Like you could convince me that at this point, you know,
Mike Brown needs to go get a corner or a
safety at the deadline and add salary that he might
actually do it because I just saw him trade a
10th overall pick for Dexter Lawrence and Dexter Lawrence. I
can't be there forever. And all those receivers certainly aren't
(28:38):
going to be there more than beyond this year. Yeah.
I'm buying the Bengals. I mean, if the defense is
even like 18th, 19th best in the league and the
offense stays healthy, I think they're winning that division.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
He's on X at Jason Lock and 4. That is
at Jason Lock and 4. Check him out as well
at Sports Illustrated, Casino.com, everywhere, everything you need to know NFL-wise.
He's got it for you, Jay. As always, buddy, appreciate it.
We'll talk to you next week when we'll preview the
regular season.
Speaker 4 (29:11):
Thank you, guys. Look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
See you, Jason. Thanks a bunch, man.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Now that's today's Brunson's birthday, Tomlin and Lamar Jackson next
year with the Jets.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
All of a sudden, it's Christmas. You were getting all
misty-eyed as he's talking about the Lamar Jackson situation and
the contract that hasn't been signed. We know there's been
acrimonious back and forth with them in the past. But
that's the thing. The Tomlin thing's been out there. My
whole thing is like, yeah, that's awesome. That's great. But
why would Mike Tomlin want this job? It comes back
that to me.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
But then he just slides in, you know, Mike Tomlin
head coach, you know, with Lamar Jackson, a quarterback next week.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Hang on, hang on. Go back, go back, go back,
go back, go.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
Back, go back, go back.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Go back, go back, go back. Look at him. He's
the king. But you had all those draft picks. Like,
we talk about the build and where it is, and
there's a million ways they can screw it up in
the interim. Well, it's the Jets. Which is why he
kept saying Woody Johnson, Woody Johnson. It's the Jets, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
It's like trying to get to the end of the
video game on the first try. There's so many ways
this can kill you. Yeah, no, I know, I know,
I know. Look out for the quicksand.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
It's always there.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Be sure to catch live editions of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Pacific.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Fox Sports Radio, Jason Smith Show with my best friend,
Mike Harmon. Be sure to check out our YouTube channel
for the show. Just search Jason Smith Show within YouTube. Again,
Jason Smith Show. Hit the subscribe button, then tap the
thumbs up icon. Comment away whether you agree or disagree.
Let us know what you think. Again, just search Jason
Smith Show on YouTube and subscribe. So you want to
(30:38):
know who had the best football weekend, bar none. This person.
The best weekend of everybody. Yeah, and there's guys who
had big weekends.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Because we were talking about, you know, the preseason Hall
of Famers.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
No, there's guys with big weekends.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Oh, yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
No, no.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
There's guys.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Guys who won jobs. Guys who are, look, you're talking
about guys winning backup quarterback jobs coming in undrafted. Kickers
who were changing locations. Did Pavia go back to school yet?
I think he's actually going to play at LSU. I
think Lane Kiffin... Come on back, man.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
I got you.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
I got you. We're all good. But I mean, the
number of teams carrying three or four quarterbacks, man, how
great is that? Oh, yeah, yeah. What a time to
be alive.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
We're going to carry four quarterbacks. And I agree with
Jason Locke and Fora. These teams are carrying four quarterbacks.
For now, someone's going to be dealt. The Steelers will
deal Mason Rudolph. That's going to happen.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Well, the.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Browns for now figured out a way.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Oh yeah, Dylan Gable, that was a great game you had.
You're injured. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're injured.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
So you'll see teams figuring things out. Just make sure
you limp with the same leg.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
There is nobody in football who had a better weekend
than Bill Belichick.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Nobody had a better weekend. What did I tell you?
I told you Friday night. Take that eight and a half.
Would this have been the same game in the United States?
Speaker 4 (32:01):
Maybe.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Would it have been different if it wasn't a rainy field?
Speaker 4 (32:04):
Maybe.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
But it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Because in a game that was really sloppy, it wasn't
a lot of fun, but it was football and it counted.
North Carolina wins the game in Dublin over TCU. TCU
an eight and a half point favorite. Again, first game
in a foreign country in the rain. Okay, things could
have been different, but it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
They won. He had the biggest week.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Because you already saw during the game where he's blowing
off the sideline reporter going to talk to him at halftime.
If he keeps winning, right? He had a big win
this week, right? This was one you were thinking, okay,
we talked about Belichick. It's a bowl or buyout season
for him at North Carolina. If he starts winning early,
You wait and see how the Bill Belichick middle finger
(32:45):
revenge tour goes, how he treats the media, how he
treats people surrounding the team, how he remembers everybody who
said or did this last year or all of this
during all the controversy, when it was at the end
with the Patriots, the beginning of his relationship with Jordan Hudson,
all of these things. You think Belichick was difficult to
(33:05):
deal with and rude before? Wait till you see what
happens if he starts winning with North Carolina. 2-0, 3-0, 4-0,
not talking to this guy, not talking to this guy,
blank this guy, blank you. Patriots can't come to any
of our games. You wait till you see suddenly, I'm waiting,
I'm waiting. They keep winning. He is going to go
on the biggest middle finger tour you have possibly seen.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Every week, different place. We're here, we're winning, we're doing this.
And it's going to be ugly.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
It's not like he has a team that is made
up of big-time stars and five-star recruits. But Belichick, this
would be a typical Patriots way to build a team where, boy,
how are they winning? The culture is there. He's got
everybody working together. The team is greater than the sum
of its parts. Then he started getting star players. He
started winning big with the Patriots. But if he starts
(33:51):
doing that with North Carolina, you thought he was difficult
to deal with before, and the things he said were
out of line, you wait and see out there. When
he's feeling powerful again, and he's feeling, I'm Bill Belichick again, yeah,
you'll see how this goes.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
Yeah, it's fun, right? The over-under now up to 5.5.
It was 4.5 on Friday. I told you to.
Get in and bang the table. I think those were
my last words as we exited the airwaves on Friday night. Look,
that defensive line was swarming. So that's something in the
Belichick mold where you're like, okay, that could be something.
(34:24):
And it's not just, all right, here's an overmatched TCU team.
A lot of changeover, of course. But they went in
and they owned the line of scrimmage. They were able
to run the football effectively. You've got a bulldozer of
a back to get you your short yardage gains and
to just run through guys. Check, check. Looking like a
(34:46):
little bit of Ben Jarvis, Green Ellis. You want to
go back in the day. Oh, the law firm, sure.
But the law firm was getting it done. But that
was the thing that I got most excited about. You
got the hard count where they were able to close
it out. And you saw the little fist pump on
the sideline. Look, there's just been so much in the background, right?
What's going on with his son? The D.C. wasn't available. Illness,
(35:08):
whatever swirling there. You got the Lombardi situation. And eventually
someone's going to ask him directly, what happened to Jordan?
Because she wasn't around. Yeah, no. Again, I'm stunned.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
I can't believe it's been almost a full year without
a Jordan Hudson headline. A full year. So I think
some of the, I don't want to talk to the reporters, is.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
All right, I'm not taking any of the nonsense questions
because I know there's going to be a bunch about
the background stuff. Eventually, he's got to get in front
of a podium for that. But to your point, yeah,
I think part of what always fueled him in New
England was the poison pens and the vitriol that people
were putting out there. I'm sure there was a virtual
billboard or a full-on... hey, let's cut things out like
(35:54):
we're the Joker in 1989's classic Tim Burton film, Batman,
where he's making his own collages and stuff of the
negativity that surrounded the program. Look, Rome wasn't built in
a day. They took over a program that wasn't very good.
You change out in this current age of college football,
the number of players that have been displaced and replaced
(36:16):
in these two years, yeah, it's a building block. But
that was a pretty big win for them on Saturday.
And now you get old Mo on your side. Schedule's there.
I can't wait for a battle between... him and Dabo
on the 19th.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
His press conferences where he doesn't give credit to anybody,
doesn't answer questions, like he'll be back to being the best,
except now he's in the IDGAF part of his career
where it's going to be even crazier than it was before.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Do you think he gets a hug this time, though? No, no, no, no.
Like everybody going, oh, look at that. Like Popovich did
the last five years, no matter how big a jerk
he was. Like, oh, it's just Popovich.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Popovich is going to look like Tony Dungy compared to
what Belichick's going to do.
Speaker 4 (36:58):
Right?
Speaker 2 (36:58):
That's how that's going to go.
Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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