Hall of Famer James Lofton talks NFL 2021 season

You are going to want to catch this interview. And then we're going to tell you how to win five dollars in credit for bet MGM. Three lucky winners. Get that. We're going to tell you how in a bit. At the end, we wrap it all up with Peter Andrew from bet MGM. He will tell us our Lions locks as we go into the weekend of NFL games. Jana's Pappas my co host, my friend, how are you doing. I'm doing good. I was just listening to all that

we're offering this episode. I was just sitting there going, damn, we're good. That is a lot of good stuff. Yeah, we're taking notes you're giving away money. We we got Hall of Fame guests, we got me, we got you, we got the NFL. I mean, what more do these people want? And I don't know what more do these people want? And this is why you tell your wife that this podcast takes three hours to record, right, so that she leaves you alone for three hours. Yeah, that's

the thing. Being a new dad is a twenty four hour job. And so whenever I tell her this podcast is about to record, I tell her, yeah, it's a four hour or deal. And then I just sit down here, and I just sit down here and stare at a wall and take a nice breather. So you've been married longer than me. I'm learning these things. I should take notes. Yeah, you know, you got to go to the bathroom. You spend a little extra time in the bathroom. That's your

alone time? Is the bad through him? That's like, you know, I'll say I have to do number two when I only have to do number one. Yeah, I'll scroll on the phone. These are little tips that you can that's the break you get and make the other person do a little bit more parenting. No, you're you're opening my eyes up to what Sam does now, Now I get exactly.

Now you know what he's doing in there. I mean, nobody goes in there without there, but we all stay a little longer than we should because of the phone. But when you have a kid, those few moments turned into another half hour. I mean, I can't feel my legs, but it's fine. I'm so uncomfortable. I hate body humor. I guess so comfortable. I'm like beat red. I saw that. Okay, Jesus, you have found my achilles heel. This is where like the buck stops here. Can't do it? Yeah, only only

for guys. Women don't do that. You guys don't. Yeah, I understand. And my daughter, so you really know. You know the truth. I know the truth. It's a magical fairy um. And you don't even need to use the restroom. Oh my god, can we talk about sports? We can? I thought we were. Oh my god, I'm dying. I'm dying. Okay. Us Openness is back this week. It was canceled last year. They're back at Flushing Meadows. It begins this weekend. Um. There are no spectators actually until the main draw again,

that begins this weekend. The singles draw begins tonight Thursday. Main draw begins August. There's a lot to keep up with. I think something that's really significant is prize money in the US Open this year is bigger than ever, but it's down For the winner of both singles events, they're going to earn thirty five less than in nineteen. Despite

the overall prize money is going up. Like I said, so the prize money for qualifying and the first three rounds of the main draw, that's what's going up if you're doing the math. But again the winners. Two point five million dollars is what the winner of both singles events will win. It was three million dollars the last time it was played in three point eight five million two years ago. What do you think would you even get out of bed for two point five million dollars?

Who would get out of bed for that little amount of money? That's insane? Two point five that's what can you even buy with that? That'll get you like a studio apartment in Manhattan? No good, no good, that's not enough money to play and for two weeks that you wouldn't even get off the toilet for that much money. I would not get off the toilet for that money. I really would not. You know, it's funny that there

will be no fans um. I often wonder if the tennis players get self conscious about their grunts because they don't have the you know, there's no fans. I mean there's they're quiet anyway, but at least with the people in the stadium, it kind of it softens it a little bit. Now you hear the full and so yeah, I'm looking forward to here. There should be we should bet on who is gonna grunt and who's not. That's a big part of tennis. Let's talk to Peter Andrew later.

If we can add that bet MGM dot com, that'd be a good one. Yeah, that's it's such a gentleman or general woman's sport. It's funny because like they're quiet during every play, so you can't curse, you can't say anything, you know, anything is uh is highlighted. It's like even if you like you get damn, people like what is wrong with that guy? Is he crazy? It's like he's allowed to show a little emotion. No, I've gotten a cover.

Tennis up close and personal and it is it's there's so much attention on it and it's such a different sport in person than on TV. I've never been to a US Open, but that's that's on my bucket list. And there are so many good storylines this year, like Novak Djokovic. He's trying to win his first calendar year Grand Slam. If he does, he'd be the first to do so since nineteen sixty nine. It would also set a record, would be his twenty one major singles championship.

That is incredible. He is the favorite at minus one thirty five on bet MGM right now. Rafael Nadal's out with a foot injury. He is not competing, so kind of with those odds. Do you like the Joker? I do like the Joker, especially since he's kind of rested a little bit. I think he had maybe some injuries

that will play in him during the Olympics. And um, this this has been the I'm a huge tennis fan, and this era has been incredible because you're watching the three i think the three best tennis players of all time play in their prime at the same time against each other. And it's funny because Djokovic, he everyone always talks about Federal and Nadal, but you know, yeah, like you just said, joker is about to get twenty one.

We know he's gonna get it. He could be the first one to win the Grand Slam in the calendar year since Rod Laverne sixty nine. And he's got a winning record of against both those guys, I believe now. So it's like, except for're on clay, you can so you can say Nadal is the best by far on clay of all time. But overall we may be looking at the go right now and he doesn't get the credit because he doesn't have that. I guess he's a little bit more. He's not that gentleman like we're talking about,

like like Rafa and and Federer. You know, he comes from award torrent country, and he's a little he's a little harder, he's a little more competitive, and I'm very excited to see and he's he's the favorite by a lot. But you know, that's the great thing about tennis is anything can happen. And those three Medvedev and the Greek, my countrymen, those are the three that could give him problems. So it's it's fun to watch. I agree. I agree. Over to the women's side, Naomi Osaka, she's the defending

Women's champion. She's seeking her fifth Grand Slam title. She wanted Flushing Meadows twice. Actually, However, ash Barti is the favorite to win at plus four hundred at bet MGM Naomi is right behind her at plus five hundred. I wouldn't bet on Osaka at the US Open this year, and here's why she's never defended her title the following year. She recently fell in the third round in Cincinnati, also a third round exit in Tokyo. She's an incredible hardcore talent.

There's no denying her talent. She's going through so much right now in front of the world. I wouldn't take places with her for the world, but I think plus five hundred is too big a risk for osccer right now. What do you think? I agree with you, it's too she's a little unpredictable. I don't think she's really coming to her own as the dominant player she could be. Yet. You know, she's got, like you said, other stuff going on.

She hasn't gone on that streak yet that like like the joker, like Serena Nadal at the French where it's like sure thing, like you just don't know. It's a toss up, so yeah, and you also got to throw Cocoa in there. Coco could take anybody out at any time. So I'm putting my money on Coco. I like yeah. And she's plus yeah, so you can win a lot of money betting on her. And she's playing well so and she could take out anyone at any time. She's got the home she'll have the home field advantage. So

let's go Coco. I like that. Serena Williams also playing. She's plus fourteen hundred and so I think when you're putting your money on some of these bets. And we're going to talk to Peter Andrew about it later, but look at some of those second tier, the second line on the website as I'm looking at it now, look at some of those and I don't know. I don't think you sleep on Serena Williams. Ever. Yeah, you can

never sleep on her, especially at the US Open. You know, it's just me being a dad, her being a mom. I know, when I when I go and do stand up now, I don't know if I'm giving a percent, I don't know if I can't give. Yeah, she's a full time mom. It's tough she's she's the legend, she's the goat. You can never count her out though, for sure. YEA, yeah, you know, I know you've been watching a lot of boxing. In the Manu Pacio fight, he's forty two years old.

He lost to your Dennis Sugas and he had cramping in both legs. That's kind of what he blamed it on. Um. I know there was some last minute scheduling with this. You're a boxing gurer, so walk me through that. How did this whole fight come to be? And why was it more last minute? He took it on last minute. I I don't know the details of why he took it early. I don't know. I don't know what happened. What happened there, but not too early. I mean they

had a training camp and everything like that. Like you said, he's forty two. Not only is he forty two, he's got a lot of fights. He has a lot of miles, a lot of long fights, a lot of miles. He's also a senator in his country. He's thinking about a presidential run. He also sings horribly, So you ever hear him saying, I mean he's kind of you. You don't expect that Yeah, he puts out like pop songs and the Philippines are very funny and um for a for

a boxer, you know, he sings pretty good. But he's got a lot of interests and a lot of miles on him. And I think this fight definitely showed that it's time to uh to hang up the gloves and go full time singer, full time president. I mean he's doing everything in the Philippines, but he's a legend, and uh it catches up with everybody, especially in boxing. And that he was able to go as long as he did, I think and he and he has it is great. He said it's sixty forty right, so he said he's

still thinking about it, that he may continue. So he's six considering retired for percent considering coming back and fighting. I think he should just do the super fight fight one of the Paul brothers. Why not get one more big pay day and then he can buy the Philippines. Well, we don't have a clip of him singing, but we do have a clip of him talking about the odds of his retirement. Let's play that now. How will this performance influence your decision to either come back to the

ring or retire right now, probably thinking about retirement. I don't know. I'm not so. It is the last week of the NFL preseason, so I always think if you want to have fun betting, do it in the preseason when anything can happen. You never know who's playing, you never know what they're playing for. The lines are all over the place, but it's a lot of fun. So make sure to check out at MGM dot com to

see the weekends lines. So this last week of the preseason started Monday night with a two point victory for the New Orleans Saints hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars. The reason this game was important is both teams are trying to figure out their starting quarterback. For New Orleans, it's Taysom Hill or Jamis Winston. Winston all but put it away. He was incredible. He got the start, he aired it out too deep passes to Markus Callaway. One was in

the air for fifty three yards. That was incredible, and Saints with two good options at quarterback. Now, I don't know why everyone's making such a big deal about who starts. Jamie seems to be head and shoulders above Taysom, but in such a different way, he's such a different quarterback, he's a true quarterback. And then bringing Tasom as kind of your trick play guy, your goal line package guy. So again it's August. It's much ado about nothing, but

I think the Saints found their starter. Bet MGM has the Saints win total at nine point five. I would definitely play that, especially as Michael Thomas is supposed to make his return early in the season. That offense should be dynamic. Over with the Jaguars, they're also figuring out their quarterback between number one overall pick Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew. Again, it seems very obvious from a fan's perspective,

picked the talent, picked the young guy. No one's expecting the Jaguars to be good this season, so might as well let your quarterback get his teeth wet, get his teeth plays, get his feet wet. But you know, getting your teeth wet, Yeah, okay, get your you have to hydrate well. Another big loss to Jacksonville, though, in this week, was that they lost their first round rookie running back Travis at t N He's out indefinitely with a foot spring he shattered all a C C rushing records during

his time at Clemson. Obviously he played there with Revor Lawrence. They are comfortable that would have been entertainment and probably some good football, if not for the sake of winning some games. But it's an indefinite timetable. So that's update on the Jags. Looking forward to this weekend. The Bears did name Andy Dalton the Week one starter. Too many people's dismay. Honest, have you seen people grumbling about this? I haven't. I have not seen, and I don't know why.

You're right, it's preseason. They want to just get it, you know, you want to get different looks, you want to see, you know, get everybody warmed up. So I don't understand. Well, I think they're gonna go with Dalton. He's the experience, but everyone likes justin fields. You're going to see both on Saturday, they play at the Tennessee Titans, so that's again a perk of preseason. You get to

see what's out there. San Francisco. Last week we talked about Jimmy Garoppolo is the starter, but Kyle Shanahan, the coach, is being pretty awkward about confirming that they host Las Vegas on Sunday and then the Patriots. You have the Cam verse Mac palindrome debacle. Have you heard that? The Cim versus NBC? I haven't, but I get it. Yeah, Okay, you're with me. You got it. I'm with you. I'm with you. I'll be with you always. I'm your couch. When you say get your teeth wet, I'm there to

back you up. Yes, that's an expression. I love it. But Belichick did name Cam Newton the starter, but basically says yes to earn it every week. So again that's the big storyline in this last week of the preseason. So for me, I'm circling every game with a quarterback debate. The Patriot to play the Giant Sunday night at five, their three and a half point favorite, and that's actually gone up a little bit as this week has gone on. So those are the games that matter if you're trying

to place your money somewhere. I'd love to hear with what Mr Andrew has to say about all these factors that we're talking about with these qbs and what what what on the lines, Peter, Let's find out a lot to talk about there. But first we have a really good guest this week. I am so excited to bring in James Lofton Hall of Famer. He's an l a native Stanford, ALAM. He won the national championship at Stanford in the long jump. Obviously, he played college football there.

Drafted six overall in nineteen seventy eight by the Packers, He's an eight time Pro bowler, played in three Super Bowls with the Bills, and in two thousand three he was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, of course, the Packer Hall of Fame, where they've also retired his jersey. From there, he's gone on to coach and now he's in media. There's so much to get to with James Lofton.

So without further ado, let's bring in the Hall of Famer. So, James, we are so glad you were on with us today, and I bet for your sake you're kind of glad to have another Harlan to talk with, right of course, So although I wonder if there will be a gloved

catch during this period. You know, it's funny. We actually had my dad on the podcast, and then recently we were talking with the NFL films crew and he was talking about when he was a ball boy with the Packers when you were a player, and he said you would give the ball boys a tough time. Do you remember any of those stories? You know, these stories don't have to be accurate to be good. Now that's true. I am. I am positive that I did not give the ball boys a hard time and anything. I probably

engage with them more than anybody else. Well, I know he speaks so fondly of that time. That was a lot of fun. And then how ironic to grow up both of you in your career, after your time with the Bills and coaching. Now you're in media and you all are calling Packer preseason games together. What's it like going back to do those games at Lambeau. I saw you tweeted the other day your retired number forever immortalized in the stadium. That must be a pretty cool feeling.

It is a kick, But I will I will tell you this, when and I hear Kevin Harland doing a basketball game, I get the immediate urge to text him because I just you feel that connection when there's somebody that you've worked with, somebody that you're friends with, especially and they are, you know, doing these Marquee events. It's just hard not to want to reach out and say, hey, what's up? Is your dad like that in real life?

As he does, he like call what he's doing in the house with that much further no. In fact, you know, he has four kids, three of them are girls, and we laugh sometimes at the dinner table we're all talking a mile a minute and he's been quiet for about thirty minutes, and we'll say, well, Dad, what do you think? And he's like, I have no idea what the hell you guys are talking about? You talked so fas and James,

you're right, father and grandfather. Do you ever feel like that that you kind of play second fiddle to your wife?

Beverly Well, I remember when my kids were young, and now they're all in their thirties, but we used to play a game that I really enjoyed when I was driving, and it was called a quiet game, and we wanted to see how long the kids could be quiet in the car because I'm not a big talker, even though I talked for a living, and like your dad, he's probably not just a big talker naturally, but he enjoys the event. So when you are that type of person

and you're not a talkative person. You actually enjoy a little bit of quiet now and then. Well, James, I know you're very hands on father and grandfather. I just saw you last week. You're showing me pictures of the grandkids. Such a beautiful family. What's your advice to Janice as

a first time dad now to a little girl? That could take on more than just one segment, because what you really want to do, you want to be able to cast yourself into the future anytime there's a little hiccup, you know, when the diaper explodes, when the milk gets teated over and say, what what a wonderful moment that actually was eighteen nineteen years ago, Because you don't get those moments over and so you want to cherish every

moment that you really can't as a father. Yeah, I've realized as a father, there's a lot of audibles you gotta call. You have a play. Things are supposed to go a certain way, and the diaper explodes, and you really got to go off the cuff. You were talking about the silent treatment in the car, seeing how long the kids not not the not, the silent treatment, the silent game, the silent game, I'm sorry game because you

want to challenge your kids. You know that you you don't get to talk until you see a yellow Volkswagen beetle. You know how rare those are now, very rare, very rare. On the field. How much talking did you do? How much trash talking goes on between the cornerback and the wide receiver when you're in game. I think there's a lot more going on now because I think the kids who are playing now are much more aware that they are on camera. They are because even within their own stadium,

they're gonna be on camera on the replay. So when I played, that was a lot different. You know, television didn't really factor into how we played the game, and now it does, with instant replays, with reviews, with challenges, everybody can see almost every play. You see players after plays over gazing up at the scoreboard looking to see what the last play was? Was a blocking assignment right?

That I run my pattern right? So they are acutely aware of what's going on, and they do tend to chirp at one another a lot more than we did in my day. What else do you feel like it is a big difference from your day to kids now, And I say kids, you know, they're grown men in the NFL, of course, but but there's so much different off the field. What do you feel like translates most on the field when you look at the differences in time, Well,

I think you wanted to get to know players. When we went back to Green Bays last week, I went by my old neighbor's house and I actually got to go into the house that I used to live in, and it's been remodeled about three or four times, so you know, the butts and goads of it were kind of the same, but everything else was different. And I think it's the same way in football that the game is the same, You're you're playing on the same size field,

different things like that. But the rules have been tweaked just enough from the late nineties to the way the game is played now. And I even played in the late seventies, So when you even look at the players, a big offensive lineman used to be a two sixty pound guy. Now that's a small tight end. So just

the physicality of the game is different. And like you said, we get to know the players a little more off the field through their own social media, So you you have a kind of a feeling of what they're like as people and what their thoughts are about. What was it like for you playing in Green Bay? I mean, were you prepared for that level of cold coming from

where you came from? Yeah, I came from southern California, And so what I had to do is I had to redefine what the word cold meant, because because as a kid from California, cold is when it's fifty degrees and it's gonna be cold, and you gotta bundle up and do all this kind of stuff, and fifty degree day in Green Bay is a reason to wear shorts. It was a lot different, but I I really took it as a badge of honor to try and play well in the cold weather. And I remember the very

first cold practice we had. We were standing out on the old AstroTurf field outside and my fingers were just numb. I didn't have on gloves, and bart Star handed me one of those little tiny hand heaters and he said, here, this will help. And I remember thinking to myself, no, it's not helping. What would be helping is if we move this stadium to southern California. That might have helped a little bit, James. He brought up bart Star. That's, you know, as big a packer player as there is

in history. What are some of your memories of him as you as you think about your time together. I have, I have so many memories about bart They can have like a little uh blackard in my den that Barton Cherry gave us after we got married, and two paraphrases says, do not look for perfection in your mate where you will not find it, and it goes on and on and on. It says a couple of other real rosy things.

But so he's somebody I think about every day. And I also trying pattern a little bit of my life over one of his other things, because he said you can judge the true measurable man by how he treat

someone who can do nothing for him. And when when I say that, I still get chills because I can remember sitting in the St. Norbert's auditorium during training camp when he said that, and he was really relaying it to something else that was going on, because we were keeping the locker room a little messy, and we weren't going trash into trash can. We weren't thilling the laundry and the laundry bins, and he said, you can tell the true measure of a man by how he treats

someone who can do nothing for him. And that just still brings to my soul. Kind of on that note, in a nostalgia mindset, every year going to Canton for the Hall of Fame induction must be a very special part of the year for you. What were your impressions this year? Well, this year, because it was doubled up, you had lost which was a huge class of twenty people,

and then class was going to be eight people. So now you have to account for twenty eight people, and not only people, but their family and their friends, their entourages, the clubs that come to see So during the course of the weekend it seemed like things were going fast forward. You would see somebody who was associated with a player or a coach that was going in or an administrator and go, okay, you're here to see that person. They don't know I'm actually here to see some and and

so it was just this ball of confusion. But he's a good ball of confusion. Do you have to have a great memory to be an NFL player? Because there's so many guys on the team. Have you ever run into any problems remembering anyone who's on your team with without a doubt? And not even that for me, having been a player, a coach, and a broadcaster, there's a blurred line between was that guy my teammate? Did I? Did I coach him? Or did I just call games

that he played in? And there have been a couple of players that that the answer that yes, all three. So I've had teammates. I've had guys that I ended up coaching who are also my teammates. And and it was funny when I was coaching with the San Diego Chargers. Every week you give your players a test on different assignments and things like that, and then I give him an odd ball test. And I told them on this San Diego Chargers team, there are two players that were

my teammates. Who were they? So they start scrambling around. They find the media guy, Steve Christie, who's a kicker for the Chargers, was also the kicker in Buffalo and was a kicker while I was there in Buffalo. They can't figure out the next person. I said, I said, you guys have to figure it out, I'm not gonna tell you. Weeks go by, months go by. Finally they're going tell us who the last person was because we cannot figure it out. We've looked, We've talked to guys

around the locker room. Nobody knows. I go, okay, Junior say out. They go, wait a minute, you didn't play for the Chargers. No, the last Pro Bowl that I played in, Junior say, I was on my team. We worked teammates. Yeah, there you have it. They didn't think, They did not think about that. Oh, that's funny. Speaking of all all your Pro Bowl trips, eight times named a Pro Bowler, who were some players that you never got a chance to play with on a team outside

of there that really left an impression on you. Who's someone who just made you laugh, made you think about the game difference, something like that. Well, the quarterbacks were always front and center. And the very first Pro Bowl that I played in, and I still get a kick out of saying this, my two quarterbacks were Roger Stabat and Archie Manning the other Manning, not Peyton or Eli, but the other man. So that was always pretty neat.

And I remember one trip back from Aloha Stadium back to the Hilton Hawaian Village, which is about the thirty minute bus ride. I sat down next to Joe Tisman and I remember saying hey, Joe, and then he proceeded to talk for the next thirty minutes. He has the gift of gab where he just kept going and going, and he was talking about all his future plans and what he planned to do, and you know he accomplished most of them. What are you what are you looking

for this upcoming season? Who are some of your favorites going in? Some of your favorites at your position? Well, when when you say favorites, all of a sudden, the former teams that you played for, Croper. You know, this week in the preseason when we're filming this Buffalo and Green Bear play. Naturally, those are two teams that are right on that Super Bowl cusp that are expected to be at least in the a f C and NFC

championship games. So that be great. Another former team, the Raiders, are opening up a brand new stadium and its interesting in their stadium last year was brand new, but Mark Davis, the owner, decided if the fans can't go, I'm not even going to the game, and so they're starting out on Monday Night Football this year, and so a lot of excitement there. In terms of players they're they're just

so many. And the thing that, especially from my position, everybody wants to know who's the best receiver, and it varies ever so slightly from week to week. It's kind of like the p G a Professional golf association. The number one ranked player in the world fluctuates depending upon

what place he was in and this and that. So if you really want, they're probably ten really great receivers, more so than there were in the seventies and eighties and nineties, because teams just throw the ball so much, they're so proficient at throwing it, and people practice it a lot more than they ever used to. What makes a great receiver? You always hear about the prototype six three six for what he can on, But then you see guys like Julian Edelman who are of that prototype,

who put up big numbers, who are very resourceful. What is it that makes a great receiver? So in part of your question, you kind of answered it because you say big numbers, and not only do you put up big numbers, but you put up important numbers and in addition to that, the other team cannot stop you. So I used to say it was the four essence. Let me see if I got this right, size, speed, strength, and skill. Yeah, yeah, four. So I I was right.

And so you can have guys of different sizes, different speeds. A guy that that comes off the tongue first is probably Davante Adam because he doesn't have a Robin to go along with him. That is of significant. The second receivers for the Green Bay Packers are all decent players, but they don't have a second receiver who's catching sixty five or seventy passes. It's Davante Adams was about a

hundred and twenty. And so if you're the defense and you go into the game and you go, we have to stop Davante Adams, and corner after corner, linebacker after linebacker, safety after safety sliding in that direction, they can't stop Davante Adams. So is it Davante Adams is unstoppable or is it unstoppable where you can't stop Aaron Rodgers from getting in the ball. So it's it's that combination between

the two. And when you mentioned Julian Edelman, yeah, Tom Brady thrown to him, and you couldn't stop Tom Brady from throwing the ball to Julian Edelman. So you look around the league and there are a lot of guys like that who can dominate and dictate the course of the game. James sticking with the Packers, and you brought up Aaron Rodgers. I think players from your generation have a hard time grasping, um, how much money they're making,

the demands they're making, the kind of hot and cloud. Recently, Aaron Rodgers said he was fifty fifty on even playing this season. What was your take on the whole thing? Is someone so close with the Suckers and covering them this preseason? You know, I watched it kind of developed, and I knew that there was a dropped dead day, and that dropped dead day was kind of like when training camp started, and so everything that you were talking about had you had to drop at that point and

you had to resolve it. Because I really believe that Aaron Rodgers wanted to play and has a desire to play and love's playing, and as good a host as he was on Jeopardy, I think he realized that that could wait. Something like that could wait in football. Normally, once you walk away, you don't get to come back. You know, occasionally a guy gets to come back and comes back a year later and he finds out that, yeah,

I should have just stayed retire. So for Aaron Rodgers, you know, he has this other guy out there who's running the Ultra Marathon and Tom Brady, And I think Tom's is Tom forty four. This year is forty three. Right now, we've kind of forgotten how old Tom Brady is because it's it's not part of the discussion. Once he turned forty and then after he continue to play pass four? Do you want you go, huh, well, maybe

you can play until he's fifty. The rules allow for quarterbacks not to get hit as much or as often, but they still get hit. And for Aaron Rodgers, I'm just glad that he's back in uniform and uh we get to watch him play for one, two, three, four more years. What do you think has to happen this season in Green Bay for him to stay longer. I think for them to back up the Brinks truck a little more. And I think I think it's money and

a little bit of money is power. There's been some discussion that he didn't have, you know, say, on who's on the roster. And I can totally understand that from general manager's perspective or from a head coach's perspective, because players get attached to other players for for reason. Sometimes it's because the player is a good player, sometimes because he's a good friend, he's a good fishing buddy or

something like that, and you want that guy around. And sometimes you know, they have to make tough decisions, the coaches and the general managic did see. I don't think it's money. I think what you said he wanted more to say. I think he was blindsided by the La Fleur higher, which seems crazy to me because it fits him so well. He's an offensive coach, he's a young guy.

I I feel like the Packers are doing as much as they can to make Aaron comfortable, But as a Packer fan myself, it's just tough to watch the whole thing unfold. So the point of my question was, is it super Bowl or bust? Do you think to get Aaron to want to stay in Green Bay. I think it's gonna be hard to duplicate the last two years where they've been thirteen and three, they been an offensive juggernaut because so much is out of control. Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs for by far the best team

during the regular season. They is both their offensive tackles before the Super Bowl and they look like a team does during the preseason where they can't protect the quarterback. So if you can stay healthy, if everybody can stay healthy, you can you can have a chance to do those things. But it's hard to replicate year after year. Honest, did you know you were on a Packer home podcast? I did not. Yeah, I feel like I'm I'm yeah, I feel like I should have a cheese head on right now. Yeah, yeah,

I gotta ask you this question. Everyone nowadays is obsessed with goat lists, greatest of all Time list wide receiver. If you had to pick five all time, who are your five all time greatest wide receivers? Well, see that. The toughest thing is that the receiver who I put number one, I've never seen him play. I've seen some grainy footage of him, and that would be Don Hudson.

Because when Don Hudson played but the Bears had a Sid Luckman Hall of Fame quarterback, there was a year that Don Hudson had more receiving yards and said Luckman had passing yards. Transfer that to today's game. There's a receiver who just had five thousand yards and receptions during the year. How good would he be? I mean, what would what would he look like? He'd looked like I guess he looked like Don Johnson running through a bunch

of Kevin Harts. But so you take Don Hudson and you put him number one on the list because he kind of invented the passing game. And then I think you you really have to look at guys who played before the Super Bowl era and just because the game was different, they didn't have sticky gloves, they didn't have field curve to play off, so it's it's it's different. So I hate doing it. You're you're not there, twist my arm. I'm not gonna do it, but I would you know, I would be I would be number six.

You can play yourself, I mean six, you know, just like when they had the hundred greatest NFL players, I was one on one. I'm pretty sure about that. Oh that's funny. Well, this weekend you are calling Packers at Bills, your two former teams. You've brought up if it were a regular season game that mattered, who would you cheer for? Am I am I broadcasting the game? What am I doing? Is the game just going one? You're not broadcasting. I

don't know. You know, I feel like I know Aaron Rodgers a little more than I know Josh Allen, And so it was funny. The first time I ran in d Aaron Rodgers off the field was here in San Diego, and he had but he was in about his fifth year and I saw him. He was at Ladanian Tomlinson's golf tournament, and I'm looking at him, going, that guy looks familiar because he had only started one or two years at the time. I'm going, I think that, Nah, I don't. I'm not sure. I think that's Aaron Rodgers.

And I wonder where I said, James Lofton goes high. I'm Aaron Rodgers. Of course I forgot that you lived out here, So you know, those associations don't go way easy. I have been invited by the Packers twice to announce players at the NFL Draft, and I am two for two. And when I say two for two, we're talking about Grand Slams out of the park, longest home run ever hit. I don't know Jenkins, Mississippi State and Davante Adams. That's

pretty good, not that out of the part. I don't know why the Packers do not have me do it every year. Seriously. Yeah, you need to you need to talk to him about that. That's pretty good. This is

always something that has interested me. And I've never asked any player or former player this question, but briefs, yeah, yes, I used to always be the question when you're when the game comes down to it, right, when it comes down to a final play and it's on the foot of a field goal kicker, how does that feel like? Is that? Do you know? Do you feel like you want to be out there to win the game or do you feel like it's anticlimactic that it ends up being on a guy who doesn't play the whole game

and then comes in and determines the game. But you know what, nobody plays the whole game. Good. Everybody. Everybody's out there in their particular time and doing their thing. And I was really fortunate early in my career we had jon stan Route come to Green Bay and he came there and he was there during the season. Maybe he was there early as eight one in my state,

eight three or eighty four. But here's the guy who played in the sick late in the sixties, and so when he came to Green Bay, he was already like older than everybody else on the team. And I remember we ran wind sprints after practice where you run over and back, over and back, and you're basically ran two hundred yards and you run about four of those. Well, jon sten Rude ran with the receivers, and he beat

half the guys. You know. The other guys would would say, oh, well, we've been practicing all day and he's just coming over to run. But he had been a ski jumper. He was a terrific athlete. So right then and there the thing about oh them not being good athletes, Well, you go out and try and kick the ball. That that's an athletic skill. So I've never, you know, looked at the kicker as the guy who's less than anybody else on the roster. Wow, okay, James, I've just won more

for you. As we look back at the whole career, I got plenty of time. Okay, we left hearing that love you and that one question to look back on my whole career. Yeah, that's its gon no, And I want to focus on the coaching part that whole chapter after you played, I think as the season begins, And we had Ron Dworsky on last week and he said he was a proponent that no coach should have been fired last year because of all the difficulties that COVID presented.

And I can definitely appreciate that. What do fans not know about the coaching carousel? Because I've seen glimpses of it from my background covering the league and being around my my dad and my grandpa. It's a very tough gig on the person, on the individual, on the family. Um coach. Coaching is a is a tough line of work. What do fans need to know going into a new football season about what it's like to be a coach. I think that they work a lot longer hours than

than you really could imagine. I remember going to my first coaching interview and it was right after I retired and I didn't take the job, and Ted marcher Broda was the offensive coordinator. Well, no, I take that back. He was the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and he had been my offensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills, and Ted I just love he was. He's kind of

like your grandfather, you know. He saw spoken very nice and he go he would always whenever he talk to you, go Jim, I mean James, I mean, I do mean James. He said, we don't work long hours here. He said, Monday to Thursday, we worked from six to eleven and Friday you're home by dinner by eight o'clock. And I went, did he just say six to eleven am to eleven pm Monday to Thursday and Friday you're home by dinner by eight o'clock. And I thought to myself, So I

didn't take the job. I did take the job almost ten years later. And it was interesting when I had a chance to interview for head coaching job. And you go in and you give the person that you're you know, talking to your schedule and and I said, you know, I'm gonna be honest with I have some unique views about the hours that coaches work. And I said, Monday, after a game, we're out of the office at six o'clock. I don't want to see the coaches back in the

office until ten am Tuesday morning. We'll work until ten pm that night if we can't come up with a game plan for our next opponent, and a game plan that is really repetitive because you're you're just adding a few things that are specific to the team that you're about to face. If we can't come up with a game plan in twelve hours, we don't need to be coaching. Wow. And and the person looked at me, stop their teeth

a little bit. Those I don't like that. I want to have my coaches in their offices and I want them they're burning the midnight oil. And I said, when you burn the midnight oil, all you do is run out of oil. And so I really believe that coaches need to be fresh. Uh. And I see my friends who are assistant coaches now late in the season in October and November, and they looked like they haven't slept since June. So it's it's a tough it's a tough, tough job, and you sacrifice a lot of time being

away from your family. My my daughter, my youngest, who was really at home when I was doing all the coaching. The boys are kind of off in college that you just never got to meet any of my friends, and that was like, oh, you know, hitting below the belt, but it was it was honest. Well, I'm glad you answered that. I think a lot of people are so tough on coordinators and position coaches, especially because they don't know what all goes on behind the scenes. So thanks

for answering that. James offten Hall of Famer, this was a true treat. You can catch him on CBS NFL Sundays, Westwood One. That's we've gotten to share the air waves together. That was a lot of fun, and doing Packer preseason right now on Packer TV network and some of them are airing on NFL Network. You can keep up with him on Twitter as well. James, thanks so much for

joining us. I thought you were gonna say you can't get rid of him here out of him, Well, Janice was probably gonna say that, so I said it before he did. Hey, well you know you said we you know, you gotta be fresh, so we could keep you here all night, like if you're still coaching, we could keep going. Oh that's not how were you guys are great? You guys are a great parent together. Thank you. That was so much fun. Thank you. My friend tell Beverly we

say hi, thank you, thank you. Well, we've got some cash to give away. In fact, three lucky winners are going to win five hundred dollars in credit for bet MGM. And here's how. So make sure you're paying attention. You've got to leave a review whatever you want to say. We're gonna pick our three favorites on Apple podcasts. Janice and I. We're going to scour the reviews and pick our favorite. You will win five hundred dollars, will send you a d M, so look out for that. We're

excited to give away some cash. But what are you gonna do when you have it? Well, we're gonna help you there too. We bring in Peter Andrew with bet MGM. Peter, how are you doing good. I'm not gonna give any honest Olympic picks. They're guaranteed to lose. So we had we had a good week last week. We're gonna picks for this week. Yeah, you said, do you think you're five? And our week? Yeah? I think I went five an hour Olivia. We talked about the Jets over the Packers.

So that was number one right there. Chiefs minus two and a half against Arizona. Another winner Ravens. We talked about that winning Street minus three and a half. Check it off. Another winner. There's bill Over thirty eight and a half, which was a very high scoring game. Weren't expected with the Bills all over the place scoring, but that was a winner. And then my Niners minus four and a half they were winning against San Diego. If you got that line late, you're a loser because it

went up to six. But if you caught it at four and a half. After listening to these three fine folks, you went five and l You included yourself on three fine Yeah, Joannice, have you noticed he doesn't really remember that specifically when he loses. He had those ready. Yeah, I gotta gas myself up at the right times and then I'll He definitely emphasizes the winds for sure. But that's the way you do it. And hey, this is the podcast to listen to if you want to make

some bucks. We got the guru right here. Well, it is the last weekend of the NFL preseason. You mentioned a high over under last week. I'm looking at one at thirty eight Vikings Chiefs, are you still the undertakers? Thirty eight too high for your comfort? There. Yeah, I do like it over today, but it's not that game. I just don't know what to expect with those with those teams, I don't know how much you're gonna see that chief spoting offense. So I will probably take under there.

Where I do like the over I know we've talked about this before, is where there's QB controversy, where they're gonna be playing a lot of the game Niners Raiders over thirty five and a half. I think there's a big expectation that Jimmy and Trey Lance will play lots of the game. I know we still haven't announced a quarterback at in San Francisco, so I think Trey is going to continue to do everything he can, like last

week to put up some points on the board. So as long as those two are in the game, I expected to be somewhat high scoring. They probably covered the three and a half as well. Um, So really like the over there all right? Very nice? How about the US Open? You paying attention to the US Open at all? Is there any money to be made betting on anyone else besides Joker to win it? Yeah, it's tough. I mean it's Jokers to lose. We obviously know he's going

for the Calendar Grand Slam. I still like Barrett Tiny again who he happened to play in the Wimbledon final, Betts plus thirty three hundred, So I think if you're taking something, uh, you may be balanced out. Take Joker minus one thirty five, but also put a little money on the board, try to try to risk it a bit on the On the women's side, it's probably Party who I'm going with. She's plus three fifty. She is the favorite, but I think she's there for a reason.

So I'm staying in life for now. I think I need to see a couple of games, and of course we can live bettered a bit as the tournament goes on and we see kind of where the performance lies across some of the others. From your perspective at the sports book, have you noticed Nami Osaka's off court publicity and storyline overall affecting her odds? Yeah, people are staying away.

So I think people are very careful. You know. Of course, when some things happen and she ends up dropping out of a tournament, we do voids and bets in specific instances, but I think people as a whole are just kind of careful and stay away, and it opens up I think for some of them, maybe the longer shots, to have a chance to jump in, especially on that part of the bracket where she would be as the one

or the two or the three, sive, etcetera. So it is weird, but I think that will kind of stuff do as we go on a little bit and we get through this little period. What's the line on Serena. Serena's plus fourteen, She's always someone there. I think she plays well at Arthur Ash, so that's someone to keep an eye on. Again, I think she's just a little bit too overinflated in terms of where where she isn't in the rankings. So that's typically why I stay away.

Party is just above and beyond better than most. So that's why plus three I think is the move you mentioned. Djokovic at minus one thirty five. He worries me a little bit because he struggled with injuries in Tokyo, falling short of a gold medal. He went threw from some past events due to what he says is fatigued, So I feel like that's either going to go one of two ways. He's either going to come out swinging literally and feel amazing and sharp. But does any of that

concern you if you're wanting to back the Joker? It does, But I kind of agree with you there. I think the fatigue kind of you know, it hit him hard while he was at the Olympics and for some of those smaller ATP tournaments. But if he's gonna come back completely refreshed, he knows what's at stake. Um, So I think he does come back looking like the Joker of late, you know, in the last three majors and certainly over

the last couple of years. So I don't have as big a fear or some but certainly have to be Okay, Peter Andrew, thanks so much for always giving us good advice. We'll see how you do another five and weekend. I love Peter. I feel like I want to replace my business manager with him. Five and Oh he's doing better than my business manager right now, making more money. Yeah, So we'll see how he does five and Oh, that's

pretty good. He's undefeated last week. But I don't know how much of a tennis fan he is, so we'll see what happens. But that was a great show. I had a great time, Olivia. I always have a great time with you. I did to my friend, and you got James Lofton to really open up. So well done you. He's great, isn't he. Yeah, But I mean you know him personally, so I feel like that was you. I feel like you're the one who opens people up. I'm the one who supports you when you get your teeth wet.

That's what I'm here to do. Remember, people, get your teeth wet and follow us at bet MGM on all social media platforms. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts, but especially go to Apple podcasts. Leave a review. Like Olivia said, we will pick our three favorite and you'll get some money to bet with. And also tell friends, tell friends about the podcast, and leave comments and let us know we love you very much.