Kurt Warner On His New Film, Advice For QB’s, and NFL Week 1

of college football like I did? I did. I parked it on the couch, popped a couple of truly's and watched some beautiful, beautiful college football. America's back. Baby. I didn't take you for a truly drinker, to be honest. I know, you know. It's some kind of calories and it's it's they're they're a nice summer drink. Yeah, yeah, hey, I'm with you. I just you don't really look like a truly drinker. Well that's a very nice way of calling me fat. I look more like a beer drinker. No,

you just look like a man's man. Yeah, I got dad, Bob, I get it. No, no, no, Hey, someone who is going to want to pop a truly when they hear that they have won this contest in five hundred dollars to bet MGM. Actually three people who won our Apple podcast review contest. Do you have the winners of those? I do have the three lucky winners. Give it up for Ta pipes, lamar age, L M, A R E E J. Don't know what I pronounce it. I'm not French. And then we have Taylor Luccini, a good Italian kid.

All three of you have one congratulations. You have just won five hundred dollars in credit to bet with from bet MGM. What you gotta do is either DM me Olivia or bet MGM on Twitter to claim your prize. Will do the rest your reviews. Really funny, you know Olivia agreed on all three. It's probably the only three things will agree on on this coming season, and I

hope we don't agree on three things. Later in the show, Peter Andrew are betting expert with bet MGM is going to pick three random NFL games every week, and you and I are going to pick the winner. Every week. We're gonna see who had the better weekend, and that person is going to have to read an outro that the other one writes you already know I blush at potty humor. I am really nervous that you're going to write something nasty for me to read every week, So

I'm taking this one seriously. We call the segment punishment picks. Make sure to listen at the end of every episode, Nana, so you can be real competitive on this one. That it's just so fun. I was just smiling while you read that. We're gonna pimp each other out. And here's the thing, Olivia, you you have to read whatever I write. Of course, you're gonna lose more than I am. So I can't wait to punch these keyboards and pimp you out. I don't know. I'm going to study it pretty hard

on that, but I'm looking forward to that segment. Also coming up in the show, we have Kurt Warner. He's one of the best stories in the NFL. He went from stocking grocery store shelves to winning Super Bowls m v P, and he's a Hall of Famer. This is one of my favorite interviews we have ever had. You honest, wasn't he great? It was incredible. He's got his movie coming out telling his amazing story. Uh. He really was

an incredible interview. He gave us a lot of football insight and told his story and really got us excited for the movie that's coming out. And he has really good insight on the first Monday night football game of the season. It's Ravens at Raiders, and he's calling that game on Westwood one, and he is going to give

us his take on both of those quarterbacks. Let's get to the rest of the Week one matchups because there's a lot to get to, you know, be honest, this season is going to be so different because we have packed stadiums. We saw it in college football last week. Again, it is so refreshing to see that. And there's a lot of data to the home advantage with crowds that we learned from the season. So home advantage is back, and I think bigger than ever because I think fans

are going to be crazier and louder than ever. This is also the first season in NFL history with seventeen games. There's also a new crackdown on taunting. What do you think of that, Yannis, Don't we think that's like, I think that's ridiculous. Yeah, I I hate when they take the theatrics out of the game. I mean, that's what makes the modern game fun. Let these guys dance, let them do a TikTok. Why not. I'm with you, I'm with you. The taunting is is kind of a silly

thing that makes it fun. I think so. And what a random thing for them to crack down on. Anyway, So we're going to see that in Week one. All the action starts Thursday, Cowboys at raining super Bowl champs Tampa Bay. The Bucks are an eight point favorite and that has gone up. Check at at MGM to see that the Cowboys. They have a new defensive coordinate later, but not much talent, although I do like that first round draft pick Michael Parsons. He's been quite the character

on Hard Knocks. Dak Prescott will be playing after a right shoulder injury in the preseason. You know, he had an ankle injury early last season, so he is ready to go. It has been hard to watch that shoulder injury on Hard Knocks as well. But six time Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin is in COVID protocol. His status is unknown for Week one. This isn't just any offensive lineman. He is their offense, Ezekiel. Elliott even said that's their best player on offense. He has a huge presence on

this team. So that one I'm like in Tampa Bay for reasons galore. But once I saw Zack Martin was out, I was like, it's done for Dallas. They don't have a chance Week one. Yeah, that's a He's the one who would help out Ezekiel the most. And if the if that running game isn't on point, they got no shot. Yep. And Brady's five o versus the Cowboys in his career

and listen to this, Johnnie. The Super Bowl champ goes thirteen and three overall in season openers in the last sixteen years, and against the spread, the Super Bowl champ is eleven four and one, So there's some stats to back up your bet. I would definitely go with Tampa Bay. Yeah. They bring it back all twenty two starters, right, Yeah,

yeah they are. And not all of those starters were with them at the beginning of last season, like Antonio Brown, so they have even more cohesion than they did last season. I like Tampa Bay to be better than they were last year. I agree with you, damn it. We agree, damn it, hopefully not at the end. Okay, there's a lot of excitement around the Chargers this season. They have a new stadium, they have a new head coach, Rookie of the Year Justin Herbert ready for his sophomore season.

But look, it's his first season with packed stadiums, on the road and at home. He's learning a new offense, new coach. I don't know. I think it's something to think about. I don't know if Herbert can live up to that freshman campaign. And they start on the road at Washington Basing fits magic and the spread is at one point favoring l A. I think that's a sneaky one. I don't know if I would even touch that one. What do you think? I agree with you. I'm not

touching on one. That's a little sneaky. I think the crowd does play a role. We'll see how he reacts football. The game slows down as you gain experience, and this is this is him just getting his feet wet. So I agree with you. I like it. There's a really good one in the a f C three thirty Browns at Chiefs. Those are two sexy teams. The Chiefs are favored at six and a half. Look, the Browns have experience, they have great skill players. Baker Mayfield is ready for

a big season. He's sniffing a big contract like other guys in his draft class have already gotten. And he's not learning a new offense for the first time since he's been a Brown. But I like the Chiefs. I like healthy Patrick Mahomes gives a new offensive line. I think they win by at least a touchdown. I'm laying the points there. Mahomes has never lost in September. Can you believe that it's his birthday month? He's never lost in September. I can't believe it. He's incredible. I've never

seen a or back like him. I don't. I never liked the wild card of Odell Beckham Jr. I'm a jive fan, so I'm a little bitter. But you cannot bet against Mahomes and the Chiefs. I think they're gonna win and win big. Actually, I'm calling a blowout, blowout. Jeez. Now your team's the Giants, right, yes, big time. So they play the Broncos. Broncos have new quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. That's a home game. You're not going to it, are you No, I'm not going to it unless bet MGM

pays for it. Okay, I'll put in a good word. So quarterback Daniel Jones will be praying to keep his jersey clean. He has a terrible offensive line, and he's also going to be praying that his running back State Kwon Barkley is cleared in time. As of Tuesday when we're recording this, his status is up in the year. Denver is a two and a half point favorite. That will definitely change as we get closer to kickoff based on State Kwan's status. So look, i'd say take the

points now. I hope that Barkley is back. What do you think? Oh God, this is just the same old story in New York right now. Terrible offensive line and a questionable say quon I mean, and it's just I'm gonna I'm gonna bet against the giants. I'm trying to make some money. Like Olivia, she doesn't bet with her hard. I gotta get a little colder. They're gonna lose. Goddamn it. I hate when I do that. You have a daughter to support, exactly, I gotta be you know, capitalism wins.

I like it. Look Sunday night. That is such a good game. That's the NBC game. Bears at Rams. Rams are a seven and a half point favorite with new quarterback Matt Stafford from Detroit. Look, a lot of pundits are saying that he'll be m v P. This would be a great debut if he's trying to put together that type of season. And they also got running back Sony Michelle a couple of weeks ago from New England. He was the only player to score a touchdown verse l A in the Pasts Super Bowl win a couple

of years ago. He's also a u G A guy like I like the Rams at over a touchdown. I wish it was a little bit lower. I wish it was a seven point favorite. Seven and a half is tricky, but I will take the Rams here. Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to bet on this one at all. Yeah, So I'm gonna pass on this one. But I'm just gonna say, if you're not going Josh Allen for m v P this year, then you've got another thing coming. I mean, they're basically shining that trophy for the kid.

He's unbelievable. Oh, I like, you're very confident on that one. Look, I land in Vegas on Thursday, I am immediately going to our sports book in placing all these bets. I have data analysis notes. I am so ready to win some money this weekend. It's not even funny. As soon as I get there, I'm doing the same thing. I might even just blindfold myself and just you know, just picking by chance can be fun too. It's a little

more exciting. I may do no research and just play pin the tail on the donkey and just let my finger do the talk. Just watch. You are going to win so much money doing that. And here I'm gonna be there with my little legal notepad and I'm gonna lose because I overthought it. Well, that's a difference between me and you. You prepare, I wing it. I love it. You know I should mention next week we are doing our podcast in Las Vegas of the Mandalay Bay. I'm

so excited, honest, We're gonna have so much fun. I even made us a dinner reservation. We are hitt in Vegas hard. Yeah, I mean, actually, this is the first time we're going to see each other in person, so, uh, this is a very twenty twenty one post COVID type of relationship we have where we're finally seeing each other in person after we've been working together for a long time. While I hope you don't catfish me and come out like a five hundred pound man and a trailer in

Louisiana or something. Well, you already think I live in a cabin, so yeah, I mean I've been using a filter this whole time. I mean, yeah, I'm actually I'm a Romanian troll. So I'm just a troll bot. I'm a Russian bot. I love it. Let's finish off with the last game of the weekend. It's Monday Night football. It is in Vegas. I hope you and I are still standing by Monday, because it's gonna be a long weekend. But the Ravens are a four and a half point

favorite in the first NFL game at Allegiant Stadium. Look buy you fans gotta break in the stadium. This past weekend against Arizona, they really traveled well. That was impressive. So that's going to be such a good one. I think it will be high scoring. So I would advise all our betters to take the over at fifty one and a half and here's why it's a big national game. So sometimes refs have this. Let them play mentality right,

not as many penalties. And last year the Raiders were the best team in the NFL at allowing the over to hit at twelve three and one. Ravens are so explosive on offense, but they do have some injuries in the receiving corps. They'll be running a lot, obviously with quarterback Lamar Jackson, and he almost always covers on the road. So I'll take the Ravens. I'll lay the points. So

all of that is so interesting. Make sure if you do place a bet this weekend and it goes horribly wrong for you and you have a bad beat, to tweet at bet MGM and you could win our bad Beat of the Week. We're going to select whoever has the worst beat and send them fifty dollars credit to bet MGM. All you have to do is tweet us at bed MGM. Not only that, we're gonna read it live on the podcast and give you a little pub We already have a winner for this weekend, and so

are you ready for it? Ready? Bad Beat all the Week? Our poor guy Tommy. Tommy gets at t y n l g Z. Poor guy. He cashed a parlay before the game started just to put it on the only losing leg of it. He's talking about Week one college football, and I feel you, Tommy, because his game that lost was Penn State at Wisconsin. Penn State wins. That was an ugly game. It was zero zero at halftime, and

our man lost some money. I'm so sorry, Tommy. Tommy, you can't win them all, buddy, but you know you did get a shot out, so that's the silver line and fifty bucks. Not bad, not bad. Just put it on some of these Week one games. Hopefully he was listening to us, Tommy, we gave you a lot of free advice there, my friend. So make sure you listen. And the last segment of the show with Peter Andrew,

he gets into the nitty gritty that's going to be good. Hey, before we get to this Kurt Warner interview, I was really thinking a lot and this stumped me because when we were asking him about his movie coming up in December, I think he had some creative input on who was cast as himself, his wife, his kids, his coach, teammates, all that, and I started thinking Okay. If I had to cast my whole family and myself in a movie, who would I pick? I don't know. And then j honest,

I was asking you too. Have you ever had like a celebrity lookalike who could play you in a movie. Absolutely, it's got to be John Stamos. I mean, you saw the Irishman, right, It's crazy what they can do with c g I. Now they can make him look a lot less good looking. Oh my gosh, anyone else in case Stamos is busy? Uh? Michael B. Jordan's people say yes, yeah, yeah, I mean where he's like my doppelganger. Either that Treat Williams. People tell me I look like Treat Williams. The only

problem is he's seventy, so that's gonna be tough. All the watch people say that I look like. Also Leonardo DiCaprio, I get a lot. Oh yeah, if he's squint and drink a bunch of Trulies until your head. Yeah. I mean people say me and him as far as on the scale of how good looking we are, they say me and him were a tie? Would you were a tie? Yeah, let's move on. You know, my mom, if if anyone's ever seen my mom. She looks just like Christie Brinkley.

So I would definitely cast Christie Brinkley to play my mom. And they're around the same age. Dude, she's gorgeous. I would cast Nick Saban or Tom Hanks to play my dad. I've thought a lot about this one. Can Nick Saban act? Probably not, but he's not bad on those aft Flat commercials. There you go, Yeah, but he kind of looks like my dad. I don't know something about their hair or something. And then for myself, I hate this. I get Lady

Gaga a lot. I've literally been sitting at an airport bar and someone came up to me and was like, I'm so sorry to bother you, ma'am. I just want to make sure you're okay, Like, you know, you have no security. They couldn't believe Lady Gaga was sitting, you know, at the Detroit airport alone having a martini. Well that's the only place I think you could get mistaken for Lady Gaga when somebody has had fifteen martini. Because I don't get that at all, Thank you. I I really

don't see it. I'm a big fan of hers, but I get it all the time and it blows my mind. And then also Sydney Sweeney, who is closer to my age. She's in White Lotus, which I cannot get enough of right now. I love that show, but I get that one a lot. But if anyone else has any opinions on who could play Janice or myself in a movie, check out that MGMs, Twitter and Instagram. They are putting together a little poll. You can tell us what you think.

We are good natured about it, we are not easily offended, and clearly we think very highly of ourselves. With John Stamos and Sydney Sweeney playing us in a movie, don't forget Leonardo DiCaprio. He's my top choice. Yeah, I mean I could also play your dad. I mean I'm old enough. You're a little too Greek from my dad. My dad's a little bit more wonder bread he is. Yeah, I mean you are very wonder bread. You are. You're from the Heartland. I mean you you look like Taylor Swift.

I would say Taylor Swift could be a good one. Now, okay, okay, okay, let's just okay, let's get to our Kurt Warner interview. He is incredible. He was an undrafted quarterback. He went four years without making an NFL roster. He was working at a grocery store. Shout out hi V. He ended up playing twelve seasons, two time m v P Super Bowl champ and m v P Hall of Famer. If it sounds like a movie, it's because it is American Underdog.

The Kurt Warner Story is in theaters this December. Let's get a friend of the podcast Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. While we mentioned earlier, he has one of the best stories in NFL history and he's still in the game now as an analyst. Also a great Twitter, followed by the way you can catch him on NFL Network and Monday Night Football on Westwood one Radio actually with my

dad Kevin Harland. More on that aspect of it later, and I do want to pick your brain Kurt on some QB questions going into week one, but I want to get into your story. So first of all, thanks so much for joining us. This is really awesome. You got it on my pleasure. Well, I was looking back at kind of your start when you were named the starter your second season, and really, who knows if any of this fantastic story would have happened if Trent Green never tore his a c L ahead of the season,

and boom, you're the starter. And we saw what your head coach, Dick for Meal said in his press conference, the whole we're behind Kurt, We're gonna play good football. What do you remember him saying to you? Do you think they knew your potential? I don't think they had any idea, even a good job of hiding it, because I think they were stuck with me. I've actually heard some stories or some other guys over the years that, uh, that the Rams actually did reach out to a couple

of veteran quarterbacks. Did that mean to bring them in to be the starter? Did that mean to bring them in to be the backup. I'll let you speculate on that, but I know that they've reached out to some people. And again I don't blame them. I mean, I I completely understand. I think we always have to have a realistic viewpoint of other people's perspective on us or where we stand at a particular time, and and I get

it at that point in time. Uh, you know, Dick when he when he mentioned those words in that press conference. It was three tiers, and so, you know, I always joke because that knowing Dick, obviously there's tears all the time, and there was I'm sure some tears for for Trent, but I think there were also some tears like, oh my gosh, we gotta go with Kurt. Because this was Dick's third year, and you know that the speculation there was that if he didn't win, he would be fired.

He was on the hot seat. They were four and twelve, where we were four and twelve the year before, things hadn't gone well. He was out of the game for almost a decade and a half. Everybody thought the game had kind of passed him by, And so I'm sure part of those emotions was, really, is this the hand that I'm doubt, Like, you know, now I gotta go with this guy, uh, you know, and he's got to save my job, and so yeah, I think there was

a lot of emotions. And I'm not gonna sit here and say that that Dick, you know, and some of the other staff didn't believe that I could play. I just think it was an unknown and I don't know if they knew it I could play at that time, Like I was ready to be able to handle, you know, what was being laid on my plate at that particular time. But you know, to to their credit, um, you know, and I'm very grateful that they did give me that opportunity. I knew when when I took over that the least

probably wasn't gonna be very long. That I didn't know if i'd give one game or two games, or until they found a veteran quarterback. I didn't know what it was going to be. But I knew that, you know, there wasn't gonna be a lot of opportunities if I went in and didn't play well, you know early, you know, maybe I get a second start, but you know, it wasn't one of these things like, hey, we're gonna roll with you for sixteen games if you're not playing well. So,

you know, I think, again, I'm grateful. I'm thankful there was enough belief there that they actually did put the ball in my hands. But no, I don't believe any of those guys really knew what I was capable of or believed in me to the extent that they would later in the year. I just think, hey, he showed as he can throw a football and he's done some good things in the year that he's been here. Let's give him a shot that you know, we're not throwing

all of our eggs in one basket. You just said you knew that the or at least you thought the leash would be short. Was there a moment where you loosened up and you were like, I got this. You know. The funny thing is is that there was never a moment I didn't think I had it. Ah. That's the flip side of it all the time, is that, you know when you talk about my story, and I say this all the time, everybody looks at my story and

they look at all the negative stuff. But he's had on the bench for four years, and again they look at it now. Obviously sat on the bench for four years, got cut by Green Bay, worked in the grocery store, or played arena you know, all these things that on the surface go, oh my gosh, this guy can't play for me. All I looked at was what I was between the lines. So I played one year in college and I was the player of the year in our

conference that one year. I played three years in Arena football, was in the championship game twice, and voted the best quarterback in the league those last two years I was there. I went to play in Europe for a year, lad the being statistically over there. So when everybody else was looking to go, oh my gosh, it's a guy coming from a grocery store, my mindset was, what do you mean. Every time I played, I've been really, really good, and so nobody's ever shown me that I can't play. Yes,

this is the NFL. Yes it's as good as it gets. But there was never a lot of confidence because I had never been in a situation with the ball in my hands where I wasn't successful and so um so you asked that question, and I completely get it because it's different and it's bigger and there's a lot of pressure. And as I said, you know, I don't know how long my leash was. But the bottom line is I

knew I could play football. I knew that's what I did, and that's the one thing that I did really, really well. So I wasn't intimidated by oh my gosh, I have to play at the highest level. No. I mean, it's just you're still throwing and reading and making decisions and playing the game that you've played forever. So I was very confident that I could play well. I wasn't what it's confident that I would play like I did. You know that first year. I mean, so many things came

together and it was like a perfect storm. So I didn't know I would play at that level or up to that level, especially that quickly. But I did believe that I could play and that I was going to prove it to UH, to everybody that I could play at that level. You've had all these years to think back on this. What do you think teams missed on you? When you bring up the Packers cutting you early, but so many other teams missed on you too. What they forget?

I don't think it was missing from the standpoint that seeing this guy and we don't think he can play. I think it was missing from the standpoint that I just never got the opportunity. You know, I played one year in college and so yeah, I played really well

that one year. But you know, when you're looking at the landscape of college football, I mean there's guys all over the place that played in bigger schools, that played longer, that had more success, and so you know, I did get three or four opportunities from a free agency and point three three or four offers to play with teams when I got done. So it wasn't like, you know,

nobody thought I could play. It was just okay, one year Division one, double a school, smaller school, we got lots of other guys we're gonna take first, and so there just wasn't a big body of work. And then you know, from there, I went to green Bay and green Bay had you know, Red Father Market now and ty Denver. I mean it's it's a pretty good quarterback room. And you know, I went there and knowing that they only they were only gonna invite me to camp, so

it was only four of us. So I went there with the mindset, well, you didn't have to beat one of these guys out, or maybe I can make the practice squad because at that time, you we kept three quarterbacks on the bost and one on the practice squad. So that was kind of my mindset that again, there I didn't really get an opportunity. I didn't play in a single preseason game. I didn't throw a preseason you know. Past that, it was really just, hey, we got these guys,

were happy with them they're healthy, they're not hurt. We don't really need to explore another guy. And so then you know unti Arena football and at Europe, and so I don't think it was people just looking and going on, I don't think he's got it. I don't think he can play. I think it was just simply there's better options. You know, we've got a bigger book on more people that you know, nobody ever really got. You know, got to see me play, and a lot of times we

just said that. In preseason in the NFL, you're like writing your resume. So even if you don't make the team that you're on, when you get to play in preseason, everybody gets to take everybody gets to see your throws. And like I said, I get these rows. I didn't get a chance to showcase anything. So everybody else around the league is probably just thinking, oh, no, he was

what he got. He was. It was Division one quarterback that wasn't drafted and he didn't make the Packers, So you know what makes us think that we should give him a shot at that point. It's also amazing that you played in Amsterdam and you played on a team with another guy who ended up becoming another amazing story with Jake the home did looking back, did you guys reminisce about that or talk about that now, going wow, isn't that amazing? We we did, and uh, you know

we've caught up about that. You know, Jake ends up taking his team to the super Bowl. I got to play in three super Bowls. I mean Rad Johnson's another guy that played in Europe, took his team to a Super Bowl, won a Super Bowl, and so, um, yeah, we we talked about that a lot because for both of us, you know, we were you know, looked at looked upon it playing at smaller places and you know, maybe couldn't play at that level, and so we were

both trying to just earn our spot. And it's pretty cool when you've got guys that that can play this game, that that are really good at this game, but get overlooked. I think we're both just grateful that there was that league at the time. You know, I looked back now, um and you know you sit here and aliving that you were talking about it. You know, if something doesn't happen to try Green, do we ever hear this story?

But I could say the same thing if there was no NFL Europe, if there was no arena football, kind of very similar to where we're at right now. I mean, I know there's a few smaller football leagues, but if there were, there, weren't those leads for me at least get a chance to play and be successful and kind of hone my craft. There's probably no story either. So I was so grateful for arena football and for NFL Europe at the time because I got a chance to get back on the field. As I said, no polic

season passes in Green Bay. My tryout was NFL Europe to get back on the big field and show people that I could play. And the same was true for Jake. I'm sure Jake's probably thinking seriously, then I finally get over here, and now I got a suit behind Kurt. For Aye, it's like, when do I get my opportunity? And lucky he went back another year and went back the following year and ended up playing the following year before he got his opportunity. So both of us reminisced

about it. Uh grateful we get to go each other at the time. They're both grateful for the opportunity to actually play and have a league where we could parlay that into a into great careers in the NFL. Well, the rest of your story is so incredible. It's documented in the movie American Underdog, the Kurt Warner story. I'm curious how involved you were in the casting of this, because a game that Lehman people play all the time

is who would play me in a movie? And Joannie and I were playing that in the first segment had a lot of fun with it. Were you very involved and who was going to play you? I was not very involved in the casting part of it. That you There's so many things that go into the casting, especially

in the middle of the pandemic and COVID. There were so many projects that were put on hold with the pandemic, and so there were a number of people that were scheduled to start shooting with different projects that just weren't available, and so a lot of it came down to, uh, even trying to figure out who your wish list was, see who might be available when we were going to shoot the movie again as it fluctuated through COVID, and

that became probably the biggest issue with it. But I said all that too uh to say when we actually see the movie. The casting is awesome. I mean, the casting is incredible across the board. I think you know, the people that put it together. Uh, you know, our directors and lions Gate did an unbelievable job with the cast, even though there were there were limitations. I suppose from probably what they're their wish list might have been to

begin with. But I think everybody really hits the nail on the head and we got some really really great actors and uh, I think people are gonna be uh, people are gonna gonna love the movie. It looks like an amazing movie. And you know, the one requirement might have had to be the hair. Now that the guy who played you, because I remember every time I watch you, you pulled your helmet off, your hair doesn't move. You got nice You've got a nice spike flat top. Do

you use JEL or is that hairspray? Not on hair experience, that's jel. But the real key was not my head, It was my wife's here. That was thing is making sure that somebody can pull off the shot here on the female perspective. So that was I think more of the challenge than than the opposite. But again, exactly lead by it's crazy. You know, he looks very similar to me. I mean there's definitely times when my kids even see the scenes from different angles and they're like, oh my gosh, Dad,

itoks just like you. And so, you know, so there's so many different aspects when they you know, cast for a movie is of course the one thing we think about is who looks like us, right, But then there's the whole other aspect is that you've got to take an actor and make him an athlete. Uh, you know, you gotta you gotta put them into that role and that that's that's to me is probably the bigger challenge than anything is. You know, when people go watch sport movies,

you know, everybody is going to scrutinize everything. Like if I went into acting after you know, fifty years, I'm sure I wouldn't be very good at it after a few months. Uh. To put you know, an actor into a role of being, you know, hall of Fame quarterback for a few months and expecting him to look like a Hall of Fame quarterback, that's probably not going to happen.

But you tell people when they watched the movie, that will be one of the crazy things that that they scrutinized because they, for whatever reason, expected to look just like an NFL player, And that's that's probably the bigger challenge than finding somebody that looked like me and could play the part. Did you help coach him up at all? Or did they have a football coach on set? Both? I actually he had to the house and we did

a little bit of work. I would get a little bit of work, And ironically enough, they had a football coach that was actually a quarterback that played against me and the Arena Football League. Uh, the kind of coached him up and work with him on a lot of the stuff and work with him through through some of the different scenes. So yes, they they put about time into two working with Zack. I'm not sure you got it right the time when I see clips like, dude, I told you you need not. But that does a

great job. You mentioned your wife, Brenda. She has such an incredible story herself. Anna pack Win plays Brenda. How do you make sure that that story is told right and that you do justice by Brenda's story. That that's the challenge of you know, this Harme movie. We've actually been in the process of making this movie for gosh, seven eight years, you know, shortly after I retired, and

it was about getting the story right. We always said, you know, everybody always said, you know, your your stories made for the big screen, blah blah blah. But as we went through the process, you know, the bottom line for us was we just didn't want to throw a movie up on the big screen. We wanted to make sure it was the right movie. And for a long time, people couldn't just couldn't see the vision. I had a vision for what the movie would be for a long time,

and a lot of people couldn't see it. We had a number of different scripts and we just saying not that, this isn't it, This isn't where we want to go, this isn't true to what the story is. And so a big part of that, Olivia, is as you're talking about, it's it's not just my underdog story. It's the underdog story of Brenda. It's the underdog story of our son, Zach,

who was injured when he was four months old. And so that, to me, is the beauty of this film, is that the backdrop of this film is going to be a football or a sports movie. The heart of this film is the underdog story of all three of us and our individual stories, and then how together we accomplished what we accomplished. And so that's some means. What's gonna be so cool is you you might go on a football fan, or or you might go because you know your husband or your wife as a football fan

and they want to take you. I think everybody's going to be impacted, whether you're a mom or a dad, or husband or wife, uh, you know, brother or sister, whether you're a dream or you're a football fan. It has all these different layers to it that are so cool. I mean again, we could go on on that. You know, the idea of making a movie in the middle of

the pandemic. We were one of the first studios that that put together that in the middle of with all the testing and everything, and to get a movie made the way that we did. The guy, the the young man that actually plays my son's act his name is Hayden is actually got an incredible story too. He was adopted. He was left on the side of the streets and adopted by his mom and dad, and he is, from what we understand, the first young blind actor that's played

a significant role in a movie. And so there are so many awesome underdog stories in this movie that, as you say, most people probably won't know that they'll go into it going Okay, let's see Kurt Kirk's football story, and and that of course plays out. But to have these underlying themes throughout is what I really think is

going to impact people and connect with them. And in the middle of the pandemic, when there's a lot of people that need some encouragement and some help and find themselves, I'll say in their read you store moment where they're wondering how I got here and how do I get

out of here? And what does the future happen? Store, I just think it's really really perfect timing and the story has done right that I just I can't wait for it to come out on Christmas and and for for families to go together, and I believe everybody will be impacted. You got me really excited to see this movie right now. I got a question. The trailer is unbelievable. It's online, people can watch. There's a scene when you're in the see behind the scenes it see you see

the trailer that will be coming out. The trailer is really really good. So we've got we've got more story. We got more coming out. But but thank you for that. Yeah, it's amazing. There's a scene that they show where you throw a bag of bread like in the aisle. Did that ever happen? Did that? And also when you look at the wheaties box? Did you dream about when you looked at the wheaties box? Like one day I'm gonna

be on this. Okay, So first, yeah, we threw things at the at the story, and you know it with different things. I don't know, would throw in a loaf of bled, but sometimes you know, like in those grocery stores, they would have the end aisles where they would have different balls, like nerve balls and stuff. So we would

throw those all the time. But probably that the thing that we did the most was, you know, each of us at night, we got our own eisle and so we would have to stop our So what we would do is is we would unlet's just say I was in the candy aisle. So I remember doing this with M and M's a lot. Is I cracked open a bag of M and M's and I would look to see, you know, where the other stockers were in their aisles and I would I would just throw them across the store and try to hit them with the the M

and m's all night long. And so we would do things like that. But we were you know, kind of throwing and tossing and uh, some of those different things. And of course, every once in a while we would pick up something because everybody knew, like, you know, my dream was to play football, and that I played at you and I we would have with a game of catch, a little game of football amongst the aisle. But it was yeah, it was always fun. So that did definitely

have it. And then Wheaties Box, Yes, that happened too. I mean, I think growing up, when you're you know, when you dream of of being an athlete, a professional athlete, that's one of your dreams. I always say that you kind of had a few checklists of eve Okay, I know I've made it. Win. You know, when you find yourself on Sports Center, you're like, okay, I've made it, or when you find yourself on the cover of Sports Illustory, you go, okay, that's another box you check to be on,

a cereal box. And of course the cereal box was Wheatie's. When you were growing up was another one of those that that I wanted to check. And so yes, I remember, you know, stocking the shelves, and I actually shared the story in my Hall of Fame speech about how you know, one day when I was stocking shelves, I pulled out the box that had Dan Marino on it, and you know, and remember looking at it going cash, you know, one day I want I want to be on the cover

of this box. And I shared the story at the Hall of Fame that five years later. So at that point in time, Dan Marino was the only quarterback in the NFL history that had thrown forty touchdown passes in a season. So after sharing that story five years later,

my first season, I threw forty touchdown passes. So I became just a second player in NFL history to a film forty touchdown passes in the season and reflect back to you know, so seeing that Wheatie's box with Dan Arena going one day, I want to be this guy. And five, five long short years later, I became the

second player in NFL history to do that. So I shod that in my Hall of Fame speaks Dan Marino, I've never heard that, but it's kind of a fun way that you know that you look back and you go, man, it's crazy how we get motivated sometimes, and you know, moments that really kind of shape our perspective in our mindset moving forward. It's amazing. I'm a big Giants fan, Kurt, and uh, you know, you go over the Giants, you win four or five straight. I can't remember. Then there

was a few mishaffs. What was it? First of all, I think you probably could have won a super Bowl at the Giants, But that's another thing. What was it with your story coming into the Giants and then being the mentor for a highly touted recruit like Eli Manning? What was that like? Well, I mean, let's go back to the rams first, because I think so much of our lives, who we become is shaped by our experiences.

And so as much as I'd like to sit here and say, well, without a doubt, no matter what happened in life and whatever successes or failures I had, and I found myself in a backup role, I would handle it with class, and I would do all the right things, and I would mentor the young guy. But bottom Linders, I don't know what I would have done But when I was in St. Louis, that's exactly what happened to

Trent bring Is. He was a guy that just got his contract, he had waited his turn, he suffered this injury, and now this young guy takes over, and this young guy starts to have success without a doubt. Just human nature. There's gonna be some animosity there, like, seriously, that's my gig. You're like, I'm supposed to be doing that, and he's doing that. But Trick did nothing but treat me with class, answer every one of my questions, helped me as much

as he possibly could to be successful. You know, again, human nature, I'm sure was in there, but he never let that affect the way that he handled this situation in mentoring me. And so I say all of that to go. I got to experience that firsthand. And so when you experience that firsthand and you realize what someone else is meant to your career, there's really only one way to mentor someone else, and that's to do it

with class and to help them. And you know, the thing that you have to realize and that I realized in the process is that too often in sports that when we lose our job to someone else, we blame the person that took our job. Like, shoot, every time I stepped on the field, I was trying to take somebody's job. I mean I was talking to be the best guy on the field and wind that job. And so when somebody else takes your job or beat you out, or even just is given that opportunity, it's not their fault.

I mean, like, you know, you would take it too, So to hold that animosity against that player just doesn't make sense to me. And so, you know, through going through what I did with Trent and experience it myself, it was really just being able to take a step back and go, what would you want somebody else to do if you want the job? You know, if they gave you the job, you would wouldn't want them to hold that against you because we're all, you know, trying

to compete for the same thing. And so that perspective helped me as well to go in my job. You know, when I signed on the dotted line to be a Giant, there was no fine print that said you just have to be a good teammate if you're starting, you know, you just have to do the right thing. If you're starting no, I signed them the dotted line to say, I'm gonna be a New York Giant until I'm not anymore, and my want is to be the best New York Giant to do the best that I can for this team.

Whether I'm starting, whether I'm a backup, didn't really matter. And so that really became my approach because I had to do it with Mark Bolder in St. Louis, I do it with you guy in New York, and ultimately I would have to do it with Nat Lineage in Arizona as well. So, uh, I was very seasoned at doing it, but that was really my approach. But you know, again, I like to think that I would have done that anyways.

But I had a great example in Trent Green that really showed me the way and showed me what you're supposed to do when you're in that role. And I carried that with me through the rest of my career. You know, Kirk, I mentioned earlier that you call Monday night football games with my dad, who has just such reverence for you as a person. He also loves you as a friend. But he told me a story last night.

We're having dinner and I was telling him I was talking to you today and he said, as you guys get ready for your Monday night games and maybe you meet you know, Sunday night or you're having your zooms, he says that you are just a complete student of quarterbacks. And he said he doesn't think you miss any pass that has happened over the weekend. So as you approach your Monday game, you've seen just about every play from every quarterback. Is that true? And why do you focus

so much? Probably not by Monday. So, but I've seen anything up to that point. So I watched every single game every week. That is my prep. And so again there's no way I can get them all from Sunday to Monday, but I've watched all the ones from the week before that lead into that next weekend. Well, I mean, the way I look at things is is that I always feel like, how am I going to be different at anything that I do? You know, whether I was playing the game, whether it's as a father or a husband,

that's always gonna set you apart as being different? And how can you be different at what you do? And so when you're playing, there's certain things that that I couldn't do. There's certain skills that I didn't have. But I always told myself, well, if I'm gonna be great, there's got to be something about me that's different. And I took that same approach when I got into commentating the game as well. Is that I want to be like everybody else. I don't want to just say what

everybody else can say. Like I can show up on my Sunday morning show room NFL Network and I can answer all the questions like everybody else does all the week, and I could say the same things and I can get through the show and I'd be fine. I don't want to be that guy. I want to be someone that knows what's going on, that studies the game, that

can bring something different than everybody else doesn't see. You know, everybody else doesn't watch the games, and so it gives me a true sense of what I'm seeing, how somebody is playing, what a team likes to do, how they might approach playing against another team. And so that to me is how I separate myself. Is that I watch

each and every game and I take notes. You know, there's even the newer and ful of NFL quarterbacks that I'll take notes and send them notes every single week on on the film that I watched, and so to me, any I love the game, I'm passionate about the xs and owns of the game. It's to be my favorite part. I mean, I love to compete, but xs and os and and thinking the game and what works and what doesn't work is something that I've always been passionate about.

So that's one of the reasons. The other reason is I just like to know where everything is, and it's my prep for the week. It's my prep for Monday night to know, man, whoever the rigors are playing, that I've watched every snap that Derek Carr has taken all year long. I'm not just listening to what somebody else says or somebody that's close to the leaders. I've watched every snap, so I know, uh and I know how

I know the game. I know what I'm seeing, I know what a quarterback should do and shouldn't do, and so it gives me a true assessment when somebody might say Derek Carr is playing awful, and I'm going no, not. They might not be winning, you know, the completion percenters might not be there, whatever, But I understand and I can think back to everything that's happened and said. Only it helps me when I'm calling a game because I can reference all these different plays and things that have

happened and how teams are playing in general. Um, but being it helps me that to work through, you know, I mean, because most people are reading an article that's written by somebody or watching you know, the court unquote experts talk all week long, and all they're gonna do

is regurgitate what they've heard all year all week. And there's nothing I need more than when I've watched till and somebody says something and I know it's not true, and then somebody else a little later in the week says the same thing, and then just like, how do three people decide that the case when I know it's not the case, and it's only because they've listened to somebody else so that becomes their opinion. I don't ever want to be that guy. I want to have my

own opinions. I want to know why I have those opinions. I want to be educated on it so that I can be the best public commentator. I can be the best studio guy that's out there. And so it's really really important to me to to work at it and to make sure that I'm different at it. And that's why, you know, I've kind of developed that over the years. And I don't really need a whole lot else. If I can watch every game and watch it the way that I want to, I don't really need about prep

for anything else. I know what's going on and I can answer any question you throw out me. Kurt, you mentioned your Monday night football schedule beginning with Baltimore at Las Vegas. Two very different quarterback stories there. Let's start with Derek Carr, who has more or less said he's going down with the ship. He is so loyal to the Raiders and last year he's coming off career high pass a rating, pass yard's total QBR. What do you see in Derek Carr? What's his ceiling this season? All right?

If this is where all the films that he comes into play, yep, here it is, We'll say, is that? Uh, then I'm a big Derrek Car fan. I think Derek Carr he doesn't get the respect that he deserves. He does a lot of really really good things on the field, But at the same time, I'm not a believer that stats and q we are, and completion percentage tells the whole story. And so what Derek Carr to me is, I think it's all about being aggressive with the football.

Is that I believe he's a guy that can make every throw and has the ability and has had games the Chiefs games uh last year, I think great examples when he throws cost into the women says I'm going to win this game for us, or I'm gonna lose this game for us. I'm gonna go down winging. I believe he can play as well as anybody in the league.

I just think there's times where he gets really really conservative with the football and he's looking more for a completion than he's looking to make the game deciding play in a moment. And we have quarterbacks like that, Like, I don't want to be the one that loses it for so I'm going to manage the game and I'm gonna do my part. But the quarterback position you just

can't win at the highest level. To me, just managing a game now, yes, if all the parts are right, great defense, good run game, Yes, we've seen it before. But bottom line is, for the most part, that doesn't happen. So I tell my young quarterbacks all the time. You gotta be willing to be the reason. If you're gonna play quarterback in the NFL, you gotta be willing to be the reason. You gotta be willing to be the reason that you win, and you gotta take those chances

and you gotta believe that you can do it. You also got to be the reason and be willing to be the reason that you lose. Sometimes you're gonna go down swinging, Sometimes you're gonna throw five interceptions. Sometimes you're gonna make a bad decision. But I always believe that if you were aggressive and you attacked and you had the ability, that you're gonna make more game changing plays than you were gonna make game changing mistakes for the most part. And that's what I want to see from

Derek Carr. All the ability in the world. Doesn't a lot of good things. I think he sees the field really really well, but too often, to me, he plays tentative football instead of playing aggressive. He plays aggressive. I think he has a chance to take this team to a place they haven't been in a while, but it's

ultimately gonna come down to him. Um, And that to me is you know, and I know Derek, and so I'm always, you know, trying to encourage him that when when I see that on the film, and every once in a while just shoot him with text like hey, be more dessive, or when he does play like that, I'm like, that's what I'm talking about. You play like that every week and you'll give your team a shot every single week. But that, to me is the one thing that I'm looking forward with Derek this year. Very nice.

I was going to ask you that because you did say you reach out to quarterback sometimes, so it's good to know Derek Carr is in your contact list. What about Lamar Jackson? How special is the talent that we see year after year from Lamari Jackson? I mean, it's you know, it's rare error. I mean, what what he does, we haven't seen very many. We won't ever see very many that are like him. You know, what he can do physically, you know, the Michael Vicks, maybe a Randall

Cunningham type guy. But there's just there's just not many that that we see that transcend our game. Because we know we've we've got the best athletes in the world playing on those fields every single week, and then when we are the best athlete of the best athletes in the world. I mean, it's just it's ridiculous, you know.

But but the bottom line, you know, again with Lamar is I say to myself, he's an incredible athlete, and he will have a great career, and he will put up a lot of great numbers, and he'll give us a lot of highlight plays. But the bottom line, you know, with a guy like Lamar is that he's got to become a complete quarterback. Is that. I believe what they do offensively is built for the regular season. It is

built to win games in the regular season. It is built to beat all the teams they're supposed to be. The difference is when you get to the playoffs, you've got to beat teams that you're not supposed to be. You've gotta beat teams that are good on both sides of the wall. You gotta beat teams that are gonna force you because they're good enough to do to play away from your strengths. And that to me is where Lamar hasn't got up to speed yet to be able

to win games away from the strength. He will always win games with his strength. What he does you give them opportunities. He will be special, but he's got to be complete. And for all of us it's different. You know, those certain things we do well and then there's things we don't do as well, and good teams are gonna take away what we do well and force us to win games the other way. And that's the question with

Lamar's can he do that? Every time it's come playoff time and he's had to win games with his right arm, he hasn't been able to do that. That doesn't mean he can't throw the football, doesn't mean he can't pass it. It's just championship passing is different than just being a good passer. Being able to carry a team with your right out arm is different from just putting up good stats,

and that's what he needs to show us. And you know, I think what we know is that maybe for Lamare, he's not gonna have to throw the football like me or Tom Brady, but he's gonna have to throw it more consistently better than he has to couple with that rare ability that he has to run the football, and that's what will make them a championship type team. We

just haven't seen that yet. We haven't seen him carry this team with his right arm, and until he does that, especially when you look at the landscape of things, because that's the other thing that you have to look at is unfortunately for him, the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes for a decade, and so there's no get around that unless for some reason Patrick's not out there on the field.

So you're gonna have to take down Patrick Mahomes in the Chiefs if you're going to win a championship, and you've got to show me you can play consistently enough to do that. And so that's how you always have to look at the NFL now, is that every year you look at, Okay, who are the three or four teams that have a chance because they have a quarterback, and then which other teams need to take that next out to show that they can compete with that team.

And I'm still waiting for that in the a f C. You know, I'm looking to say, Okay, into the Bills. They'll shows in Cogress. But again they went up against Patrick Mahomes and they didn't jail up very well, so they're still a gap there. So I want to see if these teams can close the gap and Lamar and the Baltimore Ravens is one of those teams. The success of a quarterback is not just what he can do, right though, it's it's it's what you have around you.

Right you were you were lucky to have such great rod receivers when that year you want to you at Marshall Fox and the on line. Of course, how important is the tight end? Which did you ever really have a great tight end? What do they call it? The quarterback's safety blanket? Yeah, not never really had one of those. But I'm not going to complain because I played with like a dozen Hall of Fame receivers, so I'm being in that regard. But right I never played with one

of those great tight ends. And you know, Marshall I would be I would. I would like him to because to me, running mats and tight ends with the biggest mismatching football you those guys play. Now, what they're capable of doing, the flexibility to go inside and play against linebackers and safeties as opposed to the the other great athletes that are out there at the cornerback position. The other thing is in this matching football and so that

to me, those those guys are difference makers. It's like, like I said, I had Marshall Falk, so I got that advantage with Marshall was I would get him on linebackers and safeties, and it was you know, it wasn't fair. But now guys, you know, like the diner and Wallers and the Travis Kelsey's and the George Kittles, you just I don't know how you cover them, especially if you're playing on a team that that runs and play action.

So now you're a linebacker that has to you know, seeing your keys and Red run and then all said, oh, shoot, there's a four or four guy that's playing tire in and that just ran buy me. Um, you know. I mean, it's just it's unfair. And so having those guys are ridiculous and what they're capable of doing. And so yeah, that is a huge, huge benefit for a quarterback. I mean, heny, no, no, you don't have to throw it as far with those guys, right, You're not having to get your big plays by throwing

it way down the field. So it's it's shorter, it's easier completions for a quarterback. But it just gives you, it's such a distinct advantage with those great athletes because of play action or because of who they're matched up against it. And you know in this NFL, you look at those guys and safety have one of those. It gives you a chance to do some unique and different things that you don't get just having a great wide receiver,

as great as that is. Five ends and running backs that are really really good in the past game are huge for quarterbacks. Kurt, I wish we had time to run down each week one meeting and you could go over both quarterbacks in those games, but we don't have the time. You know, last week the Patriots way of Cam Newton. So we know Mac Jones, the rookie quarterback is going to start against Miami Week one. Go ahead and give us something to look for with Mac Jones.

Because I know you were surprised by that. I was a little bit surprised, and I was more surprised a because you know, I didn't think Bill Belichick would go with a rookie because he's had so much great success against rookie quarterbacks. But I just saw to myself, now he can't do it like he knows. You know that there's there's so many issues that you have to work through the young guy that they'll at least set him

for a while. And then the second thing is I just thought, based on the way that they were built, Cam Newton running the football, I felt like this team, if they can establish the line of scrimmage, would be a really really good team again, even in one year after missing the playoffs. So that surprised me from a couple of different standpoints. But with that being said, you know, breakdown all the quarterbacks and have been breaking them down.

I got a platform called QB Confidential on YouTube where I do about a film study based on what I do and breaking it down. So I just recently writte down all these the five top quarterbacks because of what I saw in preseason. So what I was doing is I welcomed down out of college. And the big thing that I'm always looking for is what translates from college surprose. You know, can these guys what they did well in college, can they also do that well in the NFL out.

So when it comes to Mac Jones, what you saw in college was a guy that processed information really well, new where he was looking at that, you know, looking at the defense, and how to make those decisions and he got the ball out on time and accurately. Okay, fast forward the preseason with the Patriots. All those exact things have shown up in the NFL. Knows where he's looking, knows when you get the ball out, makes good decisions with the football. If he's got to check it down,

he's willing to check it down, shows good accuracy. All the boats things is what I've seen from Mac Jones, and so I'm excited to see him starting for the Patriots and what they can be this year because I do believe they have a really, really good football team. But that's the thing that always excites me is that we get all life up about these college quarterbacks because of what they do in college. Kim that translate. I've seen a number of guys where it doesn't translate to

the NFL. What I've seen in preseason with Mac Jones is it does translate. I think you're gonna see a guy that plays the game very much like Tom Brady. You know, somebody that the Patriot to are very comfortable with. Josh M. Daniels is very comfortable with. So that would be very much their style this year, I believe, and I think they were with whom with Mac Jones, will may be a great team. I'm not sure. We want to see if if that physical talent can transcend things.

Because all these you guys can throw, That's that's not the question. The question is can you transcend the game with some ability? You know? What is that ability? Leadership? Is it? You know, the ability to be accurate? Is the ability to make plays off platform? That's gonna be the question with Matt Jones is what does he bring that's that's different or special to allow him to be a championship quarterback. And that's what I'm waiting to see.

But I really really liked what I saw in the preseason. Everyone's excited to see the movie, and I know the movie is gonna inspire everybody. Is there any advice you can give that's not in the movie? Two people who are undrafted, two players who are undrafted, or people who are in the underdog position, Like, what would you tell them? What advice would you give them to an under aft to player? Yeah, I mean I think there's a couple of things. Is you know, the first thing is is

don't let anybody else tell you what you are. I think that's you know, the the easy narrative when you work in a grocery store, or you get cut, or you play one year in college, it's easy for people to just look at that and say, oh, this guy can't because he didn't in college, or because he found

himself here there. And so that's the first thing, because you're always going to have that narrative about you when you don't get drafted, when you're free agent, after you've been cut by one team, So don't rather let anybody else dictate who you are. And then the second thing is something that we talk about in our household all

the time, is never let your circumstances define you. Because you know, a get him a Hall of Fame speech, I you know, I mentioned that, you know, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do while you're waiting to do what you're going to do. And I think many of us have had their grocery store moment, right Many of us find ourselves in that place where we're just going, my gosh, how in the world I get here? And then I don't know how did I get here? But what's the path for me to get from a grocery

store to the super Bowl? Like, how does that work? You know, you don't really know what it is, and so it's easy for us to allow those circumstances to start definding us and going, oh my gosh, I'm gonna grocers doing Oh my gosh, world was mean I I'm

not gonna be able to do this. There's no path, And so that would be the second thing is just don't let your circumstances dictate you know who you are and define who you are, because most people find themselves there before they they get to wherever they're going, before they you know, they accomplish their dream. I think you can find a million people that you know, we would call great people or accomplished great things in life, that

have those moments. That's what normal life usually is, is we find ourselves there and we've got to find that way through it. And the only way to do that is to not allow that circumstance to define who we are and what we're going to be. Well, if that doesn't have you pumped up your honest, I don't know what will I. That is such good content for our audience. Kurt, Thanks so much. Thank you, Kurt, you got us ready for week one. Everyone make sure you check out QB

Confidential on YouTube. You can find Kurt Warner on NFL Network in Westwood one all season long. Kurt, this was a real treat. Thanks are you mad? Thanks for having me on good stuff. Now we bring in a betting expert, Peter Andrew with bet MGM, and we have so much to get to and I want to start with college football. Peter. You know, I'm a Georgia girl and I was just drooling in that big win over number three Clemson, holding them to just a field goal. How much did you

g a stock rise after that win? Oh my gosh. I mean, their defense looked so impressive. I don't even think their offense clicked like it could. They were obviously playing a pretty decent clems and defense. Just off the cuff. They were plus eight hundred to win the national championship. They moved to plus spots, but that defense is no joke. If you can do that to a team like Clemson,

which is a clearly a top five offensive team. They're probably working some kinks out, new quarterback, somewhat of a new roster shaping up, but really really impressive. I love Georgia even a plus four. I think they have a pretty decent shot of being there in national championship. Now, what's your plus minus on how that makes Olivia feel? Oh my gosh, I mean, this is maybe the best

thing that could happen her all week. I'm sure she had some fun stuff going on, but seeing that Georgia defensive line, it depends how you want to look at, but I'm thinking minus ten thousand. That's the happiest that she's been in a while, seeing that team. That's what I had. That's what I had besides Sam getting signed to the Toronto Raptors. And it was awkward because we watched both games together and my team put down that defensive juggernaut of a beating What did we learn about

Notre Dame? That was one of my favorite games to watch this weekend. Beating FSU on the road on Sunday that was insane. And I've had Notre Dame as a sneaky playoff contender. What did we learn about them? You know, it's it's funny. First off, they went from forty to one before the game and now they're fifty to one. So oddsmakers clearly didn't love their performance, especially as they got down the stretch. Look for a while, like they were going to cover that seven, and the obviously went

in and over time, it was a shaky start. But I take a lot of stock into what FSCU did was the Bobby Bowden tribute night. The f SCU team was playing with a purpose. Sometimes it is just beyond football and it's playing for a former coach and a legend like Bowden was. So so fsc you had a feeling was it gonna come out firing. I'd be more interested to see how Notre Dame looks for their second game and see how they come out after a pretty

questionable second half and probably not their best performance. I don't know if I'm gonna go and say they should all be executed, like one specific coach said, but but I'd be interested to see how they react as they get into Week two and we bring beyond Hey, it's NFL Week one. It's the most heavily bet NFL season ever kicks off Thursday. I read that it's projected for thirty six percent more adults to bet on the NFL this season compared to last season. That's amazing and that

also keeps us implored. Johnny, but we're gonna have a little game going on amongst us throughout the season. It's gonna be a lot of fun. We're calling it punishment Picks, and every week Pete is going to pick three games and Janie and I are going head to head and at the end of the season we'll kind of pick a punishment for the other. We're going to try to not make it sound so scary there, but it's gonna be a lot of fun. So this week, Pete, I know you've picked three games for us. We do not

know what they are. Go ahead and start off Week one of punishment picks. Punishment. Yeah, so I'm excited for this one. Hopefully I get to say and what the punishment is going to be at the end of the season. I want to make sure I'm vested in This first game I think is a big one Steelers Bills. I think you have a obviously a healthier Steelers team, firs, a Bills team that thinks it's a Super Bowl or bus kind of year. Bills are minus six point five

in that game. Okay, honest, you go first. Okay, I am gonna take I'm old school. I'm going with Big Ben. I'm going with the iPhone two point Oh, I know Josh is the iPhone eleven or whatever, But I'm going with the iPhone two point oh and I'm taking steel Town, Baby, I'm taking them plus minus. What should I do? Eater? Plus six point five is the move? I'm going plus six point five, Olivia my nemesis while I'm laying the points. Bills have won the last two meetings with the Steelers.

Linebacker T J. Watt is questionable. He's a three time pro bowler. I think if he's not playing Week one, they have no chance. And the Steelers also have four offensive rookie starters. I am taking the Bills, baby, all right, there's gonna be a clear winner on that first one second game. In honor of d M. Jim Arizona officially going live Cardinals Verst Titans. Titans are minus three, so they're three point favorite. There. What do you guys got

is that me? First? I'm taking Yeah, age before beauty age before I am taken. Derrick Henry. He is gonna pound them. He's gonna ground and pound them. It's gonna look like a Dagistani UFC fight. I'm taking the Titans. And then you call it for me, you call it for me. Numbers guy minus three, minus three, winning by more than a field goal, winning by more than a field goal. I'm taking the Tennessee Titans and my boy Derrick Henry See. I agree. I think rock is home

crowd in Nashville. I'm taking the Titans as well. Julio Jones should be an impressive edition. I like Tennessee. All three of us on the same page. There last one, Olivia, this will hit close to home. Packers minus four against the second best quarterback in the league, Jamis Winston in the New Orleans. Why are you so high on Jamis? I don't know. I just that one meme that comes by with him with that math book surface pro I just laugh at it all the time. So I want

to give him the law he deserves. I like his crab leg memes personally. That was my favorite, Olivia. I'm gonna let you go first. This is your degree, this is your There's no way you can bet against your family here. Now, well, you're right, there's no way I can go against him. But this is betting smarts. This isn't betting with my heart. James in Jacksonville. There's no big home crowd for New Orleans. There's no Michael Thomas

for week one. He was unsure on his status. So I like the Packers and I'm betting with my brain at Janice minus four. Let's do it. You're a cold, cold hearted woman. I can't believe you get that to your grandpapas wow, I for in honor of her grandfather. I am definitely I'm going for the Packers, okay, and I'm gonna go. You give me a number and I'm gonna double it, Peter, go ahead. So what we can do on bet MGM is not only can you just take the normal spread, you can take an alternate line

and you obviously get a little bit more. Get thoughts. So maybe minus seven for the Packers for for your honest and they cover and you want a little extra money. How's that sound? Yeah, let's do that minus seven. And I just want to make a note that I'm betting with Olivia's heart here not you found it. Okay, Well that was a great first stab at punishment picks your honest. I'm really glad that we disagreed on one. So we have a clear cut winner for a week one. We

will announce it next week. I'm looking forward to that. I will be watching these with a little extra close eye. Now knowing that I've got some skin in the game, and Peter, let's start looking at some of the other games. Is there a lock that maybe we haven't mentioned yet? There is a lock. I'm a bit of a homer saying this, But first quick note for all bed MGM customers. So this week we're giving every single person, new and

existing a completely free to spit on the NFL. So ten dollars for Thursday Night football and then ten dollars for any game on Sunday. It's given that to everyone. And then the cherry. On top of everything, we're launching our brand new free to play game called King of the Weekend. Fifty dollars weekly is up for grabs. We're gonna give you a set of five games if you pick the highest scoring teams in order, fifty in your pocket. That easy, completely free to play. It's gonna be amazing.

We're really excited. This is like Christmas for us here. But with that said, Lock of the Week forty nine is mighty seven and a half. I actually think that number changes closer to Sunday, so get it in now. They're playing a a an interesting Detroit Lions team Jared Goff, no more Matt Stafford. Obviously with that trade, I just don't think they're gonna be any good this year. I think Niners end up winning that game by maybe two touchdowns. I can se going up to nine or two points.

As as money starts trickling in Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Um, so lock that in as soon as you hear this, because I think that's gonna be a blow. Now, well, that is a great lock for week one. Peter. Thank you. We look forward to talking to you next week and here in the next three slate of games for us to bed on and everyone, just make sure you keep tweeting at me and honest as you see some of these games playing out, because this is going to get

very competitive. Peter, thanks for playing along. Thanks you guys. What an amazing interview with Kurt Warner. I'm so excited to see the movie. That's all the time we have folks, so obviously want to say thank you to Kurt Warner for coming on the show today. And remember Thursday, we will be in Vegas with former running back Steven Jackson. Can't wait for that, and we will be playing the interview back next week, so thank you and we'll see you super