Conor and Gary planned on a good, ol' fashioned free agency preview show, but Tom Brady was having none of it. Sizing up the 2022 Bucs with Brady under center. But also a discussion of why Brady announced his retirement in the first place, the timing of his return announcement, and what the deal is if he really wasn’t interested in returning to Tampa for another season. Then, a breakdown of three trades that went down late last week: Carson Wentz to the Commanders, Khalil Mack to the Charger...
Mar 13, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tuesday ended up being all the most interesting news of the NFL offseason crammed into a three-hour span. Conor and Gary got together in the dead of night to discuss Russell Wilson: traded, Aaron Rodgers: staying, and how the moves (or, move and non-move) affect the quarterback landscape. First, a look at the Broncos, who get a franchise QB for the first time since Peyton Manning retired, and where they now sit in a stacked AFC West. Then, the Seahawks’ rebuild, their approach to their next quar...
Mar 09, 2022•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Part 1 of the two-part free agency epic, Conor and Gary run through which will be the biggest (or, at least most interesting) teams when free agency opens. The Dolphins are the team with the most effective cap space, the most drastic change at head coach and the most glaring holes on the roster. The Bengals’ window is wide-open and, suddenly, they’re a draw coming off a run to the Super Bowl. The Steelers have cap room for the first time in a long time, but that won’t necessarily answer their...
Mar 07, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Conor has made the mad dash back from the NFL combine in Indianapolis, and he joins Gary to breathlessly recap all the most important things that he heard over the course of the week. First, is the era of QB empowerment already over? A discussion of the Seahawks’ stance with Russell Wilson and whether or not it makes sense for player or team to run it back again. Also, why Aaron Rodgers is very, very, very likely to return to Green Bay after all (and he did get some stuff along the way!). Then, ...
Mar 03, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast The first stunner of the NFL offseason came in the broadcast booth, as Troy Aikman is set to leave FOX for Monday Night Football. Thus, Conor and Gary brought in friend of the show Jimmy Traina, host of the SI Media Podcast, to tell us what it all means. A discussion of some of the forces outside of simply what ESPN wanted that made the deal happen, plus Joe Buck’s contract situation and the chances that the Buck-Aikman team will reunite on MNF. Also, with FOX now staring down a gaping hole on t...
Feb 28, 2022•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the end of February, which means opening day for NFL Offseason Takes is right around the corner. Conor and Gary spent an afternoon trying out their newest material surrounding the combine, draft season, free agency and more. Then, the first-ever Free Agency Preview… Preview! Gary unveils the preliminary Sports Illustrated free agent rankings to Conor, who gives his reactions in real-time, live (but on a podcast, so recorded). Have a comment, critique or question for a future mailbag? Email ...
Feb 24, 2022•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the 2021 NFL season and Super Bowl LVI become but a faint memory in our collective consciousness, Conor and Gary take one last trip through the biggest developments of the season past and spin them forward to project how they’ll affect football in 2022. For a second straight year, a veteran quarterback found his way to a new home and immediately won the Super Bowl—was Russell Wilson paying attention? Does the Packers’ success in 2021 all but guarantee Aaron Rodgers is coming back for (at leas...
Feb 21, 2022•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast It was a slog. It was a battle of attrition. There were a half-dozen players on the field who probably shouldn’t be playing in a Super Bowl. But in the end, three superstars carried the night and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title. Conor and Gary break it all down, from the near-impossible Stafford-to-Kupp game-winning drive, to the impact of the Odell Beckham Jr. injury, to Raheem Morris and the L.A. defense figuring things out then shutting the Bengals down. But also, where do the aggressive R...
Feb 14, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast This weekend, Super Bowl LVI descends on Inglewood, Calif., and gleaming SoFi Stadium. For NFL fans with money to burn, this is the party of a lifetime. For the residents who never got a vote on this stadium, they’re left to deal with the aftermath. In conversations with residents, business owners, the mayor and more, John Gonzalez went to Inglewood to learn first-hand what’s happening to the people who live, work and worship there as so much in their city changes. Have a comment, critique or qu...
Feb 11, 2022•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast The strangest coaching cycle in recent memory came to a close this week. Conor and Gary break down a bad organization hiring a good coach—the Dolphins nab Mike McDaniel as they look for a way to make it work with Tua Tagovailoa; a strange organization does the weirdest thing possible as the Texans promote Lovie Smith after firing David Culley; and the Saints go the continuity route with Dennis Allen as they (might, maybe) be looking to win a very weak NFC South in 2022. Then, friend of the show ...
Feb 10, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Rams are—rightfully—the favorites in Super Bowl XLVI. Most of the scenarios that have them losing involve Joe Burrow’s superpowers. On this show, Conor and Gary look past that, and discuss how *else* L.A. could suffer an upset loss. In other words: a talk about how the Rams suck. First, their struggle to tackle (sometimes) and how they can be out-physicaled by a Bengals offensive line that has some issues in pass protection but is sometimes pretty O.K. in the run game. And what are the chanc...
Feb 07, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tuesday’s revelation that former Dolphins coach Brian Flores is suing the NFL for racial discrimination rocked the football world. Conor and Gary are joined by special guest John Gonzalez to discuss, among other things: The impact of the suit from a big-picture standpoint, the fact that it’s Flores sticking his neck out, why the Rooney Rule isn’t working, and the potential fallout for both Flores, minority coaching candidates and the NFL as a whole—will the league take a long look at the hiring ...
Feb 03, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Super Bowl LVI is set, and Conor and Gary break down everything that happened in the conference title games. In the NFC, how Raheem Morris dialed up the right blitz at the right time—again—to put away the 49ers on an otherwise off-night for the Rams. Plus, the likely end of the Jimmy Garoppolo era, and how Kyle Shanahan basically maxed out this team. In the AFC, never pick against the Bengals again. How the Cincy defense foiled Patrick Mahomes with three- and four-man rushes, and how Joe Burrow ...
Jan 31, 2022•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Here's a sneak peek at SI's newest podcast, Sports Illustrated Weekly! Featuring storytelling, interviews, and unforgettable sports moments – SI Weekly is everything you love about the iconic sports magazine, now in podcast form. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy...
Jan 28, 2022•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week’s news that Sean Payton would be stepping down as head coach of the Saints came with a fair amount of shockwaves. Conor (the man who predicted it) and Gary break down what it all means for the Saints, for Payton, and for a handful of coaches who will likely enter 2023 on the hot seat (sorry Mike McCarthy, but we’re looking in your direction). Then, a preview of Conference Championship Sunday. Can Ja’Marr Chase go off again—and do the Bengals need him to if they’re going to pull off the...
Jan 27, 2022•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast After about 40 minutes to compose themselves, Conor and Gary eventually get to the quartet of mind-melting games we just witnessed this weekend. First, the spectacular display in Kansas City between the Chiefs and Bills, and what the Mahomes-Josh Allen rivalry means for the near- to medium-future of the NFL. On Buffalo’s late-game inefficiencies, but also how the two quarterbacks and Tyreek Hill time and time again did the impossible. Then, the Rams’ near-meltdown and how they, ultimately, outcl...
Jan 24, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Conference Semifinals Weekend is almost here, but first, a look back at Monday night, and the final moments of the Cardinals’ months-long collapse. Conor and Gary take a step back to examine the good and bad of Kyler Murray three seasons in, the strengths and shortcomings of Kliff Kingsbury, and whether this year should be considered progress for the Cardinals. Then, a look at the conference semifinal games. Whether the Titans are ready for Joe Burrow, why these 49ers are not like the teams that...
Jan 20, 2022•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Five of the six Wild-Card games are in the books, and Conor and Gary are diving into what went down. Which included Dak Prescott. A second too late. A discussion of the buffonish inefficiency of the Cowboys’ final play selection, as well as the performance of one team that wasn’t prepared, and another that seemed uninterested in closing them out. Then, the Bucs outclass the Eagles in a bitter end for Philly’s season, as Tom Brady continues to be often unstoppable and incredibly boring to watch. ...
Jan 17, 2022•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast We were shocked by Brian Flores’s dismissal. We were shocked by the lack of a Joe Judge dismissal until he was dismissed. Conor and Gary discuss the very strange situations with the Dolphins and Giants, and what’s fair and what isn’t when it comes to longevity in the NFL coaching world. Then, an assessment of the six head-coach openings in the NFL. Which jobs are good? Which jobs were bad? Which one would allow you to most closely mimic the work-life balance of Craig T. Nelson in Coach? Then, a ...
Jan 13, 2022•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast On one hand, Week 18—and the unprecedented Game 17s—brought a weekend full of duds. On the other hand, it did bring the weirdest Sunday Night Football game ever contested, a prisoner’s dilemma game between the Raiders and Chargers, who could have moved to the postseason with a truce but instead Vegas (after a moment of hesitation) grabbed the win. Conor and Gary discuss the wisdom and logic behind Rich Bisaccia’s and Brandon Staley’s decisions in overtime, as well as the outright absurd performa...
Jan 10, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The NFL regular season is wrapping up, which means the coaching carousel is firing up. But rather than slog through a weeks-long process full of uncorroborated rumors and misinformation and overall frustration, Conor and Gary condense the whole thing into one 60-minute podcast episode. Where do the Jaguars look in light of the Urban Meyer debacle? If the Raiders are indeed going to make a move, does Mark Davis go big-game fishing again or do they find a personality fit from the coordinator ranks...
Jan 05, 2022•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast The penultimate Sunday of the NFL regular season was the strangest Sunday of the NFL regular season, and nothing was more unusual than Antonio Brown walking out of MetLife Stadium during the third quarter of the Bucs-Jets game. Jenny, Conor and Gary discuss how we arrived at this point with Brown, how the Bucs could possibly justify bringing him in, defending some of his indefensible actions, then cutting him loose after what was a relatively minor incident compared to the rest of his history. W...
Jan 03, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last spring he was the most polarizing quarterback in the NFL draft, a prolific collegiate passer who lacked the dynamic athleticism we’ve come to expect from this generation of QBs. But now, 15 games into this season and his NFL career—and even after back-to-back disappointing outings—Mac Jones is the Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner and objectively outperforming every other quarterback drafted last spring. So… what does that mean? Jenny, Conor and Gary discuss Jones’s skillset—his stre...
Dec 30, 2021•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jenny, Conor and Gary launch into the Week 16 show with a look at the Bills’ revenge game in Foxboro. The Patriots had few answers for Josh Allen, especially as an unexpected weapon emerged with a career game for Buffalo. Plus, what to make of this Patriots offense after another disappointing performance in December. Then, what to draw from the Cowboys’ spectacular shellacking of Washington on Sunday night—is it time to put Dallas in the same class of the NFC elite? How the Chargers went to Hous...
Dec 27, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the spirit of the holidays, Jenny, Conor and Gary are giving you the gift . . . of filling out our show outline for us! Last week, we ran down the rule changes we need to see in the NFL. Now, we’re fielding your rule proposals and deciding which suggestions are worthy of working into our imaginary (and very much superior) version of the NFL. Has the time finally arrived for the three-point conversion? What CFL rules should the NFL be adopting? Should the clock stop after the first down like i...
Dec 22, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast For the first time this season, the NFL postponed three Week 15 games due to COVID-19 outbreaks—they'll be played on Monday and Tuesday. The league and the players union also negotiated new protocols that include, surprisingly, less testing. Conor and Jenny break down the rest of the abbreviated weekend schedule, starting with the Packers' win against Baltimore that came down to a failed two-point conversion try and knocked the Ravens out of first place in the wide-open AFC North. They a...
Dec 20, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast More specifically, Jenny, Conor and Gary each write—or change, or eliminate—one rule in the NFL that will make the sport we love into a sport we love more. We saw it done in light of the Kenny Pickett “fake slide” move in the ACC title game—the rule banning it was in place less than a week later. So it’s time to get out in front of a few other things. Conor delves into the evils of the onside kick, and looks to the Alliance of American Football to improve upon it. Gary asks that you expand your ...
Dec 15, 2021•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jenny, Conor and Gary run through a Week 14 Sunday rife with playoff implications. There were winners, losers, and Urban Meyer struggling through it all (including, allegedly, defining the words “winner” and “loser”). First, the Bucs throw their hat in the ring as the NFL’s best before having to hang on against the Bills, but why Buffalo’s second-half performance was a positive step in the overtime loss. The 49ers steal one in Cin City thanks to their catch-and-run studs and a couple of special ...
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast In light of the Patriots’ unique statistical profile in the windy Monday night victory over the Bills in Buffalo, Jenny, Conor and Gary decided to unleash a new game show on the world. In it, each host asks for statistical leaders—sometimes players, sometimes teams—in three categories. Then, the other two hosts must collaborate and make their guesses. Each wrong answer scores a point for the host who asked the question. Who is the NFL’s most accurate play-action passer? Which defense forces the ...
Dec 09, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Week 13 looked like a dud of a slate until the games got underway and the chaos and excitement unfolded. Jenny, Conor and Gary start with a throwback rivalry game in Pittsburgh, where Ben Roethlisberger turned back the clock (for at least a quarter) and the Steelers pulled off the upset. What’s next for an otherwise frustrating offense? And where do we fall on John Harbaugh’s decision to go for two and the win after the game’s last touchdown? Then, a discussion of the Chiefs rising defense and s...
Dec 06, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
