Go Long

NFL Jalen Hurts is College Tim Tebow in the best and worst ways. (Allow Jim Monos to explain.)

Josh Allen’s late-game interception was a colossal fail, a rookie mistake… but no. Joe Brady should not send him to the chalkboard to write “I Will Not Throw Into Double Coverage” 100 times. As the Bills QB told Go Long, he isn’t going to change his play style. We examine the QB-HC dynamic.

Buffalo’s Defense. There are issues in the secondary. Maxwell Hairston wanted no smoke with the game on the line. Next up: the Los Angeles Rams.

Hey, what about those Atlanta Falcons? A year ago, I sat down in Terry Fontenot’s office. He was beaming. He was soon fired. The GM’s vision is finally being brought to life… albeit after Arthur Blank fired him.

All GMs for all teams know they’ve got to find a quarterback. But what’s the best path? Selecting one first overall doesn’t guarantee anything. Nor does staying patient apparently.

And, hey! It’s Packers-Bears Week. After sifting through the nitty-gritty matchups with Bob McGinn, let’s think big picture with Monos. This the most important regular-season game of Matt LaFleur’s eight-year tenure. Ben Johnson has morphed his Chicago offense into a soul-snatching machine up front. It’ll be must-see TV again.

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Two-part series on LaFleur is right here, icymi:

* Matt LaFleur Show, Part I: The Boss

* Matt LaFleur Show, Part II: Identity Crisis

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They meet again. A year ago, the Chicago Bears stunned the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. (Packers sources explain what happened here.)

Since then? Ben Johnson continues to build a machine of a rushing attack and win with both No. 2 (Tyson Bagent) and No. 3 (Case Keenum) quarterbacks. Matt LaFleur has the Packers at 2-2 after squeaking past winless Tampa Bay.

This may be the most important regular-season game of LaFleur’s eight-year tenure.

Green Bay’s season could realistically take a very hard turn either direction Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.

Here on the “Ty & Bob Pod,” we preview the matchup and — as always — Bob McGinn offers his insight on all NFCN games from a week ago: Packers-Bucs, Bears-Jets, Vikings-Dolphins and Lions-Panthers.

Subscribers can access the full one-hour, 55-minute episode.

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Two-part series on Matt LaFleur, icymi:

Matt LaFleur Show, Part I: The Boss

Matt LaFleur Show, Part II: Identity Crisis

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.golongtd.com/subscribe

His stories are endless. Andrew Brandt has lived it all in pro sports.

As a sports agent. As a Green Bay Packers executive. As a member of sports media.

Even as the GM of the Barcelona Dragons.

We all know so much more about how the NFL works because of his voice, his ability to articulate complicated stuff to the masses. Now, Brandt has documented his journey for us all to read. “Smarter About Sports: My Life Navigating Athletes, Agents, Media, and the Business of the NFL” is available everywhere books are sold.

Be sure to add Brandt’s book to your library today. It’s excellent.

Here on the Go Long Podcast, Brandt shares a few of those tales.

Video and audio of our conversation is available above. I’ll also share the transcription for those who’d prefer to read later today.

Topics include…

* How Brandt broke into the agent world. (Yes, with a trip to Barcelona to follow.)

* Learning from NBA super-agent David Falk.

* Allowing for “serendipity” at every turn — Brandt constantly bet on himself to pursue a life in sports.

* Ron Wolf’s words that changed his life. The Packers wanted an agent to take over as VP. Brandt was the choice. Brandt handled the team’s contracts from 1999 to 2008.

* Life in Green Bay. It was different than anything he had experienced.

* Reliving the day Brett Favre’s father died. He’ll never forget it.

* Reliving the transition from Favre to Aaron Rodgers — Brandt was close to both. He’ll never forget this all, either. Ninety-five percent of calls to his phone were pro-Favre.

* What makes the Packers different on and off the field in the business of pro football.

This was a ton of fun.

These days, Brandt is the executive director of the Jeffrey S. Moorad Center for the Study of Sports Law at Villanova University.

You can also get all of his insight at the Sunday Seven newsletter.

Live in Wisconsin? Be sure to hang out with Brandt at one of his book signings coming up. He’ll be in at the Appleton Barnes & Noble on Oct. 17 (10:30 a.m. CST), Lion’s Mouth Bookstore in Green Bay later that same day (3 p.m.), and then the Barnes & Noble in Green Bay on Oct. 18 (11 a.m.). All info can be found at smarteraboutsports.com.

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Six teams placed six high-stakes bets on April 25, 2024.

It’s now Year 3 for all six quarterbacks.

With Drake Maye’s mind-boggling struggles, injuries to Caleb Williams/Jayden Daniels, more Bo Nix fourth-quarter magic, the J.J. McCarthy trade and Michael Penix’s return from another ACL, I thought it was a perfect time to discuss the 2024 quarterback class in full here on Real Football with co-host Jim Monos.

All QBs can still veer all possible directions.

We start in Foxborough where Maye’s career arc is particularly shocking.

Last season, he nearly won MVP. The North Carolina product zapped life into the entire organization and played beyond his years. Three games into this 2026 season, he’s arguably been the worst starter in the league. What happened? Can he rekindle his magic? So much about playing quarterback is rooted in confidence.

QB to QB to QB, we get to ‘em all.

Daniels is hurt, again, but hustling to get back. His first half in Dallas was encouraging. Williams had a front-row ticket to the Case Keenum Show at Soldier Field. What’s next for this quarterback we’ve tracked closely?

The Vikings found a team to take McCarthy off their hands. I explored why it didn’t work out in our Kyler Murray two-parter. Now, let’s get a scout’s perspective on Real Football.

Meanwhile, all Nix does is turn it on in the fourth quarter. Listeners of the pod remember Monos pegging Denver as the team that’d draft Nix far back as the NFL Combine that spring. He worked with Sean Payton in New Orleans. (We still like these ‘26 Broncos.)

Then, there’s Penix. Atlanta has life after clobbering the Packers. This QB is all, all, all arm.

Enjoy the show.

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Keep an eye out for our next team deep dive very soon.

It’ll be exclusive to paid subscribers.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.golongtd.com/subscribe

The full two-hour, five-minute episode is available to Go Long paid subscribers above.

If you prefer to listen on Apple or Overcast, bang it here to sync your subscription. Instructions on syncing on Spotify are also here.

Case Keenum defied the odds on Monday Night Football, shredding the Philadelphia Eagles for 247 yards on 24-of-34 passing with two touchdowns and no turnovers and no sacks.

How did he do it? Our Bob McGinn details on this episode of the Ty & Bob Pod.

Also, Ben Johnson must’ve enjoyed seeing a quarterback operate with such timing. This 27-7 dismantlement could have the Bears coach thinking about the short and long term.

This was a convincing punch to the 2024 champ’s mouth.

Elsewhere, the sight of a third-string quarterback lighting it up for Chicago must’ve been especially painful for the team that once tortured this team. The Green Bay Packers hit a new low in their 35-14 blowout loss to Atlanta on Thursday Night Football. McGinn explains where everything went wrong and how Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst are trying to fix the offensive line on the fly with the Laken Tomlinson and Mekhi Becton signings.

Since recording this episode, Green Bay also has signed veteran guard Kevin Zeitler.

Will this act of desperation work? McGinn reached out to some NFL scouts to see what these signees have to offer. Fascinating insight.

The Minnesota Vikings again rode their defense to victory. After Justin Jefferson went down, quarterback Kyler Murray struggled to find a rhythm.

They’re 3-0. They’re riding a defense that attacks.

The Detroit Lions held off a Jets rally to get back on track. Questions on D remain.

And stick around for the weekly McGinn Memory. Once again, my co-host looks back to Bart Starr’s coaching days.

Thanks, all.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.golongtd.com/subscribe

Offensively, it was ugly. Five turnovers could’ve doomed the Buffalo Bills.

But defensively? This is the sort of victory Joe Brady loves to see this time of year.

Some teams fold when everything starts going wrong. (Hello, Matt LaFleur.)

Other teams treat the football like a hot potato and still find a way.

Here’s a quick recap on the Bills’ 24-16 win over the Chargers. The last time Buffalo won a game despite committing five turnovers? That’d be against the Jim Harbaugh-quarterbacked Indianapolis Colts in 1997.

Oh boy, does Harbaugh have his work cut out for him with these 0-3 Chargers.

It’s time for everyone to stop with the annual Justin Herbert hype. He stunk on Sunday.

Still, give this new Bills credit for stepping up. Greg Rousseau, CJ Gardner-Johnson and others supplied the needed stops.

What does this game say about Buffalo moving forward? Video and audio is above and also accessible on our Apple, Spotify and YouTube channels.

As a programming note, I will not have an Aftermath column today and promise it’s for good reason. Chipping away at something much bigger that’ll roll out later this week.

Thank you reading, listening and sharing with a friend.

Here’s a quick feature on the physical transformation of Bills defensive tackle DeWayne Carter, icymi.

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One moment, Jermichael Finley is dreaming of championships and a gold jacket. The Green Bay Packers tight end truly believed he was turning a corner.

The next? He’s motionless. He’s told he may never walk again and starts imagining a life of eating through a straw.

Football can be cruel.

His life completely changed in one split-second.

Thirteen years later, Jermichael Finley tears open those old wounds right here on the Go Long Podcast. Back in my days covering the team at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, I got to know Finley the player and the person. There simply weren’t tight ends sculpted like this 6-foot-5, 250-pounder. His potential was obvious to everyone watching those record-setting Packers offenses. There were ups and downs. He missed the team’s 2010 Super Bowl run with a meniscus tear in his knee.

And with one collision vs. the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 20, 2013, his career abruptly ended.

Since then, I’ve checked in on Finley a few times. He was never shy answering any questions about his former quarterback. To which, Aaron Rodgers has since responded multiple times. Most recently, the Steelers QB said his former tight end “just wasn’t a smart person.”

So, yes, we Finley’s perspective on this comment. He looks back at their relationship.

I think his view on the dynamic will surprise you, despite the fact that he hasn’t spoken to Rodgers since he laid on a hospital bed 13 years ago.

Above all, Finley has matured into a man completely at peace in life.

Down in Texas, he’s been busy raising five boys with his wife Courtney. His oldest is a wide receiver at Notre Dame, and look out. The next Finley boy (London) is coming.

Jermichael Finley is finding true purpose in life, and that’s a quantum leap for all ex-players… let alone the players whose careers end in such horrific fashion.

Video and audio of our full conversation is above.

I will also share a transcript later today for those who’d prefer to read.

Thanks, all. Go Long is powered completely by you.

We’d love it if you helped grow our community today.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.golongtd.com/subscribe

This Vikings-Bears game at Soldier Field was everything everyone should love about football — hard hitting, inclement weather, every inch was earned.

Here on the Ty & Bob Pod, we dissect it all.

Two games in, the Minnesota Vikings should be feeling damn good about themselves, too. Brian Flores has his unit hunting, and the defensive coordinator is armed with an ascending star in edge rusher Dallas Turner. So, what makes this blitz-happy Vikings defense unlike any other? McGinn has studied the film (as only he can) and I’ve spent some time around the personalities who make this defense go. We discuss in full this episode.

Meanwhile, what a whirlwind of emotions in Chicago. After torching Carolina for 59 points, Ben Johnson’s crew was held to a mere field goal in its home opener. Quarterback Caleb Williams writhed in pain one moment — this looked (and sounded) like a season-ender. Testing has revealed a week-to-week hamstring injury. When should the quarterback return to action? Case Keenum may be the man under center on Monday Night Football vs. Philadelphia as Tyson Bagent works through the concussion protocol.

One major difference between these two teams: linebacker play. Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson are humming for the Vikes.

Elsewhere, the Green Bay Packers survived the wretched swamps of New Jersey.

It was ugly. It was win. Javon Bullard is bringing his words to life and Lukas Van Ness had his best game as a pro. But, goodness, what about that offense? The Zach Bako-Bewele injury is a killer up front.

Finally, it was a miserable night in Orchard Park, NY for the Detroit Lions. There are holes throughout Dan Campbell’s defense. How will the head coach adjust on the fly?

Stick around for a “McGinn Memory” looking back to a 1981 Packers trip to Shea Stadium.

We’ve got two-plus hours of NFC North talk for you each week at Go Long.

New here? McGinn, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has covered the NFL since 1979. We’re former co-workers at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Subscribers can access all episodes, all season long.

Related:

* ‘Through the storm:’ Blake Cashman is the Minnesota Vikings’ maniac in the middle

* ‘Who’s going to take this yard?’ The Arrival of Eric Wilson

* The Promise of Aaron Jones

* Canton is still the goal for Aaron Jones

* The Kyler Murray Project, Part I: Liberated

* The Kyler Murray Project, Part II: The Great Unknown

* Tate Ratledge feels no pain

* Javon Bullard is the dagger

* ‘Kill ‘em all:’ The Sean Rhyan Code

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.golongtd.com/subscribe

What a night it was at Highmark. The Buffalo Bills authored a storybook inaugural game against the Detroit Lions with, of course, Josh Allen taking centerstage.

Here’s my column from the 41-31 win. This “lunatic” of a quarterback with a smelling salt hanging from his mouth is playing more free than ever. (And he’s not alone.)

And, icymi, here’s our story off an exclusive 1 on 1 with owner Terry Pegula. He details why football always needed to stay in Western New York.

“The Bills are here. The Sabres are here. And they’re going to stay here.”

In addition to our two main podcasts — “Real Football” (with Jim Monos) and the “Ty & Bob Pod” (with Bob McGinn) — we’ll get into the habit of dinging record on a Bills show. As most know, Monos served as the team’s director of personnel from May ‘13 to May ‘17 and always brings a fresh perspective.

Today, we try to make sense of Allen’s performance and a perplexing defense. They made plays up front, but clearly this scheme is a major work in progress.

Enjoy the show? Share with a friend. We’re fueled by you.

Thanks, all.

Links from the week…

‘Legacy:’ Terry Pegula opens up on his mission to keep the Bills in Buffalo

‘Dangerous:’ Say hello to the new Buffalo Bills juggernaut offense

Real Football: Is Patrick Mahomes BACK?!

Ty & Bob Pod S5 E1: Inside the Packers-Vikings meltdown

Unfortunate Situation: Vikings roar and Matt LaFleur chokes (again)

Monos Report: What’s real and what’s fake in the NFL?

Do or Die for C.J. Stroud

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.golongtd.com/subscribe

We’re back. Welcome to another season of the “Ty & Bob Pod.”

Each week, I’ll be joined by Bob McGinn to discuss the NFC North.

To those who remember McGinn’s weekly Rating the Packers column at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the format is familiar. He studies the film of the NFCN teams — Packers, Bears, Lions, Vikings — and offers a fresh perspective on…

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.golongtd.com/subscribe