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Good afternoon, all.

The New England Patriots’ storybook season continues tonight. Mike Vrabel’s vision is coming to life sooner than the most optimistic locals could’ve expected. Drake Maye currently has the best case for MVP. It took one dynasty crumbling to ashes for the Patriots to rebuild again. But for two decades, the greatest coach ever (Bill Belichick) and greatest quarterback ever (Tom Brady) lorded over the NFL.

There have been many books written about those Patriots.

Now, there’s a definitive account of one of the best debates in sports.

Longtime NFL scribe Gary Myers has a new book out: “Brady vs. Belichick: The Dynasty Debate.” We chatted with Gary about his last book — “Once a Giant” — and welcome him back on the podcast talk “Dynasty.” Loved our chat. Right when you think you know everything there is about this quarterback and this coach, Myers gleans fresh anecdotes. We also touch on the Brian Daboll firing in New York.

Video and audio is above.

You can purchase a copy of “Brady vs. Belichick: The Dynasty Debate” right here.

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In the city that dubs itself “Titletown,” the expectation is always title or bust. These Green Bay Packers resemble anything but a championship offense at the moment.

Is it time to have a Matt LaFleur Conversation?

A Brian Gutekunst Conversation?

A Jordan Love Conversation?

Good thing Bob McGinn is back from vacation to help us answer these questions. It w…

One week after clobbering the best player in the sport, the Buffalo Bills were smacked themselves by a team fresh off firing their general manager.

Huh?

Here on “Real Football,” we’ve got to pan a magnifying glass over Sean McDermott, Brandon Beane, Josh Allen and the Bills with a man who once ran this team himself from May ‘13 through May ‘17: former director of personnel Jim Monos. You won’t want to miss Jim’s fresh take on the team. We examine what’s going wrong and where these Bills go from here… with some major news breaking mid-pod: the firing of New York Giants coach Brian Daboll.

That fourth-down kick in Chicago was a bad omen.

John Mara made the surprising midseason move.

Since recording, McDermott dismissed the idea of bringing Daboll back on his staff. As we’ve covered extensively, these two didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye at One Bills Drive. Could time perhaps heal those wounds? Let’s not forget the relationships that Daboll had with both Allen and owner Terry Pegula. Those matter, too. Several players on those Bills teams believed this team would’ve won multiple Super Bowls if Allen and Daboll were united beyond 2021.

We discuss in full with reporting from our three-part series a couple years back.

Either way, this Bills defense needs work and the offense must rediscover its rhythm against Tampa Bay this week.

As always, we spend the first chunk of the show analyzing the week’s games. (Holy, New England.)

Go Long subscribers can access the full show. Real Football — your weekly dose of unfiltered pro football discussion — is completely powered by you.

Reminder: Paid subscribers can also listen on Apple via a private feed.

Bob McGinn will also return this week to talk NFC North. Keep an eye out for that Tuesday PM.

Miss Episode 1?

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Good evening! And here’s hoping you’ve all transitioned to Christmas music. It’s time.

Back from our reporting trip to Tampa, I hit record on a Substack Live to preview Week 10 in the NFL quick. Good news for the Minnesota Vikings. It sounds like Aaron Jones (shoulder/toe) is a go. He is the subject of our Friday Feature this week.

The beloved veteran opens up about his deceased father and the promise he made to him their final hours together. Hope you enjoy.

Whoa nellie, did we get A LOT of exceptional Mailbag questions from you all. Rather than rush it, I’ll post midway through next week. Exceptional submissions by all. Feel free to keep ‘em coming at [email protected].

ICYMI, the first episode of “Real Football” with co-host Jim Monos is live. Our hope is for this show to serve as your weekly two-hour peek behind the curtain on how this NFL works. Monos brings the goods. Subscribers can access in full.

And thanks to everyone who hung out on the live broadcast. Love seeing new names.

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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

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And… we’re off! Welcome to “Real Football.”

Each week, I’ll be joined by longtime NFL personnel man Jim Monos. Episode 1 is officially LIVE. We spend the first hour analyzing the previous week’s games and the second hour examining three Super Bowl contenders nobody saw coming: Seattle, New England and Indianapolis.

As discussed, we’re back to bringing y…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.golongtd.com

Lambeau Field served as the site for one of Matt LaFleur’s worst defeats to date as the Green Bay Packers’ head coach. His team lost as 13.5-point favorites to the Carolina Panthers.

The offense should be hitting its stride right now. Especially after Jordan Love’s signature win over the Aaron Rodgers-led Pittsburgh Steelers in prime time.

Instead? LaFle…

ORCHARD PARK, NY — Good evening, all.

I’ll write a column on the Buffalo Bills’ win over Kansas City Monday AM. This could prove to be a seminal moment for this 2025 edition. In the meantime, here’s a quick video recap from the field.

Yes, the Bills have been here before. They have this team’s number in the regular season.

But, yes, this win is also extremely encouraging for everyone at One Bills Drive.

They’ve never made Patrick Mahomes, an all-time great, look this bad.

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They are not merely squeaking by teams, no, these Indianapolis Colts have been smashing opponents. This Daniel Jones-led operation is scoring more points than any team in football.

Our Friday Feature this week zeroes in on one badass who makes this thing go — wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

Can the Colts keep this up?

Or will the magic fairy dust wear off?

To learn more, we welcome Zak Keefer of The Athletic back onto a Substack Live. Zak is based in Indianapolis and has written numerous outstanding features on this club for years.

He can see this formula working. Offensively, this offense is basically playing downhill each week.

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Thanks, all.

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Winter is coming in the NFC North.

All four teams must make their move or start plotting for 2026.

Green Bay is rolling as the current No. 1 seed in the conference. Detroit — at full strength — has a case to make as the best team, period. Minnesota must figure out if J.J. McCarthy is the answer at quarterback. And there’s growing public skepticism as it pertains to that No. 1 pick in Chicago.

Our Hall of Famer, Bob McGinn, is on vacation this week. But I did talk Packers with two other NFL reporters who run their own sites on Substack: Peter Bukowski of The Leap and Vikings with Matthew Coller of Purple Insider.

Video is above and audio is below.

Thanks, all.

We’ll pick up the Ty & Bob Pod when McGinn returns!

Miss last week’s podcast with McGinn? Catch up here:

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Baker Mayfield is squarely in the MVP hunt. Sam Darnold’s renaissance rages on in the Pacific Northwest.

And raise your hand if you saw the Daniel Jones revival coming.

Elsewhere, Carson Wentz’s fairy tale story isn’t so merry. Aaron Rodgers? It is... complicated.

On this episode, we explore quarterback revivals (and a hell of a lot more) with the exceptional Lindsay Rhodes of SumerSports. There’s a good chance you remember Lindsay from her days running the show at NFL Network. Now? She’s helping fans see a totally different game on Sundays. At SumerSports, she analyzes the sport on a deeper level. Together, we try to solve some of the biggest questions this season... with a blend of analytics and human nature.

Over at GoLongTD.com, your home for longform, we’ve got a feature LIVE on the state of the Buffalo Bills. I spent a day hunting for answers inside the locker room.

Also, it’s Jordan Love vs. Aaron Rodgers under the Sunday Night Football glow. Here’s my column on what this game means for the new face of the Packers franchise.

As always, the best way to support our independent journalism is with a paid subscription to Go Long. Thank you for building our community.

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