Go Long

Beat the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field and they’re in the playoffs at 9-8.

Here on the “Ty & Bob Pod,” we have an overdue disagreement on the general manager central to the entire operation. Co-host Bob McGinn views Brian Gutekunst as an “average” GM. I say he’s well above average, one of the six or seven best in charge. Let’s not forget draft night in 2020. Not many in charge possess the brass cojones to select a quarterback out of Utah State when Aaron Rodgers is on the roster.

From there, we dive into the Packers’ win. McGinn explains why Green Bay can beat anyone playing like this. He also believes the team should keep Jaire Alexander (the subject of last week’s pod) on the bench with how both corners are fighting.

We look ahead to Week 18. This is a sneaky-talented Bears team.

Minnesota’s decision to start quarterback Jaren Hall backfired — miserably — but both Packers lines dominated the line of scrimmage. Zach Tom continues to look like one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL.

Elsewhere, yes, the Detroit Lions were hosed in Dallas. We discuss the NFL’s latest officiating embarrassment. The Lions’ pass rush is hanging on for dear life with aging pickups such as Bruce Irvin and Tyson Alualu. They desperately need bodies back to take some heat off of Aidan Hutchinson.

As always, we gauge the Lions’ title hopes. This is all business at the right time.

The full episode, spanning nearly 2 hours, is available to Go Long subscribers.

Miss the Go Long Show? Here’s this week’s quarterback-centric episode with Jim Monos.

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

Fans chanted “We Want Justin!” Players repeat that Justin Fields is their quarterback.

But this is also why players play, coaches coach, fans fan and GMs GM. It’s much more complicated for the Chicago Bears.

Here on the Go Long Show — with longtime NFL personnel man Jim Monos — we analyze the major quarterback decisions ahead. The Bears own the No. 1 overall pick and a chance to draft USC’s Caleb Williams. Would they really pass this up to keep Fields? Also, the Pittsburgh Steelers are riding the hot hand with Mason Rudolph. Where does this leave 2022 first-rounder Kenny Pickett? He doesn’t seem too pleased with Mike Tomlin’s decision.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints are stuck with Derek Carr in 2024 and… it’s getting messy in Denver. Very messy. Monos can relate to a team telling a quarterback with injury guarantees to sit. His Buffalo Bills did the same thing with Tyrod Taylor in 2016. We take another stroll down (bad) memory lane.

Audio is above. Video is below.

We’ll be recording another episode later this week to preview the game of the week: Buffalo at Miami. Game No. 272 could be a defining moment for the Bills.

Speaking of Fields, here’s how the NFL scouting community viewed the mobile quarterback out of Ohio State. Is he a “knockoff Cam Newton” or the QB who “pushed Burrow out of a job?” Three years in, the Bears must decide.

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Thanks to all for joining our community.

New readers/listeners: Upon subscribing you’ll gain access to our series, “The McDermott Problem.” All links are right here:

* Part I: Blame Game

* Part II: Lost in translation

* Part III: Let Josh be Josh

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

Even with that dud vs. the Baltimore Ravens, it’s safe to declare the San Francisco 49ers the team to beat in the NFC. Is there a team capable of stunning Kyle Shanahan’s crew in the postseason? That’s central to our NFC discussion this Saturday morning on the Go Long Show.

Dallas has the talent. Philadelphia reached the Super Bowl last season. Detroit is exorcising demons.

But is there another team out there capable of sneaking up on everyone? Baker Mayfield has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers primed to win the NFC South. The Bucs called their shot at Go Long ahead of this season — from Carlton Davis to the rest who believed. Mayfield should be the Comeback Player of the Year. Elsewhere, Sean McVay has faced Shanahan many times and Matthew Stafford won a Super Bowl just two years ago. The Rams are heating up at the right time.

Thanks for listening and sharing, everyone. (Here’s the Marcell Dareus story referenced, too.)

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Stories/Podcasts from the week, icymi:

* ‘You only get one life:’ The Juice Scruggs vantage point

* Erik Kramer Q&A: 'I’m here to help people'

* Ty & Bob Pod: The Jaire Alexander Fiasco, explained (it's bad)

* 1 on 1 Pod: Erik Kramer and "The Ultimate Comeback"

* Go Long Show: AFC Wellness Check

* Jordan Love is the answer at QB. Now, about everything else…

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

That escalated quickly.

The Green Bay Packers supplied the NFL’s bombshell this week by suspending cornerback Jaire Alexander one week for conduct detrimental to the team. In the team’s ugly 33-30 win over the lowly Carolina Panthers, Alexander elected himself a captain and nearly blew the coin toss by saying the Packers wanted to play defense first… ins…

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This life story is almost too outrageous to believe. I first connected with Erik Kramer ahead of our launch of Go Long in 2020. He was eager to share everything that’s happened in his life since football.

It’s unfathomable.

He lost his son to a heroin overdose. He lost both of his parents. He attempted to take his own life, even pulling the trigger inside of a hotel room. Miraculously, Kramer survived. Major surgery was a success, but it took Kramer’s brain a full five years to wake up. While it was impossible for outsiders to tell, he had the mental capacity of a 6-year-old. And that’s when he nearly lost himself again. Kramer was coerced into a sham marriage and says he lost about $700,000.

The former NFL quarterback detailed it all in our three-part series, The Fight For Erik Kramer’s Life. (Then again on a Happy Hour with subscribers.)

Now, you can learn about Kramer’s entire life from Kramer himself.

His autobiography — “The Ultimate Comeback” — has officially hit the shelves. You can purchase a copy on Amazon and everywhere books are sold. It’s fantastic. It’s the definition of a page-turner in this genre. So, for our next 1-on-1 podcast here at Go Long, we welcome back Kramer. His rise as a quarterback in this sport is wild itself. Kramer didn’t even start in high school… was a backup in need of an epiphany at the JUCO level… shined at N.C. State… got his shot as a “scab” during the NFL strike… bartended with a side of football in the CFL… and finally got his shot with the Detroit Lions after calling every team’s main-line phone number in a media guide.

Here’s the audio and video of conversation on the podcast. I’ll post the text later today.

Go Long is your home for longform journalism in pro football.

Thank you for joining our community.

The Fight For Erik Kramer’s Life…

Part I: A Miracle

Part II: Victimized

Part III: A new man

Similar conversations with former players:

Ryan Leaf wants to save NFL players' lives: 'You're not alone'

What is the future of football? Chad Brown has many thoughts... (Text Q&A)

Drew Bledsoe lived the beauty and pain of pro football (Text Q&A)

Matt Hasselbeck learned to believe (Text Q&A)

'Pain is glory:' DeVier Posey is the true football journey

Why Lee Smith is the Great American Tight End Story

Alex Green escapes the abyss

The tenacity of Terence Newman

Quincy Carter was an addict. His life? “Hell.”

Rashad Jennings’ 180

Ahman Green was born to be a Packers running back

Kurt Warner and the power of belief

Concussions, Flutiemania, a “Miracle.” Rob Johnson relives it all.

Edgerrin James: “I was made to play football.”

Trent Dilfer: From “terrible” teammate to Super Bowl champ to QB Renaissance Man

The impossible life of LeRoy Butler

Why we should put Ronde Barber’s name right with Charles Woodson

Don Beebe still gets letters on the “Leon Lett Play” every day

Darren Woodson opens up on avoiding gangs, wild Cowboys days, depression, finding purpose

Mario Butler's father was murdered in the most unspeakable way. This is what Butler did next.

Bruce Smith is still seizing the day

Donte Whitner thrived in a “scary place”

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

Two weeks to go, clarity is low. Very low.

This is exactly when you want to be looking your best as a Super Bowl contender, yet it’s hard to make sense of any teams on a week-to-week basis — especially in the AFC.

Without question, 2023 is the best shot teams have had at dethroning the Kansas City Chiefs since Patrick Mahomes assumed power. Even one AFC team that has upset KC (the Bengals) is missing its star quarterback.

We try to make sense of it all on the “Go Long Show.” Once again, I’m joined by former NFL personnel man Jim Monos.

Buffalo won an ugly 24-22 affair in L.A. against the JV Chargers. A true get-in-and-get-out game. Considering how this AFC is shaking out, wins are imperative… however you get ‘em. The Cleveland Browns will bring a special defense to the dance. Lamar Jackson’s numbers aren’t eye-popping but there’s a good chance he wins MVP again. The Ravens have the toughest roster, pound for pound. And let’s not forget about the Miami Dolphins. The team with the most yards (4,126) and most points (463) this 2023 season needed to learn how to grime out a win vs. a playoff team. This was an impressive finish against Dallas.

Miami and Buffalo may be on quite a collision course in the regular-season finale.

Audio and video of this episode are both available in this post, and at Apple, Spotify, everywhere you pod.

Thanks, all.

ICYMI…

* Jordan Love is the answer at QB. Now, about everything else…

* 'Keep dreaming, baby!' Why the Cincinnati Bengals can contend with Jake Browning

* Our 3rd Annual All-Old School Team!

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Baker Mayfield torched the Green Bay Packers — at Lambeau Field — with an all-time performance. This level of domination gets people fired. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback went 22 of 28 for 381 yards with four touchdowns, no picks and a perfect 158.3 rating in a 34-20 win.

Green Bay is now 6-8. The defensive coordinator’s seat is 500 degrees.

Yet, t…

Through his career in Wisconsin, ‘12 to ‘18, Mike Daniels won a lot of games. He was not the norm at defensive tackle, bullying offensive linemen at all of 6-foot-nothing.

Beyond his impressive numbers, a Pro Bowl bid and high PFF grades, Daniels was also the player forever trying to inject toughness into the Green Bay Packers’ defense. Other teams considered this unit “soft,” and it pained him to his core.

So, he was loud. Very loud.

Daniels jawed with opposing players. (And coaches.)

Daniels never held back in interviews with us in the media. One year, ‘13, he said the Packers needed to start choking people and punching them in their throat. The next, Daniels vowed to hit teammates before they take the field to play meaner. Anyone who watched this team knows, the bombast was always needed. Despite boasting an MVP-caliber quarterback in Aaron Rodgers and weapons galore, Green Bay’s defense often collapsed in the big game.

Wondering why the Packers didn’t win a Super Bowl after 2010? This conversation will help crystallize everything. (He knows his attitude wasn’t for everybody in the building. The atmosphere was different in Green Bay.)

Mike Daniels does not hold back and he’s seeing many of the same problems today.

When I was at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Daniels once took us through an MMA training day for a story — he’s still the same guy. With Daniels, there’s never much of a need to ask questions. He’s got a lot to say. After Green Bay, Daniels played for the Lions and Bengals. He saw Matt Patricia’s cold coaching up close and he was the one giving inspiring speeches through Cincinnati’s Super Bowl run in 2021.

This Go Long Podcast episode is available above, as well as Apple, Spotify and everywhere you get pods.

Video is below.

I’ll post the transcript later today if that’s preferable.

Thanks, all.

Go Long is your home for independent longform journalism.

Subscribers have access to all team deep dives, all player profiles, all podcasts.

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

They shocked the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. They slayed the defending champions and Patrick Mahomes.

So, of course, the red-hot Green Bay Packers would fall victim to the Tommy DeVito-led New York Giants on Monday Night Football.

What happened?

Our Hall-of-Fame scribe Bob McGinn dissects the 24-22 loss here on the Ty & Bob Pod. There’s plenty of blame to go around, Jordan Love to Joe Barry. McGinn has been high on these Packers but this loss struck quite a blow. Also, the Detroit Lions’ decline continued with a 28-13 loss to Chicago. Where has Dan Campbell’s crew regressed? Position to position, McGinn explains.

Full audio is above.

Miss the Go Long Show? That episode with Jim Monos is also live.

Thank you for subscribing, listening and sharing Go Long.

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

Back at the scene of “13 Seconds,” Sean McDermott earned a win he will never forget. It saved the Buffalo Bills’ season, too.

We take the conversation to the Go Long Show podcast with co-host Jim Monos.

New readers/listeners: Monos served as a scout with the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints before taking over as the director of personnel with the Buffalo Bills (2013- ‘17), where he helped lead the head-coaching search that netted McDermott. Monos brings a very unique perspective — and takes you through the entire hiring process, their relationship, why he believes the head coach structured everything the right way.

We dive into my three-part series, “The McDermott Problem,” and it’s aftermath locally, as well as the head coach’s strengths/weaknesses, the Josh Allen Super Bowl Window and explore how this all ends for both the 2023 edition of the Bills and McDermott.

As always you can catch the Go Long Show right here and everywhere you get pods, including Apple and Spotify. A video replay is below.

All three parts of the series are linked below for Go Long subscribers.

Thanks, everyone.

Part I: Blame Game

Part II: Lost in translation

Part III: Let Josh be Josh

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