Introducing "Real Football," a new show at Go Long

Jim Monos is back. Here's what you'll get out of your podcasts as a subscriber.

The fried pickles didn’t stand a chance. Wayyy back during the Covid mayhem, you may recall, all bars required all patrons to order food with their beer. So when I met former Bills exec Jim Monos at Resurgence Brewing in downtown Buffalo and one wild story bled to the next… and the next… and the next, I’m pretty sure we crushed a minimum four baskets of pickles.

Monos shed light on how freakin’ close the Bills were to drafting Patrick Mahomes amongst countless tales from his days as a scout for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and working as the Bills’ director of personnel.

At some point, it hit us:

This should be a podcast. This is different.

Rare is the NFL exec willing to explain exactly what happens behind the scenes. Soon after, we launched “Dunne & Monos” and, man, that pod was fun.

Now — after a 2 1/2-year break — we’re teaming up again for something bigger, better and worth your valuable time. “Real Football,” a weekly two-hour podcast launches this week for subscribers at Go Long.

Good news. All podcasts will again funnel through Go Long. When I say we’re completely powered by YOU, I want to mean it in both words and podcasts. No ads, no sponsors, no gambling blood money should mean exactly that… across the board.

So while I only have good things to say about the folks at the Bleav Podcast Network, no, we will not be teaming up with any third parties for our pods. It didn’t feel right to fill shows with ads last week and I didn’t like asking you to click a link to Apple if you wanted to watch/listen right here at the site where it’s user-friendly for subscribers.

Mostly? We shouldn’t try to play the same game as the mainstream.

Instead of chasing ad dollars, I’d rather Go Long be fueled 100 percent by readers and readers only. That is how we maintain our total independence.

Go Long should always zig where others zag. No different than spending several weeks reporting on longform stories vs. spitting out mock drafts and power rankings.

In that vein, it’s a perfect time launch a new show that further brings our mission to life.

The more popular the NFL gets, the less people actually know about the sport. It’s such a dichotomy. I’m always traveling the country and talking to players/coaches/scouts to bring you football in its rawest form via player profiles and team deep dives. And those who remember Monos know he doesn’t hold back as a former personnel man. We come from different worlds — journalism and scouting — with the same goal.

There’s a different league behind that curtain.

Our plan is for “Real Football” to sharply contrast all sanitized voices filling the space.

Full episodes will be accessible at GoLongTD.com and inside the Substack app. If you want to listen on Apple, you can set up a private feed with your subscription. I’ll also tease clips from the show at our YouTube channel. But all two hours will only be available to our members.

Storytelling will forever serve as the bedrock of our site. I’m coming to you live from Tampa, Fla., this week and we’ve got a few humdingers in the works.

But as far as our podcasts go? Here’s what you’ll get as a subscriber…

• Real Football. A two-hour blend of NFL reporting and NFL scouting. We’ll break down the games and, each week, expect a theme. On Episode 1 tonight, we closely examine the three Super Bowl contenders nobody saw coming.

• Ty & Bob Pod. Our Hall of Fame scribe, Bob McGinn, dissects all four NFC North teams on tape and caps each episode with a “McGinn Memory.”

• Q&As with former players. I’ll continue to catch up with guys around the country for the pod.

• Substack Lives. Download the app and turn notifications on to join live pods and ask questions.

Thanks, all.

We’re closing in on our 5-Year Anniversary later this month. Go Long is only possible because of you.

New here? We’d love to have you join our community today.