It's Week 6 in the NFL. Let's catch up.
It's Week 6 in the NFL. Let's catch up.
Miss anything? Here's what's been cooking at Go Long.
One of the best parts of launching Go Long is opening up the email on a Sunday morning like this, on Coffee No. 1 of five, and hearing from you all.
This pirate ship set sail on Nov. 24, 2020. Since then, I’ve heard from readers in Australia, Ireland, Canada, England and all over the great U.S.A. It’s so cool to learn all about your lives, who you root for and what you’re hoping to get out of your Go Long experience.
Never hesitate to reach out. The goal, always, is to make this a true community.
This 2021 NFL season sure is flying by. I figured we’d post a heat check of sorts in case you missed a story or podcast episode the last two weeks.
The Majik Man’s Final Comeback
Doesn’t it seem like we’ve gone a good five, six years without seeing ex-players in the national headlines? To hear about the pain they’re enduring? I don’t think the NFL is necessarily too upset with its bad headlines this past week — re: Gruden — because, in turn, there are other problems that continue to go unnoticed by the general populace. Like leaving retirees in the dust.
Don Majkowski is hurting bad. His body’s held together by screws and plates and stitches and the former Packers quarterback also opened up on his depression for this two-part series.
Part I:
Part II:
The Isaiah McKenzie Show
One reason I created Go Long is where the league seems to be taking access. Year to year, media access dwindles at the expense of the fans who pour millions of dollars into their product. Central messaging at a podium is preferred by some teams.
We’ll always try to humanize this sport best we can via feature stories and new shows like this.
This season, we launched a 10-episode show with Buffalo Bills receiver/returner Isaiah McKenzie. He’s as authentic of a personality as you’ll find. We’ll talk football, life… and that reason McKenzie de-committed from Notre Dame.
The hope is for this show to be everything that a Zoom press conference is not.
As a reminder, five of the 10 eps are LIVE shows at Mister’s Bar & Lanes in East Aurora, NY. Reserve your table right here — paid subscribers get first dibs. Our next show is Monday, Oct. 25, at 6 p.m. (EST).
You can watch or listen to the first two episodes right here:
Episode 1: From Miami Gardens to Orchard Park
Episode 2: Inside the Bills’ demolition at Arrowhead
Fractured neck to wrecking defenses
Six years ago, Mike Williams broke his neck and thought his football career might’ve been over. Now, he’s emerging as one of the best wide receivers in football. How has he pulled this off? We chat with the Los Angeles Chargers’ rising star.
Hall of Famer James Lofton and former Clemson teammate Nick Schuessler also weigh in.
Go Long Podcast
You can download our flagship Go Long Podcast wherever you get your podcasts — from Apple to Spotify to YouTube. I think you’ll love our guest this week. We welcome on Joshua Harris, the private quarterbacks coach to Lamar Jackson. Nobody knows the 2019 MVP better than Harris.
This has been another MVP start for Jackson, too. Harris explains how the quarterback’s game has evolved and why he’s negotiating a new contract without an agent.
Each week on this podcast, Monos will also break down his QB Rankings. The former Bills director of personnel is watching every snap of every quarterback and has a simple “Eye in the Sky” mathematical equation that we hope will rival passer rating and QBR.
A positive play gets a QB +1, a negative play -1 (in extreme cases +2 or -2). This final number is then divided by the total run and pass attempts in that game. On this week’s ep, Monos explains why Stafford is a lot lower than you’d expect.
Typically, you can find the rankings in the Monos Report. This week, it’s embedded in the podcast post.
How Anthony Firkser can unlock the Titans offense
We talk to the player who should benefit most from the return of Julio Jones and A.J. Brown in Tennessee.
Firkser, a Harvard grad, could be everything a team wants out of a tight end today.
He just so happens to enjoy a nice jigsaw puzzle, too.
Ty & Bob Pod
Gosh, it’s been fun reuniting with my mentor in Wisconsin, Bob McGinn. We hope NFL and Packers fans alike are enjoying this new show seven episodes in. Bob brings his weekly “Rating the Packers” to the podcast format and shares memories from the beat every Tuesday. Be it conversations with the late Steelers owner Art Rooney or clashes with ex-Packers linebacker Mike Douglass.
This week, we broke down the Packers’ wild overtime win in Cincinnati. Also, De’Vondre Campell’s path to Green Bay may blow your mind. He’s been slipping through the cracks his entire life.
This night, Josh Allen eliminates the ‘yeah, but…’
OK, so the Bills missed on the “Michael Jordan” of football. This consolation prize hasn’t been half-bad, eh? In a blowout win over the Chiefs, for one night anyways, Josh Allen eliminated the “yeah, but…” hovering over his head.
And the Bills sure look like a Super Bowl contender.
Also, ICYMI, from a few weeks back…
The Rise of Brett Favre
It’s a story unlike any other in sports. No one parallels Favre. And McGinn, who covered every one of Favre’s snaps in Green Bay, takes you on the wild journey from Southern Miss… to Atlanta… to Green Bay… to New York… to Minnesota. There have been many docs aired and many books written on the man, but McGinn unearths stories you haven’t read before — he chatted with the man himself, Favre, at length, too.
Part I:
Part II:
Inside Jerry’s World
Did Jerry Jones finally figure it out? These 2021 Dallas Cowboys are rolling.
Of course, fans have gotten their hopes up before. Here’s our series that ran on the eve of the season on how the richest franchise in sports has gone 25 years without a championship. We catch up with everyone in the know, from personnel members to coaches to players.
Jerry’s World is a strange, strange place. It’s no coincidence they haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1995.