Ray Didinger Defends Makai Lemon & Analyzes Eagles Roster Depth

0:00Heading back to campus, time to upgrade your entire tech setup. Switch to Verizon, buy or bring a qualifying smartphone and get a smart watch and a tablet on us. That's all your essential gear for zero extra dollars. Ace your classes, track your fitness, and stream your favorite shows. Visit Verizon.com or your local store today. Bring an eligible phone to purchase a new phone with device payment on post-paid service plan required up to $6.49.99 watch and tablet device payment purchase with new line on $20 per month tab plan and $15 per month watch plan for 36 months required. Less up to $650 per month credit applied over 36 months per device. Additional taxes fees in terms of apply. Hey, I arrived almost here. Are you ready? Just grabbing my shoes. That's what you said 10 minutes ago. I just wrapped the video call, uploading this giant file on my tablet, looking at my watch group and Nana's with the group chat, and of course, still lining up tonight's playlist on my phone. All at once? Yep, story of my life. That's why I switched to T-Mobile. They have the fastest 5G network. Okay, multitasker. I see you. Honestly, I never imagined I could do all this at once.

1:00It's awesome. Say no more, I'm totally switching. My post is taking way too long to upload. That's a sign you've got to get T-Mobile. So many reasons to join T-Mobile. Find yours at T-Mobile.com. Fastest based on analysis by Uglospeed Distant Intelligence data of national speed school results in cooperating 5G download and upload speeds for the first half of 2026. If you're the type of person who wants data, not assumptions, pre-new Vose whole body scan gives you a deep understanding of your health. Screen for over 500 conditions, including many cancers, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and more. Add blood panels to test over 80 biomarkers. And you've got information about your body you may never have had before. Book your scan at pre-newvo.com. That's P-R-E-N-U-V-O.com.

2:01Welcome back. It is the midday show live. McGurks in Reuters for the rally in Reuters for coming on Hangout. Ray Dittinger with us for the 12 o'clock hour afternoon show will be here coming up at 2 o'clock. We'll get back to everyone's phone calls. But let's text some of the parts of this roster that I think there's some questions or just interesting as we go into the season. So let's start with McCye Lemon. First round pick. The first round pick is always a big deal. And unfortunately for him, his summer was interrupted by some hamstring entries. Came back at the end, played in that final pre-season game. And now we enter the season. Ray, your expectation for Lemn. I know when we talked to you a couple of months ago, right when you just got him back from your cruise and you hopped in with us. You were high on Lemn. Very high. I liked him too coming out. It's been a slow summer for him. What's your expectation for early in his season and just the rookie year for McCye Lemon? It's very unfortunate for him and the team that his summer turned out to be what it was. I mean, the fact that he developed the hamstring injury and stowers too. I mean, they basically had no pre-season, no training camp.

3:02And that hurts. I mean, that hurts them and it hurts the team because you need both of those guys. But Lemn in particular, to be up to speed and ready to go with the start of the season. You need him. You need those catches. And he's clearly going to be behind right now because he just didn't get enough work. Where I kind of pump the brakes a little bit is on what I'm hearing a lot and reading a lot. Is people are calling them a bus story? Yeah, which is ridiculous. They're writing them off to him and saying, oh, it's a waste of drap. Come on. Yeah, he pulled a hamstring. But I know what I saw at Southern Cal. I know what I saw of that guy in college. And I felt when they drafted him, I felt he was going to be a good pick. I think he's still going to be a good pick. I think he's going to be really good in that role slot receiver. I think he's going to get open. And the one thing that Joe, in fact, maybe even been with you and you here, that I discussed it with you, he does the one thing that a receiver in my offense has to do. He catches the ball.

4:03Yeah, he doesn't drop anything. I mean, if you saw him play at Southern Cal, he went through a whole college career. And I think had like two drops in his whole college career. And a guy who was being targeted over 100 times, he catches the ball. So he's probably going to be, I don't know how much they're going to be able to play him early in the season. It's going to take him a little while to get up to speed. But I have no doubt that by the time he does, that he's going to be a big contributor to this offense. And for all the people that are writing him off now, just hold off. He's a quality player. He was a good draft pick. And given the time, I think he's going to prove that. You know what Ray Diddy, but one of the things that a lot of people talked about, I know it was a small 70 size, but are there any concerns that you have with his separation? Because a lot of people were pointing to that when they were talking about bus, the fact that the three plays that he had, two of the plays, he didn't get a whole lot of separation. Is there any concern when it comes to that? No, no, because he did in college. I mean, he was open all the time. And he wasn't exactly like a secret weapon.

5:03I mean, everybody's a played Southern Cal. Newbies get the rock. They had to set up their defense to neutralize him. And he wasn't purely, this is another thing, the mistake I think people make about him. They write him out off as purely a slot receiver, that he can only play in the slot, which is not true. I mean, if you look back, again, if you watched him play in college, was he primarily a slot receiver? Yeah, he was. I mean, he played inside most of the time, but he's lined up outside or motioned outside a lot. He can play out there if you want him to, but where he fits in this offense best, or where I think he's the most natural fit, is in the slot. And he was open in college all the time. I know some people are saying he didn't show you that. He didn't quote unquote, flash in training camp. I think it was because he just, first he was trying to learn the playbook. And then when he was just getting to the point where he understood the offense, then he pulled the hamstring. I don't think he's had a chance to quote unquote, flash. But once he gets healthy and really learns what he's got to do,

6:07I think you're going to see why you drafted him number one. And I think by the end of the year, he's going to be a big part of this offense. I really do. Yeah, and they traded up for him too. I mean, they obviously targeted him, right? They wanted him. He fell to where they were in the draft and they got him. All right, right. Let's go to the, let's go to some I saw in the Dev Chart yesterday. That is just kind of funny as it plays out week to week. Your thoughts on the backup quarterback and what the Eagles have done this summer, and where they should land on Sunday. So yesterday, the teams put out their dev charts, right? It's kind of a media thing to show the fans who the dev chart is. The Eagles listed Tanner McKee, slash Andy Dalton as the backup quarterback, which has really kind of been the entire summer. Right. Where are you on? Who should be the two? I didn't think either guy distinguished themselves much this summer, or what we saw. No. Now I live like Tanner in the past, and Andy Dalton is old, you know, by NFL standards. But obviously a lot of experience there. So where do you come down on the backup as they should go into week one with? Well, I didn't think would be sitting here with four quarterbacks on the roster. He said they still have it. And I have no $2 on Sunday. We have no four. Yeah, I thought they were, it was clear who was number one,

7:11and it was clear who was, and the rookie was number four. The question was, what were you going to get with McKee and Dalton? And I think that the coaches and how they thought was, well, let them both play the preseason, and somebody will play well enough that we can trade one or the other right before the draft, get another draft picked for next year, and then we'll be all set. We'll have our one, two, three. And it never happened. But both McKee and Dalton were underwhelming, let's show we say, in the preseason. That was nice to go back. It's a kind word. And as a result, here you are. Going into Sunday, who would be the number two, to me, Dalton makes the most sense. I've never been a huge fan of his. I mean, even when he was playing more and playing in Mond People's Minds, pretty well in Cincinnati, I just thought it was kind of average. I never thought he was anything special. So when the Eagles made the signing to get him or the trade to get him, I wasn't real excited about it. But at his age, with his level of experience,

8:12if you're talking about who would you rather have the guy coming off the bench if anything happens to Hertz? Yeah, I would probably be Dalton at this point. It's just surprising that they, you know, how he's so good at this, extracting value, right, trading for one guy, flipping him for someone else. I'm just surprised we got here. Maybe, maybe they just, like you said, we're kind of waiting for someone to come calling and no one will be calling. And we're back. But Geryx and Rorris would write this here. This is Joe quite frankly. Yes, Ganna agree. I agree. I agree with you. Do agree with that. It sounds like there may be a bigger. That means it's going to be a big game tonight. What do you mean? What's that? I'm just saying, the internet going out all day, it's going to be a big game tonight. Are you spending this to your bet hitting what it would have to do? Oh, man, I'm just, okay. If I hit these, if I hit these best, I'm going to be living with they like the grandma, you say living high on the hall. What you're going to do is come here tomorrow and say, I told you to live in high on the hall. So, I'm just, all right. I'd be curious about something the entire summer. I don't think it's one of those things you could tell until the season starts, because training camps are different, especially with the run game and a running back. Right. What's your interpretation of Sequan Barclay

9:13and what's left in that tank? Two years ago, it's the greatest running back season we've ever seen here. Last year, it was not close. Now, there are a lot of factors. Obviously, the separation in terms of beyond the line of scrimmage where he was hit when the contact happened. It was way different, banged up offensive line. How much do you think Sequan still has left in the tank? Because I feel like that, depending on your answer to that, and depending on the truth behind what he actually has left, it could change the ceiling of this team. If he has one more great one left in him, that could really propel them to maybe a height that some are unexpected. Your thoughts on Sequan as we enter this season? Yeah, I think physically he's fine. I don't think there's an issue, and I know some people are saying that by the end of the last year, saying, well, if you look at the history and the national football league, when a running back has the kind of year or guy has one year, that number of carries, that number of yards, generally there's a big fall off. Yeah, physically. Physically, they can never get it back. They quote the Jamal Anderson, the priest Holmes, those kinds of cases. Well, Sequan's a different guy, and I really felt that what happened last year

10:16was what happened with him, which I mean, look at Yardage, which was almost cut in half. I thought that was more a reflection of the offense as a whole, and specifically the problems they had with the offensive line and the injuries they had on the offensive line. I mean, you could talk about a lot of the areas where this team fell short and struggled last year, and there were many factors. And the easy one is to blame everything on Kevin Petulo, was that part of it? Yeah, but that certainly wasn't all of it. I think the biggest single thing was the offensive line. I think you know, the guys were not healthy pretty much all year, all of them. And the drop off in their performance from where they were the year before, when they won the Super Bowl, and they were the best offensive line, maybe that I had seen since the dolphins of the 70s. All the way to this year when they were way subpar, I think the problems really began there. But everything all appearances seemed to be, the offensive line is healthy right now.

11:19They certainly seem to have embraced the new offensive philosophy of Sean Manion, this idea of the outside zone kind of running game, the pitch sweep, run to the edges kind of game. Everybody seems to be enthusiastic about it. It's going to be a change and it's going to be an adjustment for Sequan. But if you can get him on the outside and let him find his daylight, I have no doubt that he can be every bit as explosive as he was two years ago. And similar to what I said about Hertz, I think he's really motivated to come back this year and prove that he's not done. You know, people are saying that, he hears it, and I think he's going to come back this year and play very well. But it all starts up front. It really, the offensive line is really the key to the whole thing, I believe. It's interesting. You brought up the kind of the motivation, comparing Sequan, because we spend a lot of time, I think everyone does. On the future, Jalen's contract, quarterback contracts, and just where that's going to go. Sequan, if you look at his deal, he doesn't have much money left after this year. So to me, there's almost an intrinsic motivation he might have too,

12:21just like Jalen Hertz, because we just haven't spent as much time on that. Ray, you mentioned the O-line last year. Totally agree. It was a shell of itself the year before. What did you notice this summer? Because we can cross our fingers, we're all going to stay healthy. That's not the NFL, right? That guys go down. I thought the depth on the O-line this summer was better than I saw last summer. I think we want them all to stay healthy. That's the key. But I think they've got some guys that if they have some injuries, Bell showed like he could play as a rookie. Lampkin is, people are going to love him if he ever gets on the field. I mean, that guy's a bowling ball, who just pushes people. And I thought we had Jordan Davis on during training camp, but he said Drew Kendall was the guy that gave, he's giving him the most trouble in camp. Kendall's really good. It feels like they have real depth now again. Yeah, and I agree with you, Joe. And last summer, during training camp and during the preseason games, you know, they're the defending champs and everything looks rosy. But in the preseason, when they weren't playing any of the starters, and they were playing the backups, and I was looking at the backups play,

13:23I said, ooh, you know, if they get injuries on the offensive line, I'm not sure I have a whole lot of confidence in this group of guys, that they're depth at offensive line. And it proved to be that that was an issue. This year, I have a different feeling. I mean, when you saw, and again, you didn't see your starters play, you played your backups, but I thought the guys that played this week, this year in the preseason, I thought played very well. Kendall is a fifth round pick from a year ago. The thing I really like about him is he is just a fundamentally sound player. I mean, his stance is good. The way he uses his hands is good. He never makes a mistake. He always knows where to be. He's just a really smart player who always seems to make the right play. And Bell, if you were to ask me who's the most pleasant surprise out of this preseason, what I've seen is of our, I would say it was Bell. Because we all knew when they drafted him in the third round. I mean, he is immense.

14:23In the physical tools are there. I mean, he looks like when I saw him, I thought, the only person that reminded me of it, remember King Dunlap? Yeah, King. He kind of had that same look. But I had seen him play at Miami and he was, shall we say, unpolished. He had the size six feet nine, three hundred and forty pounds of long arms. He certainly had what you were looking for in a tackle. But coming out of college, he didn't seem to have the greatest technique. His balance wasn't perfect. I thought, there's a guy that's worth drafting. Third round seemed just about right. But is he ready to play right now? Hmm, probably not. But you can work with him and develop him into a player. Man, he showed up more ready to play than I expected. And look, you want to have Lane Johnson out there. You hope that you have Lane Johnson out there for the whole season. But if something happens and he can't play for a gamer too, I think they have the guy that can step in there and play. I mean, Bell to me, if you were asked me, did I come out of an 0-3 preseason pointing to one thing and saying,

15:25well, at least this is better than what I thought. Michele Bell would probably be that guy. Well, and perhaps they found their Lane heir apparent before they even had to, right? We've talked about that for years. Like, when are they going to draft a tackle high? When are they going to get ready? Maybe they have. And that would be incredible. Pick there in the third round if it becomes that. This segment brought to you by Monicky is your car game day ready. Breaks, tires, batteries, and complete auto care by trusted local experts to get your game day ready. Monicky doing car care right. All right, Ray, we talked a little bit when you first hop in here about the NFC East. How did the Cowboys might be? Giants approved. We need to ask you about the hierarchy of the NFC. And really, I'm curious what you think of this Rams roster they've put together. To me, on paper, it looks like one of the best NFL teams I've seen. I mean, they have, I think to that team last year, they have, I've been lost four games. And all of them were like that close. Right. They had McDuffie, who's a tremendous corner. They had Watson, who's a solid corner. They had Miles Garrett, who's probably the best player in the NFL, is the hype justified?

16:27Does it make sense to you that they are the biggest favorites who want to serve both 20 years? New Shoes, new clothes, brand new grade. Switched to Verizon to make sure their tech keeps up. This back to school season buy or bring any Android phone and get a Samsung Galaxy tablet on us. Get your kids ready for the school year without breaking the bank. Visit Verizon.com or your local store today. Bring an Android phone or purchase a new phone with device payment on post-paid service plan required. $3.9999 tablet device payment purchase with new mine on $20 per month tablet plan for 36 months required. Less $330 tablet per month credit applied over 36 months additional taxes fees in terms of apply. Hey, all right, it's almost here. Are you ready? Just grabbing my shoes. That's what you said 10 minutes ago. I just wrapped a video call, uploading this giant file on my tablet, looking at my watch group and Nana's with the group chat, and of course, still lining up tonight's playlist on my phone. All at once? Yep, story of my life. That's why I switched to T-Mobile. They have the fastest 5G network. OK, multitasker.

17:28I see you. Honestly, I never imagined I could do all this at once. It's awesome. Say no more, I'm totally switching. My post is taking way too long to upload. That's a sign you've got to get T-Mobile. So many reasons to join T-Mobile. Find yours at T-Mobile.com. Fastest based on analysis by Uclov Speed Test Intelligence data of national speed score results in incorporating 5G download and upload speeds for the first half of 2026. If you're the type of person who wants data, not assumptions, pre-new Vose whole body scan gives you a deep understanding of your health. Screen for over 500 conditions, including many cancers, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and more. Add blood panels to test over 80 biomarkers. And you've got information about your body you may never have had before. Book your scan at pre-newvo.com.

18:29That's P-R-E-N-U-V-O.com. The podcast Campus Files is backed with more stories of scandal, crime, and intrigue on college campuses. It is not hard to destroy a college. It's almost for university on a siege. Listen to and follow campus files available now wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, it does. I wish I could give you a counter-argument to that. I wish I could be the guy on the other side. It says, ah, no, they're not with their correct up to be. But honestly, just the last couple of days I was looking at their roster, and they're really good. I mean, unless something crazy happens, you know. The cool bite and bite somebody. Well, that would qualify here. Bite somebody. You know, if something, if they get a whole bunch of injuries, Matthew Stafford gets hurt. I mean, it can change. We've all seen a change. But right now, yeah, I mean, to me, they're the prohibitive favorite to win the thing. And, you know, the one area, their defense is going to be very good.

19:30I would have been really good, even if Aaron Donald hadn't come back. Right. But the fact you bring him back, and he wouldn't be coming back if he didn't think he could play. He's not coming back for the money. He's not coming back for the glory. He knows he's going to the Hall of Fame. He wants to come back and win a Super Bowl. And I think that he's going to come back and put him next to Garrett. That's, I don't know how you're going to block those guys. And the Eagles are going to have to figure out a way to do that by week four. I know. But right now, if you're talking about the favorite team, they're the favorite and they deserve to be the favorite. I think they are that good. Hugh, that defensive line with Garrett and Donald. And then they had a bunch of young guys. Anyway, I mean, I know they traded verse to get Miles. Yeah, who's the detackled that was down there with verse that, that's on the other, that's probably going to be on the other side of the game. Bobby Turner, yeah. Yeah, like one of them, they'd listen. They got guys to get after the quarterback, man. And just having Aaron Donald in the rotation, it makes them that much more formidable. You know, but, but like you say, anything that happened, they don't, the game isn't played on paper. You know, you got to go out there and you got to play. But when you look at that roster and what they've got,

20:32they have a really good football. They're really good. And the other thing that they've got is, for, to be a really, really great team, a team has a chance to win a championship. The relationship between the quarterback and the head coach is super important. Yeah, I mean, you need, especially if that head coach is an offensive coach. The relationship and the communication between that guy and the quarterback is vital. And Matthew Stafford and Sean McVeigh have that going. I mean, they have, they see the game and they see the offense exactly the same way. And I think that that's one of the things they have going for. And people say, is the offensive line great? No, it's good enough, especially when you, especially when you have a quarterback like Stafford that gets rid of the balls so fast. I mean, you, I mean, you understand what it's like when you're on the other side of the line. And you have a quarterback like that, the balls out of his hands. It, you can barely get out of your stance in the balls on its way. I was telling Joe, like when we played the coach,

21:34Tarrick Glenn, Tarrick Glenn, whatever his name. The left tackle for the coach. Yeah, he was not, he was not a stalwart tackle, but the way he paid got the ball out of his hands, he looked like an all-protackle over there. And he made probals, yeah. Yeah, that's a good way. Yeah, yeah. No, you're right. I mean, and that's, that is Stafford at that point. 215, 592, 90 front. Let's take a phone call here with Ray Dittinger. Demand in Delco, up on WIP. It's up to Mond. No, no, no, no. Good morning, fellas. That's a little bit of a good morning. Good morning, Demand. What's up, pal? Hey, hey, um, it's all about you, Joe, Jake. All about you, baby. I know what he's, you know, all about you. What do you think about, Jalen, all about you? Oh, oh, oh, what'd you say about us now, um, you ain't got us making the playoffs. Wow, no, what I said, what I'm going to do about it. You said he didn't hit it. I said, I don't know if it's a lock this year. I said Dallas is better. And if we're in a wild car situation, I just think the NFC's really good, Demand. Seattle's going to be good again. We just talking about the Rams, Ray.

22:35The North's got some good teams. I just, if they're in the 10 win range, to me, that's not a lock. I think they need to be 11 or 12 to be a lock. That's what I said, Demand. Got you 11, 12 to be a lock. Now these other teams, they got to play ball too, right? And so you believe that the bears, the lion, um, they can maybe feel who you say on these spots, because it's for division people. And then under that, it's the wild cars. And you know, right? Well, I mean, the South is its own thing, right? That someone's got to go from the South. That's a bad division. But I mean, we'll get raised on it. I think the NFC, the underbelly, has just gotten better. So, and Demand, we appreciate you. I mean, Ray, we were talking today about, oh, the ego's a lock, right? And if they win the division, that's great. That's the way in. But if Dallas steals it and we're in a wild car, I think the lions should be better with a weaker schedule. I'm, the bears feel like an interesting NFC, or they enter the out kind of thing. Like, where are you come down on them? Because if they take another leap, oh, I mean, that, I thought that coach last year was super impressive.

23:37What do you do with Ben Johnson? And then the West, the Rams, the C-OX, 40 honors are always in the mix. It feels like there's a lot of good NFC teams this year. There are. Yeah, I think the NFC is a lot stronger than the AFC, a lot. And if you look at the, you got three really good teams out West. Yep. And you've got three really good teams in the central. You know, I mean, and the Vikings, you know, the Vikings have a good roster. They have to figure out the quarterback position. And they did win nine last year without any quarterback play. Right. I mean, they have a good roster. They just have to figure out the quarterback position. But the other three teams I think are really good. I was having a discussion with a lig guy this past week. And he was saying he thinks the Bears are going to take a step back. He thinks that what the Bears did last year wasn't legit. He's not convinced that they're that far along. And I kind of disagree. You know, I, and maybe I'm a little, my view is a little bit skewed by what they did to the Eagles. Oh, they beat him up that black Friday.

24:37I mean, they just took the Eagles defense apart. And nobody else did that last year. And I think Johnson is really that good a coach. And again, getting back to what I was just talking about is how critical that head coach quarterback relationship is. You know, I think Johnson and Williams have reached that point now, where I think the Williams now has a coach in Johnson who can bring out the ability that he's got. And he coached the heck out of that kid last year. And I think the Williams will come into this year just with more confidence. And I think he's going to pick right up where he left off. So I think the Bears aren't at all taking a step back. I think they're going to be right there. You know the thing that jumped out to me about Chicago Bears last year was the fact that he didn't cuddle. It didn't sound like he cuddle Caleb at all. It sounded like he just made it through him out there and made him learn offense. And I think sometimes that's the best way to do it. You look at paid manning in the year the first year in the NFL, Ray Diddy. And he got beat up. That second year he came back with the confidence and knowing the offense, he was a different quarterback.

25:40So it could potentially be the same thing. Yeah, I remember, you know who, it's just going back a long way now. But you know who Peyton's quarterback coach was, his first year, his rookie year in Indy, was Bruce Arianz. Oh, that's right. And Bruce told me a story that to your point, you Peyton through 24 interceptions. Yeah, he was remarkable. Yeah, he was terrible. And he had a game, I think it was against the Patriots in like a mid season where he threw like three picks in the first half and took himself out of the game. Wow, like you just said, that's it. And he went to his back up. I can't remember who the back up was. Went to his back up. It's all the back up to start warming up because you've got to go in there. I'm taking myself out. Bruce Arianz, who's the quarterback coach, turns around and sees the back up, warming up, and says, and what are you doing? And he said, well Peyton says he's coming out. And Bruce Arianz says the hell he is. And he went over to Peyton and Peyton sitting on the bench.

26:41And Arianz says, what's going on? And he said, look, I'm terrible today. I threw three interceptions already. I'm killing my team. I'm taking myself out. And Arianz said, the hell you are, he said, you're going to get back in there and you're going to play because you know what? You might learn something. OK. We're not going anywhere with our back up quarterback. It's what we're going to go with you. So get your butt back into game and play better and maybe learn from your mistakes. It's kind of a turning point in Peyton's career. Yeah. And then I remember that first year, he was horrible. Then he came back that next year. And he was much better. But that's sometimes, you got first of all, you got to have the right coach to do that in my opinion. Never played quarterback, but that's what it feels like. And you got to have the right guy that understands what's going on. You do. No. And we'll see what the bears do. But I'm with Ray. I think they're going to be good again. R2155, 592, 90 for my part. Coming up, let's get raised thoughts on the guy we're watching tonight. Our old friend, AJ Brown, how good is he going to be in New England? How much of an impact will he have? The season starts tonight. We'll talk about AJ next.

27:41Ray Dittinger with us, we'll live at McGurks and Rurs for Don Sports Radio 94, WIP. Hey everybody, it's tailgate season. And you already know what I'm bringing to the tailgate. It's a ball of Jack Daniels, Tennessee whiskey. I'm bringing that Honey Fire Apple or the new Black Bear. You can spice up your tailgate with one of the Jack Daniels flavors. Jack Daniels, honey, is always sweet. I love that Jack Daniels, honey. Sometimes mixing fire up at a tailgate, might want to do that. Put a lot of fire in the tailgate. And Jack Apple is perfect for those warm nights. You might want to warm it up a little bit. Put a little spices in it, something like that. And finally, you got the Black Bear. That's my new favorite. Tennessee Black Bear brings a unique Black Bear flavor. Pear with Jack Daniels. And together they create a smooth sweet taste that's perfect for any tailgate. The Jack Daniels old number seven and all these other flavors are on sale in 750-minute little bottles. And you find one of the good spare stores throughout September. So stop in and stock up for the week. Get tailgate ready with Jack Daniels, Tennessee whiskey. Celebrate responsibly. Heading back to campus, time to upgrade your entire tech setup.

28:44Switch to Verizon, buy or bring a qualifying smartphone and get a smartwatch and a tablet on us. That's all your essential gear for zero extra dollars. Ace your classes, track your fitness, and stream your favorite shows. Visit Verizon.com or your local store today. Bring an eligible phone to purchase a new phone with device payment on post-paid service plan required. Up to $6.49.99, watch and tablet device payment purchase with new line on $20 per month tablet plan and $50 per month watch plan for 36 months required. Less up to $650 per month credit applied over 36 months per device. Additional taxes fees in terms of play. Hey, our rides almost here. Are you ready? Just grabbing my shoes. That's what you said 10 minutes ago. I just wrapped the video call, uploading this giant file on my tablet. Looking at my watch group and Nana's with the group chat and of course, still lining up tonight's playlist on my phone. All at once? Yep, story of my life. That's why I switched to D-Mobile. They have the fastest 5G network. OK, multi-tasker. I see you. Honestly, I never imagined I could do all this at once. It's awesome. Say no more, I'm totally switching.

29:45My post is taking way too long to upload. That's a sign you've got to get to mobile. So many reasons to join D-Mobile. Find yours at T-Mobile.com. Fastest based on analysis by Uclav Speed Test Intelligence data of national speed score results in incorporating 5G download and upload speeds for the first half of 2026. If you're the type of person who wants data, not assumptions, pre-new Vose whole body scan gives you a deep understanding of your health. Screen for over 500 conditions, including many cancers, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and more. Add blood panels to test over 80 biomarkers. And you've got information about your body you may never have had before. Book your scan at pre-newvo.com. That's P-R-E-N-U-V-O.com. What the heck is going on with all these promotional popcorn buckets? The giant shorts that all of Gen Z is wearing now,

30:47and whatever the heck high rocks is? I'm comedian and certified hater Matt Bellesai, and these are the types of questions I'm demanding answers to on my podcast, What the Heck with Matt Bellesai? Listen or watch every Thursday as I rant about all the internet trends, pop culture stories, and personal mayhem that makes me scream, What the Heck? Follow What the Heck with Matt Bellesai wherever you get your podcasts. Go be a hearty. If you're right, it is going to be hard. Look it back. It is a mid-day show. It is the beginning of the season. I'm excited for that, but not any day. Yeah, all right. We're broadcasting from the rally in Rurs from McGurks, Pop and Grill in Rurs. We're coming out. It's the best seat Sundays at McGurks. Enjoy your meal or life for less than four bucks. NFL Sunday take it plus. Check out their calendar for tailgate tastings. The ultimate game day atmosphere. Make it McGurks. And apparently you guys got this note. The return of Hughes, Jack Daniels, Blackberry, locker room punch. It's the E-Locker Rooke. Yeah, because you get one yet? Did you get one yet?

31:47Well, you know, I'm driving. Oh, OK. You know, Stein and Game about 22 reeds to read today. Hey, Stein, did you listen, man, quit putting all these damn words in these reeds, man, what you doing? Well, that's how you get paid. You'll be got to do the reeds. I don't need all these damn words in the reeds. I don't talk like that. You want to simplify things? Yeah, I like simple. I do too. Hey, Jack Daniels, he want me to break down every flavor. Just Jack Daniels spice, apple. Well, the Blackberry, locker room punch. Locker room punch. Right here at McGurks. Our rei dinner's here with us for 12 o'clock, our rei. Let's talk about tonight, the opening game of the season. And obviously, it's one we're going to pay extra attention, not just because it's football, because AJ Brown is playing for the Patriots. Rey, what's your expectation for Brown? I mean, it's a source subject. And if you play as well, it's going to be a source subject. Oh, yeah. Your expectation for Brown tonight, but really just this first season away from the Eagles. Yeah, Spotlight's going to be on him. No question. I mean, it's the first game, huge national audience. And all the TV networks, they love their storylines going into the games. Be sure to watch for this. Look for this guy. And he's going to be one of the storylines.

32:48There's going to be the obvious storyline about variable. Yes. That's a big one. That will certainly be tough. You think they're going to talk about it a lot, or just kind of like, hey, controversial offseason, did it it it it it. I think that's what they feel compelled. They can't ignore it. They will feel compelled to talk about it right off the top. But once the game begins, they'll probably get to the game. But they're going to talk about AJ off the top. And the fact is they're going to talk about AJ for four quarters. Because I think if I know anything about this guy, I think he's going to have a big game. Number one, it makes perfect sense because they need him in that offense. I mean, we saw what the Patriots offense was without a truly elite receiver in the Super Bowl. They got totally shut down. Drake Mays a really good quarterback, but he needs guys to get open to make the throws. He didn't have that last year with AJ Brown. He will have it this year. And I think I expect I fully expect AJ to have a big game tonight. If I were and I am not a betting man by any means.

33:48Oh, talk to me right way. If I were a betting man, if you were a Hugh Douglas with your betting man, I would do. I would get the splits on him. And I would go over on catches and over on yards. I don't even know what those numbers are. But I would go over on both. Because I think he's going to come out tonight to make a statement. And I think he's going to have the opportunity to do that. I think it's a perfect situation for him. I think he's going to have a really big year. And I hope he does. But the fact of the matter is the situation here had reached a point where they just had to move him. I didn't think there was any way you could have brought him back and made it work. So they made the trade. He's got a new start in New England. Starts tonight. And I think he's going to be a story tonight. I think he's going to be a story right through the season. So I generally agree with you. He's going to be motivated. Probably have a big year this year. How much? When you watched him last year, it's tough to parse. Right. We can't get in his head. We don't know how he's feeling. Obviously he wasn't happy. That played a lot into what happened. Sure. Did you see any physical deterioration? Because it didn't feel to me like he was as explosive.

34:51Now, he had hamstring issues and training camps. So maybe that was it. And he never felt 100% because if he has a big year, I'm going to go back to last year like what happened? Was that all he was not fully engaged to you? Or was he physically hampered last season? Because last season doesn't fit with the other years he's had recently in the NFL. He was an elite player. Oh, yeah, sure was. I mean, over 100 catches, over 1,400 yards. I mean, he was putting up big, big numbers year after year. I certainly, I mean, there were people that were saying that they thought that he looked like he was done, that he had slowed down, that he had lost a step. And I kind of doubt that. I think he was like a lot of people, very frustrated with a lot of aspects of the offense. He was frustrated in his role or his non-role in the offense. And I think it carried over onto the field. I mean, I saw him pull up on some balls that I had never seen him do before. I saw him not extend for some balls in traffic

35:51that normally that's his strength. I think it was more of that than any kind of a physical decline. And unless I'm totally mistaken here, I think he's going to come into this year with a lot to prove and I think he's going to prove it. I don't think that physically he's lost what he had a couple years ago. I just think he needed a new situation and a new start. And now that he's got it into England and playing with a very talented young quarterback, I think you're going to see the A.J. that you're going to see this year is going to more resemble the one of two years ago and not the one of last year. Ray, let's end with this for a while. It's kind of amazing we got this far without having this name come up in the annals of the idea of football's back. We met you mentioned and I grew through it. I think the NFC's better than the AFC now. There's a lot of strong teams. What do you think of the AFC? And specifically, Mahomes coming off the injury, it's just for years, it just felt so simple. Those chiefs, probably the chiefs, if not them, maybe the bills or the Ravens. To me a lot uncertain in that conference now. Mahomes off a major injury and they weren't good anyway last year.

36:52New head coach in Buffalo, new head coach in Baltimore. Some people are hyping up Cincinnati but they get hyped up a lot and then they don't seem to deliver. What do you think of that conference? And are we sleeping on Mahomes coming back? Because if he's healthy, he's Patrick Mahomes. Perhaps. You know Joe, no one's brought him up all summer. No, you're right. To me it is so funny that in, I've been watching like a lot of the analysts on TV now looking ahead to this season and watch for this player and look for this team and look for this trend and all the stuff we normally do. You never hear anybody mention Patrick Mahomes. I mean they're talking about May. Which you would, yeah I get it. You're talking about Allen. People are really high on Herbert. I kind of get all of that but you can have people talking for 10 minutes about quarterbacks just in the AFC and not have anybody bring up Patrick Mahomes. And you know from everything I have heard he's had a good rehab. It was a bad injury late in the year so there was some question about whether he'd be ready to go.

37:53They claim that he is. I think he's going to be back to being Patrick Mahomes again. The only problem is that that team is not what it was. Do I think that they're going to go back to being with the chiefs where a couple years ago? No, but it's not because of him. I just think the overall team is not as good but I think Mahomes is going to come back. Again similar to what we were saying about Barkley, what we're saying about Brown. The guys are coming off disappointing years last year. Prideful guys that still have a lot of talent are going to have big bounce back years. Wouldn't surprise me at all if Patrick Mahomes has come back player of the year. I mean, wouldn't surprise me. I mean, it would not surprise me a bit because he is still Patrick Mahomes. Yeah, he is. I think we're sleeping on the best player of this generation. Just keeps back and he might do great again, right? So happy to have you for this. What's the what's the Sunday look like for Ray these days? He's sort of a no pack. How do you watch a game these days compared to the old days? You know, Joe, nothing has changed. I didn't think it did. I didn't think so.

38:53It's really funny. You Douglas and I were talking about this when I retired and somebody asked that question and you said, no, no, no, no. He's going to have his tablet out. He's going to be charting the plays. It was just what he does. And you were 100% right. But you've got so used to doing it. Like, what other way is it to do it? Right. You know what I mean? Because it's almost it's ingrained in your DNA at this point. I will say this. You're 100% right. But to this extent, back in today, when I was still working regular with you guys and doing the TV, when I watched any game, I was charting. I was logging the game. I mean, I had my yellow tablet out and I was logging every play, every every personal package, every down distance. I was logging the whole game. I will only do that with Eagles games. So you can like like tonight. Like, to guard down a little bit on the other games. Like tonight, I'll watch the game, but I'll just sit and watch the game. I'm not going to have my tablet. Yeah, okay. But Sunday, 425, Eagles, Washington,

39:54you better believe the illegal tablets in my hands. Well, I wouldn't expect anything less. Right. We appreciate it. Enjoy the season. And hopefully, maybe we could talk again soon down the line. And maybe for the post season again, right? I would enjoy visiting with you guys anytime. Always a pleasure. There he is. Ray Dittinger with us here at McGurks in Roars. We're so happy to have Ray Dittinger. We got so much up. Including Nick Ciriani spoke earlier today. And he spoke about a couple of things we need to get to. And Elliott True Parks will join us after the Ciriani press conference. We'll get to Elliott, our first kiss the baby of the season. It's the midday show on sports radio, 94 WIP football seasons back. And it's time to bring that game day energy home, whether you're at the game or a cheer for your liver, who makes sure your home is ready for the season with Pella Windows and doors, get performance style and comfort. Plus incredible savings with 55% off installation. Or 48 months, 0% APR. Well, the home team's big, big plays in the field. Make a big play for your home with Pella Call 877 98 Pella.

40:55Discuss your free home constellation or Pella Philly.com. Heading back to campus, time to upgrade your entire tech setup. Switch to Verizon, buy or bring a qualifying smartphone and get a smart watch and a tablet on us. That's all your essential gear for zero extra dollars. Ace your classes, track your fitness, and stream your favorite shows. Visit Verizon.com or your local store today. Bring an eligible phone to purchase a new phone with device payment on post-paid service plan required. The $6.49.99 watch and tablet device payment purchased with new line on $20 per month tablet plan and $15 per month watch plan for 36 months required. Less up to $650 per month credit applied over 36 months per device. Additional taxis fees in terms of play. Hey, our rides almost here. Are you ready? Just grabbing my shoes. That's what you said 10 minutes ago. I just wrapped a video call, uploading this giant file on my tablet, looking at my watch group and Nana's with the group chat. And of course, still lining up tonight's playlist on my phone. All at once? Yep, story of my life. That's why I switched to D-Mobile. They have the fastest 5G network. OK, multitasker.

41:55I see you. Honestly, I never imagined I could do all this at once. It's awesome. Say no more, I'm totally switching. My post is taking way too long to upload. That's a sign you've got to get to mobile. So many reasons to join T-Mobile. Find yours at T-Mobile.com. BASTUS-BASE-DON-ON-ANALISIS by Uglospeed Distant Intelligence Theatre of National Speed School Results in Corporating 5G Download and Upload Speeds for the first half of 2026. Hey there, it's Jill's Slesinger. I'm launching a brand new show. It's called Money Moves. Follow and listen wherever you get your podcasts.