Go Long Podcast

Dust off your Robert Porcher and Dorsey Levens jerseys. For my money, the NFC Central-turned-North hasn’t been loaded in nearly three decades. Both the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions are fresh off seasons in which they were a breath away from thinking Super Bowl. No. 1 pick Caleb Williams has a realistic chance to cure the Chicago Bears’ century-plus-long quarterback problem . Even the Minnes...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.golongtd.com Hey, things did not go according to plan for Rob Johnson in Buffalo. But that’s life. He’s not living with regrets. Here’s the full Happy Hour Replay with the former NFL quarterback. Johnson relives that quarterback controversy with Doug Flutie — was their bad blood? We all saw the hits Johnson absorbed on the field. Wh...

Nobody has covered the Buffalo Bills longer than my friend, Chuck Pollock. What a fun walk through history this podcast was with the longtime Olean Times Herald sports editor who’s now writing for the Olean Star and Wellsville Sun here in Western New York. Chuck takes listeners right through his time covering the Bills from 1973 to today. You’ll hear everything from O.J. Simpson stories to Johnson...

There is nobody quite like Wyatt Teller on the line of scrimmage. He is 6 foot 4 inches, 315 pounds of whiskey-loving, alligator-hunting hell for defensive players. The Cleveland Browns have had arguably the best rushing attack since 2020, and he’s a primary reason why. Go Long readers may recall getting to know Teller in this story a few years back. With the 2024 season closing in — and hope buil...

More teams have officially placed their quarterback bets. Six of the first 12 picks in the 2024 draft were QBs. Which rookies have entered the best possible situation? We examine on this week’s episode of the Go Long Show. Caleb Williams has an opportunity to exorcise a century of demons in Chicago. ( Part I and Part II of our series, icymi.) Jayden Daniels, the quarterback drawing Randall Cunning...

Good afternoon! Hope everyone has prepared their grills and country-music playlists accordingly for July 4. First, a quick programming note. When it gets quiet here at Go Long, I promise that’s a good thing. This lull in the NFL calendar is prime time to chip away at bigger projects. Will be sharing the first extensive feature on Monday morning. Until then, here’s a new episode of the Go Long Show...

You’re never quite sure when or how a quote or anecdote from a story will rip through the modern NFL news cycle. Three weeks ago, I wrote a story trying to make sense of the Dallas Cowboys’ bizarre offseason rooted in conversations with those who’ve worked in the front office. The note was somewhat buried in a bigger-picture piece. But, yes. One former personnel man said he believes Mike McCarthy...

John Madden (“Boom!”) and Pat Summerall (“Nothing doing!”) on Sundays. Hank Williams Jr. on Monday nights . A sport not yet dulled by the suits on Park Avenue. Favre and Aikman and Young and Kelly and Elway and Marino . Football peaked in the 90s. But it wasn’t without its issues… especially at the end of the decade. One year after Jerry Rice clearly fumbled in the NFC wild card, Bert Emanuel clea...

Life is sweet for Preston Brown. He’s happy now. The middle linebacker who roamed NFL defenses from 2014- ‘19 is living in Atlanta. He’s engaged. He has two dogs. He still works out all of the time at his home gym. Brown is also a man who can finally take a deep breath and reflect on the high drama that is professional football. As always, Go Long subscribers are welcomed to join these Happy Hour...

A half-decade of heartbreak has convinced Brandon Beane that major change is needed to this Buffalo Bills roster. Granted, this was a team $41 million in the red at the start of the new league year. But as the Bills general manager detailed to Go Long in a 1 on 1 conversation, the team sees immense value in reinventing the roster around quarterback Josh Allen. They’re counting on new leaders emerg...

He’ll become a rich man very soon. Jordan Love played his way into the upper tier of quarterback contracts late last season. Still, this was a small sample size. And opposing defensive coordinators are bound to offer a counterpunch. The same bet these Green Bay Packers placed on Love the night of April 23, 2020 applies in June 2024. This is a player worth the investment. On this episode of the “Go...

One year ago, Super Bowl visions danced in their heads. The Jacksonville Jaguars, fresh off a thrilling run to the playoffs, appeared poised to launch themselves into serious contention once and for all. We chronicled the 180 from life under Urban Meyer to Doug Pederson. The Jags started 8-3. A No. 1 seed was in sight. Then… disaster. The Jaguars failed to qualify for the dance, losing to the Tenn...

Now is not the time to hyper-analyze and agonize over OTA reps. While tempting, it’s dangerous to watch a few 7-on-7 throws and make bold proclamations about a quarterback’s “chemistry” with a rookie receiver. However, this is a perfect opportunity to take a deep breath and see where a few teams stand post-draft because not every team got what it wanted on draft day. Hello, New York Giants. A club...

Alex Green lost football, then he almost lost his life. The former NFL running back shares his chilling story with Go Long on our latest Happy Hour session. This may be our most compelling yet with Green, the ex-Packer, detailing his descent into a gripping addiction to alcohol, weed and cocaine. In harrowing detail, he relives the night he nearly overdosed. Thank you to those who joined the Zoom...

The Chicago Bears have been in desperate need of a Big Bang at the quarterback position for, oh, 105 years. Hello, Caleb Williams. The Heisman Trophy-winner out of USC is unlike anyone before him, lip gloss included. Our extended two-part series examines where the Bears have been and where the Bears are going at quarterback. Let’s continue the conversation right here on the podcast with co-host Ji...

There are quarterbacks locked into mega contracts. There are quarterbacks on rookie deals. And then there’s a third category. Detroit, Miami and Jacksonville all are in the midst of difficult conversations with their starting quarterbacks. Publicly, the general managers and head coaches involved speak glowingly about their guy under center. Privately, as always, the conversations are more contenti...

At No. 8 overall, the Atlanta Falcons shocked everyone. Their fans. The other 31 teams. You at home. Your grandmother who doesn’t care about football. And, without question, Kirk Cousins. GM Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris selected Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., fresh off signing Cousins to his monster contract in March. With a week to digest, we examine this decision in its...

Brandon Beane played poker on Day 1, found his wide receiver on Day 2 and sure hopes the Buffalo Bills landed a few more long-term starters throughout the 2024 NFL Draft. It was an eventful weekend at One Bills Drive. Go Long has been tracking the direction of this team closely since last December’s three-part series , and wanted to take a moment to assess the state of affairs with the draft now i...

Caleb Williams has been the presumptive No. 1 overall pick for months. And months. And few have questioned whether or not that should be the case. Meanwhile, LSU’s Jayden Daniels drew rave reviews from the personnel community in Bob McGinn’s draft series. Scouts would actually take Daniels over 58 percent of the quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall since 2010, including Jared Goff and Kyler Murray....

Greetings from Fattey Beer in Hamburg, NY. What a fun time. Thank you to everyone who made it out for our 2024 pre-draft hangout. We’ll definitely do this again very soon. So great to see familiar faces and say hello to new faces. Here on the podcast, WGR 550’s Jeremy White and The Buffalo News’ Jay Skurski both cut away to discuss the state of the Buffalo Bills, which wide receiver makes sense wi...

A dozen smart football people can watch a full game of Drake Maye and draw a dozen different conclusions. We share different opinions here on the Go Long Show and thought it’d be smart to devote a full episode to this year’s enigma at the position — in addition to all of the best QB fits in Round 1. Should Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll do everything in their power to move from No. 6 overall to three...

There’s a very good chance Joey Mulinaro has organically worked his way into your life online. He’s one of the rare humans making social media a fun place. Maybe it was his Modern Seinfeld sketch on “The Big Game” or “The Accidental Like.” Maybe you caught one of his impressions — Saban & Belichick , Cris Collinsworth , Mel Kiper Jr. , Mike McDaniel , Patrick Mahomes , Gus Johnson, Colin Cowherd o...

Eliot Wolf is the captain now. The son of Hall of Famer Ron Wolf has final say on draft day. He’s finally in charge of an NFL team. So, how will the New England Patriots boss proceed at No. 3 overall? This was a fun conversation. Go Long welcomes on Phil Perry , the excellent reporter at NBC Sports Boston, to chat all things Patriots’ direction, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy and what’s possibly runnin...

The calculated gamble in Orchard Park, NY is that this is addition by subtraction. Stefon Diggs wanted out, and the Buffalo Bills were much obliged. There are many layers to the Bills’ decision to trade their star wide receiver to the Houston Texans, a clear Super Bowl contender. In addition to last week’s column , here’s a podcast discussion. I’m joined by co-host Jim Monos, a man who has faced s...

Rule changes like this may seem innocent, but they add up. They crawl inside the psyche of defensive players to structurally change the sport. Yes, banning the “hip-drop tackle” is another absurd overreach by the NFL. Players have every right to lose their minds right now. Here on the Go Long Show, with co-host and longtime scout Jim Monos, we discuss what this means for the sport and it harkens b...