Behind Tha Mike Podcast

Presented by Belly Up Sports! Michael Neal Jr shares his love of NFL history by discussing stories, games, NFL draft, Super Bowls, team origins, and more!

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Sports News
1
Jack & Jerry
Two brothers born and raised in Chicago. Each worked for rival NFL teams. One would hoist the Lombardi trophy while the other was responsible for the man whom the trophy is named for. Jack & Jerry Vainisi.
48 min
2
Nothing new
Nobody’s perfect, and that goes for some of the greatest coaches of all time. They all believe they know best, especially the ones that want complete control of their franchise. It doesn’t always end well.
52 min
3
“So, you won the Heisman huh?“
Drafting is an inexact science, and nothing is guaranteed. Caleb Williams could change the Chicago Bears’ failures at the quarterback position, but when you look at their franchise history? It will take more than that.
45 min
4
HBCU Chiefs
There was a time when champions won with multiple HBCU players on their roster, and no one had more than the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs.
40 min
5
Tom and Jerry
We run down a Super Bowl that was won on a play named after cartoon legends, and we reminisce about some of the greatest stories in Super Bowl history!
51 min
6
Long Shots
In the history of the Super Bowl, quarterbacks that have reached the big game, win or lose, you have no idea what their careers were going to be. Sometimes we ought to just enjoy the story.
50 min
7
#AllGrit
It’s been a long time since the Detroit Lions played in the NFC Championship Game…and even longer since they’ve won a championship. Today is a reminder of just how good they were in their early history.
40 min
8
Goats in Cleveland
Two of footballs greatest coaches of all time, Nick Saban retires, Bill Belichick and the Patriots part ways. Both gone within days of each other. We take a quick look back at their careers and their time together with the Cleveland Browns.
50 min
9
Cinderella
Super Wildcard weekend is now over, and we must remember teams with a bye & home-field advantage don’t always win it all. A team from the first weekend has a chance at the trophy too… Just ask the 1980 Oakland Raiders.
47 min
10
America’s Team?
There is nothing new under the sun! Like that team that wins so much, but always comes up short in the playoffs? Sometimes they finally break through!
51 min
11
“Slingin’ Sammy”
Before there was Brady, Manning, Montana, Unitas, or Graham, there was Samuel Adrian Baugh, a quarterback that did more than just throw a football.
45 min
12
The Kardiac Kids
The 2023 Cleveland Browns have won 6 of 8 games decided by four points or fewer! This has conjured up old memories of the Kardiac Kids, the 1980 Cleveland Browns, who had a similar season… And maybe, just maybe should’ve kicked the ball in the playoffs.
49 min
13
40 years of losing
Most of us know the Pittsburgh Steelers' history by two things. One, the dynasty of the 70s, and two the 40 years of losing. The question I wanted answered, was “What happened? Why were they so bad?”
52 min
14
Home Cookin’ Part III
Some teams move into existing venues, max them out, and then they may get something new. For some cities, whether they want an NFL team or not, building a franchise a new stadium doesn’t guarantee they will stay… But if they don’t, they will go.
58 min
15
Home Cookin’ Part II
One minute you’re sharing a stadium with major & minor league baseball, dressing in a high school locker room. The next? You finally get a home of your own. This is part II of our discussion of historic stadiums of the NFL!
45 min
16
Home Cookin' Part I
Think about your favorite team and where they play…or played. The stadium. How historic or iconic is or was it? Welcome to the first of a three part series exploring the most historic stadiums in NFL history.
47 min
17
All in the family
Some of the greatest players and coaches in NFL history may or may not have passed on great genes to their sons. In some cases the sons were better than the fathers! We celebrate Thanksgiving this year honoring great football families!
38 min
18
Heidi
Actress, Jennifer Edwards kicked off Sunday Night Football with this quote: “A movie I was in as a little girl kind of, how do I say this, got in the way of football".
42 min
19
40 million & overtime
The 1958 NFL Championship! The New York Giants, the Baltimore Colts, and the story on how two franchises reached the game that put the NFL on the professional sports map!
49 min
20
Paul Brown: Innovator
I always wondered why it’s called a taxi squad and who’s idea it was to have a playbook the size of the Yellow Pages! These innovations and many more came from the mind of Paul Brown, and one of them was by accident!
57 min
21
Viva La Super Bowl
As we wrap our series on Hispanic heritage in the NFL, we focus on history makers that would lead their teams to Super Bowls on the field and wearing a whistle.
50 min
22
Hispanic Roots
As the NFL celebrates Latino Heritage month, so do we! We talk so much about the NFL’s African-American history, few know it’s Hispanic roots.
52 min
23
“Rest in peace 51.”
The Chicago Bears could have two of the first five picks in the 2024 NFL draft. This isn’t the first time the Bears have been in this position, and the football world lost one of those Hall of Fame picks last Thursday.
47 min
24
73-0!
In week 3, Miami hung 70 points on Denver, making it the 4th time in NFL history a team has done so, but the record was set in a game of revenge for George Halas and his Chicago Bears!
45 min
25
Al & Pete
I always wondered why Al Davis was always upset with the NFL, and with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle...I get it now.
64 min