The Football Girl Podcast

Happy Super Bowl Week! Melissa is thrilled to preview Bengals-Rams with the career leader in passing yards for the Rams, Jim Everett. Everett delves into what makes Matthew Stafford so special. Plus, the difficulty of building a fanbase in LA, what scares him about the Bengals, and yes, we chat about the famous Jim Rome incident. Also, Melissa makes her official Super Bowl pick. Jim makes one as well but ... spoiler alert, he's taking the Rams.

Melissa is joined this week by Bengals reporter Lindsay Patterson to preview the AFC Championship! Are Joe Burrow and co. ready for the biggest Bengals moment in 33 years? How will Burrow be protected? And can Tre Flowers shut down Travis Kelce as he did in Week 17? Welcome to the Bengals Bandwagon!

Melissa is joined by Yahoo! Sports columnist Shalise Manza Young to take a deep dive into the NFL's horrible track record hiring and retaining Black head coaches. (13:45). - Has the Rooney Rule been a failure? - Does Shalise see any hope for this coaching cycle? - What does real progress look like? Plus, why How Burrow is so beloved, Divisional round picks and more. Please leave The Football Girl Podcast a great rating and review. Thank you!! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241

The 49ers are in the playoffs! The 49ers are in the playoffs! Melissa Jacobs is joined by fellow 49ers fan Stephania Bell of ESPN to soak in the glory of San Francisco's dramatic 27-24 OT win over Los Angeles. Melissa and Stephania hand out a million game balls, dissect Kyle Shanahan's coaching performance, gush over Jauan Jennings performance in particular, and look ahead to next week's wildcard match against the Cowboys.

Week 18. Chargers at Raiders. Winner goes to the postseason, loser heads home. NO PRESSURE. On this episode, Melissa is joined by Los Angeles Chargers Team Reporter Hayley Elwood to look ahead to this pivotal matchup. Hayley also breaks down Justin Herbert's incredible year, explains how Brandon Staley has changed the culture, and walks us through the the team's recent COVID-19 outbreak. Melissa and Hayley also chat about the Hayley's evolving role as a team reporter and the power of mentorship. Please leave The Football Girl Podcast a great rating and review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241 Good luck to all your teams in the playoffs (or in their new head coach search)!

For over 30 years, Laura Okmin of FOX, Westwood One and GALvanize has carved an incredible career as an elite NFL storyteller. This week Okmin joins host Melissa Jacobs for an honest conversation about finding herself at age 40 and the deeper personal connections she has developed in NFL circles during COVID. She also talks about growing GALvanize, her company that mentors and connects young women breaking into sports broadcasting. Please leave The Football Girl Podcast a great rating and review on iTunes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241

Melissa is thrilled to be joined by former Chiefs GM and Falcons asst GM Scott Pioli who has been a champion of women in football long before it was in style. Scott talks about why he is so passionate about helping minorities carve a path in football, provides an update on Katie Sowers, explains what normalization looks like & much more. Also, Melissa tries to make sense of the NFL playoff picture, acknowledging that all roads lead to a Pats-Bucs Super Bowl. (Which she is putting in writing so as to look like a genius in mid-February!) Episode Rundown 5:35: Melissa begs all players to stop mocking the Aaron Rodgers' belt move. 13:35: SCOTT PIOLI JOINS 14:55: Scott on what inspired him to be an ally to women (and other marginalized groups) in football 19:41: Scott talks about giving NFL coach Katie Sowers an opportunity and the difficulty of rising from entry level positions 29:27: Scott on why he started the Pioli Family Fund in conjunction with the Women's Sports Foundation 38:09: Scott on why he believes the NFL is investing in a pipeline to football operations jobs for women 44:50: Scott on whether he expects the upcoming coaching cycle to be more inclusive than in recent years Please leave The Football Girl Podcast a great rating and review! Thank you! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241

Melissa rates a Week 14 slate of NFL matchups that includes everything from the Falcons-Panthers to the Ram-Cardinals. She also makes a pick in each with much confidence. Please leave The Football Girl Podcast a great rating and review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241

Melissa is joined this week by ESPN Injury Analyst and co-host of the Fantasy Focus Podcast, Stephania Bell to gloat all about San Francisco's three-game winning streak! (7:50). Among the many golden nuggets in this episode: - Stephania on the best version of Jimmy Garoppolo (21:55) - Melissa recaps George Kittle's amazing post-game presser after beating the Vikings. (28:25) - Stephania on visiting with Brandon Aiyuk during training camp and what might be behind his early season lack of usage. (30:25) - Stephania offers a tutorial on hamstring injuries (36:00) - Melissa and Stephania start game-planning for the 49ers-Patriots Super Bowl (47:40) Please leave The Football Girl Podcast a good rating and review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241 Thanks for listening!

On a TFG Podcast special, Melissa is joined by her husband, Dave the Bears fan for a Football Date Night Reunion. Melissa lets Dave rejoin over the Bears win over the mighty Lions. He also contemplates the future of Matt Nagy. Plus should Detroit be allowed to continue to play on a national holiday? Melissa and Dave also ponder the various things they learned from the Thanksgiving slate including that the Bills' offense is kinda sorta maybe back. And crazy but maybe not Super Bowl picks! Please leave The Football Girl Podcast a great rating and review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241

Melissa is joined by ESPN's Courtney Cronin to examine the 4-5 Vikings who are coming off a massive win over the Chargers but face a tall task against Aaron Rodgers and the Pack. Among the topics discussed: - How hard the Vikes have been hit by COVID - Aaron Rodgers' historic dominance over Minnesota - The underrated Vikes-Pack rivalry - The current state of the Zimmer-Cousins relationship - The evolution of Justin Jefferson's Griddy dance - Inside Courtney's Women in the NFL Combine event and where we are in terms of normalization Please leave The Football Girl Podcast a great rating and review. Thank you!! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241

This week Melissa is joined by rising media stars Maggie Loney and Perri Goldstein of the Pack's What She Said podcast on Cheesehead TV to talk all things Aaron Rodgers in the wake of his unvaccinated saga becoming public. How tarnished is his legacy in Green Bay and beyond? Did they NFL drop a minor fine in hopes of making this story disappear? How should we react to Jordan Love's first start? Does Rodgers have any future in Green Bay? Much more!

Did you know there was a professional women's football league in the 1970's that sparked so much of the progress for women in football we see today? (12:02) This week Melissa welcomes Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, co-authors of the new book Hail Mary which dives into the little known yet incredibly fascinating world of the National Women's Football League. The conversation weaves through the makeup of these trailblazers, why they wanted to play football, their often jaw-dropping success on the field. the men who supported them and those who treated them like a gimmick, plus the stream of misogyny these women faced. No, male reporter of the 70's, getting hit in the boob with a football doesn't cause breast cancer! Hail Mary is available online and in bookstores: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781645036623

Melissa opens the show by explaining why she's throwing this 49ers season in the dumpster. She also runs through the other currently miserable fanbases like the Bears and Chiefs before collectively inviting everyone to join her on....the Bengals Bandwagon! (13:56) Melissa then welcomes Kelsey Conway, Bengals beat writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer for a deep dive into the shocking team that has taken the league by storm. Kelsey shares her insights on: - Joe Burrow's maturation - His special connection with Ja'Marr Chase - The free agent steal that is DE Trey Hendrickson - How the Bengals are well equipped for a multiyear run - Much more! Follow Kelsey Conway on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KelseyLConway Follow Melissa Jacobs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefootballgirl

Melissa is joined this week by The Athletic's Lindsay Jones, fresh off covering Raiders-Broncos, to discuss lingering questions about Gruden's resignation, the 650,000 emails, and the WFT workplace investigation. Lindsay also tries to make sense of the top half of the AFC, and talks about the path for the undefeated Arizona Cardinals. Follow Lindsay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bylindsayhjones Follow Melissa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefootballgirl Please leave The Football Girl Podcast a great rating and review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241

Melissa is joined by the NFL's first-ever female scout, Connie Carberg, who was hired by the Jets in 1976 (yes, 1976!) Connie reflects on her career, shares her thoughts on the NFL's current culture, and gives Jets fan a needed pep talk. Melissa opens the show with a lot to say on the Jon Gruden resignation and the culture of toxic masculinity that sadly still lurks in the NFL.

This week Melissa dotes on the 4-0 Arizona Cardinals, shares her lingering thoughts from last Sunday's "Return to New England," and tries to unpack Urban Meyer's disastrous early tenure. Then Melissa welcomes Denver Broncos player performance coach Emily Zaler to discuss her journey from soccer star to the first female full-time coach in Broncos history.(12:24) Zaler reflects on the persistence that landed her in the NFL, plus where the league is headed in terms of diversity. Be sure to leave The Football Girl Podcast a great ratings and review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241 Thanks for listening and see you next week!

Tommy Brady is returning to New England and Melissa is joined by Nicole Yang of The Boston Globe to break it all out. Is this a "revenge" game? Do pieces of Brady's aura remain at Gillette Stadium? Will there be boos? Plus, Nicole takes us inside the state of the 1-2 Patriots, which, well, isn't that great at the moment. Melissa opens with her thoughts on another 1-2 team that is far more surprising, the Kansas City Chiefs. Plus, the evolution of Brady's likability. Please support The Football Girl Podcast with a great rating and review on iTunes: https://apple.co/31hLzNe

Melissa is joined by TFG Pod fave, Liz Loza of Yahoo Sports to discuss many of the NFL's hottest topics, both fantasy and reality: - Early contender for MVP? - Kliff Kingsbury's powerful offense (hello, Rondale Moore!) - Surprise fantasy players including Brandin Cooks - The beginning of the Justin Fields era!! Plus, Liz talks about her new fantasy show with Austin Ekeler and the evolution of actual NFL players dabbling in fantasy. And a check in on the growth on women in the fantasy industry that is still rife with societal barriers. Please support The Football Girl Podcast by leaving us a great rating and review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241 -

This week Melissa is thrilled to be joined by The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue (12:24) to dive into her deeply layered and reported feature on Sean McVay's decision last season to sleep with the enemy and bring in defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, a product of the Vic Fangio defensive tree that had figured out the Rams offense. Was it a catalyst for exposing offensive weaknesses and leading McVay to Matthew Stafford? Jourdan also talks about the 8-month process of writing the feature, which included over 200 emails sent to herself int the middle of the night. She also shares her impressions of the Rams' Week 1 victory over the Bears and the debut of fans at SoFi Stadium. Melissa also opens the show with thoughts on Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers defense and why a QB switch is far more urgent in Chicago than San Francisco. Jourdan's McVay/Staley feature: https://theathletic.com/2767658/2021/09/09/sean-mcvay-brandon-staley-and-their-clashing-football-evolutions-that-could-shape-the-direction-of-the-nfl/?source=emp_shared_article Please leave the TFG Podcast a great rating and review! Thank you! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-football-girl-podcast/id1319547241