WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 93: A Brand New Team 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.160 This week on the Happy Half Hour. 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:06.640 This is not going to be anything like anything any 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:09.119 either of us have experienced, because this is basically a 0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:11.319 brand new team going into training camp this year, from 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:15.160 coaching staff to players. Obviously, the Bryce Young pick has 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:17.720 created so much excitement about the offense and what they're 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:21.040 trying to create over there, but this is brand new talks. 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:27.560 It's time for the Happy Half Hour with your friends 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:35.080 Kristin Balboni, Augusta Stone, and Darren Gannon. All Right, everybody, 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:39.159 welcome to the Happy Half Hour. It's coming off Summer 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:43.360 Break edition. Congratulations, Summer breaks over and we're about to 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:47.560 go to school again. I'm Darren, Augusta's over here, welcome back. 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:51.879 Hello, Yes, take a good few trips this summer. I 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:56.160 am well rested, ready to roll. I was just thinking 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:57.720 about when we walked in here and we were like, oh, 0:00:57.760 --> 0:01:00.240 it's time for camp. It gets that song, suck that 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:02.600 on the road again. I'm not gonna sing it, but 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:04.360 you know I'm talking about I can't wait to get. 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:06.920 On You strike me as big Willie Nelson type. I've 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:07.720 always guessed that. 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:11.440 Yes, my father loves him. He's not a big country 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:13.319 and music guy, but Willie Nelson gets him. 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:17.959 So Willie transcends all genres. Willy is a man of 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:19.560 the people, He's one of all of us. 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:21.119 So, yeah, I'm getting on the road again. 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:24.640 I I define the road again. It's under construction. 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:26.680 It's also a chance to see one of my favorite 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:29.399 sites in the whole wide world, the Peachoid and Gaffey. 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.400 Yes, it'll change your life absolutely. 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:34.680 I mean, I do some trips to Greenville these days, 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:36.640 and every time I see it, I smile and I 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:38.679 think about when I think we may have been filming 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:41.640 a podcast you're talking in the office before I started here, 0:01:41.640 --> 0:01:43.640 and I never driven by it before I went Spartanburg 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:45.319 the first time. And now every time I see it, 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:46.039 I get a big old grin. 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:50.000 Yep, it means football season because every time I see 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:52.280 that thing, and I've kind of gotten to the point 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:56.080 in my life where I'm beyond the thrill seeking the 0:01:56.200 --> 0:02:00.920 danger of trying to take cell phone pictures while driving. Yeah, 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:03.440 I used to do that when I was a younger man. 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:06.440 I've decided it's probably no longer wise, so I'll have 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:08.080 to pull over to the side of the road and 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:11.720 take that picture this year, So we'll make sure that happens, 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:12.919 or somebody else's driving. 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:16.440 Maybe I'll luber to spartan Burg. I don't know, because. 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:18.520 Once you're down there, you're in a whole different world. 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:22.200 So anyway, training camp coming up, and this is two 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.600 of these for you. I mean, before we get into 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:27.600 the football part of it. As you go into a 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:32.560 second training camp, Augusta, what's the thing you know is different? Now? 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:34.960 What's the thing you learned a year ago in Spartanburg 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:37.120 where it's like, oh, now I'm a veteran and I know. 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:38.200 To do this. 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:40.120 Oh my goodness, that's such a good question. 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.800 Honestly, I think there's a rhythm to every day and 0:02:43.120 --> 0:02:45.919 I'm less intimidated, if that's the right word when I 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:46.880 was going into it before. 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:49.119 I think I have some friends that work in the league. 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:51.000 I have a really good friend who actually does a 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:53.960 similar job that we do for the Falcons, and I 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.120 remember talking to her about it and she didn't make 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.480 it sound daunting, but she made it sound very serious. 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:00.480 And I think if I were to meet toward someone 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:02.080 right now, going in my second year, I do the 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:03.640 same thing. When you get down there, you get in 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:06.120 the rhythm of things. There's something about training camp that 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:08.560 I really really like. It almost emulates a regular season 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:11.000 vibe where you know exactly you know, you go in, 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:12.800 have a meeting, or at least this is how we 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:14.320 did it last year. We go in, have a meeting, 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:17.040 go out. You know, we'd stay at practice. 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:19.560 We got hot. I remembered my big old water bottle 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:20.799 and that will return this year. 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:24.720 Just staying hydrated constantly, get your interviews, and then go 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:27.800 immediately right and you get kind of in that rhythm 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:29.959 and then you know, things pop up here. This is 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:32.040 an awesome feature idea here we can do this. I 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:35.280 think knowing kind of what the general flow is going 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:38.040 to be like opens me up to looking outside of 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:39.400 the box a little bit more. So that's what I'm 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:43.040 most looking forward to, understanding how it goes, what the 0:03:43.280 --> 0:03:44.960 what the natural flow of traffic is, so I can 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:45.600 maybe get off. 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:46.240 On a couple of exits. 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:48.000 There you go, So like I told you the other week, 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:50.520 you know, the football coaches always say they expect the 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:53.280 biggest jumping players from their first year to the second. 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:55.280 Same with you. Now you know what you're doing, You 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:57.280 get this thing, so really well. 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:00.640 Go well, once we get down there, we'll look at 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:04.480 you know what the training camp routine is like, but 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:08.080 this is not going to be anything like anything any 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:11.000 either of us have experienced because this is basically a 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:13.320 brand new team going into training camp this year, from 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:18.479 coaching staff to players. Obviously, the Bryce Young pick has 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:21.360 created so much excitement about the offense and what they're 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:25.159 trying to create over there, but this is brand new. 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:28.600 I mean, there is very little to compare it to. 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:30.960 It's hard to know what this camp's going to look 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:33.840 like in terms of the way they're doing the work 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:35.560 and what's going to come out of it because there's 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:38.240 so many new parts. I mean, we've got we've got 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:40.800 guesses we can make based on what we saw through 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:44.120 the spring, but it's a lot of unknown commodities. One 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:46.320 of the things, and you wrote about this earlier this 0:04:46.360 --> 0:04:50.039 summer that I think probably bears watching is just the 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:53.800 way they're putting this offense together. And from your conversations 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:57.200 with Frank Craich and Thomas Brown, you kind of got 0:04:57.240 --> 0:04:59.840 a sense of what they're going for, but I think 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:03.320 they both are still sort of wondering themselves a little 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:04.360 bit too exactly. 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:06.240 And one of the things from that conversation that I 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:09.840 enjoyed and I appreciate it. I think it was very real. Specifically, 0:05:09.839 --> 0:05:11.679 when I was talking with Thomas Brown, he talked about 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:13.760 how I think this will still be the case in 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:15.839 training camp to a degree. But you know, you go 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:18.000 in with these plans and it's pretty well laid out, 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:20.640 you know, the pieces that you have together, but they 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:22.080 are very flexible. 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:24.000 I mean on the field adjustments. 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:25.600 You know, the second they come in, they're like, Okay, 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:27.360 we didn't like how this worked, Let's scrap this, Let's 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:31.640 try this. It's not necessarily like, oh, let's completely overhaul 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:34.320 or change something, but it's it's in a way where 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:36.520 they're keeping it fluid, and I think you'll see a 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:39.360 lot of that fluidity throughout camp, where things could change, 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:42.080 things could stay the same. But putting that offense together, man, 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:45.280 I think between Thomas and Frank, you know, they had 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:47.960 an idea of this. Thomas talks about a lot, but 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:49.640 you know we thought, you know, we break it down 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.560 maybe fifty here, fifty here, but there's nothing wrong with 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:54.960 a sixty forty or seventy thirty and certain concepts. And 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:58.800 I think that's something that they've both been very open about. Compromises, 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:01.600 good but also kind of you sit down, you make 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:03.960 the playbook, you put the pieces together. When you see 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:06.800 it out on the field, being flexible enough to change it, 0:06:06.880 --> 0:06:09.320 maybe it looks completely different at some point, you know, 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:11.840 deer in camp before camp, just. 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:13.839 The fluidity and the flexibility of things. 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:16.440 But I mean they were working from a base, bare 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:19.039 bones like That's what Thomas Brown told me. He was like, 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:21.920 I mean, we completely uprooted everything and now they're kind 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:23.960 of building it back up. But the way the pieces work, 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:26.160 it's always different. And I think being open to that 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:29.039 fluidity is something that is going to benefit them just 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:30.360 staying on their toes. 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:30.680 No doubt. 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:32.800 And I was starting to Andy Dalton about this one 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:36.560 morning to coffee machine downstairs. And Dalton's great for coffee 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:40.000 machine conversations because he's he's a gentleman of a certain 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:44.080 vintage like myself, not quite like myself, but but Andy 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:46.960 was talking and I said, when are you going to 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:49.800 know what this offense is going to look like? And 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:52.360 this was back in June, and he said, what ain't yet. 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:55.080 You know, we're still working through it now. But he 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:58.839 said it would continue to evolve over the course of 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:00.400 training camp. So I think that it's going to be 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:02.400 one of the interesting things to see with you know, 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:06.760 they're obviously thematic things they want to do. It's going 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:09.239 to be about Bryce showing, spreading the ball around, getting 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:11.520 it out quick. I think, you know, the last time 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:13.400 we did this was back in June, we did the 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:18.920 Puel pill sound effects. That's kind of what they're going for. 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:21.160 But the specifics of what this thing's going to look 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:24.480 like is is very much up in the air. The 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:28.360 other thing that I think is really going to be 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:31.920 interesting watching this come together is on the other side 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:34.520 of the ball. I mean, defensively, there's so many questions, 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:38.040 beginning with health because a lot of the key guys 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:41.480 on this defense, from Brian Burns, J C. Horn, Dante 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:44.200 Jackson weren't out there for a lot of OTAs so 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:48.120 was talking to some folks downstairs. The news on those 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:51.200 guys is all good. They should be working during training 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.080 camp and you know, back to health. 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:54.920 What that means on day one, we'll see. 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:58.800 But they they are all in good position where you know, 0:07:58.840 --> 0:08:00.600 they ought to be able to go, and that's gonna 0:08:00.600 --> 0:08:04.200 be good because that thing is under construction as much 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:07.280 as any Even though we know the pieces we haven't 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:08.520 seen them out there. 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:10.640 Exactly, and we've talked a lot about kind of, you know, 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:15.200 the complete upheaval of the offensive side of the ball. 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:15.720 Pretty much. 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:17.480 When you look at that team, the only thing that's 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:19.440 gonna look the same as the line, and I don't 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:21.080 think there's any issues with that. But then you go 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:24.360 over the defense, Like you said, the pieces are largely similar. 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:27.080 I mean, you have Von Bell coming in, but otherwise 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:30.040 it's all pretty pretty much the same type of guys. 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:32.240 But then they're going learning this brand new system. And 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:35.160 that's where I think that maybe there's so much focus 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:37.280 right now on all the changees on offense. Just in 0:08:37.360 --> 0:08:39.400 terms of personnel, you have completely different guys. You have 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:42.280 Bryce Young, Miles Sanders, Adam Field, and DJ Shark, and it's. 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:43.040 Like very obvious. 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:44.959 But then you go over here and it's like, well, yes, 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:47.160 it's the same guys, but it's not gonna look the 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:50.040 same and they know that. And I it's very interesting 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:53.079 talking with some of the guys I talked to during 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:55.320 many camp We used to walk off and like just 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:57.679 talk to them right after practice, and it wasn't there 0:08:57.760 --> 0:08:59.640 was no shell shock, but it was one of those 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:01.760 things where it's like they're fully aware that they're learning 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:05.280 and it's completely different. And I mean I think that's 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:07.760 one of those transitions with with EJ. 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.120 I think we haven't we've talked about it, but. 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:12.800 Because of all the stuff on the offense is so 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:15.760 in your face with like different personnel, and then, like 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:17.240 you said, with the health, I mean, I was just 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:19.960 thinking about the corners. I mean, you have Dante, he 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:22.200 needs to come back JC, CJ. 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:23.480 Henderson, who else? 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:24.719 Like, I mean, so. 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:29.400 Thin it's it's definitely something that would be a concern 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:30.839 if those two guys weren't. 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:33.240 Coming back exactly exactly when you looked. 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:35.920 Out there during the OTAs and it's like, oh, okay, 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:36.480 they're CJ. 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:37.720 Henderson and Keith Taylor. 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:40.520 Yeah, and then it thinned out after that again, so 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.240 it's yeah, I mean, that's something I think they're going 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:44.160 to be looking. 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:47.520 At, but it probably it's probably not the panic. 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:49.240 I think a lot of people on the outside might 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.680 think it is because they have a pretty good idea 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:56.719 about Dante's condition, about Jc's condition, So we'll see. I mean, 0:09:56.760 --> 0:10:01.080 that's that's going to be a concern obvi, depth wise, 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:03.560 and trying to figure out who that fourth, fifth guy 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:07.360 is and can you find contributors somewhere else? But the 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:12.400 thing about Avero that's fascinated me is, yes, he's converting 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:14.920 a four to three defense into a three to four. Yes, 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:17.000 that means some changes. They had to go get new 0:10:17.040 --> 0:10:20.200 linemen just so they can line up. Burns is going 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:22.560 to be standing up now playing outside linebacker. 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:24.240 He's got the cool number zero now. 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:30.119 But they've got there's a little bit of mad scientist 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:32.720 bit going on because he's taken a couple of guys 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:36.720 in particular and sort of turning them into something they've 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:41.120 never actually been. And when you think about Frankie Luvu 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:45.040 and Jeremy Chen, those two guys are playmakers. 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:46.480 That is the thing they've done. 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:49.960 They've gotten around the ball, they've created turnovers, they've made 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:55.640 impact plays. But Frankie's never exactly done this inside linebacker 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:58.080 in a three to fourth thing. Jeremy Chen has never 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:02.760 really done this most nickel thing. And they're going to 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:05.839 move both of those guys around. I think when they 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:09.360 we've talked a lot about who that other outside linebacker 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:12.280 opposite Burns is going to be, you know, and that's 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:14.880 a degree of concern going into training camp, but they're 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:18.200 kind of making up for that some by putting Frankie 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.000 in positions where he's rushing the passer, and that's a thing. 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:24.240 He's shown to be good at. They're gonna move Jeremy around. 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:26.200 He's gonna be closer to the line of scrimmage, but 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:28.240 as you mentioned, with von Bell coming in to start 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:31.559 at safety, that kind of frees him up to move around. 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:33.480 And I mean, I know you talked to Jeremy about 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:36.760 that too. This is he's done a lot of different 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:39.480 stuff already in a young career, but this is another 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:40.800 big transition. 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:42.800 For him, exactly. And I was just thinking about my 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:43.800 conversation with him. 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:46.040 He really did seem confident, like he was in a 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:48.880 clear head of good space whenever, you know, because he's 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:50.679 one of those guys that you look at it and 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:53.240 like you said, like I mean, his role could be very, 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:56.080 very different, and and he was one of the one 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:59.000 of the least rattled or I guess rattle isn't the word, 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:01.880 but he seemed just very very sure of, Yeah, this 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:04.400 is what I'm gonna do, excited about it about a 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:07.440 different opportunity I really like and I think we've talked 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:09.360 about on the pod before. But what you just mentioned 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:11.760 about bringing in von Bell, and it almost frees up 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:14.880 to put Jeremy in that kind of nickel everything kind 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:17.040 of role, which is somewhere I think he could succeed 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.040 because he has the tools for it. And then you're 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:21.559 not really losing anybody on the back end because bringing 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:22.080 in von. 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:24.319 Bell, I think that's a very underrated acquisition. 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:26.880 I was watching a lot of Bengals when he was 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:30.000 over there back in my old job. I just he's 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:31.880 a he's a local guy, grew up from where I 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:33.480 grew up, so I've watched him for a while. I 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:35.960 think he's really really solid and he's older. But I 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:37.760 don't think a lot of people really talk about how 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:40.160 good that is. Not only does it free up Jeremy Chin, 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:42.000 but I think he's a potential to have a really, 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.599 really good season. He's a he's a veteran guy. He 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:47.360 has a different kind of attitude as we've seen. But 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:49.439 but I I'm just really excited about him. I've I've 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:51.240 paid a lot of attention to him throughout the years. 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.720 Fu Vn's got a certain gene. Sai qui, what do 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:56.000 you what are the kids call it? 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:56.760 Is it edgy. 0:12:57.200 --> 0:13:00.199 Is that a fair way to describe Von I think 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:03.479 gruff might be a little too far, but he's definitely 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:07.280 got some of that I know what I'm here to do. 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:09.840 I know what you're here to do. I'm going to 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:12.600 tell you that kind of vibe. I mean, it's I mean, 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:16.720 it's leadership in short. But he definitely brings a different 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:20.080 energy to a bunch of young people Aroundrilely Mature. 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:22.080 That's what I was thinking, because, like you mentioned that 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:23.040 Defense is young. 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:24.800 You bring him in there, it's very different. 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:27.680 Yeah, I mean when you talk about young, I mean 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:31.280 even Brian Burns is a veteran of this crowd, and 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:35.080 Burns is twenty five, so it's still a very very 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:38.040 young group and it's gonna be interesting to see how 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:40.520 it comes together. The whole The whole thing is, but 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:43.560 a lot of other stuff going on. It's kind of 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:46.040 it's one of those things we joke about, summer's over. 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.160 We've crammed a lot of stuff into the last couple 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:54.040 of months. The other, the other big announcement over the 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:56.320 last couple of weeks has been Hall of Honor Yep, 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.760 Julius Peppers, Mussin, Mohammad welcome to the Hall of Honor. 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:03.120 I know, you know, I was around covering these guys 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:05.520 when they were being drafted and playing the first time 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:07.960 through and talking to them through this process has been 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:12.120 wild because you tap into some of those memories and 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.679 you see how guys change over times. One of the 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:16.840 things I kind of wonder, and I joke with you 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:19.640 about being young and coming to this thing new, but 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:22.600 when you walk in the door, what were the memories 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:24.640 or what kind of was the impression you had of 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:25.480 Julius and Moose? 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:26.640 Oh my goodness. 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:29.240 So I think the biggest thing, it's something that we've 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:31.280 we've talked about. I actually remember the first time I 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:34.480 was near Julius Peppers in person. It was when we 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:37.200 were in LA and he was he was on the 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:39.200 sidelines and he was with his family. 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:41.480 I mean, the kind of guy. I think. 0:14:41.480 --> 0:14:45.200 It's my perspective is different, and your Pepper's story explained 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:45.920 this so well. 0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:47.480 But back in the day, you know, he went in 0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:49.120 the top to really talk a lot. 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:51.800 He was very kind of kind of not I just 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:54.160 you know, I think the air of all of that, 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:57.280 it's it's it's funny when you come in and you've 0:14:57.320 --> 0:14:59.440 already seen the evolution of these things. You just see 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:03.160 kind of mature, veteran historic. 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:04.960 It feels like, you know, very. 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:06.240 I'm trying to think of the word for it, like 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:09.440 that whole of honor word where you're just like it. 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:12.360 It feels powerful, I think. But it's really cool. 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:16.240 I mean to see, I was obviously not around or 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:19.160 very conscious in the late nineties. I was reading your 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:23.440 story to come on, Muhammed, and there were some references 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:26.200 to before I was born. Yeah, but it's funny when 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:29.040 you see it from the perspective of you saw the evolution, 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:31.520 and to me, they've always been kind of those big figures. 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:32.680 So it's really cool. 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.720 To think about the you know, oh, when they came in, 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.480 they were stars and they had all this, but then 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:40.400 you see what they were able to do. So it 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:42.560 wasn't like, you know, a faded star. It was a 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:44.800 star that kept going on and so you have that 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:47.040 kind of but for me, that was what it always was. 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:48.960 So you got to see the shooting and I only 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:50.280 saw the shine. 0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:55.160 It's such a neat it's a neat confluence of events 0:15:55.160 --> 0:15:57.200 having these two guys come in at the same time, 0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:00.760 because the fact that they went away and came back 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:05.560 and being here when each of them came back, you 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:09.800 see how different they were. I mean from Moose. Moose 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:12.560 left the Star, he left at the top of his game. 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:14.640 He was only gone for three years. But then when 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:17.920 he came back, he thought he was just coming back 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:20.280 to be Ricky prol He thought he was just coming 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.680 back to be a mentor maybe play on third down 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:26.160 stuff like that. Moose produced at a really high level 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:28.640 in two thousand and eight when that offense was clicking. 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:32.480 And same with Julius. I mean, Julius comes back in 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:36.440 after almost a decade away and puts up eleven sacks 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:40.560 at thirty seven, thirty eight years old, and you realize 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:44.840 at that point how special these guys were. Because the 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:47.000 one thing I've learned in doing this for a minute 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:50.960 is anybody could I mean, athletes can be great for 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:53.760 a short amount of time. The people who are able 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:57.800 to do it for fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen years that 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:00.520 takes a different quality. It takes good fourts, and it 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:06.240 takes good health. But to be in position to, you know, 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:09.480 still be contributing at that advanced age in a young 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:12.320 man's game says something about what these guys put in. 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:14.000 Yeah, and I wanted to ask you. 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.120 I've read it in a lot of again I read 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:19.560 I'm reading the stories beforehand. That's the privilege of working 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:22.320 for the team website. But I wanted to ask whenever 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:24.719 both of those guys came back. I don't know if 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:26.479 it's like a comparing contrast, but what I guess were 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:29.160 some of your biggest memories from you know? I mean, 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:32.080 like you mentioned, Moose wasn't gone that long, Pepper's was 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:34.119 gone for a minute. It's going to be very different 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:37.080 when they come back. But what was that like for, like, 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:39.600 you know, walking in through the doors again, where's their 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:41.359 role going to be? Like you said, MUSSAUTI had a 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:44.080 completely different role. He ended up being the guy again. 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:46.800 Just kind of tell me, tell me about your recollections, 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:48.359 because I think that would be a really fascinating thing 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:48.840 to live through. 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:52.840