WEBVTT - Welcome to Miami Thomas Morstead 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:05.360 To us fires touch style by waddle stuck into the 0:00:05.440 --> 0:00:09.440 end zone of Miami Boy, tight froll, tight window. They 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:11.760 had to get that touchdown on that play again. It 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:19.400 what It's up Dolphins And welcome to the Drivetime Podcast 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:23.840 part of Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, your 0:00:24.520 --> 0:00:27.960 Miami Dolphins. How's it going everybody? I am your host 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:31.280 Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, we haven't done this 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:34.800 in a little while, a new free agent signing podcast hunter, 0:00:35.320 --> 0:00:39.320 Thomas Morstead is the latest Miami Dolphin. We'll talk about 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:41.800 his game and we'll also have Thomas on the podcast. 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:44.880 Here a great, great sit down chat with the new 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:48.519 punter of the Miami Dolphins coming your way on this 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:56.080 edition of the Drivetime Podcasts. So you go over Thomas 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:58.600 moore Stead's career and you're gonna find a bunch of 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:01.240 really good net average is and a bunch of balls 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:05.600 down inside the twenty and ten yard lines. Basically prolific 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:09.840 production throughout the course of a thirteen year National Football 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:12.640 League career, and twelve of those years started with the 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:14.680 New Orleans Saints, where he was drafted back in two 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:18.360 thousand nine. Actually the second punter drafted that year, but 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:20.440 as you'll hear from Thomas here in just one second, 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:23.160 the Saints traded up into the fifth round to go 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:25.480 get more Stead and all he did for them was 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:29.000 give him a forty six point six average over twelve years. 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:31.640 And he also up to the Anti last year his 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:34.480 first season after leaving New Orleans with the Jets and Falcons, 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:37.840 averaging forty seven point seven yards per punt and that 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:41.200 was ninth best in the National Football League. He also 0:01:41.280 --> 0:01:43.640 has a Pro Bowl and a second team All Pro 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:46.360 honors to his name. Talked about him being a fifth 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:50.000 round draft pick that same year, he went from a 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:54.280 camp battle which he won obviously, to the Super Bowl 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:56.720 and one of the biggest moments a punter could possibly 0:01:56.760 --> 0:01:59.720 have in the Super Bowl when he dribbled an onside 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:01.840 kick for the Saints to recover, and of course that 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:03.880 was kind of the turning point in that game ten 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:07.080 to six at the halftime break. They get the onside kick, 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:09.440 score a touchdown, lose a lead, but get the lead 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:11.840 back later on. And that more Stead on side kick, 0:02:11.840 --> 0:02:13.200 which you'll hear from him here and just a minute 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.040 talk about, was a big, big part of that victory. 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:19.480 And actually that was more Stead's last game at hard 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:22.200 Rock Stadium. It was a second game that season, you 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:24.440 might recall, and he came into the podcast studio and 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:25.960 told me about this. But yeah, that's the second time 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:28.040 I played at hard Rock Stadium and the last time. 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:29.919 The first time was a game back in oh nine 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:32.520 against the Dolphins down by twenty points. I'm like, Thomas, 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:35.280 I know exactly what you're talking about. We lost that game. 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:37.560 That was a brutal, brutal defeat for the Miami Dolphins, 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:39.160 but I'm sure a nice win for you guys for 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:42.200 the Saints, and those the only two times he's ever 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.919 played at hard Rock Stadium. They talk about veteran leadership 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:48.639 and we'll talk to Thomas about this as well. And 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:51.840 it's a funny thing for you know, someone that he 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:53.760 he says to himself that you don't go down and 0:02:53.800 --> 0:02:56.560 make hits, but to be a leader, not sacrificing your 0:02:56.600 --> 0:02:58.680 body like the other guys do. And just kind of 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:01.440 the understanding and resp back that he had for what 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:04.040 his job, what his role, and the wisdom that he 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:06.800 can impart on younger players. And there's a great article 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:09.079 up on New Orleans dot com New Oran Saints dot 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:11.760 Com I should say after he left the Saints after 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:14.480 those twelve years. And there's all kinds of quotes in 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:17.120 there from Thomas talking about the things that people value 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:19.160 and leadership. You know, he's not gonna a guy that's 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.359 gonna go lead the pregame huddle or anything like that, 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:24.280 but talking about how it's unique to be a unique 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:26.560 thing to be a leader when you don't hit people 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:28.240 into sport that's full of hitting. And he was a 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:32.120 captain for the Saints from and he said, so, I 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:33.880 try to be a teacher. I've tried to be a 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:35.800 coach on the field for young players, tried to get 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:38.040 them up to speed as quickly as possible. I've tried 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:40.800 to mentor players off the field with finances and just 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:42.720 making sure they have things that are important to make 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:45.720 sure they're handling the awesome responsibility that they're given with 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:48.240 making a good living. So we'll also talk about these 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:50.160 last two things here with Thomas moore Stead. There's a 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:52.680 five things article up on Miami Dolphins dot com. We'll 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:54.680 also have Thomas here in the podcast just one second, 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:56.880 but a couple of things from the article. Go check 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:58.840 out his charity that the foundation that him and his 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:01.200 wife Lauren run what you give will grow. There's a 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:03.320 great story about how that really took off back after 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:05.480 the Minneapolis Miracle game that he was actually on the 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:08.200 wrong side of with the Saints there. And then also 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:10.120 a book that was written about his life called The 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:12.920 Middle School Rules of Thomas Morstead. Go read about that 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.240 on Miami Dolphins dot Com. Let's go ahead and not 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:17.279 waste any more time here and get to my guest today, 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:23.000 new Dolphins punter Thomas Morse. Did what's up? Dolphins? Travis 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.359 Wingfield here, the host of the Drivetime podcast on the 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:27.880 Miami Dolphins podcast network, and I'm joined today by new 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:30.440 Dolphins punter Thomas Morse. Did Thomas, what's up mine? How 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:32.280 you doing? I'm great, glad to be here, glad to 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.760 have you in so here in Miami. How's it all? Field? 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:37.160 To be signed with Dolphins and be a Miami Dolphin. Now, 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:41.360 I'm super excited to be here. Um, you know, there's 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:43.640 not too many places, you know, when I was looking 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:45.680 at where I could potentially end up, this was kind 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:49.240 of uh choice one A, one B with one other team. 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:51.800 So I'm fired up. My my kids were excited. This 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.800 was their one A choice. So I'm excited that my 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:56.800 family is excited about being here. What what was the 0:04:56.800 --> 0:05:01.240 big draw for them? Uh, well, my my oldest sons specifically, 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:05.240 he loves fishing and so that was exciting to get 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:09.839 out here for that. And you know, last year was 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:12.840 you know, I had a rough twenty had to get 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:16.480 overcome some things, and um, getting back on the saddle 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:20.279 last year required me being gone. I signed mid season 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:22.800 with Jets and then halfway through the year I also 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:27.560 was with Falcons for the rest of the year, and um, 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:30.280 it was just what was required for me to get 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:32.400 back in, get my foot in the door, and show 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:34.800 teams that I'm back to kind of being myself and 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:38.599 being an elite player in this league. And so that's 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:40.520 that's just what was required. And I was away from 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:43.159 the kids, so we were certainly not interested in doing 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:46.200 that again this year, and so a huge part of 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:48.800 where I was gonna end up was, um, you know, 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:50.800 what were the kids gonna be excited about? And can 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:54.480 we make this a fun adventure for them? You know, 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:56.600 they're old enough to kind of know what's going on now, 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:59.520 so we want them to be excited about what's happening. 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:02.120 And because it'll be a lot of change for them, 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:05.800 and so this was their number one choice. So it's good. 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:07.719 My daughter loves the beach, so plenty of plenty of 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:09.560 things I do done here. It's fun. So you talk 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:11.200 about your career a little bit there, your fifth round 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:13.440 draft pick, and you know, anytime a specialist is drafted, 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:15.720 it usually speaks pretty highly of of their abilities and 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:18.279 skill sets. Now you're heading into your fourteen is that 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:20.560 kind of when you hear that, do you think like, Wow, 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:23.120 it's the journey I've been on. It's kind of unbelievable. 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.279 It is, Uh, it definitely is. Um, you know, I 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:28.320 was a tryout player in college for a few years 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.200 and um, you know, the dream was to play on 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:34.400 a Saturday one day. And then I discovered the weight room, 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:39.359 and um, you know, I saw a significant change in 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:41.760 my body and how far the ball was going, how 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:44.839 high it was going, and all of a sudden, you know, 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.560 towards the back end of my college career, I was like, 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:49.400 I think I could have a chance to play in 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:53.320 the NFL, And um, it was fortunate that the Saints 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:55.520 took a chance on me that traded up into the 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:58.400 fifth round to come get me. And UM had an 0:06:58.440 --> 0:07:03.160 awesome career there. Um we still live there. Um it's home. 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:08.240 And you know, I'm grateful to everybody in that organization. UM, 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:12.720 they were very good to me, and so UM you know, 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:16.400 I'm just excited to be here. And I just you know, 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:19.600 I never I never thought I'd go anywhere else, but 0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:22.680 you know, things happen, and UM, you know, you decide 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:25.720 if you want to keep going or how important things 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:28.280 are to you. And UM, you know, I love playing 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:30.960 the game. I love all the aspects that come with it, 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:35.320 the training, I love the team camaraderie and um, just 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:38.360 being part of the team and being depended on in 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:42.680 critical moments is um something that not a lot of 0:07:42.680 --> 0:07:45.600 people get to experience. And and any type of job 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:48.600 and so UM, you know, to be a part of 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:53.160 that is exciting. And to feel how strongly this team 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:57.200 wanted me to be here was also exciting. UM. And 0:07:57.280 --> 0:08:00.920 so I'm looking forward to hopefully proving them right on 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:03.440 taking a chance on me. It's pretty tough to replicate 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:05.920 the competitive juice you get from playing sports. You can't. 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:07.680 You can't beat that anywhere else. You talk about you 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:09.440 with the Saints, you know, joining a couple of former 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:12.360 teammates here in Miami now with Toron Armstead and Teddy Bridgewater. 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:15.360 What can you tell us about those guys? Well, Tehran 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:20.040 is uh, you know, he's been the consummate professional every 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:21.960 box you could look to check as a team. As 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:23.600 far as what you're looking for in a person and 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:28.720 a player, he is he checks the box. So, um, 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:31.400 you know, we have a little thing going. Uh. We 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:33.520 always refer to each other as the real Tea Stead 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:38.120 because we once got confused in a medical thing. So um. Anyways, 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:40.760 I'll be excited to have a little bit of familiarity 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:43.520 with a few guys. Um, you know, only spend a 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.520 little bit of time with Teddy, but he was he 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:49.720 he became beloved in New Orleans and his time there, 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:54.719 and um, you know he was a great teammate. And um, 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:57.600 I know he's a new dad here recently, and I'm 0:08:57.640 --> 0:09:00.520 excited to be around both those guys. They're great, mean beings. 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:02.840 Toront had the tistad chain when I did the podcast 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:04.280 with him. I don't see it was that yours he 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.400 was borrowing or was that? Now? You know, I haven't 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:08.240 had one of those made yet, so I may have 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:11.160 to borrow that see if I can get a I'd 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:13.080 like to kind of do a you know, like a 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:16.360 throwback picture of just his his press conference whatever it 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:18.200 was a week ago, and maybe borrow the chain and 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:21.600 get that same thirteen jersey on and uh see if 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:23.640 I can replicate it. That's incredible, But I hope you 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:26.160 can't be fun to see. So you talk about, you know, 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:27.920 wanting to be here the Dolphins one, you hear you 0:09:28.000 --> 0:09:31.080 met coach McDaniel already. What's your first impression of him? Yeah, 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:36.480 he's uh, he's obviously an incredibly intelligent guy. Um. You know, 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.920 I did a little research on him before showing up 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:41.400 to the meeting, you know, just so I was a 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:44.560 little bit prepared, and um, from the videos I had 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:46.960 seen of him before, UM, you can tell he's a 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:51.040 very very smart guy. And UM, you know, the thing 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:54.120 that I like about any coach or player is if 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:58.840 you're authentic, then you're yourself, um, and you can help 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:02.240 the team win, You'll be accept did and so UM, 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:04.040 you know, he doesn't seem like he's putting on a 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.199 show for anybody. He's just being himself. And I think 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:09.480 as long as he does that, um, you know, his 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:12.040 ability as a coach and as a as somebody who's 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:13.800 going to develop plays and do all the things that 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:16.280 he has to do. I'm sure it'll shine through as 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:18.400 he's here. UM, I really enjoyed meeting with him. And 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:21.320 then your position coaches are specialist coach coach Danny Crossman 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:23.880 by him. Yeah, I would say that's the biggest reason 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:26.720 for me being comfortable being here. Um. We sat down 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:29.319 for a number of hours the other day and I 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:32.600 got to know each other, got to know the language 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:36.520 that we're gonna use, how he coaches things and expectations 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:40.280 and we're on the same page. So UM, that's all 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:43.400 you can ask for. UM. I've I've had some really 0:10:43.440 --> 0:10:47.600 outstanding especially to coach relationships, and I've had some not 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:53.000 so outstanding ones. And the difference in performance can be significant. Um. 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:55.760 And it really matters who you're dealing with and who 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:59.680 uh you know, how they operate and are we working 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.880 together or are we on Are we are we equals? 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.000 Are we on the same team? Here? We point our 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:08.560 guns at the same direction, and so um, he would 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:11.480 I would say he was the biggest reason for me 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:13.920 being here. It was just that comfort level with him, 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:16.360 getting to know him, and um, and I'm excited to 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:18.199 get to work with him. Yeah, he's the best, is 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:19.880 the very best. So one part of the game that 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:22.319 I think, you know, I think is the least studied 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:25.320 and this is just my opinion, but is holding on 0:11:25.440 --> 0:11:27.240 field goals and p A T s. And you know, 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:28.559 one thing we do on the podcast here is like 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:30.480 to educate, and I think who better to get to 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:34.040 educas on holding Thomas Moristead. So just kind of take 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:36.680 us through the fire points of holding in the kicking game. Yeah, 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:38.760 so the snapper Blake will throw a ball to me 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:40.320 and I'm gonna catch it, I'm gonna put it on 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:45.839 the ground. Um, and then our kicker Jason is gonna 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:48.200 make it right. So yeah, there's there's a lot of 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:50.800 detail to it. Um, I would say a big thing. 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:53.920 It's a very process oriented thing for me as a 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:55.880 holder because I'm kind of the quarterback for the play. 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:58.720 I'm kind of typically anyways, you know, the quarterback of 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:03.560 the play running everything and um, and it's so much 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:06.480 of it. I found it's about rhythm and timing and 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:10.520 making everything feel exactly the same to your snapper and 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:15.240 to your kicker on every single rep. And you know, 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:17.439 it's really kind of a thankless job, which is fine, 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:21.200 but you know it's, uh, you only ever highlighted if 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:23.440 you either run a fake or or you botch something, 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:26.480 and so try not to do that, you know. But 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:30.120 I think it's like anything, you just stay in your process. Um. 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:31.760 You know, you you really have to figure out what 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:34.880 your kicker wants and what's important to them. Right, some 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.679 guys are more particular about certain things than others, and 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.080 so it's just about getting to know your guy. And 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:46.400 my job is to um, is to create an environment 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:49.200 for both of those guys that they feel confident and 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:51.800 comfortable at all times. And if I can do that, 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:53.920 then I'm doing my job and I'm gonna get out 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:56.959 of the way. And and you know, hopefully if if 0:12:57.000 --> 0:12:59.079 Blake's doing his thing and Jason is doing his thing, 0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:02.400 well I'm just I'm kind of an intermediary, you know, 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:05.679 I'm I'm I'm I'm moderating, if you will, and uh, 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:09.640 and so it's just to kind of, I guess, not 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:12.120 be seen. If that makes sense, It makes perfect sense. 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:13.760 I think we had a key on crossing here. He's 0:13:13.760 --> 0:13:15.640 a special team's ace here with us, and I talked 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:17.680 to him about Dion Sanders should always say on the 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:20.520 NFL Network highlight show, like we're only showing the punt 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:23.440 highlights if there's a big play or a mistake. So 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:25.600 it's kind of how it goes that way. So twelve 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:27.439 years at the saying slash you you end with the 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:29.480 Jets after I stent with the Falcons as well, Jet 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:33.640 Jets first, then second apologies. Um. So I was curious 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.280 because you know, you'll you'll possibly have some games here 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:39.280 with the Dolphins up in the Northeast in December Thanksgiving 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:41.520 holiday like round when the weather gets kind of crummy. 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:43.160 It wasn't a good chance last year for you to 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:45.920 get an experience kicking in some some bad weather. Yeah, 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:48.640 I mean I played up in Buffalo, uh right towards 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:50.080 the end of the season, and that was kind of 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:54.360 an extraordinary game. It was snowing and wendy and cold, 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:56.600 and I had I had never played in a game 0:13:56.720 --> 0:14:00.680 quite like that. Um. But it's it's more than anything. 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:04.800 It's about um. You know, I've played in every kind 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:08.680 of scenario other than snow up until that point. Um, 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:12.040 And so you know it's you know, when I was 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:13.640 a young player, I used to check the weather every 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:16.640 day and kind of get you know, anxious about it 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.920 and and you know I've seen and done it all 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:22.160 and you know their guy has to play it too, 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:24.960 So you can't get caught up in in in keeping 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:27.680 a certain stat line up throughout the year. You just 0:14:27.720 --> 0:14:30.680 need to provide value and take what's there and make 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:32.200 the plays that are there to be made when you 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:34.160 have the chance to make them. And you can't do 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:37.960 anything more than that. And I think it's it's you know, 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:40.320 it's all about providing value to your team on game day. 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.160 And sometimes sometimes a forty yard average is is a 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:46.320 great game, you know. Sometimes it's say you're playing a 0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:48.320 great returner and the coaches asking, hey, we need this 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:51.480 ball a bounds every time, and that's the standard. Sometimes, 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:54.280 you know, sometimes of a fifty yard average wasn't a 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:56.600 good game. You know, it just depends on what the 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:59.600 coaches are asking to do. And not having an ego, 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:03.040 think if you if you can. You know, I had 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:06.080 kids years ago now, so I've lost my ego a 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:10.120 long time ago. So I think once you lose your ego, um, 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:12.479 it's just about doing what's best for the team and 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:15.160 and that's all it is. Context is always very very 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:17.080 keen and yeah, you talk about that. I get the 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:19.160 veteran kind of experience from you there in that standpoint. 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:20.640 This is a pretty young team that you're coming here 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.120 with the Miami Dolphins, but you have the elite distinction 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:25.520 of being now I'm not hoping to stop on your 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:27.560 toes here, but the most veteran player on the roster, 0:15:27.640 --> 0:15:29.600 the oldest guy. Yeah, you're the old guy. Now, So 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:31.400 how will you approach that leadership role you have here? 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:33.960 Not just with a specialist, but across the roster is 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:39.480 someone that has so much experience and wisdom in this league. Yeah, look, Um, 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:41.640 I think the best way to talk about that is 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:45.240 to say, hey, you know, I don't go at least 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:48.160 this very infrequent am I going down and hitting people? Right? 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:51.040 So I'm not sacrificing my body in a similar way 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.920 that a lot of other guys are expected and do. Um. 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:57.200 You know, I think the world of of anybody that 0:15:57.240 --> 0:16:01.880 plays in this league. It's a demanding, demanding league. And um, 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:06.080 and so I've never been a raw, raw guy. Um. 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:08.720 You know, I work my ass off. Um, when I 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:11.720 train with the team, I think guys will see that, Um, 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:14.600 they're going to see a strong older guy. They're going 0:16:14.640 --> 0:16:16.200 to see a strong older guy and a guy that 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:18.480 runs well and a guy that's going to train hard. 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:20.840 And so that's one of the ways I try to 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:25.520 earn my stripes. And then UM, and then obviously performing 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:27.960 well on game day is a huge thing. You know, UM, 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:30.080 you've got to get it done and guys need to 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:33.080 know they can depend on you, and those two things 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:35.960 were critical. UM as far as the other stuff goes. 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.200 You know, I feel like one of my roles for 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:42.760 a number of years now has been to UM try 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:47.040 to get young guys to speed their learning curve up 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:51.840 quicker than it otherwise would happen. And UM it's unique 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:56.440 because I once I learned how coach Crossman coaches and 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.840 the technical terms that he uses and how he does 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:03.760 philosophy with all those guys, I can UM then kind 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:09.200 of be another voice UM and help guys hopefully get 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:12.280 them moving along a little quicker. UM. And I have 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:15.040 a huge vested interest not only from team standpoint want 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.320 everybody doing well, but selfishly, you know, I want guys 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:19.600 that are out there that know what they're doing, because 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:23.040 you know, there's a punt is not just catch it 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:26.119 and smack it down the field and pray that somebody 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:30.040 makes a tackle. Right, there's a there's a it's a 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:33.119 it's a jazz session, right, It's it's it's choreographed, but 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:37.960 there's chaos, right. And so um, if everybody's again on 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.919 the same page and everybody understands that everybody's role is, 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:44.160 you have a greater chance for success. And so I'll 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:45.960 hope to be a resource for all those guys. And 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:50.080 then um and then last way, I think just you know, 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:54.199 being somebody that has you know, been fortunately playing this 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:58.040 league a long time and save money and um, you know, 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:00.720 I love getting with younger players and making sure that 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:04.959 they're not being foolish with you know, the financial opportunity 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:07.000 that they have, and just helping them along with that 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:09.000 and how to think about things and make sure you 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:11.120 have an accountant, make sure you have somebody that's helping 0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:13.439 you with these things. And um, I love to be 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:15.399 a resource for guys in that way as well. So 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:17.000 now you are the veteran, but back when you were 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:18.880 a rookie, one of the biggest moments of your entire 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:21.000 group we talked about this little bit the onside kicking 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:23.359 the Super Bowl so I read a story about it. 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:24.720 I was just doing some research on it, and it 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:26.400 said that you maybe a little bit nervous at the time. 0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:28.919 Talk talk to us about that situation, because that was 0:18:28.920 --> 0:18:31.320 such a big moment, a big game, and you're a rookie. 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:33.160 You make this this big play in the game. Did 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:34.639 you guys have a feeling that was gonna work? Did 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:36.159 you feel pretty good about it going in, Like what 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:37.919 was your your thought process when you had that that 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:40.200 big time on site? Yeah, well, number one, I would 0:18:40.240 --> 0:18:42.400 hope that everybody thought it was gonna work or else. 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:45.760 I don't know why I would call that. Number two. Yeah, 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:49.760 I mean it was. It was a tremendous opportunity. We 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:52.280 really hadn't played super well in the first half and 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:54.160 we were only downtown six, So we kind of came 0:18:54.160 --> 0:18:58.840 into locker room feeling like, Okay, we're kind of fortunate 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:00.400 to be where we're at. We haven't we haven't done 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:03.640 what we hope we would do. Um and then yeah, 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:05.840 I mean, we'd practice it only for a few weeks. 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:08.040 It was the one way we thought we could still 0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:10.520 possession from Peyton Manning. I know, originally they had looked 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:12.400 for a fake pond but they kind of that year 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:15.240