WEBVTT - The Dave Pasch Podcast - Zach Ertz 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:06.440 Hey everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Dave 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:11.039 Pash Podcast. I'm your host Arizona Cardinals and ESPN broadcaster 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.680 Dave Pash. Our guest this week is Cardinals tight end 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:18.599 Zach Ertz. Zach and his wife Julie recently announced that 0:00:18.640 --> 0:00:21.160 they are bringing a baby boy into this world. We're 0:00:21.160 --> 0:00:23.680 going to talk about fatherhood with Zach, what he expects 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:26.160 that to be like, and how that might impact him 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:29.640 as a football player. We'll also talk about donut Gate, 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:33.800 a current controversy in the locker room with both zach 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:37.479 Ertz and J. J. Watt. Zach's new contract with the 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:39.680 team were some of the reasons he decided to stay 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:43.440 here in Arizona with the Cardinals. His thoughts on the 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:46.400 twenty twenty two season. What do you expects from Kyler Murray? 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:49.400 What the offense might look like without DeAndre Hopkins the 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:52.720 first six weeks of the season. Kyler is the most 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:56.360 talented player I've ever been around, player player period. There 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:58.280 is no doubt. There's nothing he cannot do on a 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:01.080 football gold Trey McBride, the rookie tight end out of 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:04.440 Colorado State. How the mentoring is going of mcfride, and 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:06.880 trying to get him ready to help Ertz and company 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:10.199 in the fall. We are presented by betmgm, the official 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:13.080 sports betting partner of the Arizona Cardinals, and by Hila 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:17.119 River Hotels and Casinos. Sign up for bet mgm today 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:20.280 using code cards one thousand and get your first bet 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.360 risk free up to one thousand dollars. New customer offer 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:26.400 paid in free bets. Visit betmgm dot com for terms 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:30.479 and conditions. Twenty one and over Arizona only. Please gamble responsibly. 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:34.959 Gambling problem called one eight hundred. Next step. Now here's 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:38.080 our guest for this week's edition of the Dave Pash Podcast, 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:43.920 Cardinals tight End, Zach Ertz. Zach, appreciate you doing this. 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:47.880 Let's start with the news of the last month, and 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:51.160 that's you're going to be a dad. Yeah. How's that feel? Man? Oh, 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:53.600 it's amazing. We're so excited. Julie and I are just 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:57.320 ecstatic to be parents. Obviously, it's a different season of life, 0:01:57.360 --> 0:01:59.920 something that we've never done before, this being our first one, 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:03.280 so we're extremely excited. Getting everything set up, getting the 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:06.600 nursery set up, a lot of things that we're probably 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:08.600 not prepared for, but I feel like we got a 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:11.560 lot of great people to lean on and can't wait 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:14.880 for them to come. Do we know the gender? It 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:20.079 is a boy? Congratulations? Man, congratulations, I've got one myself. 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:22.800 He's now sixteen, trying to figure out how to drive. 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:26.440 Oh man, Yeah. I don't look forward to to him 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:28.600 being on the streets or me being on the streets 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:30.640 in a different car. That's one thing. If you're sitting 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:32.919 next to him, it's another few or another car. How 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.240 do you think being a dad will impact you as 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:39.440 a football player. I think it will put a lot 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:42.120 of things in perspective. I mean I'm excited about that. 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:45.480 You know, no matter how the day goes here at work, 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:48.160 I know I'm coming home to not only my wife 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:50.679 Julie loving me, but there will be a son there 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:54.120 that will just view me as his hero per se 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:56.720 And no matter how my day is going, the moment 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:58.600 I walk in the door, all those problems will probably 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:02.520 dissipate when I see them. But the way I approached 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:04.560 the game, the way I go about my business, I 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:08.760 don't think we'll change. I can't answer that definitively, but 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:11.680 as of now, I'm just excited. I know it's a 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.200 big responsibility to be a dad, something that I definitely 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:16.880 don't take lightly. So I'll take the same attitude I 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:19.320 have playing football to be the best dad I can be. 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:21.680 It's probably more of a change for your wife because 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:25.240 she's a professional athlete as well. Do you think that 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:28.519 she'll continue to be a professional athlete once you get 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:30.280 through this or is it, you know what, the first 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:32.320 time going through this? We have no idea. Yeah, I 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.400 mean I think we're I think that's the approach. I'm 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:37.160 never going I told people all the time, I'm never 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:38.840 going to be the one to tell Julie, hey, I 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:40.560 think it's time for you to be done. I mean 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:42.360 that is I'll die on the hill that Julie was 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:44.600 the best player in the world when she was playing 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:48.760 in her prime. Not only as a husband but as 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:51.840 a football fan, that was how I viewed it. And 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:53.880 so if she wants to come back and play, great, 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:57.240 If she doesn't, great as well, we'll adjust either way. 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:01.080 What I have loved over the past nine months after 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:03.720 since the Olympics in August, she's been home every day 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:07.160 and this is the longest time we've been together consistently 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:09.560 since we started dating. We started dating in college, she 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:12.120 went to Santa Clara. I went to Stanford, so we 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:13.880 did a little long distance then and then I got 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:16.479 drafted and it was in Philadelphia, and she was a 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:19.200 senior in college, and then after that she was in Chicago. 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:20.880 I was in Philly. So it was always months or 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:23.080 weeks at a time. But this has been a great, 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:25.080 a really good season for us to kind of just 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.560 really hang out each and every day, love each other 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:30.400 each and every day, and it's been really fun. She's 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:33.240 from here, right and family is still here as well. Yep. 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:36.680 So was that a big factor for you guys and 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:39.960 making a decision about staying here with the Cardinals? It was. 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:44.080 The whole process was a process. I guess there were 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:47.200 multiple factors. Julie has said all along, even a few 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:49.640 years ago when we were knew our time was running 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:51.039 out in Philly, she was like, I don't care where 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:53.560 we play, just go where you want to go and 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:56.480 I'll be there regardless. And so that takes a lot 0:04:56.520 --> 0:05:00.520 of pressure off of me as someone that is leading 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:03.480 the family to kind of make a football decision. Obviously, 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:06.599 her input and her well being is paramount to me, 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:09.159 but the fact that we have a little one on 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:12.120 the way and all the doctors. We've already seen her here. 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:14.800 Her family's here, and my mom will be here. My 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:16.960 mom was gonna be wherever I was going to go play, 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:20.680 so we'll always have help near. But we love Arizona. 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:23.960 Julie loves Arizona. It's hard not to love Arizona, especially 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:27.839 as an athlete, because the weather is always good. Even 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:30.200 when it's one hundred degrees. The body still feels amazing 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:32.440 running around out there. It's not like Philadelphia, where it 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:34.480 was freezing and it took half of practice just to 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:37.640 get warmed up. But it was a great decision. We 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:39.840 are very blessed to be here and I'm excited about 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:41.640 the future. It's a great place, man. This is my 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:44.039 twenty first year, will be my twenty first season doing 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:46.719 the Cardinals games. Moved here in two thousand and two, 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:49.760 had bounced around to different cities, and as soon as 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.279 we got here, it's it's hard not to love. Yeah. 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:55.120 And the team's been great about you know, allow me 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:56.920 to do all the stuff with ESPN and still be 0:05:56.960 --> 0:05:58.919 able to have my home base here and still have 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:01.719 a team, a team to root for. So not surprised 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:03.640 to hear that you love it here, because I haven't 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:05.920 met many people that come here that want to leave. Yeah, 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.680 no doubt about it. You said something interesting about you 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:11.640 realized that your time in Philly was coming to an end. 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:15.880 And I'm curious why that happened, Like, why did you 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:18.080 think it was coming to an end? Was it just 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:20.880 a contractual thing where you wanted something financially that you 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:23.119 didn't think you were going to get, or you didn't 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:25.000 feel like you were fitting into what they were trying 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:27.440 to do anymore. I think a little bit of both. Obviously, 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:30.200 the contract thing was pretty public, so everyone knew what 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:32.280 was going on there. And also I think they were 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:35.400 kind of resetting. Obviously they moved on from Carston, they 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:38.200 moved on from Doug and when everyone was kind of 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:40.200 on that way out, I've kind of figured it. There 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:42.400 was kind of a shifting of the guard per se. 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:44.359 They were going to go in a different direction. And 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:45.920 I told them that all along when we were going 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:47.840 through the contract stuff. They had a young tight end 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:50.800 at the time, it was pretty good player, and I 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:53.160 just said, hey, listen, I don't care what the decision is. 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:55.160 I'm not going to be upset either way, but just 0:06:55.240 --> 0:06:58.320 please make one like don't hang me out to dry 0:06:58.440 --> 0:07:00.880 or whatever, and we were should have to land in 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:02.960 Arizona midway through the year. I wish it happened a 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:06.920 little earlier, but I couldn't control that, and understand it's 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:08.880 part of the business. I have no ill feelings for 0:07:08.920 --> 0:07:10.560 anyone in that building. I still talk to a lot 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:13.120 of people in the building, a lot of long time 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:15.440 teammates that I played a lot of football with. I'll 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:17.840 still still talk to them. But yeah, it's one of 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:20.880 those things. Cardinals play Philly this year, but the game's here, 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:23.600 so there's a chance at some point you get to 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:28.239 go back to Philadelphia and get a standing ovation. I 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:30.320 was there. I did a couple of sixer games in 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:31.960 the playoffs, and I did a game in the regular 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:34.640 season in Philly, and it was JJ Reddick's first game 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:37.480 as an analyst. And JJ was there for one year, 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:41.720 but he got an incredible ovation from the crowd. Was 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.720 up on the JumboTron. I mean, there were autograph seekers 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:47.320 throughout the night for JJ, who again was there for 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:50.800 a year. You won a super Bowl in Philadelphia, First 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:52.440 of all, what was it like, not just winning a 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:54.720 super Bowl but doing in a city like Philadelphia, And 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:56.000 what do you think it will be like to go 0:07:56.080 --> 0:07:58.920 back there one day as a visiting player. Yeah, it 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:02.960 would be special. Obviously, I grew up so much there. 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:05.880 I pretty much spent a third of my life in Philadelphia. 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:08.760 I considered at home for so long. I don't know 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.280 if we'll end up there or not when I'm done playing, 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:14.800 but being there winning the super Bowl, the city's first 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:17.280 super Bowl in a city that lives in breezes of 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:21.360 the Eagles, was special. The parade was an experience that 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:25.680 I'll never forget, and that experience is really driving me now. 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:30.040 Just experiencing that feeling of winning a Super Bowl hoisting 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:33.520 the Lombardi is really motivating me each and every day 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:35.240 because I would need. I feel like I need to 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:37.920 feel that feeling again. And so that attitude and that 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:41.240 success we had was driving me today to hopefully repeat 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:44.720 that here in Arizona. You've played for a wide variety 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:49.280 of personalities as head coaches. Obviously Hardball you had David 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:52.559 Shaw a little bit right as well, Chip. I love Chip, 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:55.600 and I don't know what kind of relationship you had 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:58.160 with Chip Kelly, but he's just a great guy, fun 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:00.240 guy to be around and all the criticism that he 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:03.400 took for doing what he did, I realized some of 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:05.679 it you can't do in terms of just full go 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:09.480 every single all acceleration, no breaks. I get it, you 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:11.000 can't do that in the NFL. But a lot of 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:14.360 what the scheme and some of the things he's doing, 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:17.360 most everybody does now. I mean they've copied a lot 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:20.920 of stuff that they said couldn't work in the NFL. Yeah, 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:25.960 I mean, I've obviously played with an eclectic group. Coach 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:27.920 Harbaugh was perfect for me when I was eighteen years 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:30.520 old coming out of high school, didn't know any better. 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:34.040 Dude just mentally manipulated me to be the best I 0:09:34.080 --> 0:09:38.480 could and I appreciate him to this day. Coach was 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:43.120 a phenomenal coach. We had, Andrew Luck myself. It's just 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:46.720 so much talent, David de Castro, Doug Baldwin, all these guys. 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:49.120 Our time at Stanford was so far and we were 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:53.120 so good, and then getting drafted by Chip was a 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:55.000 really good thing for not only me, but I think 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:58.680 a lot of other guys because he was obviously he 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.400 had his ways on the and you can debate them 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:04.000 either which way. But the stuff that he taught us 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:08.400 off the field in terms of prioritizing your body, prioritizing 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:11.720 nutrition stuff and all that aspect. I would say Chip 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:15.120 taught us a lot and the intensity at practice that 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:18.640 he demanded, and a lot of guys didn't last in 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:21.680 Philly or were shipped out because of that. I would 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:24.720 say the guys that stayed and really embraced that really 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:26.680 set the culture in that building for a long time, 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:29.120 and we practiced our butts off, whether it was with Chip, 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:31.400 whether it was with Doug, whether it was Nick this 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:33.560 past year, for the limited time I was there, the 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:35.880 intensity the Vets have brought in practice really shaped the 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.560 culture of that building. And I don't think Chip gets 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:40.800 enough credit for that in the standards he set in 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:43.960 that regard. So you listed all those guys, and I'm curious, 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:47.240 in your limited experience so far with Cliff, where does 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:53.120 Cliff fit in with those guys in terms of personality, style, likability. 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:56.200 Cliffs one of the easiest guys to get along with. 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:58.800 I haven't met many people that say they can't get 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:02.520 along with Cliff Kingsbury. Yeah, I think he's a mold 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:04.640 of all of them. You know that this offense is 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:07.880 similar to Chip, I would say Cliff's approach is more 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.520 like Doug where it's a lot of veteran leadership. He 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:12.280 puts a lot of it on the veterans to kind 0:11:12.280 --> 0:11:15.800 of hold the standards and create the standards. But Cliff 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:19.240 grinds like he is here in this building all the time, 0:11:19.559 --> 0:11:23.280 like four am during the season, doing everything he can 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:25.520 to get his guys the ball, put us in positions 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:28.360 to be successful. And so in my would I have 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:30.839 twelve weeks last year with him, it was awesome. And 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:33.120 that's what I told my agent this offseason. I said, Hey, 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:35.280 I want to come back to Arizona. I love playing 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:36.960 for this guy. I love the culture in the building, 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:39.400 and when they resigned him, it was a big factor 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:41.840 and me wanting to come back. You talk about Cliff 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:45.480 empowering the veterans to take control of the locker room. 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.640 How did you handle that because you're coming in there 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:50.600 are already a lot of veterans here and the team 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:53.680 was winning at the time, So how did you assert 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:55.960 yourself in that leadership role in the middle of a 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:58.280 season when you get traded here? Yeah, I mean you 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:01.120 don't do a lot, you know, especially early on, it 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:05.280 was learned the playbook, figure out the culture, introduce yourself 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:08.520 to the guys um and guys that play in the 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:11.160 NFL a long time, whether it be seven, eight, nine, 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:15.200 ten years, you they're there for they've played for a reason. 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.320 They understand what it takes to be to have success, 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:20.680 They understand what it takes to win on Sundays, to 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:23.800 take care of your bodies, and so there's not much 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:28.240 variation in terms of approach in leadership qualities per se 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:30.240 among the guys that have been doing it for a 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:33.280 long time. But then once you get more comfortable, and 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:35.600 once I got more comfortable, and there are some things 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:39.280 that we were doing as a team that I felt 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.800 where they're limiting us. So sometimes you just got to 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:44.559 stand up and address something like whether it be penalties, 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:46.920 whether it be pre snap stuff, whether it be discipline, 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:49.160 some of the stuff. I was one of the few 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:51.960 guys that had won a Super Bowl, and so with that, 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:57.840 I don't want to say credential, it is it almost Yeah, 0:12:57.840 --> 0:12:59.680 with that credibility, I would say that's a better word. 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:03.000 You can kind of say things that maybe a guy 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:05.840 that had been here for only ten weeks wouldn't have 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:09.400 necessarily been able to say, and so that in those 0:13:09.480 --> 0:13:11.760 moments when you know when things are kind of hitting 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:14.360 the fan, and then it was my turn to kind 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.200 of take a step up. JJ was gone, So then 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:19.160 it was kind of like, well, I better say something 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:21.640 because I don't want this to end the wrong way. 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:25.320 With that said, as you look back at the second 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:28.000 half of last season, what were some of the pitfalls 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:31.280 that you think you guys can avoid this year because 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:34.480 you've now been through that and you've had to be 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:36.360 in a situation where you've had to speak up or 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:39.960 hold somebody accountable. Yeah, I mean I think well, first 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:41.760 of all, if I had the answer to why this 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:43.520 team has not been successful in the second half of 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:45.840 the season in the past couple of years, I would 0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:48.679 have already changed it. But looking back at last year, 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:52.319 because that's the only experience I've had, it just really 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:55.439 came down to execution. And I know that's so cliche 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:58.640 or so easy to say, but we were just such 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.720 a better team on first and second down earlier in 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:03.440 the season, then we were at the end of the season, 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.400 and then the season we're freaking facing second and fifteens, 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:09.160 third and twelves and it's just so hard as an 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:12.200 NFL team to face that consistently and put points on 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.040 the board, and then one thing falls into another. We 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:17.959 play good on offense and then the defense plays poorly, 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:20.880 or the defense plays poorly and we play great. It's 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:23.160 just one of those things that we couldn't figure it 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:25.400 all out at the end of the year, and hopefully 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:28.960 that adversity will help shift us where you just can't 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:32.080 let things snowball in the NFL. Momentum is real in 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:35.480 this league, and if you feel like, hey, we're the 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:37.520 best team, no one can mess with us, then yeah, 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:39.160 you're gonna play it like that on Sundays. But if 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:41.840 you take it hit in the mouth and this happens one, two, 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:44.680 three Sundays in rows, like, man, we got to find 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:46.720 a way and we just can't let let let that 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:49.960 mentality of hey, we can't let that snowball effect, especially 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:53.560 the negative aspect right take place. You also lost a 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:57.320 Hall of Fame player in DeAndre Hopkins. I mean, things change, 0:14:57.480 --> 0:14:59.440 and in the middle of a season. I have to 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:02.160 think it's much harder to adjust when you got other 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:05.600 guys injured and things are coming at you so fast. 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.160 You're going from one game to the next as opposed 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:10.480 to now where you know Hop is not going to 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:12.760 be there. So for Cliff and for you guys, I 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:14.240 have to think it's a little bit easier to kind 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:17.000 of plan Okay, what are these first six games going 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:19.120 to be? Like, what's our offense gonna be? Like? Yeah, 0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:22.000 I mean, the Hop was obviously a big reason why 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:24.120 I was excited to come out here. I think we 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:26.240 only ended up playing like two and a half games together. 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:29.200 But I've never played with a guy like Kim where 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:31.520 that in Philly. I was always a guy getting double teams. 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:33.280 I was the guy that was getting smacked the moment 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:35.800 he caught the ball. I was excited for all the 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:38.080 attention to be on the Hop, and then I get 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:39.640 out here and then I'm getting double team at the 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:41.360 end of the year again, I'm like, oh man, here 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:44.560 we go again. But you can never replace a guy 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:47.480 like DeAndre. Let's just throw that out there. You can scheme, 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:50.080 you can do whatever you want. You're never just gonna 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:54.120 respect the moment he crosses those lines on Sunday. There's 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:57.000 no woman. There's maybe three other guys on the face 0:15:57.080 --> 0:15:59.400 of the earth that demand that same attention that the 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:02.480 Hop brings to the team. We have to find ways 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:06.040 to put guys in position to not replace, but kind 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:09.720 of replicate some of his production. I mean, maybe I 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:12.320 go play some ex receiver. I did it a lot 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:14.800 in Philly. Maybe some of the other guys. Ron Dale 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:17.240 goes outside a little bit more. But I think when 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:20.560 you have additional time to do it, it it obviously helps. 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:23.400 And people don't forget Kyler got here, missed three games 0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:24.600 in the middle of the year, so I think the 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:29.160 rhythm of everything kind of just faltered in the middle 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:30.760 of the season and we just can't get out of it. 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:34.640 Kyler obviously is incredibly talented. You've played with a lot 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:38.720 of good quarterbacks, whether it was at Stanford or in Philadelphia, 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:41.200 and you know, whether it was somebody that was drafted 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:43.840 high or Nick Foles, it wasn't drafted high. But he's 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:48.520 a champion. How is Kyler different from quarterbacks you've played 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:53.040 with previously, and how is he similar? Kyler is the 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:56.200 most talented player I've ever been around, player player period. 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:58.760 There is no doubt. There's nothing he cannot do on 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:01.600 a football field. He can be like Lamar Jackson and 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:04.280 take off and run for one hundred plus yards in 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:06.480 a game. Or in my opinion, you can send in 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:08.520 the pocket and not even worry about his legs and 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:10.760 just dinking dunk all the way down the field. He's super, 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:13.720 super accurate, and there's just nothing he can do. I 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:16.040 don't know that. I can't really explain it. That he 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:17.960 can throw the ball sixty yards down the field, he 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:20.159 can make every throw you want him to throw, and 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:22.760 the guy is super super competitive. You know. I didn't 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:24.520 when I was in Philly, we didn't see a lot 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:26.399 of the Arizona games. I would just see the highlights 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:28.840 and you see this guy running around making all these 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:33.200 ridiculous plays against Tennessee Minnesota. And I get out here 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:36.440 and this guy in him an ideal situation. He doesn't 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:39.199 leave the pocket, and I think that for me as 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:41.560 a pass catcher, I love playing with a quarterback like 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:44.040 that because he just wants to play on time, playing rhythm, 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:45.880 get the ball out of his hands, get the ball 0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:48.159 to his guys, and let us make the play. So 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:50.560 he doesn't, but he knows that he has the luxury 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:53.600 if hey, we need to play or the plays breaking down, 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:55.800 he can take off. And so for me, Kyler is 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:59.480 the most talented quarterback player I've probably been around. Andrew 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.840 Luck is probably the best quarterback I've been around, and 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:06.240 Kyler has that ability. Obviously, I played with Andrew in college, 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:10.480 so I was kind of lucky to bless to experience 0:18:10.560 --> 0:18:13.240 that at such a young age. Andrew was probably the 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:16.359 best leader I've been around, just he was always one 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:19.280 of the guys. He was always pushing people. He loved football, 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:24.159 super approachable. Carson is one of my best friends to 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:26.720 this day. Another guy that's huge, can make all the 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:29.960 throws super competitive, and I think the best ones I've 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:33.760 been around kind of have this competition factor that, hey, 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:35.919 no matter what's going on, they feel like they can 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:38.960 make a play. And I know Kyler does that in 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:41.960 terms of continuing to grow as a leader, which is 0:18:42.000 --> 0:18:45.200 something that everybody's talked about with Kyler. And you talked 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:47.040 about the leadership of Andrew Luck, and I think it 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:49.240 was clear whether he was at Stanford or in the NFL. 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:50.760 I mean you could just see it the way he 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:54.040 interacted with his teammates, the way he carried himself on 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:56.440 the field. He was the guy everybody looked to him, 0:18:57.040 --> 0:18:59.400 and everybody looks to Kyler because he's the most talented 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:02.359 guy on the field. But where does he need to grow. 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.080 When are you seeing some of that growth as a leader, 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.200