WEBVTT - MVP: Legend Robert Smith On Preseason Focus, Working In A New System | Episode 158 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:09.639 It's a very difficult game to win any games, and 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:12.319 that's why we enjoy watching it because if it was 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:15.520 easy to do, then the reward wouldn't seem as special 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:21.160 as it is. You talk about a completely different style 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:24.280 of calling plays and different concept I mean these are 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:28.000 completely different concepts as well. So it's not just what 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:32.519 it's called, but what it means, what a great feeling 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:36.240 it is. This week, Vikings Football makes its return. This 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:39.599 is the official Minnesota Vikings Podcast. We're an episode one 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:42.040 fifty eight. I'm your host, Tatum Everett. We've got Gabe 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:46.280 Henderson here. We also have producer Eric Davidson and a 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:49.720 very special guest today for our podcast, we have Vikings 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:53.320 legendary running back and personal friend of the Vikings Entertainment Network, 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:55.920 Robert Smith. You know him, you love him. How's it going, 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:58.800 Robert Summer. It's going great here. It's a big summer 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:01.640 for you too, but we can talk about that on 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:05.520 another podcast. But it's it's great. It's so exciting to 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:08.959 be so close to the season. And obviously you always 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:11.479 get NFL news, I mean it comes every day, right, 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:15.479 It's it's three sixty five, three sixty six on leap years. Um, 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:18.600 but it's nice to actually get close to where we're 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:22.399 gonna have the new changes, obviously with the staff and 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:25.440 the systems on both sides of the ball, and finally 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.200 getting a chance to kind of see that in operation. 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:31.360 I'm really excited. You should be because football is back 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:33.039 in I feel like it's really good to seeing you 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:34.880 in person. I had never met you in person, even 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:37.559 though we've like done content together. So it's kind of wild, 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:41.560 isn't it. Yeah, go to my third season. I've done 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:44.039 count I know you guys that Postgame Live together last year, 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:46.200 but Robert and I've done countless work together. I'm like, dude, 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:49.280 it's like, actually, the way that you guys greeted each other, 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:52.200 I felt like you were like best friend. That's that's 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:54.520 who I am. Like I greet everybody the same. I 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:56.160 just have fun and Rober, I know you're a good 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:59.600 guy also just from our conversations and um, love your work. 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:01.720 I know you have some exciting news to get to 0:02:01.960 --> 0:02:04.640 here early in this podcast, but I've been a fan 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:06.520 of yours since you since you play back in the day. 0:02:06.560 --> 0:02:08.520 I don't want to make you sound old, but I 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:13.120 am that doesn't you don't have to but yeah, this 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:16.000 is this is great just having football back. The vikings are, 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:18.160 you know, starting football up and in a couple of 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:22.480 days here, so everybody's throwing, everybody's excited, and we finally 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:24.800 get some of those questions answered right now. I mean 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:27.720 in the past seven or eight months, it's all been about, Okay, 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:29.560 who's going to do this? Who are you expecting to 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:31.760 have a breakout season here? Blah blah blah blah blah. 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:34.680 Football is back, and those guys get to answer those questions. 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:38.520 Yeah and again, kind of seeing the systems in operation. 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:42.359 I think it's one thing to have the walkthroughs and 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:45.760 for people to be out there in practice. You have 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:49.079 some live sessions, but going against a different team, and 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:52.120 teams keep it pretty vanilla obviously in the preseason, so 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:54.079 you're not going to see a lot of exotic looks. 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:56.960 But just kind of seeing how the guys react to 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:00.640 live game situations. I think the coaches are as excited 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:03.040 as we are going to see what it actually looks like. 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:05.359 And I you know, you hear Raves. You know, I 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:09.280 saw what Justin Jefferson said Yesterday's like, hey, you know, 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:11.440 I could see why Cooper Cup was open as much 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:13.320 as I was, and you're just really happy to be 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:15.680 in this system. But it's one thing to do it 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:17.880 in practice, it's another do it in a game. And 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:21.040 speaking of practice, you'll be out there today being able 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.919 to see some of the guys probably the big first 0:03:23.919 --> 0:03:26.519 big prow or the last big practice will have until 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:29.920 Sunday's preseason games. So what are you going to be 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:32.760 looking for when you're out there? Well, I think just 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:34.760 kind of the way that the guys move, you know, 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:37.720 are are they hesitant at all? You know? Do the 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:41.800 guys seem to be confident in the schemes that they're using. 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:46.160 And not knowing exactly where everybody's supposed to be on 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:48.680 every play doesn't make that easy. But you can kind 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:50.680 of tell from the reaction of the coaches, you know, 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:53.840 how much correction is there after a play and maybe 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:57.520 how loud is that correction can kind of tell you sometimes, 0:03:57.840 --> 0:03:59.680 Although you know, I think I think the staff is 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:02.440 going to be different in that regard. You know, that's 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:05.000 kind of what's happened over the NFL. Across the NFL, 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:08.360 I think some of the older school coaches that were 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:12.040 a little louder and newer coaches I think they're more 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:14.880 into just explaining things to guys, and you know, you 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:17.680 can say whatever you want about what system or what 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:20.120 style of coaching is going to be most effective, but 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:22.000 I think guys are just a little bit different now. 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:23.960 But yeah, I just kind of want to see how 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:27.240 how smooth and how crisp things look, and you know, 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:29.880 which which side seems to have the advantage, and you 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:32.600 know that probably goes back and forth. Rber. I know 0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:35.400 you you played under Danny Green your entire career here, 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:38.240 but how many offensive coordinator changes did you have? Well, 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:41.560 we had so Jack Burns was the offensive coordinator I 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:44.280 believe for like the first three games that I was here, 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:47.200 So that was my rookie season, and then he got 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:50.920 fired and Brian took over as the offensive coordinator. And 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:53.800 as a rookie, I didn't pay that much attention to 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:56.280 the NFL in depth growing up, and of course it's 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:59.120 not covered the same way that it is now, And 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:02.240 I had never heard about coaches getting fired during the season, 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:05.040 and I'm like, what what just happened? Like, we just 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:08.320 lost our offensive coordinator. But it was such a great 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:12.119 change for our team and for this organization. Obviously, Brian 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:17.200 was just amazing. But then Brian took the head coaching 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:20.040 job with the Baltimore Ravens after the ninety eight season, 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:24.200 and then we had Scherm Lewis as a as an 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:26.440 offensive coordinator, and I think that was so it was 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:28.880 just those changes there, Okay. And the reason why I 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:31.440 asked is because like during this this time period, right 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:34.200 like the week of the preseason game, and you were 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:37.360 installing the new offense or learning new terminology, like how 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:40.560 much is expected versus how much is kind of warranted? 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:43.080 Of like, Okay, these guys aren't going to understand everything 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:46.040 by week one of the preseason. Yeah, And so if 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:48.560 you think about the changes that we had, none of 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:52.839 them were system changes. No no, no language new verbiage changes, 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:55.839 and that is huge. Uh, you know you you talk 0:05:55.960 --> 0:06:00.600 about a completely different style of calling plays and different 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.680 concept I mean these are completely different concepts as well. 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:07.599 So it's not just what it's called, but what it means. 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:09.839 And so that's why I think it's it's exciting for 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:12.279 me to kind of see it in operation because it 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:14.800 can be the greatest offenses in the world or the 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.800 greatest defense with Ed Dontel. But if the guys don't 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:21.000 understand it, and if they can't quickly on the run 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:24.479 make the changes that they need to make, then you know, 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:26.840 what good is it? And coaches say that all the time. 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:28.919 It's not what I know, it's what I know that 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:31.919 I can teach the players. That matters. When you watch 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:34.920 the preseason game on Sunday or when fans watch it, 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:36.760 what do you think they'll see from this? Do you 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:39.320 think they'll see? I mean, obviously we know. I think 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:41.560 it's it's safe to say this coachings have doesn't want 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:44.479 a lot of what they're doing offensively to get out there. 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:47.239 They just you know, they don't, fans can't or they're 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:50.000 asking fans on to post videos of practice and things 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:52.760 like that. So what do you think we see? And 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:56.040 then on the conversely, like is it easier that way 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.760 when they just come out that first week September eleventh, 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:01.240 not having really any drives into their belt. I guess 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:03.480 you could say, well, I think what you're going to 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:06.080 see is probably going to be pretty vanilla. I think 0:07:06.080 --> 0:07:07.800 that you know, the coaches at this time of the 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:10.160 year and you have to think, you know, you have 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:12.559 a lot of young players that you try and play. 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:15.440 You think about the roster size being you know, ninety 0:07:15.520 --> 0:07:17.320 plus at this time of year, and you have so 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:20.280 many guys you're trying to figure out if they can 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:24.200 remember the play, get out in a real game, and execute. 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:26.840 So you're trying to figure those things out initially, and 0:07:27.000 --> 0:07:30.160 apart from not just wanting to show everything that you're 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:32.920 capable of offensively and defensively, you want to keep things 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:35.080 simple so that you can just see at a most 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:38.760 basic level, can these guys get it done? But is 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:40.480 it easier to just go out at the beginning of 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:42.600 the season. It just it depends on who you are. 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:45.120 You have guys in that in that fifty three to 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:47.320 ninety group, you know, the part of the roster that 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:49.680 might not make this team, but they might be auditioning 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:53.760 for another team. So you have young players and obviously 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:55.960 they're going to need to work. You have guys that 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:59.120 been in the league, you know, to tow three years 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:01.360 that might need a breakout and they're the ones that 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:03.440 you're going to see in the game and they need 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:05.760 to be in those games. And then you have older players. Yeah, 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:08.280 it's it's easier for older players a lot of times 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:12.360 not to take any snaps or just take a couple 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.520 of series in the preseason just to kind of get 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:16.920 used to it, you know, just kind of get the 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:20.280 adrenaline flowing of game day and going out there against 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:24.520 another team. But it's different things for different players. That's interesting. 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.120 You say that, you know, the roster cut down, A 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:29.200 lot of people don't really talk about that. You mean, 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:31.640 right now you have ninety players on the roster that'll 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:35.280 cut down every single week, and it's just been it's 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:37.400 just been interesting just saying like, you know, people in 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:42.280 USFL hats on the syline or XFL hats or the 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.640 Canadian Football CFL, and it's just like these guys are 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:50.240 auditioning for other leagues also, absolutely, and you know, the 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:52.480 young players need to know that everything that you do 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:54.880 is going to be on tape. And again, you know, 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:57.959 you're not just showing the current coaching staff, You're showing 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:01.800 everybody what you're capable of doing so and that's important 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:03.839 for these guys. And you know, the great thing is, 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:07.160 you know what we saw from having the USFL on 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:11.000 Fox this year is that you know a good number 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:14.360 of those players are having some tryouts and are part 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:16.880 of the ninety man rosters for some of these teams. Well, 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:19.200 we'll take a quick break from Vikings talk. We'll return 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:20.720 to that. But you did bring up Fox, and I 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.560 think that it's really exciting. You know, you've really made 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:26.200 a great name for yourself in the broadcasting world post career, 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.240 and it's just continuing this year. You want to share 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:32.840 some of the exciting news you got going on this season? Yeah, well, 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:35.960 you know, the inventory for college had been down quite 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:38.880 a bit. Yeah for Fox, and that may change here 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:42.480 now with the Big Ten negotiations. But what is it 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:45.440 gonna be calling a huge number of college games? And 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:48.880 my boss, one of my bosses there at Fox calls 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:50.160 me up and he's like, hey, we're gonna have a 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:52.360 few more NFL games for you this Year's oh, that's great. 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:55.360 And then he calls me up, this is almost two 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:58.200 weeks ago, and he says, how would you like to 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:00.560 call a full slate of NFL games or at least 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:03.520 fifteen games? And I'm you know, I swore and said 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:08.480 are you And you know, he said no, we you know, 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:11.520 we're really happy with the games that you called. And 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:14.640 you know, I've been calling at least one NFL game 0:10:14.679 --> 0:10:17.040 a year and I got two Vikings games actually two 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:19.920 years ago, but I've been calling at least one NFL 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:22.200 game a year, and now I'm going to be calling 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:24.000 a full slate of games, and I just I just 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:26.520 couldn't be more excited about it. It's just it's it's 0:10:26.559 --> 0:10:28.920 so exciting. Is it more work prepping for a college 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:32.800 game or NFL game? That's a really good question. There's 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:35.560 a lot of work in both, but I think there's 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:39.600 more detailed work in the NFL because you know, you 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:42.520 know the players and you know the stories. So I 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:44.880 think to kind of make the broadcast what you want 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:47.760 it to be, you dig a lot deeper on stories 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:51.120 in the NFL. So there's a lot more work in 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:54.320 college just knowing who the players are. Uh. And you know, 0:10:54.400 --> 0:10:57.720 if if you're calling a Utah or by U or 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:00.000 a Cal game, You've got a lot of Polynesian name 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:03.240 games that have you know, multiple soyables and you know 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:06.800 different pronunciations, so that can be difficult. But the NFL, 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:09.600 you know, you you're you're familiar more familiar with with 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:11.840 the names because the guys have been around, I mean college, 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:13.840 it changes every three years, so that's a challenge in 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:17.040 and of itself. But I think that the schemes and 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:20.960 the ways that guys try to get an edge on 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:24.120 the opponent is different in the NFL, so that you 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:27.319 end up more you end up digging a little bit 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.520 deeper about the history of the coaching staff and and 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:36.000 why they've adopted certain systems and how coaches and players 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:38.800 try and find that razor's edge that can be the 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.959 difference in winning in the NFL. So you're partnering with 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:45.600 Chris Myers and Jen Hale, who you know and I 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:51.079 know Tiger Tiger talk again, Tiger talk always. Well, when 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:53.960 Robert I'm in the building, it's gonna be Buckeye entire talk, 0:11:55.880 --> 0:12:02.160 Michigan and Alabama fan for that knowledge. Bum But you're 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:05.439 alongside these two guys. So when you join a team 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:08.560 like that, are you do you go through like a 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:11.000 practice game, do you work with them? How do you 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:13.160 kind of build that bond and that chemistry to be 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:15.960 ready to go on air when you do the first game? Well, 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:20.120 we called our first game together last December actually, and 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:23.160 that it was because of an illness. The regular announcer 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:27.120 had an illness and so I stepped in and Chris 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:30.600 Meyers had like three flights that he ended up missing 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:33.880 and the protocols were different. We didn't we didn't we 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:37.520 weren't out watching practice on Friday. There were COVID restrictions, 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:40.200 and we didn't meet with the coaching staffs in person, 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:43.400 so it was a little bit different then. But they 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:45.160 do just kind of throw you in there. You know. 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:47.840 I think if somebody's calling a game for the very 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:51.840 first time, they may have some sessions like that. But 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:54.840 that's not something we did. But you know, Chris and Jed, 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.720 I mean, there's such professionals and just so easy and 0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:01.720 because I've worked with a number of different announcers and 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:04.360 and and at different levels, right like people that have 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:06.240 been doing it for a long time, people that haven't 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:08.720 been doing it very much. So to step in there 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:11.520 with somebody in the booth like Chris, like it was 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:13.480 just it was so easy. You just made it so 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:16.840 easy for me. And I'm again, I'm just I'm just 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:19.559 so excited. But you know, you talk about what kind 0:13:19.600 --> 0:13:22.640 of builds that relationship. Uh, you know, it's when we'll 0:13:22.679 --> 0:13:24.880 get together on Friday nights and we'll have dinner and 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:28.439 we'll be discussing different aspects of the game that week 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:30.840 or things that we've heard during the week, and you know, 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:34.440 you have those conversations a lot of times just kind 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.600 of over meals and casually, and that's where some of 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:42.600 the best information, uh and nuggets for a game will 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:45.360 come from. That's awesome. I'm so happy. I can't wait 0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:47.080 for you to get on one of our games. Yeah, 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:49.080 I mean, we have a couple of Sunday New games. 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:51.760 You never know, and you've called a couple already, So like, 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.480 do you I know you're you know, far removed from playing, 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:56.960 but do you still get that itch? Sometimes I'm like, man, 0:13:57.280 --> 0:13:59.400 I would do this in this situation. Yeah, you know, 0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:01.640 and that's so much I would do this or guy 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:04.160 would do that. I think, you know, you look at 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:07.760 it more objectively and what what you think should happen 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:10.400 on sertain And again, you know, when you're in a booth, 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:13.960 you don't necessarily know what the blocking scheme was. You 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:17.480 can kind of guess, you know, if somebody runs free, 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:20.360 and if it looks like based on the structure that 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:22.400 you know it should have been a running back or 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:24.240 a tight end or one of the linemen that should 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:27.480 have had a particular block. Um. But yeah, you really 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.840 just kind of look at that things objectively and obviously, 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:34.200 as you know, as much as I love the organization 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:36.800 and uh you know, and now like a fan of 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:41.880 the organization, that one you've heard me swear a few 0:14:41.920 --> 0:14:47.960 times too. But but but it does become easy on 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:51.040 game day to just be objective because you're calling things 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:54.440 as you see them. And I'm sure every fan out 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:57.720 there that's a true fan of the team, uh that 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:00.800 you're you get angry, like if there's something that you 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:03.840 don't like, you get angry. And so obviously I'm not 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:07.320 getting angry during the broadcast, but you can be objective 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:10.600 without uh, you know, having your pom poms out there 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:14.480 on a Sunday for a call. Could uh nineteen ninety eight, 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:20.600 Robert Smith excel in this offense so forward focus and innovative. Well, 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:23.040 I mean, you know, I've had this discussion. I was 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:25.720 talking I golfed with Todd Bauman yesterday and we were 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.200 talking about, you know, the evolution of offenses and just 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:30.840 I mean just night and day, how different they are. 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:35.560 And yeah, nineteen ninety eight, much much fewer years on 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:37.880 his on his body, Robert Smith, Yeah, could it could 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:41.280 flourish in the offense. But it's just fun to see 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:43.600 the guys do what they do. And you know, the 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:48.080 really fun part for me now being an analyst and 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:50.600 watching the game and really trying to again to figure 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:53.360 out what are the what are the small differences between 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:56.960 winning and losing. Now it's not just one aspect of 0:15:57.000 --> 0:16:00.920 the game, because when offenses evolved, defenses evolved, and defenses, 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:03.360 you know, force the offenses to do certain things, and 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:06.080 offenses force defenses to do certain thing. And from a 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:09.960 personnel standpoint, I think the type of player and the 0:16:10.000 --> 0:16:14.000 way that they train and the players that fit certain schemes, 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:17.120 all of those things evolve, and kind of seeing that 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:20.080 evolution is just it's been really cool to see. And 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:23.040 because I had the opportunity to work at the college 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:27.320 level for so many years, you know, seeing how high 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:30.520 school offenses have influenced college offenses, and then some of 0:16:30.520 --> 0:16:33.600 those college offenses, some of those concepts have made their 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:36.240 way into the NFL. So kind of seeing it from 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:39.840 a very broad view has been interesting. It's a kid's game, well, 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:43.880 but if you also think of it conversely, I feel 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:46.760 like sometimes these kids are ready to play college ball 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.400 immediately at a high school, and these college kids are 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:51.280 ready to play immediate in the league because they've been 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:54.840 in those kinds of systems and football has almost become 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:57.880 I would and say like professional level, but it's definitely 0:16:57.880 --> 0:17:00.480 gotten a little bit more advanced. I think even when 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:02.960 you get down to like some high school gets younger 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:06.960 every year. I mean, you're in the Dallas area, you came, yeah, absolutely, 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:11.320 But some of the things that you know, the colleges though, 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:14.959 in the way that they call offenses in particular, like uh, 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:18.879 you know, using the big cards and boards and things 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:21.639 like that, I think some some of those college players 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:23.440 have a little bit of difficulty when they do come 0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:25.960 into the league and they're hearing it and their ear 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.560 and then having to repeat it and say it. You know, 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:30.639 that's that's where the rush. But you're absolutely right, I 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:34.480 mean the seven on sevens and you know, the evolution 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:37.320 of the offenses has has kind of seen this growth 0:17:37.359 --> 0:17:40.720 and value for the for the wide receiver position in general, 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:44.840 and it's really interesting to kind of see just how 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:48.480 ready those guys are at every level and the quarterbacks too. 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:52.359 And I think because players get exposed to social media 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:55.240 and all of the good and especially the bad because 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:58.240 the bad people are exposed to it early and it 0:17:58.280 --> 0:18:00.320 just doesn't bother them as much. You become kind of 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:01.720 numb to it, like, yeah, of course they're going to 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:04.000 say all that nonsense. You know, So some guys are 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:07.000 more sensitive than others. But I think that that helps 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:09.720 players as they advanced through the game from high school 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:12.399 to college, Like you've been hearing this stuff for a 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:16.680 long time, whereas twenty thirty years ago you didn't really 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:19.200 have to deal with it the same way you didn't 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:22.560 have to deal with media except for the media that 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:25.520 was writing papers, and if you don't pick it up, 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:28.000 you don't see it. But people are on social media 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:30.520 so much they hear all the criticism. So I think 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:34.000 from that standpoint, players are more purchasing. You know, I am, 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:37.080 There is no way that I am at any level 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:39.560 of criticism as these players are. But there are people 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:42.480 and I heard, oh, she's terrible, we hate her voice, 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:44.640 all this kind of stuff all the time, and I'm 0:18:44.680 --> 0:18:47.520 so much more numb to it now when I first 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:49.199 started out. So I kind of I feel like I 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:51.160 really related to that last point a little too close 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:53.960 to how well yeah, but you know, but you know 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:56.280 the good thing is that because you do, you do 0:18:56.280 --> 0:19:00.240 get numb to it. And look like you realize is 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:04.320 that the people oftentimes are on social media saying those 0:19:04.400 --> 0:19:06.600 kind of things like they just want attentions, and like 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:08.679 when you see it that way, and then when you 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:11.240 get into the league or into college and then into 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:14.639 the league and you hear hear that, you know, even 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:17.000 even some of the people that you know are writing 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:19.800 for professional organizations, you can think of them in the 0:19:19.840 --> 0:19:22.160 same regard, like, Yeah, they've got a job to do. 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:25.800 It's to sound critical sometimes and you can handle the 0:19:25.840 --> 0:19:28.840 criticism better that way. Speaking of critical, I don't I 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:30.879 promise you this question isn't to set you up, but 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:35.920 I'm I'm a preface this by saying, preface this by saying, 0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:37.399 because I have an opinion on it, but I'm a 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:40.560 preface this by saying I worked at an organization before, 0:19:40.760 --> 0:19:44.000 and the organization they would sit certain rookies at they 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:47.320 drafted throughout the entire preseason, and then during the regular 0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:50.280 season they would blow it up like like Terry McLaurin, 0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:54.320 for example, just signed a second contract, really good athlete, 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:56.760 but nobody really heard about him when they sat him 0:19:56.800 --> 0:19:59.000 the entire preseason. This is like you just drafted this 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:01.639 guy and now you see more teams starting to do 0:20:01.680 --> 0:20:03.760 it in the preseason. I know it's for you know, 0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:07.879