WEBVTT - Catching a Draft 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:05.560 Bob. If you thought more hours a day, minutes a 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:09.280 week was enough, I think again. He's the last remnants 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:12.560 of the old Republic, the sole fashion of fairness. He 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:15.440 treats crack heads in the ghetto cutter the same as 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:19.680 the rich pill poppers in the penthouse, to clearinghouse of 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:23.720 hot takes, break free for something special. Fifth Hour with 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:31.400 Ben Maller starts right now in the air everywhere. We 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:35.919 are back at it yet again. Another weekend is upon us, 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:39.519 and we are back at it because we do the 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:42.040 radio show. I do the radio show five nights a week, 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:43.720 as you know, and then we have the spinoff here. 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:47.560 We have a Friday, Saturday and Sunday show. So two 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:52.320 shows on Friday, got two shows kind of on Sunday 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:55.760 in to Monday. And we do thank you for supporting 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:58.640 the podcast, even when there are issues. More on that 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:01.600 coming up. We'll talk about that on the Saturday podcast. 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:05.920 But today is an interview podcast, a conversation, a chat 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:11.000 with someone who we know, someone who we like, someone 0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:15.080 that we're curious to talk to. And so, by the way, 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:17.760 Gascon is back this week. David Guescon is back. He's 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:23.440 a he's fun lay in don't get used to it. 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:26.880 This could be his final weekend on a podcast. We 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:29.479 can hope that he goes somewhere else, but he's here 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:33.480 this weekend, booking great A guests yet again, and contend 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:37.480 to shine like like a diamond. That's what I do. Yes, 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:39.960 pat yourself on the back a little more. I actually 0:01:40.000 --> 0:01:44.600 a little more pretentious. Yes. Uh. Anyway, this week in 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:48.800 the NFL Draft coming up here just a few days away. 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:51.280 A chance to catch up with a man who is 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:55.680 synonymous with the NFL draft. A number two pick of 0:01:55.760 --> 0:01:59.720 the old San Diego Charger show me your lightning bolt 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:04.880 in it was neck and neck. It was belly to 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:10.400 belly between Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning. Colts had the 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:13.200 number one pick, the Chargers had the number two pick. 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:16.000 We know how it turned out. If you somehow I forgotten. 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:19.240 It didn't turn out well for Ryan Leaf, one of 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:23.520 the historic NFL Draft bus He only played twenty five 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:27.119 games in the NFL. He said some fights with demons 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:30.000 over the years, but he has continued to counter punch, 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:32.800 and you gotta respect that that Ryan Lee has been 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:36.440 knocked down, he's done time in jail, and he's continued 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:39.800 to fight back. And a lot to a lot to 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:42.360 talk to Ryan Leaf about which we are excited about. 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:45.760 So let's get right into it right now. We welcome 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:49.440 in a now former NFL player for many many years 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:51.480 played with the Chargers and the Cowboys and had a 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.160 cup of coffee and training camping off season with some 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:57.320 other teams. But let's bring in Ryan Leaf. We'll start 0:02:57.320 --> 0:02:59.320 with the NFL draft. Ryan, We thank you for spend 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:01.720 some time with us year. Put let's start at the 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:05.080 very top. Trevor Lawrence, the number one pick, he presumptive 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:10.240 number one picked by Jacksonville. Is he as good as advertised? Yes? 0:03:11.040 --> 0:03:14.040 He is every He's everything in a bag of ships, 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:18.560 I'll give you that. Probably the most complete player UH 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:21.520 coming out of college since Andrew Luck would have been 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:25.120 the number one overall pick after he upset Alabama or 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:28.160 more or less destroyed Alabama. To talk about law in 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:32.280 the National Championship after his freshman year um and to 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:36.520 not move a spot after two years um, which everybody was. 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:39.920 The expectations were so high the only way, only where 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:43.440 only place you could go is is backwards. He didn't. 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:48.800 He is still the UH overwhelmingly presumptive number one overall pick. 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:51.440 And best player in this year's draft. So so Ryan 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:53.960 he's going. It looks like he's going to Jacksonville unless 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:58.440 something crazy happens. Is that a trip to the googlog? 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:01.200 If you William Jacksonville is not actually been a wonderful 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:04.320 outpost in the NFL. I do you put any stock 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:06.360 into that. Let if you get drafted by a team 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:11.440 that's not, you know, not that great, that you are doomed. Well, 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:14.880 I wouldn't. I wouldn't say doomed because Trevor is a 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:19.200 transformational player. Like you could walk into an environment and 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:21.800 he changes the environment. You know, there are guys that 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:25.160 are just guys that are great quarterbacks, but they just 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:28.120 they can't change the environment around them, and it kind 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.320 of happens the other way. He's capable of doing that. Unfortunately, 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:34.080 a lot of times when these top draft picks, Uh, 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:36.760 you know, Trevor reminds me a ton of Carson Carson Palmer. 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:39.359 He goes to Cincinnati, there's a couple of great years 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:42.839 where they get get into the playoffs. Um, but that's 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:45.400 as far as they go. You know, you you just 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.120 kind of lost, kind of forgotten, never been a Hall 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:50.680 of Famer around of Jacksonville. Tony Baselli could change that 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:55.480 maybe down the line here someday, but um, it's gonna 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:59.120 be really, really difficult. And unfortunately for the likes of 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:03.000 Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence, the best quarterbacks each draft 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:06.279 are going to the worst possible teams, and systemically that means, 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:09.440 you know, we probably won't hear from them in terms 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:12.800 of a ton of success at the NFL level. So 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:15.520 so right, I saw a story that I wanted to 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:17.640 ask your opinion on it. There was an a f 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:20.080 C coach they didn't name, of course, who said that 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:25.440 Joe Burrow is better than Trevor Lawrence, that they would 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:27.880 have taken Burrow a hundred times out of a hundred 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:29.919 in the draft if they had both been in the 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:36.520 same draft. You buy that that takers that hyperbole? Well, 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:38.279 I mean their head to head matchup was just an 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:41.200 absolute dismantling. You know, I know it's not, you know, 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:43.680 quarterback versus quarterback, but I mean that's what you're going 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:46.560 off of. Right. Uh, what Joe Burrow did in that 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:49.480 one season in l s U is remarkable. It's it's 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:52.680 absolutely remarkable, and I really think he's gonna change the 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:56.760 environment in Cincinnati. I just you know, um, that's a 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:59.080 that's a coin top, that's that's the Peyton Manning Ryan 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:01.400 leaf right there. If that those two are in the 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:04.280 same draft, I would argue that was exactly the same 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:05.880 in ninety eight, where no one knew who was going 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:07.280 to go one and who was going to go to two. 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:11.120 That I think there'll be a lot of opinions on 0:06:11.160 --> 0:06:13.400 both sides of that coin if that had been the 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:16.200 case last year. Yeah, I actually I want to talk 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:18.720 about it. We'll get back to the draft. But back 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:20.800 when you were you and Peyton Manning were neck and 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:22.920 neck for the number one pick. Did you did you 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:24.560 think you were going to go to the Colts? Did 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:26.440 they talked to you like they were gonna draft you? 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:28.360 I mean everyone in the media said it was gonna 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:31.799 be a you know, a last minute decision. How close 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:33.560 do you think he came to being drafted by the 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.920 Colts instead of the Chargers. Well, I was hosting Rich 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:38.960 Eyes and the other day and when he was off 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:41.520 and I had Jim mursay on, I had the owner 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:44.000 of the Indianapolis Colts on the show, and I asked 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:46.200 him that specific question, like how close was it, and 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:48.880 he said, well, you know, it was pretty much split 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:52.000 fifty fifty in our in our war room with the scouts, 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:54.880 Bill Polly and who of course the general manager at 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:56.400 the time, who was the final word. He really was 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.640 leaning towards Peyton um And and Jim R. Say that 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:01.839 the owner was leaning towards me. And he had asked 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:06.400 a really close confidanta his in the NFL who came 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:08.960 to him a couple of nights before the draft, and 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:12.960 guy he trusted a lot, uh, said to him and said, Jim, 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:16.440 you gotta take that least kit. And luckily for the 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:20.520 Colts and for Jim and for everybody involved, Uh, they didn't. 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:24.920 He he didn't listen to his longtime NFL confidant, and 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:27.360 he and they went with Peyton and that was was 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:30.120 the best best choice they could have made. But if 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:32.560 you if you had gone to Indie like well you, 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:35.080 I mean you obviously had some you know, some some issues. 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:37.640 You've admitted that you you're still battling the stuff occasionally. 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:39.280 But if you had gone to it, he wouldn't have 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:41.800 been different. I mean, you don't know in a parallel dimensions, 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:44.480 if you go to the Colts, is there a different outcome. 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:48.520 You know, I might have been able to keep my 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:51.240 character defects under wrapped a little while longer because they 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:52.760 were there was some more they would have been more 0:07:52.800 --> 0:07:56.400 talent around me. But ultimately, you know, I was the problem. 0:07:56.600 --> 0:08:00.040 So how you know Peyton through the most touch of 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:03.760 interceptions ever, uh in a season for a rookie, and 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:06.680 uh the team went three and thirteen. I don't know 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:09.840 if I could have dealt with that failure. Um, you know, 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.120 I don't know if I could have you know, gotten 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:15.760 through that. I had a really hard time dealing with 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.360 failure in a positive way, where Peyton saw it as 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:21.360 an opportunity to do it better the next time and 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:24.280 clearly was the right choice. Um, there's a saying I 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:26.200 use all the time. No matter where you go, there 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:29.360 you are, and and no matter where I went, there 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:31.640 I would have been. And I was definitely the problem. 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:35.280 So I just I just assumed that no matter where 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:39.679 I would have gone or where I would have been drafted, Um, 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:41.760 if it was that high, you know how it went 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:43.120 in the sixth round and no one knew who the 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:45.200 hell I was, There might have been an easier way 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:48.920 to work my way up. But when you're drafted that high. Um, 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:51.000 it's it really wouldn't have mattered where I went. I 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:53.000 was going to Uh, I was going to implode no 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:55.920 matter what. Ryan, What gave you that sense that that 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:57.559 there was going to be an implosure? Like did you 0:08:57.600 --> 0:08:59.880 ever get that feeling when you're at Washington State? Never? 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:02.760 Never never got that. No, it was gonna be easy. 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:04.720 I was gonna walk on the football field and do 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:09.120 what I've always done my whole life. It shocked me that, uh, 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:12.959 that the scrutiny came, that the criticism came, that the 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:18.760 fan hatred came, all of this stuff. It was utterly 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:23.079 shocking to me such in a way that I was, Um, 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:27.320 I wasn't shock, you know. And no way in the 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:29.440 world did I see something like that coming down the 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:31.520 coming down the pipe. I don't. I mean, no one did, 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.000 clearly because I had. It was one of the highest 0:09:34.000 --> 0:09:37.120 graded players ever going into a draft, Payton Manning and 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:39.600 I think there were eight point five in terms of grades, 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:41.120 and you just you just don't see that. I think 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:43.480 Andrew Luck at an eight point eight or something like 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:45.520 that when he came out, and that was the highest 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:49.120 we've ever seen. The relationships that you had when you 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:51.640 were in the National Football League players and coaches and 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:54.720 management alike. What was the biggest one that you regretted 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:57.199 the most and just in terms of how things unfolded 0:09:57.240 --> 0:10:02.199 and dissipated. Well, well, you know, just Junior say I 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:05.679 and Rodney Harrison two real leaders on that on that defense. 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:09.200 When I when I came into the league, and um, 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:13.880 I just did not listen or or was willing for 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:18.760 like just glom onto them and asked them how they've 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:21.960 done it and then followed their advice verbatim. That's the best. 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:23.960 That's the advice I give to guys coming into the league, 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:27.120 no matter how highly drafted they are, because it all 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:30.200 starts over. You go into that locker room, you find 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:32.440 a guy that's played ten, twelve years, who's been a 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:35.079 veteran in this league, because that is the odds of 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:37.719 you playing eight odds of you playing at least eight 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:40.000 years is crazy. I think it's like a thousand players 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:42.520 in the history of the NFL to have played eight 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:45.640 seasons in the NFL. You go find those guys, you 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:47.679 look them in the eye, you ask them how they 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:50.360 did it, and when they tell you, you follow their 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:54.080 You follow their guidance verbatim. Any guys that you follow 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:59.640 now verbatim? Oh yeah, plenty. I have a few mentors. 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:02.720 I gotta my sponsors. Thirty two years sober, I follow 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:06.560 I mean every everything he said, I follow him. You 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:08.800 walk into you walk into one of those meeting rooms. 0:11:09.160 --> 0:11:11.360 You find a guy that has what you want, you 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:12.920 go ask him how he got it, and then you 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:15.080 follow him and you get the life of your dreams. 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:17.880 And that's exactly where I'm at right now. I mean, 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:21.640 the days, obviously are are not always the highest of highs. 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:24.160 How do you how do you combat the loads of 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:28.640 the lows? You know, they just they don't exist anymore. 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:31.960 I mean, because you know, I was not on the 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:33.400 golf course the other day and I heard a guy 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:36.040 just so upset and screaming about how long the round 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:38.520 was taking. And I looked at him and I said, 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:41.080 I said, man, it could be worse. And he's like, 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:43.080 I don't know how, and I go, you could be 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:47.280 in prison and uh. And he looked at me like 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.760 in complete and utter shock, and I go, I go, 0:11:51.000 --> 0:11:54.120 so hey, it could be a lot worse, buddy, all right, 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:56.440 let's just enjoy it. So I don't I don't take 0:11:56.480 --> 0:12:01.120 anything for granted anymore. Life is life. Life is hard. 0:12:01.640 --> 0:12:05.040 But I mean the amount of gratitude and perspective I 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:07.960 have because of what I went through, there isn't There 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:10.440 isn't a day where I look in the mirror at 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:12.160 the end of it and go, God, that was awful. 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:16.280 It is it is never it is never awful. It 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:19.800 will never be awful no matter what, because of the 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:23.079 life I've gotten to live. Yeah, run, I wanted to 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:24.760 ask you speaking of you know, one of the things 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:27.160 that we played the sound by a lot. You had 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:31.160 a famous locker room melt down with j Pose and 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:34.480 you you scream knock it off? What led? Were you 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:40.960 just having a terrible day that what led to that interaction? Um? Yeah, 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:45.640 it's incredibly embarrassing. Um um, maybe that maybe he'll take 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:48.079 that into consideration next time you guys want to You 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:52.040 said you run it a lot. Um. The day before 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:54.080 I played the worst game I've ever played in my 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:57.719 life at Kansas City. Completed one path, uh for four 0:12:57.800 --> 0:12:59.800 yards through a couple of picks, bumbled three times was 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:03.840 I think seven times in a rainstorm. It was completely humiliated. 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:07.680 A cameraman was in the locker room after the game, 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:09.000 and it was back in the day when they had 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:13.800 those big, big batteries on the end of the camera, 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:15.680 and he swung around when I had stood up, and 0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:18.880 it just smoked me in the eye. And I was 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:20.719 so angry, of course, by the way I played, and 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:24.200 so I just addressed this this cameraman down like made 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:28.560 him feel like an absolute peon for permitute pretty much 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:31.679 doing his job. And the local beat writer Um had 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:34.000 witnessed it all, and you know, I didn't I didn't 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:37.480 think much of it. I didn't apologize to the guy. UM. 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:39.600 I just kind of went about my business. And the 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:42.040 next morning, of course, it was in the in the newspaper, 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:46.080 um Jay Polser had written all about the incident. And 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:53.040 so after my gaggle with the reporters on Monday, I 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:56.000 I asked him to stick around afterwards, and you know, 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:58.600 like you know, like I always used to do back then, 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:00.880 just trying to intimidate people and sho him who was boss. 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:04.040 And I said, Hey, we're gonna have a relationship. You know, 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:06.640 I'd like some kind of privacy in the locker room. 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:11.120 Everything that he just he I think he saw an opportunity, uh, 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:14.120 and and kind of baited me with it, and I 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:18.319 took the bait, and I proceeded to kind of fortunately 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:20.840 get him into the chair. And from what you guys 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:23.600 saw is when a cameraman in the corner of the 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.880 room spun around and heard me standing over the top 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:29.120 of him trying to be like the big bad man. 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:33.680 UM pulled my man card Um and really it looked 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:37.040 like a petel and child just screaming at somebody who 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:40.480 was doing his job. And luckily for me, Um, I 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:44.480 didn't you know, physically harm him. And Junior Sales popped 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:46.440 in there and pulled me out through me in the shower, 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:49.400 turned the cold water on and and again was there 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:52.320 to protect me Um like like he did for me 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:54.960 for those pretty much the entire time. I was there 0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:58.560 until the end where where he just like, I can't 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:00.520 do anything more for this guy. He just he's just 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:06.320 he's self sabotaged it so much. He really tried to help. Yeah, 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:07.920 and you know it was I don't we don't play 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:09.960 it anymore, right, but back in those days when you know, 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:14.920 we did disclosure, full disclosure, but uh, and I mean 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.040 you came up nine. Social media really kicked in in 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:23.040 the two thousands, around twenty nine. That's when that really 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:27.160 became a huge deal. How different, if at all, would 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:29.960 your career have been if you would add on top 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:31.720 of everything that happened. You've got a lot of negative 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.960 publicity because of the way you played, But then if 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.640 you add on top of it social media, how would 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:41.280 that have changed the dynamic? You know, I didn't get 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.520 a lot of negativity around how I played. The negativity 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:47.480 came for how I behaved. People can get passed. I 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:49.880 mean there was there were glimpses in time. We played 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:53.720 at Denver on t for three sum yards and three 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:57.520 touchdowns and just lit it up, and my athletic ability 0:15:57.560 --> 0:15:59.480 was always there, So it was never really that it was. 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:02.720 It was how I behaved and how I acted, And 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:07.240 so definitely it would have been constantly berated on social media. 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:11.400 I cared so much about what other people thought um 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:14.200 post prison. I've worked with a therapist on an affirmation. 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:15.960 We we use it all the time. I say it 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:17.800 in the morning every morning. I've been saying it for 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:20.840 four consecutive years now, every morning in the mirror. What 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:22.880 other people think of me is none of my business. 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:26.600 I believe it now, I truly believe it. I can't 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:30.760 control people, places, or things. Ever. All I can control 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:34.600 is how I react, how I deal with the situation. 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:38.240 And and when you've come to that realization, there's a 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:41.520 ton of there's a ton of like radical acceptance with that, 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:44.480 and so it would have been very difficult. And now 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:48.160 I'm on social media a lot, but it's all positivity. 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.840 I don't let any negativity on it. It's all about 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.520 pushing the envelope to help people who are dealing with 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:56.000 substance abut some mental health issues and for me to 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:59.000 use it as a platform in mine, you know, in 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:02.840 my sporting brought asking career, which is which is blossomed, 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:04.639 which I never thought was something that was going to 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:06.960 be able to ever happen, you know, being a communications 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:09.920 major from college, not utilizing that when I got out 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:13.359 because um, the purpost thing I wanted to be was was, 0:17:13.600 --> 0:17:16.320 you know, in a newsroom because I disliked the media 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:19.760 so much. Chronically, it's funny that I'm now in the 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:22.240 media and doing that for a living. So it's it's 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:24.800 interesting how things come full circle. Ryan, do you think 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:27.920 the National Football League does a good job of helping 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:33.040 talent deal with with mental health issues? Oh god, No, 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:37.520 they're awful. They don't they They don't care about about 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:42.000 the player. They care about how much money that player 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:43.879 can bring in. And usually when the player becomes a 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:48.200 former player, UM, that no longer is a viable option 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:50.240 for them. Even if you are a Hall of Famer, 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:53.400 you know. Um, they can build up that a little bit. 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:57.160 But I think that they are a huge propaganda machine 0:17:57.440 --> 0:17:59.840 and they're really really good at it. Their multi billion 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:04.320 propaganda machine that promotes violence and says they care about people, 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:09.199 which they don't. Um, they disliked counting their money, and 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:12.480 so it took me a while to figure that out. Um. 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:16.920 The recent deaths of Vint and Jackson, our NFL brother 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:19.600 you know, alone in a hotel room at thirty eight 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:23.080 years old, that that was the final I think that 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:25.760 was just the final nail for me. And uh, I 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:29.080 was really upset about it. And luckily a bunch of people, 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:33.200 UM jump to action with me, and we've gotten the 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:37.560 business with a company that's associated with the Hall of Fame. 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:39.640 Because the Hall of Fame is kind of like Switzerland 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:42.400 between the NFL, p A and the NFL, they really 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:44.879 don't have a side there. They can be neutral and 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:47.480 truly helped the player, and a lot of us former 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:50.879 players can control that. So we've worked a deal with 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:52.600 the Hall of Fame and it's called the Hall of 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:57.320 Fame Behavioral Health Center. And Um, when something like that happens, 0:18:57.320 --> 0:19:00.520 when the family reaches out to us and as Vincent 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:02.560 is locked in a hotel room, he won't talk to 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:06.560 anybody's drinking himself to death. Um, it's like the bat 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:09.200 line they call me. I get on a plane, I'm 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:10.879 in the Tampa area, I get to that hotel, I 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:14.200 knock on the door and I'm like, brother, I was there. 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:17.400 I'm with you. I know the way out. Just come 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:20.480 with me. Every life is so precious. We can't have 0:19:20.600 --> 0:19:23.520 something like that happen again. We just we can't. In 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:28.399 the NFL, UH doesn't care one iota and everything you 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:31.720 see them say they do, it's just it's just it's 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:34.040 just a lie. Be sure to catch live editions of 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:37.080 The Ben Maller Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:39.760 pm Pacific. Be sure to catch live editions of The 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:43.000 Ben Maller Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm 0:19:43.000 --> 0:19:46.920 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:48.800 So do you. I mean, I guess on that note 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:51.760 not to be cynical about this, but do you think 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:55.280 that the stances they've had against the Redskins changed the 0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:58.600 name of the Washington football team and then with their 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:01.760 social justice arsues right now taking those stances or those 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:09.160 disingenuous Yeah, I believe so. I mean, I think it's 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:16.119 when the when the league's and predominantly um, people of color, 0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:20.000 you better, you know, you better? At least they're good 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:23.160 at marketing. They're really good at marketing. So that's essentially 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:24.679 what this is. I mean, all of a sudden, they 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.920 just have this shift in this change. You know, that's 0:20:27.960 --> 0:20:30.240 the biggest thing. Either they came to like an epiphany 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:33.080 and a realization. Maybe Roger Goodell finally did because he's 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:34.560 kind of flying in the face of where a lot 0:20:34.600 --> 0:20:38.520 of the ownership believes in and he works for the owners. 0:20:38.720 --> 0:20:41.240 So I was I was taken aback when I saw 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:44.080 it happen because we've seen how Colin Kaepernick has really 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:48.200 been black ball from the NFL because of his stance. Um. 0:20:48.240 --> 0:20:50.639 But yeah, I mean it's really hard for me to 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:54.639 take anything they say at face value and seriously, just 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:58.640 because I've been fooled too many times by it, and 0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:00.879 and you know the first time, you know, shame on 0:21:01.400 --> 0:21:03.879 them that they blew you twice, shame his, shame on you. 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:05.840 It really is a shame on me if if I 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:09.840 keep believing it, but they're sot him convincing. Are you 0:21:10.000 --> 0:21:13.960 Are you a fan of Kaepernick? Yeah, definitely. I was 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:15.280