WEBVTT - Fins Flashback | 1994 Season Opener with Irving Fryar 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:09.320 Factors are textown What a win for this Miami Dolphin team. Wow? 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:14.680 What is up? Dolphins? And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:18.880 part of the Miami Dolphins official podcast network, covering your 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:22.840 Miami Dolphins each and every day. How's it going everybody? 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:25.680 I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and I am here 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:29.200 to bring you your daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:33.000 And on today's show, another edition of Fins Flashback, as 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.680 we are going back to opening day and a thrilling 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:40.960 Dolphins thirty nine to thirty five victory. Dan Marino, fresh 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:44.280 off the Achilles injury, throws for five touchdowns in the 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:47.040 pouring rain, three of which went to my guest today, 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:50.640 Irving Fryar. We'll talk to him about Marino playing in 0:00:50.680 --> 0:00:53.360 the mud against his former team and all those long 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:57.320 scoring plays. On this Friday, May the fifteenth edition of 0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:03.560 the Drive Time Podcast, and we are going back in 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:06.680 time to n four on today's edition of the Drive 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:10.679 Time Podcast, and as the broadcast of that particular game says, 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:13.360 this was the first game of Marino's career where he 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:16.840 was coming off a prolonged absence in his career because 0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:20.720 of that Achilles injury. It was the first time he 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:23.800 really missed significant time in his entire career, and the 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:26.920 nineties were just a different time when it came to sports. 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:29.560 This wasn't a time where a c L injuries were 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:33.160 essentially a six to eight month prognosis. This wasn't a 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:36.080 time where quarterbacks played well into their forties, and it 0:01:36.160 --> 0:01:39.039 certainly wasn't a time where players coming off a serious 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:42.720 injury on the wrong side of thirty just returned to form. 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:45.679 But Marino did, and it started in that game. You 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:49.680 watch that game and he is laboring throughout the whole thing. 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:52.520 It's actually kind of painful to watch. He's got that 0:01:52.600 --> 0:01:56.000 clunky brace on every step comes with a significant hunch 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:59.040 favoring one side of his gait. They played an interview 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:02.440 on the telecast with Marino from training camp where he said, 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:05.480 at this point he's just tired of talking about the injury. 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:08.240 And in the midst of the Michael Jordan's documentary and 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.200 that mentality that I'm just gonna go win games no 0:02:11.240 --> 0:02:13.960 matter what it takes. I mean, there were certainly elements 0:02:13.960 --> 0:02:16.400 of that there in Marino's game, and you kind of 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:21.720 sense that from that interview. So it's season opening game, 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:25.200 the Patriots and Bill Parcels and second year quarterback Drew 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:28.400 bledsoe Go Coogs are coming to town. This was also 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:31.079 just after the Marlins moved in to what we now 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:34.560 know as hard Rock Stadium Joe Robbie Stadium at the time, 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.920 and the rain had been pretty steady for about two hours, 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:41.280 maybe ninety minutes before kickoffs. So you've got this whole 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:44.880 mess of a football slash baseball conversion field. When the 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:48.360 Dolphins lined up for point after tries after touchdowns on 0:02:48.400 --> 0:02:51.000 the infield dirt and there were plenty of those, they 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:53.520 snapped it from the left hash and the holder even 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:55.920 moved over just enough to be able to place the 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:58.920 ball on the grass for Pete so Yanovitch to kick from. 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:01.400 When they pay into the sun eideline shots, it looks 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:04.399 like they're on a beach. The sideline just has excess 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:07.160 dirt and mounds of mud. And I'm not talking that 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:10.080 nice hard sand that is hardened by the tide of 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.119 the ocean. We're talking back of the beach sand where 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:16.040 you can build up some nice Johnny Drama calf muscles. 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:18.919 Within just one workout session, the Dolphins come out of 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:20.760 the gates a little bit slow in the game, and 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:24.320 even the broadcast booth mentions that the previous two preseason 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:27.160 games were not the Dolphins sharpest, and I think that 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:29.920 showed early on. Marino was a little bit off. Some 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:33.680 passes were dropped, but things eventually got turned around and 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:36.920 the Dolphins rip off a thirty nine thirty five victory. 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:39.600 There were three lead changes in the fourth quarter, and 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:42.800 they scored four touchdowns in the second half, and three 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:46.520 of those touchdowns went to wide receiver Irving Fryar, who 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:49.960 joins me now on the Drivetime podcast and joining me 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:53.280 now on the Drivetime Podcast is Dolphins wide receiver from 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:58.000 through He went to two Pro Bowls in those three years, 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:02.000 including four season. It started off with a victory and 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:04.760 the opener he is Irving Friar. Irving, thank you for 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:07.360 joining me today. Good to see you, good to be here. 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:09.640 It's amazing how we have to do these kinds of 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:15.920 things now online, podcast and zoom. It's it's uh different 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:18.280 times now isn't. Hopefully someday in the future we can 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:20.359 have you into the actual studio at the facility, but 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:22.680 for now we have to make do with what we 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:24.680 have and I want to start kind of in that 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:27.640 area Irving, Because first thing, I always like to ask 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:30.000 the alumni, if you will, what are you up to 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:33.200 these days? And obviously right now it's a little bit different, 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:35.560 But let's say, pre COVID, what have you been up 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:38.520 to in your post post playing career. I was going 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:43.400 to say, I'm staying stay, staying home. That's going to business. 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:48.080 That's what I'm doing right now. But prior to COVID 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:52.599 nineteen UM, I am the chief operations coordinator at the 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:55.880 Youth Challenge Academy. I don't know if you know what 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.280 that is all about. There's about thirty six of them 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:02.839 around the country. It's a quasi military UH setting where 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:06.479 we bring in UH somewhere between anywhere between eighty five 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:11.440 to a hundred UH youth there ages sixteen, eighteen, male 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:15.560 and female. They're they're they're not they're disconnected you, they're 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:20.680 not troubled youth. They come from obviously dysfunctional backgrounds, difficult backgrounds, 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:24.400 and we house them in a military base. UH. They 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:27.440 put on they have uniforms UH and they're in danger 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:30.000 of not graduating from high school. So what we do 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:32.400 in a five and a half month period of time 0:05:32.760 --> 0:05:37.120 twenty two weeks. We uh we educate them the basic skills, 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:39.840 you know, the English, the math, science, the history, all 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:41.840 of that. And at the end of the five and 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:44.080 a half months they take their g e D test 0:05:44.320 --> 0:05:46.760 pastor g e D tests. They don't get a g D. 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:49.240 They actually get a New Jersey a State of New 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:53.599 Jersey UH high school diploma, and then we engage them 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:57.000 with uh other entities to keep them moving in the 0:05:57.080 --> 0:06:00.440 right direction. So I am the chief operations with NATOR 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:03.600 for that facility and UH proud, proud of it because 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:06.120 we do a lot of great work there. You challenge, Yeah, 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:08.040 I think that's certainly something to be proud of. And 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:09.720 as far as a post playing career, one of the 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:12.039 more unique answers I've heard so far. So congrats to 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:14.320 you and all that success. That sounds really cool and 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:17.520 very admirable. Definitely, and h kind of kind of hard 0:06:17.560 --> 0:06:19.800 to transition out of that into football, but I'm gonna 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.480 try my hardest here and and and ask you. You know, 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:24.640 we we were talking about you and I were talking 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:28.760 about how we watched the season opener Dolphins and Patriots, 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:31.080 one of the classic games and team history, and the 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:32.919 first thing I wanted to ask you on here, Irving, 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:34.960 was how important was it? I know it was your 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:37.320 second year in Miami, but how important was it for 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:40.000 you to have a big game against your former team? 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:44.160 Little important? What do you mean? It meant the world? 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:48.440 I mean, I U. I had been traded, asked to 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:50.400 be traded to Miami and that and that's just there's 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:52.240 a story behind that. I had been trying to get 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:56.240 out of New England for years and it just so happened. 0:06:56.320 --> 0:06:59.080 Every time we will played Miami. We played Miami twice 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:03.400 a year, probably going back six years before I actually 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:06.320 came to Miami. Every time we played Miami, I would 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:09.119 go up to coach Shula after the game and shake 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:10.600 his hand and say, Coach, you gotta get me out 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:12.160 of here. You gotta get me out of here. You 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:13.920 gotta get me out of here. And he would laugh, 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.400 he would laugh. And finally, when we asked to be traded, 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:21.120 we called Miami and they pulled the trigger. So sorry, 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:24.880 that's all that's my working. I asked to be traded 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:30.080 and they traded me. So yeah, I wanted to play 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:32.240 well for sure. Well, I gotta ask you, I gotta 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.080 kind of pill the onion back. Can you give us 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:37.080 some more on those conversations with Shula and the reception 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.400 of the of that request. Well, I mean it was 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:42.960 basically just that it wasn't It wasn't a whole lot 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:45.560 of back and forth. It was, you know, after the 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:47.600 game of guys come up and they shaved one another hand. 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:49.240 It's not a whole lot of conversation. But I would 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:50.920 always make it a point to make sure I found 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:53.040 Coach Shula, go up to him and shake his hand, 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:55.840 say a good game, and let him no listen, I'm 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:57.760 trying to get out of here. Can you can you 0:07:57.800 --> 0:08:01.040 help me out? And we all he didn't get it together. 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:03.440 So it was just it was just a pleasure to 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:06.400 be able to come down there. And you know, uh, 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:08.679 he was a great man. We know he passed away 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:12.000 just recently. Um our condoles just to his whole family, 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:14.640 to his wife, but man, he was. He was the best. 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:18.880 He was the goat. You know, forget Tom Brady, You're 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:20.880 you're preaching to the choir here, sir. I mean, that's 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:23.280 that's what we talked about all last week on this podcast, 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:26.480 and so many great comments and just notions and stories 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.040 about Coach Shula over the last week here on Miami 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:31.440 Dolphins dot Com, drive Time podcast and everywhere you can 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:34.120 find all of our content. And you talk about a goat. 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:36.640 Now you come down to South Florida and link up 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.520 with another goat at the quarterback position. You said, forget 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.480 Tom Brady. I agree Marino is in fact the goat. 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:46.560 But I want to ask you this question. He got 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.720 injured your first year here, So what was your thoughts 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:51.520 when you finally get to Miami. You get to play 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:53.960 with this legendary Hall of Fame quarterback and a few 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:57.120 games into the season he's out. I must I thought 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:59.480 it was me. I said, I must be like slip 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:03.480 where anybody thinking go wrong it will. Yeah. When I 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.960 got there, he had never been hurt before, he never 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:08.600 missed a game before, and I come into town and 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:11.720 he busts his achilles. What does that? I mean? I 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:13.880 mean that's a that's an injury where a lot of 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:16.320 people don't come back. So it didn't look good, it 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:19.200 didn't sound good, it didn't feel good. So um, yeah, 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:22.640 I was I was very uh not disappointed. I mean, 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:25.080 we don't get hurt on purpose, but I just I 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:27.440 didn't think things were gonna go You know, when that happened. 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:29.280 I didn't think they were gonna go as well as 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:33.239 they did. He was walking around that day five touchdown performance, 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:35.360 so obviously it didn't affect him all that much. But 0:09:35.559 --> 0:09:37.920 he had a really pronounced limp. Is that something that 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:39.880 he was doing throughout the course of training camp in 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:43.200 the preseason? While he did that for the rest of 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:45.800 my time there. I think even now when you see 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:47.800 him walk, he still has a little bit of a 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:51.040 hitch in his gudea. So, um, I think that just 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:54.280 never went away. Um. I don't know that it's painful 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:58.480 for him. I just think maybe that there's just a 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:02.480 space there or whatever causes him to have that definite limp. 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:05.000 But he he carried that limp, you know, from the 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:07.720 time he came back until the time I left Miami, 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:10.160 and even now I think I saw him a few 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:13.000 months ago, doubt actually his last year down in Miami. 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.560 I think he still doesn't limp from that. Yeah, he 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:17.360 he definitely carried for the rest of his career. But 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:19.440 he did have a long career after that too. And 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:22.000 I'm curious to know when did you guys know, Like, 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:25.560 obviously you go through practice in the entire entire offseason program, 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:27.680 you get the preseason, you finally get out there for 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:33.360 opening day. When did you know, like, okay, Dan's Dan again? Um, 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.760 when he came back. You know, when he came back, 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:37.800 we knew, or at least I knew that he would 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.559 not come back. Uh, and he would not play if 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:43.480 he wasn't right. Um, though he did have the limp. 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:47.280 Dann wasn't a great mover anyway. He's not a fast guy, 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.480 but he's he's a lucid. I can remember times Dan 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:52.760 saying to me, watching me make this guy missing the pocket, 0:10:52.760 --> 0:10:55.600 watching and it's just a step or moving the shoulders. 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:58.720 But he was very, very creative when he came to that. 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:02.080 He was very elusive when it came to just making 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:04.360 the right step in the right direction, knowing where guys 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:07.160 were around him, knowing where the soft spot in the 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:09.559 pocket was, and being able to get there to buy 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:11.760 a little more time to give us an opportunity to 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:14.319 get over. That's a perfect transition. And my next question 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:16.319 for you here, because he has a run for a 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:18.319 first down right at the end of the first quarter 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:20.199 there and he kind of dives into the mud and 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:23.560 it looks kind you know, Dan doing his thing. How 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:26.760 how fast was your heart beating on that play? Well, 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:31.000 I mean, now, you gotta understand when quarterbacks ran. When 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:33.560 I played, that was a part of the game. It's 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:36.840 it's people didn't worry about them getting hurt. You didn't 0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:39.240 worry about Dan getting hurt or hurting his befoot again, 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:41.760 or hurting his achilles again. I'm sorry, um, that was 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:44.040 a part of the game. That's what we did. Now, 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:47.439 just like playing tat flag football, you don't want the 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:49.960 quarterback to run and don't touch the quarterback. So no, 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:53.000 I didn't. Uh, it didn't bother me at all. And 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:54.959 a matter of fact, it was encouraging just to let 0:11:55.000 --> 0:11:57.800 me know that Dan was engaged, that Dan was you know, 0:11:58.160 --> 0:12:00.480 he's all out, he's all in. Let's get it going. 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:02.839 It almost seemed like the moment when the offense kind 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:04.480 of started to get things clicking a little bit, because 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:06.280 you guys don't score any points in the first quarter, 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:08.920 and then from there it was on. And so I 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:11.040 was curious to ask you because it was a little 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:12.800 bit sloppy at first, and the weather could have had 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:14.520 something to do with that first game of the season, 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:16.400 first game back for him. There was a couple of 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:19.680 drop passes, some off target throws, and he he looked 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:23.120 like he was getting frustrated. And so that makes me curious, irving, 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:24.960 what's it like to be on the other end of 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:29.160 a Dan Marino ash chewing. I never did get a 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:32.480 Dan Marino, Uh, asked Joy, Yes, you would call it. 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:36.120 I've seen him try. I think that changed a little 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:40.320 bit when we got there, myself and mark Ingram and 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:44.320 Keith Jackson and Keith Buyers. Um. I think Dan knew 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.440 that we were a little bit different than the guys 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:49.840 that he had been dealing with prior to us coming there. 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:52.120 So yeah, Dan, we'll get upset. And and that just 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:55.000 meant he really was into what he was, you know, 0:12:55.040 --> 0:12:57.080 he he cared about what we were doing. He wanted 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:59.160 to win. He's a competitive We all get upset, we 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:02.120 all get mad. Nobody makes mistakes on purpose, at least 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:05.720 I don't think so. Um, but that really never happened 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:08.680 while I was there. Um, it may have happened with 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:10.760 a couple of guys that may have not been starters, 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:14.040 like in practice, doing something stupid, running into a starter 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.600 and maybe hurting a start. I remember one day I 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:19.520 got poked in the eye by one of the dvs 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:23.240 who weren't uh wenna starter and everybody was upset with 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:25.760 a guy because I had to miss practice and and 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:29.560 you know I was. I couldn't see for a little while. So, um, 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:31.400 but I never I never was on the other end 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:33.520 of that. Um. I don't think it would have turned 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:36.040 out too well if it If it did never happen, Uh, 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:38.240 it would have turned out too well for Dan. So 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:45.000 is that something you would tell him today? Oh? Yeah, 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:48.079 he and he knows he he knew me. I wasn't 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:51.320 you know? I was a kind of receiver. Yes, I 0:13:51.360 --> 0:13:54.560 did catch balls, I could run, but I was I 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:56.720 just wanted to go out there and knock somebody's head off. 0:13:56.880 --> 0:13:59.560 That's what I wanted to do. Every game. I would 0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:02.240 tell receivers, when you kissed the ball, run my way, 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:04.760 and whoever chasing you is not gonna catch you because 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:07.280 I'm taking them off your shoulder. Um. That's what I 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:10.080 wanted to do. That's that's how I prepared myself for 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:13.280 the game to be physical. Hans Ward is not the 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:17.200 first receiver. He's not the one that invented the physical receiver. 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:20.600 That was That was me. That was me. Uh. And 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:22.360 I think if you ask guys that I played with 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:24.840 or played against, they'll tell you the same thing. Well, 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:26.680 I love it, and that's part of a sixteen year 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:29.360 career for you. There earning which I mean, you missed 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:33.040 one seventeen. Don't start me. I wouldn't dare my apologize. 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:35.800 Maybe I think Dan was seventeen two. So there, you 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:38.240 got a good company there. One more Dan question for you, 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:40.360 then we'll get to your game. Here. He threw his 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:42.640 three hundred touchdown pass of his career in that game. 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:44.600 You obviously were part of a lot of special moments 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:46.720 in your career as well. Where does that rank for 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:49.640 you in terms of all time like teammate accomplishments that 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:51.880 you were very happy to be a part of. Well, 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:53.960 I didn't catch three hundred. I called three O one 0:14:54.000 --> 0:15:00.480 three or two um three or three UM. I mean 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:02.200 it was just a part of history. I'm a part 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:05.600 of history. I'm I'm I am honored uh that you 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:09.840 have me on your show. Uh. Reflecting back on a 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:12.440 game that I played in that's considered a classic, I 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:15.440 didn't know it was a classic or considered a classic game. 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:18.560 I was watching TV the other night and my cousin 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:22.000 text me and he said, the class of the game. 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:26.480 It's on Miami Patriots, first game of the season, whatever 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:28.560 it was, and so I turned it on and watched 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:30.720 it myself. I didn't know it was a classic. So 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.800 it's just an honor to be connected with with moments 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:38.800 like that, with people like that Damn Reno, coach Shula, 0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:42.280 people that played with over the years. Uh, it's just 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:44.520 it's just great to be able to say I know 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:46.600 those people and they know me. Let me tell you 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:48.880 a fun story that you'll appreciate here. I saw. I 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:51.760 grew up in Washington State and a Dolphins fan my 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:55.640 entire life. But I used to get VHS copies mailed 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:57.880 to me from a friend who had all the Dolphins 0:15:57.960 --> 0:16:00.400 games on VHS, and he sent me that back in 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:02.440 like two thousand and five, and I popped it on 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:05.440 and watched that thing religiously. I loved that game because 0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:08.160 you guys were so explosive and so much fun to watch. 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:10.720 So it definitely is a classic. Irving, I'm glad that 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:12.880 you are very well aware of that at this point. 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:14.920 And part of the reason for that was because all 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:18.240 those touchdown passes. The touchdown pass was the second of 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:20.800 the day for Dan. Then you go four or three 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:23.160 more after that, all of them to you, and the 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:26.200 first one an absolute bomb for fifty four yards, almost 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:28.280 hit you right and stride. And that was the second 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:30.800 time you got behind the defense. What was it about 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:32.640 the coverage that allows you to keep getting behind them 0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:35.760 like that? Well, I just I knew those guys. I 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:37.800 played with those guys. I knew I could outrun all 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:39.440 of them. I didn't have to give any moves. I 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:42.240 didn't have to do a whole lot. I just knew 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:44.640 once I got an opportunity to be one on one 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:46.360 with any of them. And damned that too, because I 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:47.840 told him that I could outrun them. All you have 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:49.080 to do is throw the ball up and I could 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.880 get get to the ball before they did. So, Uh, 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:54.880 they knew it. Again, Like you said, early in the game, 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:57.440 we were just, I guess we were a little bit sloppy, 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:00.640 trying to get it together. It was the first game 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:05.280 of the season. Um, there was an unexpected, uh glitch 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:07.840 with the field. You know, the field had been rained on, 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:10.080 it wasn't covered, so it was a quagmire in the 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:12.080 middle of the field. So that was something that we 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:15.479 didn't anticipate. Something that we didn't expect, and I think, uh, 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:17.600 even that may have thrown us off a little bit. 0:17:17.680 --> 0:17:20.480 But yeah, we we started out a little bumpy, but 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.080 then thanks certainly got cranking. The next one was a 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:24.920 flee flicker where you go all the way across the 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:27.440 film like a deep over route and Maurice Hearst gets 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:29.680 caught peeking in the backfield the big no no there, 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:31.960 And I was curious, was that something you guys saw 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:34.080 on film, like, hey, we can go after him right here. 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:36.360 Wasn't an in game adjustment or how did that call 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.080 come to fruition? Well, that was something we saw on 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:42.719 field film, just like we saw We played them another 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.840 time up in New England and they were running a 0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:49.840 corner blitz and people were adjusting to the corner blitz 0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:52.680 by running a hitch with the receiver. So we decided 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:54.280 we're going to run a hitch and go because the 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:57.440 safety had to come down to cover the corner where 0:17:57.440 --> 0:17:59.000 the corner was leaving to come to the corner of 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:01.600 the receiver. I'm sorry, So we do a hitch and 0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:04.000 he comes flying down, hits and go and I scored 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:07.720 a touchdown on that in New England. But yeah, and 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:09.840 It was also the fact that I was running in 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:13.080 and and blocking the safety on most of the runs. 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:15.600 So I would leave where the corner was and take 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:18.840 an inside release and run at the safety like I 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:21.439 was going to block him with the With the running 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:24.160 back receiving the ball from the quarterback in the backfield, 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:27.040 the safety starts coming down, he's trying to beat me, 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:29.120 trying to get to the runner. I'll just take off 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:31.600 right behind it. It was all work together, to all 0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:33.720 work together. It was so perfectly the way you mentioned 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:35.520 it was. It would just look perfect on on the 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:38.639 replay on the actual broadcast version. And then though, Irvan, 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:40.320 you get into the end zone and you hit him 0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:41.520 with a dance. Now you told me there was a 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:43.480 story behind that dance. Let's go ahead and hear that 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:47.600 well that it wasn't actually a dance it was I 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:51.440 would imitate. That's what my pastor Robert RCI Stanley and 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:55.000 Pablo Beach at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, he would do 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:58.160 that in the pool pit when when he gets excited 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:00.720 or when the holy ghosts would hit him, he would 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:04.400 he would stop his feet and shrugging shoulders. Yeah, shrugging 0:19:04.400 --> 0:19:06.560 shoulders like that, so I was, I was doing my 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:09.800 imitation of him. Uh, in honor of him, in honor 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:11.840 of the church. And that's what a what a great ode. 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:13.840 That was a great I should be paid there. I 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:16.520 loved watching it. And then finally the fourth and five 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:18.200 game on the line, you guys are behind at the 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:20.520 stage of the game late and there goes number eighty 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:23.479